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“So you should pump this shit, like they do in the future.”

It’s a brag line that seems particularly suited to El-P in his unique role as fabulator of futuristic hyperlyrical boom-bap.  Since even before Def Jux funcrushed independent hip-hop into entirely new shapes over a decade ago, El-P has served as a production wizard whose alchemical black magic remains both spooky and beguiling.  Even with the slow roll out of his own solo material (the upcoming Cancer for Cure is only his third album in the past ten years), El-P is still a story in a field that doesn’t accomodate stories after the initial glow from the hype machine fades.  And “The Full Retard,” the latest glimpse from Cancer for Cure, will ensure that El-P remains an integral part of the conversation about just how much more hip-hop can do in this day in age.  But more importantly, if “The Full Retard” and “Drones Over BRKLYN” are any indication of the direction of Cancer for Cure, then it seems entirely likely that we’ll all be pumping this shit well into the future.