REVIEW: Handsome Boy Modeling School, So...How's Your Girl?
(Tommy Boy)
- Matthew Carlin
If it was 1991, critics would be wanking on about the very existence of a hip-hop concept album. Not to mention the idea of the cream of the east and west coast crops representing together in the name of beats and rhymes above ego and posturing. Thankfully, the whole landscape of popular music has progressed well beyond such archaic terms and hip-hop is settling into its place as its newest and perhaps best form.
With Handsome Boy Modeling School, two of the best hip-hop producers in the game, Dan "the Automator" Nakamura (recast as Nathaniel Merriweather) and Prince Paul (as Chest Rockwell), employ a slew of guest stars, fat beats and very cool samples for an all-star extravaganza that covers pretty much every sub-genre related to hip-hop. They firmly state their intentions and prove their point right on the opening track, "Rock n" Roll (Could Never Hip Hop Like This)." Banging, like most of the other cuts on the album, the beauty of it is that despite its serious efforts to push the limits of hip-hop, it's still funny. Really funny.
In fact, the concept for Handsome Boy is probably the funniest ever in hip-hop. Based on and incorporating samples from an old "Get a Life" episode (that classic TV show with Chris Elliot as a grown-up paperboy), the idea is that Nathaniel Merriweather and Chest Rockwell will "wow you with a fascinating look into their unique step-by-step program (patent pending)" for young men to undergo a "handsome revolution" at the low, low price of $60. The handsome moguls pose throughout the liner notes, luring in students with their enviable pinstripe suits, martinis, cigars, exploding champagne bottles, cell phones and limo rides. Again, the whole deal is funny. Really, really funny.
What sets So...How's your Girl? apart from other similar collections is that the mix of hip-hop, turntablism and just plain weird stuff is all done with equal rigor. "Metaphysical" features Miho Hatori from Cibo Matto reading some nonsensical mumbo jumbo with her sexy cute vocals while Beastie Boy businessman Mike D adds some grunts and "uh-huhs" for suitably amusing results. Dave from De La Soul and Del the Funkee Homosapien do their thing on "The Projects (P Jays)" for some straight-up good time hip-hop, while "Waterwold," featuring Encore, and "Once Again (Here to Kick One for You)," with Grand Puba and Sadat X from Brand Nubian, offers some harder stuff.
Not without fault, Handsome Boy serves up a real snooze on "The Runway Song" and "Megaton B-Boy 2000" (with Atari Teenage Riot's Alec Empire and El-P from Company Flow) is a let-down. Falling into the same trap of all of Empire's work whereby he sticks some distortion on the drums and vocals and adds electronic blips and bleeps and calls it intense, "Megaton" is just kind of tedious. On the whole, however, So...How's Your Girl is a fine, fine listen and even the smooth R&B joint 'sunshine" with Sean Lennon and Josh Hayden from Spain on vocals and "The Truth," a trip-hop number with Moloko's Roison singing are really good.
The "Get a Life"-based hip-hop/classical music tracks (which also remind you why Chris Elliot is one of the most underrated comic actors) and the last track which features Father Guido Sarducci reading a Handsome Boy Modeling School testimonial are by far the funniest on the album. But "Holy Calamity (Bear Witness II)" with production by DJ Shadow and scratching by DJ Quest is the most impressive. Slamming breakbeats, hot samples and virtuostic scratching re-affirms the opening track and certainly make you wonder if rock and roll is even relevant anymore, since this rocks harder.
