Latest releases reviewed.

THE NEXTMEN
Blunted in the Backroom
Antidote/Sanctuary
***

For their latest trick, razor-sharp Cambridge mix-muppets and prolific producers Brad Baloo and Dom Search have turned to the world of reggae classics. There's 30 Trojan gems on this mix-CD, bona-fide jewels from the likes of Bob Marley, Toots & The Maytals, Ken Boothe and The Upsetters. The Nextmen have combined these with a slew of hip-hop a capellas, bringing the likes of KRS One, Large Professor and People Under the Stairs into the reggae light. There has long been two-way traffic between both camps, but Blunted in the Backroom makes the case for even more commuter congestion. Besides some unlikely shotgun marriages, there's also a welcome opportunity to toast such forgotten cuts as Ray Alphonso's El Torro and The Viceroys' My Mission Is Impossible, as well as Nextmen prodigy Dynamite MC. www.thenextmen.com