Comebacks are a bitch – just ask EPMD or Big Daddy Kane. But Brand Nubian, from New Rochelle, New York, have reassembled after four years in limbo with a most welcome album. The group is venerated for such hip-hop standards as 1991's "Slow Down" and 1992's "Punks Jump Up to Get Beat Down," and its messages of black pride and calls for collective responsibility within the African-American community come to fruition on Foundation.

Though the fire of their Five Percent Nation of Islam philosophy remains, these now-older gods are definitely wiser and more reflective, speaking from the heart and not just spouting rhetoric. "The drum track's the soundtrack for war/Hardcore, righteous, the nicest/Comin' with advice that's priceless to help the Christ-less," says Lord Jamar on "Brand Nubian," mincing words effortlessly over a sexy Sixties guitar lick courtesy of producer Buck Wild. "Maybe One Day," featuring Common, turns motivational mantras into a catchy hook: "When we gonna realize and make the change?/Take the blame/Erase the shame." The track is a far cry from the gangsterism Brand Nubian espoused on 1994's Everything Is Everything. Instead of reveling in the glamorous life, they also address the perils of stardom on "Don't Let It Go to Your Head."

But far from being preachy, the Brand Nubian brothers temper their message with straight-up rhyme skills, style, charisma and fat production. The beatbox-driven "The Beat Change" reworks Fab 5 Freddy's old-school favorite "Change the Beat" to ill effect. Busta Rhymes helps promote the party vibe on "Let's Dance." Meanwhile, DJ Premier works his magic on "The Return," which features deftly manipulated flute samples over a sure-shot backbeat. The weak links – obvious R&B-radio fare like "Too Late" – are few and far between, making this comeback a coup for these hip-hop veterans. (RS 798)

S.H. FERNANDO JR.