EXTRA CREDIT

THEORY HAZIT

Superrappin/Groove Attack

Hip Hop

Kentucky’s Theory Hazit: an assertive, righteous rhymer on a mission to clear his closet of skeletons. His regular acts of repentance ensure his feet never leave the ground, as if he can’t blast opposition and start turning negatives to positives until his conscience is clear. A need to start afresh leads to him offering apologies for being an absent father and a general asshole. ‘Hello Kiddeez’ looks to make up for lost time with paternal wisdom, and the string-tingling ‘I Just Wanna Come Home’ is the moment TH realises he has to turn his life around, for everyone’s sake. There’s also seeking of forgiveness on ‘I.O.U.’, but away from his personal crusades, ‘Dumb Dunces’ runs the corridors with some quality classroom schooling (with Saved by the Bell references as standard). TH goes on to drop verbs over the booming ‘After School Special’ giving masterful old skool lessons, and the markedly darker ‘Out With A Bang’ shaking the walls.

Hazit sometimes sounds like a wound-up mix of Common and Mos Def. No more so than on ‘Mrs Hazit’ giving props to his independent, free-thinking princess, and the noticeable ‘Ghetto’ sounding singsong cheery while the commentary is anything but. Hence the dialect is tailor-made for some Madlib-style bumps and bass violation on ‘Emit Gninrut’ and ‘T Minus Ten’. Plus, there’s an is-it-him-or-not cameo from Quasimoto on ‘Just Another Day’, helplessly looking at a wayward world. The featured subtle religious subtext – i.e., give the Lord a chance - runs into ‘Lesson In Power’ and the title track. And teamed with the neck-knocking beats, which bump in a soaring, 9^th Wonder for Destiny’s Child, tasteful soul sample kinda way, ‘Extra Credit’ flourishes from every pore. Another Hip Hop Is Music success, championing tight boom-bap approval and everyman, profanity-free knowledge. 5/7