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Showing posts with label Prince Paul. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Prince Paul. Show all posts
November 15, 2018
Prince Paul - Politics of the Business (May 6, 2003)
Producer
Prince Paul, who I believe nobody will dispute is one of the best our chosen
genre has ever offered up, toiled away for years on his magnum opus, the hip
hop opera A Prince Among Thieves. That project was a logical extension of what
he perfected behind the boards on both his own projects and others, including
the first three De La Soul albums that are held in very high regard, combining
engaging music with inspired samples and well-written (and goofily-performed,
which is part of the charm) skits. He turned the project in to his label, Tommy
Boy Records, in 1998, only to watch it sit on someone’s desk collecting dust
for a year. The label claimed that it was trying to formulate a marketing plan
for such a unique effort, but when A Prince Among Thieves was finally released
in 1999, there was hardly a promotional push: hell, most people didn’t even
realize that the album had finally dropped. As expected with that description,
A Prince Among Thieves sold zero copies, and effectively ended Paul’s working
relationship with Tommy Boy Records.
That
experience of being jerked around by his employer while being told that his
work was too inside baseball for the mainstream is what brings us to Politics of the Business.
February 23, 2018
Prince Paul - A Prince Among Thieves (February 23, 1999)
What follows is a write-up for Prince Paul’s A Prince Among Thieves that I wrote over three years ago. I know this because I had to edit one of the sentences within the body of the post itself that dared to make a reference to time. I had been waiting for the opportunity to run this one, and I had big plans which I won't reveal here just in case I end up using them later, but in wanting to make sure I did the project justice, I kept putting it off until I just wasn’t writing anything for two years. This was supposed to run earlier this month, but I discovered that, by pure chance, today is the nineteen-year anniversary of the album’s release, so I held it back to celebrate a milestone that nobody will likely care about, but should. Feel free to refer to this review next year, when Paul is celebrating twenty years of A Prince Among Thieves, as it’ll still sound exactly the same and the notes below will still apply.
Unless Paul
uses the milestone as an excuse to re-release the project with extra bonus
material. I certainly would be open to that, anyway.
January 5, 2010
Handsome Boy Modeling School - White People (November 9, 2004)
Occasionally in the world of hip hop, critical acclaim carries the same value as actual currency. Just as it tends to happen in the realm of independent film, or damn near any other medium of entertainment, auteurs and artists who manage to score some well-deserved praise (and some who are just really fucking lucky) are often provided with the resources they need to ensure that lightning strikes twice, in the hopes that the act will succeed in turning a profit the second time around. At times, this idea actually works: had it not been for Bottle Rocket, Wes Anderson would never have been able to do Rushmore; Quentin Tarantino would have probably been forced to make a studio picture instead of Pulp Fiction had there been no Reservoir Dogs; and without The Room, Tommy Wiseau wouldn't have been give the opportunity to show up at sold-out late-night screenings of The Room (and make a shitload off of DVD sales).
That is the only explanation I can come up with to rationalize the existence of the second album by Handsome Boy Modeling School.
The production duo, made up of Dan "The Automator" Nakamura and Paul "Prince Paul" Huston, dropped a well-received but poor-selling debut, So...How's Your Girl?, on Tommy Boy Records, an act that was met with confusion and scorn by mainly just me: why, after all the shit Tommy Boy Records put him through, would Prince Paul immediately run back to them to release an album? (Besides the obvious contractual reasons, of course.) He created a group called the Gravediggaz whose first album, 6 Feet Deep/N---amortis, was dedicated to trashing that very label (albeit in a horrorcore-esque fashion)! Prince Paul was, at that point, the Joss Whedon to Tommy Boy's Fox; they kept fucking him over, and yet they were Paul's best choice for wider distribution.
For all intents and purposes (except financially), The Automator and Prince Paul were successful with their star-studded debut, creating solid tracks that still resonate with audiences today, many of them outside of the hip hop spectrum: you probably have friends who hate hip hop and cannot understand why you frequent a blog proclaiming it to still be relevant, and yet, they enjoy So...How's Your Girl? The entire concept of the duo, whose name was swiped from an episode of Chris Elliott's short-lived sitcom Get A Life, was based around the idea of a fake modeling school who trained its students to live a life of beauty, all while framing the multiple skits (and a couple of strange guest appearances by Father Guido Sarducci, proof positive that Paul and Dan love SCTV and Saturday Night Live) with songs that ignored the conventional constructs of beauty, instead choosing to redefine it on their own terms.
Five years on, the provocatively titled White People, Handsome Boy Modeling School's follow-up, found a home on Elektra Records. I'm not sure why Tommy Boy passed on the sequel (except for the fact that it most certainly would have lost them even more money), but what the former label home of Busta Rhymes and the late Ol' Dirty Bastard inherited wasn't a much easier sell: while still keeping the name and some of the concepts introduced on the original project, Paul and Dan elected to move everything into some kind of ridiculous hip hop Dating Game structure, which made for some awkward pauses while listening to the album, but some fucking hilarious impressions (more on that later).
The guest list stepped it up a notch, as well. Returning vets such as Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, El-P, and De La Soul (okay, technically only Trugoy was on the first project, so sue me) were joined up by the likes of The Rza, Chino Moreno of The Deftones, The Mars Volta, Cat Power, most of Linkin Park, Pharrell Williams (of The Neptunes), Lord FInesse, Mike Patton, and John Oates (of Hall & Oates), among others. Musically, Dan and Paul, already masters of meshing a beat around the style of its star, expanded upon what they brought to the tabel on So...How's Your Girl?, venturing off into even more playful territory. They even brought back Father Guido Sardicci (for no good reason), and reintroduced Saturday Night Live star Tim Meadows to the limited art-house audience that White People attracted.
Behind the scenes, however, things were very different this time around. Citing conflicts regarding how business was being handled, Prince Paul officially severed ties with The Automator shortly after White People dropped, making this the final time (at least as of this writing) that these two would ever work together. When White People tanked on store shelves, that just made it easier for Paul to walk away; while Dan Nakamura hasn't really released as many projects since then (there have been a handful, but most of them have nothing to do with hip hop), Prince Paul has been a workaholic, releasing albums as part of a cartoon dinosaur crew, a part of an abnormally names funk band, and as a seemingly long-lost member of West Coast stalwarts Souls Of Mischief.
Here's hoping they resolve their differences, because White People is no way to end a legacy.
1. INTRO (FEAT FATHER GUIDO SARDUCCI)
As So...How's Your Girl? ended with a monologue from Father Guido Sarducci, it's only fitting for him to kick off the sequel. You'll never listen to this introductory track more than once, though, and even that is kind of pushing it.
2. IF IT WASN'T FOR YOU (FEAT DE LA SOUL & STARCHILD EXCALIBUR)
Even though this is a much more recent track, Dan and Paul make this sound as if this track was recorded during the 3 Ft. High & Rising sessions, which means this sounds really fucking good and even whimsical at times. Trugoy's third verse, in which he rhymes about his pen, is a standout. I'm still at a loss as to why De La never tried to get Prince Paul to even contribute a single track to any of their recent albums. If there is anything negative to say about this track, it would be that it does run a bit too long.
3. ARE YOU DOWN WITH IT (FEAT MIKE PATTON)
Less reminiscent of the work of Lovage (a group made up of Faith No More's Mike Patton, The Automator, and Jennifer Charles from Elysian Fields) and more so of the man's solo work (with a bit of Faith No More tossed in for good measure). Which means, simply, that this song sucks monkey taint juice. Through a twisty straw. In a fluorescent sippy cup.
4. THE WORLD'S GONE MAD (FEAT BARRINGTON LEVY, DEL THA FUNKEE HOMOSAPIEN, & ALEX KAPRANOS)
And the Handsome Boy players continue to draw from the well: “The World's Gone Mad” sounds like an Automator-helmed Gorillaz song that was never actually recorded, as it could have fit into their catalog right around the time Dan was dropped from the group by Blur's Damon Albarn in favor of Danger Mouse. The presence of Del only adds more emphasis to my theory, since he appeared on both the first Gorillaz album and the first Handsome Boy project (I'm leaving Deltron 3030 off of this list to make my point). Anyway, this song still sounds really entertaining today; Barrington Levy's voice sounds damn near majestic over Paul and Dan's beat work, taking this track over the top. Also, I'm a fan of Franz Ferdinand, so I was glad to see Alex Kapranos make an appearance, even though it seems as if he hardly did anything.
5. DATING GAME (FEAT HINES BUCHANAN, NEELAM, & TIM MEADOWS)
As I mentioned above, White People abandons the “modeling school” concept almost entirely, in favor of frank (and goofy) discussions about relationships with the opposite sex. At least, that's how I rationalize Tim Meadows reprising his Saturday Night Live character Leon Phelps (The Ladies Man) throughout the album, beginning with this skit. This interlude also features an impressive Jay-Z impersonation and a less convincing imitation of The Rza, neither of which comes from Meadows. It's funny, but you can't tell me you won't skip past it during future spins.
6. BREAKDOWN (FEAT JACK JOHNSON)
Whenever I think of Jack Johnson, I think of Andy Samberg on SNL wearing shoes that look like bare feet. My understanding is that this was an already-existing Jack Johnson track reconfigured for Dan and Paul's personal use, but thanks to their meddling, this is the only song in the man's back catalog that I will listen to willingly. It isn't perfect, but it is pretty smooth.
7. IT'S LIKE THAT (FEAT CASUAL) / I AM COMPLETE (FEAT TIM MEADOWS)
Casual, of the Hieroglyphics collective, is an acquired taste. I tend to appreciate his flow in small doses, so the fact that “It's Like That” is a solo Casual song doesn't help the cause any. Dan and Paul provide a beat which sounds alright, but it's a retread of concepts previously introduced on the first Handsome Boy album. “I Am Complete” is just a skit featuring The Ladies Man, which only serves to remind me of how far the man has fallen since his SNL years: there is no reason for him to co-star on The Bill Engvall Show. Since he had a featured role in Mean Girls, one would think that Tina Fey would throw him a bone or something. 30 Rock can always use a random guest appearance.
8. I'VE BEEN THINKING (FEAT CAT POWER)
This song fills the slot occupied by Roison Murphy's performance on “The Truth”, off of So...How's Your Girl?, so much so that it will probably be used to promote an hour-long drama on AMC that isn't Mad Men in a few years. There are some Cat Power songs I really like (side note: I'm still looking for her cover of Blondie's “Hanging On The Telephone” (originally recorded by The Nerves, although I like Blondie's version much more) that she recorded for a fucking cell phone commercial: if anybody can help, I would appreciate it), but this isn't one of them; this track crawls along on all fours so slowly that it falls asleep midway through.
9. ROCK AND ROLL (COULD NEVER HIP HOP LIKE THIS) PART 2 (FEAT DJ Q-BERT, GRAND WIZARD THEODORE, JAZZY JAY, LORD FINESSE, MIKE SHINODA, RAHZEL, & CHESTER BENNINGTON) / KNOCKERS (FEAT TIM MEADOWS)
Ostensibly a sequel to the introductory track from the first project, but this song features actual vocals alongside Grand Wizard Theodore and Jazzy Jay's praise of rock music. (Please note that I wrote “rock music” and not “rock and roll music”. There is a difference.) Mike Shinoda provides what is probably a lost Fort Minor verse from a song he hadn't yet written, while Lord Finesse chooses to remind listeners that he receives a royalty check every time a radio station chooses to relive memories of She's All That by playing Fatboy Slim's “The Rockefeller Skank”. Chester Bennington (Shinoda's Linkin Park partner) sings in his usual way, stretching his voice beyond all recognition, since the man cannot fucking sing, and his contribution doesn't fit in on White People at all, even though he is a white person. This pales in comparison to the original, and the Tim Meadows skit tacked on to the end was unnecessary.
