Del the Funky Homosapien is the best rapper on this Earth, period.
The founding father of the infamous and amazing Hieroglyphics crew, Del has brought many talented rappers into the business, all the while crafting the best lyrics ever heard. He has a style all his own and an expanded vocabulary that cannot be touched.
"Both Sides of the Brain", released in 2000, displays Del's excellent use of the English language, providing catchy phrases, funny one-liners and great metaphors. This is a really good CD. There is only one minor issue, the beats, mostly produced by they Lryical Sorcerer himself, just don't match up to his vocal abilities. They are good, and worth listening to, but they can get quite annoying to tell the truth.
The beats are odd, presented in a sort of Low-Fi sound qualtiy, and made with somewhat generic samples. Domino lends some beats, which don't really sound all that great, and legendary producer Prince Paul lends a beat for the song "Signature Slogans", which is not all that great either.
It's really too bad because the lyrics are amazing! Del has one of the most original flows ever but his beat production is seriously lacking.
Don't get me wrong, this is a CD that you need to hear, just for the sheer amazing flow that Del brings to Hip Hop. But, matched up to his legendary release "Deltron 3030", produced by Dan the Automator and Kid Koala, "Both Sides of the Brain" falls short in the production area.
While it is true that a great lyricist is amazing whether the backing beats are good or not, if the beats are not up to par with the lyrics, the album is hard to listen to. I love Del's lyrics, he is one of my favorite artists, but I rarely listen to this album, largly due to the annoying beats. I still would give it a 9 out of 10 because the lyrics are that good! This is truly an awesome CD, I just feel that people should know that they are getting into before they purchase it.
If your interested in listening to a Del Cd, pick up "Deltron 3030", it is THE best Hip Hop CD ever created.
True Del fans would enjoy this over the casual Hip Hop listener.