This local hip-hop group’s fourth album is packed with chill beats, and upholds the trio’s claim to be rightfully synonymous with Emerald City rap. (Put another way by our own Kelton Sears, Digital Wildlife is “smooth as hell.”) After working closely with Blue Scholars for years (and touring with them in 2012), it’s only natural that The Physics would absorb some of that duo’s progressive yet laid-back vibe.

“Northern Lights” is a prime example; the track starts with light keys and slowly works in cowbell and bass drum, layering over them the smoothest rap flow on the album. But the similarities between the two Seattle groups end there, as Blue Scholars keeps its lyrical focus distinctly local while The Physics ventures into other subjects, like weed. Lots of weed. (See “Higher Learning.”)

Other influences are Frank Ocean in the last minutes of “Am I Crazy?” with Alisha Rodney, a dead ringer for “Sweet Life” from Channel Orange. Yet the key factor here is that The Physics distills these sounds and influences into something all its own; unlike Blue Scholars, the members don’t seem to take themselves too seriously, but Wildlife’s excellent production aesthetic, well-placed samples, and smooth vocals pick up the slack should the question of credibility or irreverence ever come into play.