Chicago hip hop group Typical Cats first burst onto the scene over ten years ago, but after releasing two stellar albums, the trio of emcees Qwel, Qwazaar, and Denizen Kane, along with producers Kid Knish and DJ Natural all started to work on separate projects, and before you know it, it had been eight years since the last time they all worked together. Fortunately, there weren’t any irreconcilable differences amongst the group, and they finally found the time and inspiration to give the fans what they’ve been waiting for with 3.

One of the interesting things that happens when you take this long between albums is that a whole new generation of hip hop fans emerge who weren’t around when the first two albums dropped. The good news, though, is that both long time fans and newcomers will be delighted by 3. The beauty of Typical Cats is how talented each artist is in their own right, which is then made even better by how well everyone plays off of each other. 3 is that rare reunion album where everyone gets back together and instead of desperately clinging to former glory, they immediately remind you why they were one of the strongest groups working and that they’re not about to rest on their laurels. This isn’t to say any of their other endeavors weren’t good, but they lacked that special balance and chemistry that they have when working as a group. The closest analogy I can think of is Antipop Consortium, whose own recent reformation blew away all the projects they had released in the interim. What makes 3 incredibly enjoyable is how much fun it sounds like they had making the record. The energy is incredibly high across the whole album, even on the slower tracks, but they really bring it on some funky uptempo bangers that are quickly going to become staples amongst deejays looking to get people on the dance floor. The production on the album is fantastic, mostly drawing inspiration from the hip hop of the early ‘90s, incorporating a lot of blues, gospel, doo wop, soul, and early rock and roll into their sound. Qwazaar, Qwel, and Denizen Kane all compliment each other really well on the mic, while all sharing a devotion to mixing interesting imagery in their poetry with progressive politics, but each brings a different delivery and style to the mix. Qwazaar has the lowest voice and has an urgent delivery that pushes the beat, Qwel has a really clear and deliberate flow, and Denizen has a slightly higher voice with a little bit of a rasp to it and a more playful and melodic delivery. Each emcee gets their chance to shine, and we get to see them in unique settings. Qwel owns “The Bitter Cold,” a slower zyedco-blues inspired track, while “Denizen Walks Away” gives him a great gospel setting to talk about setting things right before leaving for good, and Qwazaar lays down some amazing psychedelic soul swagger with “Better Luck.” These are all great, but it’s the party rockers like “The Crown” where they all play off each other over a beat that forces you to move really takes the album to the next level.

Just having a new Typical Cats album after eight years is nice. Having a Typical Cats album that is the best thing they’ve done, wokring on multiple levels that are thought-provoking, emotionally moving, and really damn funky? I’ll take it.