What's on a rapper's mind besides fortune, fame, and balling bitches? Taka Black's seven-track EP never gets around to answering this question, but he puts a hysterical spin on themes we've heard over and over again. Rhyming "constipation," "masturbation," and "lactation" (as he does in "Green Goblin") in a way that makes sense takes some serious creativity, and this guy's flow is as nasty as his lyrics. It's a shame that DJ Flaco, who has a bad habit of interrupting Taka with creepy, synthesized laughter, mixed the whole thing to make it sound as if it's been run over by a pimped-out ride. Take them out, and Pure Imagination: The Prelude sounds about like the Next Big Thing. — Phil Barnes