Deltron 3030

Artist: Deltron 3030
Album: Deltron 3030
Year: 2000
Label: 75 Ark

Genre(s)/style(s): experimental / abstract hip-hop

Line-up:
Deltron Zero (Del the Funkee Homosapien) - MC
Skiznod the Boy Wonder (Kid Koala) - DJ
The Cantankerous Captain Apto (Dan the Automator) - producer

Tracklisting:

1	State of the Nation (feat. Damon Albarn)		0:28
2	3030		7:31
3	The Fantabulous Rap Extravaganza (feat. Prince Paul)		0:22
4	Things You Can Do		5:01
5	Positive Contact		4:44
6	St. Catherine St. (feat. Mr. Lif, Peanut Butter Wolf, Beans)		0:44
7	Virus		4:27
8	Upgrade (A Brymar College Course)		4:11
9	New Coke (feat. Money Mark)		0:43
10	Mastermind		3:35
11	National Movie Review (feat. Brad Roberts)		0:55
12	Madness		4:39
13	Meet Cleofis Randolph the Patriarch (feat. MC Paul Barman)		0:37
14	Time Keeps On Slipping (feat. Damon Albarn)		5:01
15	The News (A Wholly Owned Subsidiary of Microsoft Inc.) (feat. Hafdis Huld)		0:51
16	Turbulence (Remix)		3:32
17	The Fantabulous Rap Extravaganza Part II (feat. Prince Paul)		0:38
18	Battlesong		4:09
19	Love Story		3:27
20	Memory Loss (feat. Sean Lennon)		4:40
21	The Assman 640 Speaks		0:31

You'd probably be more familiar with Del's work with the Gorillaz -- "Clint Eastwood", dawg -- but Del also has another lesser known career working under the name Del the Funkee Homosapien, either alone or in Deltron 3030. With acclaimed producer Dan the Automator and DJ Kid Koala, the trio tell a space-themed story that I'm too stoned to remember, or even to have paid attention to! But it seems Del is reciting the chapters from some Star Wars-esque book about wandering through space, being hunted by evil men of evil empires (read: white people) and detailing all the crazy adventures in between (like that Twi'lek hooker on Mars).

The meat of this feat is the beats. (Word.) Classic hip-hop beats with cheezy synths and sci-fi samples provide the essential back-drop for Deltron's black-power, anti-establishment nerd-rage. His rhymes are mad tight, bro, but the science fiction theme and constant musing about alien lifeforms grows a bit tiresome after a while. He has some really clever moments, though (this coming from a poet's standpoint):

My style's protected by heat shields and ceramics
Don't panic, I landed on planet Mercury
Gave it atmosphere, set up my headquarters I
'll never get captured here
Rap your tear clap your ear with Soulsonic Mantronik phonics
Turn your brain to an omelette
I'll hold a comet in bondage, with my dominance
Take a space shuttle to escape trouble

(from "Positive Contact")

Thankfully, Del doesn't mince his words too much, e.g., he keeps the naughty stuff to a minimum and instead flaunts his poetic ability in a rather sophisticated and professional manner (like a pro, bro). While his voice comes off as rather monotone, Del has a lot of subtle emotional flare, like stressing certain syllables, selecting certain words / word-sounds to use, or using the connotations of his vocabulary to convey mood, rather than the tone of his voice. It's precise and unique, though it might be difficult to catch onto.

The atmosphere is like floating in space, especially in tracks like "3030" and "Upgrade". The album is wonderfully layered, too! It feels like a deep-space 2001: A Space Odyssey shuttle in mid space drift and on which there's an exclusive concert from the captain and his crew. Lots of weird, swirling twangs, haunting voices swaying in solar winds (samples mostly) and deep basslines worm their way around the aluminum-shielded beats, bathed in cosmic textures and even some symphonic space dust on occasion. It's a really chill, lizard-basking-in-the-sun (literally, on the sun -- he's an extraterrestrial future lizard) kind of aesthetic. At the same time, though, there's a somewhat gloomy overtone to everything, but it's subtle.

The rhythms are so smooth and seamless, and have a rather gentle quality to them; this album flows like water. Although, the ample filler tracks are somewhat disruptive to the liquid flow, they are moreso just fairly neutral as they don't stick around for more than 30 seconds or so but don't really make any real impact -- although "New Coke" is really funny and "Meet Cleofis Randolph the Patriarch" features Paul Barman unleashing one beastly slew of words. Regardless, the whole thing is danceable and groovy/funky and the nerd charm is a fantastic compliment to what is otherwise, to me, party music.

So, if you like your hip-hop chill, original, and very well put together, then Deltron 3030 is up your alley. The lyrics are really well done and often cleverly-written and the whole istrumental section is spectacular and create a really powerful mood to support the sci-fi rhymes. It might also be a good place to start if you're new to hip-hop as this is really accessible, save for a couple long-ish jams and the fact that the albums itself is a little too long. I may not be very well-versed on hip-hop, but it's not often an album makes this much of an impact on me, so kudos to Del and co.

Verdict: 85% - Whoop, dey it is!

Also, look for Deltron 3030 II coming out this year!


"Positive Contact":


Try it. (megaupload, ~80 MB)
Try it. (instrumental version)*
Buy it. (CD, Amazon)


*Instrumental version tracklisting:

1	3030		6:56
2	Memory Loss		4:39
3	Love Story		3:26
4	Madness		4:39
5	Mastermind		3:37
6	Time Keeps on Slipping		5:06
7	Positive Contact		4:54
8	Things You Can Do		5:01
9	Upgrade		3:56
10	Virus		4:13
11	Battle Song		4:08
12	Turbulence (Remix by Mark Bell)		4:18