I guess that, because we now call things “rock” that have the barest elements in common with rock, and we now call things “punk” that actually have nothing at all in common with punk, it's OK that HDC's Rise of the Champion Nation sort of, kind of slides into sounding a little like “dub” every once in a while, in the sense that there are some interesting syncopations and low-end manipulations. Like other contemporary releases by contributors like Dr. Israel and peers like Dub Gabriel, what Rise is, really, is globally, socially and spiritually aware hip-hop that looks far beyond the sonic boundaries of most rap, incorporating everything from rhythms of the Islands and melodies of the Middle East to layered trance-informed structures and hard-edged verses by guest MCs such as KRS ONE (who's featured here in top form). It's an interesting and overall above-average listen, but could've been dirtied up a touch more. - Scott Harrell