I have been a fan of DJ Krush ever since I heard his remix of the ninja Tunes front & back catalog in '94. His new album Kakusei really moved me. A pure Japanese minimalist approach. Here, Krush strips down the music to just beats with strings, horns, or piano. Almost no vocals whatsoever. This album delivers the goods, especially amongst the deluge of commercial hip-hop, laden with unnecessary noise, barks, shoutouts, skits, and other pointless crap. Everything Krush presents here is purposefully arranged resulting in one of the most solid hip-hop albums so far this year.