Hip-hop has made an art out of delving into the past to render something relevant for the present. It's a tradition George Evelyn of Nightmares On Wax is well versed in, but on his latest album, the sampler vies for action alongside more live instrumentation. As on previous outings, dub, jazz and funk take a firm foothold in the proceedings -- but with nods to everything from Afro and Latin on the way, "In A Space Outta Sound" covers even more ground than 1999's landmark album "Carboot Soul." The skanking reggae groove and booming bass line of "Sweetest" is capable of busting sub-woofers everywhere from Evelyn's hometown of Leeds to Kingston, Jamaica, while "Pudpots" comes over all big-band jazz.
"Hip-hop" in name only in its ability to assimilate anything and everything within its orbit, "In a Space Outta Sound" will reconfirm Nightmares On Wax's position as masters in warm downtempo, occasionally uptempo, grooves.