10. THE HOURS (FEAT CHINO MORENO, EL-P, & CAGE)
I happen to like The Deftones, but I hated Chino Moreno's vocals over this lame approximation of a “rap-rock” beat by The Automator and Prince Paul. This happens to fill the slot of “annoying shouting over a bad song” that was previously filled by El-P and Alec Empire on the first album, which is why it's ironic that El-P appears on here alongside his Def Jux employee Cage. The track picks up when the they begin to rhyme, but by then it's too late.
11. CLASS SYSTEM (FEAT JULEE CRUISE & PHARRELL)
I know: I thought it was fucking weird when I read that Pharrell Williams was on a Handsome Boy Modeling School album, too. This rant against poor people (told from the point of view of a spoiled socialite, to be fair: I'm not trying to insinuate that Julee Cruise is playing herself, although it's not like I know her personally) is far deeper than anything else on White People, and as a result, it sounds out of place. I liked Skateboard P's singing (as he is freed from the blingy trappings of Neptunes production) and I ended up wanting to punch Julee's character in the fucking mouth, so in that respect, it's successful, if not very likeable as a song.
12. FIRST...AND THEN (FEAT DRES)
I liked the instrumental, but otherwise I didn't care for this one. Apparently, I'd rather hear Dres when he's rhyming with Black Sheep, instead of when he's all by himself. But you don't have to automatically agree with me: the choice is yours. (I know! Clever, right?)
13. A DAY IN THE LIFE (FEAT THE RZA, AG, & THE MARS VOLTA)/ GOOD HYGEINE (FEAT TIM MEADOWS)
With this, it can finally be written that Dan the Automator has worked with the Wu-Tang Clan, an event that I had been waiting for ever since I discovered the man's work on Dr. Octagonecologyst and the A Better Tomorrow EP. (To be fair, Prince Paul probably just picked up the phone and called in a favor from his onetime Gravediggaz bandmate, but still.) Too bad the track is the epitome of wasted potential. I don't understand why Prince Rakeem is always the go-to person for high-profile cameos on albums designed for critical acclaim (such as Intermission from the Soul Assassins, or Rasassination from Ras Kass): Masta Killa would sound better with Automator's backing. (That's a collaboration album waiting to happen, folks. Make it so!) Alas, the music here is boring, the Mars Volta fail to impress (admittedly, I've never paid much attention to any of their work, nor that of their previous incarnation, At The Drive-In), and Andre the Giant sounds sleepy. The Tim Meadows skits have also gotten old: I'm actually missing the Chris Elliott sound bites right now.
14. GREATEST MISTAKE (FEAT JAMIE CULLUM & JOHN OATES)
Fills in the hole that “Sunshine” occupied on the previous album, although to be fair, John Oates (of Hall & Oates fame) is a much bigger star than Sean Lennon, at least professionally. This easily makes for the most unexpected collaboration on White People. However, it boils down to a personal preference: I love “Sunshine”, and I find “Greatest Mistake” derivative and, to put it bluntly, pretty shitty. Take that as you will.
15. DATING GAME PART 2 (FEAT HINES BUCHANAN, NEELAM, & TIM MEADOWS)
The skit is corny, and it ends before you find out how it ends (by design, naturally), but it still manages to remind me of the interludes on the first De La Soul album. Kind of.
16. OUTRO (FEAT FATHER GUIDO SARDUCCI)
Father Guido Sarducci supplies the outro yet again. However, this time around, The Automator and Prince Paul simply let the tape run while he ad-libs his ass off. And boy, is it dull as hell. It was a chore to sit through the entire track, but it was worth it, as I can tell the readers to never sit through the entire track. Kids, don't ever end your rap albums like this: you're likely to get your ass kicked.
FINAL THOUGHTS: With White People, Handsome Boy Modeling School has, unfortunately, decided to copy the formula of So...How's Your Girl? to the letter, instead of actually coming up with some fresh ideas. The Automator and Prince Paul still provide mostly above-average production, but this time around they play it safe with their collaborators, even when, on paper, they appear to be close to the edge: the collaborations with Chino Moreno, Mike Patton, and The Rza should have been much better. (In contrast, the verse from Chester Bennington was exactly as shitty as I was expecting.) White People not only abandons the actual “modeling school” concept almost entirely (Tim Meadows and Father Guido Sarducci briefly mention it during their monologues, and I do mean briefly), it also threatens to leave the fans of Dan and Paul behind. As big of a fan I am of both men, I'm almost thankful that White People was the final album from the Handsome Boy Modeling School, even though I'm fully aware that this album's failure to sell was not the reason for the break-up.
BUY OR BURN? This almost brings a tear to my eye, but this deserves a burn only. Dan and Paul tried their best with the beats, but their collaborators almost consistently fail them. If you happen upon the instrumental version of this album (which was released a few weeks after the actual album), you may want to pick that up, but this isn't essential in the least.
BEST TRACKS: “The World's Gone Mad”; “If It Wasn't For You”
-Max
RELATED POSTS:
The Automator's albums? Prince Paul's projects? Read about them by clicking on the artist's name.
That is the only explanation I can come up with to rationalize the existence of the second album by Handsome Boy Modeling School.
The production duo, made up of Dan "The Automator" Nakamura and Paul "Prince Paul" Huston, dropped a well-received but poor-selling debut, So...How's Your Girl?, on Tommy Boy Records, an act that was met with confusion and scorn by mainly just me: why, after all the shit Tommy Boy Records put him through, would Prince Paul immediately run back to them to release an album? (Besides the obvious contractual reasons, of course.) He created a group called the Gravediggaz whose first album, 6 Feet Deep/N---amortis, was dedicated to trashing that very label (albeit in a horrorcore-esque fashion)! Prince Paul was, at that point, the Joss Whedon to Tommy Boy's Fox; they kept fucking him over, and yet they were Paul's best choice for wider distribution.
For all intents and purposes (except financially), The Automator and Prince Paul were successful with their star-studded debut, creating solid tracks that still resonate with audiences today, many of them outside of the hip hop spectrum: you probably have friends who hate hip hop and cannot understand why you frequent a blog proclaiming it to still be relevant, and yet, they enjoy So...How's Your Girl? The entire concept of the duo, whose name was swiped from an episode of Chris Elliott's short-lived sitcom Get A Life, was based around the idea of a fake modeling school who trained its students to live a life of beauty, all while framing the multiple skits (and a couple of strange guest appearances by Father Guido Sarducci, proof positive that Paul and Dan love SCTV and Saturday Night Live) with songs that ignored the conventional constructs of beauty, instead choosing to redefine it on their own terms.
Five years on, the provocatively titled White People, Handsome Boy Modeling School's follow-up, found a home on Elektra Records. I'm not sure why Tommy Boy passed on the sequel (except for the fact that it most certainly would have lost them even more money), but what the former label home of Busta Rhymes and the late Ol' Dirty Bastard inherited wasn't a much easier sell: while still keeping the name and some of the concepts introduced on the original project, Paul and Dan elected to move everything into some kind of ridiculous hip hop Dating Game structure, which made for some awkward pauses while listening to the album, but some fucking hilarious impressions (more on that later).
The guest list stepped it up a notch, as well. Returning vets such as Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, El-P, and De La Soul (okay, technically only Trugoy was on the first project, so sue me) were joined up by the likes of The Rza, Chino Moreno of The Deftones, The Mars Volta, Cat Power, most of Linkin Park, Pharrell Williams (of The Neptunes), Lord FInesse, Mike Patton, and John Oates (of Hall & Oates), among others. Musically, Dan and Paul, already masters of meshing a beat around the style of its star, expanded upon what they brought to the tabel on So...How's Your Girl?, venturing off into even more playful territory. They even brought back Father Guido Sardicci (for no good reason), and reintroduced Saturday Night Live star Tim Meadows to the limited art-house audience that White People attracted.
Behind the scenes, however, things were very different this time around. Citing conflicts regarding how business was being handled, Prince Paul officially severed ties with The Automator shortly after White People dropped, making this the final time (at least as of this writing) that these two would ever work together. When White People tanked on store shelves, that just made it easier for Paul to walk away; while Dan Nakamura hasn't really released as many projects since then (there have been a handful, but most of them have nothing to do with hip hop), Prince Paul has been a workaholic, releasing albums as part of a cartoon dinosaur crew, a part of an abnormally names funk band, and as a seemingly long-lost member of West Coast stalwarts Souls Of Mischief.
Here's hoping they resolve their differences, because White People is no way to end a legacy.
1. INTRO (FEAT FATHER GUIDO SARDUCCI)
As So...How's Your Girl? ended with a monologue from Father Guido Sarducci, it's only fitting for him to kick off the sequel. You'll never listen to this introductory track more than once, though, and even that is kind of pushing it.
2. IF IT WASN'T FOR YOU (FEAT DE LA SOUL & STARCHILD EXCALIBUR)
Even though this is a much more recent track, Dan and Paul make this sound as if this track was recorded during the 3 Ft. High & Rising sessions, which means this sounds really fucking good and even whimsical at times. Trugoy's third verse, in which he rhymes about his pen, is a standout. I'm still at a loss as to why De La never tried to get Prince Paul to even contribute a single track to any of their recent albums. If there is anything negative to say about this track, it would be that it does run a bit too long.
3. ARE YOU DOWN WITH IT (FEAT MIKE PATTON)
Less reminiscent of the work of Lovage (a group made up of Faith No More's Mike Patton, The Automator, and Jennifer Charles from Elysian Fields) and more so of the man's solo work (with a bit of Faith No More tossed in for good measure). Which means, simply, that this song sucks monkey taint juice. Through a twisty straw. In a fluorescent sippy cup.
4. THE WORLD'S GONE MAD (FEAT BARRINGTON LEVY, DEL THA FUNKEE HOMOSAPIEN, & ALEX KAPRANOS)
And the Handsome Boy players continue to draw from the well: “The World's Gone Mad” sounds like an Automator-helmed Gorillaz song that was never actually recorded, as it could have fit into their catalog right around the time Dan was dropped from the group by Blur's Damon Albarn in favor of Danger Mouse. The presence of Del only adds more emphasis to my theory, since he appeared on both the first Gorillaz album and the first Handsome Boy project (I'm leaving Deltron 3030 off of this list to make my point). Anyway, this song still sounds really entertaining today; Barrington Levy's voice sounds damn near majestic over Paul and Dan's beat work, taking this track over the top. Also, I'm a fan of Franz Ferdinand, so I was glad to see Alex Kapranos make an appearance, even though it seems as if he hardly did anything.
5. DATING GAME (FEAT HINES BUCHANAN, NEELAM, & TIM MEADOWS)
As I mentioned above, White People abandons the “modeling school” concept almost entirely, in favor of frank (and goofy) discussions about relationships with the opposite sex. At least, that's how I rationalize Tim Meadows reprising his Saturday Night Live character Leon Phelps (The Ladies Man) throughout the album, beginning with this skit. This interlude also features an impressive Jay-Z impersonation and a less convincing imitation of The Rza, neither of which comes from Meadows. It's funny, but you can't tell me you won't skip past it during future spins.
6. BREAKDOWN (FEAT JACK JOHNSON)
Whenever I think of Jack Johnson, I think of Andy Samberg on SNL wearing shoes that look like bare feet. My understanding is that this was an already-existing Jack Johnson track reconfigured for Dan and Paul's personal use, but thanks to their meddling, this is the only song in the man's back catalog that I will listen to willingly. It isn't perfect, but it is pretty smooth.
