X Clan, the afrocentric group popular in the “golden era” of hip hop in the early 1990s, will release Return From Mecca on February 3, 2007. Brother J, of the X Clan states, “My mission is to serve the people with what they deserve; a positive message in a negative time. If I did this album with no music the content should still stimulate evolution in hip writers.” This focus on a conscious message, combined with an eclectic range of production sounds, makes it an album worth listening to. The whole album is streamed on their myspace page here.

If you live in New York, they are having a CD Release Party on Wednesday at SOB’s.