Sasha Frere-Jones writes about "Butter 4.0", a mixtape of nineties hip-hop by the Australian DJ Broke. I've been listening to this exclusively for the last couple of days. It's brilliant.
Some m.c.s were simply goofballs, a category that's almost defunct. DJ Broke drops in "Studda Step," a brief nineties comeback by eighties comic hero Biz Markie, who handed the crown to Ol' Dirty Bastard in the nineties. (The late ODB appears here with a personal favorite, "Hip-Hop Drunkies," an homage to drunkenness Ol' Dirty recorded with Tha Alkaholiks.) And "Butter 4.0" features Redman, who might be the poster boy for nineties rap. Redman was a skilled punch-line rapper, a type entirely absent from the 2009 charts, unless you count Eminem, who has turned into the Dane Cook of punchline rappers, delivering the goods about four per cent of the time.
Yes. It's been my soundtrack for the ride home for the last couple weeks. (I don't think all the casual carpoolers I commute with would appreciate it for the morning ride across the bridge.)
Posted by: Michael Sippey | June 05, 2009 at 12:39 PM