7. IT'S LIKE THAT (FEAT CASUAL) / I AM COMPLETE (FEAT TIM MEADOWS)
Casual, of the Hieroglyphics collective, is an acquired taste. I tend to appreciate his flow in small doses, so the fact that “It's Like That” is a solo Casual song doesn't help the cause any. Dan and Paul provide a beat which sounds alright, but it's a retread of concepts previously introduced on the first Handsome Boy album. “I Am Complete” is just a skit featuring The Ladies Man, which only serves to remind me of how far the man has fallen since his SNL years: there is no reason for him to co-star on The Bill Engvall Show. Since he had a featured role in Mean Girls, one would think that Tina Fey would throw him a bone or something. 30 Rock can always use a random guest appearance.
8. I'VE BEEN THINKING (FEAT CAT POWER)
This song fills the slot occupied by Roison Murphy's performance on “The Truth”, off of So...How's Your Girl?, so much so that it will probably be used to promote an hour-long drama on AMC that isn't Mad Men in a few years. There are some Cat Power songs I really like (side note: I'm still looking for her cover of Blondie's “Hanging On The Telephone” (originally recorded by The Nerves, although I like Blondie's version much more) that she recorded for a fucking cell phone commercial: if anybody can help, I would appreciate it), but this isn't one of them; this track crawls along on all fours so slowly that it falls asleep midway through.
9. ROCK AND ROLL (COULD NEVER HIP HOP LIKE THIS) PART 2 (FEAT DJ Q-BERT, GRAND WIZARD THEODORE, JAZZY JAY, LORD FINESSE, MIKE SHINODA, RAHZEL, & CHESTER BENNINGTON) / KNOCKERS (FEAT TIM MEADOWS)
Ostensibly a sequel to the introductory track from the first project, but this song features actual vocals alongside Grand Wizard Theodore and Jazzy Jay's praise of rock music. (Please note that I wrote “rock music” and not “rock and roll music”. There is a difference.) Mike Shinoda provides what is probably a lost Fort Minor verse from a song he hadn't yet written, while Lord Finesse chooses to remind listeners that he receives a royalty check every time a radio station chooses to relive memories of She's All That by playing Fatboy Slim's “The Rockefeller Skank”. Chester Bennington (Shinoda's Linkin Park partner) sings in his usual way, stretching his voice beyond all recognition, since the man cannot fucking sing, and his contribution doesn't fit in on White People at all, even though he is a white person. This pales in comparison to the original, and the Tim Meadows skit tacked on to the end was unnecessary.
10. THE HOURS (FEAT CHINO MORENO, EL-P, & CAGE)
I happen to like The Deftones, but I hated Chino Moreno's vocals over this lame approximation of a “rap-rock” beat by The Automator and Prince Paul. This happens to fill the slot of “annoying shouting over a bad song” that was previously filled by El-P and Alec Empire on the first album, which is why it's ironic that El-P appears on here alongside his Def Jux employee Cage. The track picks up when the they begin to rhyme, but by then it's too late.
11. CLASS SYSTEM (FEAT JULEE CRUISE & PHARRELL)
I know: I thought it was fucking weird when I read that Pharrell Williams was on a Handsome Boy Modeling School album, too. This rant against poor people (told from the point of view of a spoiled socialite, to be fair: I'm not trying to insinuate that Julee Cruise is playing herself, although it's not like I know her personally) is far deeper than anything else on White People, and as a result, it sounds out of place. I liked Skateboard P's singing (as he is freed from the blingy trappings of Neptunes production) and I ended up wanting to punch Julee's character in the fucking mouth, so in that respect, it's successful, if not very likeable as a song.
12. FIRST...AND THEN (FEAT DRES)
I liked the instrumental, but otherwise I didn't care for this one. Apparently, I'd rather hear Dres when he's rhyming with Black Sheep, instead of when he's all by himself. But you don't have to automatically agree with me: the choice is yours. (I know! Clever, right?)
13. A DAY IN THE LIFE (FEAT THE RZA, AG, & THE MARS VOLTA)/ GOOD HYGEINE (FEAT TIM MEADOWS)
With this, it can finally be written that Dan the Automator has worked with the Wu-Tang Clan, an event that I had been waiting for ever since I discovered the man's work on Dr. Octagonecologyst and the A Better Tomorrow EP. (To be fair, Prince Paul probably just picked up the phone and called in a favor from his onetime Gravediggaz bandmate, but still.) Too bad the track is the epitome of wasted potential. I don't understand why Prince Rakeem is always the go-to person for high-profile cameos on albums designed for critical acclaim (such as Intermission from the Soul Assassins, or Rasassination from Ras Kass): Masta Killa would sound better with Automator's backing. (That's a collaboration album waiting to happen, folks. Make it so!) Alas, the music here is boring, the Mars Volta fail to impress (admittedly, I've never paid much attention to any of their work, nor that of their previous incarnation, At The Drive-In), and Andre the Giant sounds sleepy. The Tim Meadows skits have also gotten old: I'm actually missing the Chris Elliott sound bites right now.
14. GREATEST MISTAKE (FEAT JAMIE CULLUM & JOHN OATES)
Fills in the hole that “Sunshine” occupied on the previous album, although to be fair, John Oates (of Hall & Oates fame) is a much bigger star than Sean Lennon, at least professionally. This easily makes for the most unexpected collaboration on White People. However, it boils down to a personal preference: I love “Sunshine”, and I find “Greatest Mistake” derivative and, to put it bluntly, pretty shitty. Take that as you will.
15. DATING GAME PART 2 (FEAT HINES BUCHANAN, NEELAM, & TIM MEADOWS)
The skit is corny, and it ends before you find out how it ends (by design, naturally), but it still manages to remind me of the interludes on the first De La Soul album. Kind of.
16. OUTRO (FEAT FATHER GUIDO SARDUCCI)
Father Guido Sarducci supplies the outro yet again. However, this time around, The Automator and Prince Paul simply let the tape run while he ad-libs his ass off. And boy, is it dull as hell. It was a chore to sit through the entire track, but it was worth it, as I can tell the readers to never sit through the entire track. Kids, don't ever end your rap albums like this: you're likely to get your ass kicked.
FINAL THOUGHTS: With White People, Handsome Boy Modeling School has, unfortunately, decided to copy the formula of So...How's Your Girl? to the letter, instead of actually coming up with some fresh ideas. The Automator and Prince Paul still provide mostly above-average production, but this time around they play it safe with their collaborators, even when, on paper, they appear to be close to the edge: the collaborations with Chino Moreno, Mike Patton, and The Rza should have been much better. (In contrast, the verse from Chester Bennington was exactly as shitty as I was expecting.) White People not only abandons the actual “modeling school” concept almost entirely (Tim Meadows and Father Guido Sarducci briefly mention it during their monologues, and I do mean briefly), it also threatens to leave the fans of Dan and Paul behind. As big of a fan I am of both men, I'm almost thankful that White People was the final album from the Handsome Boy Modeling School, even though I'm fully aware that this album's failure to sell was not the reason for the break-up.
BUY OR BURN? This almost brings a tear to my eye, but this deserves a burn only. Dan and Paul tried their best with the beats, but their collaborators almost consistently fail them. If you happen upon the instrumental version of this album (which was released a few weeks after the actual album), you may want to pick that up, but this isn't essential in the least.
BEST TRACKS: “The World's Gone Mad”; “If It Wasn't For You”
-Max
RELATED POSTS:
The Automator's albums? Prince Paul's projects? Read about them by clicking on the artist's name.
July 26, 2009
Reader Review: Handsome Boy Modeling School - So...How's Your Girl? (October 19, 1999)
(I realize that I wrote about Handsome Boy Modeling School's So...How's Your Girl? last week, but to be honest, CJD's Reader Review is what inspired me to bump it to the top of the pile. Read on to hear a second opinion on Dan and Paul's collaborative effort.)
Handsome Boy Modeling School's So...How's Your Girl? is one of two albums I credit with sparking my interest in hip hop. The other is Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers, but I think everyone will agree that enough has been said of that album on this website already.
Now I should clarify something: I was familiar with hip hop before, but by saying these albums sparked my interest, I really mean that they made me interested in the music in much more than just a superficial way. I became an active fan of the genre, and I wanted to consume as much as I could. I have been collecting music since I was 12 or so (that was 12 years ago, how old do you think I am now?), and I was getting extremely bored with the antiseptic rock and (particularly) the 80's fetish that is rampant in our modern world. (You mean like how I keep referring to New Wave music in random spurts?) It seems that nobody younger than 30 listens to the original stuff any more: has everyone forgotten how good Talking Heads, Gang of Four, Magazine, PiL, Wire and all those other bands were? Sorry, I'm going off on a tangent.
Anyhow, I borrowed Handsome Boy Modeling School's debut from a friend back in 2001, around the same time as I borrowed Wu-Tang's. I was pleasantly surprised by the wit and musical invention going on in these albums, so I went out and bought both. With Wu-Tang, it should be obvious how many artists I was introduced to (although I wish U-God had not been one of them): Handsome Boy Modeling School mainly introduced me to Prince Paul, Dan the Automator (though I was somewhat aware of him due to the Gorillaz self-titled debut), Del tha Funkee Homosapien (also kind of knew about him already because of the Gorillaz), Cibo Matto, Brand Nubian, J-Live, DJ Shadow (again, already somewhat aware of him- many, many name checks from Radiohead), De La Soul, Kid Koala (Gorillaz- I'm seeing a theme here) and El-P.
Contextually, the album may have changed a bit. It's been a while since I listened to it straight through, and I know a hell of a lot more now than I did then. Songs may have lost their luster, or I might be less surprised by what I find, so I'll include commentary on what I heard then, and how it sounds now.
And after all that I didn't even include any information about the album. Shucks.
1. ROCK AND ROLL (COULD NEVER HIP HOP LIKE THIS)
Speaking as an Irishman (bet you didn't see that coming), there are just not enough Irish accents in hip hop. And I mean proper Irish accents, not like House of Pain. So, the track... yeah. Good intro to the album, starts off with a bang (and no pretentiousness (apart from the title boast, of course), which is always a plus) and puts a Stetsasonic sample to good use. Ever so slightly overstays its welcome, however.
2. MAGNETIZING (FEAT DEL THA FUNKEE HOMOSAPIEN)
This would have been approximately the third song I had ever heard Del perform on (the other two being "Clint Eastwood" and "Rock the House" by Gorillaz). Back in the day, this would have been one of the songs I would have listened to without being blown away, but while still enjoying it enough not to skip it. Nowadays, not so much. Del commits himself acceptably and comes out of it with his reputation intact. The enemy is the beat: it's pretty dull. Slight atmospheric vibes stung by Michael-Crichton-thriller-esque piano don't hold one's attention for...what the fuck?...over six minutes? Why?
3. METAPHYSICAL (FEAT MIHO HATORI & MIKE D)
Ah, this is like having a bucket of cold perfume thrown in your face after the previous track. The beat is just nice. I liked this when I first heard it, and I still do now despite myself. Miho Hatori's nonsensical pseudo-scientific chatter will either amuse or infuriate: I go with the former, but I understand that most may not. Mike D, however, will simply infuriate. Was he paid to be in the booth for this? I imagine Ad-Rock and MCA were standing outside, watching him and shaking their heads.
4. LOOK AT THIS FACE (OH MY GOD THEY'RE GORGEOUS)
The first of two instrumental/skit tracks using samples from the short-lived TV show Get A Life, which provides Handsome Boy Modeling School with its handle. Quick, painless and fun. Little known fact: the Automator must put a classical piece over a hip hop beat at least once a day or he will die.
