For a solid fifteen minutes, 1200 Techniques were massive. Everyone these days is talking about Hilltop Hoods being the group who took Australian hip-hip into the mainstream, but the sing-song “Karma” beat the Adelaide troupe to the punch by several years.

Of course, following up a crossover moment is not so easy, and as such when 1200 Techniques second album Consistency Theory came out to strong reviews claiming it as an aggressive release, it was never going to match the sales of its predecessor. For N’fa’s first solo outing, the group’s frontman has returned to some of the song focus of the past.

“Get Doh” is a pastiche of the bling and braggadocio culture of American hip-hop, as he spits rhymes. The emerging producer Styalz Fuego lays a deep bass groove on “Blessings”, and the song is an instant winner, and more than comfortably sits alongside contributions from the likes of AKA Nobody, Mr. Yoshiaki or Roots Manuva, or 1200 Techniques’ own DJ Peril.

But undoubtedly the star of Cause An Effect is N’fa. His flow is smooth, and he often raps to the beat, rather than against it as many American rappers are beginning to do, meaning that it fits so much tighter to the music. Some dark vibes appear, as on the Roots Manuva-produced “My Style”, but with fourteen tracks (and one short coda), there’s very little fat on the album, which is rare in hip-hop. What’s so pleasing about Cause An Effect is how direct and immediate it is, and how strong the songs are.