his one's been a long time coming. Detroit twosome Platinum Pied Pipers has been teasing the tinkle out of us by dropping quality singles and compilation entries since mid-2003. So it's only fair they ease up on our frayed bladders and release a proper long player. And with all the buildup involved in such a provoking release schedule, that long player had better be straight boss. And well, generally typing, it doesn't let down.

PPP consists of Waajeed, a Slum Village founding member, and production partner Saadiq. The two embody their hometown to the bone. They faultlessly harness the "rushed snare" technique, a practice common with fellow Detroit producers like Dabrye and PPP collaborator J Dilla. It involves slightly offbeat drum programming that, when done in excess, can easily disguise a 4/4 beat as 3/4. Los Angeles-based devotees Madlib and Oh No have taken cues and adopted the method for themselves. (These days, you'd be hard up to find a Stones Throw full length without a few examples of it.) So the fashion is spreading. It's transcended its home city of "the D" but is still very much rooted there.

Essentially, Triple P is an R&B album. Or, if you prefer the ghastly classification "neo-soul," that might work here as well. However, upon receiving it as such, one must take the generalized genre at hand with a grain of salt. PPP employ a hybrid of urban music seldom broached. It's part live soul-jazz à la Maceo Parker, part majority-rules R&B, and part Detroit hip-hop, complete with hints of bossa nova, ragtime, and broken beat.

Triple P is chock full of compartmentalized urban talent. The guest lineup largely consists of little-known divas, but none of them are particularly excruciating on the ears. The salsa-tinted nature of "No Worries" snakes along with Latin piano, toy xylophone, hearty horn synths and vocals by UK crooner Steve Spacek. Also along for the ride are fellow "D" reppers Jay Dee and Invincible on the mic. Jay Dee (aka J Dilla), a producer/MC often not celebrated for his vocal integrity, drops some of his finest wordplay yet, while Caucasian breezy Invincible comes off as the hottest female underground rap talent since Jean Grae.

J Rocc of The Beat Junkies may have been a little off the mark when he was quoted as referring to PPP as "real grown folks music," since Triple P is not profanity-free by accident. The final retail version's few dirty tracks have been censored for whatever reason. I suppose that's what happens when label owners have kids.