Jesus Christ, I am fucking old. I was watching Trading Places the other night. You know the scene when Eddie Murphy invites all his sleazy friends back to the mansion for a party? I remember when people dressed like that. I remember fat laces, zip-up-leg stonewash jeans (which never went out of style in parts of this fine nation), and the Run-DMC/Aerosmith debacle. Everyone was secretly ashamed of their fashion stupidity back then. I even detected a glimmer of chagrin on David Lee Roth's grinning mug in the "Panama" video. He knew it was wrong to wear the sequined jumpsuit. He knew.

Jesus Christ, I'm old. I remember ancient rap music. Sugar Hill Gang, Grandmaster Flash and the Fat Boys all permeated my whitebread upbringing. I played "Apache" in my music class in elementary school, much to the horror of Mrs. Bowers. But, hands on hips, she let it play, and I became the cool kid for about half an hour that day. Then the other kids realized I was the same dick I'd been before and started hanging around the kid that played Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" at recess. Now I write about current music, which includes, occasionally, rap.

Jesus Christ, I'm old! I almost forgot to mention De La Soul! Sound of N.O.W. is based on a collaboration between Nightmares on Wax principal George Evelyn and the influential trio, De La Soul. Their track, "Keep On," is represented in two different versions here, while the rest of the tracks are basic remixes of N.O.W. joints by Alex Gopher, DJ Food and Rae and Christian. Simply put, an EP in six tracks.

Jesus Christ, I am goddamn old! I listen to "Keep On" and simply don't hear the "chill-out" factor that's mentioned so frequently in the N.O.W. press kit. Instead, I hear the meeting of aught-groove and old-school rap styles. Coming off both raw and refined, the intelligent rhymes and scratches recall a time when I could remove my shirt without being afraid to show my irregular patches of back hair. The track is no tribute to a by-gone era, though-- "Keep On" integrates fresh beats, a touch of acid-jazzy instrumentals and enough experimental samples to update the sound without looking back.

The remixes here are all fine tracks-- from DJ Food's restrained, laid-back version of "Dreddoverboard," a very light-hand drum-n-bass exercise with jazz, to Alex Gopher's R&B; beat- drenched diva stylings of "Finer." Yet, overall, my left ear (my right one don't work so good, nowadays), tells me that this is EP goes deeper than typical for the genre. The combination of smooth groove, '70s R&B; influence and dead-on raps makes Sound of N.O.W. a broad and entertaining listen that crosses musical barriers effortlessly. Sure, it's no Three Feet High and Rising, and we'd never expect it to be. But it's not quite up to par with Nightmares on Wax's last record, Carboot Soul, either. As far as EP material goes, it's pretty solid. And it does say "specially priced" on the front. By my estimation, $7 ain't a bad deal. Tell 'em David Lee sent'cha. Jesus Christ, I'm old.

-James P. Wisdom