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"The Underdogg" is DJ Tre's debut EP for Hyperdub. He contributed two brilliant tracks to the DJ Rashad tribute set "Next Life", but compared to other long term members of the Teklife footwork crew, he hasn’t released much. Tre has been about since the early days, born and raised on the south side of Chicago. Encouraged by Rashad and his partner DJ Spinn, he has been making tracks since 1999, over a decade before footwork's ascent to global popularity. On this EP his sound, for the most part, is rooted in the speedy 4/4 of juke. It features a sparse and minimalist take on footwork but he's got a knack of adding in tight little switches and details that keep the tracks moving as essential dancefloor weapons. The EP starts with "It’s House Hybrid", which has its musical roots in Chip E's "It's House", one of the very earliest house tracks. It’s a tried and tested dancefloor devastator on dubplate, built on a crackling and hiccuping juke 4/4 which grows in intensity, until a ferocious amen break cracks it open and joins in the onslaught. "A Hammond Jam" matches a moody organ with typical sub rumbles and ghetto-tek drum programming. "Get Dat Ass Up!" bounces against a twitching melody that'salmost purist Detroit techno in its executed, save for the stuttered footwork rhythm that underpins it all. "Tha Rhodez Jam!" micro-edits a delicate Rhodes sample into flickering shapes against switching 8 bar patterns of drums that go from rolling to soca-like pulses with whistles. Essential tools for DJs on the hyperplane.