Dregs One/ Ill Sugi - Universal Language

"Universal Language," the new album by San Francisco rapper Dregs One and Tokyo producer Ill Sugi, is proof that music transcends international borders. Dregs' underground albums reached Sugi through a local record store while he was still in high school, which later led to the two communicating through the internet. Sugi began sending Dregs beats and remixing some of his songs, and eventually flew to the Bay Area to visit and stayed at Dregs' apartment. Despite the language barrier between them, the two were able to bond through the culture of hip-hop. During that trip, they began working on a collaborative album and drove down to Los Angeles to record some songs. Over the next few years, Dregs and Sugi worked on the songs through e-mail and stayed in touch through Facebook and Skype. The end result is "Universal Language." Over Sugi's smooth yet grimey sampled beats, Dregs spits streetwise raps that touch on topics that relate to the human experience. This album has the potential to open the hearts and the minds of listeners and become an international hip-hop classic.