Grammatical B & Microphone Mike

The Birthinating

Seven tracks of unashamedly white-boy rap. I’m immediately reminded of a DIY version of The Bloodhound Gang with the lyrics’ socially-oriented subject matter and the nerdy sounding vocals of early Beasties. Ben Johnson’s newest project here is a remarkable departure from his hardcore punk bands previous to this and frankly I was skeptical when I heard he was embarking on it. But this works, and I found myself tapping my foot and playing the songs again to sing along with the choruses. Standout tracks include “2 B A Freak” where the singer instructively coaches an aspiring freak on the in’s and outs of the business, and “Rules & Laws” that is a treatise of how to not be a douchebag at a bar (Rule one, tip at least a dollar for every drink. / This is more important then you could ever think). They get all gangsta in “Going Viral,” so okay that’s a good one too. Actually they’re all good. Ben’s on Facebook if you can find his profile or at The Casbah where he bartends, at 619-232-HELL.

Photo from Ben’s Facebook.

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