Focused Daily

After releasing a string of critically acclaimed independent 12-inch singles, Southern California-based Defari unleashes 17 solid blasts of hip-hop on his debut full-length album. A member of the Likwit Crew (Tha Alkaholiks, King Tee, Xzibit) as well as a history teacher at Inglewood High, Defari commands the microphone with a fluid flow of literate lyrics and tight rhymes. They ride high on a bevy of well-crafted beats, which cover a variety of sonic terrain: from low-and-slow to smooth, mellow soul, with even some opera-inclined orchestration popping up. "Never Lose Touch" rolls along to a minimalistic operatic groove of Pavarotti intonations, and "Yes Indeed" has a Ming Dynasty-era atonal vibe, while "Juggle Me (For the DJs)" is all rough-and-tumble bass-driven chug. Defari's Likwit Crew comrades pop up on several tunes, including "Likwit Connection," which features Tha Alkaholiks, and "Thunder & Lightning," on which Xzibit guests. As Defari exclaims on the title track, "Don't mistake this for no pop rap, pop / But that raw deal fell, that real hip-hop." This is straight underground hip-hop with mass appeal. --Spence Abbott