Del tha Funkee Homosapien Albums (6)
'Parallel Uni-Verses'
Release Date 10/13/2009
Tracks 11
Label Gold Dust
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
While many will subject Parallel Uni-Verses to the usual in-depth scrutiny of Del the Funky Homosapien, it's not a fair way to approach this loose, casual album. For one, that would ignore Artifacts member Tame One's equal contribution to this evenly split effort, but first and foremost, Uni-Verses isn't designed to be a game changer. Instead, it's an attractively familiar and nostalgic album, one that brings reminders of the informal collaborations found on early Lyricist Lounge or Def Jux compilations. Instead of sick rhymes, clever punch lines are the thing, with "Selling more units than Moon Zappa" (Tame One on "Before This") and "You simians just simulate" (Del on "Special") being representative of the overall flavor. What makes it all worthwhile is how complementary the aggressive Tame and the laid-back Del are, how fun their strutting and swaggering is, and how funky the tracks feel with Drum and Knowledge from the Parallel Thought crew providing a wide variety of throwback vibes. Punchy bass, jittery scratching, and looped xylophone samples make "Flashback" more than your average homage to hip-hop's golden age, although it's not just the Thought crew who are responsible as these veteran lyricists can go way back and "get nastier than Blowfly." The eerie beats make "The Franchise" a highlight, sounding like they might have melted off the B-side of some old Mo Wax 12", but it's the druggy closer, "Gaining Ground," that really stuns, slinking across the speakers like Pink Floyd and Massive Attack passing spliffs for six minutes. Songs are allowed as much time as they need, but the album as a whole is economical and right-sized at 11 tracks. This is highly enjoyable weekend music from the underground, nothing more, nothing less. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
It's been eight long years since Oakland rapper Del tha Funkee Homosapien has released a solo album. In the meantime, of course, he's managed to keep himself from completely falling off the hip-hop radar with his continued work with his Hiero label, his 3030 collaboration with Dan the Automator, and of course his appearances on the Gorillaz 2001 self-titled smash. The MC has been promising Eleventh Hour since at least 2006, and though it was originally slated to come out on Hiero, Del finally made the move to Brooklyn's Def Jux in order to get a product out on shelves. While the album's packaging makes it seem like a rushed affair (with its home-printer-esque graphics and color scheme, it takes on the look of a bad reggae mixtape, and the image of Del wearing an Ableton lanyard doesn't help things at all) but it's clear that musically, Eleventh Hour has had a lot of time and thought put into it. Del's beats are well made, but because they're not particularly complicated, his reliance on one keyboard sound gets a little tiresome, and it can be difficult to tell one track from another. This is not always helped by the fact that Del's rhymes, while intricate and witty and unique, pretty much only discuss one thing: his skills. Which are formidable, to be sure, but after countless bars of "I blind minds with thoughts too real to concoct" ("Hold Your Hand"), "Why do you think that you are all that? Cuz you ain't" ("Bubble Pop"), "You wanna know how you can do it with style when you're putting it down, I'll tell you/Del do that and more" ("I'll Tell You"), lines begin to sound, well, repetitive and a little trite. J-Zone, Opio, and KU, the other producers Del brings on -- unfortunately, Def Jux just seems to be here in name only, as no one from the label has much to do with the record, or is even listed in the liner notes -- help to break things up, but even J-Zone's fun "Funkyhomosapien," which helps add diversity to the overall pace, is anticlimactic, closing the album on Del affecting a British accent and saying "You think you're foxy?/Ha ha ha, never, never I tell you" on a fading note, a track more appropriate for the middle of a record, not the end. Eleventh Hour is certainly not a disappointment: Del's as good of a rapper as ever, and the way he fits his words into the beats, playing with his and their cadence, is truly spectacular, but he needs to challenge himself -- and his listeners -- more, lyrically and beat-wise, instead of relying on the same tried-and-true methods, if he really wants to continue his legacy. ~ Marisa Brown, All Music Guide
'Both Sides of the Brain'
Release Date 3/21/2000
Tracks 17
Label Red Urban
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What The Critics Say
Both Sides of the Brain is Del Tha Funkee Homosapien's fourth album, on which Del makes an effort to show both sides of his personality. For example, on "Proto Culture," Del is joined by Khaos Unique, and the two rap about one of their favorite things -- video games. The listener also gets to see another side of Del on "Jaw Gymnastics," on which Del and Casual team up for a fierce battle rhyme. Throughout the album, Del does the same thing, covering topics from drunk driving and crack addicts to the importance of good hygiene. Besides Casual on "Jaw Gymnastics" and Khaos Unique on "Proto Culture," Del is also joined by El-P on "Offspring" and A-plus on "Stay on Your Toes." Del produced the majority of the album, and even though he hasn't produced much in the past, most of his beats are good. The listener can also hear Del's video game obsession in a lot of the songs he produced, as many contain samples from video games. ~ Dan Gizzi, All Music Guide
'Future Development'
Release Date 1/1/1998
Tracks 13
Label Hiero Imperium
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What The Critics Say
