Disco de Handsome Boy Modeling School: “So... How's Your Girl?”

There once was a time in the early to mid 1990's when rap actually meant something. Groups and artists like Souls of Mischief, De La Soul, Tribe, Jeru and Nas had perfected rap to a pure art form devoid of all of the corny cliches far too evedent in todays hip hop/R&B fusion numbers that grace the Billboard charts. Back then, rap music was mostly an underground phenomenon featuring artists who used their poetic skills to tell a story of the streets and social issues that were for the most part ignored by the public at large. Not all of it was serious to be sure. Groups such as the Pharcide and Digital Underground were great for those hot summer night parties.

Once the major record companies got hold of the idea that rap could be a major cash cow, they started to sign artists whose philosophy was more style than substance and groups who prospered during the heyday of rap either had to gloss their style in order to become more mainstream or disapear back into the underground. It was sad to see the artists who chose the former route sell themselves to make a quick buck. It was at this time that I deceided to get out of the genre that I loved so much.

When I heard about this album, I was overjoyed. With HBMS, you have two of the greatest hip hop producers to ever grace the sound boards coming together and producing a masterpiece, the lights of which have not been seen for quite a while. What makes this album so great is that they have invited some of the artists that shaped the glory days of rap (DJ Shadow, Del, Grand Puba, Sadat X) plus artists from totoally different genres such as Moloko and Alec Empire to create a work so varied in style, but at the same time focused into a cohesive unit. Del and Sadat are as good as they have ever been, but it is DJ Shadow and his "Holy Calamity (Bear Witnesss II)" turntablist masterpiece that steals the show. The Chris Elliot sit-com peices are also a riot.

Pick this up and you will be pleasantly surprised.

   I know what your thinking: "what the eff is Handsome Boy Modeling School?" Let me introduce to you Nathaniel Merriweather (Dan The Automator) and Chest Rockwell (Prince Paul): hence, Handsome Boy Modeling School. And let me tell you, this LP which holds 16 joints of spoken word, DJing, MCing, and some tight ladies and guys on the R&B tip, is the most diverse and experimental disc possibly in the country.

   It's one jawn I'm digging is called "The Truth", which features Roisin of Moloko (and let me tell you, she's got a very nice voice), and my man jiggy J-Live. This joint opens up with these feather-soft piano tones, violin harmonies, and a horn here and there that just interlace perfectly with a thumping bass line. Roisin Murphy lays down some tight vocals for two verses, and then J-Live performs a vivid, memorable verse that just makes the entire album shine. I'muh put it to you like this, "The Truth" alone makes this great purchase, strait up. Other honorable mentions include "Waterworld", "Once Again (Here to Kick One For You)", "Holy Calamity (Bear Witness 2)", "The Projects (P Jays) and "The Runway Song".

   Aiyyo, I was explaining earlier how this was an experimental album, well, it's a bit too experimental with joints like "Torch Song Trilogy" and especially "Megaton B-Boy 2000". Now this is also produced by the HBMS and the only question I could come up with was: "What were they thinking! " To each it's own,but I'm just not feeling this joint. It's nothing but a bunch of distortion and noise and you can hardly hear what El-P has to say. They did some science with this one and it just didn't get through to me, na'mean? But other than that, Handsome Boy Modeling School did thier thing.

   The team of Prince Paul and Dan The Automator have definately paved a new road for hip-hop to travel on with this release, and we can expect them to break new ground for years to come.

Everything Dan The Automator has worked on is well worth putting into your iPOD or CD Player... over and over again. "So...How's Your Girl?" is a more serious attempt at producing a classic blues variety of hip-hop which is at a tangent to the gasta' hip-hop that has become mainstream. This is the other side of hip-hop that now seems to be the future of where hip-hop is moving and is certainly eons more musical, where ganga' is more interested in producing harder, faster more complex raps (not to say that Dan The Automator & co don't do that, they do, and very well) these sounds and literally just that... sounds, and they sound great. So once you have finally gone through the mainstream stuff you will probably venture down the avenues of MF Doom, Aesop Rock, Mr. Lif and most certainly you will want to start a Dan the Authomator collection. Deltron 3030 will get you into this rapper. Even if you don't like the blues, Dan the Automator just makes it sound so good here on "So...How's Your Girl". Get it.

Handsome Boy Modeling School has really done well with "So...How's Your Girl." The tracks are, by and large, very clever and original with solid, smooth beats, smart wordplay, and very slick editing. My only criticism of the album is that at times it feels a little gimicky and childish. However, those times are few and far between and do very, very little to detract from some really outstanding music. The album is a perfect backdrop for a mellow party or driving and yet it is engaging enough that you can also just sit and listen to it while doing absolutely nothing else. If you're a fan of hip-hop, whether it be casual or hardcore, you would be well served to pick up this one.

Dan the automator has done it once again! Automator's distinct sound of using cuts from every type of music and spoken word available make it worth the price of admission alone. But add onto that, Prince Paul's genious, and scads of guests, like DJ Koala, DJ Shadow, Del the Funky Homosapian, Sadat X, and tons I can't remember right now, and you get an album that will never collect dust. What sets this album apart from other hip hop albums is particularly the music, which is often hastily done or overlooked by other programmers, but not by the Automator. I strongly reccomend this album, and if you like this, try Dr Octogon for som freaky fun.