Thank God for Ayres and Cosmo, who may fall a few shades short of 2 Puerto Ricans, a Dominican and a Black Man, but have certainly Done It Properly with this perfect exposition of Hip House. The prodigal son, a bastard child of hip hop and house, has been welcomed home with open arms on this hour-long mix. For those who may be unfamiliar with the joys of this unjustly neglected genre, what we're talking about is uptempo beats in the 120BPM range topped with rapidfire raps and an anything goes, pre-lawsuit sample mentality. It's the perfect soundtrack to get you pumped up for a night out, I felt like I was back listening to Merlin Bobb's Saturday Night Dance Party on WBLS. This mix is yummy as a slushy, and just as sticky sweet. The fellas have spiked the already potent brew with liberal amounts of current acapellas and re-edits (Ghostface, Joe Buddens, Missy, Kelis and Outkast all make cameos), a logical update of the original idea that shakes any cobwebs off the concept. Kicking off with the ultimate hip house cut, Twin Hype's "Do It To The Crowd," a quick run through of some of the genre classics from well-known rappers follows. Latifah's "Come Into My House" has been a big gun in my house sets for a while, licking shots here alongside nuggets from fast rap masters Craig G, YZ, Special Ed and Rob Base. A short segment that immaculately links megablasts from Aly Us, Mr. Fingers and Marshall Jefferson with the Jungle Brothers' "I'll House You" acapella is nothing short of levitational. If this doesn't get you up, you're a lame loser – go listen to IDM on your headphones. The 41+ high-octane tracks on here mean that I can't name all my favorites, but a special El Poopoo dukey shout goes out for the inclusion of Sugar Bear's rarity "Don't Scandalize Mine" and the Big Daddy Kane DJ feature "The House That Cee Built." By the time Frank Ski starts calling out the "whores in this house" you know it's cuz they're all up on the dancefloor.

reviewed by monk