As more and more great rappers find the underground is the perfect place to camp -- for the respect and freedom, if not the royalties and pay-offs -- records like Aceyalone's Love Hate will, fortunately, become a more common occurrence. Released on Project Blowed, an open-mic night that gradually morphed into a winning record label, the album is a simple, straight-ahead match of excellent MC with great producers. Four of the best tracks come from PMD, front-loaded and featuring big-pimpin' beats and a clutch of cutting, digital effects. Def Jux's RJD2 contributes fractured, glittering productions to Lost Your Mind and Takeoff, and the same label's El-P drops by to produce and drop rhymes over the dense, apocalyptic City of Shit. Aceyalone also rises to the challenge on another high-profile underground soundclash, Lights Out featuring Antipop Consortium, picking up and casting off a dozen vocal pseudonyms in a single verse. His rhymes are among the best of his career, and he covers a lot of ground over 15 cuts; nearly every time he makes a record, he makes it clear that rap music has so much possibility that's never dreamed of by most on a major label. Whether he's trading licks with Oakland hero Casual on a hard-hitting jam (Let Me Hear Sumn), or talking directly to the listener, recounting a depressing, mood-of-the-country conversation during an airline flight (Ms. Amerikka), he makes it clear that, when it comes to the West Coast ten years on from the G-funk era, Aceyalone means much more than Snoop Dogg. ~ John Bush, Rovi

1		Love and Hate Theme
2		Junkman
3		Let Me Hear Sumn
4		Lost Your Mind
5		In Stereo
6		Takeoff
7		Love and Hate
8		The Saga Continues
9		Moonlit Skies
10		Ace Cowboy
11		So Much Pain
12		Find Out
13		City Of Shit
14		Lights Out
15		Ms. Amerikkka