Esham

Sacrificial Lambz

[3/5]

For nearly two decades, Esham has consolidated his acid-rap empire beneath the mainstream radar, watching as Motor City friends and enemies, from Insane Clown Posse to Eminem, took elements of his demented horrorcore straight to the bank. If you suppose underground stardom suits him, think again: “I will kill for that No. 1 spot,” he threatens on his 11th album. But the queasy shuffle of “Zeitgeist,” which unspools a bloody, conspiracy-laden litany of current events, more disturbingly suggests that the world has finally caught up (or, perhaps, devolved) to the rapper’s nightmares. That observation’s hopefully debatable, but while Sacrificial Lambz suffers some from its 27-track sprawl and some from the insularity of indiedom, the strong songs-several of which are atypically mellow, including the lament “Root Of Evil” and the inspirational “Don’t Give Up”-are among his best ever. (AKNU) Dan LeRoy