This 20-minute compilation from San Antonio producer Seven-One features a healthy line of what I’m assuming is refined flour on its cover, but Bumps is really no more concerned with the devil powder than the bulk of modern-day hip-hop. Actually, compared to mainstream rap, it’s surprisingly varied.

Some of the sex-and-drugs lines the Fly drops in opener “Outcha Flesh” (“Cut the straw, take a sniff/ I’m ready to go like the movie Go/ I’ll wreck your shit till there ain’t no more” e.g.) are pretty respectable, but the beat, a dark string sample propelled by high-strung hi-hat — is the main attraction. “So Serious,” with its nearly club-ready catchy bounce undercut by decidedly noncommercial chest thumping, is better, and despite an outdated Richard Simmons reference, guest Mobz’s quick-tongued verse displays some serious technical ability. The Middle Eastern flourishes in “Baby Throwed” are distractingly reminiscent of “Big Pimpin’,” but the interplay between Juan Gotti’s bilingual rasp and the street-corner percussion eventually gets your attention. In light of the tracks that came before, “What’s Up Y’all” sounds surprisingly heartfelt, perfectly matching exultant R&B and Motown horns to guest Notes’s emotionally vulnerable (if not entirely coherent) love letter to his family. The catchy retro funk of “Give U Something” (think N.W.A’s “Express Yourself”) pushes Mic Dagger’s flow to Looney Tunes speed, and the soulless computerized blips in “Vedder” give Word Perfect’s hit-or-miss lines a compelling detached feel. The less said about closer “Stinky Tuna” the better (OK, I’ll repeat one line: “Dipping in your tartar sauce gave me a crunchy fish stick”), but Bumps is a handy introduction to several google-worthy Texas MCs and an unquestionably skilled SA beatmaker.
— Jeremy Martin