Take two cups of funk, two cups of microphone skills, a half cup of turntables, and two tablespoons of Nas and Prince samples and you've made yourself a fine band from Austin, TX. From the home of the Longhorns comes Afrofreque, a vibrant fusion band that brings a raw sound.

It's no secret that having a band behind your emcee tends to catapult you beyond the groups with only reclusive studio jockeys providing their melodies. Hip hop powerhouse The Roots have strengthened the genre with the inclusion of the keyboard, bass and lead guitar, and of course ?uestlove with his hands on the steering wheel. Afrofreque is headed in this direction.

The song Illumination is a buoyant ballad with short, funky guitar riffs, echoing cameos from the keyboard, and a number of scratches from their disc jockey. The emcee's flow is best on this song as he raps "Audio frequency, breathing life into your section / Austin Texan, imagine my complexion as a smooth emcee / Roughneck and enough to glide through any city."

Ice Age sounds like a song that would have fit on Red Hot Chili Peppers' Blood Sugar Sex Magik, especially with the emcee's Anthony Kiedis-styled flow. And the song Cool Breeze is a funk orgy with fresh samples from "The World Is Yours" by Nas.

Afrofreque is certainly a band to watch evolve. They have created a platform for some delicious hip hop to be heard.

Additional Tracks:
Natural Fact
Wildstyle