A powerhouse of an underground collaboration, the Arsonists' MC Q-Unique calls on the production services of former Fat Beats record store soldiers the Brown Bag Allstars to craft 10 steely hip-hop tracks. The opener, "And Everybody Say," is a potent sub-two minute statement of intent, with Q spitting a straight-braggadocio resume over a thick, funk-infused beat. From there, he goes on to tackle the pitfalls of nostalgia on "No #Tbt" and humbly holds a mirror up to what his own legacy will be on the Jay Z-sampling "B4 I Fade Away." Consider BlaQ coffee a modern boom-bap attack in all the right ways.
Q's second solo album following 2004's "Vengeance Is Mine", "Between Heaven & Hell" finds him refusing to concede to current trends by changing up his dense wordplay or ear for relentlessly rugged production. His storytelling verses tackle everything from pre-Giuliani NYC ("Crack Era") to small-time robbery gone bad ("Mr. Lopez"), while getting a hand from co-conspirators such as Ill Bill, Mr. Hyde, Jise, Slaine, plus Arsonist homies D Stroy and Freestyle on "Questions." This is music for people who still like their hip-hop grimy, and preferred Times Square with more peep shows and less Applebee's.
Q-UNIQUE "THROWBACK" A collection of rare released, unreleased & demos from 1992-2002 Rare demos from his group the Nomaads, early demos with the Rock Steady Crew, the Arsonists and ILL BILL.