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Baby Elephant
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Out of 13 votes - Similar Artists: Talking Heads, Parliament, Prince Paul, Dan the Automator
Out of 13 votes
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- Genre: Electronic & Dance » Electronica
Editor's review
It must be relief to be beloved for your weirdness--quite a tour de force when you consider Handsome Boy Modeling School founder Prince is upheld for the oddities he brings to rap music, a genre stringent with its rules concerning masculinity and unshakable bravado. Paul says he skipped school to listen to his P Funk records, and never has that influence been more aurally evident than on this unbridled space-funk odyssey that is his Baby Elephant project. Bringing together David Byrne, George Clinton, and the man who crafted Dre's legendary "The Chronic" on a freakified funk album? Brilliant. But those who've followed Paul through his career won't be surprised at all.
Biography
BABY ELEPHANT Turn My Teeth Up! is Prince Paul's first project following his smash collaboration, HANDSOME BOY MODELING SCHOOL, with Dan the Automator. The BABY ELEPHANT trio includes Prince Paul, one of his musical idols- eccentric keyboard mastermind and two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, Bernie Worrell (P-Funk, Talking Heads), and long-time Prince Paul collaborator, Newkirk.
As a teenager Prince Paul would skip school just to listen to his P-Funk records. The chance to make music with Worrell proved to be an opportunity of a lifetime. These two legends met while promoting the Worrell documentary "STRANGER: Bernie Worrell on Earth", and hit it off immediately. With Worrell, Prince Paul was able to create the funk/soul album that had been dancing in his head all of these years.
"He's an accomplished musician and I'm some B-boy cat," said Paul. But that formula doesn't necessarily equal your typical hip-hop plus jazz formula. "I don't want people to think it's like some hip-hop beats over him playing. We're trying to invent something."
On Turn My Teeth Up! Prince Paul showcases Worrell's immense talents. He provides the musical bedrock on an array of vintage keyboards, synthesizers and pianos, as well as single handedly adding his oft-imitated (and sampled) string sections and Moog bass lines. Worrell, a New Jersey native, has created sonics that over the years have become the foundation for the West Coast Hip Hop sound (see Dr. Dre's "The Chronic"). So it is fitting that East Coaster, Prince Paul has brought Worrell's sounds back home.
"Turn My Teeth Up!" is arguably the most creative and musical album of Prince Paul's storied career and a landmark achievement for Worrell. True to form, Prince Paul has assembled an amazing and diverse cast of co-conspirator's. "Turn My Teeth Up!" features classic turns by David Byrne, George Clinton, Yellowman, Shock G, Nona Hendryx, DJ Roc Raida, Reggie Watts, Gabby La La and more. The result of this inspired oddball alchemy is BABY ELEPHANT Turn My Teeth Up!
