It’s pretty rewarding to hear a rapper at the beginning of his recorded career, recognize his talent and wait for something to happen. After a year or so, one’s apt to perhaps forget, but eventually some subsequent work crops up to conjure that initial discovery. I feel that way about Kenn Starr – and yes, his name’s still clever all these years later. Having picked up the Halftooth Records compilation You Don’t Know the Half  back in 2004, Oddissee and this emcee right here have been names that I eagerly await new material from. And while Kenn Starr might not have become as regular a recorded artist as some of his Low Budget Crew cohort, when he does drop something new off, it’s generally more that just good.

The first track that Kenn Starr released, he shared with Talib Kweli – an auspicious beginning to be sure. And while no one that high profile graces It's Still Real, there’re still ample guest spots to keep heads paying attention to the track listing. Of course, Oddissee crops up more than just a few times, but other folks like Mike Posner  and Supastition add their pipes over the eighteen tracks that make up this mix tape.

Whereas other emcees occasionally attempt to pass off a mix tape as a proper disc, Kenn Starr seems to point out the fact that this release is an amalgam of disparate efforts. Both crew tracks – “Low Budget All Stars” and “Kemistree Meets Low Budget”– collect various members of the VA based clique. Using some funky clavinet beat, the first effort goes in for a lyrical trip through how the crew works with music and what each finds exceptional to include in a lyric. If nothing else, Aresineo gets checked real fast, so even if the track is somehow not to your liking (mighty unlikely), it might make you laugh for just a minute.

Of course, even without support Kenn Starr is more than capable of handling a track on his own – even though this disc doesn’t showcase that ability. “Coming of Age ’09,” clocks in at just over a minute and features the stoned flow of Starr atop of a piano led soul track where he figures he’s just fighting for his “share of the track.” The freestyles, plucked from various radio appearances, though, again remind listeners that what they’re listening to is a mix tape. But even with that in mind, “DJ Flexx Freestyle ('01 Throwback)” results in an in-studio guest loosing her mind over the couplets this emcee unleashes.

With Starr’s under the radar presence on the hip hop scene/internets, it’s not always been easy to chart his releases or progress. But again, when you see his name, cop that immediately. I don’t believe that he’s released a proper disc thus far – just a few mixes from Halftooth. But with the high profile that Oddisse has achieved, hopefully everyone from not just the Halftooth roster, but the entire Low Budget Crew gets more than minute in the spot light.