There's a lot of crunk slang and Southern-fried spirit on
El Pus
' debut, but these rappers
rock
like Atlanta is the new Los Angeles. With its lyrics about tricked-out bikes, crunk partying, and an
OutKast-ish
techno
-
psychedelic
-booty-
funk
stance,
Hoodlum Rock, Vol. 1
has true Southern street cred. Put a beatbox and turntable behind these rhymes and you might think
Big Boi
and
Dre
are reminiscing about their teen years, but add the power chords and crystal-clean production and you're talking L.A. smart goofiness like
Sugar Ray
with more of an edge,
Fishbone
when they really brought the
, and
the Red Hot Chili Peppers
with a little less bravado but the same ambition. What keeps
from being an overly thought-out and merely clever combination of these influences are rappers/multi-instrumentalists/founding members
Cufi
Cosmo
. The duo can mispronounce and twist words like "Marlboro" and "
Mozart
" to their advantage, their songwriting is genuine and on point, and their cool delivery is charismatic as they come. The band responds perfectly, chugging ahead like a
rock & roll
train but able to turn on a dime and wring every last drop of
out of the slow burners.
Virgin
chose
"Suburb Thuggin'"
as the kickoff single, and while the kids down at the skate park and anyone who ever pumped a fist in the air are going to be feeling it, the track doesn't represent how unique
can kick it.
"Thing Thing"
is a classic "do what'cha like" number with both hippie and hardcore baller appeal,
"Girl"
is a micro-
meeting of
Bootsy Collins
Adam Sandler
with a heartache, and
"Days of the BKs"
is a reflective, cheeba-puffing masterpiece. Bummer that there's only 35 minutes of the quirky and delicious
pop
metal
rap
with a poet's heart -- and that's including the hidden track -- but at least
is as fat free in its entirety as
are with their songwriting. A kick-ass, concise debut and one of the most accomplished marriages of
ever. ~ David Jeffries