F U
thegod5percent | WV | 12/20/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"a great album where they flow crazy over some nice beats, the formula for a great album, its short but still great for any hip hop fan"
Crazy, Flowmatic Game by the Fu
G-Funk 4ever | Listenin' to the Delfonics | 12/25/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"A lesser appreciated act from the East Coast, Fu-Schnickens drops its second and last album in late 1994 under Jive Records. The album is a fast, adrenaline paced album full of raw and funky boom-bap beats and often psychotic spits. Rod K.P. Kirkpatrick handles almost half of the production (his beats are real deep-groove, similar to Erick Sermon's beats), K-Cut, Jim Nice, Diamond D, and Lyvio G all handle a song or two each. The beats are real cool and heavy on the bass, so expect your trunk to blow up. "Breakdown" is a joint that got mad play on my native West Coast, as much as many of the better known west coast artists did in fact in 1995. When I originally heard it, I assumed it was a west coast joint because then I never heard of the Fu, and the beat has a Zapp inflected G-Funk feel to it. Anyways, the joint is the perfect party starter with the bouncy beat and fun, fast flows. Chip-Fu is an interesting character. He interpolates cartoon characters (especially Looney Tunes) and has a very different rhyme scheme, yet he still maintains with the beat well. The lyrics are off the beaten path, and can be grimy, but also funny. Joints like "Aaahh Ooohhh!" showcase some on-point flows and battle raps, and Chip's sound effects from his verse and rhymes add a humorous tone to the joints. Another good party starter is "What's Up Doc (Can We Rock)" with Shaquille O'Neal. The beat is pure and raw bass funk. If you like acts like Nice And Smooth and early Lords Of The Underground, you may just like this one. Lords may be grimier, but the vibes, beats, and flows are similar. All in all, an entertaining album, this will satisfy any real hip-hop head who likes furious flow schemes, great funky beats, and high entertainment value."
Fu Schnickens second album
Chandler | Atlanta (College Park), Georgia | 01/19/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This album came out in 1994, at the time when albums were a hit or miss, and if it were a miss you were finished (unfortunately). Classic albums like Illmatic and Ready To Die were starting a new era of hip hop and rap.
Now the Fu-Schnickens sophomroe album "Nervous Breakdown" proves to me that rap was at a fun age back in the early 90's, when people just rapped about anything. (Anything meaning what you do in life, where you hang out, etc. I don't mean cars and money, you get the point...) The first song "Breakdown" starts it of as a rhymathic flow, that any listener can just move along to. Kind of reminds me of a time when I was a kid watching "Wheel Of Fortune" when Moc Fu makes the reference to Vanna White, "...and on more screens than Vanna White..." Chip Fu is an extremely fast type of rapper that somewhat reminds me of Twista (keep in mind this is the frist time I've heard this CD, so their style is new to me), but it amazes me when he immitates characters from cartoons on songs like "Sum Da Monkey" and "Sneakin Up On Ya". It may sound kind of stupid if you didn't spend hours everyday watching TV. His brother Poc Fu comes at you with a deep and somewhat scratchy voice, that proves to be useful on songs like "Visons 20/20" (even tough Chip stole the show on this one)and "Breakdown". Another great song that worked out was "Hi-Lo" which experements with a xylophone beat, with the trio talks about their expreiences with a few girls. 2 remix songs appear on this, "Whats Up Doc [Funkadelic Remix] which features basketball star Shaquelle O'neal (some of you all forget he actuly made a few CD's), and the other, Breakdown [remix] which is not as good as the first but still nice in a way.
Overall, a nice album by this trio, and will bring back memories of the days you watched televison when you were a child. Unfortunately, this album came out at a bad time, when music was changing, and rapping about cartoons just was getting kind of old to some people. It's not that this album was bad, it was that listeners were just moving on to other albums that gained more attention. But I recommend this to anyone who is able to find this album."