Andre Nickatina

Eschewing the usual zany verbal theatrics of hyphy emcees, Andre's rhymes are gritty and hard-boiled. The title track's stop-start production, and Andre's declarative and quickly repeating statements ("My name is Nicky/ But you can call me Dre") are instantly addictive. But the centerpiece is his collaboration with San Quinn, "A-Yo." That song tackles the tragedy of cocaine addiction and how it permeates all of modern society. It's an unconventional approach to a very tired subject, and is aided by its ridiculously catchy hook: "Let's go a-yo for yayo/ walk around with yayo/ all in my nasal."