Dilated Peoples may never make the full-on break into the mainstream they’re clearly shooting for with this fourth CD, but like frequent collaborator Talib Kweli, they seem to be comfortable settling for medium-sized sales and considerable acclaim from critics and fellow anti-bling lyricists (“Don’t worry if I write checks, I write rhymes,” Evidence rhymes early on, drawing the final line in the sand between them and the above-ground).
For better or worse, “20/20” doesn’t make too many editing marks on the blueprint laid out on 2004’s “Neighborhood Watch” or even 2001’s “Expansion Team.” In fact, there’s hardly any expansion here at all. “20/20” sticks to battle-tested raps that lightly touch on social issues with hard beats and a sense of bounce big enough to remain accessible to that larger audience. That’s about as basic as hip-hop gets, effective as it often is (“Kindness for Weakness,” “Alarm Clock Music”). Still, “20/20” is crying out for a banging single like “This Way” and for the first time in the band’s career, dips into self-parody at its worst (apparently, they like marijuana). — Jeff Vrabel
