The biggest acts of what unfortunates term ‘alternative rap’ from the ‘90s aren’t really around any more. Dilated Peoples seemed to have disappeared even if Rakaa Iriscience and the Alchemist seem to crop up pretty frequently. Much the same can be said for Jurassic 5. Apart from the fact that the group’s production duo – Cut Chemist and DJ Numark – has either staked a claim at a solo career or been endlessly featured on other’s albums, no one else from the seven man crew has been making too much noise. Now, though, Chali 2na has gone and done it. His Fish Outta Water may have been delayed for what seems like years, but it’s now arrived. The time that fans have waited even seems to be rewarded considering the nonstop highlights that the disc gives.

But before we get into a blow by blow breakdown of Fish Outta Water, I gotta say that Chali 2na wasn’t ever my favorite part of Jurassic 5. The insane baritone that springs from his mouth, at times, seems like nothing more than a parlor trick – but that might just have been due to the setting that the emcee found himself in previously. Here on this 2009 disc – coming three years after the last J5 disc Feedback – Chali’s flow is accompanied by production that isn’t as playful as what J5 fans may expect.

None of this is heavy handed, but works like “Swing Set” would be notably out of place on this solo Chali 2na effort. A non-factor here as well is the work that the west coast emcee put in with Ozomatli, which trafficked in funk, soul, salsa and plain dance music. It’s all boom bap here even if a few guest spots add too much of a soul feel on the hook. Of course, Chali wants a hit which explains the inclusion of Anthony Hamilton on “Don’t Stop” during which the rapper figures that Afrika Bambaataa deserves some past due royalties. Including a nod to the past wasn’t out of character for J5, but it’s here to prove that while Chali 2na may have dissolved his relationship with his former group, he’s still rooted in the same musics that made him a name brand in the first place.

Elsewhere on the disc, Chali goes in on a number of tracks the work inside a sort of common sense reality that escapes a great many rappers working today. There’re songs about love and how that plague can affect you. And since each couplet is related to listeners along with  production that should win the producers (Dan the Automator, Scott Storch, Babu) here a Grammy - just as a spoiler, they won’t win – nothing comes off as trite.

There’s, somehow, not a throw away track here and with the consistency of the lyrical play and that aforementioned production, Fish Outta Water might count as one of the best solo albums from any ‘90s group exile. There’s probably a criticism to be levied here from the tough guy contingent of the rap game, but as Chali reveals how much he cares for his grandmother – who raised him – those critiques might be hard to hear.