Funcrusher Plus

by

Company Flow

Edit

First of all, if I hear one more ignorant fool refer to Co Flow as backpacker hip-hop I swear I'm going to freak out. This album is straight up underground hip hop at its finest. This isn't some suburbanite bs. This is New York underground at the peak of the late nineties wave...props to Bobbito and 89.9. And for all of you kids who got into underground hip hop sometime after 1996, let me just break this to you: this album is responsible for all of it. Not necessarily the music mind you, but the opening of the doors for all those who would come to follow. Co Flow were the first group on Rawkus. Despite whatever problems one may have with rawkus now, they released some of the finest underground hip hop of the era. Cop the first Soundbombing to get a picture. (I have all the original 12''s that make up this compilation and I have to say that evil dee's mixing and voice overs get a little annoying on the cd version-though I am a big Black Moon fan). Mos Def, Kweli, Co Flow, Menelik, come on people. The lyrics on Funcrusher are amazing. Co Flow were intelligent and abstract without being pretentious. They were often on some battle-rhyme tip, but delivered so well. (...) On Funcrusher, Juss and El-P deliver some of the best rhymes I've ever heard. And while El-P comes correct I still think Juss steals the show on this record. His flow is just flawless. If you don't understand hip hop culture alot of this stuff will just fly over your head. Take Lune TNS, for example. Basically, the song is one gigantic shout out to many of the classic graff writers who influenced Juss. As he states at the end of the track "for those of you who don't understand this wasn't made for you.." Or dropping "super duty tough work" on end to end burners(not on this album)- refer to the recently re-released Style Wars dvd for this one. The beats plus Len and EL-P's production are also top notch. This is really a must for any hip hop fan. Seriously, if you just started listening to hip hop because some friend of yours turned you on to Aesop Rock or Sage Francis a few years ago, do not sleep on this record. And after you've heard it, do us all a favor and pick up an old record by Gangstaar, Souls of Mischief, and De La Soul, just to get a little perspective. Atmosphere and all that stuff is good for what it is, but if you haven't heard Main Source or Organized Konfusion you're sleeping. In my mind Funcrusher is like the perfect middle ground or segway for Def Jux, Rhymesayers, etc. It was, first and foremost, completely ahead of its time. It was abstract minus the pitfalls of wierdo-rap, intelligent yet still straight up hip hop. All the while transcending alot of the perennial elements that can make straight up hip hop, well boring. Yes EL-P and Juss will let you know that they're the bomb perhaps one too many time, but no smack my b**ch up, gun slinging, juvenille nonsense. I first heard this record when a friend of mine got a crappy tape copy of it and we jammed this album 24-7. It took me a whole year to finally find a cd or a vinyl copy of it (I'm not from New york). For a while there I honestly thought I was never going to find it. Take advantage of how readily accesible this cd is now and cop it, you won't regret it. It stands as a testament to this group that they only released one album (not counting the instrumental album) and were able to make such an impact.

Company Flow's 1997 debut "Funcrusher Plus" is a landmark album in a number of ways. It was the first release from the influential Rawkus Records, it introduced three men who would soon be forces in underground hip hop, and it opened the door for a new wave of alternative rap. Rapper Big Juss, MC/producer El-P, and DJ Mr. Len are an artistic group that made forward-thinking hip hop. "Funcrusher Plus" is an interesting album, a collection of music recorded over a four-year period. Both rappers are impressive, delivering a mix of abstract battle rhymes and futuristic stories and imagery. Some of the songs profile an apocalyptic future of robots and corruption. Big Juss and El-P are talented rappers, and they have funny punchlines, clever pop culture references, and very creative lyrical concepts.

My problem with "Funcrusher Plus" is that, in their effort to be "independent as f---," Co-Flow sacrifices a certain level of appeal, coming across to this reviewer as too artistic for its own good. El-P is a good producer, but most of his beats here are sparse, rigid, and mechanical. The songs are unstructured and most don't have hooks, and for the most part, the album tries to be so experimental that it borders on inaccessible. In fact, the best songs, "Vital Nerve" and "Krazy Kings," have a more conventional song structure without sacrificing the futuristic sound and conceptual lyrics. These songs are especially impressive from an artistic level, and they are also fun rap songs to listen to. Other highlights include "8 Steps to Perfection" and the interludes "Lune TNS" and "89.9 Detrimental."

I love underground hip hop, and I appreciate "Funcrusher Plus" as a triumph in hip hop as an art. They did something unlike anything else and pushed the boundaries of the genre where they hadn't been pushed before. But, however great a piece of art "Funcrusher Plus" is, that doesn't necessarily make it fun to listen to all the time. It's far too long for a comprehensive listen, and is at times tedious.

"Funcrusher Plus" is impressive artistically, but in my opinion, that doesn't make it totally enjoyable. While there are some really great songs and El-P and Big Juss turn in some great performances, the disc lacks the musical and structural appeal of a great rap LP. Other hip hop concept albums with a similar futuristic concept, such as The Future Is Now, Deltron 3030, and Dr. Octagonecologyst, are abstractly creative and experimental, but are also really fun to listen to. "Funcrusher Plus" is definitely a good album from that aspect, but if looking for an album of that nature, I'd recommend the previously mentioned before this one.