Kudra's witty, intelligent, well-meaning rap won't be the reason that people aren't buying the new Michael Jackson compilation. It doesn't say that magic phrase, "Ho-eating bitch", and it's -- gasp! -- positive. Leader Alfred Howard is all about the sidelong pickerel smile, and he lets it show all over his rhymes. At the same time, he maintains the kind of political consciousness that you'll hear in J-Live, making listeners see that even ethical actions can be fun. The K23 Orchestra's beats support his rhymes; they never overpower the rhymer, but punctuate the rhythm of Howard's speech like a perfectly metronomic pair of hips.

When Howard steps back and lets the band go, though, they prove that they can steal the show and then some. The opening instrumental track is a strange but wonderful combination of Carlos Santana-style, Latin-flavored guitar and percussion, hip-hop and nods to fifties-style jazz. It bops bits of Dave Brubeck and Stan Getz through your veins, then rocks you on your feet. It can work as pure, exultant dumbass dance music, or as heady, brain-tripping hip hop ready to take over your mind with its circuitous lyrics. Like De La Soul's ingenious "Millie Pulled a Pistol on Santa", Kudra will leave you awestruck line after line, beat after unforgettable beat.