No Need For Alarm

Performer: Del tha Funkee Homosapien
Artist: Casual; Domino
Engineer: Matt Kelly; John Gamble
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Personnel: Del The Funky Homosapien (rap); Toure, A-Plus, Casual, Domino, Jay-Biz (DJ). Producers: Casual, Snupe, Del The Funky Homosapien, Domino, SD50's, Jay-Biz, A-Plus. Recorded at Hyde Street Studios, San Francisco, California and Chung King House Of Metal, New York. All songs written or co-written by Del The Funky Homosapien. Samples include "Flat Backing" (as performed by Blue Mitchell), "What Do You Do In The Dark" (as performed by B.T. Express), "Chain Reaction" (as performed by The Crusaders) and "Tranquility" (as performed by Sam Rivers). After helping create the West Coast underground scene with his 1991 debut, Del tha Funkee Homosapien made a radical departure with 1993's No Need for Alarm, eschewing the familiar G-funk of his debut for a jazzier, more sophisticated sound more akin to East Coast acts like Black Moon and Main Source. The thematic and lyrical content of Del's work underwent a considerable change as well, with No Need for Alarm largely avoiding the endearing comic vignettes and blunted utopian vision of his debut for a never-ending string of battle raps. Del's loopy sense of humor remained intact, but without the structure and pop savvy of I Wish My Brother George Was Here, No Need for Alarm feels a bit aimless, even if it does contain some of Del's best work to date. "Catch a Bad One" showcases Del's new direction to the best effect, driven by Casual's sinister, hypnotic, string-laced production and some of the fiercest and most potent battle raps of Del's career. When No Need for Alarm works, it's terrific -- funny, skillfully produced, and wonderfully propulsive. Unfortunately, it only works about a third of the time. Critics have taken Del's debut to task for having a fairly generic P-funk-dominated sound more in line with executive producer Ice Cube's work than Del's unique sensibility, but Del has always functioned better when paired with strong collaborators. Sure, it could be argued that I Wish My Brother George Was Here and Deltron 3030 reflect the sensibilities of producers and co-producers Ice Cube and DJ Pooh and Dan the Automator as much as they do Del, but working with strong-willed peers has a tendency to temper the artist's tendency toward self-indulgence and bring out the best in him. Without a strong sense of direction, No Need for Alarm is frustratingly uneven, rich and transcendent one moment and aimless and repetitive the next. Still, it's a challenging, unique, and uncompromising follow-up, one well worth picking up for anyone interested in either the evolution of West Coast hip-hop or just the evolution of one of its most talented, eccentric, and gifted artists. ~ Nathan Rabin

Entertainment Weekly (12/10/93, p.78) - "...Moody, ambient and playful, [NO NEED FOR ALARM] widens the stylistic gap between [Del] and his cousin, Ice Cube. One hundred percent gangsta-cliche free..." - Rating: A- Vibe (11/93, p.115) - "...Until the next episode, as Del grows into manhood, [NO NEED FOR ALARM's] good enough..." The Source (12/93, p.85) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...NO NEED FOR ALARM is a cool blend of jazz, funk and hip-hop done exclusively by the members of the hieroglyphics crew...[Del] comes with a lyrical minefield of endless cerebral flow that will leave all lazy MC's dumbstruck...."

While Del Tha Funkee Homosapien was first introduced to the world as Ice Cube's cousin, the distinctively voiced Oakland rapper swiftly ducked out of that shadow. Although only 19 at the time of his 1991 debut, I WISH MY BROTHER GEORGE WAS HERE, Del possessed a uniquely mature worldview, whether bemoaning lazy friends, pop rappers, public transportation, or fakers (as on hit single "Mistadobolina"). Though Del's solo career waned somewhat following the harder-edged followup, NO NEED FOR ALARM, he would become a sought-after collaborator, releasing critically lauded, highly eclectic records as a member of Hieroglyphics, Deltron 3030, and Gorillaz. In 2008, Del reemerged solo on the Definitive Jux label with ELEVENTH HOUR, his first new album in eight years.

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