Pitchfork

You'll probably spend the first thirty seconds of "Bubble Pop" wondering where Del got the chutzpah to sample the bell-heavy, "Peter Piper"-claimed bit of Bob James' "Take Me to the Mardi Gras" break and the last thirty having pretty much forgotten why it might've been questionable in the first place. Whether that's due to Del's MCing or his production is your call, really. The track's got a pretty dense beat where the bells have to spar with this doughy, bouncy bassline that's frivolous and ridiculous and vaguely caricature-- futuristic in a likeable way; think Zapp crossed with incidental music from The Jetsons. And Del's cadence half-rides/half-offsets that bassline with his usual agile snottiness: I'm not sure who else would be able to pull off a hook as simple as "Why do you think that you are all that/ 'cause you ain't" without making it sound either flatly tossed-off or filled with self-conscious trying-too-hard wackiness, and it's a good contrast to his verses, intricately constructed in the service of finding new and innovative ways of denoting his dopeness ("Since the 70s my pedigree is cheddar cheese/ When I used to read Jets and Ebonys/ I bet I reach even the hardest G's/ 'cause my artistry ain't too hard to see") and sexual proclivities ("Yeah, I go cuckoo for Afro puffs/ And blue jeans where the massive ass be stuffed"). You probably wouldn't miss much if you stopped the track around the three-minute mark, after which he just repeats that hook in an increasingly giggly voice-- padding three minutes' worth of material to a running time of about... huh, 4:20-- but since Del verses have been few and far between since 2000 save a few 12-inches and guest spots, you might as well play the whole thing; it's worth it just to hear his voice again.

MP3:> Del the Funky Homosapien: "Bubble Pop"
[from Eleventh Hour; due 03/11/08 on Def Jux]