Released via Flying Lotus’ imprint Brainfeeder, this new disc from the dublab affiliated producer, Ras G, finds its influences flung between art, film and music. The presentation of the disc – well it’s a digital release, but you know, the cover art/image/jpg – as well as the music that the album holds are beholden to such a litany of 20^th century innovators and innovations that the disc, Afrikan Space Program, seems almost like a dissertation instead of a slab of sonic grooves. And while that might make this seem dicey, after listening a few times, Ras G has given listeners one of the stronger rap related discs of the first half of 2009.

Coming from a Los Angeles scene that’s as varied as it is plentiful, being dublab related and having an outlet for his endless mixes provides Ras G a hefty audience to begin with as a fan base. But as stated before, this music doesn’t necessarily take into account the listener so much as Ras G’s interests. Even the title seems cribbed from the 1984 film Brother from Another Planet. An early John Sayles directorial effort finds an alien – who strongly resembles a black dude – crashing to earth, only to make his home in Harlem. The protagonist is chased through the city by other worldly bounty hunters, but he befriends some people at a local bar, who end up getting the alien a job – he can fix any machine with a simple touch, kinda like the Fonz.

But if the title of this album isn’t snatched from that flick, it might be an allusion to Sun Ra. Amongst the keyboardists many nicknames, some do in fact refer to him as a brotha from another planet – he claimed to be from Saturn, where apparently all black folks will find freedom according to Sun Ra.

So, while the title might have a few different sources, the cover that is donned upon Afrikan Space Program might only recall one of two early ‘80s rap stalwarts from New York. While Ras G just seems to be wearing a dashiki, or some other colorful shirt amidst a map of the stars on the cover here, there’s something scientific about it all. The brightness of the album cover beckons back to Ramellzee – and while there aren’t any robots here, the music is strictly computer related. If that wasn’t enough, though, being obscured by the design of the cover as well as a pair of dark shades might make one think of Afrika Bambaataa, who worked with some pretty robotic sounding music in addition to heading up the Zulu Nation.

All of this post modern thought, though, probably is just misplaced. And while Ras G almost certainly is hipped to whatever I just threw down conceptually, it doesn’t matter. The music that the producer gives us on Afrikan Space Program only has a few sparse antecedents. Some might classify it as IDM – or deride it as some space bull shit like Mobb Depp figured. But no matter how it’s tagged, it’s a thoughtful batch of tracks, perhaps aimed at thinkers rather than dancers.