MC Paul Barman is the male equivalent of bleach-blond white rap diva Princess Superstar; a smartass, erudite, horny white boy who adopts rap music's blatant posturing and sexual innuendo in a tongue-in-cheek manner. Paullelujah is MC Paul Barman's first full-length and his long awaited follow-up to 1998's It's Very Stimulating EP, produced by Prince Paul and ranked number two in Rolling Stone's Top 50 Albums of the Year. MC Paul Barman rhymes in a smarmy, clever white boy voice, and his vocal delivery alternates between rapid flow and verbal choppiness. But skillz are not what matters here, as Barman aims more for the funny bone and the intellect than the jugular. As befitting a college-educated liberal, Barman's rhymes abound with political and social themes, leftist cultural references and carefully constructed erudite verse (not to mention the occasional palindrome). "Anarchist Bookstore Pts. 1 and 2" are inspired by an actual independent bookstore in Chapel Hill, NC. "Make No Mistake" is an anti-war screed, while the title track addresses Barman's criticisms of the public school system. Though he readily admits that his recorded sexual conquests are pure bluff, Barman proceeds to spin clever rhymes about getting nasty with various celebrities on "Cock Mobster". "N.O.W" details Paul's fictional romp with an ultra-liberal activist chick. Rather than addressing women as "bitches" or "hos", Barman instead makes frequent references to that fishy smell. Obviously not above scatalogical humor, "Burping and Farting" breaks down the science of flatulence. Barman's rhymes are backed by some of underground hip-hop's most eminent producers, including MikeTheMusicGuy, Prince Paul, MF DOOM and Phofo. Two of the album's tracks, "Talking Time Travel" and "A Somewhat New Medium", experiment with a traditional spoken word approach, but the result is not as entertaining as the hip-hop portion of the album. MC Paul Barman makes hip-hop with a sense of irony, aimed at an audience of clever, hip white kids just like himself who enjoy rap as well as indie rock. These Onion-reading, liberal art student masses now have a spokesman, and ladies, he wants to get in your panties. 1. It's Here
2. Paullelujah!
3. Cock Mobster
4. Old Paul
5. Bleeding Brain Grow
6. N.O.W
7. Excuse You
8. Vulture Shark Sculpture Park
9. Anarchist Bookstore part 1
10. Burping and Farting
11. Talking Time Travel
12. Anarchist Bookstore part 2
13. A Somewhat New Medium
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