There is a very small percentage of producers who stay away from the norm and set their own style & patterns. The Opus, reigning from Chicago has been crafting its own style, trend and musical ideas for years. Last heard on Rubberoom’s CD, the Opus releases their first album entitled, 0.0.0. – First Contact. This E.P. is packed with hard-hitting drum patterns alongside melodic instrumentation all laced with the lyrics of some of the best emcees’ in the game today.

The album’s title track, First Contact features Lord360 , Murs  and Iselfdevine . This track incorporates everything any die-hard Opus fan would be looking for; some hard-beats showcasing the cleverly constructed lyrics of three emcees’ and crazy scratches by Dj Oats. Season Of The Unexplained by Thawfor  laces hip hop with an eastern-philosophy mentality and feeling. The track opens up with a beautiful accepella sample of an Indian woman singing, followed by a very head-nodding beat. Once Thawfor comes in, his verses examine many of those unanswered questions of life, trying to show how temporary our current material possessions are. Earatik Statik showcases their talent in Evil Is Timeless which investigates within each verse the different evils in the world today and how evil will always be timeless.

Unlike many other EP’s released over the years with one good track and the rest meaty ogre at best, First Contact is definitely one that will be in full-rotation on your CD-Player. If the Opus’s full-length album being released through Ozone in the following months is anywhere equally as good as their EP, they are a definite group of producers & musicians headed for greatness in the near future.