After three successful albums with Gotee records, a missionary trip to South Africa, and the startup of The Train Station: Hip-Hop Learn Shop outreach comes The Groundwork Theory, from the once and future Knowdaverbs.  Verb's has spent the past several years honing and perfecting his sound and this latest release shows just how far the young man from Phoenix has come.

Back in action with Verbs' Global Village hip-hop sound and lyrical wordplays that grab you by the ears, The Groundwork Theory is not an album to be played as background music. Kicking off with "I Yie", Verbs maneuvers through the reintroduction with Jedi-like reflexes into an ever-present message of integrity with "You Better Not Fall For That", featuring cameo performances from Theory Hazit and Josiah Bell as well as production by Tony Stone. Next comes the reminder that "if life's moving too fast, take your foot off the gas," in "Be Still", a sentiment that is reprised between tracks later on, and features a guest appearance by The Light.

Sonically speaking, the album trips across the map with international influence from India to Jamaica and back to home turf with a sprinkling of love songs like "Future" and "Mutual", with a nod to Mr. Verb's brand-new bride. There's even a taste of jazz, on the piano driven "I Know", which features Darnell Levine. And if you listen closely, when track eight rolls around with "Glow", between the questions of "why do we glorify the ideologies of slain rappers and not the slain master back from the here after?" a James Earl Jones voice intones "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden," making for a sound that fuses James Bond with the new Jedi order. And finally one of the most singable tracks, "Let's Live", takes listeners "from the darkness to the light," before it all wraps up with another Newsflash.

Rather than go on for pages detailing the clever turns of phrases built in the groundwork of this theory, perhaps it would be better to reiterate Knowdaverbs' own disclaimer from the Action Figure project: "Keep your ears peeled for word puzzles as you listen to these recordings." It may take more than once through the disc to catch them all, but whether you're a faithful follower, or just like to mix it up, TGT is definitely worth a spin.

Do, or do not -- there is no try.

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