When the BBC Sound of 2009 anointed Master Shortie's debut LP came and went with little fanfare earlier this year, most suspected that there just wasn't room for another kodachrome decked pop hip hopper here stateside. Top 40 radio only just tapped into Cudi, and four years since his debut STILL has no idea what to do with Lupe Fiasco- it just wasn't time.

I however, am of the school of thought that nobody's going to buy the authenticity of a track called "Dance Like a White Boy" when it's being performed by a guy that played Simba in The Lion King in London's west end. Sorry. But here's the thing about Shortie: dude can rhyme. So was it a label thing? Where was the cool, collected young man I hear freestyling over this Passion Pit instrumental earlier this year?

Take a cue from Drake, fellow heartthrob with a handgun- you can have it both ways. Keep to this mixtape thing for a minute, and our ears will be there for the sophomore release. Respek.

Passion Pit "Sleepyhead" (Master Shortie Re-Up)