5. WATERWORLD (FEAT ENCORE)
There are sounds in the background which are like when people imitate water drops with their cheeks, kind of like Alan Ruck in Ferris Bueller's Day Off. That's what dominates my thoughts every time I hear this, because it sounds weird and disgusting, with all that saliva flying everywhere. The song suffers from similar problems as “Magnetizing”, but is shorter (by less than a minute) and the beat is ever so slightly more propulsive. I do love Encore's line: “My scripts consist of H2O: hip hop and oxygen”. It's science.
6. ONCE AGAIN (HERE TO KICK ONE FOR YOU) (FEAT GRAND PUBA AND SADAT X)
Brilliant use of the Three Dog Night song “Old Fashioned Love Song” and solid performances from the Brand Nubian representatives adds up to something special. This song wasn't one of my favourites initially, as it suffered from being positioned straight after the far less bouncy “Waterworld”. Not that this is a party track or anything: it just has a good groove. Over time it burned its way slowly into my mind.
7. THE TRUTH (FEAT J-LIVE AND RÓISÍN MURPHY)
The first track I really loved. This is, in my experience, probably the most overplayed song on the whole album. One of those songs people hear everywhere and don't realise where it comes from. (Around my way, in any case.) Which doesn't make it bad, it just taints it somewhat in retrospect. I'll never like it again as much as I did the first time. Rapping schoolteacher J-Live turns in a loquacious performance which would put Curtis Jackson to shame (do you think he knows what 'ceteris paribus' means?). What was that I was saying about Irish accents earlier? Ms. Murphy (of Moloko fame) grew up not far away from me, we're practically neighbours, though you wouldn't be able to tell from her voice.
8. HOLY CALAMITY (BEAR WITNESS II) (FEAT DJ QUEST & DJ SHADOW)
Best track on the album, hands down. Just listen to it. I would argue it is a rare case of the sequel surpassing the original.
9. CALLING THE BIZ (FEAT BIZ MARKIE)
Pointless. But it is funny to hear Biz Markie sing in a Bee Gees voice once. And then never again.
10. THE PROJECTS (P JAYS) (FEAT DEL THA FUNKEE HOMOSAPIEN & DAVE FROM DE LA SOUL)
Probably my second favourite. Love that bass and harmonica combination. Trugoy and Del have fun with the concept, discussing their problems with living in the 'hood, but the image of Del in a La-Z-Boy in a thong is not appealing in any way. Funny story: back when I first heard this it took me until the second chorus to figure out that when they said "P Jays" they meant "projects". I swear I've grown since then.
11. SUNSHINE (FEAT FATHER GUIDO SARDUCCI, JOSH HADEN, MONEY MARK, PAULA FRAZER, & SEAN LENNON)
Am I wrong? The sample at the beginning seems to suggest a song that never turns up. I feel like it was knocked unconscious, tied up with duct tape, stuffed in the janitor's closet and replaced by this, the most boring song in the whole world. It sounds like something Air would toss off before they get to making real music. And how does it take so many people to make such crap? Unbelievably, they actually chose to release this as a single. (Conversely, I love “Sunshine” and didn't like “Holy Calamity (Bear Witness II)” all that much. And so it goes.)
12. MODELING SUCKS
The second instrumental/skit. Better than the first, and as a bonus, the Automator has survived yet another day.
13. TORCH SONG TRILOGY (FEAT SENSATIONAL)
I find the sample (from a film? TV show? Not really sure) at the beginning oddly comic, but I have no idea where it comes from. I liked this, and still do. Sensational appears to be well wasted, but does a decent job with a beat which sounds like the cousin of the “Magnetizing” and “Waterworld” brothers. Fortunately, it's the slightly cooler cousin whom those two look up to. Paul and Automator finally learn that (with very few exceptions) an understated beat with a solo MC usually means the song should not go on for more than four minutes.
14. THE RUNWAY SONG (FEAT KID KOALA)
Weird. I always wonder if I'm playing this at the right RPM. Then I remember that it's a CD, and I wonder if they were. Not a bad track, but some of Kid Koala's scratching seems to get lost in a slightly muddy mix a couple of minutes in. I don't know who to blame for this, so I'll just blame everybody.
15. MEGATON B-BOY 2000 (FEAT ALEC EMPIRE & EL-P)
This is messy as hell, but I have a soft spot for noisy, shouty stuff like this. The beat reminds me slightly of Mr. Oizo's “Flat Beat”, just played through some slashed speakers or something. It might sound weird, but I bought Fantastic Damage by El-P on the basis of this. While I don't really see why I decided to do that any more, I'm glad I did because that album is good.
16. FATHER SPEAKS (FEAT FATHER GUIDO SARDUCCI)
A decent way to end the album, as it makes it sounds like there was actually some sort of concept the whole time. The shame of this is that they really ran with the whole 'modeling school' theme for White People, the desperately inferior sophomore effort. For now, Guido's “improvisation” should raise at least a smirk, but you've probably stopped listening to the album by now anyway.
FINAL THOUGHTS: Has the album held up? I know that no matter how much I tell myself it has, it isn't really as brilliant as I once thought. Most of the artists that appear here have done better things on their own, but despite some dodgy moments (which will always turn up on collaboration albums) the album as a whole hangs together pretty well; you can tell these people were enjoying themselves while making it. Also, the list of artists on here and the variety of songs means that this should be a good introduction to hip hop for those that have no frame of reference.
BUY OR BURN? You should definitely buy this. Then, you should recommend to a friend who is skeptical and/or ignorant of hip hop that he/she borrow it and listen to it. Who knows, maybe they'll buy it and do the same. And so on. Then, through your action, you will be spreading hip hop throughout the world. Which sort of makes you a prophet.
BEST TRACKS: “Rock And Roll (Could Never Hip Hop Like This)”, “Look At This Face (Oh My God They're Gorgeous)”, “Once Again (Here To Kick One For You)”, “The Truth”, “Holy Calamity (Bear Witness II)”, “The Projects (P Jays)”, “Modeling Sucks”
-CJD
(Be sure to leave your comments below. Here's a link to my original post, if you're so inclined.)
July 21, 2009
Handsome Boy Modeling School - So...How's Your Girl? (October 19, 1999)
As a full-blown fan of both Dan "The Automator" Nakamura and Paul "Prince Paul" Huston, you would have thought that I already reviewed their ridiculously-themed high-concept duo Handsome Boy Modeling School several years ago, but the truth is that I chose to focus on other shit. Not because this duo loses their appeal when they work together: far from it. I'm just lazy. But I'm trying to fix that now, so I'm interrupting this current string of Reader Reviews to bring you an article about the duo's first album, So...How's Your Girl?
Handsome Boy Modeling School was an experimental project originally funded by Tommy Boy Records, one which explored hip hop through a skewed, materialistic eye, with an emphasis on vanity, self-absorption, and consumerism. At least, that's what the Automator and Prince Paul wanted critics (and listeners) to believe. In reality, these two production geniuses (lauded for their work with Kool Keith and De La Soul, respectively, although they have branched out significantly) used the facade of a Handsome Boy Modeling School curriculum (as noted by the album cover) and the new personas of Nathaniel Merriweather (Dan) and Chest Rockwell (Paul) to present sixteen tracks of noteworthy collaborations with rappers (both better-known underground stalwarts and complete unknowns) and vocalists ranging from Cibo Matto's Miho Hatori to Sean Lennon. Okay, that range isn't really that much of a stretch, but you get the idea: this project was deliberately aiming for a cult audience, especially when you note that one of the guests isn't even a real person, but a recurring character from Saturday Night Live.
Dan and Paul were inspired by an episode of comedian Chris Elliott's Get A Life (a sitcom that lasted on Fox for approximately three minutes), specifically the one in which Elliott's character enrolled in the Handsome Boy Modeling School. (Convenient, huh?) This wasn't the first time Dan Nakamura turned to Chris for inspiration: the Bulk Recordings version of Dr. Octagonecologyst (his collaborative work with Kool Keith and DJ Q-Bert, and the one which led to his rise to prominence) features a scene lifted from the film Cabin Boy before the hidden track "halfsharkalligatorhalfman" begins. I had expected Dan to sample Elliott's cameraman in Groundhog Day for a future project, but I'm still waiting. As such, So...How's Your Girl? comes off as more of an Automator project with assists from Paul, who still manages to leave his trademark humor intact.
I used to work in the back office of a retail store, and since it was typically boring as shit back there, I frequently supplied my own soundtrack. Lord knows how many goofy looks I received when anybody flipped through my CD book (yes, kids, we used CDs back then) and found one labeled 'Handsome Boy Modeling School'. You would have thought that those people would have dismissed it as a goofy name for some alternative-emo-rock quartet or something, but instead, I just received questionable shakes of the head. (And yet, today people buy albums from groups called Death Cab For Cutie, Panic At The Disco, and SouljaBoyTellEm without batting an eye.) My future wife, however, actually took the time to listen to the fucking album (which is probably one of the reasons why I married her), and soon realized that not only was it hip hop, it was creative hip hop. Well, most of it is, anyway: there really isn't such a thing as a perfect album anymore.
Here's hoping that Tommy Boy Records (or whomever handles their distribution now) sees fit to celebrate the ten-year anniversary of So...How's Your Girl? with a remastered product. And yes, I said ten fucking years: did you read the date in the post's title? Yes, I feel fucking old. I'm going to go off and have a good cry.
1. ROCK 'N ROLL (COULD NEVER HIP HOP LIKE THIS)
This is a pretty good way to introduce your project. I think the video is hilarious, with Paul and Dan standing in the street holding wine glasses of increasing sizes. I'm probably not remembering that correctly, though.
2. MAGNETIZING (FEAT DEL THA FUNKEE HOMOSAPIEN)
Del makes the first of two appearances on the album with a song that may just be a leftover from the Deltron 3030 studio sessions (it doesn't sound happy enough to be a Gorillaz leftover, you see). It's not anything you'll want to bump in your ride, and after one listen you may not want to hear it again anyway, but it's alright.
3. METAPHYSICAL (FEAT MIHO HATORI & MIKE D)
This song is just goofy, but it's still good. I remember reading a review back in the day that compared Miho Hatori and her spoken-word claptrap to something Kool Keith would use as a verse: that's a pretty fair statement. Mike Diamond's ramblings will make you wish that Hot Sauce Committee Part 1 wasn't just pushed back (best wishes to MCA for a speedy recovery), but the total package still delivers.
4. LOOK AT THIS FACE (OH MY GOD THEY'RE GORGEOUS)
The backing music is good, but Chris Elliott's dialogue gets old after a while.
5. WATERWORLD (FEAT ENCORE)
I seem to recall Encore parlaying this guest appearance into at least two solo albums, both of which may have been critically acclaimed: I never paid any attention to the guy after this album, mainly because The Automator had nothing to do with his discs. This song is alright: it has a unique sound, as if the song were actually produced in the same location as that shitty Kevin Costner film, but Encore's rhymes are the definition of backpacker-vague.
6. ONCE AGAIN (HERE TO KICK FOR YOU) (FEAT GRAND PUBA & SADAT X)
This is just an awesome song. Kudos to Paul and Dan for turning a vocal sample from a relatively upbeat Three Dog Night song (“Old Fashioned Love Song”) into something that sounds creepy as fuck. Sadat X outshines his Brand Nubian partner on here, but the shit still rocks.
