Relentless and flagrant

The highest point on Backpackramento is Styles 1001’s boom-bap beat matched with Mahtie Bush’s relentless rap on “Get Low.” If every song in the world sounded like that, the world would be a much happier place (and there’s even a shout-out to Sacramento’s favorite serial killer Dorothea Puente). Other standouts include Bush’s soulful ode to break dancing (“Into the Cypher”) and the successful crossover hit “A Little Time,” featuring Bush’s crew the Alumni. A couple lows include flagrant Auto-Tune abuse. For instance, the song “Yes” is OK, until it comes to the desperate-plea-for-radio-play hook and Young Cee’s verse that sounds like somebody handed out microphones at “special camp.” And “Is She Out There?” is just straight-up T-Painful to listen to. But don’t let a couple disappointments outweigh the numerous flashes of rich hip-hop, including Bush’s forceful wordplay and a standout performance from Mic Jordan on “For a Reason.” And don’t miss the tenacious title track, “Backpackramento”—a sturdy contender for the city’s official rap anthem of 2010.