Imagine having the most pro- found statement on the tip of your tongue—ready to be shared with the world—only to realize that you're the last man on Earth. This scenario GRAND describes Philly MC Grand AGENT Agent's attitude on his soph- Fish Outta omore effort, Fish Outta Water Water. Subterranean heads will recognize Grand as the ‘cat who released 2001's By GROOVE ATTACK Design—a prototypical indie-ground LP that fea- tured collabos with Lord Finesse and production from DJ Hi-Tek and Kool Keith coconspirator Kut- masta Kurt. Since then, Grand's been in Europe in voluntary exile from the politics of the US rap game. Strung together by skits and soundbites from old "70s flicks, Fish Outta Water is the story of GA's struggle against the fictitious villain Mr. Industry, Similar to Ras Kass’ real-life story, Grand steals his masters from his label and is hunted by the authorities—but unlike Ras he actually gets away at the end. The plot makes for a good story and Grand definitely has the skills to pay the bills with his intri- cate rhyme schemes, but his lyricism is at times wasted on mediocre and often downright boring production. “Right Way Streets” sparse keys and flimsy kalimba sounds make it hard to gather Grand’s point. “Skillz Philly” offers up dope brag- gin’ and boastin’ from the PA Agent, but once again his words drown in DJ Revolution’s less- than-exciting track. Luckily, GA gets the boom-bap he needs on producer Droopy's "No Rest” resulting in the album's best-tracked cut, where he narrates the current chapter of his life story: “He runnin’ outta rhymes to describe how unalive rap be makin’ him feol/Shit be makin’ him steal.” Later album gems like “Who Programmed Us Anyway?” and “Gospel Anonymous” run the risk of being ignored by impatient listeners. Hopefully next time around Grand'll lend as much energy towards picking his beats as he does to his rap sheets.—TiMMHOTEP AKU XXL AUGUSi 2002