Danger Mouse and Jemini - Ghetto Pop Life

So, this being my first Silent Uproar review, I should get something straight right off the bat. I don’t really like rap. I find myself enjoying more and more rap, but in all honesty I’m still at a Beastie Boys, The Roots, and The Streets level, aka the “Indie-Hipster-Dufus” level of appreciation. That being said, Ghetto Pop Life is definitely more of a rap CD than I am used to, and then that being said, I still think it’s freaking awesome. The first 3 tracks made me realize that this was no ordinary CD; in fact, it’s a very extraordinary one. "Born to MC" is a romp with some cool effects and a catchy rhythm, but it’s when the title track, "Ghetto Pop Life," kicks in that I realize that this is going to be one awesome ride. It starts off with what sounds like a church choir singing "I got a bullet in the clip, I got a lyric I can spit, I give the bitches good dick" all laid over a Portishead-esque trip-hop beat. I know. Awesome, right!? I mean what else really can you ask from a song, and I’m still only talking about the intro track! The track itself is transitioned into with flawless ease and builds emotion with each chorus. The CD then takes some indulgences with the more traditional rap formula, but then come the tracks "Copy Cats," "Don’t do Drugs," and "Medieval" - all of which are stand out tracks. "Copy Cats," featuring a very pissed off as always Prince-Po, is rather disarming when you match the lyrics to the light instrumentation, but I think that is half of its appeal. The next two tracks, "Don’t do Drugs" and "Medieval," featuring The Pharcyde, remind me of some of The Avalanches' retro quirky sampling, and these songs are probably going to be on my mix CDs for quite some time. So all in all, does this mean that I’m going out to buy Jay-Z’s latest record? Probably not. But I do think this CD has moved me up in my level of rap appreciation from “Indie-Hipster-Dufus” to just plain “Dufus.” [www.djdangermouse.com]