People Under the Stairs
12 Step Program
(Piecelock 70)

Superior creative rhyme skills and vibrant charismatic energy inundate 12 Step Program, the new album from LA-based indie artists Double K and Thes One, aka People Under the Stairs. The duo has captivated the masses of artistically-minded hip hop heads and music lovers alike for over a decade. 12 Step Program, their ninth album, is sonically decorated in witty word play and phenomenally placed samples. The funky soul discotheque bounce of “LA Nights” has a hint of late-’80s new jack swing while the winding bass line exudes what it probably does feel like on a late night drive through Los Angeles when the heat is seductive and the streets feel electrified. A jazz guitar riff pulsates in tones all through “Roundabouts” as it holds on to a laid back mellow funk. The layered keys and nice sauntering beats add breathtaking brilliance to “The Strand” while scenes are painted out in words and a brazen poetic consciousness. A great degree of fun ensues like a conversation at the end of “Get Hip” where the suggestion to “send her a nail polish emoji” is made. Slices of dialogue stripped from pop culture bits are humorous and engaging as they lay between the moving train tracks of this highly impressive hip-hop album. It is impossible to find a lot of similarity between the album and mainstream hip-hop as 12 Step Program reigns with highly infectious soul-satisfying grooves and a more feel-good sensibility.