On their new album, the Living Legends eight-member crew, whose home turf includes the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Europe and even Japan, manage to live up to their rather lofty name. Though creative differences within a band typically cause the need for break-up, these hip-hop creators relish in their differing abilities. Many a hat is worn by the respective members throughout the CD, allowing individual talent and excellence to shine through from beginning to end. In fact, each track is produced by a different member of the crew, displaying the collaborated efforts that owe greatly to the album’s title.

The Living Legends teased us earlier this year with “Damn It Feels Good,” the single taken from the yet-to-be-released album. This song does not do the rest of the album much justice, as it takes on a more mellow sound than the rest of the tracks.

If you’re unfamiliar with these living legends, listen closely to the first track. Each of the eight members, including Aesop, Bicasso and Sunspot Jonz, are introduced as the emcees flow to the beats. As you make a dent into the album, you’ll stumble on “It Might Be You” and “Friends Are Calling,” and you won’t be let down as the beats become even funkier and the lyrics burlier.

This 18-track CD provides 77 minutes of pure stimulation carried by familiar beats and scratches that are able to create a down-to-earth, old-school vibe for the everyday hip-hop junky. From the bathroom humor at the album’s start to the poetic musings in the closing, this album oozes with coolness.
[Christopher Flora-Tostado may not look it with a jacket on, but he is incredibly burly… lyrically, that is.]