DJ Cosm is one half of the Calgary-based duo Dragon Fli Empire. They’ve been together since 2002 and have released three albums and one EP. Time and Space marks Cosm’s first solo LP and features a plethora of guest emcees, Canadian and American.

Cosm isn’t reinventing the wheel as a producer. But piecing together funky drum beats with soul and jazz samples is a time-tested formula and Cosm is really good at it. There’s definitely a Native Tongues influence here, and that’s right in my wheelhouse. Where you really see Cosm’s talent as a producer is how the album comes together as a whole. There are over fifteen different emcees on the album, but no one sound is out of place, and all the songs flow together well. Making a project cohere as an album and not a compilation is no easy task, but Cosm succeeds, giving us an album full of funky songs with smart lyrics. I also appreciate that the roster of emcees are not just the usual suspects, at least for an American audience. Sure I’m familiar with Prince Po, Insight, and Raashan Ahmad from Crown City Rockers, but there are plenty of artists who I’m hearing for the first time as well. Out of everyone on the album, I think Qwazaar of Typical Cats really steals the show with “Better World,” a song that challenges its listeners to take responsibility for their actions and improve society. Everything clicks and Qwazaar’s rhymes are excellent.

There are always albums that I anticipate and am invested in long before they come out. But every once in a while, an album will catch me off guard and create a space for itself in my library. Time and Space is such an album. I wasn’t ready for it, but I’m glad its here. You can be sure it will be getting spins all summer.