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Del The Funky Homosapien - Future Development
- The popularity of the cartoon group "Gorillaz" in recent years has brought many lesser-known alternative hip-hop artists into the public eye, as a result of their collaborations with the group. One of these artists is Del The Funky Homosapien. His rapping on the Gorillaz’ tracks "Clint Eastwood" and "Rock The House" in 2001 brought his rhyming to a new mainstream audience. However, Del has been doing his thing since 1990, and in 1998, released what is considered his "lost album," "Future Development."
“Future Development” was originally released as an online exclusive in 1998, but in 2002, it was released in America as a CD, with the addition of one track - "Checkin' Out The Rivalry," which features rapper Casual. The brand of rapping brought to the table by Del on this album is thought provoking, intelligent and definitely unique – all par for the course for any of his work. His storytelling ability takes the forefront on tracks such as "Corner Story" and "Del's Nightmare," the latter being a hard-hitting, honest track that deals with topics such as "slave master" record labels, racism and religion all within five minutes.
Another thing that stands out about this album is the production value. Del, El-P and Prince Paul produced it. You may recognize Prince Paul's name, as he's produced albums such as De La Soul's classic "3 Feet High and Rising." On this album, the beats on each track are easy to listen to, and in some places could even be considered quirky, which make them a perfect complement to Del's quirky lyrics.
Compared to Del's other albums, the subject matter of this one is relatively tame. For instance, on other albums Del has been known to rap about anything from bad hygiene to computer viruses to the Sega Genesis game system. However, the contrast of tracks about love and friendship, ("Love is Worth" and "Games Begin") the music industry, ("Don't Forget The Bass" and "Del's Nightmare") as well as his signature narratives, ("Why You Wanna Get Funky...," "Corner Story" and "Faulty") make this a compelling album with plenty of replay value for all types of rap fans. This "lost album" is definitely worth finding for any fan of Del or his work.
Reviewer: Mike Lockman
new
Reviewer's Rating: 8.5
Reader's Rating: 0
Reader's Votes: 0
Added: 22-Aug-2006
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