Chali 2na is to Jurassic 5 what that guy who sang bass was to Boyz II Men: The group wouldn't be the same without him.

2na's double-octave basso profundo was the perfect touch on J5's old-school five-MCs-in-unison style, and on his own he was far and away the group's most unique voice.

But part of his appeal was that, with five MCs, he wasn't the main attraction. On "Fish Outta Water," there are some guests, but it's mainly 57 minutes of deep-voiced rapping. A lesser rapper would allow things to get monotonous, but 2na employs strong production from the likes of Scott Storch, DJ Babu, Jake One, J5's DJ Nu-Mark and others to keep it moving and keep it fresh.

Ranging from rough soul ("Get Focused") to twists on cartoon theme music (the "Inspector Gadget" chorus on "International," feat. Beenie Man) and bouncy acoustic jams ("Comin' Thru"), "Fish Outta Water" works almost all the way through.

Detroit rapper Elzhi drops by for a guest verse on the neo-soul bounce of "When Will I See You Again," and formers Spooks member Ming Xia croons on the gentle closer, "4 Be Be."

In fact, there isn't much wrong with this record, except that 2na doesn't have any contributions from several of the excellent bands he's performed with live, from the Latin-tinged Ozomatli to jazz-funk combo Galactic.

Hear samples from "Fish Outta Water" at Amazon.com.

Sussex Countian