Since hearing his impressive contribution to Extended F@mm’s collaboration album Happy F*ck You Songs, it has been apparent the Tonedeff may be the most underrated emcee in hip hop. Still, those who haven’t been sleeping have been eagerly anticipating Tone’s full-length solo debut, Archetype. With Archetype’s release just around the corner, Tone has dropped a third remarkably long EP, Underscore, just to whet the fans’ collective appetite one more time.

Underscore is made up of previously-unreleased old tracks and a few new ones, plus a bunch of freestyles and even a remix of an absolute gem. The Domingo-produced ‘TNT’ kicks the CD off in emphatic fashion, as Tone rips a spectacular background of strings with a crazy verse of battle rhymes and punchlines. As expected, a lot of the disses are aimed at the generic targets like wack emcees and thugs, but it doesn’t take long to realise that Tone definitely has a genuine chip on his shoulder when it comes to certain aspects of the hip hop scene. Dedicating the track ‘Give A Damn’ to “the next A&R that has the nerve to tell me my sh*t is too hip hop”, Tone announces his contempt for commercial artists while dropping some more dope lines of his own.

‘Love Ain’t (Remix)’ puts a new spin on Tone’s already amazing collaboration with the CunninLynguists. As the original is arguably one of 2003’s best tracks, the remix was always going to struggle to top it, but the result is still a very dope track until the beat switches for Kno’s verse, when it unfortunately deteriorates into a totally different and much less appropriate mood. ‘Shag’ takes love further on the ridiculous tip, an apparent Austin Powers tribute with elements of the ‘Soul Bossa Nova’ tune made famous by the movie’s intro. Not one to take seriously, Tone keeps the track brimming with references for good measure.

The EP heads back into battle rap territory with a couple of radio freestyles, along with full-length joints ‘Safety First’ (featuring Session of Extended F@mm) and the ultra-catchy ‘Ridiculous’. Despite the extended absence of deeper subject material, Tonedeff proves consistently throughout the disc that he has enough dope punch lines to keep rhyming for days on end. Really, I mean that. But the EP isn’t totally without genuine substance. Accompanied by the CunninLynguists’ Deacon The Villain, ‘Hypocrite’ brings out more of Tone’s grievances within the scene, this time targeting the outspoken hypocrites of hip hop. What can I say, it’s funny because it’s true.

Closing out the EP is ‘Morethanthis’, which finds Tone singing a short ballad about his ambition to achieve recognition. Tone certainly proves that he isn’t a bad singer at all, but it is still a puzzling addition to the disc. After numerous listens I still can’t work out if it is meant to be taken seriously or not. It’s quite well written, but Tone’s affinity for humour gives me my doubts. I’ll let you make up your own mind.

Basically, Underscore is simply a collection of miscellaneous material which couldn’t find a place on Archetype. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad CD. I assure you that Tonedeff is way too dope to release a bad CD. But, not surprisingly, it lacks some of the overall cohesiveness of an album, and there are only so many times you can listen to even the nicest radio freestyles. This EP truly does serve its purpose: it may be good, but it really just keeps you in even greater anticipation of the release of Archetype later this year. I, for one, can’t wait.