West coast indie rap arguably peaked in the mid-90s with the likes of the Pharcyde, Aceyalone, PUTS, Freestyle Fellowship and the Hieroglyphics crew all in ascendency. Formed at the University of California, the duo of Chief Xcel and Gift of Gab slotted right into the prevailing positive mode, with acts prioritising old fashioned lyrical skills and beat innovations above overly serious polemicising. Absorbed into the wider Solesides collective alongside Lateef the Truth Speaker, Lyrics Born and DJ Shadow, the latter produced this great EP track which, like most of the ‘Melodica’ EP, is an assertion of Gift of Gab’s versatile talents as an emcee and dedication to his craft. Gab had every reason to boast. His slick, quick-fire rhymes, technical savvy and sticky, unpredictable cadences were an antidote to the mediocrity slowly seeping into the hip-hop mainstream. Sadly, the nimble rhyme acrobat died in 2021, after years of poor health, with Shadow hailing him “the most preternaturally gifted MC I’ve ever worked with.” Listen to 1999’s gradually speeding-up B-side ‘Alphabet Aerobics’ if you don’t believe him. As for ‘Rhymes…’ it’s “all of that and a plate of chitlins”, just like the man said.