The Square Egg

The Square Egg is taking urban music from Cristal-sipping, club-banging hits that make you grind, to smooth, soulful poems that make you think. The antithesis of mass-produced pop ditties, the ten-piece band's socially aware lyrics and musical inclination are a far cry from the crass lyrics and machine-produced beats ubiquitous on the radio. That isn't to say the group's sound isn't catchy or timeless — unless a hip-hop, funk, jazz, spoken-word, and soul fusion outfit that radiates substance is too big of a pill to swallow (it's certainly a mouthful). Paying homage to rap forefathers such as Run-D.M.C. and Public Enemy, the Square Egg's songs span topics from drugs and politics to love and change. Since its inception in 1999, the group has released three albums. Its most recent effort, Things Change, lays on the intelligence via varied tracks such as "Whatever Happened to Crack?" — a mocking portrait of the gentrification of cocaine — and the positive, uplifting "We Can."