Common Market: The Winter’s End EP

“You’ve got to love what you’re doing. If you love it, you can overcome any handicap or the soreness or all the aches and pains, and continue to play for a long, long time.” – Gordie Howe, former all-time NHL points leader

This is an improvement over the debut EP and album from Washington’s Ryan Abeo (RA Scion) and Blue Scholars beatsmith Sabzi. Complimenting Scion’s spiritually uplifting lyricism, Sabzi’s more organic and unconventional instrumentals result in a fantastically groovy set of indie hip-hop on par with anything Rhymesayers related. It’s still a few stops short of Kanye West, but Abeo namedrops NHL hall of famer and former all-time points leader Geordie Howe (whose name has come to represent a kind of hat trick where a player gets a goal, an assist, and a five-minute fighting major in a single game). As an old school Canadian hockey fan, I have to like this EP. Otherwise, the Conservatives would ship me to France.