I’m guessing (hoping) you’ve heard Bubble Pop, the first track off the forthcoming Del album Eleventh Hour, due out March 11 on Definitive Jux.

Without question, Del has provided one of the most unique deliveries and distinctive voices in hip-hop since he dropped 1991’s Parliament/Funkadelic-inspired I Wish My Brother George Was Here. Not only that, he helped usher his crew, Hieroglyphics, into an era of self-sustainment after his falling out with Elektra (and the rest of Hiero’s parting with Jive Records). Del’s work with Dan the Automator as Deltron, Gorillaz and even Dinosaur Jr. (Judgment Night soundtrack, anyone?) shows his willingness to work outside the underground hip-hop safe zone.

So it makes sense for Del to team up with another independent spirit in Def Jux. And it’s not totally surprising: Def Jux head El-P made a cameo on the track Offspring from Del’s Both Sides of the Brain.

Workin’ It shows Del in fine form, both on the mic and behind the boards. The sci-fi-esque raygun loop recalls something like Deltron while Del’s rhyme pattern is decidedly scaled back but tight nonetheless.

• Del the Funky Homosapien | Workin’ It