After the rise in public acclaim garnered by his day job (
4 Hero),
Dego returned to his side-project
Tek 9 with the sophomore album
Simply. The title is a sure clue to the sound, considering the LP consists of straight-ahead hip-hop with few frills and a light, jazzy atmosphere. Guests on
Simply include eight MCs (mostly American) such as
Opio from
Souls of Mischief, Chase Infinite, What? What?,
Rob Yancey, and Capital A, among others. After the overly produced and overly intelligent nature of
4 Hero material, it's good to see
Dego getting back to the tough, hard-hitting production style that made his name with
4 Hero. ~ John Bush