Biz Markie - Weekend Warrior
MusicMash Rating: not rated yet
Pitchfork Media Rating: 6.4
Despite sporting a clunky, off-the-cuff flow, nonsensical rhymes, and a seemingly shapeless physique, Biz
Markie has been hip-hop's own loveable mad genius for over two decades now. However, while the Biz's
recorded output over the course of the past two years has resulted in little more than two unremarkable
singles ("Studda Step," "Turn the Party Out"), and guest spots for nostalgia-happy idealists like the
Beastie Boys, it's fair to say that hip-hop listeners across the map have missed him. Unfortunately,
Weekend Warrior is not the triumphant, ten-years-in-the-making comeback album fans have been
anticipating, though its stripped-down, party-flavored production and Biz's trademark lackadaisical flow
make it a respectable extension to the string of albums he cut for the Cold Chillin' label in the 1980s
that made him a cult legend.
While virtually every article regarding the Diabolical Biz paints him as hip-hop's resident "underdog,"
it's important to note that he is so by his own consent. It's no coincidence that his most successful
and career-defining moment (1989's anti-Hallmark ballad "Just a Friend") cast him as an affable, if too
average, guy who more likely spent Friday nights alone in front of the television than out in the club.
But it's precisely this illusion of stupefying averageness that has made Biz Markie one of hip-hop's
most treasured and wholly original emcees. In a genre that often takes itself too seriously (the murders
of Scott La Rock, Biggie, 2pac, Big L, etc.) and wildly dualistic stereotypes (Benz or backpack), Biz
Markie's easygoing persona seems to exist outside all popular hip-hop caricatures: What other emcee would
go topless for their album art or dress up in costumes ranging from a Native American Indian Chief to a
Samurai to a Sumo Wrestler? (Note that Har Mar Superstar counts as neither "hip-hop" nor "an emcee".)
Of course, while Biz Markie may be one of hip-hop's most heartfelt and idiosyncratic B-boys, his albums
have always proven to be scattershot affairs, serving up both utter brilliance and stupidity in disappointingly
equal amounts-- and Weekend Warrior is no different. Predictably, whenever Biz sticks to what he
knows best (namely: reminiscing about rap, reminiscing about hotties, and reminiscing about Chinese food),
the material lands on that more "brilliant" end of the spectrum. For instance, Mark the 45 King laces the
show-stealing "Turn Back the Hands of Time" with syrupy piano chords and looping string swells (a la The
Blueprint), while Biz smoothly brings the listener back to a time when he was "the size of Jay-Z," and
"Ra was still with Eric B." The minimalist party vibe of "Tear Shit Up" (featuring cuts from fellow
old-schooler Jazzy Jeff) and "Do Your Things" (featuring an ambiguous cameo from P. Diddy) work equally
well, and each no doubt will leave listeners longing for the pre-Jakob the Jeweler days, when all you
needed to look fly was a gold chain.
On "Chinese Food", over typically Ritalin-deprived J-Zone production, Biz re-writes the Black Rob hit
"Whoa", transforming it into an ode to his favorite take-out food. After hearing Biz's proud mantra on
this song's hook ("Four chicken wings with chicken fried rice, that's good/ Beef and broccoli with a little
white rice, that's good!"), citing Biz for not being as virtuosic an emcee as, say Big Daddy Kane, would
seem to verge on laughable.
The most...
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