Kid Presentable!!! and Morbidly-o-Beats are both part of the relatively new Paper Lantern Collective, a group of artists based in mostly Southern California. They got together over a love of music and antiestablishment need to break free of the restraints of the traditional label system. As a result, they made all of their albums free to download.

On this album, Kid Presentable!!! mostly works as an emcee, but does a little bit of production as well. Morbidly-o-Beats, as him name implies, handles most of the production work. The two have a good chemistry together, creating a dark, dystopian sound with a smart, cynical edge that is very reminiscent of sole. Clearly this collective is informed by anticon., and they have plenty of talent. I think the challenge now is how to individuate their sound and identity. It’s not a knock on the quality of work, which is quite good.

The only other big criticism I have here is the lack of hooks on the record. Producers shouldn’t just produce ring tones, but having some good hooks can make a song indelible. As much as I’ve listened to this album, there’s not a whole lot that stuck with me that I could sing or recite afterward. The exception here is “Criminal Element,” which both steps out of the anticon. shadow and offers a great piano loop. It actually reminds me a great deal of Charizma and Peanut Butter Wolf’s Big Shots album, with a West Coast take on the Native Tongues sound.

These criticisms aside, 72 Virgins and a Mule is still a promising album, full of interesting beats and smart lyricism. Hopefully this is just the beginning, and I’ll be able to look back on it in a few years to pinpoint this release as the galvanizing moment for a great hip hop collective.