Since 1995, Mudkids have been providing Indianapolis and the Midwest with undeniable, conscious, upbeat hip-hop of the highest order. After a nearly three year wait since their last release, Mudkids have finally dropped their new EP, MKEP. Simply put, while still firmly in the tradition they have established, this is their finest work. Back to a duo of Rusty Redenbacher on vocals and Elp-Mass on turntables and production, MKEP is an exquisite blast from start to finish. Samples are present, of course, but they are most often just single instruments, and very spare (sometimes just single notes!). This gives the music a very open, uncluttered feel and emphasizes the beauty of each sample, as well as the excellence of Redenbacher's lyrics. Opener "Ride" begins with a sample from some children's record stating, "Hi boys and girls. It's a wonderful day. And I feel like taking a ride". Appropriately, Mudkids then proceed to provide us with that day and that ride. Underpinned by a sturdy bass drum and subtle snare, "Ride" employs what sounds like a banjo plucking a wonderful hook line, single notes from a glockenspiel, and xylophone colorings to help in providing the "child-like" atmosphere. Rusty then proceeds to use double tracked vocals and a flow that sounds simply like kids having fun as he lays out his agenda ("Hey, I've been holding back the flow/Now I think that we're ready to go/. . . Music is the mission/It's a traveling exhibition/There's a nation of people we gotta go and visit/They're waiting for the moment, they're in line, they've got their tickets!"). "How Many," an album highlight, follows, with a more melancholy feel, appropriate for its "plea for peace" lyrics. It opens with what sounds like a riff from a kalimba or some unusual stringed instrument as Rusty rightly states, "Elp-Mass, this is GORGEOUS once again". Along with this repeated sample, the chorus gives up a killer hook, with Redenbacher introducing (or is it a sample?) a very baritone-heavy, almost Barry White-like singing voice intoning, "How many kids they've murdered/Only God can say". And in the best lyrical tradition, Redenbacher does not gloss over the difficulties of what he's asking for, but still plays a light hand ("Peace of mind in your heart/And I hope that you reach it/Well, I try, but it's so hard for me to see it/Maybe this release is exactly what I needed."). "Abraham" is fronted with a slinky bass line and sticks tapping on a drum rim as Rusty fondly reminisces about the wonders of seeing a childhood acquaintance (Abraham Benrubi, regular on ER) on TV. At times, the flow recalls the cadences Gil Scott-Heron, and, again, there are beautiful, spare samples (e.g., vibraphones, keyboard colorings). "The Plan" rests on a simple refrain from Jimmy Cliff's "Stop That Train," giving the tune a groovy, reggae-laden feel. The flow then explores the divergence between Mudkids' plan and those of more "fame-oriented" rappers ("All you gotta do is dumb it down/Simplify/And, ahh, those aren't the traits I exemplify."). "Shades" shades things in a different direction, using some great "filtered" guitar picking and spare percussion taps to give a very strong, yet uncluttered, Bollywood feel to the proceedings. The flow then provides numerous shout-outs to Indianapolis, along with some humorous raps about Mudkids abilities ("Mudkids is an army and Redenbacher is the general/. . . Don't sleep, you might miss something good/The rhymes I write, you wish you could/. . . With great quickness, you lame dolts/I'm Usain Bolt, celebrating running away and hanging with my same folks/. . . Gimme my shades, I'm ready for my close-up/I check myself in the mirror/I'm fly, I'm fly") and the lack thereof in the competition ("You got everything but talent, similar to Sid Vicious"). The EP then concludes with "Nitty Gritty," featuring guest spots from Mic Sol and Ace One and some excellent horn samples. At less than 25 minutes, the complaint is that one is definitely left wanting more. Apparently, Mudkids are in the process of recording their next full length (We Are Dynamic And People Like Us). Until then, however (hurry up!), MKEP will more than fill the bill for devotees of great hip-hop music, whether they are located in Indianapolis or anywhere else in the hip-hop nation.