Rakaa - Crown of Thorns

Emcee with the Los Angeles-based underground hip-hop group Dilated Peoples, Rakaa Iriscience released his first solo effort, Crown of Thorns, in the UK this week. There's been minimum fanfare or press coverage surrounding the release, which has gone unnoticed by all except dedicated hip-hop fans, but listening to the 13 tracks on Crown of Thorns there's a good chance that this could find an audience through word of mouth alone. Rakaa is joined by some of the underground's big hitters too, including Mad Lion, KRS-One and the unmistakeable baritone of Chali 2na.