MISSION Vinyl Records and CDs

A six-person team who came up in Boston but now hold court in Oakland, Mission: throw down smart, unpretentious rhymes over impossible-to-front-on live jazz grooves. Dual mic rockers Raashan and Moe bring the vocal science, sharing their disapproval of shallow money-rappers and love for true hip-hop culture. As nice as their prose is, the instrumentation is equally fresh, with an abundance of crispy beats, deep basslines, earthy keys and choice samples. Renowned for their amped live performances, they've also released several 12-inches and an EP. In early 2001 Mission: dropped their first full-length, an excellent album called One.