Power Movement

The first solo album by Tajai includes plenty of cameos and beats from his compadres in Souls of Mischief and the extended Hieroglyphics crew, but it's the first time that the rapper's own personality and vision are front and center for the course of a full album. In Souls of Mischief, Tajai is a valuable utility man, but he's rarely the center of attention. On Power Movement, Tajai commands the spotlight with the casual ease of the born frontman and shows off his remarkable linguistic skills. Throughout the album, Tajai features a speedy, dexterous flow that mixes positive sentiments (the outstanding "Let's Live," which recalls the glory days of A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul), sharp politics ("Quality, Equality"), and a clear-eyed worldview that acknowledges detractors and nonbelievers and then, sharply but without petty rancor, rebukes them: "Dedication," featuring hooks from the R&B singer Goapele, is bitingly dismissive without sounding like the opening shots of a turf war. The beats, contributed by a variety of longtime friends and associates, are unfortunately of somewhat variable quality, but the high points — foremost among them the clever faux-Orientalia of "The Dum Dum" — outnumber tracks like the tepid electroclash "Raunch, Rogue, Skank."