Been doing a little research for a larger project, but I’ve got to stop and mention these Queen City cats. Animal Crackers, a DJ collective that started in 1995, were Scribble Jam (now defunct festival) heroes, and scratch wizards. This music is straight from the holy four facets of Hip Hop, turntables and crates of records sound. This album, National Geoplastic, dropped in ‘04. My favorite track is “Soul Merchant”, a solid mash-up work, akin to Girl Talk, just with  DJ Jazzy Jeff and A Tribe Called Quest influence. More chill than anything, each track is a weird compliment to the next. Yeah, there are a bunch of skits, but good music at its roots. 7.5/10