Mighty Underdog's EP review

The Mighty Underdogs
The Prelude EP
Grade: B+/B

This is a fun little EP. The Mighty Underdogs are one of those reconfigurations of members the Quannum crew, with a lil’ something extra. In this case, Gift of Gab (of Blackalicious) and Lateef the Truth Speaker (of Latryx) team up with Headnotic, the producer and bassist of Bay Area stalwart’s Crown City Rockers. The title of the EP, The Prelude is pretty self-explanatory, introducing this crew to the world, before a full-length album to drop at some later date. The resulting music takes the most entertaining elements of both crews, and demonstrates that all three of them have a definite chemistry.

I’m a sucker for tracks like “U.F.C. (United Flow Champions)”: it’s an up-tempo head-nodder while Lateef and Gab spitting battling battle-oriented rhymes, and DJ Shadow providing a flurry of scratches on the chorus. “Gunfight” continues the battle-oriented, throwback vibe, with the trio doing an lyrical and musical ode to the Old West, complete with plenty of bucking down sucker MCs at High Noon. Gift of Gab hams it up on his verse, rapping in a voice that sounds like a combination of Walter Brennan and Johnny Cash. MF DOOM, a personal favorite of mine, has a guest verse, which he must have recorded over a year ago, as he’s been MIA for quite a while. Headnotic’s guitar-oriented beat, complete with sinister rolls and high-pitch squeals, adds to the track’s feel. I almost want to say it sounds like a hip-hop version of “Wanted Dead or Alive,” but sounds really corny.

Tracks like “Love Life” and “Bring Me Back” both bring an infectious party groove to the EP. “Love Life” is a mid-tempo club-oriented jam, the type of thing you could expect to hear thrown on during a “Throwback Friday” at a decent-sized Oakland club. While Lateef and Gab do some comical crooning (not sure whether it’s intentional comedy or not), Ladybug Mecca does her thing during a pair of guest verses. It’s good to see that her post-Digable Planets comeback has continues to be going strong; both of her verses are some of her best since she returned to the mic. “Bring Me Back” is another early-’90s-esque house-rocker: Gab, Lateef, and Raashan Ahmad of Crown City Rockers all flex over a keyboard sample from Central Line’s “Walking Into Sunshine” (best known from LL Cool’s “Jingling Baby remix) and scratches by DJ Platurn. I can do without the fairly cheesy singing on the chorus, but it doesn’t take that much away from the song.

I have no idea when the Mighty Underdogs will release their full-length album, allegedly titled “Dropping Science Fiction.” According to their good ol’ MySpace page, this EP should have dropped last October, setting the stage for an early 2008 for the LP. Considering the five-month delay, I don’t expect the whole album until summer at the earliest; late fall is a better bet. I certainly hope they can get it out soon. This EP does a good job at showing what the group has to offer, which is what any EP should do. The Prelude has successfully intrigued me, and I really would like to see more of the Mighty Underdogs in the future.