Del tha Funkee Homosapien: Both Sides of the Brain
24.04.02
Cali_Love
Artist: Del tha Funkee Homosapien
Album Title: Both Sides of the Brain
Date of Release: April 11, 2000


What a coincidence that Bone and I wrote reviews for 2 rap albums in the same timeframe, but that’s exactly what happened. Tonight Klam and I happen to get on the subject of music, and that lead to the discussion of rap. We started talking about that commercial crap rap (yea I am a rap fan, but not a fan of that commercial shit). I told him my favorite rapper is Del tha funkee homosapien. His crazy and off the wall rhymes about washing your ass, people that bite off your clothing styles, and his pet peeves are what set Del apart from the rest of the pack. He doesn’t go by the “40, blunts and bitches” mantra that so many other rappers flow about, in fact he despises the rest of the rap world that can’t seem to come up with original ideas. Another strange fact is that Ice Cube is Del’s cousin, so basically he’s dissin’ his own cousin, how is that for family love?


You may think this guy is crazy, but he is actually one of the coolest rappers around. His First CD “I wish my brother George was here” came out in 1991, with a hip-hop feel to it, which pleased his underground fans, as well as his new fans. Miraculously, Del has managed to never become a sell out, but maintain a great rap status in the hip-hop world. Not only is a he an awesome rapper, he is also a huge game freak! Yes, he has been featured in EGM (issue 128, March 2000, page 32), he rapped at Sega’s launch party on 9/9/99 down in L.A., so as you may imagine he is as hardcore as they come when it comes to games. His hit song, Proto Culture, is all about games, the beat actually came from a game called “Cyberpunks”, from the city stage. If you get the chance I highly recommend you check out this song.


After that slight backdrop to who Del is, lets move onto the actual review. As I mentioned before he is more hip-hop. To those that don’t understand the difference between rap and hip-hop, hip-hop has more of a street sound to it. There are many things, that make hip-hop different then rap, some say beats, some say rhymes, but once you hear Del you will understand what I’m talking about. Obviously one of my favorite songs on this CD is Proto culture, not just because its all about games, but because Del and KU!( His producer on the album, and featured rapper on this track, KU! Stands for Khaos Unique by the way) pull the song off great! Great beat, great lyrics………”Game related, raise it bit by bit, yo D link up the cable we’ll go hit for hit………” If you’re a gamer (and I’d say about 99.9% of you are reading this are) then this song will get you pumped up and ready to get online and frag some punk a$$ gamers online. It’s also a great song to bump in the mustang riding around town picking up the hotties =). “Taking out the boys in blue in Grand Theft Auto Centrals Royce to use…”


But wait, that’s not all! He has a great song about washing your ass, yes you heard me correct, washing your ass. Basically its about people that don’t take showers, and he’s trying to tell them to get their a$$ in the shower. Crazy. Yes. Funny? Abso-freaking-luetly. “I go so deep on your ass, you need to go submerged cause you smell like a turd”….”Squeeze the sweat out your sweat shirt, or drink it and gargle, you’ll get our vote for most stinkyiest….” It’s weird, but it will put a smile on your face. It’s got a great beat to it, and I think its something we can all relate to. There’s always someone in every school that doesn’t wash everyday. You know that saying “It’s better to give then to receive”? Well make sure to share this song with that special person that needs a hint to wash themselves down (or maybe that person is you).I should also mention this song is in THPS3, so If you’ve played the game, you’ve probably heard your first song from Del.


He also has a song that is sure to hit us all hard…our pet peeves. Del goes all out, expressing what really pisses him off. We’ve all got something that really pisses us off, so what pisses Del off? People that pose as friends, but really aren’t, and people that talk behind your back. However in typical Del fashion he puts a spin on his themes and makes this an enjoyable song. How about style biters? You know people that take others style of dressing? Well Del’s got just what your looking for: “ You’re a phony Baloney…. In the wilderness I’m the wilder beast, and I see your still a thief, with my styles in the grill of your teeth” The chorus is great, with sirens in the back, and Cops in the bull horn saying “Pull over, get out of the car… slowly put your hands behind your head…. your under arrest”


What I also like about Del is how he stays on topic. For example, Naz just featured in a love song, I forget the group that he rapped with, anyhow, he talks about his enemies and stuff…I’m asking myself, WTF does this have to do with finding the right girl and falling in love. Sure beats the hell out of me; however, Del stays on topic, which really helps the music flow.


Of course there is much more this CD has to offer, however I am running out of great things to say about Del. Needless to say, if you like Hip-Hop, Videogames, Anime, or just sick and tired of the usual commercial crap check out Del’s Both Sides of The brain album. I’ll end this in a short comment from the question and answer in the EGM interview:


EGM: What would you say to readers to convince them to buy your new album?
Del: I try to be inventive; I try to mix it up. It ain’t just rapping to be rapping. I think if you like video games and anime, you’ll like my album since I got a lot of references to stuff like that. It’s strait Hip Hop pretty much. I put a twist on it here and there. It’s not the typical Hip Hop album.


I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Rating:5 (out of 5)

 

 

 
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