As I review these old Fat Boys albums, one thing I’m reminded of is how young they were. Prince Markie Dee (Mark Morales) was 16, Buff Love (Darren Robinson) was 17, and Kool Rock Ski (Damon Wimbley) was 18 when they released their self-titled debut album in 1984. So with this, their fifth album, released in 1988, they were still just 20, 21, and 22. That’s very impressive, considering how they’d managed to maintain a string of hits and successful albums in what was still a relatively new genre of music that hadn’t been fully embraced by the mainstream just yet. By contrast, there were a lot of rap acts in those early days that had a hit or two and then faded away. And The Fat Boys were easy to dismiss as a novelty act, a “gimmick.” In hindsight, I’m surprised that no one tried to put together a female rap group called The Fat Girls, to try to ride the Fat Boys’ coattails.
We did get THE SKINNY BOYS, however. I wonder whatever happened to them?
A few months before this album was released, The Fat Boys had recorded and released an official single for the film A Nightmare On Elm. St 4: The Dream Master, called ARE YOU READY FOR FREDDY? This song would be included on this album. But for their debut single, they would attempt to continue a trend they began when they covered James Brown’s Sex Machine on Big & Beautiful. On Crushin the covered The Surfaris’ Wipeout with The Beach Boys. So this time they recruited the legendary singer Chubby Checker to remake his hit 1960’s single THE TWIST (which was also a cover itself).
Again, it works. It feels like a natural adaptation for them, as the original was a silly and fun song, and of course, Chubby Checker was a bit of a novelty act himself.
Then they followed that up with a cover of The Kingsmen’s 1963 cover of LOUIE LOUIE
It’s also a decent song, but doing two covers like this on one album does start to feel a bit too gimmicky, in my opinion.
The title track features the boys rapping to a hard rock beat with electric guitars, something they’ve tried on previous albums, but it always seems like a cheap Run-DMC imitation to me. And I’m someone who generally loves rock/rap.
ALL DAY LOVER is another attempt at a love song, which doesn’t work for me. The boys can rap about ladies just fine but do it in their funny songs; trying to be romantic just isn’t their lane.
Speaking of the ladies, on the song JELLY ROLL they rap about how much they love jelly roles, although it’s clearly a double-entendre for something else. It’s a clever song that keeps their clean image despite the salacious subject.
BIG DADDY has a reggae vibe, which, I’ve said before, I don’t personally care for.
The rest of the album tracks, ROCK THE HOUSE Y’ALL, WE CAN DO THIS, BACK AND FORTH, POWERLORD, and PIG FEET are all typical Fat Boys song. Simple braggadocio lyrics and human beatboxing over hard, funky beats. The Fat Boys tend to be at their best when they’re not trying to hard to “reinvent the wheel,” so to speak. They had a formula that got them to the top, and it kept them there. Neither Prince Markie Dee nor Kook Rock Ski were the most creative lyricists. They’ll never be on anyone’s Top Ten lists, but they were fun. They made songs you could put in your tape deck and nod your head to or even put on the stereo and dance during a house party. Their reliability is what made them great.
Chacebook rating: FOUR STARS
Categories: MUSIC
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