Writers Block is a duet project between Zen and Dannu, both members of the Los Angeles underground hip-hop set
the Visionaries. Their debut album,
En Route, is sprawling and a little overlong, but over the course of these 20 tracks, the pair mostly keep themselves on the right side. The first thing one notices with early songs like "Sunset Limited" is that the beats and settings on this album are both immediately gripping and composed of unexpected elements. (Unsurprisingly, the track "No More No Less" brags about the care the pair takes in fashioning its beats.) Over this, both rappers tend to work solo, taking all or at least most of the verses in any particular song, possibly joining together on the choruses; naturally, this is all in addition to the usual parade of guest stars.
En Route fundamentally isn't far removed from
the Visionaries' usual material, but it's a great addition to the oeuvre.