Album Review: Guilty Simpson - Detroit's Son

The growth of the single MC/single producer concept album continues unabated in hip hop.

The latest sees the pairing of underground Detroit MC Guilty Simpson and veteran Aussie beatsmith Katalyst. Now on his third solo album Simpson does nothing to threaten his reputation as a solid, uncompromising rhyme animal, yet on this occasion he's thoroughly outshone by his producer. Katalyst demonstrates a genius knack for flipping putrid '60s and '70s funk-rock and trippy, freak-nasty lo-fi analogue-ia into gutter-scumbag loops, perfect for Simpson's street-level musings. The Elzhi-featured Blue Collar, punctuated by startling vintage synth squeals, is likely to cause madness in the unprepared.