Like the animal the group is named after, Giant Panda’s members are black, white, and Japanese, with Maanumental, Newman, and Chikaramanga making up the multi-racial trio. As the first full-length release from Thes-One of People Under The Stairs’ new imprint, Tres Records, GP’s debut album, Fly School Reunion, brings them together to reminisce of the days of classic hip-hop, with aim to help forge a new era of it themselves. With a formula of raw, sample-crafted production, and fun rhymes, Giant Panda joins other throwback groups such as PUTS, Jurassic 5 and Ugly Duckling bringing back that ol’ New York rap (via Los Angeles).   

     Among it’s sixteen tracks, Fly School Reunion has plenty of stand-out moments that help bring back the classic hip-hop feeling of the early 90′s that many of today’s aging hip-hop fans associate their high school days with. “One Time” sets the album off, an up-tempo, old school-styled, party jam that might inspire a b-boy or two, while the xylophone driven, drum-snapping “With It” keeps things moving at a lovely pace. The ridiculous “Just Cause” is propelled by a ridiculously raw set of symbols that would make D.I.T.C. proud, as Maanumental and Newman trade flows with vintage style. “90′s” exemplifies the group’s mandate, with a borrowed lyrical structure from A Tribe Called Quest’s “Midnight”, as the emcees reflect on undoubtedly hip-hop’s greatest era. Later comes the brilliant “Racist”, a posse cut that features each member repping their nationality to the fullest, playing on the usual humorous stereotypes associated, (with Thes-One guest appearing to hold it down for the Latinos). 

      However while there are many great moments abound on Giant Panda’s debut, it’s not without fault. Much of the second half of the album begins to fall into a spiral of monotony, doing little to separate them from other throwback-style groups of today’s era. Tracks like “Always Dope”, “The Case of The T.K.O”, “Grand Prix”, and a few others suffer from terribly redundant 1 and 2 bar hooks that end up boring the listener quickly. Still, while it’s arguable that this may have been how things were done back in the day, what separates this from what’s already been done before? 

     The answer lies in GP’s stronger selections, many of which are concept driven tracks, as mentioned earlier. While these few minor missteps hold back GP from delivering a newfangled, men-out-of-time classic, Fly School Reunion shows promise from the crew, suggesting their sophomore release will hit the nail on the head (ala Ugly Duckling and PUTS).