Weekend Warrior

Sound DNA

• Hip-Hop
• Alternative Hip-Hop

• clean
• playful
• urban

About

With a cover photograph of 40-year-old Biz Markie sitting naked in an Indian headdress, <i>Weekend Warrior</i> makes clear that Biz is the Peter Pan of rap. He is forever young, or at least he serves as guardian to hip-hop’s fountain of youth. With Biz every listener is given the opportunity to revert back to his or her teenage self, when hip-hop was a new and exciting discovery, a culture that demanded only that we be ourselves. <i>Weekend Warrior</i> reaffirms Biz’s old-school values while also preventing him from becoming a novelty act. Ironically, his experiments in new styles are the songs that sound the most dated. While you have to respect him for trying new things, the syrupy “Like a Dream,” the Timbaland-aping “Ei Ya,” and the bizarre dancehall collaboration “Let Me See U Bounce” don’t quite fit him — like a sneakerhead trying to rock patent-leather dress shoes. The oldest, simplest-sounded songs are the ones that still seem fresh — like an old pair of Adidas. “Tear S**t Up,” “Chinese Food” and “Party to the Break-A-Day” don’t come off like relics, but reminders of the timelessness of a certain hip-hop formula — breaks, loops, and Biz’s inimitably lumbering-yet-funky flow.

via Apple Music

Tracklist

Credits