the Light Emitting Diamond Cutter Scriptures

The wittier-than-thou rapper formerly known as Milo claims, on the second album under his new moniker, to “go a little deeper than the average MC.” To wit: Over *Scriptures*’ warm, blunted jazz beats, R.A.P. Ferreira (that’s Rory Allen Philip, in a mitzvah of hip-hop happenstance) spits deceptively casual tongue-twisters regarding hexadecimal patterns, pythons on leashes, critically acclaimed samurai flicks, and DMT—sorry, dimethyltryptamine. He keeps it calm on the surface, but there’s a madcap giddiness to his wordplay, a master technician bending language to his tripped-out will.

Ferreira’s latest album is rich and rewarding, the mark of a prolific artist arriving at the perfect unity between content and presentation.