Smif-N-Wessun

Though they claim "this is no sad-sack rap" on the opening track, the Brooklyn vets infuse their fourth album with interiority and melancholy, and a palpable sadness soaks through music's murky boom bap. Since birth, Tek has lived "around the block from death," while Steele's baritone has flattened into a muffled bass, and he's accepted that "even if my rhyme's crazy tight / DJs won't play me, right?" There are a couple of tracks where the duo rise above the malaise, including the excellent "Stomp" featuring Joell Ortiz, but this is the group's most narrative-driven and reflective album to date.