Guitars, Drums, Tones, and Saxophones

Deltron 3030 - 3030

Del tha Funkee Homosapien is the main voice of the Deltron 3030 project, and is an underground rapper from California. Initially notable for being Ice Cube’s cousin, he made a name for himself with his intelligent rhymes that had more to talk about than the gangsta rappers of the time. After a trio of albums, he hooked up with Dan the Automator (Handsome Boy Modeling School, Gorillaz) and Kid Koala to form the supergroup Deltron 3030.

The Deltron album can be seen as a sort of proto-nerdcore. This is a concept album, concerning hip-hop in the year 3030. It stars Del as Deltron Zero, who describes such things as making contact with other lifeforms, mind upgrades, debilitating computer viruses, and an epic, intergalactic rap battle. Based solely on lyrical content, this is not anything approaching commercially-popular hip-hop; you wouldn’t expect to see a Deltron video on MTV (if they still played videos).

The beats on the album- provided by Dan the Automator- are instantly recognizable as his work; if you’ve listened to the first album from Gorillaz, you’ll feel somewhat at home here. It helps that that album shares two members of this project; Gorillaz’s single “Clint Eastwood” features rapping from Del. And this album features guest vocals from Blur frontman/Gorillaz mastermind Damon Albarn on “Time Keeps on Slipping,” which could also be seen as proto-Gorillaz. So it’s all connected.

The album, as a whole, is excellent. The story, as it is, is pretty loose. You get something of an idea of Deltron Zero going through the world of 3030, encountering various lifeforms as he makes his way to the “Fantabulous Rap Extravaganza.” Mixed in with the proper songs are small clips and skits, having to do with the world of 3030. “State of the Nation” and “The Assman 640 Speaks” are both the same lyrically, but bookend the album with different takes on the same speech. “National Movie Review” is a review of a “20th century classic.” They serve to establish the album’s world, and are pretty effective and enjoyable. You might skip them, but they’re harmless and short.

One could call this album “hip-hop for people who don’t like rap.” Or rather, mainstream rap; if you like your hip-hop to have a bit more than the “bitches and bling” that seems to be the entire focus of everything that hits the radio, start here. Del brings more intelligence to his craft, along with a healthy dose of humor, which results in a far more interesting and rewarding album.

Tags: deltron 3030