Droop Capone - Mad Hueman Disease
MusicMash Rating: not rated yet
Pitchfork Media Rating: 6
"I'm not a dopehead, I'm a herbal sewer/ Blow smoke out my teeth/ Then pass like Heath Schuler." This
lyric pretty much sums up how Droop Capone-- better known as L.A. emcee Dr.Oop-- devised such alter
egos as Droopy Drawls, Chief Big Hat, Mr. Verbal Sunshine, and Dread Kaczinski. He's the "ganja guru."
He's "burning nugs the size of Miss Piggy, the color of Kermit." And, as a warning to anyone planning
to shake it down with him: he burns "sometimes before sex, after, or during." Watch your chochas,
ladies!
The sheer volume of these 20 semi-focused tracks makes the fact that he's such a big-time stoner
the unifying theme on Mad Hueman Disease. When Dr.Oop is on, he's on; his forte is rhyming
in a no-frills, earnest style about his life. "One Life", a nostalgic "jazz funeral" track, has
a slippery, laidback feel, and "9 to 5" describes the struggle of looking for work: "I've been
denied jobs 'cause of my hair configuration." But when certain songs get lost in the mix due
to messy or forgettable production, the fact that he's the "mary-jane-iac" who "smokes the green
that Jah provided for me" is the only idea that's really sticky.
Much of Mad Hueman Disease's edutainment vibe comes off as distinctly 1998. Surprisingly, one
of the freshest cuts sounds straight out of '88, and not just cause he namedrops the ill-fated
single mom-edy Kate & Allie. "Pre-Dawn" is a simple, almost arrhythmic a cappella freestyle
placed blearily atop midtempo beatboxing; Dr.Oop sounds summertime-careless as he raps, "Talkin'
shit from New York to L.A./ Kickin' like Pele/ When he's playin' socca/ Drinkin' vodka/ With ism
in my locka." Despite Mad Hueman's scattered concept, Dr.Oop's good-hearted, frank style
can be very endearing.
At other points, his honesty verges on TMI. From "Punan Puffessa": "My patients give me feedback
about examinations/ One said she liked the way the scalpel stuck her." Eww. "6 Months", a song
extolling the virtues of safe sex, feels like a public service announcement; the beats are...
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