If you’re a true rap magazine junkie then you’ve no doubt got some old issues of Hip Hop Connection stashed somewhere. This rag has been doing it’s thing since 1988 over in not-so-sunny England, and while it’s always had it’s fair share of crap articles over the years, it was also the only place you could find decent interviews with people like Tragedy, Lakim Shabazz and Hard Knocks. The review pages are a different matter all together, guilty of panning awsome albums like Straight Outta Compton and Lord Finesse‘s Return of the Funky Man, which they complained was “too basic” (and rated as one star out of five if I remeber correctly), while some bullshit like the Dream Warriors received top marks.
This short interview, which ran as a triple feature on Rhyme Syndicate artists (anyone remember Hen-G and Evil-E’s awful Brothers LP?) seems to do it’s best to paint Finesse as some kind of skirt-chasing party animal, even going as far as to include snide remarks from the editor!?
Rappages review of Return of the Funky Man:
http://home.wanadoo.nl/marcreijnhoudt/Finesse.jpg
^ “Impressive debut”? Good to see the reviewer really knew his stuff…
“And is that stallion in his pants really as wild as his lyrics would have us believe?”
hahahahahaha, I can’t believe they asked that
You have to admit, Return of the Funkyman isn’t the greatest album ever. It’s not bad–but it’s like 16 5 minute tracks where almost every song is about “Hey I’m large now and people who used to dis me back in the day all want to be down.”
It’s got to be the most verbose hip-hop album ever–there’s that one track where he breaks down how a girl dissed him in excruciating detail for like 5 solid minutes. It’s like…dude….let it go.
For that very reason I find Return of the Funkyman kind of hilarious…but perhaps unintentionally so.
The comments by “Finally” are on point. The major gripe I have about Return of the Funky Man is the track length. Most tracks seem to go on…and on… Honestly, has anyone listened to “Save That Shit” all the way through?
Additionally, two tracks (“Look at Shorty” and “Praise the Lord”) use the SAME intro idea – people imitating old folks’ voices talking about Finesse. And they’re right after each other in the album sequence!
“You have to admit, Return of the Funkyman isn’t the greatest album ever”
^ Actually, it sorta is.
“Honestly, has anyone listened to “Save That Shit” all the way through?”
^ Sure have. It’s dope.
I remember the bad HHC review of ‘Funky man’ (as a HHC reviewer myself I soak these things up). What I liked best was that the writer (Stephen Worthy if memory serves) even mistook the title of one classic track and called it ‘I like my girls with a broom’
It wasnt the greatest album but it is better than whats out today.
hip hop
great record one of the best mc’s of that era….
and he put big L on..nuff said
finesse’s 2nd lp is a classic