Typical Cats [Explicit Lyrics]

Typical Cats | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 6, 2001)
• Original Release Date: February 6, 2001
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Explicit Lyrics
• Label: Galapagos4
• ASIN: B00005AKV7
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #185,891 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Reissue of this classic Galapagos 4 label release from 2001. Conceived within the lair of Chicago's legendary WHPK Wednesday Night Rap Show, the group known as Typical Cats deliver one of those rare Hip Hop albums that hits hard in all aspects of the culture. Consisting of MCs Qwel, Qwazaar and Denizen Kane (Dennis Kim of I Was Born With Two Tongues) and producer/DJ Natural, the Typical Cats album is a record that is nothing short of straight up Hip Hop: provocative lyricism, original concepts, and the raw energy you would expect from three of the most promising emcees in Chicago.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of Chi Town's best kept secrets!, August 7, 2001

By 

Warren Pedronan (san jose, ca usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Typical Cats (Audio CD)

Spawned from a Chicago radio station, the Typical Cats: denizen kane, Qwel, Quazzar, Natural, Kid Knish met -- forming like Voltron. From this album's intro which features the vocals of Emily Chang (denizen kane's fellow 2 Tongues member) to the crew's finale in, "Thin Red Line", they come together perfectly.. with Dennis aka, denizen kane formin' the head. Not only does he provide the listener with a hint of his poetic abilites, but he also comes through on guitars, "What You Thought Hops" -- the same guitar reprise used in the intro, but who cares, it works.

You like jazzed out piano loops? Here you'll find some of the illest, piano laden intrumentals as the case is in, "Snake Oil". You want cuts? Well you are in luck because apparently he album's producers, DJ Natural and Kid Kinsh do that too. On the albums primarily jazzy feel, former Blaze Battle contestant, Qwel, shows us how he rips it in, "Qwelloquiallisms". Meanwhile, Qwazaar comes off like a Chi-Town version of Rawkus Record's, Pharoahe Monch. But as I previously stated, if these cats were really Voltron, it'd be denizen formin' the head. In, "Snake Oil" his talent in spoken word becomes handy, where his delivery seemingly make his lines mesh perfectly with the tweedling piano in the background. In, "What you Thought Hops", denizen kane dispels all his critics, showing that no one will come between him and his love of poetry while at the same time comments on a prevalent issue afficting his community. "Are the 2 worlds I reside in, a high yellow phantasm/ of a undiscovered future, I am/ to bridge the chasm between my mother's memory and my hazy present I/ so new languages outta the srcraps of my hand me down clothes..." later he spits, "...I can weave a family out the scarlet of the sin/ and write the world in which my seed will be at ease inside his own skin". Denizen, a socio-political activist in real life, realizes that music is not just a form of entertainment. Understanding this alone places him among the likes of Saul Williams, Mos and Chicago's very own Common Sense.

Upon buying Typical Cats, I had no idea what to expect from this crew of four that created this album while getting blunted *one* summer. That must've been some good ganja because I'm lookin' forward to hearing more of em. It ain't just the herb talking though, because from start to finish each member's skills come through crystal clear, only proving that their name: Typical Cats is really the antithesis of their skill the hip hop game.

Favorites: Snake Oil - Take a Number - Cliche - Thin Red Line

Similar/Realated Artists: I Was Born With 2 Tonuges - Scam Artists - Ugly Duckling

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FANTASTIC!, March 18, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Typical Cats (Audio CD)

This is a really amazing CD. I recommend it to people who think they don't like rap music. It incorporates spoken word poetry and hip hop beats in a complex fashion. The rhyme structure is often very elaborate and sophisticated. At many points there is a profundity to the music which may surprise people unfamiliar with underground rap, who associate the genre with the commercial product. I look forward to hearing more from Typical Cats.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the past, present, and future of hip-hop, March 17, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Typical Cats (Audio CD)

With DJ Natural supplying the certified headnodders, these three titillating emcees each bring signature styles of lyrical delivery to the table.

Qwel - the introspective battle rhymer. How ill is that?

Qwazaar - a whirlwind baritone pulling syllables from every orifice. Completely KILLS the mic each time with cadence and charisma.

Denizen Kane - my favorite of the three. Poetic, passionate, and personal. Indelibly leaves his footprints on your conscience while saving some of his cryptic poetry esoteric enough for you to decipher later and still appreciate it.

Thin Red Line is the joint!

Stop looking. Buy this CD already.