As half of the Lowell duo Los Wunder Twins del Rap with D-Tension, Effect has been bombing the Mill City and beyond with clever hip hop for the last couple of years. With his latest solo album, Fine Tuned Tantrum – due for release on July 1 – the man formerly known as Chris Butler is poised to hit the big time, not surprisingly with help from his pal D-Tension, who produced and co-wrote the album.
Recorded, mixed and mastered by Lowell producer Sir Bob Nash at his Wonka Sound studio, FTT is full of brilliant beats, vaguely familiar samples, and a headful of lyrics. Although his words are too raunchy for those under 15 or over 50, Effect’s rhymes are…well, effective, and his touches of humor and pop culture in jokes are even more enjoyable, especially to less-than-enthusiastic hip-hop fans like yours truly.
The album’s first highlight, “Crush the Competition,” is a catchy back-and-forth boast fest between Effect and Boston rap star Akrobatik over a slowed sample of the guitar intro to the Tubes’ “She’s a Beauty.” Other memorable tracks include “Hunger Strikes” with special appearances by Termanology and Krumb Snatcha, “The Handle” with its moody choir, piano, and horn samples, and “Lady Heroin,” a bleak story about its title character.
When it comes to lyrics, Effect fills every inch of space. From verses to choruses and back again, there’s little more than a quick breath between phrases. Even intro’s and outro’s usually include spoken word. For the most part this is harmless, although things do get a bit overwhelming here and there.
On the flip side, Effect’s lighter mood shines in the verses of “My Kinda’ Girl,” in which he professes the primary characteristics he’s looking for in his latest gal, “The Going Rate (Stop Asking)”, about writing songs for his colleagues, and “Corporate America,” a song as hilarious as you are probably imagining.
At close to 60 minutes, with just a few songs missing the mark, there’s plenty of hip-hop to go around on Fine Tuned Tantrum. It’s another breath of fresh air in a summer that’s full of new albums by Lowell artists in a variety of genres.
