Del The Funky Homosapien

It's been eight years since Del's last album, but the Oakland MC has been busy, thanks to a high-profile gig with Gorillaz. It's fitting that he makes his return on hipster rap label Definitive Jux, since he's always been one of hip-hop's most unconventional voices. Eleventh Hour sounds like prime Del: "Foot Down" trips back to rap's formative years, while "Workin' It" weaves in some witty, old-school put-downs. But the CD's best cut is the spastic-funky "Bubble Pop," which sparks in ways that recall Del's 1991 backpack-classic debut, I Wish My Brother George Was Here.