7. THE TRUTH (FEAT J-LIVE & ROISIN MURPHY)
A great change of pace. Roisin Murphy slows shit down to a crawl, with a sound that can be described as jazz bar lite with an electronica twist, not unlike one of the two female vocalists in Ladytron, but with much better pipes. It makes sense that the non-rapped portions of this track were used in promos for Mad Men about a year ago. Speaking of rapping, J-Live also impresses. I really have to find his albums in my crates. And yes, I'm fully expecting some jackass to say “You don't have any fucking crates” in the comment section.
8. HOLY CALAMITY (BEAR WITNESS II) (FEAT DJ QUEST & DJ SHADOW)
A deejay cut that's actually a sequel to what DJ Q-Bert pulled off on the Dr. Octagonecologyst album. As deejay cuts go, this is a good one, but the original “Bear Witness” is the more enthralling listen.
9. CALLING THE BIZ (FEAT BIZ MARKIE)
Prince Paul tends to go out of his way to include Biz Markie on all of his projects. Here, the Biz makes a cameo on an interlude. Entirely skippable.
10. THE PROJECTS (P JAYS) (FEAT DEL THA FUNKEE HOMOSAPIEN & TRUGOY THE DOVE)
The first single I heard from this project (the first single anybody heard, actually), but it took a while for it to grow on me. (As an Automator and Prince Paul stan, I tend to buy their albums regardless of what the first singles sound like, because I will inevitably end up liking something.) Its appearance on the soundtrack for Ocean's Eleven (the remake, obviously) clenched it for me. Now it's one of my favorite tracks on here, as the interplay between Del and Trugoy is just a joy to listen to.
11. SUNSHINE (FEAT FATHER GUIDO SARDUCCI, JOSH HADEN, MONEY MARK, PAULA FRAZIER, & SEAN LENNON)
When I first bought So...How's Your Girl?, I gravitated toward “Once Again (Here To Kick For You)” and “Sunshine”, and I still love this song today. It's just fucking peaceful (even with the odd commentary from a recurring character from Saturday Night Live), and the vocals are a great match to the relaxing beat.
12. MODELING SUCKS
The thing is, I actually watched the episode of Get A Life where Chris Elliott's character enrolls in the Handsome Boy Modeling School. And it was boring. The Automator could have mixed together Yanni breakbeats underneath this dialogue, while Paul sampled fucking Zamfir playing the pan flute, and it still would improve upon the source material. (Not to say that Chris Elliott isn't a funny guy: I usually like his work, and his daughter, now on Saturday Night Live herself, is pretty cute, but that doesn't really have anything to do with Chris himself.)
13. TORCH SONG TRILOGY (FEAT SENSATIONAL)
I liked the beat, and the scratched-in vocal sample instructing me to “set this bitch on fire” was a nice touch, but I just simply did not care for Sensational's rhymes. He comes off as inexperienced, as if he were enticed off the street into the vocal booth with the promise of a bag lunch and a Capri-Sun. He also sounds as if he stood too close to the mic when he recorded his (overly long) verse.
14. THE RUNWAY SONG (FEAT KID KOALA)
Deejay Kid Koala's contribution to So...How's Your Girl? sounds like a bunch of nothing. This would have made more sense if it were the intro to this album, although it may have caused you two to turn this shit off and move on to another disc, so I suppose there's no winning here.
15. MEGATON B-BOY (FEAT ALEC EMPIRE & EL-P)
I always thought that this song wasn't a good fit, since it sounds nothing like anything else on here. The music is loud and obnoxious, the lyrics are barely coherent (thanks to the noise), and as an overall song, it doesn't fucking work. El-P (late of Company Flow and the genius producer of Cannibal Ox's The Cold Vein) has done better work, as has Alec Empire (founding member of Atari Teenage Riot, a group name I hadn't heard for at several years before researching this album). As it's the last actual song on this album, it's very disappointing.
16. FATHER SPEAKS (FEAT FATHER GUIDO SARDUCCI)
This outro is just funny. Fans of Saturday Night Live will be more amused than the average hip hop head, though.
FINAL THOUGHTS: So...How's Your Girl? Has the usual misfires that a collaboration of this magnitude tend to suffer from, but The Automator and Prince Paul are fucking brilliant artists that are able to overcome almost any obstacle. The slower tracks definitely rate among its finest, and the deliberate focus on lesser-known rappers is a plus (although the inclusion of the El-P song derails this train towards the end). Overall, as a compilation, it works, although it occasionally comes off as intentionally quirky (see: the Get A Life-inspired interludes) and precious, somewhat like a Wes Anderson film. So if you're not really a fan of films like Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, or The Darjeeling Limited, you'll probably not care for this one, either. But if you're especially adventurous, or if you're the type that drives hundreds of miles to another city to watch an independent film that has no shot of ever seeing a release in your backwards non-art-loving city, then So...How's Your Girl? could be seen as the sonic equivalent of that experience.
BUY OR BURN? I recommend a purchase. You shouldn't seem so shocked: this is Prince Paul and The Automator we're talking about, of course. There's enough greatness on here to completely overshadow the bad.
BEST TRACKS: “Sunshine”; “Once Again (Here To Kick For You)”; “The Projects (P Jays)”; “Metaphysical”; “The Truth”
-Max
RELATED POSTS:
More Automator and Prince Paul material can be found by clicking on their respective names. Go ahead. You know you want to.
Handsome Boy Modeling School was an experimental project originally funded by Tommy Boy Records, one which explored hip hop through a skewed, materialistic eye, with an emphasis on vanity, self-absorption, and consumerism. At least, that's what the Automator and Prince Paul wanted critics (and listeners) to believe. In reality, these two production geniuses (lauded for their work with Kool Keith and De La Soul, respectively, although they have branched out significantly) used the facade of a Handsome Boy Modeling School curriculum (as noted by the album cover) and the new personas of Nathaniel Merriweather (Dan) and Chest Rockwell (Paul) to present sixteen tracks of noteworthy collaborations with rappers (both better-known underground stalwarts and complete unknowns) and vocalists ranging from Cibo Matto's Miho Hatori to Sean Lennon. Okay, that range isn't really that much of a stretch, but you get the idea: this project was deliberately aiming for a cult audience, especially when you note that one of the guests isn't even a real person, but a recurring character from Saturday Night Live.
Dan and Paul were inspired by an episode of comedian Chris Elliott's Get A Life (a sitcom that lasted on Fox for approximately three minutes), specifically the one in which Elliott's character enrolled in the Handsome Boy Modeling School. (Convenient, huh?) This wasn't the first time Dan Nakamura turned to Chris for inspiration: the Bulk Recordings version of Dr. Octagonecologyst (his collaborative work with Kool Keith and DJ Q-Bert, and the one which led to his rise to prominence) features a scene lifted from the film Cabin Boy before the hidden track "halfsharkalligatorhalfman" begins. I had expected Dan to sample Elliott's cameraman in Groundhog Day for a future project, but I'm still waiting. As such, So...How's Your Girl? comes off as more of an Automator project with assists from Paul, who still manages to leave his trademark humor intact.
I used to work in the back office of a retail store, and since it was typically boring as shit back there, I frequently supplied my own soundtrack. Lord knows how many goofy looks I received when anybody flipped through my CD book (yes, kids, we used CDs back then) and found one labeled 'Handsome Boy Modeling School'. You would have thought that those people would have dismissed it as a goofy name for some alternative-emo-rock quartet or something, but instead, I just received questionable shakes of the head. (And yet, today people buy albums from groups called Death Cab For Cutie, Panic At The Disco, and SouljaBoyTellEm without batting an eye.) My future wife, however, actually took the time to listen to the fucking album (which is probably one of the reasons why I married her), and soon realized that not only was it hip hop, it was creative hip hop. Well, most of it is, anyway: there really isn't such a thing as a perfect album anymore.
Here's hoping that Tommy Boy Records (or whomever handles their distribution now) sees fit to celebrate the ten-year anniversary of So...How's Your Girl? with a remastered product. And yes, I said ten fucking years: did you read the date in the post's title? Yes, I feel fucking old. I'm going to go off and have a good cry.
1. ROCK 'N ROLL (COULD NEVER HIP HOP LIKE THIS)
This is a pretty good way to introduce your project. I think the video is hilarious, with Paul and Dan standing in the street holding wine glasses of increasing sizes. I'm probably not remembering that correctly, though.
2. MAGNETIZING (FEAT DEL THA FUNKEE HOMOSAPIEN)
Del makes the first of two appearances on the album with a song that may just be a leftover from the Deltron 3030 studio sessions (it doesn't sound happy enough to be a Gorillaz leftover, you see). It's not anything you'll want to bump in your ride, and after one listen you may not want to hear it again anyway, but it's alright.
3. METAPHYSICAL (FEAT MIHO HATORI & MIKE D)
This song is just goofy, but it's still good. I remember reading a review back in the day that compared Miho Hatori and her spoken-word claptrap to something Kool Keith would use as a verse: that's a pretty fair statement. Mike Diamond's ramblings will make you wish that Hot Sauce Committee Part 1 wasn't just pushed back (best wishes to MCA for a speedy recovery), but the total package still delivers.
4. LOOK AT THIS FACE (OH MY GOD THEY'RE GORGEOUS)
The backing music is good, but Chris Elliott's dialogue gets old after a while.
5. WATERWORLD (FEAT ENCORE)
I seem to recall Encore parlaying this guest appearance into at least two solo albums, both of which may have been critically acclaimed: I never paid any attention to the guy after this album, mainly because The Automator had nothing to do with his discs. This song is alright: it has a unique sound, as if the song were actually produced in the same location as that shitty Kevin Costner film, but Encore's rhymes are the definition of backpacker-vague.
6. ONCE AGAIN (HERE TO KICK FOR YOU) (FEAT GRAND PUBA & SADAT X)
This is just an awesome song. Kudos to Paul and Dan for turning a vocal sample from a relatively upbeat Three Dog Night song (“Old Fashioned Love Song”) into something that sounds creepy as fuck. Sadat X outshines his Brand Nubian partner on here, but the shit still rocks.
7. THE TRUTH (FEAT J-LIVE & ROISIN MURPHY)
A great change of pace. Roisin Murphy slows shit down to a crawl, with a sound that can be described as jazz bar lite with an electronica twist, not unlike one of the two female vocalists in Ladytron, but with much better pipes. It makes sense that the non-rapped portions of this track were used in promos for Mad Men about a year ago. Speaking of rapping, J-Live also impresses. I really have to find his albums in my crates. And yes, I'm fully expecting some jackass to say “You don't have any fucking crates” in the comment section.
8. HOLY CALAMITY (BEAR WITNESS II) (FEAT DJ QUEST & DJ SHADOW)
A deejay cut that's actually a sequel to what DJ Q-Bert pulled off on the Dr. Octagonecologyst album. As deejay cuts go, this is a good one, but the original “Bear Witness” is the more enthralling listen.
9. CALLING THE BIZ (FEAT BIZ MARKIE)
Prince Paul tends to go out of his way to include Biz Markie on all of his projects. Here, the Biz makes a cameo on an interlude. Entirely skippable.
10. THE PROJECTS (P JAYS) (FEAT DEL THA FUNKEE HOMOSAPIEN & TRUGOY THE DOVE)
The first single I heard from this project (the first single anybody heard, actually), but it took a while for it to grow on me. (As an Automator and Prince Paul stan, I tend to buy their albums regardless of what the first singles sound like, because I will inevitably end up liking something.) Its appearance on the soundtrack for Ocean's Eleven (the remake, obviously) clenched it for me. Now it's one of my favorite tracks on here, as the interplay between Del and Trugoy is just a joy to listen to.
