Now That's What I Call Arajay $2.28

About Now That's What I Call Arajay

" ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺ "

Now That's What I Call Arajay is spoof--a satirical take on musical and cultural cliches that is, buy and large, well-crafted in its own right. Lil' Jon's "skeet skeet skeet" comes to mind when "Spraying Semen On Stuff," the album's fun-spirited, porno dance track, kicks in. Now That's... is diverse and effectively arranged, offering a postmodern critique of sorts on genres ranging from mainstream rap to pop to electronic, with Arajay, who dubs himself "David Alan Greir-ical" at the top of the album, working in references to Andy Capp, Eazy E. and the Audubon Zoo within one verse on "Born to be Mild." Comparisons to Weird Al are inevitable, but Arajay's electropop is tightly programmed with enough effects and bells and whistles to be interesting without becoming distracting. His raps are old-school in that they tell extended stories, albeit with the narrative steeped more in geekdom--actual and tongue-in-cheek--than hardcore. The mix becomes a bit repetitive in spots, such as on "Orange" (I like the post-Katrina version better, yo), relying too heavily on vocals, which could be fuller on the less overtly witty tracks. Still, this is some fun, legit shit, an anomaly on the too-often humorless New Orleans music scene.

Lisa Haviland, Antigravity Magazine