* En anglais uniquement
Handsome Boy Modeling School was a teaming of quirky super-producers
Prince Paul (best-known for his work with
De la Soul and
Stetsasonic) and
Dan "The Automator" Nakamura (fresh off his underground success with
Kool Keith's
Dr. Octagon album). Taking their name from an episode of the cult
Chris Elliott sitcom Get a Life (which was sampled several times on their album),
Paul and
Dan adopted the über-stylish alter egos of Chest Rockwell and
Nathaniel Merriweather, respectively. Their debut album,
So...How's Your Girl?, was a loose concept record packed with guest stars: rappers
Del tha Funkee Homosapien,
J-Live, and
El-P; members of
Cibo Matto,
Brand Nubian, and
the Beastie Boys; star turntablists like
DJ Shadow,
DJ Quest, and
Kid Koala; electronica artists like
Moloko's
Roisin Murphy and
Atari Teenage Riot's
Alec Empire; and even Saturday Night Live's Father Guido Sarducci.
So...How's Your Girl? was released on Tommy Boy in the fall of 1999 to mostly favorable reviews, and the opening track, "Rock n' Roll (Could Never Hip Hop Like This)," was licensed for a TV ad campaign.
Nakamura subsequently moved on to a host of other highly conceptual projects, including
Deltron 3030,
Gorillaz, and
Lovage. The duo returned to record-store shelves in 2004 with White People, their first album for Elektra. ~ Steve Huey