Something interesting is happening on the quiet in hip hop. For decades it has been the genre that couldn't cut it live - or at least not in a rock critic's interpretation of the term. The old DJ/PA with MCs format that has been served up for so long is slowly but surely beginning to wither and die as the great and the good adopt live instrumentation and genuine musicianship in their quest to keep making paper in these days of dying record sales. It's not that there was ever anything fundamentally wrong with the old format per se; it's more that the music fascists in the media never understood the club/battle context of the hip hop live show.

That said, it's not an entirely new thing: The Roots have been rocking it live forever, and The Beasties were getting their guitars out on stage well over ten years ago. However, since Jay Z blew up Glastonbury last year we've seen a succession of records come out that have explored hip hop in a more conventionally "rock" manner. Mos Def and Q-Tip both pushed things in this direction, Dilla and Karriem Riggins used live drums all the time, The Wu have had El Michels Affair on stage with them sporadically for a few years now and various Stones Throw artists have worked with Connie Price and The Keystones. In short, it's been a while building momentum, but truly live hip hop is here and the heads now have ears that are attuned to its sound.

Which is all a long-winded pre-amble to say that Mr. Chop, fresh from his production work with DOOM on his last record, has picked up the baton and taken it forward. This raw and gritty take on the greatest of the great by hip hop legend Pete Rock is the antithesis of the over-produced shite that passes for mainstream hip hop these days. The jazz, rock and even psychedelic influences herein genuinely take the tunes in a new direction; no easy task when you're taking on such slices of genius as 'T.R.O.Y.', 'Mecca and the Soul Brother' and his remix of the mighty PE's 'Shut 'Em Down'. Track after track has a highly original take on the source material and yet always retains the funk and indeed the soul.

This record is a real little gem and one that will bear repeat listening. Even more intriguing however is the idea of Mr. Chop's impending work with Pete's old partner CL Smooth. The juxtaposition of heavy beats with a syrupy flow was always what their work was about and these gritty examples of the funk could well be the basis for something fantastic. Let's hope so because if hip hop is going to continue to develop and grow then it needs the likes of Mr. Chop to keep nudging it in new directions.