For anybody struggling to come to grips with the violent trends in hip-hop over the past decade or so, there's a temporary aural sanctuary. For all the posturing , gunfire, bad press, and heavy sampling contributed by megaproducers like Suge Knight and P Diddy-Puff Daddy-what's-his-face, it's good to know that an original take on rap is not beyond reach. Santa Fe's Flow Nice Foundation has reclaimed the originality of underground hip-hop with Listen Closely. Childhood friends and band founders Luke Herrera and Matt Carrasco-Trujillo have created a new style with a few nods to the old school. There are hints of Fu-Schnickens, KRS-One, X-Clan, and De La Soul in the lyrical rhythm, but studio guitarists, poetic verses, and seamlessly placed samples make this funky record a shark in a sea of copycat fish. "Sucka Free" draws you in with an acoustic-guitar riff and pays off with a question-answer verse. There's a misconception in hip-hop that harder is better. The truth is, the major-label market is losing ground among young people, who are sick of the gun-totin', woman-hatin', gold-chain-sportin' set. Flow Nice reminds us that good music comes from the heart, not the barrel of a gun. If you're sucka-free, step up to Flow Nice.