Dilated Peoples debut album, under the stylistic influence of Tha Alkaholiks, did not take great steps towards the dilation of their fan base. I found the majority of the tracks on this album boring and unappealing. Although, Dilated Peoples are hailed for their lyricism and the ability of their DJ, this trio of Evidence, Iriscience and DJ Babu failed to impress me. Their style had an underground feel with impressive-but-sometimes-overdone scratching. The featured artists were at a minimum with only B-Real, Tha Alkaholiks, Defari & Planet Asia making big-name appearances.

"Expanding Man" was the most impressive track. Produced by Evidence, the diverse sound effects took this song above the rest. "The Main Event" and "The Shape Of Things To Come" were a couple other above average tracks.

Although this album began to grow on me very slowly, it was not impressive enough to convince me that it is a good investment. If you really like the Tha Alkaholiks style and mass amounts of scratching & sound effects, then and only then would I suggest that you pick up this album. This was a weak album.

www.brockwayent.com

(Originally posted on HipHopCanada.com)

This review was written June 19, 2000