Noreaga has gotten a lot of knocks for not being the sharpest tool in the waistband; but in an art form as theatrical as hip hop, sometimes that's just what rap heads are looking for. Just as New York City's influence on the national stage began to recede, N.O.R.E.'s hardheaded, stubborn raps joined a few other key groups in keeping the Big Apple's underground thug rep alive. Although it's been a few years since he and old partner Capone were working together on an LP - their second release as a duo dropped a full eight years ago - their new record is an unselfconscious tribute to a now distant era of late '90s NY street raps.

The fact is, it's ignorant hardcore hip hop's thematic consistency that makes it feel like such a classic, timeless sound today. Channel 10 is a perfect example. Even the club-targeted lead single, Rotate, fits in with the album's gritty vibe. It helps that it's produced by Ron Browz, New York's only club rap producer with a relevant sound in 2009. His dirty NY flip of T-Pain-style autotune means the song works as a pop track without sacrificing the rough edge that makes Capone-N-Noreaga's music work. With a bhangra-like guitar loop over stubborn snare hits and a Busta Rhymes guest verse, it is something of a minimal monster.

Most of the beats are considerably more mercenary and generic, but in the best possible sense. There are a couple of exceptions; Alchemist's creaky bassline-driven Follow the Dollar stands out for its cinematic feel, a rap horror film soundtrack, while DJ Premier's turn on Grand Royal is a standout even when compared to his recent creative resurgence. The record's best track comes thanks to Havoc, who drops an adrenaline-blasted string loop for Wobble, which would have been a highlight on Mobb Deep's classic Hell on Earth LP. Capone's verse is particularly raw: "Architect, the way I draw heat and design a hit/A well-dressed goon rockin' all that designer shit." Appropriately enough, the track also features Havoc and his Mobb Deep partner Prodigy, an apropos collaboration for both veteran New York groups. Only a remix with M.O.P. would give the track more congruent energy.

But the meat of the album is generic, dreary minor-key piano loops, as on The Argument, a reflection on Capone and N.O.R.E.'s unity as a crew. Lyrically, it's the typical content for CNN, but that's exactly what this record needs. It's not the ambitious conceptualizing the duo achieved on their debut (much of the credit for which might go to The War Report co-collaborator Tragedy Khadafi) but it feels like an echo from that era, the same rugged atmosphere and no-bullshit rapping. Sure, times have changed in the interim; in '96 Mobb Deep wouldn't have been caught out of "strictly Tim boots and army certified suits," and now Capone's spitting about his designer fits on a Havoc track. But some things are timeless; on Channel 10, late '90s thug rap sounds like it never left.