AMG Review of Om Hip Hop, Vol. 1

Marisa Brown
All Music Guide

Wanting to show off their b-boy side, San Francisco-based Om Records released Om: Hiphop, Vol. 1, a sampler that pretty well covers their roster of rappers. Bay Area acts like Zion I & the Grouch (who appear two times with "Hit Em" and "Make U Fly") and E Da Boss (who brings on Quannum stars Gift of Gab and Lateef on his track "Go Left") are featured prominently, but space is also given to the Native Tongues-inspired Texan group Strange Fruit Project as well as former Digable Planet MC Ladybug Mecca. It makes for a nice selection, with both upbeat and mellow songs, the consistent factor being the quality of the rhymes and the beats, which are complicated but not overproduced. It's a promising look into the future of hip-hop.