Reviewed by Peter Bate

'Stop The Music' is the hot debut disc from brother/sister rappers Macho and Elsie, hailing from the Puerto Rican quarter of Boston. The pair have earned their spurs in respected hip hop super-crew Tunnel Rats who've shared a stage with the likes of De La Soul and Cyprus Hill. Trading lyrical licks across 20 tracks, their tales of harsh street life (using pretty raw street language on the hip hop industry-baiting "Stop The Music") and MC culture are carved from tough experience rather than record company marketing campaigns. Unlike many of their peers, the siblings offer a vertical dimension thanks to their faith which is forcefully expounded though never rammed down the audience's throat. Listener suffocation is prevented by Latin-flavored interludes, sparing blasts of soulful vocals and Fender Rhodes, most effective on woozy closing track "Outro" where Macho raps: "We come to make the music that speaks the truth about life, about love, about God." Rarely has keeping it in the family sounded so good.

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