Pitchfork

If the press materials are to be believed, consummate left-of-center MC Jean Grae's latest LP, Jeanius, is expected to catapult Grae "out of the underground and into the mainstream." We can only hope to live in a world in which such a thing is possible.

The 9th Wonder-produced Jeanius is the South African-born, NYC-raised rhymesmith's first new LP since 2004's This Week, though it comes fairly hot on the heels of last year's fine Orchestral Files vault-raider. Jeanius, an independent release on the Warner Bros.-affiliated Blacksmith Music imprint, is due July 8. Guess that means we can soon strike the first half of that "lost classic" tag, eh?

The arrival of this new LP would also seem to cast some doubt on all the chatter about Jean Grae retiring, which stems from a number of cryptic postings from earlier this year on the lady's website/MySpace. In one, amid other valedictory sentiments, Grae writes, "Thank you for letting me share what I could with you and sharing yourselves back, as you have really been the reason that I kept on."

Grae couldn't be reached for comment, so let's just pray we've shared enough to keep her keeping on.

Jeanius:

01 Intro
02 2-32s
03 Don't Rush Me
04 My Story
05 The Time Is Now
06 Billy Killer
07 Think About It
08 #8
09 American Pimp
10 This World
11 Love Thirst
12 Desperada
13 Smashmouth