'Work is love made visible', we read on Teodros' Myspace page, a quote (by Khalil Gibran) that emphasizes the underlying idea of the album's concept. An album made with love for music, his African peoples and women.

This CD-only release is a compilation with instrumentals that were already released, on albums or on 12"s, added with some exclusive beats ànd vocal versions. The tracks are smoothly mixed and therefore it seems like you're on one long joyride of mellowness, on a journey through sweet, soulful beats.

Giant Panda brings back the class of ninety-somewhat. It brings to the table the sampled jazz and rough drums of People Under The Stairs, the playful lyricism of Ugly Duckling and elements of other West Coast acts like Jurassic 5 and Dilated Peoples. This is for hip-hop fans who have their mind set on the present and their ears focused on the nineties.

The LA-based trio of Maanumental, Chikaramanga and Newman aka Giant Panda is back with their sophomore effort 'Electric Laser', combining uplifting funk (trademark Tres Records of course) with the sound of Han Solo's laser sword into a delicious blend of mid school and future school hip-hop.

Although it's not always the more experienced who's an extra added value to this album. We were more charmed by unknown rappers like Andyill or Sham than we was by Raekwon's lesser performance. Git Beats' production holds it down well throughout the album. Overall this is a nice debut compilation.

'Bend But Don't Break' is a pumped-up fist but also a style piece: a gracious exercise in the art of lyricism.

Sweatin me, nigga! This is some funky ass hip-hop. No one less than Slick Rick’s DJ/producer and former mentor of J-Zone, Vance Wright, handles the production knobs on this album. The rhymes are smooth, the beats are massive.

Grip Grand leaves us with a raw and bitter soundtrack to Brokeland, a hip-hop record that ain’t your usual hip-hop record, craving deeper, and stylistically wrapped up in a progressive, versatile soundscape, keeping it funky-fresh besides all of the melancholia, following in the footsteps of genre heroes such as Atmosphere and Sage Francis.

The lyrics are, in contrast to most hip-hop lyrics, non-violent, dealing with issues such as tolerance, green consciousness and psychological welfare.

The Genius rips the mic over some of the earliest production of the Prince Rakeem (who’s definitely inspired by Marley Marl) and Easy Mo Bee. Expect no Wu-Tang joints but straight, funky rough mid-school hip-hop.