Built from Scratch

How many hip hop groups do you know that lack an MC? Probably not too many. X-ecutioners get by with just the pure basics. Rob Swift, Total Eclipse, Roc Raida and Mista Sinista are all accomplished battle DJs who have perfected their skills at hip-hop turntablism over the years, including scratching, mixing and beat juggling. They claim to have pioneered beat juggling, and Swift describes it as "manipulating a kick, snare and high hat off a record and reorganizing the sounds to create a totally different composition--the same way one would do with a sampling machine."

Unfortunately, the absent MC in this group makes the X-ecutioners' message somewhat vague. Built from Scratch features plenty of contributions from well-known frontmen such as Big Pun, Biz Markie and Mr. Hahn of Linkin Park. But apparently, no one wanted to write any good lyrics for them. Most of the tracks exhibit the musical influence of the guest artist to the background of some seriously ill scratching (These guys are good at what they do), but they don't accomplish much more than shouting out props to the X-ecutioners.

However, some songs stand out for their successful blend of production and turntable skills, such as beat-box star Kenny Muhammed's "A Journey into Sound" and Dan the Automator's "X-ecutioners (Theme) Song," as well as the bonus track remix of "Play That Beat." The rest you may find to be hit or miss, depending upon your preference for the collaborator. But if you want to hear a lot of wicked vinyl cuts, you might find a copy of this album worth the purchase.