Coo Coo Cal
Disturbed
Tommy Boy
What has happened to Tommy Boy? Over a decade ago this label – along with Def Jam – was the toast of the hip-hop world, the independent that could. With Stetsasonic, De La Soul, and Digital Underground, they kept offering us great rap that challenged all the criticism about hip-hop’s not being real music, only being imitative, being racist, etc. Damn, they were good.
So, what has happened? Sure, De La’s still going strong, and 1999 was Prince Paul’s year with Handsome Boy Modeling School, but it’s just not enough (and I don’t even want to talk about the mulch I’ve heard on the Silver imprint). There’s a void in Tommy Boy that definitely will not be filled by Coo Coo Cal.
While I definitely would not call Disturbed crap, I would just have to say that it’s not on the same level of Tommy Boy’s past. Where this label used to define trends in hip-hop, they are definitely following a tired trend with Coo Coo. You know, that Southern gangsta travesty full of killing niggas and fucking bitches. Not only is this innovative turn in rap six years old, there are simply much better acts out there who do it. There may be a true hit in “Freak Nasty,” but the rest of the album’s forgettable – so much so, it’s hard to write about it though it’s on right now. All I can remember at this moment is how great Tommy Boy used to be.
Tommy Boy Music: http://www.tommyboy.com • Coo Coo Cal: http://www.e-infiniterecordings.com
