Cannibal Ox's 2001 debut, The Cold Vein, continues to stand as an indie-rap masterpiece. The duo's members, Vast Aire and Vordul Mega, had something to prove. Definitive Jux label head El-P, who produced the album, was fired up to define himself post-Company Flow. And underground hip-hop was at the perfect point to accept a new vanguard for post-Wu-Tang spiritual headknock. But bridges have been burned, beefs over business have gone down, and all the players have been left to their own devices. The more time that passes, the easier it is to wonder how well the sum of CanOx's parts could survive independently of each other.