Search - Del Tha Funkee Homosapien :: I Wish My Brother George Was Here

It's D-E-L Tha Funkee Homosapien to the rescue

Alan Pounds | Minneapolis, MN | 06/28/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Like many hip-hop masterpieces, I too slept on this far too long. Del's collaboration with Dan The Automator and Kid Koala, "Deltron 3030", was one of my favorite rap albums in the past 10 years. If I hadn't discovered that masterpiece, I would have never discovered "I Wish My Brother George Was Here". The stark contrast between the two records is phenomenal, which merits the critical acclaim both albums received. Del may be the cousin to hip-hop pioneer Ice Cube (executive producer), but the two are quite dissimilar. Ice Cube helped to popularize (not invent) west coast gangsta rap, while Del was laying the groundwork for California's up-and-coming underground rap scene. Besides, Del was right along side of Ice Cube in the studio tweaking it to perfection. This debut is undoubtedly derived from the Parliament-Funkadelic production popularized by NWA, but was spun in exciting new directions. Del can be silly, humorous, boisterous and messy, without falling prey to the violent, and rigid workings of NWA.



Del's view of city life is more laid back and observatory than that of NWA. He speaks out against the city bus system on "The Wacky World of Rapid Transit" in a humorous, but earnest way - "When oh when is the bus gonna come / Well here comes a pack of about 14 / Lookin' real mean with hoodies and jeans / And bad attitudes and I wasn't in the mood / For no head on collision with the hoods / Try to use my transfer but it's no good". "Mistadobalina" is also one of my favorites. But the one that sank it's hook into me first was "Pi**in' on Your Steps", produced by Boogiemen. I like this lyric quite a bit - "Ice is cool, but I can't stand Vanilla / because he takes a style and tries to mock it / ain't nothin' personal, G / but I'm kinda inta chocolate / it's all about the black / and it's like that / and I'm so laid back cause I smoked a phat sack". Up next is "Dark Skin Girls", which has a chorus that will definitely catch your attention (and may ruffle a few feathers) - "Dark skin girls are better than light skin, light skin girls ain't better than dark skin". Now, I think it's very clear that this is Del's preference. Especially when you consider Ice Cube's commentary in the background (disagreeing with Del), and this lyric - "this don't apply to all the girls with light skin / just the ones with their heads up their rear end". Whatever. I'm white and I "prefer" white women; nobody should be surprised if a black man prefers a black woman (apparently some are). A couple of other outstanding cuts would be "Dr. Bombay" and "Sleepin' on My Couch". The latter features some funny but very true thoughts and feelings of your "friend" crashing on your couch night after night - "Maybe this was just my upbringing perhaps / but I was taught that I shouldn't take seven day naps / at other brothas' cribs like I don't have a home / brothas' on my couch so much there's like foam / coming out the seams, and a pair of jeans is missing from my closet".



Del brings a lot to the table for his seminal debut. Everybody calls it a classic for a reason. Because it's solid, original and unique. Del isn't your average high-strung emcee to come out of the golden age of west coast hip-hop. He comes of as smooth, laid back, and intelligent. Del's vivacious personality makes this one a keeper."

Even today it still has such an impact on me.

Jimmy Garcia | SLC, UT | 10/11/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you had to own at least one of his records this would have to be the one. While NO NEED FOR ALARM was my personal favorite, I will admit that overall this was better. Lyrical wise & Beat-wise he has never put out anything better. One of the best MC's from the Heiro-crew and one of my favorite MC's from the west coast in general. This LP will take you back to your B-Boy & B-Girl days and/or just help you remember again why it was you loved HIP HOP so much. Peace"

(9 out of 10) Del's Major Label Debut

Chandler | Atlanta (College Park), Georgia | 08/18/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Del Tha Funkee Homosapien hit the West Coast scene back in 1991, with his debut album I Wish My Brother George Was Here. Now to me, the whole concept behind this album came from left field, when I first heard this album. Probably because I've listened to all Del albums before this one, and on those albums he talks about dissing wack emcees and video games. On this album, he go the route, sort of like his cousin O'Shea Jackson (aka Ice Cube) went back in that time. Here his subject matter expanded to more other topics, like riding the bus on the song "The Wacky World Of Rapid Transit", and living in the hoods in the songs "Hoodz Come In Dozenz" and "Sleeping On My Couch". He would also show a taste of a preferance of dark skinned females over light skinned ones in the song "Dark Skinned Girls".



As for Ice Cube, his production (along with DJ Pooh) would play a standout part in this album. Like I said before, I heard all other Del albums before this one and they were mostly produced by members of the Hieroglyphics. When Cube brought some of his P-Funk into Del's album, I thought it didn't mix at first. But giving it a few more listens, it actually has a nice sounding fell to it. The songs "Mistadobalina" and "Doctor Bombay" (lead singles?) are part of the songs that would mix with the P-Funk style. Also Cube would play sort of a humorous paroody in the album, shouting out adlibs on some songs, like on "The Wacky World Of Rapid Transit" he says his car is in the shop and asks Del for a bus transfer. Or in the song "Dark Skinned Girls", Del says they're better than light skinned, and Cube shouts "I disagree with you homeboy!" telling Del to pick up a light skinned girl.



So overall this debut for Del was pretty nice. Del's rhymes mixed with some P-Funk would make this album more unique than any other album that he as recorded. If you're a fan of Del or love Ice Cube's production, I recommend this album to you. This would be the only album that he worked with Cube, before he would expand into more of the Hieroglyphics type albums. Argubuly his best album behind the more recent Deltron 3030.



Lyrics: A

Production: A

Musical Vibes: A+

Overall: A



Favorite Tracks: Mistadobilina, The Wacky World Of Rapid Transit, Dark Skinned Girls, Dr. Bombay, Ahonetwo Ahonetwo, Hoods Come In Dozenz"