Verb T & Juice Step Up 12" Fresh off the test press comes the new 12” release from Pepa records, Verb T & Juice’s Step Up, and it’s some heat for sure. Verb T is smooth like CL and properly comes correct over the four vocal tracks on this slab of wax. Title track, Step Up finds Verbs effortlessly flowing over Juice’s retarded pianos, and the out come is sweet. Keep On Passin’ ain’t bad either, and those flutes come off nice. Extended Reach is further evidence that verbs can lazily ride a beat and still come off crisp, and in this case the beat in question is some summery niceness. The real heater is What The People Say, which is on some seriously funky, bouncie flex, finding Verb T joined by an equally enjoyable Louie G, both flexing mic skills lovely, making this track, for me, one of the years hottest so far. With a string of sure fire 12” releases under their belt, Pepa records is definitely a label that demands some attention, and you can’t go wrong by copping this impressive single. - Mark 563 © ukhh.com 1999 - 2005