Paradox & DJ Sean P

On “Here Lies,” a track from Paradox and Sean P’s latest, Mending, the beats are impressive — DJ Premier-esque, sample-driven boom bap — as are the rhymes, which touch on government conspiracies, injustice and sundry ills of society. This is solid underground hip-hop that doesn’t seem to match the label’s goal to “infiltrate the entire planet earth with Catholic propaganda.” While that sounds awfully nefarious, if all religious materials had hooks this infectious, the world might have avoided the Spanish Inquisition. “I Don’t Believe Them” is built on a killer Nina Simone sample and laced with tight flows outlining the ways people fool themselves. Mending is really a record about personal struggles and the search for inner strength played over a score of crate-digger loops. Labeling it Catholic propaganda is a disservice to the quality. If there’s a religious meaning deeper than “Be a decent person,” we missed it.