11. SUNSHINE (FEAT FATHER GUIDO SARDUCCI, JOSH HADEN, MONEY MARK, PAULA FRAZIER, & SEAN LENNON)
When I first bought So...How's Your Girl?, I gravitated toward “Once Again (Here To Kick For You)” and “Sunshine”, and I still love this song today. It's just fucking peaceful (even with the odd commentary from a recurring character from Saturday Night Live), and the vocals are a great match to the relaxing beat.
12. MODELING SUCKS
The thing is, I actually watched the episode of Get A Life where Chris Elliott's character enrolls in the Handsome Boy Modeling School. And it was boring. The Automator could have mixed together Yanni breakbeats underneath this dialogue, while Paul sampled fucking Zamfir playing the pan flute, and it still would improve upon the source material. (Not to say that Chris Elliott isn't a funny guy: I usually like his work, and his daughter, now on Saturday Night Live herself, is pretty cute, but that doesn't really have anything to do with Chris himself.)
13. TORCH SONG TRILOGY (FEAT SENSATIONAL)
I liked the beat, and the scratched-in vocal sample instructing me to “set this bitch on fire” was a nice touch, but I just simply did not care for Sensational's rhymes. He comes off as inexperienced, as if he were enticed off the street into the vocal booth with the promise of a bag lunch and a Capri-Sun. He also sounds as if he stood too close to the mic when he recorded his (overly long) verse.
14. THE RUNWAY SONG (FEAT KID KOALA)
Deejay Kid Koala's contribution to So...How's Your Girl? sounds like a bunch of nothing. This would have made more sense if it were the intro to this album, although it may have caused you two to turn this shit off and move on to another disc, so I suppose there's no winning here.
15. MEGATON B-BOY (FEAT ALEC EMPIRE & EL-P)
I always thought that this song wasn't a good fit, since it sounds nothing like anything else on here. The music is loud and obnoxious, the lyrics are barely coherent (thanks to the noise), and as an overall song, it doesn't fucking work. El-P (late of Company Flow and the genius producer of Cannibal Ox's The Cold Vein) has done better work, as has Alec Empire (founding member of Atari Teenage Riot, a group name I hadn't heard for at several years before researching this album). As it's the last actual song on this album, it's very disappointing.
16. FATHER SPEAKS (FEAT FATHER GUIDO SARDUCCI)
This outro is just funny. Fans of Saturday Night Live will be more amused than the average hip hop head, though.
FINAL THOUGHTS: So...How's Your Girl? Has the usual misfires that a collaboration of this magnitude tend to suffer from, but The Automator and Prince Paul are fucking brilliant artists that are able to overcome almost any obstacle. The slower tracks definitely rate among its finest, and the deliberate focus on lesser-known rappers is a plus (although the inclusion of the El-P song derails this train towards the end). Overall, as a compilation, it works, although it occasionally comes off as intentionally quirky (see: the Get A Life-inspired interludes) and precious, somewhat like a Wes Anderson film. So if you're not really a fan of films like Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, or The Darjeeling Limited, you'll probably not care for this one, either. But if you're especially adventurous, or if you're the type that drives hundreds of miles to another city to watch an independent film that has no shot of ever seeing a release in your backwards non-art-loving city, then So...How's Your Girl? could be seen as the sonic equivalent of that experience.
BUY OR BURN? I recommend a purchase. You shouldn't seem so shocked: this is Prince Paul and The Automator we're talking about, of course. There's enough greatness on here to completely overshadow the bad.
BEST TRACKS: “Sunshine”; “Once Again (Here To Kick For You)”; “The Projects (P Jays)”; “Metaphysical”; “The Truth”
-Max
RELATED POSTS:
More Automator and Prince Paul material can be found by clicking on their respective names. Go ahead. You know you want to.
December 10, 2008
The Dix - The Art Of Picking Up Women (March 29, 2005)
Whenever he's not recording music, appearing as a talking head on VH-1 shows, or watching paint dry, "Prince" Paul Huston likes to play the role of a music historian. Since his crate digging has resulted in some pretty ingenious samples in the past, for his production work with De La Soul (among others), this isn't much of a stretch. In 2005, Paul "unearthed" a lost album by 1950's R&B group The Dix entitled The Art Of Picking Up Women, and released it through former Company Flow member Mr. Len's label, Smacks Records.
Hailing from Compton, New York, The Dix were originally known as The Bangkoks, who released their lone hit, "Love Biscuit", in the early 1960s. Made up of members Peter O'Toole, Orgynius, John Handcock, and Tro John, the group changed their name to The Dix in the mid 1960s after losing a couple of their founders and bringing four more members (Dik Gracin, The Jonsun Brothers, and Burn Hard Gets) into the fold.
Do you get the joke yet? I certainly hope so, because Prince Paul seems to go out of his way to beat you into submission with multiple dick jokes. Obviously, The Dix never existed prior to 2005. Made up of Mr. Len, Mr. Dead, Don Newkirk (the latter two are regular players in Prince Paul's repertory company), and Paul himself, The Art Of Picking Up Women is a bizarre side project in which Paul explores and repurposes the 1950's sound to fit his own perverse needs. Although there is no actual rapping to be found on here, the hip hop influence is clearly heard on the four actual songs on this EP, primarily because all of the artists involved mostly work on rap records. But anyway.
Hailing from Compton, New York, The Dix were originally known as The Bangkoks, who released their lone hit, "Love Biscuit", in the early 1960s. Made up of members Peter O'Toole, Orgynius, John Handcock, and Tro John, the group changed their name to The Dix in the mid 1960s after losing a couple of their founders and bringing four more members (Dik Gracin, The Jonsun Brothers, and Burn Hard Gets) into the fold.
Do you get the joke yet? I certainly hope so, because Prince Paul seems to go out of his way to beat you into submission with multiple dick jokes. Obviously, The Dix never existed prior to 2005. Made up of Mr. Len, Mr. Dead, Don Newkirk (the latter two are regular players in Prince Paul's repertory company), and Paul himself, The Art Of Picking Up Women is a bizarre side project in which Paul explores and repurposes the 1950's sound to fit his own perverse needs. Although there is no actual rapping to be found on here, the hip hop influence is clearly heard on the four actual songs on this EP, primarily because all of the artists involved mostly work on rap records. But anyway.
Paul and the gang went the extra mile for this release, even going so far as recording a mockumentary about where The Dix are today, which can be found on the DVD included with each copy of The Art Of Picking Up Women. (When showing archival footage of the Dix performing on The Ed Sullivan Show, they simply insert the group's heads onto existing footage. Obviously, they didn't have tons of money to throw around while producing this side project, but the effort is much appreciated.) The crew are obviously having fun, and the mood is contagious: indeed, I recall reading many reviews of this EP release back in 2005 that praised the DVD, even if they felt the music had its shortcomings.
Fuck it, I'll write about it anyway. It helps that it's short.
1. INTRO TO WOMEN
This brief intro fits the theme that the title of the disc is implying (a how-to, if you will, on picking up women, not unlike what that douchebag Mystery was striving for on his VH-1 reality show), even if the actual songs on here deviate from the subject matter greatly.
2. HERE COME THE DIX
A pretty awesome introductory song for The Dix. Paul's beat toys with simplicity, but doesn't quite go in that direction, while the sampled horns are pure genius. Lyrically, you'll realize that this entire record is a goof at around the 45-second mark, but it's still pretty fucking catchy. The inclusion of a (dated) milk commercial at the end of the track helps keep things light.
3. TEARS IN MY EYES (DIRTY GIRL)
Peter O'Toole's singing reminds me of Tom Smith, the lead singer of the Editors, yet another band trying to resurrect the Joy Division sound. However, I get the feeling that Tom Smith would probably try to take this subject matter seriously, whereas the Dix utilize the opportunity to sing about some truly fucked-up shit with their tongues firmly planted in their cheeks. Never mind that, when you read the lyrics without the context of song structure, the track is unnerving and would be a better fit for a serial killer, or possibly Eminem: when you listen to it, you can't help but laugh at the audacity of it all.
4. I LUV U GIRL
Kind of brings the energy down a bit (and by "a bit", I mean "greatly"), but the lyrics (some of which are handled by Prince Paul himself, as "Orgynius") are chock full of punchlines. It's not a bad song in any way, but it's not the best. The brief interlude at the end is unnecessary, though.
5. WHEN I COME HOME TO YOU
"I need you to stay here in my life...'cause right now, girl, straight up, I got shit to do." The delivery of that line is fucking hilarious. The track takes a slightly darker turn toward the end, but overall, it still sounds like it could have been played on the radio in the 1950s alongside all of the other love songs from the era that could double as stalker anthems.
6. FROM THE TOP
In true Prince Paul fashion, the listeners get an actual introduction to the many members of the Dix six songs into the EP. This track isn't an actual song, but an interview/interlude, one which fans of De La Soul Is Dead may appreciate more than the rest of you two. I liked the fact that the censoring of the curse words seemed to be completely arbitrary.
7. OUTRO TO WOMEN
Pretty underwhelming, to say the least. Paul Huston samples a woman's reading of a nursery rhyme to joke about premature ejaculation. But the true joke of this outro is played on the listeners: the track is over forty minutes long, but there are no bonus goodies to be found. Trust me, I've checked.
FINAL THOUGHTS: The Art Of Picking Up Women is a typically hysterical Prince Paul side project. The Dix may be a group that exists to tell exactly one joke, but musically, all of the artists involved have an obvious appreciation for the golden oldies, and it shines through on this EP. While this project isn't Paul's most abstract (that would be Baby Elephant's Turn My Teeth Up!) or even the most absurd (see: the high concept of Handsome Boy Modeling School, his collaboration with Dan "The Automator" Nakamura), The Art Of Picking Up Women is entertaining nonetheless. Paul stans (like myself) will not be disappointed.
BUY OR BURN? Provided you can find this one anywhere, I would recommend that you buy this shit. (Yeah, I know, Max recommending that his readers buy an album Prince Paul had something to do with? Who saw that coming, right?) The mockumentary on the bonus DVD is worth the purchase alone, but at least you can also get some songs to listen to while you drive to work.
BEST TRACKS: "Here Come The Dix"; "When I Come Home To You"; "Tears In My Eyes (Dirty Girl)"
-Max
RELATED POSTS:
Other Prince Paul projects can be viewed by clicking here.
April 8, 2008
My Gut Reaction: Baby Loves Hip Hop Presents The Dino 5 (April 1, 2008)
A few weeks ago, someone left a comment in my handy C-Box mentioning that, while they enjoyed the (not as frequent as I would like, but these things are time consuming, people) write-ups for older albums, I should also write about newer shit, as a change of pace. Well, I do occasionally write about newer shit, but the problem with that is I have to practice what I preach and actually buy the fucking things, and I don't usually run out to buy shit the day it drops anymore; this is why you haven't seen anything about Pete Rock's or Lupe Fiasco's newest albums.
Someone else offered that I don't write about anything that real n----z are feeling in the streets. Is it my fault that most of what real n----z feel in the streets sound like someone taking a shit in the alley? The point of HHID is to make sure people avoid the bullshit, not actively pursue it.
Fuck it, I think I stumbled across the perfect album to appease both motherfucking camps. Having already listened to the album before writing these paragraphs, I can say, with confidence, that Baby Loves Hip Hop Presents The Dino 5 rocks harder than my cock, is guaranteed to get your girl's panties wet, and will serve as the perfect soundtrack for when you rack up, and then skate on, your felony assault charges that you're forced to commit because, well, that's what real n----z are feeling in the streets.
