Del The Funky Homosapien

11th Hour

[3/5]

The last solo outing from Bay Area rhymesmith Del The Funky Homosapien dropped almost eight years ago, which is about five or six lifetimes in the constantly churning hip-hop universe. The voice behind Golden Age classics like 1991’s I Wish My Brother George Was Here and the Gorillaz hit “Clint Eastwood” hasn’t remained untouched during the hiatus-the “Jaw Gymnastics” of old are mostly a memory-but check “Raw Sewage,” a stripped-down attack on sucker MCs, and you’ll hear Del’s drawled battle rhymes are fine, minus the metaphorical, mind-altering excess. Though he’s been studying music theory and is now signed to Def Jux, home of the frequently dense soundscape, Del wisely keeps things simple on the audio front, lubricating many of his basic, old-school beats with the good old P-Funk bottom of his early years. It’s a combination most devastating on “Bubble Pop,” which greases up the break from LL Cool J’s “Rock The Bells” and reaffirms that this is no ordinary Homosapien. (DEF JUX) Dan LeRoy

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