Def Harmonic

Milwaukee hip-hop duo Def Harmonic once described its sound as “rap music, funk organization, astral-earth balance alliance.” The rest of the world probably just heard heady hip-hop with funk and jazz flourishes on the group’s solid 2005 effort All These Worldz, which boasted tracks that bounced like the best West Coast hip-hop (“Spaced Out,” “Take It High”), as well as songs with an off-kilter, experimental flair, like “The Deep,” which could’ve been an OutKast B-side. Def Harmonic was silent for a few years as members dabbled in other projects, but with 2010’s Figs, the group took a step in re-establishing itself as one of the leading lights of local hip-hop.

Updated 11/09/2011