If you were looking for evidence of DJ Z-Trip’s extensive roots in underground hip-hop on Uneasy Listening Volume 1, his 2001 mix-tape collaboration with DJ P, you had to pay close attention. But it was there: though the Phoenix turntablist was as eager as his fellow mashup pioneers to deconstruct world-famous schlock like Phil Collins, in the process he’d mix in an indie-rap luminary such as Del tha Funkee Homosapien. Shifting Gears (Hollywood) is where Z-Trip comes clean–in more ways than one. After a year of unsuccessfully petitioning for sampling rights, he’s gone legit, using mostly unrecognizable sources to craft beats for top-notch guest MCs like Lyrics Born and Aceyalone. The result is like watching a foulmouthed comic adapting to a prime-time sitcom; when he slips a prominent Jethro Tull sample underneath Busdriver, he could be Redd Foxx raising an eyebrow to share a double entendre with the TV audience. Shifting Gears nods enthusiastically toward hip-hop tradition–not just the old school’s loose-limbed party vibe, but the omnivorous approach to musical styles that took hold in the middle school years.