Entirely produced by the motherfucking king of the hip hop skit, Prince Paul Huston, Baby Loves Hip Hop Presents The Dino 5 tells the true tale of the oldest fucking rap group in the history of time, and how they originally formed, in an easy-to-follow storybook format. Paul himself plays DJ Stegosaurus, the group's deejay (as if you didn't see that shit coming), and ex-Roots member Scratch provides beatbox assists as Teo Pterodactyl. Rhymes are brought to you by MC T-Rex (portrayed realistically by Chali 2na from Jurassic 5; one would believe that the Dino 5 only chose their moniker because the better name was already locked in), Billy Brontosaurus (Wordsworth from eMC, Punch & Words, and "being a better rapper than you" fame), and Tracy Triceratops (Ladybug Mecca from motherfucking Digable Planets), all of whom spit some of the hardest shit that your son or daughter will ever hear, bitches!
This project is part of the Baby Loves Music series, dedicated to making sure your child grows up listening to much better shit than you ever did. Prince Paul wasn't exactly an inspired choice to introduce the hip hop genre to your seed; he was the only fucking choice (haven't you ever heard the family-friendly hippie production from De La Soul's 3 Feet High And Rising?). You can find out more about the series by clicking on this bitch, and take a gander at the Dino 5's official website by plunking yourself here. Don't worry about the T-Rex scaring your kid shitless: he's carrying a fucking stuffed bunny, for fuck's sake! And they're all drawn to look so fucking adorable! The liner notes even include fun activities and pages for children to color on! I'm not even lying when I say that this is the best rap album I've heard all motherfucking godforsaken year.
And lest you think this is a belated April Fools joke, given the project's release date, just ask yourself, when has Max ever steered you wrong?
Besides that one time. Jesus, you two can be such dicks sometimes.
1. DINO 5 THEME
Not your usual rap album intro. No, this one is motherfucking catchy.
2. STORY PART 1: PICK OUT A BOOK
Narrator Ursula Rucker reads the Dino 5 story to her enthralled child, even though she actually sounds a bit annoyed at her seed, which is both hilarious and pretty fucking realistic.
3. I MAY BE BIG AND SCARY (BUT I'M REALLY PRETTY NICE)
A solo showcase for MC T-Rex, who would quickly bite your fucking arm off, if only he weren't carrying around that bunny that tells him to be more personable.
4. STORY PART 2: AT THE PLAYGROUND
T-Rex and Billy have their first confrontation, which would normally end with the brontosaurus being eaten, but since this is a rap album, Billy just ends up being shot nine times.
5. YEAH, ME TOO
Over some hard-hitting Paul drums, Billy and T-Rex trade back and forth, spitting anachronistic rhymes galore. This song fucking rocks, but my only quibble is a grammatical one; when Billy starts talking about the things he doesn't like, T-Rex replies "Yeah, me too", and it just sounds awkward.
6. STORY PART 3: BACK TO HIS BUDDIES
Introducing DJ Stegosaurus as a guy who only scratches his dialogue into the conversation is fucking brilliant, but even better is having Teo only beatbox.
7. TELL ME MORE
Meh.
8. STORY PART 4: PLAY DATE
Oh shit, motherfuckers! After a bizarre bathroom break (what would a Prince Paul album be without skits?), the tale continues, and we meet up with the crew when T-Rex is first introduced to them. I laughed out loud at the mention of Billy's "mommasaurus".
9. THAT'S FUNNY
Dinosaur children insulting each other over a musical backdrop. I don't have to tell you that this shit is more gutter than your favorite rapper's favorite drug dealer's favorite corner.
10. STORY PART 5: BASEMENT JAMS
At this point T-Rex is invited to join the crew's rap group, and he accepts, but only after dropping the bombshell that he actually plays a role in a different rap group, one he formed with his cousins, "Pos" and "Dave". Obviously, this leads to...
11. JUMP
Ostensibly a song from T-Rex's other crew, featuring uncredited cameos from De La Soul's Pos and Dave, because what would a Prince Paul project be without those motherfuckers in tow? Tracy and Billy hop on the instrumental at the end, in true beat-jacking fashion.
12. STORY PART 6: NIGHT TURNS TO DAY
So the Dino 5 (as they are now called) decide to enter their school's talent show, just like in any self-respecting teen movie from the 1980's. I love how Tracy expands on her amazement at T-Rex's mic skills by exclaiming, "We should get him on a mixtape!". Teach the youth early, my two readers.
13. WHAT ABOUT TEN?
Not only is this shit catchy as fuck, you might even learn how to count up to double digits in this bitch.
14. STORY PART 7: TALENT SHOW
Because this is directed toward children, after all, there has to be a burp joke somewhere. Oddly, farting is omitted, for which I am thankful.
15. DINO 5 THEME (LONG PLAY)
A longer version of the rap album intro, this time with solo verses from each rapping cartoon character. Rocks even fucking harder than the original, if that's even possible.
16. TEO, START IT OFF
A beatboxing interlude, albeit one that may convince your seed that they, too, can make music with their mouths.
17. SOMETIMES I LIKE TO SCREAM
The darkest song I've heard thus far. On this psychological thriller of a track, the Dino 5 accurately portray the mindset of a troubled child who, sometimes, just likes to fucking scream.
18. STORY PART 8: BURP-TALKING DINO WINS
So the crew actually lost the fucking talent show to a burping dinosaur? Motherfuckers. It was probably the song they chose to close their set with. Toward the end of this track, Ursula Rucker also sorta-promises a sequel...
19. GLAD THAT WE CAME, NOW WE HAVE TO GO
A slower, chilled-out beat for the three dinosaurs to say their goodbyes with. Can also be utilizes to help you come off of your high. Not your kid's high, though: childhood is a natural high that young'uns should experience as long as possible, cocksuckers.
20. STORY PART 9: GOOD NIGHT, MOMMA
Outro.
THE LAST WORD: There's a scene in that awful fucking movie Fever Pitch (the Jimmy Fallon version, not the Colin Firth original) where Fallon's character, a lifelong Red Sox fan, shows the audience that he was ready to share his obsession with his newborn child by pulling a baby Red Sox uniform out of a drawer. Baby Loves Hip Hop Presents The Dino 5 is my equivalent of that act, and if you give any sort of fuck about this genre at all, it will be yours, too.
-Max
Someone else offered that I don't write about anything that real n----z are feeling in the streets. Is it my fault that most of what real n----z feel in the streets sound like someone taking a shit in the alley? The point of HHID is to make sure people avoid the bullshit, not actively pursue it.
Fuck it, I think I stumbled across the perfect album to appease both motherfucking camps. Having already listened to the album before writing these paragraphs, I can say, with confidence, that Baby Loves Hip Hop Presents The Dino 5 rocks harder than my cock, is guaranteed to get your girl's panties wet, and will serve as the perfect soundtrack for when you rack up, and then skate on, your felony assault charges that you're forced to commit because, well, that's what real n----z are feeling in the streets.
Entirely produced by the motherfucking king of the hip hop skit, Prince Paul Huston, Baby Loves Hip Hop Presents The Dino 5 tells the true tale of the oldest fucking rap group in the history of time, and how they originally formed, in an easy-to-follow storybook format. Paul himself plays DJ Stegosaurus, the group's deejay (as if you didn't see that shit coming), and ex-Roots member Scratch provides beatbox assists as Teo Pterodactyl. Rhymes are brought to you by MC T-Rex (portrayed realistically by Chali 2na from Jurassic 5; one would believe that the Dino 5 only chose their moniker because the better name was already locked in), Billy Brontosaurus (Wordsworth from eMC, Punch & Words, and "being a better rapper than you" fame), and Tracy Triceratops (Ladybug Mecca from motherfucking Digable Planets), all of whom spit some of the hardest shit that your son or daughter will ever hear, bitches!
This project is part of the Baby Loves Music series, dedicated to making sure your child grows up listening to much better shit than you ever did. Prince Paul wasn't exactly an inspired choice to introduce the hip hop genre to your seed; he was the only fucking choice (haven't you ever heard the family-friendly hippie production from De La Soul's 3 Feet High And Rising?). You can find out more about the series by clicking on this bitch, and take a gander at the Dino 5's official website by plunking yourself here. Don't worry about the T-Rex scaring your kid shitless: he's carrying a fucking stuffed bunny, for fuck's sake! And they're all drawn to look so fucking adorable! The liner notes even include fun activities and pages for children to color on! I'm not even lying when I say that this is the best rap album I've heard all motherfucking godforsaken year.
And lest you think this is a belated April Fools joke, given the project's release date, just ask yourself, when has Max ever steered you wrong?
Besides that one time. Jesus, you two can be such dicks sometimes.
1. DINO 5 THEME
Not your usual rap album intro. No, this one is motherfucking catchy.
2. STORY PART 1: PICK OUT A BOOK
Narrator Ursula Rucker reads the Dino 5 story to her enthralled child, even though she actually sounds a bit annoyed at her seed, which is both hilarious and pretty fucking realistic.
3. I MAY BE BIG AND SCARY (BUT I'M REALLY PRETTY NICE)
A solo showcase for MC T-Rex, who would quickly bite your fucking arm off, if only he weren't carrying around that bunny that tells him to be more personable.
4. STORY PART 2: AT THE PLAYGROUND
T-Rex and Billy have their first confrontation, which would normally end with the brontosaurus being eaten, but since this is a rap album, Billy just ends up being shot nine times.
5. YEAH, ME TOO
Over some hard-hitting Paul drums, Billy and T-Rex trade back and forth, spitting anachronistic rhymes galore. This song fucking rocks, but my only quibble is a grammatical one; when Billy starts talking about the things he doesn't like, T-Rex replies "Yeah, me too", and it just sounds awkward.
6. STORY PART 3: BACK TO HIS BUDDIES
Introducing DJ Stegosaurus as a guy who only scratches his dialogue into the conversation is fucking brilliant, but even better is having Teo only beatbox.
7. TELL ME MORE
Meh.
8. STORY PART 4: PLAY DATE
Oh shit, motherfuckers! After a bizarre bathroom break (what would a Prince Paul album be without skits?), the tale continues, and we meet up with the crew when T-Rex is first introduced to them. I laughed out loud at the mention of Billy's "mommasaurus".
9. THAT'S FUNNY
Dinosaur children insulting each other over a musical backdrop. I don't have to tell you that this shit is more gutter than your favorite rapper's favorite drug dealer's favorite corner.
10. STORY PART 5: BASEMENT JAMS
At this point T-Rex is invited to join the crew's rap group, and he accepts, but only after dropping the bombshell that he actually plays a role in a different rap group, one he formed with his cousins, "Pos" and "Dave". Obviously, this leads to...
11. JUMP
Ostensibly a song from T-Rex's other crew, featuring uncredited cameos from De La Soul's Pos and Dave, because what would a Prince Paul project be without those motherfuckers in tow? Tracy and Billy hop on the instrumental at the end, in true beat-jacking fashion.
12. STORY PART 6: NIGHT TURNS TO DAY
So the Dino 5 (as they are now called) decide to enter their school's talent show, just like in any self-respecting teen movie from the 1980's. I love how Tracy expands on her amazement at T-Rex's mic skills by exclaiming, "We should get him on a mixtape!". Teach the youth early, my two readers.
13. WHAT ABOUT TEN?
Not only is this shit catchy as fuck, you might even learn how to count up to double digits in this bitch.
14. STORY PART 7: TALENT SHOW
Because this is directed toward children, after all, there has to be a burp joke somewhere. Oddly, farting is omitted, for which I am thankful.
15. DINO 5 THEME (LONG PLAY)
A longer version of the rap album intro, this time with solo verses from each rapping cartoon character. Rocks even fucking harder than the original, if that's even possible.
16. TEO, START IT OFF
A beatboxing interlude, albeit one that may convince your seed that they, too, can make music with their mouths.
