In hip-hop, ten years between albums is long enough to render an artist completely irrelevant. But there's always room for Biz Markie, and it sounds here like he's making up for lost time. The Biz hasn't messed much with his formula-he's still rhyming about doo-doo, still clownin', still working that great hiccupy voice, and his flow remains one of the most unmistakable in rap. Some unfortunate copyright hassles caused almost the entire first draft of Weekend Warrior to be scrapped-a situation sadly familiar to a man with so many legal woes he called a record All Samples Cleared. While it's a shame that the world will never hear the Biz warble over Quincy Jones' "Soul Bossa Nova," the replacement tracks easily trump the originals in star power and party-rocking potential. On "Let Me See U Bounce," one of the better leftovers, Biz trades verses with rising dancehall-sensation-
slash-cartoon-supervillain Elephant Man over a twitchy Middle Eastern rhythm. And a few more friends show up on the new cuts. P. Diddy kicks it with an '83 flow in a brief "getonthemic" cameo on "Wild Style" tribute "Do Your Thang," while Erick Sermon steals the show super-sick style in "Not a Freak" ("Dapper than Dapper Dan, my interior's Gucci/ Overdosin', call me Belushi"). And though Biz seems a little rusty here and there (if he really does have more rhymes than Muhammad Ali, why does he have to say so in two different songs?) on the majority of the album, particularly the takeout-menu chorus of "Chinese Food" and the nimbly-spit stream of '80s style references of the Little River Band-sampling "Throw Back," he's more diabolical than ever.

 

"In hip-hop, ten years between albums is long enough to render an artist completely irrelevant. But there's always room for Biz Markie, and it sounds here like he's making up for lost time. The Biz hasn't messed much with his formula-he's still rhyming about doo-doo, still clownin', still working that great hiccupy voice, and his flow remains one of the most unmistakable in rap. Some unfortunate copyright hassles caused almost the entire first draft of Weekend Warrior to be scrapped-a situation sadly familiar to a man with so many legal woes he called a record All Samples Cleared. While it's a shame that the world will never hear the Biz warble over Quincy Jones' ""Soul Bossa Nova,"" the replacement tracks easily trump the originals in star power and party-rocking potential. On ""Let Me See U Bounce,"" one of the better leftovers, Biz trades verses with rising dancehall-sensation-
slash-cartoon-supervillain Elephant Man over a twitchy Middle Eastern rhythm. And a few more friends show up on the new cuts. P. Diddy kicks it with an '83 flow in a brief ""getonthemic"" cameo on ""Wild Style"" tribute ""Do Your Thang,"" while Erick Sermon steals the show super-sick style in ""Not a Freak"" (""Dapper than Dapper Dan, my interior's Gucci/ Overdosin', call me Belushi""). And though Biz seems a little rusty here and there (if he really does have more rhymes than Muhammad Ali, why does he have to say so in two different songs?) on the majority of the album, particularly the takeout-menu chorus of ""Chinese Food"" and the nimbly-spit stream of '80s style references of the Little River Band-sampling ""Throw Back,"" he's more diabolical than ever.

 

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