Pigeon John

Pigeon John and the Summertime Pool Party

(Quannum)

Record Review by Adam McKibbin

There are members of my family who think that all hip-hop sounds the same, and are actually given to saying things like “Rap music?  I think they should call it crap music.”  While Pigeon John isn’t the best in the game by any stretch, he does provide uniquely strong ammunition against that sort of non-argument.  His Summertime Pool Party is hip-hop for blue collar Regular Joes—or even, in some portions, hip-hop for proud dorks.  When it comes time to sample, Pigeon John pulls from a record collection that makes him seem like a prime candidate to become a college radio DJ.  On “Money Back Guarantee,” he samples the Pixies and details his lack of success in approaching women.  “As We Know It” borrows its chorus from R.E.M. and is built on a piano line that is slightly reminiscent of “Tiny Dancer.”  “Growin’ Old” (more on this one later) channels Dylan’s “I Threw It All Away.”

Back when they were mere amateurs, Pigeon John and Kurupt often shared stages together.  One of them would go on to spit lines like “Well, if Kurupt gave a fuck about a bitch, I’d always be broke.”  The other one woos his ladies with lines like “Excuse me, can I buy you an orange juice?  No?  Wow, you’re honest, aren’t you?”  The latter is a case of John having a flow like a languid, good-natured Eminem.  Not too shabby.

The best party tracks on the album are the easy flowing “Do the Pigeon” and the witty “Freaks! Freaks!”  The latter is a paean to the parts of Los Angeles that are sadly neglected by the city’s rich history of hip-hop shout-outs:  Whittier, South Bay, Northridge, Hawthorne.  It’s a perfect showcase for John’s easy flow and left-of-center lyrical charm.

Summertime can’t last forever, though, and by the end of Pigeon John’s Pool Party, he’s getting wistful.  The bittersweet standout “Growin’ Old” closes the album, serving as a fond remembrance of all the acts that inspired John during his formative years.  All the nostalgia and standing on the shoulders of giants “kinda makes me sad / because oh we growin’ old / oh we growin’ old / oh we growin’ old.”