Cut Chemist has a new set of sinister scratches and samples. A DJ-producer for Jurassic 5 and Ozomatli, his debut solo disc features twelve slices of South American hip-hop that percolate and pop, infused with island-music atmospherics. Cut Chemist employs luscious samples of old records (such as Astrud Gilberto's "Berimbau" on the sexy suite "The Garden") in danceable mixes that bounce like Brazilian big beat. Every track swings, struts, and then combusts with guitars, drums, horns, scratches, and periodic rhymes from such rappers as Hymnal, Mr. Lif, and Thes One. The complexity in every groove stands up alongside lauded works from record slingers like DJ Shadow and the Avalanches.

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