No storm chasing today, I didn't want to spend the whole weekend stuck in Kansas after the blizzard hits. One of my partners went out and I'm back at the office "nowcasting" for him. Enough with the weather geekiness.
Today's album I'll add to my list of personal favorites is kind of an odd animal. I'm not a big Hiero fan. Don't get me wrong, I like them, but I'm down with the "cult" following the seem to have. Del was the lead off hitter for the Hiero crew when he dropped his debut album, "I Wish My Brother George Was Here". From what I get from people is that if they are down with Hiero, they don't like that album. If they aren't, they do like the album. It's been said that even Del doesn't care much for the album.
The album is MUCH different than any of Del's later offerings. It was executive produced by his cousin, O'shea Jackson, who we all know is better known as Ice Cube. Cube's influence is clearly seen through out the whole album. The album was produced by "The Boogiemen", which was comprised of DJ Pooh, Bobcat, and Rashad. It's drenched in funk samples, that makes it truly one of the funkier albums that came out during this period. Funk production like that found on this album is really missing in Hip Hop now a days. Erick Sermon also had some truly dirty stinkin' funk with his first album, Keith Murray's debut and Redmans first two albums. DJ Pooh and his comrades really hook up the P-Funk on this album.
The album is very cohesive in nature. Between the P-funk based production and the lyrics, you feel like you are in Del's neighborhood. Some of the later Del stuff I've heard has been very abstract in nature, the songs on this are more along the lines of story telling. Tracks like "Wacky World Of Rapid Transit" (something I used to identify with) and "Sleeping On My Couch" sound like personal memoirs from Del.
He actually got some air play from "Mistadobalina" and in some amount, "Dr. Bombay" as well. "Sunny Meadowz" was my shit, just a nice mellow track that you can sit back and light your favorite substance to smoke and just get carried away in the grooves. Humor is present in this LP as well, something that is lacking in a lot of releases these days.
Del The Funkee Homosapian - I Wish My Brother George Was Here (Elektra, 1991)
http://sharebee.com/fa0f6991
1 What Is A Booty (3:36)
Today's album I'll add to my list of personal favorites is kind of an odd animal. I'm not a big Hiero fan. Don't get me wrong, I like them, but I'm down with the "cult" following the seem to have. Del was the lead off hitter for the Hiero crew when he dropped his debut album, "I Wish My Brother George Was Here". From what I get from people is that if they are down with Hiero, they don't like that album. If they aren't, they do like the album. It's been said that even Del doesn't care much for the album.
The album is MUCH different than any of Del's later offerings. It was executive produced by his cousin, O'shea Jackson, who we all know is better known as Ice Cube. Cube's influence is clearly seen through out the whole album. The album was produced by "The Boogiemen", which was comprised of DJ Pooh, Bobcat, and Rashad. It's drenched in funk samples, that makes it truly one of the funkier albums that came out during this period. Funk production like that found on this album is really missing in Hip Hop now a days. Erick Sermon also had some truly dirty stinkin' funk with his first album, Keith Murray's debut and Redmans first two albums. DJ Pooh and his comrades really hook up the P-Funk on this album.
The album is very cohesive in nature. Between the P-funk based production and the lyrics, you feel like you are in Del's neighborhood. Some of the later Del stuff I've heard has been very abstract in nature, the songs on this are more along the lines of story telling. Tracks like "Wacky World Of Rapid Transit" (something I used to identify with) and "Sleeping On My Couch" sound like personal memoirs from Del.
He actually got some air play from "Mistadobalina" and in some amount, "Dr. Bombay" as well. "Sunny Meadowz" was my shit, just a nice mellow track that you can sit back and light your favorite substance to smoke and just get carried away in the grooves. Humor is present in this LP as well, something that is lacking in a lot of releases these days.
Del The Funkee Homosapian - I Wish My Brother George Was Here (Elektra, 1991)
http://sharebee.com/fa0f69911 What Is A Booty (3:36)
2 Mistadobalina (4:18)
3 The Wacky World Of Rapid Transit (3:17)
4 Pissin' On Your Steps (3:29)
5 Dark Skin Girls (4:29)
6 Money For Sex (3:52)
7 Ahonetwo, Ahonetwo (2:46)
8 Prelude (0:21)
9 Dr. Bombay (4:37)
10 Sunny Meadowz (4:26)
11 Sleepin' On My Couch (3:19)
12 Hoodz Come In Dozens (3:48)
13 Same Ol' Thing (4:19)
14 Ya Lil' Crumbsnatchers (1:30)
8 comments:
niceeeeeeee.. ive herd quite a bit of criticism of this album as people seem to think Ice Cubes involvement has dumbed down Del's creativity in this album.. but without a doubt Del is spot on with his lyrics and flow throughout this funky masterpeice..
i remenber the hype about this being cause of the Cube connection, and being pleased with the lack of his influence on Del, same went with Anotha Level.....The thing with Cube was that his involvement didnt always include "Gangster rap" which made him the legend he is..
Del was actually listed as a member of the Lenchmob (before they were trimmed to 3 for their album).
The album's sound was a lot of that dense SP1200 sound that was even thicker on Threat's Sickinthehead.
They flipped Donald Byrd's Street Lady 3 times and sounded different in each song.
Overall, the album was a subtle mix of alot of that post Amerikkka's Most Wanted sound (and the subsequent related albums) and what later known as that Heiroglyphics sound. See Eye Examination that wasnt included on the album but was a bonus on a single
I liked Del because he was the first rapper to come out saying "Hey, I date white girls and take mushrooms and I don't care what you think". There was an article in The Source about it where they were kind of busting his balls for it. I'm glad Hip Hop has jumped leaps and bounds where it's now perfectly ok to take mushrooms and date white girls and still keep it real.
wasn't into gangsta type stuff back then when this dropped, so the skit that cube was in- "hankerchief-hat wearing.." fucked me up, cuz here's these "hard" thug dudes ("fuck being hard, posdnous is complicated") that were called ruffnecks at the time or whatever slang is appropriate dissing "different" dudes like del or native tongues, but they were style-biting. like, they making fun of rockin' hankies on the head, and years later, here's 2pac, and the whole world followed.
btw, i love this del album, but i liked the 2nd one more. and i'd like to think i'm a hiero head, but not a cult member. i'm not super keen on other del releases. i love probably everything that som put out. the solo stuff.. ennnnhh.. casual is dope. and pep love- peep "the foundation" that highlights his collabos and such.
I'm not a massive fan of this whole album, although "Sleeping On My Couch" is a classic track, love that piano break. and the b-side to the 12" of Mistadobalina which Ive got somewhere, "burnt" featuring Hierogliphics (spelled with an i not a y on my copy - and Im a total geek for remembering that) is pretty much my favorite posse cut of all time.
Daaaang, nice breakdown of this CD by all. I haven't listened to this for maybe 10 years, but Im gonna throw this ish on. Was Del actually on any of the early Ice Cube ish? All I remember is him listed on the liner notes of Amerikkkas Most
Trav,
It Seems that You Have Great 'personal favorite' Taste
That Del Album Is A Pure P-Funk Gem
P-Funk Inspired Cover
P-Funk Orientated Music
I Used To Go Mad For This One Back In The days
Thanx For Reminding us Good Stuff
You're The Man
See Ya,
Mr Mass
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