Somobe

Tired of the pervasive "sin city” reputation that pops up whenever anyone mentions their infamous hometown, Las Vegas hip-hop duo Somobe go to great lengths to separate the city from the Strip on their debut LP, The Great Communication. Backed by a steady flow of smooth jazz bass lines, synth-heavy sonic inflections and fairly innocuous backpacker beats, Somobe lyricist Jon D carefully dissects life’s positives and negatives with a seasoned flow and level headed perspective. Spacey keyboard blips, stabs and wails anchor a meaty bass and kick combo that adds some attitude to Job D’s gritty observations on "Something’s Gonna Happen,” while the robust production and slowed swagger of "If I Can’t” offers some interesting diversions on a record that provides some musical twists to the underground hip-hop norm. Aside from a slightly preachy mid-record interlude that gets tripped up in some "hip-hop as religion” idealist drivel, Somobe prove there’s more to Las Vegas than mindless hedonism.