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Last week someone threw a copy of [tag]Hood Rebel[/tag] by [tag]E.B. Daddy Of Da Hood[/tag] into my backyard. Whether a gift from the music review gods or a throw-back from a listener expecting something different, this CD immediately became number one on my to-do list. I took it into the house and wondered whether this sort of thing ever happens to Robert Christgau.

I hit the play button on my CD player and waited for that moment when the digital counter changes from 0: 00 to 0:01 and the disc?s contents are sonically revealed. I quickly made a mental wishlist of CDs I would like to find in my backyard during the coming weeks: ?Modern Times? by Bob Dylan, the ?Zanzibara, Vol. 2: Golden Years Of Mombasa Taarab? anthology, ?The Sound? by New Monsoon, ?Beatlemaniacs!!! The World Of Beatles Novelty Records,? and ?Organic Vibes? by JoeyDeFrancesco would be nice to receive from my mysterious Johnny CDseed (?Seedyseed??). Sort of like Netflix minus the shipping and handling.

The music began. [tag]Hip hop[/tag]. The booklet?s cover displayed a twenty- or thirtysomething man wearing an athletic jersey and a baseball cap worn at a 45-degree angle from the designed-to-block-the-sun-from-one?s-eyes position. He stood behind the opened driver?s-side door of a sporty red convertible with killer rims and two children seated within. The car was parked in front of what appeared to be a typical suburban tract home, modest and well-kept. It was an interesting and ambiguous image: was it suggesting the mainstreaming of hip hop, an Everyman aspect of the genre similar to 1970s punk, or simply a photograph of a man and his family? As was the title: was ?rebel? a noun or verb, meant to identify an individual or as a call for action to a group?

The CD?s themes are variations on getting paid, eliminating one?s enemies, and various reflections on pimps and hos. Lyrically I was reminded of a batter facing a pitcher with a great fastball: first couple of at-bats, the batter will be blown away by the pitcher?s stuff but by the third time up, he pretty much knows what?s coming. Not to take anything away from the pitcher?s fastball, though. A great fastball is a thing of beauty. Ask any batter in any league.

Sonically there is no getting away from booming basslines and bass drum in hip hop. Both are key aspects of this music, like reggae?s ?chunk? guitar or a waltz?s ?1-2-3? rhythm. Hood Rebel, however, also features some unidentified musicians adding tones and textures reminiscent of the soul/jazz music recorded during the 1970s. The piano and rhythm guitar sections were inspired, well-played, and consistently kept the songs from falling into a voice-and-?rhythm section only? sound.

A large part of hip hop?s appeal is its visceral aspect. The energy, especially in a crowd setting where everyone?s wavin? their hands in the air like they just don?t care, gets under one?s skin from the music?s opening beats, no differently than big guitar chords in heavy metal or the first four notes of Beethoven?s Fifth Symphony. As with all visceral experiences, the amount one lets in can determine the level of enjoyment. Remove the visceral and the listener is usually left with the good (COMFORT!) and bad (BOREDOM!) aspects of familiarity or a desire for something different. Or both.

By the time the CD ended, I was reminded of something I read in a Ben Fong-Torres article about Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young for Rolling Stone in 1974. (Obviously it made an impression.) David Crosby was quoted as stating ?Wooly Bully? outsold ?Mr. Tambourine Man? by four to one during the songs? original releases. His statement, true or not, is no different today than it was back then. It was all about what the majority of the music audience liked; similarly, a hip hop fan will stand a good chance of liking Hood Rebel, a better chance than someone who has a passing interest in it or one with none at all. A curious listener will be surprised with parts of it and may even grow to like the rest. Or not.

?Wooly Bully,? incidentally, is a GREAT song. Come on, sing the chorus with me:

?WOOLY BULLYYYYYYYYY, WOOLY BULLY/WOOLY BULLY, WOOLY BULLY, WOOLY BULLY.? (You got it! You got it!)

For purchasing, visit www.shopping.yahoo.com and take advantage of its comparative pricing information. For Robert Christgau, visit www.villagevoice.com and click on the ?music? link. He rules. ?Modern Times? by Bob Dylan is scheduled for release on August 29 and my backyard will gladly welcome a copy of it. Go, Johnny, go.

[tags]CD review[/tags]

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