With his ransacked machine loops and huge, everlasting ghetto-boy growls that would dilate the soberest of pupils,
Elephant Man remains the Jamaican bastard child of materialistic and puffed-up hip-hop. But if this is appropriation, it's of the highest standard. Modern dancehall conventions are faithfully beat over the head, letting monstrous basslines sprint, stop, and duck through the tangle of deep-throated twangs and ragga's underbrush. "Bun It" and "Bow City" are baking thunderous numbers that can be both militant and careless, while even a patois reinterpretation of the Spider-Man theme can't divert rhythms that would be frustratingly experimental if they weren't so infectious. A complete reversal of fortune, then. Expect America's finest rap producers to rip this off as soon as it hits hometown soil. ~ Dean Carlson