By Odeisel

Nobody likes a cockteaser. When you get people excited about something, it behooves you to deliver. Fashionably late is cute, Detox late is unacceptable.  By then, the thrill is gone and pressure is present. Ski Beatz had more than a few mouths watering with his proposed 24 Hour Karate School project. As weeks turned into months and delays increased in number, the initial momentum subsided. Now the project’s release is a bit anti-climactic, particularly with the absence of one of the main draws-Mos Def, who didn’t get his appearances cleared in time. Was it worth the wait?

It’s not a masterpiece. It’s short at 12 tracks, especially with two of those being instrumentals. We’ve also heard “S.T.A.L.L.E.Y.” before. But there is yeoman work down on the production side by Ski, whose integration of live instruments with his infamous sampling skills has raised his musicianship to another level.

Ski provides some great track work for the next wave of rising rappers to get busy on and make names for themselves, most notably Curren$y, who buoys his lack of pure star power with consistent, credible rhymes and a laid back flow that blends smoothly with the brass and bass on “Nothing But Us” and covers for Jim Jones’ average lyricism on the psychedelic, Clockwork Orange feel of “Go.” He plays an able Pippen to Wiz Khalifa’s lead on “Scaling The Building.”

Rising rapper Stalley also continues his path with his appearances on the Cool Kids collabo “Do It Big” which features a chopped up tuba sample first used in the classic BDP track “Still #1.” He rips the aforementioned solo “S.T.A.L.L.E.Y.” although the song loses a bit of panache without the video and stands out on the posse cut, raucous guitar-driven “I Got Mines,” which also features a standout verse from D.C’s Tabbi Bonney. Bonney delivers on the solo “Not Like Me” elsewhere on the album.

Jean Grae flat out torches “The Prowler 2” and shines despite similarly stellar performances from Jay Electronica and Joell Ortiz. Rugz D Bewler delivers an unblanaced performance on “Super Bad,” and Ski reunites with his Camp-Lo Brethren for the solid and aptly named “Back Uptown.” The two instrumentals (“Cream Of The Planet” and “Taxi”) are dope, but again after such a long wait you want more performances.

24 Hour Karate School doesn’t miss Mos Def, unless you knew he was on it and were looking for him.  It’s a balanced, well-made work that manages to showcase related artists of merit. There isn’t anything classic here or transcendent, but it’s credible talent on good music that shouldn’t be ignored. Hopefully on the next round we’ll get the disk before we psyche ourselves out.

Ski Beatz Feat. Curren$y & Smoke DZA-Nothing But Us

Ski Beatz Feat. Curren$y & Smoke DZA-Nothing But Us

3.75 out of 5

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