Crown City Rockers

Bay Area rap crew Crown City Rockers' blend of true school hip-hop favors live instrumentation and modest, observational lyrics. The jabbing funk of "Fortitude" is an ideal platform for Blackalicious lyricist Gift of Gab, while the title track provides a nice summation of their slavish devotion to the art of hip-hop. "The Dogs," meanwhile, breaks down into a squawking, free-jazz jam. The tracks have a casual intensity, as if C.C.R. stumbled into the sublime between rips from the bong and games of chess.