Various Artists: The Fatbeats Compilation Volume One

As commercial radio continues its embarrassing decline, underground and independent hip-hop is experiencing a golden age of ambition and experimentation. Labels like Nu Gruv Alliance, 75 Ark, Hieroglyphics, and Rawkus have become synonymous with smart, socially conscious hip-hop, while Koch has emerged as a player through deals with KRS-One, Afu-Ra, Grand Puba, and, most audaciously, RZA. What is a man who's sold 20 million albums doing on an independent compilation Making terrific music, for starters, just like nearly every act on The Fatbeats Compilation Volume One. A collection of uncommon quality and eclecticism, Fatbeats gets off to a terrific start with Bumpy Knuckles (a.k.a. Freddie Foxxx) and DJ Premier's "The Lah." Continuing his righteous industry beatdown, Knuckles here lays into moonlighting basketball stars with snappy put-downs like, "What's with these basketball niggas / I'm calling double dribble / How you nine foot tall, and only rhyme a little" From there, the album takes listeners on a spirited tour of the underground, from the righteous rhetoric of KRS-One to the snotty punchlines of Supafriendz to Premier's remix of Afu-Ra and GZA's "Big Acts Little Acts." But Fatbeats' best moment comes from RZA, performing in his Bobby Digital guise. "Must Be Bobby" brilliantly combines some of his old trademarks—funky drums, off-kilter female vocals, hypnotic piano loops—with vaguely Eastern-sounding accents and eccentric percussion. Factor in stellar turns from a rejuvenated Grand Puba, Juggaknots, Guru, Sadat X, and Big Daddy Kane, and the result is a compilation that amply showcases the diversity, vision, and strength of underground hip-hop.