Posted on 09/28/2005

 

New York’s Pumpkinhead has been a presence in the underground circuit for years, cutting tracks with his crews Brooklyn Academy and the Plague as well as collaborating with artists like Immortal Technique and Jean Grae. Unfortunately, longevity and reputation alone are not enough to boost a lackluster album out of the doldrums. Pumpkinhead’s latest full-length Orange Moon Over Brooklyn features some ambitious lyricism, but is unduly hampered by discordant drums and repetitive throwaway production.

Cuts like “I Just Wanna Rhyme” accurately display Head’s punchline ingenuity (“I’m a known threat, and I’m fly like Boba Fett/been rhyming since kung fu on Channel Five and Robotech”). Unfortunately, the uneven backing track also forces the MC into some awkward and contrived rhymes (“I’m feeling parched/somebody pass me a Gatorade/and there can be only one of me, like the ace of spades”). The fact that 14 of the album’s 15 tracks were created by producer Marco Polo essentially weighs Head’s hustle down; he’s unable to display any verbal versatility because Polo’s clumsy, predatory beats suck the life right from his words. Weak tracks like “Rock On” (which features a painfully dated Napoleon Dynamite skit), “Anything” and “Swordfish” illustrate the blatant incompatibility of the two entities.

That’s not to say that producer and MC don’t connect at all. Pumpkinhead shines on tracks like “Trifactor” as he juggles bars with guests Supastition and Wordsworth over a string-driven, Pitch Black-sampling beat. “Jukebox” also allows Head to display some creativity as he weaves a Masta Ace-esque rap tapestry of his favorite song titles. “The Best” isn’t the best Orange Moon has to offer, but it’s at least more imaginative than some of the album’s most lackluster tracks. Pumpkinhead wittily spits an exhaustive series of superlatives and only drives us through Cornball City a few times (“This is my girl who wanted to be my wife/this is track one on Stevie Wonder’s Songs in the Key of Life”).

The album closer “Anthem for the End of the World” has Head and Jean Grae stressing on some “if we don’t change our ways, who will?” issues. While crooner Chas tries his best to evoke some kind of apocalyptic Gary Jules shit on the hook, he ends up sounding like Wayne Coyne crashing hard a day before his prescription refills.

One of the most irritating aspects of Orange Moon is that we’re reminded at least once every two tracks that Marco Polo is indeed “on production”. While this isn’t inherently a good thing or a bad thing, it certainly evokes thoughts of the neighborhood pool game of the same name. Indeed, the youthful diversion serves as a realistic metaphor for this album: Head’s wading in the deep end with his eyes closed, hoping for his trackmaker to throw him a salvageable beat. Of course, Marco’s not even in the damn water; he’s hitting on big-breasted Suzy Greenfield, cruelly taunting his MC friend while the JV basketball team points and laughs. Fuckin’ asshole.