Diamonds in the Rough must have known they were worthy of their name before they brought it to the masses, because the tracks the group of nine lay out on "Vision Quest" are stellar.
Comprised of Fon, Krutch, Clark Clickk, Hybrid, Fahrenheit, Nefu, Trey Deuce, DJ Beats and DJ Alexander, the local hip-hop outfit recently released its hot 15-track album and will be playing The Temple Club, 500 E. Grand River Ave. in Lansing, on Thursday night.
Go check them out. Seriously, "Vision Quest" isn't anything the Lansing-area has heard in quite some time.
The opening track samples a whipping thunderstorm with a dull heartbeat in back. As two opposites come together, a whispering vocal comes in and instructs us to "breathe."
This atmosphere of darkness and hidden shadows forms the foundation for "Vision Quest" - the bass is deep on most songs, and the vocals are scathing licks.
But whereas most hip-hop groups seem to stick to the book and fail to try anything new, Diamonds in the Rough give it all a whirl, with rock, rap and techno samples.
Their mysterious humming and dark beats are what shapes "Vision Quest," and the songs that best represent this are "Here I Am," "Vision Quest," "Hold On" and "It's Goin' Down."
The tracks are strikingly similar, which could be the only downfall of Diamonds in the Rough, but their use of whispered lyrics, guitars, drums and DJ brings the group out of the dark and into the light.
Songs such as "Get Rite," "U Owe Me" and "Tweekin'" explore Diamonds in the Rough's dancier side - the beats are quicker, the lyrics are on fire and it's clearly a nice change between the slower rap tracks at the beginning of the disc and the hotter hip-hop songs near the end.
Formed in the summer of 2003, the group has played numerous festivals in the Michigan area - the Cherry Festival in Traverse City and an opening slot for Eminem in a Detroit radio station show.
If you feel like checking out Diamonds in the Rough, head to The Temple Club at 8 p.m. Thursday and get yo' groove on. Ya heard.
Suggested listening: When people are over and the Courvoisier is flowing more freely than water.
If you liked Diamonds in the Rough, you might also like: Outkast, Goodie Mob, Timbaland & Magoo.
