Dungeon's Darkness

Another Fugees effort. Large Professor's album. The Dungeon Family LP. Certain things, it seems, are just never meant to be. The running gags of the hip-hop industry, they're forever doomed to be prefaced with the phrase "Whatever happened to...?" They've been hinted at, speculated over and pined after to the point they could never meet expectations, and then, like so much vapor, they simply go "poof." Dreams forever deferred. Yet, by the grace of God, the DF album has taken corporeal form at last. Though no longer a myth, it remains the stuff of legend.

One of the most talented crews in hip-hop. Period. Only Wu-Tang and the loosely knit Soulquarian family (D'Angelo, Black Star, etc.) can claim similar depth. A potent coterie of superior emcees, singers and producers (certain members are all three), there isn't much the Dungeon can't do. They don't play soul--they bleed it, in a way only Southerners can. As seen in that unhinged funk of "Crooked Booty" (a novel jig which threatens to depose the Harlem Shake as silly-dance de rigeur), the DF isn't afraid to obliterate limits, combining horns, distorted keys and off-kilter drum programming in an exhibition of organizing noise. "Rollin," a plodding procession along an Atlanta dirt road, is a warning shot, preparing us for Andre Benjamin's next evolution: bluesman. And if the word "highlight" can be used on such a consistent album, it must be applied to "Follow The Light," which is just... perfect. Really.

There aren't many missteps, but most notable is "Forever Pimpin (Never Slippin)." Of all the members who deserved a track to himself... Cool Breeze?!? Then again, more solo turns are necessary for the DF, because this album leaves you a tad frustrated. It's great, but somehow not enough, and not because of unfair expectations. Unlike Wu-Tang--who've given us sundry solo albums, or the Soulquarians, with whom we'll be thoroughly acquainted before we ever see that album--we don't know the Dungeon Family, even after this effort. We know OutKast (we think) and we know Goodie Mob, but no individual members of the DF--save Cool Breeze, Witchdoctor and Backbone--have released solo LPs to show us what they're about. At album's end, you sense they wanted to say much more. Next year, they'll get the chance, as several of Goodie Mob's ranks, including Cee-Lo, release solo debuts, and OutKast unleashes a double album showcasing each member (Dre and Big Boi are each doing a disc).

I suspect appreciation for Even In Darkness will increase after a formal introduction to more of the DF's individual links. For now, what was intended to provide the ultimate satisfaction for their fans ends up being a highly pleasurable tease.