Paullelujah!

Coming out of nowhere (well, New Jersey), Paul Barman broke out with a self produced 7" in 1998 featuring "Enter Pan-Man", a jab at body modification and what happens when you hit middle age and have horn implants. He then teamed up with Prince Paul for an EP in 2000 (It's Very Stimulating) that got critical raves, and has worked with PM Dawn, Masta Ase, and Dan the Automator. His debut album is sort of like a 10 year old sex-obsessed Eminem, minus the posturing and violence.

A hyperintellectual hip-hop/stand up comic/performance artist, Barman has a laid back style and makes obscure cultural references that will have you running for google to figure out what the hell he's talking about. Everything, particularly Paul Barman, is a ripe target for parody, particularly those who take themselves too seriously. He can go from slaughtering the dominant US political parties to complaining about the banality of the comics page to the after effects of NAFTA all in one verse, and then compare the leading lights of the rap world to characters from Egyptian mythology in a series of palindromes.

Hot Spots: The Anarchist Bookstore (parts 1 and 2), Bleeding Brain Grow, Vulture Shark Sculpture Park, A Somewhat New Medium