So...How's Your Girl?

Handsome Boy Modeling School, Dan The Automator

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 19, 1999)
• Original Release Date: October 19, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Elektra / Ada
• ASIN: B00001ZWEF
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (57 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #11,537 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  #77 in	Music > Alternative Rock > Alternative Styles > Alternative Dance
  #99 in	Music > Rap & Hip-Hop > Experimental Rap

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

As if A Prince Among Thieves wasn't conceptual enough, Prince Paul has now joined forces with Dan the Automator to create Handsome Boy Modeling School, an outlet through which the duo (and a dozen or so of their closest big-name friends) can mix and mingle with rap, turntablism, trip-hop, and--of course--tongue-in-cheek humor. And while this idea may sound original, its name came straight from an episode of Chris Elliott's short-lived sitcom Get a Life. Elliott--the goofball writer and cameo guest for David Letterman--springs up a few times on the disc in the form of a few vocal samples, but mostly this show is centered around the guests: Encore provides the disc's best rap on "Waterworld," Grand Puba and Sadat X (from Brand Nubian) perform "Once Again" on top of a sample of Three Dog Night's "Old Fashioned Love Song," and DJ Shadow does his usual magic with the 1200s on "Holy Calamity." Miho Hatori (Cibo Matto), Mike D., Sean Lennon, Alec Empire, and even Father Guido Sarducci are also along for the crowded ride. Does this runway of cameos ever sound thematically cohesive? Hell, no. With this many friends helping out, do we really need to hear Prince Paul on the phone with Biz Markie ("Calling the Biz")? Of course not. But this name-dropping vanity fair is nothing if not ambitious, and chances are there's something here that you'll dig. --Jason Verlinde

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Does Prince Paul Ever EVER Fail Us?, November 23, 1999

By	"that_funky_dj" (Stamford, CT USA) - See all my reviews

For the past 12 or 13 years, Prince Paul has graced so many tracks, I lose count because I run out of fingers and toes, and now THIS. With the Automator, Prince Paul shines even more, not to mention one of the greatest casts of the '90s (Del, Shadow, El-P, J-Live, etc.). I mean, it's stunning the work that these people do. The breaks, the soulful tracks, the tracks where Del just rips the hell out of the beat... Amazing. Album of the year, hands down.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Prince and the Automator Deliver Best Kept Secret of 1999, June 8, 2004

By	Gymlinks (Canada) - See all my reviews

There once was a time in the early to mid 1990's when rap actually meant something. Groups and artists like Souls of Mischief, De La Soul, Tribe, Jeru and Nas had perfected rap to a pure art form devoid of all of the corny cliches far too evedent in todays hip hop/R&B fusion numbers that grace the Billboard charts. Back then, rap music was mostly an underground phenomenon featuring artists who used their poetic skills to tell a story of the streets and social issues that were for the most part ignored by the public at large. Not all of it was serious to be sure. Groups such as the Pharcide and Digital Underground were great for those hot summer night parties.

Once the major record companies got hold of the idea that rap could be a major cash cow, they started to sign artists whose philosophy was more style than substance and groups who prospered during the heyday of rap either had to gloss their style in order to become more mainstream or disapear back into the underground. It was sad to see the artists who chose the former route sell themselves to make a quick buck. It was at this time that I deceided to get out of the genre that I loved so much.

When I heard about this album, I was overjoyed. With HBMS, you have two of the greatest hip hop producers to ever grace the sound boards coming together and producing a masterpiece, the lights of which have not been seen for quite a while. What makes this album so great is that they have invited some of the artists that shaped the glory days of rap (DJ Shadow, Del, Grand Puba, Sadat X) plus artists from totoally different genres such as Moloko and Alec Empire to create a work so varied in style, but at the same time focused into a cohesive unit. Del and Sadat are as good as they have ever been, but it is DJ Shadow and his "Holy Calamity (Bear Witnesss II)" turntablist masterpiece that steals the show. The Chris Elliot sit-com peices are also a riot.

Pick this up and you will be pleasantly surprised.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Handsome Boy Modeling School breaks new grounds, April 5, 2000

By	"e-factor" (Detroit, Michigan) - See all my reviews

   I know what your thinking: "what the eff is Handsome Boy Modeling School?" Let me introduce to you Nathaniel Merriweather (Dan The Automator) and Chest Rockwell (Prince Paul): hence, Handsome Boy Modeling School. And let me tell you, this LP which holds 16 joints of spoken word, DJing, MCing, and some tight ladies and guys on the R&B tip, is the most diverse and experimental disc possibly in the country.

   It's one jawn I'm digging is called "The Truth", which features Roisin of Moloko (and let me tell you, she's got a very nice voice), and my man jiggy J-Live. This joint opens up with these feather-soft piano tones, violin harmonies, and a horn here and there that just interlace perfectly with a thumping bass line. Roisin Murphy lays down some tight vocals for two verses, and then J-Live performs a vivid, memorable verse that just makes the entire album shine. I'muh put it to you like this, "The Truth" alone makes this great purchase, strait up. Other honorable mentions include "Waterworld", "Once Again (Here to Kick One For You)", "Holy Calamity (Bear Witness 2)", "The Projects (P Jays) and "The Runway Song".

   Aiyyo, I was explaining earlier how this was an experimental album, well, it's a bit too experimental with joints like "Torch Song Trilogy" and especially "Megaton B-Boy 2000". Now this is also produced by the HBMS and the only question I could come up with was: "What were they thinking! " To each it's own,but I'm just not feeling this joint. It's nothing but a bunch of distortion and noise and you can hardly hear what El-P has to say. They did some science with this one and it just didn't get through to me, na'mean? But other than that, Handsome Boy Modeling School did thier thing.

   The team of Prince Paul and Dan The Automator have definately paved a new road for hip-hop to travel on with this release, and we can expect them to break new ground for years to come.