Moonlighting

Despite the virtual process that Tanya Morgan used to produce this album (recording from remote locations and not in the studio together), Moonlighting still makes for a refreshing piece of work in today's hip-hop climate that seems almost totally bereft of what once sustained the art form: groups. Whether it was duos (Gang Starr, Eric B. & Rakim, OutKast), trios (A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul) or Wu-Tang Clan; hip-hop has always thrived off the convergence and mélange of talent and ideas as much as the transcendent singular talents of its solo artists. Moonlighting, released in the spring of 2006, features Brooklyn's Von Pea teaming with Cincinnati MCs Donwil and Ilyas. The trio spits witty, self-deprecating, yet boastful, well-crafted rhymes throughout this 13-song effort produced by Cincinnati beatmaker Brickbeat. As solo artists, the group members (save Von Pea) would seem to be lacking. As a group, the intermingling of their personalities (Von Pea and his BK swagger, Ilyas as the MC's MC, and Donwil as a bit of an old soul) and their distinct rhyme styles keep the album closer to unpredictable than boring. Moonlighting gives hip-hop heads that ol' familiar feeling — in a good way.