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The Protege delivers conscious hip-hop on debut EP, Untitled is Hard Enough...

Enter the Cypher
Fri., Aug. 21 at 9 p.m. $5. Sub Rosa Party, Cousin Larry's, 1 Elm St. Danbury. (203) 730-0035, www.myspace.com/subrosaparty

On last month's "Uncommon Radio," the podcast of Brooklyn-based label Uncommon Records, local hip-hop artist The Protege and host Nasa talked about the widespread "very average work" in today's underground scene. They spoke like crusaders in a struggle against undeserved attention — and each sounded hungry for the consideration all artists strive for. Fans, respect, satisfaction, the whole thing.

With talk like this, a man's got to be ready to deliver. Luckily, with his recent EP, Untitled is Hard Enough..., Protege matches his talk with plenty of walk. If you're eager for conscious hip-hop, free of watered-down clichés and inflated egos, Untitled should be more than enough. As he says on "Nothing," one of the best tracks on the thing, "I'm appealing to intellect / So there's no gats or pistols, ya dig?" The songs are about a young man's struggle to find a true voice in the world, something cerebral, long-lasting and worthy of respect.

Smooth production work by Sketch tha Cataclysm lays the foundation, as Protege strings together words like a jazz drummer, experimenting with new rhythms at every turn. "I want you to vibe with me first, then we can explore what's being said," he says.

The seven-song EP kicks off with a dark bass groove, keeps it going with vintage funk trumpet and sax blasts, and finishes it off with some killer old-school R&B by way of a sexy Jean Knight sample from 1972.

Protege is the youngest member of the Waterbury-based group Phenetiks. His voice is energetic, authoritative and fresh. He's been performing with that group, on his own and with other members of the Antfarm Affiliates crew for years. He says rhyming and performing is therapeutic. "It helps me channel a lot of anger so I don't end up in jail for assault," he jokes.

Stepping into the studio as a solo artist has helped him grow freer as an artist, he says. "It's like I finally adapted to my alter ego. When you think 'The Protege' you think energetic, fun, still learning as he goes. But my voice and my message didn't reflect that character fully until I analyzed myself while writing the EP."

Sketch, who performs with Protege at the hip-hop showcase Enter the Cypher on Friday, explains this disc is the launching pad Protege has been yearning for. "He comes out of a group [Phenetiks] with the incredibly strong emcee RocOne and the incredibly strong producer Deto22," says Sketch, "so it was excellent to shine a spotlight on him and show that he wasn't just along for the ride."

The adoration goes both ways, as Protege says, "Sketch had everything to do with [my] change. The disappointment of not delivering was enough to motivate me. It's like a Jedi mind trick."

You'll hear complex, cool guest vocals by The Phenetics on "Sunshine" and "Pressure" as well as rhymes by up-and-coming emcee Silentuch on "Maybe." It was recorded by Deto22 and mastered by Dirt E. Dutch. And all along, Protege is never outdone. "I would say I was the boss," he says, "[but] no matter what, putting together an album is a group project and all the wheels have to turn."

Protege says the freedom he felt while putting together this EP is most evident on the second track, "Awareness."

He says, "This song took the longest to write and was the hardest to fit a decent flow over. I had to stop my human side from thinking and let The Protege take over."

The album is available for download on iTunes.