Wordburglar is an emcee from Toronto that is one of the many, many members of the Backburner crew. He has been releasing music as a solo artist for over fifteen years now, with his most recent album, Rhyme Your Business, coming out just about one year ago. Now he comes back with a new hybrid release, SpaceVerse.

SpaceVerse is an interesting release in that it is a mixture of an EP of some new nerdy tracks and a collection of remixes of older songs. It’s not exactly the new album that you might have been waiting for, but it is a fun collection of hip hop songs for those who want to indulge their nerdy side. There are a lot of familiar faces on the project, with everyone from More or Les, Peter Project, Beatmason, Fresh Kils, Timbuktu, Mega Ran, Bix, Uncle Fester, Ghettosock, Chokeulues, and Savilion all stopping by to drop beats and verses, so it does feel a little like a family affair on SpaceVerse. Overall, the songs are working with the theme of outer space, so we get songs inspired by Transformers, Star Wars and Star Trek, amongst other things. A large portion of the release is interacting with these pre-existing texts, and while there are fun songs about Mos Eisley and Picard Maneuvers, we don’t get a lot of songs that reach that next level where they transcend the texts, something that might get to a greater truth within these pre-existing universes. Wordburglar is certainly capable of reaching that level, such as on his excellent G.I. Joe-inspired album, Welcome To Cobra Island. We do get a couple of moments that hint at that level, such as the fun, “I’m From Earth,” which takes the form of a battle rap amongst aliens, where Wordburglar reps that planet that he’s from. In doing so, he’s able to hit on some funny points about the planet, while also acknowledging some big picture issues that are worth exploring, such as humans’ track records of war and destroying our environment. While the rest of the project doesn’t get to that level, it’s still a fun listen, and there are some great hip hop moments, such as the killer John Williams flip that Milk Plus brings to “Mos Eisley Rap Show.”

SpaceVerse might not quite be the new album we were waiting for from Wordburglar, but it’s a fun holdover in the meantime. There is some good new nerdy material, and some new takes on some old classics as well.