I Self Divine, also known as the front man for both the Micranots and more recently Semi.Official, has been grinding it out on the independent circuit for years. The last few have been as a member of the might Rhymesayers crew, and “Self-Destruction” marks his first true solo offering. Backed by the wizardry of production gurus Ant, Jake One, and Vitamin D. I Self is always sure to bring the goods on the mic so the result is as expected; a banging album. Not surprisingly, in house super producer Ant crafts the shiniest gems here, and I Self just happens to drop his most valuable jewels over them (coincidence? I think not). Be it his ode to young mothers (“Feel My Pain”), his ode to women working it (“Can’t Say Nothing Wrong”), or his dissection of the dreaded n-word (“N-I-G-G-A”). Can’t forget the dopeness like “Sunshine” and “Overthrow.” Not to be outdone are Jake One, who gets his Premier on on “Ice Cold,” and Vitamin D who brings the soul on “Live For The Moment.” Somehow, no one seems to be talking about this finely crafted piece of work, lets change that…’05 officially marked the return of the once mighty Boot Camp Clik. At the forefront of the resurgence is Sean Price, bka Ruck of Heltah Skeltah, with “Monkey Barz.” True to his always gritty lyrics, the album is just gutter hard. Though it is highlighted by some more soulful selections in 9th Wonder’s ridiculous “Heartburn” and Khrysis’ “Onion Head.” But not far behind is the rowdy anthem “Boom Bye Ye.” Minus a couple of mis-steps (“Fake Neptune”), the album is dope through and through. Highly recommended…Long before indy hero MF DOOM was flipping multiple personas, hip-hop’s foremost madman Kool Keith had run through at least a dozen. Once as prolific as the aforementioned DOOM, Keith has no shortage of material in his vault as a result. Hence the second volume of “The Lost Masters.” Unfortunately this lost collection would have been better off lost to the world forever. This is coming from a huge Keith fan, and there are some hilarious off-the-wall moments as always…but the production is just unbearable as are 95% of the choruses. Just like song five says “Can’t Fuck Wit This.”…When it comes to collections of unreleased material there is one very good way to judge the album. Cause obviously you can’t assess it as a cohesive project. If I listen and I keep thinking to myself ‘damn, how’d they leave this off their albums???’ Then we’ve got something. But if the response is ‘yeah well I can see why they left this on the cutting room floor,’ then what’s it all worth? Well that is the case for 7L & Esoteric’s “Moment of Rarities.” It isn’t that there is anything really bad here, its just nothing too good. So unless you’re a 7L&ES completist (do those exist?), then I’d suggest a pass…When you get as many albums as I do to review, it can be tricky deciding which to give the time of day. Its unfortunate but true, even more so when dealing with an artist that I’ve never heard of. Judging albums by their cover, name, title etc. often happens. When it does, that is the end of any judgment as it usually ends up at the bottom of the pile. This brings me to Coley Cole and his “Goldplated Straitjackets.” A name like Coley Cole just wasn’t begging for a listen. But I did anyway, cause who knows? It may be dope despite the goofy name. And it is dope. The beats are solid all the way through and Coley Cole possesses a jaw-dropping double, triple, quadruple-time delivery. He also uses a grip of dope movies samples, so he wins again. My biggest point of criticism would be that his impressive delivery doesn’t always flow with the beat (ie. Tonedeff). Definitely worth checking for though…