I have to admit that I was shocked to read a few comments in my last post that a few people feel that Return of The Funky Man isn’t that great of an album. This is complete madness. As great as Funky Technician was, Finesse’s second album is my shit. This may be partly because when it came out I was temporarily without a turnatable and went through a period of buying tapes, but that cassette stayed in my Sony for years.
Here’s ten reasons why this album is awesome:
1. It features numerous appearences from the legendary Grandpa Finesse.
2. Much like Mecca and the Soul Brother, almost every song on Return… is at least four minutes long, making for about 70 minutes of classic D.I.T.C. beats.
3. The tape has an exclusive Showbiz produced song called “Hands In The Air, Mouth Is Shut”, which is fuckin’ dope.
4. The two tracks featuring Percee-P are two of the greatest displays of raw lyrics ever put down on record.
5. It’s the first and last time we’ll ever hear from Shell Rumble and the original Harry-O.
6.“I Like My Girls With A Boom” and “Save That Shit” are some of the most entertaining songs about broads ever.
7. The obligitory “Vapors” style song “Hey, Look At Shorty” is the greatest track of it’s type since, umm, “Vapors”.
8. If it wasn’t for this record, there’d be no “Yes, You May (Remix)”.
9. “Funky On The Fast Tip” is a rare chance to hear the Lord flexing over a beat faster than 92 BPM, if you care about that sort of thing for some bizarre reason.
10. Andre The Giant “gets hype and pulls out a can of brutality”.
If, for some inexplicable reason, you’re unfamiliar with the two Percee cuts, then download them shit’s post-haste. As good as “Lung Collapsing Lyrics” is, these two songs remain as the highlights in The Rhyme Inspector‘s discography. If you consider that he first kicked the “Yes, You May” verse on the radio in 1990, it’s easy to see just how far ahead of his time he was in terms of style and technique. Pure Bronx science, as they say. “Kickin’ Flavor…” is also outstanding as we witness Perc rocking an ill, ignorant style while still keeping his unfuckwittable patterns in check. It’s also finally available on vinyl thanks to the recent Traffic Entertainment 2LP reissue, having been stuck in bootleg hell for years (it was previously only on the white label version of From The Crares To The Files).
Lord Finesse feat. Percy P & Andre The Giant – Yes, You May [Return of the Funky Man, Giant, 1992]
Lord Finesse feat. Percy P – Kicking Flavor With My Man [Return of the Funky Man, Giant, 1992]
Oh my god… those peeps who think that Return of the Funky Man isn’t all that, ought to be b*tch slapped…and enrolled in Hip-Hop school.
yeah, i would like to kno where to get that tape only showbiz produced track, could u put it on here?
Stay tuned for that one, I have to dig out the tape and rip it onto the laptop.
“F@ck ‘Em”, from the cd, is sh@t!
yo, is it just me or does Percy P. sound remarkably like Infinite J. from Magic Mikes Royal Posse?
great post.
“F*ck Em” has to be one of my favorite Finesse songs ever. But as much as I love his 2 first releases, I’d take “The Awakening” over them any day. Sure it ain’t really in the same vein but that Lp is flawless IMO.
“kicking flavor with my man” hands down best (my favourite) finesse & percee p song. And what was the connection between finesse & ice t he mentions at the end of the song?
I love Yes you may. The remix was hype n’ L was dope but the OG version will always be my joint. Flavor with my man is… ill.
Rippin’ tapes onto laptops is L O V E for the culture
At last the Rhyme Inspector is getting some attention. Ive been boring people in england for years but nobody knows who the fuck he is, so I play em “Lung Collapsing Lyrics”. I got his Cd when i went to NY and had a chat with him. I couldn’t really understand what dude was saying but thats like his rhymes anyways!
you’re damn right with point 6…some lines are so fuckin’ hilarious :D
good looks on the percee quotable.
yes you may is the hottest track on the album. percee rips it.
lord’s first two records were good. sophomore trumped the first. better production helps.
“And what was the connection between finesse & ice t he mentions at the end of the song”
Finesse was part of Ice T’s rhyme sydicate posse at that time. Together with Donald D, Everlast, Hen Gee & Evil E and some other guys!
