GODS-N-MONSTERS, INC Think former heavyweight champ Jack Johnson circa 1912 - defiant, street savvy, years ahead of his time stylistically, and a mean knuckle game. Now turn the clock ahead nearly a hundred years, and you've got Sub-Zero Degrees, front man for the hip-hop group, Gods-N-Monsters, Inc. A few years back, the College Music Journal (CMJ) acknowledged that Sub-Zero was "on par with most rappers out there who've already got there contracts inked" and consequently if he resided in a hip-hop hot spot like LA or NYC he would have initiated a bidding war. The MC could be seen pulling in local opening slots for national acts and was featured on CMJ's "Certain Damage" CD as well as the world renown DJ Green Lantern's mixtape. However, instead of stepping up to the major leagues, Sub Zero drifted in the gritty underworld of Rochester, New York. This tour of duty has apparently made his flow more picturesque and street conscious and his wordplay more brilliant. Now think Caddy Coup Deville, top down with two of the finest broads you can imagine. That's the best way to describe the bulk of the beats hammered out by Spanish Harlem's own DJ Chaz - a mountain of a man who looks more equipped for strong armed robbery than plucking keys of a guitar or a keyboard. Nevertheless, this monster is known for his willingness to experiment and helps complete the prime time cast of an intelligent albeit slightly ruffian crew known as Gods-N-Monsters. Chaz's production perfectly captures the subtleties of Sub Zero's wordplay as he crafts too realistic tales of urban life, like getting robbed by a calculating, sexy vixen in "Splash", or bastardization due to a deadbeat father and an abusive stepfather on "Show Love". Listening to "Deeper" is like riding 85 miles per hour with a lyrical Jack Johnson as he transports women of ill repute across state lines with the pigs in full pursuit. Follow this scent farther and you will find 15 tracks, some which capture the monstrous reality of a talented lyricist forced to hustle for survival, others capture the promise of a better tomorrow and an allegiance to this thing we call hip-hop, and others still, that capture the humors and pains of interplay between men and women. Ask them and they'll tell you that each track aims to capture lyrical skill, innovation and the essence of their love for hip-hop music while entertaining their listeners with intelligent realism. After just a few tracks it will become apparent that these monsters are truly Gods creatures.