The Tortoise and the Crow

If anything resembling an “underground” in hip-hop still exists, The Grouch & Eligh dwell there in style. These two veterans of the Living Legends crew continue to play by their own set of rules. The triple-sized album The Tortoise and the Crow finds them dishing out brain-prodding rhymes over unconventional beats with the same stubborn rebel ethic they’ve adhered to for more than two decades. Comprising solo tracks plus the joint release 333, this project intersperses personal confession with bracing doses of streetwise philosophy and plenty of attitude. The duo’s poetic flow makes jams like the billowy “Ashes to Ashes,” the rapid-fire “Hella Fresh” (featuring Bay Area up-and-comer Kreayshawn), and the jazzy “ANX” (showcasing rapper Prof.) shimmer and soar. The musical span here is truly formidable, reaching from the easy groovery of “People of the Sun” (a collaboration with Kyle from Slightly Stoopid) to the spacy soul of “Lighthouses” and the weird gothic pop of “Weightless.” Along the way are bits of raw autobiography that bear scars without blind anger or false humility.