M.E.D.
Classic
(Stones Throw Records)

Soulfully fresh samples with a who’s who of soul and underground rap fantastics add wonderment to the new album, Classic, by M.E.D. The title track, featuring, Talib Kweli is obliterated by a swarm of dreamy sexy seventies R&B-saturated guitar and soothing bass lines that move with the sweet ease of tasty audio dribbles of warm caramel.

Collaborating with the likes of Kurupt, Aloe Blacc, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Karriem Riggins and The Alchemist, the organic style is relentless and should easily be one heck of an influential audio painting in the realm of hip hop and beyond. Whether it is the herbal ode of “Medical Card,” or the educational “black power and brown pride” on “Blaxican,” which is a historical mashup that moves between the lines of political and societal ills and triumphs, the album is smart. A hotbed of awesome art house instrumentation makes the album a genius project. Searing scores of violin strings alternate with sick bass lines and percussive pops all while tracks like “Mystical Magical” glare with a force like the sun. The same way an old Chaka Khan or Maze album can instantly transport one into an oasis of immediate utopia, Classic easily has that command and it never fades away.