Can’t forget Geek–the blu blocker guy with the sombrero that to this day raps for money on Hollywood Blvd. He was in the rhyme syndicate too.
Come to think of it–you should do a blog entry on him! He’s there every day–I can probably interview him for you. :)
I saw Finesse live in Sheffield when he toured with the Rhyme Syndicate. To be honest, he was terrible. It was before ‘Funky man’ dropped, but he only performed songs from that album, and nothing from ‘Funky technician’, which is what the crowd knew him for. Might not have been helped by the asthma attack I had down at the front. Happily, saw him last year in London and he was awesome.
i like em light-skinned, hair coloured mustard
(WHAT ABOUT HER?!) nah, she looks busted
I’m still after that bootleg EP with ‘Hands In the Air, Mouth Shut’ on it. If anyone’s got one spare, hit me up!
‘Return Of The Funkyman’ is one of the best DITC-related albums, in my opinion…
The Blu Blocker guy? Oh shit….the worst rapper ever! Yes, we need a profile on him! I bet these youngbloods don’t even know about Blu Blocker guy…
“Alright now, I’m real fast,
Let me tell you what I think and this shall come to pass,
My name is ‘Geek’ I put ’em on as a shocker,
Man, I love… these Blu Blockers,
Everything is clear, they block out the sun,
Oh yeah, I gotta get me some,
Everything is groovy now no bull in my speech,
This is what I do up and down Venice Beach,
My name is ‘Geek’ I’m more than a hip-hopper,
and I’ll be chic in my BluBlockers,
Yeah, know what I mean,
Everything is groovy, do you know what I mean?
I float like a butterfly, sting like a bee,
Yep, these blockers are OK with me,
Yeah, see? It’s a fact,
My blockers, yeah, they go with my hat,
What more can I say, ahh, they are so nice,
These are the words that I love to spice,
Everything is great, now I must speak,
Blu Blockers, yeah, are for Dr. Geek,
So there ya have it folks, out there in TV land,
Get ya some glasses, that are sweep’n the land,
Remember what I said, now I’m a hip-hopper,
Yeah, go get ya some Blu Blockers, uh!
Nahh, yep it’s sweet,
I’ll see ya later, I gotta make some money on the beach”
“That’s How Smooth I Am” has to be the nicest song about mackin the honies, crazy metaphoric…
Dr. geek has a my space page
http://www.myspace.com/drgeekwordologist
THE BROTHER WITH THE FADE, HALF-MOON AND LONG SIDE BURNS!.
No doubt,Finesse rhymes his ass off!. Just gave the album a listen(damn i was even doin a sad attempt at the EAST COAST STOMP)fuckin knackered, homie!. What an album!,I hadnt listened to it for ages and the ish made my sunday. Feel good factor? sky high, man. So many dope drum breaks and bass-lines,not to mention Perc and AG bars to kill any competitor. Sophomore set smashes ‘The Awekening,even if that was a strong album in ’95, no doubt has some joints dont get me wrong. Doesnt disapoint but not as original as the first two albums. Someone kick some knowledge on SHELL RUMBLE and HARRY-O,a bit baffled?? am i dumb?.
…Just dont ask whos the funkiest?..Mad brothers know his name. If you dont..yous a herb!.
Yo,Rob! Can u do post on KAOS/King Grand/Kenneth Gonzales? Them of ‘Court’s In Session’ fame. Or is there a piece already out there? Ive got the album but know very little about em apart from Kenny Dope was in the crew. Peace
BTW–I picked up the re-issue of The Awakening in Japan last week and this is a much better disc! (Even if it’s just an EP)
Rob,
This is King Grand from KAOS/Kenny Dope. I would love to do a excerpt with you or a shout. Also, Palm Sterling can contact me.
Return of the Funky Man is the shit!
At the time of it’s release, you had to know who represented for skills and beats and to be honest, if you wern’t feeling DITC, one would have to question your understanding of what makes good Hip-Hop.
At least back then also, the lines were clearer as to what was phat, from what was wack. Nowadays…..ahh man, don’t get me started!
I can tell you about Grand from Kaos. He was and probably still is one fucked up guy. This guy did the rap thing for fun and had a crew doing alot of other shit that I am not going to get into. He’s around and heavy in the reggae business after serving heavy time in the 90’s – early 2000’s.