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*** All Natural

SECOND NATURE

(Thrill Jockey)

ýNo beef,” in the words of this Chicago indie-rap duo (MC Capital D and producer/DJ Tone B. Nimble), isn’t just a metaphor for their paci st outlook; it’s meant to be taken literally — they’re vegetarians. Which is tting, since All Natural’s jazz-laced production and earnest, moralist rhyme style are reminiscent of hip-hop’s most famous anti-swine group, A Tribe Called Quest. But where ATCQ exploited jazz’s earthy and uplifting qualities, on All Natural’s sophomore release, the breathy sax lines and gothic piano stabs inject a particularly Midwestern sense of longing and regret. “Vegetarian” opens with a slow, mournful dirge that sounds like a foghorn blast coming off Lake Michigan, and Capital D matches the slowly creeping tempos with dry observations about urban Chicago, “where you can see the subtle switches in the social stratum” and “brothers ain’t pleasant and people ain’t friendly.”

— Michael Endelman