October 30th, 2007
"Witness (One Hope)" by Roots Manuva
It isn't entirely surprising that this collection of highlights from the first decade of British hip-hop label Big Dada is stronger on beats than on rhymes: Ace English beat maestros tend to be more common than great UK MCs. But across two hours, Well Deep knits an agreeable groove from its constituents, and from Ty's common-sense love plaint "Wait A Minute" to the PlayStation bluster of Wiley's "50/50" to Infinite Livez's cheerfully gross "Worcestershire Sauce," the vocals add plenty. A fistful of Americans pitch in, too: Majesticons with snide electro, Busdriver with mile-a-minute punchlines, and MF Doom as deadpan as usual. The bucolic Brits in Boards Of Canada giving whiny Yanks cLOUDDEAD an insinuating remix doesn't hurt, either.
A.V. Club Rating: B
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