Kool Moe Dee

A pioneering rapper who got his start as a member of the Treacherous Three, Kool Moe Dee was a major star in the 1980s, best known for his ferocious flow and unabashed bravado. His second solo LP, How Ya Like Me Now, sports timeless hits like the title track (aimed at his rhyme rival LL Cool J) and "Wild Wild West" (later covered by Will Smith).

As a solitary rapper of the old school, locked into praising his own dick, mouth, and brain, Moe Dee doesn't have much room to stretch, but does he make the most out of it. He never lets the jaunty, out-of-kilter swing generated by his electronic percussion lie there--trick rhymes, variable lengths, filters, double tracks, sung refrains, and the occasional extra instrument all work to shift the beat without undercutting its dominance. He never throws a song away, and makes a virtue of "sticking to themes"--last time sex, this time rap itself. The story of "Wild Wild West" and the sound of "Way Way Back" establish his back-in-the-day credentials. "Don't Dance" is the boast to end all boasts. And lest you think he's hung his jock out to dry, "I'm a Player" features the most realistic assessment of male chauvinism yet attempted in a music that makes a fetish of the disorder. He will, he will rock you. (Grade - A-)