ANALOG BROTHERSPimp Ta Eat Record label: Ground Control Format: 2xLP/CD Release date: 15 August 2000 this review originally appeared on the bulletin boards of Okayplayer.com on july 21, 2000. written by afronaut with present-day touch-ups by macedonia. I have seen the future and the world's oldest profession will be a part of it. Pimpin' still ain't easy, according to the Analog Brothers, four-dimensional players transmitting from 2005. Picture The Mack set on Saturn with Kool Keith as Goldie and Ice-T as Pretty Tony, or better yet, Sweet Daddy from Good Times. The lyrics are a combination of the dogged embracing of the pimpin' principle and the thick density of schematic diagrams of short wave radio kits, with images intended to boggle the mind ("...drivin' a lime green Corvette with a flat butt white girl like Pamela Anderson with a Chia Pet/skatin' on feces like Wayne Gretsky..."), shock the senses (Ice-T's pimp talk can go overboard at times), or just take you out of your present situation temporarily. Musically, the album has the typical gangster lean of most West Coast production, but tweaked with gadgets courtesy of P-Funksters from another place and space. Peep the freakish studio tactics of "Analog Outro" and "Shut Down Show," or the party bounce of "permsbaldheadsafrosdreads" and "Double Back" for examples. On the mic, Keith gets down as always, and Ice-T has never sounded better. Sometimes, the others will follow his lead in the way of the pimp limp (as shown on "We Sleep Days" and especially "More Freaks"), but it's clear that Ice has totally stepped up his game being in the company of Silver Synth, Mark Moog, and Keith. Check brother Oscillator's spittin' on "Silver Surfer vs. Analog Annihilator": "do not attempt to switch the frequency/creep with these analog assassins blastin' and laughin' at 'cha/catch ya with the one-two/the coolest dude is who? the Ice Oscillator, master weaponist, deadliest linguist/got 'cha locked in, your car blocked in, now you sit scared as s--t/as I...jump in the next level/warp double-O six slash crucifix inverted, you heard it/10,000 MCs murdered - not enough/all my films are snuff..." Beyond that, the album can be rather humorous in spots. The singers featured on "So Bad" and "Country Girl" - an ode to livin' large and slow jam fodder, respectively - will either make you shake your head in despair or laugh yourself out of your chair. Then there's "Who Wanna Be Down," an Amateur Night type of track featuring numerous members of Ice-T's Rhyme Syndicate flexing their skills until Ice himself crashes the party. He proceeds to kick a parody of his own rhymes, but with a dead serious delivery. In a way, he could be commenting on the lowest common denominator raps of his imitators. Either way, it's an ingenious moment. Devoted Kool Keith fans will love this one, but don't be surprised if Ice comes off as the favorite. You have to wonder how long he's been sitting on the type of rhyme scheme he busts as Ice Oscillator. Impressive while equally ignorant, so forward yet so backward (sort of sums up present-day hip-hop in general, doesn't it?), Pimp Ta Eat is a walking contradiction decked out in a leopard print full-length coat with matching fedora. Solid. {afronaut (macedonia)}
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