Latest releases reviewed

SAUL WILLIAMS Saul Williams  Wichita****

Saul Williams always wrote stanzas that weighed a ton. Slam-poet and actor Williams blew away a lot of cobwebs with his 2001 Amethyst Rock Star debut, a fierce slam-dunk of manic codes and observations delivered through a fiery bullhorn. Unfortunately, those hip-hop fans who have made Eminem and 50 Cent multimillionaires had little truck with Williams and his work, so the album stayed deeply underground. This time out, there's plenty to suggest that Williams the hip-hop preacher could find a bigger congregation for his fire and brimstone. Standing in front of a hardcore wall of sound, Williams rails about enlightenment and ignorance, US imperialism and ghetto nihilism. While he does miss the target now and then, the shaky guitar from Grippo and the fevered sing-song with Zack de la Rocha on Act III Scene 2 (Shakespeare) more than make up for his occasionally wayward aim. www.saulwilliams.com

Jim Carroll

DJ FORMAT If You Can't Join 'Em ... Beat 'Em Genuine ***

Matt Ford may have kept his eyes on the road when he drove Jurassic 5 from one gig to the next back when he had a day job, but he definitely tuned his ears to what those DJs and MCs were up to onstage. Here's more music for the mature b-boy to go with his 2003 debut; it's a lovely blast of warm, toasted, bumping old-school beats, rhymes and vibes with concrete schoolyard words to the wise on top that won't have anyone reaching for their gun. Not surprisingly, Jurassic 5's Chali 2na and Akil turn up to show some love for their old van driver, but it's regular Ford accomplice Abdominal and this album's Canadian MC discovery, D-Sisive. who will turn heads with their verbal dexterity. As always, Ford's beats are as block-party friendly and funky as it is possible to get without joyriding a time machine back to the '70s. www.djformat.com

Jim Carroll