King Kapisi: 2nd Round Testament

By RUSSELL BAILLIE

(Herald rating: * * * *)

On round one, King Kapisi scored a couple of knock-outs - the best tracks from his 2000 debut, like the title track Savage Thoughts and Reverse Resistance, were new standard-setters for creativity in New Zealand hip-hop.

But the album as a whole didn't quite live up to the promise of those cuts.

This one, however, feels like it has the big picture in mind and is a more cohesive affair for it. It's tougher in both sound and attitude, but gives itself room to indulge some pop, reggae and jazzy whims.

And as it rumbles through the dozen tracks, the backing and beats make it clear that Kapisi - who plays just about everything - and his collaborators are further refining a Pasifikan hip-hop aesthetic of their own. It's no longer just a matter of a few judiciously placed log drum samples.

The sound is now big on punchy loping beats, wobbly bottomed basslines, frayed electronics, the occasional violin or woodwind supplying moody melody and the deep ducking and diving vocals of the man himself.

It's an exciting combo, especially on the album's first big throb Soundsystem, the low-ridin' Overdue, the aptly named Stomping with its mix of robo-funk and those log drums, and the smoothly groovy brag-athon Illa Than You.

Add in the soul-hop tag team with Che-Fu U Can't Resist This, the wiry jazz-bent Back2Basiks and the sweet reggae amble of Problems and this has almost as much energy to the tunes as the beats.

It does overdo it in a few spots - the voice-of-Satan effect on Massacre Mics is evil only in its cheesiness and you do wish there were one or two less King Kapisi songs about, well, King Kapisi.

But 2nd Round Testament is still a win on points and that hip-hop rarity - an album that is no stereo overstayer.

Label: FMR