Part of the magic of Makaya McCraven’s jazz-funk-hop fusion is that it sounds both dense and casual at the same time—think the quiet intensity of ’70s jazz funk meets the mellow usefulness of a good beat tape, or whatever else you space out to while doing dishes. One of four live archival EPs McCraven put out in 2025, Hidden Out! offers six studies in the simple (but profound) power of groove, sounding like everything from Madlib-style loops (“Battleships,” featuring the Tortoise/alt-jazz-guitarist-of-note Jeff Parker) to pillowy, mixed-meter post-rock (“Away,” also with Parker) to street-corner dance music from a yet-discovered country (“Awaze”). The sound is different, but the effect isn’t all that far off from something like Charles Mingus’ Blues & Roots: folk music with progressive intent, born of thought but easily felt.