It's a testament to Terrel Wallace's sharp discernment that his somewhat heavier and considerably longer second Tall Black Guy album is never bulky or short on fuel. The Norwich-based Detroit expatriate released it three years after the succinct 8 Miles to Moenart, preserving assistance from past associates like Diggs Duke, Mario Sweet, and Ozay Moore while adding to the mix a greater number of new collaborators. Like the debut, it's a subtly emotive and primarily instrumental hip-hop fusion of soul, jazz, and funk. It's likewise laced with voices -- sampled dialogue from classic television, bits of music production talk, some jubilant kid chatter -- and synthesizes live instrumentation with obscure and familiar sample sources. Indeed, it does play out like a journey into stereo sound, sequenced to easy-flowing effect. Nothing glows quite as brightly as the first album's "The Motor Is Running," but the delights are as abundant, spread evenly across the likes of "Rocking from Beginning to End" and "This One Is for the Ladies and Gents" -- two cuts with sweetly finessed electric piano lines -- and the bouncing "Beware of the Groove," which keeps the Midwest-West Coast funk connection intact. After the untroubled twilight glide of "I Will Never Know," featuring L.A. trio Moonchild, this ride switches tracks in more than one way. A pained tirade from Chicago poet and educator Mario Smith leads to "Things Deeper Than My Skin," where Moore sternly laments societal disadvantages grown from a single root, fielding innocent questions from his kids regarding racial differences. The sun then pokes through for "Peace and Love," an at-ease conclusion. While Wallace's slackened drums are expectedly foremost, the melodic, slow-twisting basslines are just as crucial. Nearly inconspicuous but substantial, they undergird the whole program and keep it very together.