“Mission Control: Volume One” is a compilation, put together under the creative vision of local hip-hop artist Mic Skills and presented by mikecalvertscion.com. The project is devoted to showcasing up and coming, local, Houston hip-hop and R&B artists along with some special guests like Karina Nistal, PKT, Hafaza, Shina Rae, and Hero & Rad. Even though there’s a good variety of stylings on the disc all of the artists pursue a newer, fresher, sound that is distinctly different than the hip hop culture of Houston’s DJ Screw days. Inside the jacket of the album the liner notes even talk about how the newer Houston rap scene is reaching out past chopping and screwing and candy paint and trying new things. As far as I’m concerned, the highlights of “Mission Control: Volume One” are Uzoy’s catchy-as-hell “Twilight Zone”, “Sick (remix)” with Mic Skills, Mikeflo, and Hero & Rad, “Wack Rappers” by the brilliant Thurogood Wordsmith, and Mic Skills’ “Criminal” but that being said there are not really any bad tracks on here. I feel like the tracks on Mission Control are a lot more accessible to the general public than earlier Houston rap and will reach more people than ever.

Check out Mic’s video for the epic song “Criminal”. Epic is such an overused word but there’s no other way to describe this song: