SIR MIXALOT “Mack Daddy” Def American *...

SIR MIXALOT “Mack Daddy”

Def American * * 1/2 Back in the days before rappers were featured in People or starred in their own TV shows, back when the rap underground was able to go gold pumping out records solely to urban hard-core fans, regional schools of hip-hop flourished much as regional rock ‘n’ roll had prospered in the ‘50s. A reasonably adept student of the medium could listen to a new record and tell you where the artist was from. Where a Long Island rapper could be discerned by his aggressive use of James Brown samples and a Miami rapper by his booming bass, the West Coast sound was known for quick tempos and slick electronic surfaces, and rapping that was more nimble than it was profound. East Coast rappers thought of it as novelty rap, but dancing to it was easy and fun.

Now that rap has matured and regional differences are somewhat abated, Seattle’s Sir Mixalot may be the last pure practitioner of the poppy, electronics-driven West Coast style that had its fruition in Hammer on the one hand and N.W.A and the Compton school on the other. In his major-label debut, Mixalot is as funny as usual--his targets include rube rap audiences and stalls that sell fake Louis Vuitton at the swap meet--but though the album is a bit more solidly produced than prior efforts, Mixalot also spends most of his talent on the tired pimp/gun/gangsta/my-car’s-better-than-your-car litany that he’s managed to avoid up to this point. “Mack Daddy” might be a slamming party record, but as a work of art it falls far short.