In the present era of hip-hop, a time in which the industry is saturated with ring tone wonders and club created records, its rare that you leave listening to an album inspired. But Bay Area rap duo The Tones' debut album Dreamtalk does just that without compromising creativity, lyrical brilliance, and skillful and hypnotic production. Since hooking up in 2001, The Tones, who consist of rapper/singer Suhn and rapper/producer Retro, have finally released a full-length project on Plug Label. Prescribed for fans of Soul Village, Kanye, and Little Brother, the album is laced with soulful tracks and positive yet versatile flow, as they seek to take audiences on a journey through what they refer to as “DreamTalk”. The first three tracks, “Get You High,” “From The Ground Up,” and “The Movement,” seem to start off leaving the impression that The Tones are simply another rap group obsessed with their own names and whose only mission is to talk about how great they are and how others are not. But the album soon takes a turn for the better for the next 11 tracks. The album contains several overarching themes. “Turn Me On” and “Invited Me” falls into the Relationships category with each song possessing a soulful vibe and melodic hook as The Tones serenade their loves with lyrics like, “it’s a science the chemistry between me and you/anticipating the next time I’m seeing you.” Although in “Turn Me On” one admits that he is simply in the relationship for the cash, tracks