Del the Funkee Homosapien- Eleventh Hour

By: Matt Kelly

Released: ((3.11.2008))

14 tracks, 50 mins
http://www.myspace.com/delthefunkyhomosapien

Who'd open an album with a track named Raw Sewage? Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, that's who. Despite being an icon of alternative rap, California's Teren Jones has only released three albums (four if you count the shelved Future Development) since debuting in 1991. His acclaimed collaborative work with Deltron 3030, Gorillaz and his crew Hieroglyphics Imperium have arguably done more than his own records to establish his cult fanbase- is it finally time for that definitive solo LP?

Well if you're one of the faithful few who've been patiently holding on since 2000's Both Sides Of The Brain, you have to let that long wait go. Eleventh Hour is not the return of the king, a triumphant comeback supersmash. It's a fair-to-middling Del album, but it's going to sound a lot worse if you go in with a "THIS TOOK EIGHT YEARS?" attitude. Relax and you'll find funky beats and nice flows- it just lacks killer tracks.

Virtually the whole record sounds like filler- nice filler, decent filler, but lynchpin jaw dropping songs are absent, leaving us with a record that doesn't have any bedrock, no "HEY MAN YOU GOTTA HEAR THIS" moments. Though some may cringe at the memory of Mistadobalina- remember that? Yeah that was Del- it was distinctive. With this CD, the rhymes in particular blend together. Del's trademark concepts seem to have been abandoned in favour of random shit talking, his dislike for troublesome females being a recurring theme. He did apparently just go for a shitstorm of a relationship in real life, but that almost makes it worse- surely that could've been turned into some more focused and intense songs?

"Salutations, now you face it
A real nigga, D E L, I don't feel bigger
Up here on stage, man I keep it real wit ya
I'm here to entertain ya'll, let's play ball
I stay raw as coke, flawless flows
The novice can't recall why his jaw is broke
Trying to borrow quotes, that's his problem folks
We all adults, but let's see how long he floats
As this barrage of assaults dislodges his throat
Send depth charges to carve up his boats"
-Raw Sewage

"Meet the emperor, sure to keep the temperature
Tropical, hot as hell, fire
Del's dire straits might awaken an eighty-fiver
Some say that I'm a little, how can I phrase it
Out of the spectrum with language, radiance personified
But I'll let ya'll be the judge, you can call me whatever you want
I just come to give you pleasure with funk, that's my forte
The others be sorbet, mushy consistency
Yeah they push me, rift with me, stricture me"
-Funkyhomosapien

These excerpts from the first and last tracks show that Del's rhymes are colourful and playful. But while his schemes are varied, his voice rarely shows any awareness of a change in topic or vibe and makes him monotonous over the course of an LP. Del's on the boards a lot on this one and some tracks come with hotness like Funkyhomosapien's old school horns or Naked Fonk's sexy, bassy groove. But aside from a few touches like the bizarre distorted/screwed hook on Hold Your Hand by Del standards, it's a little vanilla. Foot Down is nice thanks to Del changing up his flow double time, but the beat is some standard radio pop rap that his audience is unlikely to be into.

While not wack, this wasn't an album I could sink inside. It was inoffensive in the background but on headphones I found myself easily distracted from the wandering rhymes and the beats lacking in immersive atmosphere. Fans may find hearing Del on his own for an LP of new material fun, but this isn't a record for casual listeners.

Favorite Tracks: Naked Fonk, Funkyhomosapien
What to do (Buy/Try/Frisbee): Try.