*** Defari, “Focused Daily,” Tommy Boy.

The Los Angeles rapper rhymes with nimble precision over thumping, spare soundscapes about his unmatched microphone skill. A member of the Alkaholik rhyme family, Defari also crafts clever stories about a slave revolt and a romantic rendezvous. His understated style won’t earn major radio or video airplay, but underground lyric and production fans should embrace this debut album.

Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent). The albums are already released unless otherwise noted.