RobLo

Mixed marriages are always risky, particularly when you’re harmonizing aggressive, hardcore rap verses with melodic R&B hooks, shoring up the sentimentality in testimonials about hustling and dope-game checking. But local producer RobLo and the rappers (among them Mob Figgaz brethren Husalah and the Jackaon) on his new compilation, Movement Union, have seen their nonsensical pairing of grimy turf raps with frighteningly smooth-jazz-ish backing tracks find favor with a lot of hardcore hip-hop fans. Granted, RobLo mostly succeeds in making his songs sound sweet and tuneful without sacrificing his street cred. Put it this way: His form totally subverts his content. A healthy 99 percent of the time, Movement Union‘s rappers are talking about drugs, snitches, and street hustles, and 98 percent of the time, you’re convinced they’re saying something intimate.