Far too busy making DJ appearances around the world in front of awed fans to turn out LPs, Aphrodite’s Gavin King finally followed up his production debut — which was basically a history lesson, anyway — with the guest-heavy Aftershock. Aphrodite introduces the record with a solid break track named “Heat Haze,” then turns to rapper Rah Digga for “Put a Cut on It,” an OK rap track. Despite an early highlight from Barrington Levy (“All Over Me”), the record doesn’t really start moving until King delivers a squelchy monster named “Wobble” and strings together features for the rappers Deadly Hunter on “Ganja Man,” Big Daddy Kane on “Off Limits,” and even serious old-timer Schoolly D for “Hoochie.” King also shows he has much more production finesse than most give him credit for, dropping some bombs during the R&B jam “Be With Me.” – John Bush
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