KNLO

KenLo is a beatmaker from Ethiopia, on the eastern coast of Africa. But he's been listening to a lot of Detroit hip-hop lately, it appears. You can't blame him. In terms of interesting, neck-snapping production, it's hard to top cats from the Motor City right now. But KenLo gives it a great shot - his instrumental series, "Craqnuques," literally translates to "crack necks" - crafting angular, vinyl-scratchy bounce in "Orange," the fourth volume.If you didn't know better, you'd swear you were listening to J. Dilla, as a slap bass, electric piano and vocal samples flutter and buck back and forth on "No Vember," or listening to Madlib as a tenor sax gurgles a chopped-up melody on "Flaxsax."KenLo has handily mastered the loping gait that has come to separate a lot of Detroit producers' work lately, and effortlessly mixes modern and old-school sounds into an abstract stew of crunchy, dusty-but-digital hip-hop. Bounce your head as "Mongo Swing" weaves a jittery beat out of kung-fu chops, a hammerstroke and some distorted synths; sink deep into the couch as a low moan and oscillating blips and bleeps wash over the background of the closer, "Limpid Swing."