DJ Babu

While autumn may be the most wonderful time of the year for hunters, Babu's ongoing Duck Season series makes it excellent as well for beat-digging fans. This second volume balances quite a few Babu-produced breaks for friends and fam (Talib Kweli, Phil da Agony, Defari, and his Dilated Peoples bandmates) with up-to-the-minute shots from the hottest producers in street-level rap (Madlib, DJ Premier, Evidence). The mix gets harder and darker during the first half, reaching a horrorcore peak with an '80s-B-movie production by Alchemist on 1st Infantry's "Serious (The New Message)." From there, Babu pulls back with some soul sauce courtesy of some prime West Coast talent: a remixed DP joint ("Behold My Life"), Planet Asia's "Right or Wrong," and a soundclash with Stones Throw affiliates Medaphoar, Oh No, and Wildchild on "Time to Rep." Near the end, Babu has some fun scratching on tracks from two classic artists: Gang Starr ("Deadly Habitz") and KRS-One ("Underground"). ~ John Bush, All Music Guide