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Brand new funk

Sneak Attack bumps with neck-throbbing beats and a coolly confident lyricist. Rap heads can hear the DJ Shadow influence during the opening instrumental "Cleaned Up," and 90Sevan sounds wise beyond his years dishing couplets and barbed braggadocio that sound like a kid who grew up on guys like Kurious, the extensive Def Jux roster, and Master Ace (e.g., a "music man" reference on "Move" and repeated declarations of "no regrets" on the excellent "How Much Longer"). Broken Ground serve feisty, uptempo cuts like "Get With Me" and "Move" that close the album and steady-flow cuts like "Beautiful Day" and "How Much Longer" early on. And Bjorness-Murano's guitar licks fit seamlessly on "No Turning Back" and "Wake Up" (listen for the Traveling Wilburys sample in there). On "Get With Me," Sevan slickly declares he is "smooth playalistic, flippin' the logistics, fittin' in with misfits, equipped for the distance." On the six-minute centerpiece "No Turning Back," Low B's stoner groove corrals 90Sevan while he fires off, "Put your hands high in the air like you're tryin' to catch a prize in the crowd, now it's time to jump around till we shake the fucking ground — this is hip-hop."

BROKEN GROUND + NEVERMIND + H.W. | The Wheelhouse, 294 Great Island Rd., Narragansett | November 27 @ 9 pm | 18+ | 401.284.0246 + BROKEN GROUND + EYEDEAS & ABILITIES + THEMSELVES + ICEBURG YOUNG & TEA MUSKET | Jerky's Bar, 71 Richmond St., Providence | November 29 @ 7 pm | 18+ | 401.621.2244