Kwame was a rapper out of Queens, New York, who is probably best known for his dyed blonde Gumby, polka dot clothing, and later, he and his polka dot wears would be notoriously (no pun intended) deemed “played out” by Biggie on his classic, “Unbelievable,” which would basically end Kwame’s career as a rapper. But years before Biggie would deliver that devastating lyrical blow, Kwame would experience moderate success in the industry. He had a few mild hit singles, releasing four albums between 1989 and 1994, including the subject of today’s post, his debut album, Kwame The Boy Genius: Featuring A New Beginning.

The liners notes for Boy Genius credit the legendary and underappreciated, Hurby Luv Bug for producing the entire album, but Kwame is on record saying he produced the whole album himself and Hurby only served as a coach/overseer of the project, mainly because Kwame was only sixteen when the album was released and for business purposes (mainly sales), the label felt Hurby’s name should be on the project (Hurby was red hot at the time, thanks to the success of Salt-N-Pepa and Kid ‘N Play whom he was responsible for producing). Boy Genius didn’t receive any RIAA certifications and peaked at 114 on the US Billboard 200. After his fourth and final album, Incognito, Kwame would switch his alias to K-1 Million and focus strictly on producing. This move would revitalize his music career, as he would go on to produce tracks for the likes of Mary J. Blige, LL Cool J, Lloyd Banks, Will Smith, Janet Jackson, Talib Kweli, Fantasia, Christina Aguilera, and the list goes on and on.

My older brother had Boy Genius on cassette back in the day, so when I came across a used CD copy at one of my spots for the reasonable price of three dollars, nostalgia, and my frugalness moved me to buy it, and here we are.

Random Factoid: Kwame and Vin Diesel are cousins. I’ve never watched one of those mind-numbing Fast & Furious movies, but I did enjoy Boiler Room.

Boy Genius – For the opening track, Hurby Luv Bug, or Kwame, loops up a funky Meters’ break for Kwame to get off, what he claims in the song’s intro to be, “the perfect rap.” It’s far from perfect, but according to his adlibs in between his verses, he typed his rhymes on a typewriter (remember those?), so maybe he meant perfect in a grammatical sense. Either way, it’s a decent opening performance from Kwame and an overall satisfactory introduction to the album.

U Gotz 2 Get Down! – This was the third single released from Boy Genius. Kwame picks up where he left off on the previous track, spewing battle-ready bars, and again, he makes sure to shoutout his Islamic faith. Kwame’s bars are backed by a solid soul sample-driven backdrop that was much more entertaining than our host’s rhymes.

The Rhythm – This was the album’s second single and the main reason I bought Boy Genius. Kwame seems to settle in more on the mic than the previous two tracks, as he efficiently manages this mid-tempo jazzy bop. This one has held up well through the years, and I love the Bob James sample flip. The music video for this song was pretty cute too.

The Man We All Know And Love – This was the lead single from Boy Genius. The music video will forever be etched in my mind, as it got heavy rotation on Jukebox Network back in ‘89 (Bars!). Kwame builds the instrumental around a couple of Rufus Thomas loops and shares three zany adventures about three different women. In the mix of his rhymes, he also manages to sing a little Sesame Street, Louis Jordan, Minnie Riperton and even dips into his white girl fifties pop bag with a reinterpretation of a Debbie Reynolds joint (who also happens to be Carrie “Princess Leia” Fisher’s mother). This record doesn’t sound nearly as entertaining as it did back when I was twelve years old. Time is, truly, Illmatic.

The Mic Is Mine – Some samples are just foolproof, and the opening guitar riff from Kool & The Gang’s “More Funky Stuff” is one of them. Kwame places the twangy funk guitar licks over an ill Funk, Inc. drum break to form a pretty incredible instrumental to rap over. The music must have sparked something within Kwam’s soul as he sounds more convincing than he’s sounded all night and gets off a few witty bars along the way: “I turn any penny into the Latin Quarter,” “Let me on the mic and make the party dance, I take no shorts cause I’m the smarty pants.” It also sounds like he may have taken indirect shots at Rakim (“You move a crowd, brother, I move an audience”) and Big Daddy Kane (“You was a tough cookie, to me you a crumb” (Kane called himself “one tough cookie on “I Get The Job Done,” although, It’s A Big Daddy Thing came out eight months after Boy Genius, poking all types of holes in my theory)).

Keep On Doin’ (What You’re Doin’ Baby) – Mid.

PushThePanicButton!!! – More mid, and the only song on Boy Genius that Kwame curses on. For those curious, the curse is “asshole.”

Sweet Thing – Kwame wraps up Boy Genius with a remake of the Chaka Khan/Rufus classic of the same name. Our host confuses infatuation with love for a chick he’s known all of one week, spending his three verses dropping cheesy cliches and corny one-liners (Why the hell is he writing this chick’s name on his bedroom wall?). The rhymes were disposable, but the soulful instrumentation was kind of dope.

Kwame doesn’t sound like a typical sixteen-year-old on Boy Genius. When I think of other teenage rappers who released their debut albums around the same age, like Shyheim The Rugged Child, Chi-Ali, and Illegal, their voices still had the squeaky pre-puberty residue. While Kwame’s voice doesn’t boom with the power of a Chuck D or come with a rich baritone like Big Daddy Kane, something about his slightly raspy tenor vocal tone sounds mature beyond its sixteen years. But maturity doesn’t necessarily equate to skills.

That’s not to say Kwame doesn’t have talent. I appreciate his lighthearted approach to rhyming, his clean content, and his ability to express his faith without wearing his religion on his sleeve. He’s a decent emcee and lyricist, who was clearly influenced by the legendary Big Daddy Kane, but his rhymes and voice don’t pack the same punch to deliver that knockout blow like the former. The production on Boy Genius follows the standard James Brown-esque sampling format that was so prevalent in East Coast hip-hop in the late eighties, and while it’s not spectacular, it is efficient, and much more entertaining than Kwame’s rhymes.

On “U Gotz 2 Get Down!” Kwame raps “I rock break beats, but none of them get broken. In a nutshell, that explains our host’s performance on Boy Genius, though not the way he intended.

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-Deedub