Home > Music > CD Review > Del the Funky Homosapien, 'The Eleventh Hour'

Del the Funky Homosapien, 'The Eleventh Hour'

Veteran West Coast rapper is still offbeat as ever on Def Jux debut

By Scott Thill

Special to Metromix
March 10, 2008

Critic's Rating:

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Backstory: NorCal's resident cerebral smartass has been keeping it complicated since his 1991 debut “I Wish My Brother George Was Here” crossed over like Jason Kidd. That effort's left-field lyricism and indie spirit contrasted sharply with his cousin Ice Cube's harder-hitting gangsta rap output, but still managed to enrapture hip-hop's diverse spectrum. Through that time, he's remained a standout member of hip-hop supergroup Hieroglyphics, gone interstellar with Dan the Automator and Kid Koala in Deltron 3030 and even helped build the foundation of Gorillaz. There are few free agents in the rap game like him.

Why you should care: Del is a living nexus of hip-hop's new and old school, and still a nimble, tongue-twisting maestro. Even when he's revising Ice-T's "You Played Yourself" while scolding hos on this release's sexually charged "Back in the Chamber," he still manages to straddle the fence between critique and chauvinism without falling. But he shines brightest in sharp, shotgun tracks like "Bubble Pop" that take aim at culture without shying away from the splatter.

Verdict: From the opening sample of a P-Funk concert in Oakland on "Raw Sewage" to the clarion horns of the closer "Funkyhomosapien," Del's first effort for the mighty El-P's Definitive Jux label is a booming blast of warped rhymes and stark soundtracking. The spare production could use an upgrade, especially on less compelling tunes like "Situations" and the aptly named "Naked Fonk." But Del on first base is usually more entertaining than homers from lesser players; stay until the end.

X-Factor: Del wrote and produced the entirety of "Eleventh Hour" himself. There may be no "i" in "team," but it's the first letter in "innovation."

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