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If you're an underground hip-hop connoisseur, then Mr. Harry "Playdough" Krum needs no introduction. Since the late '90s, Playdough has thrived while creating in community, either as guest on innumerable rap tracks or as a part of the crews Phonetic Composition, Ill Harmonics, and Deepspace5. Regardless of the creative outlet, he's always managed to stand out from the pack, whether with his nasal and near-mathematical flow, his idiosyncratic rhymes, the musicality of his beats, or his propensity for singing and harmonizing to his own hooks.

With these playing cards under his sleeve, Don't Drink the Water—Playdough's inaugural disc for 7Spin Music—was almost inevitable. Self-produced with assistance from longtime collaborators Freddie Bruno, Beat Rabbi, and Dust (Mars ILL), these cuts are a seamless continuation from his criminally underrated debut, Lonely Superstar, and the self-proclaimed "starving" emcee doesn't miss a beat, picking up right where he left off in 2002. Yet the tracks are even more celebratory this time. While most of his contemporaries would likely rather deliver brooding and inaccessible rap dirges, Playdough instead chooses to keep things light, amiable, and danceable, careful not to trespass the unspoken bylaws of the Christian hip-hop underground. Punchy cadences, subtle guitars, colorful keyboard beds, and a cornucopia of blips and cuts adorn the proceedings, yet they never outshine Playdough's articulate musings.

Thematically, the raps are varied, ranging from commentary on mainstream music ("You Sound Funny") and the veracity of the world's "truth" ("Don't Drink the Water") to savoring our God-given life to its fullest ("Daisy Proof") and living as instruments in the Master's hands ("Sandal Sole"). In a seemingly slow year for faith-driven rap, Don't Drink the Water is one of the genre's freshest surprises, positioning Playdough as one of the field's most pop friendly and creatively tireless characters.

© Andree Farias, subject to licensing agreement with Christianity Today International. All rights reserved. Click for reprint information.

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