I said, "I'm from Seattle." They said, "You from where? Nigga, do they got black folks out there?" I told 'em, "Hell yeah, and I don't think you prepared for the next shit we perfect out here..."

Since cutting their 2007 LP Future Talk, the Physics (MCs Gathigi "Thig Natural" Gishuru and Njuguna "Monk Wordsmith" Gishuru, and producer Justin "Just D'Amato" Hare) have been quietly winning the hearts of Seattle's townfolk, organically achieving their own buzz—warm and cognac-smooth. They're simply one of the most vital crews doing it around here.

With each successive release from their camp, from the scintillating High Society and Three Piece EPs to the fully realized soul of the EP by their backup vocalists Malice & Mario Sweet, there was a clear elevation of style and execution, all pointing toward some grand statement in the near future. Safe to say that the Physics' new Love Is a Business is just that—a sparkling, seductive suite that's as totally accessible as it is unassailably Seattle. From the #108 to the #7 to Seward Park all the way around Lake Washington (Three Piece's winners "Coronas on Madrona" and "My Place," in slightly updated versions, are here as well), the trio make world-class music while they live, love, and hustle in the 206, drawing inspiration from the trees, the water, and, of course, the dusty LPs they unearth. On the cover, the three pose in vintage vines like some lost Philly soul trio; apropos, as LIAB glides with a grown-up, well-earned ease—jet-setting miles over this era's fitful, aimlessly breezy teen-dude narratives. The music, mainly provided by Justo—but with important assists from the Sweets, ace keys man Sam Wish, guitarist Eben Hasse, trumpeter Owuor Urunga, J.Pinder, the Good Sin, Kelsey Bulkin, not to mention additional production from P Smoov, DJ Nphared, BeanOne, and Jake One—is a seamless soul suite, sometimes bouncy, other times vulnerable, and always strikingly intimate. It might well be one of the greatest ensemble works Seattle hiphop has produced, and it's undeniably one of the best things to come out of this town in years.

The brothers Gishuru work fair magic together: Thig's primarily a dapper deep-thinker, the perpetually on-the-go lothario, deftly balancing class and crass, while Wordsmith, naturally, is the poet, gamefully rapping his ass off, at times speaking to the loss and injustice he sees where he lives. Their chemistry with each other, with the music, is such that when Phonte—surely a big influence on the Physics dudes—pops up on the hauntingly sweet "Babble," he doesn't overpower. In fact, if you're like me, you might dare to think to yourself that LIAB could easily hang with the majority of Little Brother's catalog.

The Physics celebrate the release of Love Is a Business with two shows on Saturday, August 6, at the Crocodile. First is the early all-ages joint with Grynch, Dyno Jamz, Brothers from Another, and DJ Nphared, hosted by Khingz; later would be the 21-plus situation with Hi-Life Soundsystem, Malice & Mario Sweet, Fly Moon Royalty, DJ Jake One, and yours truly playing host.