CD Reviews

Shuko + DJ Dutchmaster | The Foundation

Coalmine (2009)

By CHRIS FARAONE | April 28, 2009

3.0 Stars

It was inevitable that some of hip-hop's next great producers would come from Europe. Even as American rap fans have the audacity to question whether artists should still be judged by skills (as opposed to hype and swagger), kids from Spain to Germany are internalizing English battle rhymes and preferring scratched hooks to Auto-Tuned choruses.

Enter Shuko, a traditional German beat genius who slid into the North American underground lighting theatric flames under Bekay, Doujah Raze, and Soulstice — all of whom fertilize The Foundation, along with some 30 other MCs (Boston giants XL and Dre Robinson among them). On the downside, some of these cuts — like Hell Razah's "Thankful" and "Supah" from R.A. the Rugged Man — have already been around the block, and some of homeboy's samples are chronically overused, in particular the chipmunk-soul loop on Doujah's "Give It Up," which I've heard at least four times over the past three years.

Still, Shuko is a gifted young artist with a serious career to grow into. And, more important, he already has a cast of subterranean all-stars who are eager to devour everything he cooks up.

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