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This is the value of working at cross-purposes: Prince Bean was Canasta's excuse to undulate his wry, disaffected lyrics, and DJ Nate G's vehicle for his sharp, chiming, pop songs. Their favorite kind of compromise made them essentially a singles band, and The Illa Dilla has a couple of their best (notably "Hoop Ride," one of the greatest pop expressions of the Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name). But it also has some wonderful compromises of different kinds: the bizarrely romantic "Illa Dilla," and "Illa Dilla 2," where DJ Nate G covers up for Canasta's floridity with shimmying rockabilly. --Douglas Wolk *