Strangeulation, Vol. II (Deluxe Edition)

Tech N9ne's Strange Records has been key in exposing underground MCs to a bigger audience. And on this second label showcase, the Midwest rap kingpin hosts some young guns and established names for a potent crew outing. Tech’s ridiculously dextrous flow is all over the album—he's like a stone skipping smoothly across a pond on the minimalist “MMM.” But things really explode on Vol. II's five cypher tracks: MURS gets tough as nails on a dark, sludgy beat, while Big Scoob and JL B. Hood run roughshod over a trap-tinged banger.