17. SOMETIMES I LIKE TO SCREAM
The darkest song I've heard thus far. On this psychological thriller of a track, the Dino 5 accurately portray the mindset of a troubled child who, sometimes, just likes to fucking scream.
18. STORY PART 8: BURP-TALKING DINO WINS
So the crew actually lost the fucking talent show to a burping dinosaur? Motherfuckers. It was probably the song they chose to close their set with. Toward the end of this track, Ursula Rucker also sorta-promises a sequel...
19. GLAD THAT WE CAME, NOW WE HAVE TO GO
A slower, chilled-out beat for the three dinosaurs to say their goodbyes with. Can also be utilizes to help you come off of your high. Not your kid's high, though: childhood is a natural high that young'uns should experience as long as possible, cocksuckers.
20. STORY PART 9: GOOD NIGHT, MOMMA
Outro.
THE LAST WORD: There's a scene in that awful fucking movie Fever Pitch (the Jimmy Fallon version, not the Colin Firth original) where Fallon's character, a lifelong Red Sox fan, shows the audience that he was ready to share his obsession with his newborn child by pulling a baby Red Sox uniform out of a drawer. Baby Loves Hip Hop Presents The Dino 5 is my equivalent of that act, and if you give any sort of fuck about this genre at all, it will be yours, too.
-Max
September 19, 2007
My Gut Reaction: Baby Elephant - Turn My Teeth Up! (September 11, 2007)
In the epic Battle of 9/11 that saw so-called "underdog" Kanye Q. West and "overdog" Curtis Threepenny Jackson battle for Hip Hop supremacy in an overtly calculated attempt by the Universal Music Group to sell over one million copies of albums in the span of one week (since both artists are signed to the same basic distributor), one CD was left out in the cold. Now, I could be talking about Kenny Chesney, but anyone who's been paying attention will know I'm referring to Baby Elephant's Turn My Teeth Up!, which I finally obtained at, of all places, a Borders bookstore, but hadn't had the chance to actually listen to until now.Baby Elephant is a side project featuring one of my favorite producers ever, Prince Paul, along with his partner in crime Don Newkirk, and Bernie Worrell, best known for his work with Parliament-Funkadelic and Talking Heads, which probably accounts for a couple of the guest spots here. Since this is my first actual listen (I hadn't heard any songs up until now; I'm at that point where I will blindly purchase anything that Prince Paul might have glanced at for longer than two seconds), I'll stop with this bullshit candor and move on.
1. THE SEARCH (SKIT)
Album intros usually suck, but since Paul is the inventor and reigning champion of the Rap Album Skit, I'll let this slide.
2. BABY ELEPHANTS N THANGS (FEAT GEORGE CLINTON)
A little more than one minute in, this sounds like the theme song to a hip-hop remake of Love Story or The Way We Were. I haven't actually seen either one of those movies, but hearing this instrumental plants those images in your mind. (I mean that in the best possible way.) George Clinton kind of sounds out of place, though.
3. PLAINFIELD (FEAT SHOCK G)
Sounds like what The Return of Dr. Octagon would have sounded like if Prince Paul handled the production work instead of no-names One Watt Sun. Sounds alright, and I love the fact that Humpty Hump still uses words that don't mean nothing, like lupid.
4. COOL RUNNINS (FEAT YELLOWMAN)
Nonplussed. That's all I got.
5. MASTER (SKIT)
Supposedly, Bernie Worrell's nephew is rapper Chino XL. Who knew? Although it's not like he appears on this album or anything, so I don't even know why I brought that up.
6. IF YOU DON'T WANNA DANCE (FEAT REGGIE WATTS)
T-Pain be damned, this song features some of the better vocoder work since Roger Troutman.
7. LANGUAGE (SKIT)
...
8. EVEN STRANGER
Sounds pretty good, but the foreground threatens the onset of a massive headache if your ears are wrapped around this song for a prolonged period of time.
9. CRACK ADDICTS IN LOVE (FEAT NONA HENDRYX)
An R&B song through the warped Prince Paul filter. Not bad, but upon first listen, not great, either. I may need to hear this one a few more times.
10. TURN MY TEETH UP!
I like this one. It has the sound of some good music to write to, with just enough punch to make you pay attention, as opposed to relegating it to the background.
11. PLUG (SKIT)
This one's just silly. Listen to it and you'll hear why.
12. HOW DOES THE BRAIN WAVE? (FEAT DAVID BYRNE)
Given the complexity of Paul's work, and his collaborative efforts with The Automator, De La Soul, Stetasonic, and Justin Warfield (currently known as part of She Wants Revenge), among others, even I couldn't have anticipated Paul Huston working with David Byrne. My guess is that "How Does The Brain Wave" is supposed to be the cornucopia in the middle of the Thanksgiving spread that is Turn My Teeth Up!, and in this regard, it sounds okay.
13. SKIPPIN STONZE (FEAT GABBY LA LA)
Not very impressed by this one.
14. 100 KEYBOARDS (SKIT)
...
15. SCRATCHINATANITCHOUTTAREACH (FEAT GEORGE CLINTON)
This one sounds pretty good. George Clinton isn't nearly as obtrusive here as he was on the second track.
16. FRED BERRY
Sounds like some authentic funk shit that would get played at house parties if anyone else knew about Baby Elephant.
17. TAKE ME TO BRAZIL (SKIT)
The ongoing storyline of Bernie training Paul finally ends here. I was kind of hoping for a bonus track here, since that seems to be the norm for a lot of Paul albums, but no luck.
THE LAST WORD: Turn My Teeth Up! is not your average Prince Paul album, mainly due to the participation of Bernie Worrell. Other than a couple of songs that I'll probably skip, this CD is pretty enjoyable, and I'll probably throw this in throughout the rest of 2007. This shouldn't come as a shock, since I'm a Prince Paul stan, but I think it's worthy of your time.
-Max
March 10, 2007
Prince Paul - Psychoanalysis (What Is It?) (June 25, 1996)
At this point in his career, famed producer "Prince" Paul Huston was best known for his work with Stetsasonic, De La Soul, 3rd Bass, and the misunderstood Gravediggaz project. I gather that he was full of pent-up energy and frustration, and his Wordsound label was the instrument with which he would unleash it to the world.Psychoanalysis is, in its simplest form, a bizarre hip hop album that isn't actually a "rap" album. In the liner notes, Paul himself refers to material as "skit-style", which would certainly explain the seemingly senseless, stream-of-consciousness samples, conversations, instrumental backdrops, and all around random nature of the album. The "skit-style" method is no misnomer, either; long hailed as the creator of the first "hip hop skit" (a skit that fits into the sequence of the album featuring music, actual acting, humor, and goofy sound effects), Paul knew what he was doing. In fact, it will take multiple listens in order to find the humor, since it sounds so dead serious on first listen.
You may not want to be stoned when you listen to this, though. Just looking out for you, my dear two readers.
1. INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOANALYSIS (SCHIZOPHRENIA)
In the words of the patient presented here: "It is fucked up when you get no ass."
In the words of the patient presented here: "It is fucked up when you get no ass."
2. BEAUTIFUL NIGHT (MANIC PSYCHOPATH)
Upon first listen, this "song" will give you nightmares. Listen to it over and over again, and it will fuck you up. Hilarious!
3. OPEN YOUR MOUTH (HYPOTHALAMUS)
Prince Paul and J-Zone are the only two producers that have the authority to use the most ridiculous vocal samples available.
4. YOU MADE ME (A.K.C.)
You have to close your eyes when you hear these skit-songs, so that you can see the film that Paul is imprinting on your mind. Or don't; see if I care.
5. VEXUAL HEALING (VACILLATION)
Yep, almost every album title has a parenthetical afterthought! Exciting, huh?
6. TO GET A GUN
A short story about a crooked cop. The drums are catchy.
7. J.O.B. - DAS WHAT DEY IS!
A parody of Schooly D's "P.S.K. - What Does It Mean?".
8. THE WORLD'S A STAGE (A DRAMADY)
For the person who feels he deserves an enraptured audience every time they tell a joke. Actually pretty brilliant, especially the ending, which plays on insecurities.
9. BOOTY CLAP
Prince Paul's Miami bass parody, which actually works well; so well, in fact, that it appears on future Prince Paul-produced albums.
10. THE BITCH BLUES (LIFE EXPERIENCES)
Sounds just like your average campfire blues jam. Notice how this isn't saying much.
11. IN YOUR MIND (ALTERED STATES)
The Popmaster character (who also appears on two tracks of MC Paul Barman's debut), well, pops up here. The backing track is great.
12. DRINKS (ESCAPISM)
This is what I believe to be the best aural representation of what it feels like to get drunk and forget your troubles. Hell, everyone does it; I know I do.
13. PSYCHO LINGUISTICS (CONVERGENT THOUGHT)
Sounds exactly like a Gravediggaz track, with the delivery and beat. Since the liner notes don't say otherwise, I have to assume Paul himself is spitting; if that's really him, he does a fantastic impression of a twisted rapper who would make a better producer.
14. THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT? (AVERSIVE CONDITIONING)
It's never good when you have to ask.
15. OUTRODUCTION TO DIAGNOSIS PSYCHOSIS
The album ends just as bizarrely as it began.
On October 21, 1997, after the album had received a fair amount of critical praise, Tommy Boy Records had the stones to re-release Psychoanalysis in an extended form, with more "skit-style" tracks to be enjoyed, dissected, and generally weirded out by, although it is missing "The Bitch Blues", which isn't that much of a loss. The re-release also features a Very Special Guest.
1. WHY MUST YOU HATE ME
Serves as the de facto "rap album intro" that was missing before.
2. BEAUTIFUL NIGHT (MANIC PSYCHOPATH)
3. OPEN YOUR MOUTH (HYPOTHALAMUS)
4. INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOANALYSIS (SCHIZOPHRENIA)
5. YOU MADE ME (A.K.C.)
6. VEXUAL HEALING (VACILLATION)
7. TO GET A GUN
8. J.O.B. - DAS WHAT DEY IS!
9. THE WORLD'S A STAGE (A DRAMADY)
10. BOOTY CLAP
11. DRINKS (ESCAPISM)
12. DIME PIECES
An interesting old-school parody, albeit one that gets really morbid near the end.
13. IN YOUR MIND (ALTERD STATES)
14. 2 B BLUNT (A TRUE STORY)
This song may help explain Paul's mindstate while he made the album (both versions of it).
15. PSYCHO LINGUISTICS (CONVERGENT THOUGHT)
16. THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT? (AVERSIVE CONDITIONING)
17. OUTRODUCTION TO DIAGNOSIS PSYCHOSIS
18. BEAUTIFUL NIGHT (AUTOMATOR REMIX)
This would be the aforementioned guest. The idea of the original track is preserved, but Dan Nakamura's backdrop gives it a new, even more horrific backdrop for you to imagine. Great fucking remix.
FINAL THOUGHTS: Psychoanalysis is, by far, the strangest, scariest, funniest, and least accessible hip hop album that I have reviewed in the past hour. Fans of Paul's production work may even be turned off by what is essentially an album-length skit with no known rappers to speak of. However, I like it, but it's not like I bump this in my car or anything.
BUY OR BURN? Depends on your level of interest in Paul Huston. If you're not a fan of the first three De La Soul albums, then you should probably stay away; Paul has released more accessible albums that you would enjoy. However, for fans of the creative process, and for those who like to know what makes a man tick, then you should be able to find this album with little to no problem. I would recommend the re-release, though, off of the strength of the Automator remix.
BEST TRACKS: "Beautiful Night (Automator Remix)"; "In Your Mind (Altered States)"
-Max
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