Sort of a stop-gap cassette-only release (available exclusively on the Hieroglyphics web site) between Del's two original major-label albums and his first independent release on Hieroglyphics' own Imperium label, the optimistically titled Future Development (which also acts like a promise) doesn't show any signs of negligence. Nothing here is tossed off or given inattention. What does seem different about the album is that its themes are less serious, more rock-a-party, in the old-school sense: hanging out, scoping girls, making rhymes, telling stories. Instead of the observational seriocomedy of his debut and the acid-psychedelia of the follow-up, Del has lightened the load on his space-holding unofficial third release. Elements of urban commentary and acid dementia (especially the former) are still present, but they seem less front-and-center. As such, the album is less coherent than his previous two albums and less immediate-sounding without being immaterial. The characteristic Funkee Homosapien presence is still apparent, and it is impossible not to find something inviting about it. Del's voice really does recall his cousin Ice Cube's deep Southern drawl, but instead of an audible chip on the shoulder, Del is buoyant and fun and, not least of all, lyrically dexterous. He brings the West Coast funk, too-loping, low-end heavy, Saturday-afternoon summer funk -- and, as with all things Del, it comes out mutated, alien, and just plain different that anyone else's hip-hop production, but in this case, far less manic than usual. The affect is a smiling sort of somnolence, almost to the point of jazzy, chill-out hip-hop. Instead of internalizing the stress of the world, Del chooses to "Stress the World" this time around, taking a quick break before he proceeds his future development. ~ Stanton Swihart, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
After helping create the West Coast underground scene with his 1991 debut, Del tha Funkee Homosapien made a radical departure with 1993's No Need for Alarm, eschewing the familiar G-funk of his debut for a jazzier, more sophisticated sound more akin to East Coast acts like Black Moon and Main Source. The thematic and lyrical content of Del's work underwent a considerable change as well, with No Need for Alarm largely avoiding the endearing comic vignettes and blunted utopian vision of his debut for a never-ending string of battle raps. Del's loopy sense of humor remained intact, but without the structure and pop savvy of I Wish My Brother George Was Here, No Need for Alarm feels a bit aimless, even if it does contain some of Del's best work to date. "Catch a Bad One" showcases Del's new direction to the best effect, driven by Casual's sinister, hypnotic, string-laced production and some of the fiercest and most potent battle raps of Del's career. When No Need for Alarm works, it's terrific -- funny, skillfully produced, and wonderfully propulsive. Unfortunately, it only works about a third of the time. Critics have taken Del's debut to task for having a fairly generic P-funk-dominated sound more in line with executive producer Ice Cube's work than Del's unique sensibility, but Del has always functioned better when paired with strong collaborators. Sure, it could be argued that I Wish My Brother George Was Here and Deltron 3030 reflect the sensibilities of producers and co-producers Ice Cube and DJ Pooh and Dan the Automator as much as they do Del, but working with strong-willed peers has a tendency to temper the artist's tendency toward self-indulgence and bring out the best in him. Without a strong sense of direction, No Need for Alarm is frustratingly uneven, rich and transcendent one moment and aimless and repetitive the next. Still, it's a challenging, unique, and uncompromising follow-up, one well worth picking up for anyone interested in either the evolution of West Coast hip-hop or just the evolution of one of its most talented, eccentric, and gifted artists. ~ Nathan Rabin, All Music Guide
'I Wish My Brother George Was Here'
Release Date 1/1/1991
Tracks 14
Label Asylum
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What The Critics Say
Del Tha Funkee Homosapien may be the cousin of gangsta rap icon Ice Cube, who was the executive producer on this debut, but it would be hard to imagine two more dissimilar artists. Yet, just as Ice Cube helped popularize and legitimize West Coast gangsta rap with NWA, Del helped lay the foundation for what would become California's thriving underground scene with his seminal debut, I Wish My Brother George Was Here. Predating similarly seminal debuts from like-minded artists like tha Alkaholiks, Souls of Mischief, Freestyle Fellowship, and Pharcyde, Brother George takes the Parliament-Funkadelic-derived G-funk sound popularized by NWA and spins it into exciting new directions, replacing gangsta rap's nihilism with a healthy sense of the absurd. Released while Del was still a teen, Brother George offers a take on city life that's wry and bemused rather than tense and violent, addressing such crucial issues as having to ride the bus ("The Wacky World of Rapid Transit") and shiftless friends ("Sleepin' on My Couch") with a refreshingly assured comic sensibility. Bolstered by a pair of terrific, typically irreverent singles, ("Dr. Bombay" and "Mr. Dobalina"), Brother George imbued the otherwise grim West Coast hip-hop scene with a welcome dose of irreverence, proving that you didn't have to conform to any single image to be taken seriously as a rapper. Although for the most part an endearingly lightweight effort, Brother George does address serious topics on occasion, with "Dark Skin Girls" attacking media and personal perceptions of African-American beauty with a viciousness that borders on blatant sexism. Del has accomplished much since the release of Brother George -- the Deltron 3030 album completed his evolution from smart-ass b-boy prodigy to indie rap superhero -- but nothing he's done since has quite matched the charm, fun, and sheer exuberance of his stellar debut. ~ Nathan Rabin, All Music Guide
