Even a cursory listen reveals that Third Sight is anything but literal. So it should come as no surprise that the name has nothing to do with the fact that there are three members of the group. In fact, it started with two – emcee Jihad and DJ Dufunk – until the hip hop gods stepped in to link Jihad and D-Styles (yes, of the former Invisbl Skratch Piklz). They instantly clicked. “When we met, we started sharing our ideas about hip hop, and we both really liked dark stuff,” Jihad recalls. “And it has always been a real emphasis of mine to have the DJ totally incorporated. Like back in the ‘80s, the DJ’s name came first. I’ve never been on an emcee ego trip, and I think it’s a travesty that the DJ doesn’t get incorporated more largely into hip hop in its current state.”

D-Styles, meanwhile, had been banging on drum machines since 1988. While he is best known for his ridiculous scratching talent, he has long sought to find equilibrium between the scratching and production sides. “I was working with local rappers in high school, but nobody was really dedicated at the time, so I got more focused on scratching,” says D. “I’ve always tried to balance the two, which is a hard thing.”

Between then and now, Third Sight has released two singles, an EP and a full length LP (Rhymes Like a Scientist b/w Ballsacks 12" single; Zodiac Killer b/w Will I Get Shot by a Dope Fiend? 12" single; the MDK EP and The Golden Shower Hour LP), all of which have been met with critical acclaim, frequent college radio airplay and fan devotion. These out-of-print releases, all of which feature tricky lyrical wordplay by Jihad and mind-boggling scratching by D-Styles, are hunted down by fans the world over.

Now on their second album, Third Sight is still finding balance in all their work, recalling the chemistry of the great DJ/emcee combos of the golden era of hip hop. “I look for someone who knows how to complement the song,” notes D-Styles. “I can only do so much with the beat, so I leave it open for Jihad to paint the rest of the picture.” Jihad, meanwhile, found in D-Styles a musical partner with the same reverence for that old style template where the DJ is cutting for the chorus and where the emcee is striving to be the best that he possibly can be.

But don’t mistake their great chemistry for quick and easy results. While D takes his time to make sure the beats are proper, Jihad carries himself as an emcee’s emcee and as one who takes great pride in having the strongest and most meaningful lyrics possible. He’s not just a braggadocious rapper, he’s not just a storyteller, and he’s not just a freestyle cipher dweller. He is all of those things. His diverse interests and passion for knowledge manifest through his lyrics, as he sometimes finds himself deep in research if he’s writing about a subject he feels he needs more education on. As he puts it, “I want to make it so when you’re listening to the story, you can visualize what’s taking place in your mind’s eye.”

The product of what he calls “taking the Good Times family and plopping them down in the middle of the suburbs,” Jihad spent much of his formative and adolescent years facing poverty and rampant drug abuse, which eventually claimed the lives of his mother, grandmother, grandfather, and two aunts. “I came from this niche experience where you have all this crazy shit going on in this one house on a cul-de-sac where everything else is normal. My life was always going 100mph. I saw a lot of crazy shit, and as a result, I talk about a lot of crazy shit. I vent a lot of my frustrations about my childhood and adolescence as well as about the current state of hip hop through my music. So it’s a real catharsis for me.”

Musically, D-Styles’ tracks reflect Jihad’s attitude and subject matter. D-Styles notes, “We’ve always been fans of angry, aggressive music—the Public Enemy stuff—but that’s not the only stuff we’re into.” Despite a lot of creative back-and-forth, the group has seldom, if ever, had a creative difference because they’re so close in ideology. They give each other the space and freedom to take their respective artforms to the next level.

The result of that freedom and chemistry is the second full-length from Third Sight, titled Symbionese Liberation Album. The title isn’t just a nod to the Patty Hearst kidnappers—though when the SLA demanded a food giveaway in the Bay Area as ransom for Hearst, Jihad’s mom managed to snag a turkey before the scene turned ugly. It’s a reference to symbiosis among many different people and races as applied to the making of an album instead of to the making of a revolution.

Musically, the album is an exercise in dark, aggressive minimalism. D-Styles’ beats churn with molten energy and provide Jihad with a stark backdrop for his unpredictable rhymes. Jihad claims that they were “as always, trying to give more bang for the buck so you can get more listens,” and SLA doesn’t disappoint when it comes to replayability. Clocking in at 17 tracks and an hour of listening time, SLA is a slow burn, rewarding the careful listener with deeper and deeper layers of music and lyrical meaning. This time around D-Styles and Dufunk share production duties with outside producers Rhettmatic (Beat Junkies), Ricci Rucker (Gunkhole, Ned Hoddings), Da Hermit, Raggedy Andy and Mr. Henshaw. Also blessing the Symbionese Liberation Album are guest emcees MF Grimm, Rashinel and Eyecue of the Hobo Junction, Azeem, Insomniac and Dave Dub.

In a hip hop market saturated with assembly-line product and soundalike emcees, Third Sight is a refreshing change of pace. Their carefully crafted music is sure to hold a steady spot in the discerning hip hop listener’s rotation while bringing a much-needed dose of skill and imagination back to the game.