By Jason Randall Smith

Connie Price and The Keystones burst onto the scene with a rare groove-revisionist flavor for Now-Again/Stones Throw. Their Ubiquity release, however, revamps the sound into live hip-hop soul. Tell Me Something packs quite a punch musically, and with a number of MCs on deck this one’s a slam dunk.

Percee P gets in that ass as always on “Thundersounds”, his fast rap technique tempered by the band’s cinematic backing. Stones Throw crooner Aloe Blacc lends his able pipes to the title track, while Blood of Abraham provides a memorable guest spot to the slightly bluesy “Pirates”. On “Hoagies Revenge”, the group is at their funkiest, delicately handling tension and intrigue while never missing a beat. This is a soundtrack for a blaxploitation movie that hasn’t been made yet. While the bonus instrumental disc is appreciated, the vocal disc is more than sufficient. Even at only 32 minutes in length, this release puts most full-lengths to shame.