I remember where I was the first time that I heard The Album. It was the summer of 2002, when I was 16, sitting shotgun on my way to California, with my cousins, for a two-week vacation. Discussing favorite underground hip hop acts with my oldest cousin, she instructed me to find this album in her CD case and pop it in the player. The self-titled track came on first, of course, and I was immediately captivated by their lyrical skill, the complexity, and the overall aural pleasure that the song was giving me. As the album kept playing, I remember digging through my purse to find a pen, to write their name down, so I could remember it when I got back home. Bought the re-released CD later that year (which also put me onto Quannum Projects), and I've been a fan of them--together and individually--ever since.