The Awakening [LP]

Personnel: Lord Finesse, O.C., KRS-One, A.G., Diamond, Large Professor, Marquee, Grand Puba, Sadat X (rap vocals); MC Lyte, Kid Capri, Showbiz, Doo-Wop, Akinyele (spoken vocals); Dinky Bingham (keyboards); George "G.O." Washington (bass); Melanie "Missy" Coakley (background vocals).
Producers: Lord Finesse, Myke Loe.
Engineers: Gordon Williams, Troy Hightower, Chris "Conman" Conway.
Recorded at Chung King Studios, Soundtrack Studios and Giant Studios, New York, New York; Power Play Studios, Long Island City, New York.
With his third album, Lord Finesse representing D.I.T.C. (Diggin' in the Crates crew) brought together some of the finest rappers of the moment for an album almost entirely produced by Finesse himself. Known as a producer first and rapper a close second, Finesse is gifted in metaphorical rhyming like other well-known MCs such as Big L or Chino XL, and again produces a great record deserving of any rap fan's archive. Guests like Akinyele, KRS-One, MC Lyte, O.C., AG, Diamond D., and Kid Capri make up the all-star cast. Topping it all off are verses by Large Professor, Grand Puba, and Sadat X on arguably one of hip-hop's finest tracks ever, entitled "Actual Facts." With so much going for it, if you like you rap music there's really no reason you shouldn't own this album. As a side note for DJs out there, there is apparently a limited-edition instrumental version of this released on vinyl, so look for that floating around somewhere. ~ Brad Mills