Employing eight hip-hop DJs (including
Funkmaster Flex,
DJ Hollywood, and
Mister Cee) and various East Coast rappers (most notably,
Lovebug Starski and the goofy
Biz Markie),
the Flip Squad Allstars are the rap equivalent of a hard bop jam session. Just as jazz saxmen and trumpeters would tend to be especially extroverted at a jam session and show their chops off,
the Flip Squad is essentially about rappers showing off their "flow," or rhyming technique. No particular MC dominates the microphone;
Biz,
Starski,
Canibus,
McGruff and others take turns rapping and emphasize flow, flow, and more flow. Most of the time, the results are exhilarating, if limited. But a few of the tunes tell a story rather than simply concentrating on technique. "Get Tough '98" and the menacing "Villain Guys" address the dangers of the inner city, while "Turntables" angrily speaks out against materialistic, gold digging women who dis rappers when they're poor but try to seduce them after they've made some money. Some politically correct types will whine that "Turntables" is sexist or misogynist, but in fact, the song is simply telling it like it is. "Turntables" doesn't insult women in general -- only gold diggers.
Flip Squad All-Star DJs isn't without late 1990s influences, but much of the material is a throwback to the New York hip-hop of the 1980s. "How Ya Like Us Now," in fact, isn't unlike something
the Treacherous Three,
Grandmaster Flash or
Kurtis Blow would have done 10 or 15 years earlier. Although not essential,
The Flip Squad Allstar DJs is a spirited effort that seasoned hip-hop fans will find enjoyable.