FOR YOUR EARS ONLY: The funky homosapien returns, but worth it?

In 2000, Del the Funky Homosapien released his last album "Both Sides of the Brain." It's been a long time coming, but, he's finally released his follow-up, "Eleventh Hour." Now, when an artist takes eight years to release an album, it better be amazing. "Eleventh Hour" is not amazing. Del took so long to release his latest because he wanted to hone his craft by learning music theory; he wanted to take his rap game to the next level. For some reason, this new album sounds like the same Del from eight years ago. It's not that the Del of 2000 was bad, it's just that he hasn't kept up with the times. "Eleventh Hour" isn't mind-blowing, which it had to be in order to justify the long wait and subsequent hype. Today's hip-hop has left Del completely in the dust. With artists such as El-P releasing albums ("I'll Sleep When You're Dead") that continually push the boundaries of hip-hop, it's somewhat unsettling not to hear Del trying to do the same. With all these criticisms, let it be known that "Eleventh Hour" is a solid album. It's good, and if it hadn't had almost a decade of hype, there would be nothing to complain about. Songs such as "I'll Tell You" have the trademark Del sense of humor and witticism that a fan would expect. With lines such as "In my book you're worth a listen/ But then again it's a work of fiction." The rest of the album is peppered with other little shining moments, but the production doesn't match the fluidity of Del's raps. Each track has a great beat, for about four bars, which it then continues to repeat without much variation throughout the song. For someone who claims to have taken the time to learn music theory, it's difficult to see what effect his education had on his production. One must also realize this is a strictly Del album. It's not Deltron, it's not Gorrilaz or any of the other countless projects Del has lent his flow to. So, it's not really fair to compare those group efforts to this new release. But at the same time, it would have been a lot more exciting to hear another Deltron album ("Deltron Event II" is actually in the works) or another Gorillaz-type thing. Strictly Del is alright, but it seems that with his own projects he doesn't shine as well as he does when he is working with other artists. Come to think of it, the only Del album that really stands on it's own is 1998's "Future Development." Ever since then, each solo release, as a whole, has been sort-of a letdown. In the end, "Eleventh Hour" is a solid album, nothing spectacular and only open to criticism because of the hype. But as mentioned before, at least we have "Deltron Event II" to look forward to. With Dan the Automator and Kid Koala helping out, how can it go wrong?

Artist: Del the Funky Homosapien Album: Eleventh Hour Label: Definitive Jux Grade: B-