DJ Manipulator & PFM

The indie hip-hop movement bubbling up out of Miami is gaining ground on its mainstream opposition, not only because its beats and rhymes are tight but also because it's learning to break all of the right rules. Take homegrown record label Hoverock, which has released the Kill Ugly Remix — a digital only release that's an automatic fast-forward past an original version no one has even heard yet. Conventionally, that doesn't make any sense, but Hoverock artists seem unable to sit still while peering toward the future. They've also got one hell of a product on their hands with the K.U. remix so they might as well find innovative ways of selling it. Throughout the eight-song album, Boston's DJ Manipulator adds a mash-up blend of electro hip-hop and blunted IDM sounds that are able to ride both on top and beneath the crisp vocals of Miami's PFM. The two label-mates (welded together through Internet connections) have a synergy that comes off naturally, and it's evident on the track "Evollutional Kaos (Loverock remix)," where PFM's deeply self-reflective rhymes about love lost steer clear of a sappy emo vibe with the help of Manip's synthesized basement beats. The two also let their music speak for itself, and the meaning behind each song is evident on each track. The song "Parade Monster (Change Remix)" is the finest on this EP with a throwback DJ Premier-meets-Funcrusher Plus style that shows the dexterity of both artists on the track. Between PFM's heady lyricism and Manip's deft turntable and production skills, Kill Ugly is like a well-placed warning shot toward anyone standing in Hoverock's way.