Gang Starr: The Ownerz : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

More than a decade ago, gang Starr helped define underground rap as a brainy, jazz-inflected antidote to the growing commercialism and thuggishness of mainstream hip-hop. The Ownerz, their seventh album, reflects what DJ Premier and Guru have learned in the years since - namely, that hooks and big beats don't necessarily indicate selling out. Premier's understated funk is still a bit hook-deficient, but the simple boom-bap he works up on tracks such as "Sabotage" and "Playtawin" brims over with head-nodding bounce. Likewise, Guru's dexterous flow is so relaxed you almost don't notice how well he mixes bookish conceits and street-life details - one moment he's comparing his lady to Maya Angelou (on "Nice Girl, Wrong Place"), and the next he's talking gats with Ÿberthugs M.O.P. (on "Who Got Gunz"). Call it middle-ground rap: smart, street-wise and fun all at once.

CHRISTIAN HOARD
(RS 926, July 10, 2003)