Nottz – In My Mind EP (Stream)

In My Mind teams Nottz up with other sample-slicing virtuoso producers with worker bee rap skills like Pete Rock, Black Milk, and the Alchemist, as well as MCs Royce Da 5’9, Asher Roth, and Pusha T, all the while, circling a “real hip-hop” sound (sorry!) that isn’t afraid to deviate from the formula: A dreamy country-soul sample bookends the title track; crunchy metal guitars rip through “Blast That”; blaxploitation score congos vibrate at footwork-speed on “The 1Ne”; there’s widescreen Rick Ross-ian yacht rap on “You Need This Music (Remix),” featuring Pusha and Dwele; and on “Cars,” the sound of a car honking is used like an old-school soul horn stab.

Stream the EP on Spin.com.