By Jeremy Azevedo

To say that Del the Funky Homosapien has been sitting on his ass for eight years in between albums is not necessarily accurate or fair. In that time, Del has put out two albums and done assloads of touring with his group, Hieroglyphics. He has collaborated with many other artists, most notably the Gorillaz and Handsome Boy Modeling School.

In addition to this, Del has probably smoked more pot than you will ever see in your life, conquered numerous game tapes on various systems and allegedly studied up on musical theory. All of these things take time, man, so who are you to judge?

Whatever the hell he was doing with his time, the fact remains that Del’s new album, 11th hour, is yet another example of why he is one of the most unique and accessible MCs on the underground scene. Written and produced entirely by Del himself, the album is being distributed and promoted by top-tier indie rap label Definitive Jux as opposed to his own Hieroglyphics Imperium Recordings, which comes as a bit of a surprise. Getting Del in their stable is a big win for Def Jux, and one that promises some exciting collaborations and tour schedules in the coming months.

I’m not going to sit here and tell you that Del’s lyrics are going to change your life or anything. He’s never been one of those “commentary” rappers cut from the same mold as dudes like Common and Mos Def. Del has always been more concerned, I think, with having fun on the track, putting more effort into his cadence and style. Del’s voice is like an instrument in and of itself, instantly recognizable and a hell of a lot more listenable than most of his peers as a result. The beats that go along with it are not quite as memorable, but they work together well enough, and really just serve to support his vocals anyway.



The only problem I have with 11th Hour really is that it sounds a little dated on some of the beats. This may or may not be a result of the fact that this album was actually recorded/completed God knows when. Obviously it was finished before Del even shopped it to any of the labels. But I just sometimes just expect more from a guy who struck out on his own because he felt his cousin Ice Cube’s (!) style was too restrictive. In actuality, you can really see some of that west coast so cal street influence on one or two tracks, most obviously on “Last Hurrah”, one of the stronger tracks, and one of the only songs with a guest appearance from a member of the Hieroglyphics crew.

Some of the best songs on the album are those that take their influence from stranger sources, like Dan the Automator and Prince Paul, who are both frequent Del collaborators. Some of the songs on 11th Hour have that same weird, spacey feel that made Deltron 3030 such a classic album. “Slam Dunk” And “Hold Your Hand” (easily my own personal favorite) really exhibit this style. A couple of the other good tracks here sound like the background music from a rad 80s Nintendo game, like Double Dragon 2 or something. If you’ve ever played old school Nintendo action games, listen to “I’ll Tell You” and see if you don’t also hear the similarity!

Ultimately, 11th Hour is not the genre defining record that some were expecting from a guy that has the raw talent to actually produce such a record. Unfair expectations aside, 11th Hour is a fun album from beginning to end, and one that every hip-hop fan should check out.

CraveOnline Rating: 8 out of 10


Del's new video for the song "Workin' It".