Kamal Humphrey's third album under the moniker
Radioinactive is more lo-fi, glitchy bedroom hip-hop. Sounding like a nasal mix of
Doseone and joke rapper
MC Pee Pants,
Radioinactive's vocals and juvenile rhymes will probably turn off all but the most forgiving of hip-hop fans. From the album's cover and press release, one gleans that
Humphrey is a fan of the 1980s robot toy 2-XL, a toy whose bleeps and blips were more compelling than much of what's on offer on
Soundtrack to a Book. The press release mentions
Humphrey's occasional stabs at rapping in pig Latin, which probably went over well in high-school chess clubs and fraternity houses across the rapper's native Los Angeles. "Tarantulas" is one of the album's stronger tracks, but it's also entirely indicative of the artist's average delivery and uninspired musical backing tracks that pepper these ten songs. The music tries to be moody and tense, but the beats aren't hard or rich enough, while
Humphrey offers awkward rhymes about kitchen utensils and other stream-of-consciousness fare.
Soundtrack to a Book is ultimately little more than grating hip-hop that isn't anywhere near as funny or artsy as intended. ~ Tim DiGravina