"Slap in the face, then I button my pea-coat," "Always kept my circle with a triangle, it looks good at least from my angle," seven clever young voices speak through songs from the new project H.E.M (Highly Elated Mind) from the Buffalo collaborative music group KooLiE HiGH, fashioned much like Wu Tang Clan-- there's strength in numbers, especially in a city where hip hop talent can easily be lost in a nonsensical shuffle of other acts.

Honestly, I attempted to only half-listen to H.E.M. as I felt my attention was better used to desperately re-navigate the television station away from some cheesy-ass Sasquatch hunting reality show on A&E or some such "revamped" station. I became slightly annoyed because after approaching the third song on the album, "U know what it is!," I was still watching The Adventures of Hillbillies VS. Sasquatch. I was arrested by the original beats choices and overall message of all the members of KooLiE HiGH; I wanted to know 'what's going to come next?'