Definitive Jux
4.0 out of 5
4.0 out of 5
As
I'm reviewing this, the Rockets are still reeling from the Lakers
handing their ass to them, and on "8 Steps to Perfection," El
Production, aka El-P, raps "You're faggot like sprockets, motherfuck the Houston Rockets." Oh, the irony.
Funcrusher Plus, Company Flow's heralded sole effort, is a tense record. Shit, it starts off with a reference to pedophilia, how could it not be? El-P and his MC counterpart, Big Juss, dominate, spitting so many lyrics that Mr. Len doesn't have a whole lot of room to breathe. Mr. Len's production style takes the jazz samples that made Enter the 36 Chambers ace and submerges them in cavernous reverb. He also has a knack for making horns sound like sirens - see "Krazy Kings" and "Bad Touch Example."
But really, this is El-P and Big Juss's show. As mentioned, Funcrusher is lined wall-to-wall with their abstract rhymes. El-P and Big Juss don't exactly rush through the record, but their style is nervous, as if they know something we don't about the imminent collapse of the world. Or perhaps Mr. Len played the role of Phil Spector in the making of The Ramones' End of the Century - brandishing a gun at his band. Rap or die! It's a miracle that they don't lose steam here - from they way they approach things, a derailing is almost expected.
This album is often associated with the alternative hip-hop scene, but Funcrusher isn't about empathy and reaching consciousness - El-P and Big Juss have enough venom to send any poser thug running like a bitch. "Lune TNS" contains many cryptic references to MCs past, ending with "Straight up, for niggaz who don't understand/Obviously this wasn't made for you, so fuck you." Fuck me. Lines like "Verbal flamethrower, serving roasted nuts/as after battle snacks you wish you wore a cup in your panties" and "I see-through pussy like the Invisible Woman" suggest a love of emasculating opponents. There are also quite a few disses of the recording industry as a whole, perhaps foreshadowing Company Flow's acrimonious split with Rawkus Records, who originally released Funcrusher.
The overall verbosity of the records allows us to enter "A bizarre world, where Co Flow is the new pop sensation/With heavy Hot 97 rotation" that El-P references on "Legends." It makes you wonder what would be the underground music is complex shit like this was the mainstream. Hipsters would probably be going off about how Will Smith - who is also dissed on "Collude/Intrude" - is a breath of fresh air in a world filled with corporate rappers who use too many big words. The Wire would have an article about how Whodini were overlooked and underappreciated in their time. Lil Jon would be on the cover of Waxpoetics. El-P, love what you do, but don't make this alternate realm a reality.
Much like a Morton's porterhouse steak or a Merzbow record (Merzbow is vegan, and I just likened him to a steak. Bwhaha!), Funcrusher Plus can be too fucking much. But when the moment is right, this is what you need.
- Andy O'Connor
Funcrusher Plus, Company Flow's heralded sole effort, is a tense record. Shit, it starts off with a reference to pedophilia, how could it not be? El-P and his MC counterpart, Big Juss, dominate, spitting so many lyrics that Mr. Len doesn't have a whole lot of room to breathe. Mr. Len's production style takes the jazz samples that made Enter the 36 Chambers ace and submerges them in cavernous reverb. He also has a knack for making horns sound like sirens - see "Krazy Kings" and "Bad Touch Example."
But really, this is El-P and Big Juss's show. As mentioned, Funcrusher is lined wall-to-wall with their abstract rhymes. El-P and Big Juss don't exactly rush through the record, but their style is nervous, as if they know something we don't about the imminent collapse of the world. Or perhaps Mr. Len played the role of Phil Spector in the making of The Ramones' End of the Century - brandishing a gun at his band. Rap or die! It's a miracle that they don't lose steam here - from they way they approach things, a derailing is almost expected.
This album is often associated with the alternative hip-hop scene, but Funcrusher isn't about empathy and reaching consciousness - El-P and Big Juss have enough venom to send any poser thug running like a bitch. "Lune TNS" contains many cryptic references to MCs past, ending with "Straight up, for niggaz who don't understand/Obviously this wasn't made for you, so fuck you." Fuck me. Lines like "Verbal flamethrower, serving roasted nuts/as after battle snacks you wish you wore a cup in your panties" and "I see-through pussy like the Invisible Woman" suggest a love of emasculating opponents. There are also quite a few disses of the recording industry as a whole, perhaps foreshadowing Company Flow's acrimonious split with Rawkus Records, who originally released Funcrusher.
The overall verbosity of the records allows us to enter "A bizarre world, where Co Flow is the new pop sensation/With heavy Hot 97 rotation" that El-P references on "Legends." It makes you wonder what would be the underground music is complex shit like this was the mainstream. Hipsters would probably be going off about how Will Smith - who is also dissed on "Collude/Intrude" - is a breath of fresh air in a world filled with corporate rappers who use too many big words. The Wire would have an article about how Whodini were overlooked and underappreciated in their time. Lil Jon would be on the cover of Waxpoetics. El-P, love what you do, but don't make this alternate realm a reality.
Much like a Morton's porterhouse steak or a Merzbow record (Merzbow is vegan, and I just likened him to a steak. Bwhaha!), Funcrusher Plus can be too fucking much. But when the moment is right, this is what you need.
- Andy O'Connor
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