Lootpack

Recorded in the mid-'90s, before Lootpack signed to Stones Throw, this collection of early singles is a treat. The ideas are there -- the collage framework, jazzy textures and scattered bits of randomness -- but the songs on Lost Tapes are little more than sketches. It's a portrait of the artist as a young b-boy, both a treasure for diehard Lootpack fans and a document of early West Coast indie hip-hop. Still, there are a few tracks -- "Miss Deja Vu," "I Declare War" and "Make Your Ears Wanna Bleed" -- that approach the duo's finest work.