RAPPERS DELIGHT: From the opening shot, which...

RAPPERS DELIGHT: From the opening shot, which takes us hurtling through a darkened subway tunnel, the underground world of the New York subway system has never looked as rousingly exotic as it does in the new video of Shinehead’s irresistible “Chain Gang-Rap.” Directed by Andrew Doucette (a native Californian), the clip crackles with a giddy, street-wise vitality. Most of the energy is provided by Shinehead (Mr. Shinehead to the New York Times), who hops off the roof of a passing train, dangles from the ceiling of a subway car and slides down a 100-foot ramp between platform stairs without losing his beret. Buoyed by a sprinkling of cinema-verite Super 8 footage, it’s the best celebration of the sooty IRT since the “Next Stop Greenwich Village” scene where a room full of boozy hepsters played “Subway” at a Village house party. . . . Not content with spreading the L.A. rap gospel himself, Ice-T has swung a label deal of his own. The real surprise--it’s not at Warners, where Ice is signed, but at Epic Records, which eagerly wooed L.A.’s leading rapper (and his strong connections in the hip-hop community). Called Rhyme Syndicate Records, the label’s first release features local rapper the Divine Stylist. “He’s amazing,” says Ice. “His record is very hype stuff. He’s created a whole new language of rap--in fact, we’re gonna have to put out a glossary so you can understand everything.” . . . Rap Track of the Week comes from Schooly D, whose current album, “Smoke Some Kill,” will never make it on any radio station--it’s too smutty. Still, a must-to-hear (at dangerous decibels) is “Signifyin’ Rapper,” which offers a volatile monologue about a trio of maniacal homeboys, set to the menacing rhythm track from Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir.”