CD - ELUCID & Sebb Bash - I Guess U Had To Be There

1CD - Import

Two turntables and a microphone. There is a truth in the clarity of that simple coda, a truth that also belies the breadth of what is possible within its confines. Sometimes you gotta get reminded. "I Guess U Had To Be There", the new album from NYC rapper ELUCID and veteran producer Sebb Bash, is one of those ones.

So fresh it sounds like it was made tomorrow, but bet money you could put this on in '89 and get heads bopping. ELUCID and Sebb Bash find themselves in a heady, seemingly effortless ephemera on "I Guess U Had To Be There". Everything is both familiar and groundbreaking.

The beats shift and flip under ELUCID's feet but he tightropes it all, delivery nimble as a mountain goat, producer and rapper moving in perfect synchronization.

Some shining stars make memorable appearances: billy woods, Breezly Brewin, Estee Nack, Shabaka Hutchings. But this is a two-man show, and the duo keep the spotlight where it belongs.