D.O. the Fabulous Drifta

“Landlocked Hip Hop” kicks off this CD with a hilariously pointed definition of Colorado rap, replete with satirical references to banging snow bunnies and celebrating “white boys with dreads.” Fortunately, the scene also encompasses D.O., whose impressive musical and lyrical statements do credit to the Ground Zero Movement, from which he sprang.

The rhymes here are often hyper-conscious. The chorus of “Def-i-n-i-ng Moment” begins, “Take care of your kids, black man,” while “Envy of the World (Black Man in America)” features the couplet “Don’t let these rappers put your ass in a coma/Dodging your diploma.” Yet the Drifta’s advice seldom feels dogmatic, thanks to his ripe sense of humor and a flow that’s spot-on throughout. As a bonus, the CD’s production, overseen by the Movement’s Dow Jones and DJ See Why, is consistently smart and inventive, giving the tracks a depth that demands repeated rotations.

Move over, ski-lodge babes and Caucasians with bad hair. Landlocked hip-hop is on the rise, and like this disc, it can be Fabulous.