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CD Review by Rob Faust NOBODY Soulmates Ubiquity Records · Debut from Los Angeles hip hop. Returning to the dark heart of hip hop, Nobody, a.k.a. Elvin Estela, sought to "create an album of introspective hip hop." So what’s a fella to do but enlist the help of five of L.A.’s groundbreaking hip hop artists – Medusa, Freestyle Fellowship, Abstract Rule and 2 Mex – to help guide him through his inner catacombs. This is an album that hones in on acoustic bass riffs, delicate guitar, horn and drum tracks with the ghosts of Franti, Chuck D and Gil Scott Heron haunting just about every corridor of this album. Melodic to the nth power and definitely reminiscent of early Mo Wax and Ninja material. Nobody takes up the musical/political gauntlet dropped by almost every other hip hop artist whose ego has grown fat on the booty shaking, ghetto style anthems that choke video channels. He takes a seat next to those that made hip hop one of the most vital musical forms to emerge from America’s inner-city in years, high calibre beautiful hip hop that has more in common with the Last Poets then the last (Ice Ice) Eminem album. 4/5

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