The Vault: Del The Funkee Homosapien’s B-Side Bonanza

Every once in a while, Idolator reaches into our vast record-collection vaults for a feature we’ve imaginatively title The Vault. Today’s entry is from our peoples Peter Rubin, a magazine vet and retired b-boy:

After rapper Del the Funkee Homosapien’s debut via a weird cameo on Ice Cube’s AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted–but before he got his citizenship to the Freakshow Nebula–he ruled a certain segment of early/mid-’90s hip-hop with a hemp-stainedly iron fist. And while his second album, No Need for Alarm, is one of those let-the-tape-rock-’til-the-tape-pops subterranean classics, he really shined on his 12″ B-sides, when he brought in various members of his Hieroglyphics crew to wreak polysyllabic havoc over beats that can only be described as “aggressively loping.” The tracks were way too weird for what passes for hip-hop now, but back then they were orgonzo (orgasmically gonzo! we just made that up!) for pause-tape nerds like us.

A few years back, Elektra helped us all out (and presumably jerked Del out of even more money in the process) by collecting some of the classics on The Elektra Years: A B-Boy Handbook . That’s probably out of print by now, too, but because we love you we’re offering a peek back. If you get a chance, go see Del in concert. He’ll probably invite you backstage and kick your ass at a video game that hasn’t been released in the U.S. yet.

Del the Funkee Homosapien – The Undisputed Champs (featuring Q-Tip and Pep Love) [MP3, link expired] Del the Funkee Homosapien – Burnt (featuring Hieroglyphics) [MP3, link expired] SPECIAL IDOLATOR VICE-VERSA BONUS: The Shamen (Pep Love & Jay Biz) – Anesthesia (featuring Del the Funkee Homosapien) [MP3, link expired]