Moochy C: "R.A.S.B."

Moochy C
"R.A.S.B."
Self-Explanatory Records

Chicago transplant Moochy C has been unusually persistent in making the case for otherwise neglected "urban" local rap at the online message board DUNation.com, which featured him on the site's recent CD compilation. Now he's still repping the unrepped on a solo album: "I'm the rawest cat here/You hear them speak on Atmosphere/Sluggo, mad respect/But what y'all don't know/The hood got MCs who can flow."

If the persona behind these lyrics sounds needy ("We don't get our respect/I'm 'a use extreme force just to get in the door," he adds), it's also bold. Nobody else moving units at Digital City Music has addressed the cultural gap in local hip hop between the largely emigrant "hood" and everyone else. Moochy's meaty, behind-the-beat flow doesn't quite make up for the way he uses a childhood in the Cabrini Green housing project as a Purple Heart. But the streets at least taught him directness: "Everybody think they the best so, cat, fuck feelings," he spits on "So What You Got." In that spirit, a track comparing his lyrics to a "bag of 'dro" (hydroponic weed) deserves more bass. Still, the succeeding beats improve, and sincerity sells the simple, true-to-their-title ballads "To My Momma" and "Daddy Will Always Love You (Still Your Daddy)." Producing and guesting on "What's Good What's Hood," SPStyle's D.Mil wisely leaves the hook unimpeded by sampling. Moochy is a big enough personality to stand on his own.