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[TOMORROW PEOPLE] Thirteen years ago, the first and, until this year, only album from indie-rap supergroup Deltron 3030—producer Dan "The Automator" Nakamura, turntablist Kid Koala and rapper Del tha Funkee Homosapien—sounded well ahead of its time. That was sort of the point, of course: 3030 is the year in which the so-called "rap space opera" takes place. The notion of a hip-hop concept album wasn't particularly groundbreaking, but the trio's embrace of sci-fi themes connected with an audience that never thought it could enjoy a rap record. It presaged nerdcore, predicted Gorillaz and, in a way, laid the groundwork for the rise of geek culture in general. In hip-hop terms, though, 2000 is an even more distant time than 3030. As such, Event 2, the group's long-delayed follow-up, comes off as sort of quaint. It doesn't help that the guest list, which includes Zack de la Rocha, Mike Patton, Casual of Hieroglyphics and Black Rob of "Whoa!" fame, seems left over from the last record. Still, Nakamura's production remains vividly cinematic, and when it comes to rhyming in nonsensical technobabble, there's no better MC than Del.
WWeek 2015