Gang Starr: The Ownerz

It's always refreshing to see overlooked, influential music veterans finally receive recognition, but it's frustrating when that attention is directed toward projects that fall short of lofty expectations. That's sadly the case with Gang Starr's The Ownerz, easily the most anticipated release of Guru and DJ Premier's brilliant careers. Gang Starr hasn't released an album of new material since 1998's career-best Moment Of Truth, and since then, the duo's reputation has only grown bigger with every awe-inspiring DJ Premier beat. The most sought-after producer this side of The Neptunes and Dr. Dre, Premier routinely accomplishes the impossible: With the soaring, majestic "Boom," for example, he made under-achieving Royce Da 5'9" sound like LL Cool J in his prime. With "N 2 Gether Now," he made Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst sound like a halfway-decent rapper. Gang Starr's musical mastermind achieves virtual perfection on such a regular basis that merely good work from him feels like a letdown. Premier does a solid job throughout The Ownerz, but nothing here approaches his past classics. The album strips his sound down to its bare essentials, which is a shame, since Moment Of Truth found him exploring thrilling new directions. Guru similarly goes back to basics here, spitting hard-edged, cantankerous rhymes that mostly lack the wisdom and sense of purpose he displayed on Moment Of Truth. The Ownerz is more a mild disappointment than an outright dud, but anyone who discovers Gang Starr through this album might wonder what all the fuss is about.