Pittsburgh Slim may be signed to Def Jam -- and by the hand of none other than
Jay-Z -- but his debut EP
Tastemaker gives little indication as to why he's any more legit than "My Bum Is on Ya Lips" b-boy Tom Green. While fans of his beloved old crew Strict Flow might disagree,
Slim's lyrics here are nothing above those of a skillful novelty artist, although with "Girls Kiss Girls" being such a skyrocketing hit as
Tastemaker was released, you can excuse some of the EP's faults by best guessing it was rushed. His ode to the supreme daddy of all heterosexual male fantasies is extremely catchy electro hip-hop and the kind of song that allows the inner frat boy trapped in any man to sing their carnal cravings proud and loud. The freaky idea of sampling
Matthew Wilder's uncool hit "Break My Stride" for "Sunrays" is a winner, and plenty of the quirky backing tracks from producer
Ski Beatz deserve attention. Otherwise, this just seems an empty-headed party, an ironic strip club soundtrack, or a fair excuse to make "Girl Kiss Girls" readily available. [
Tastemaker was also made available in a clean version, with all explicit material removed.] ~ David Jeffries