Sometimes it takes locals who aren't really locals to inject some freshness into a slagging scene. These days, hip-hop is the window on originality; locally however, there aren't enough hip-hop artists releasing material to really gauge where that sect is. But if local crew (and east coast ex-pats) The Chapter's pre-release of The World Must Wait No Longer is any indication, those M.C.'s still in the closet have some stiff competition.
There's a mesh of influences here, from the East Coast-party vibe of "It's Working," to the underground flavor of "Chapter Crew," to the gospel piano of "Landuvbrokenenglish Pt. 1," to the melodic samples of the identity commentary "Ni**as and Flies." Samples are used to great effect, filling in and not hogging; lyrically the songs are invitations to battle and one-up verbally, not just telling stories of thug life like in "Crazy Blocks." There's also a bit of instrumental experimentation on "Flight 6556" and "Vibez Lude," a little reminicent of Cut Chemist's re-workings.
The Chapter's a smart crew; they also have the potential to proudly represent for Las Vegas a corner of the scene that isn't normally highlighted.