Inna City Pressure

Brooklyn-based deejay and producer Dr. Israel burst on the scene with his dark and dubwise debut album 7 Tales of Israel in 1996. It hinted at the direction he would eventually take: a conscious, roots-reggae-derived junglism that accommodates a certain amount of experimentation and more than a little rockishness. (His later collaborations with bassist/producer Bill Laswell would yield some of his strongest work.) Inna City Pressure, released a few years later, is the best introduction to his concept: frenetic jungle breakbeats rub shoulders with distorted guitars and message-heavy chatting, to powerful effect.