Reef - Record Report Albums: Del The Funkee Homo Sapien - I Wish My Brother George Was Here lyrics

Elektra Entertainment Production: artist, DJ Pooh, Ice Cube Rating: 4 Picture the musical/lyrical combination of a hardcore West Coast rapper like Ice Cube, a progressive East Coast MC like Q-Tip and the grand minister of funk himself, George Clinton and you'll understand where Del is coming from. Hailing from Oakland, Del (who is Ice Cube's cousin) fuses these influences with his own bugged-out persona to make an album that bridges the gap between East and West Coast styles and has something for everyone while steering clear of blatant commerciality. Del blends hard, grinding breakbeats with an arsenal of musical styles ranging up from Clintonesque funk to straight-up raw type sh**. Live instruments on many of the songs give Del's tracks some extra thumb while he flips lyrics in a slow West Coast drawl, examining his personal contradictions with being the typical b-boy. On "Dark Skin Girls" he challenges the notions that you can only be legit by swinging a light-skinned cutie, while in "Hoods Come In Dozens" Del risks getting dissed for wearing a pair of Vans as opposed to getting struck-up for some Air Jordans. The heavy funk is present on "What's A Booty," "Sunny Meadows," the inventive "Mistadobalina" and the infectious grooves of "Dr. Bombay." Raw flavor can be found on "Pissin' On Your Steps" and "Same Ole Thing," two cuts that a**ault "dancin' fools" who fraudulently play the role of a rapper while having no sk**s on the mic. Del's debut shows and proves with a sound that is as funky as it is inventive--don't sleep.