*** Prince Paul

PSYCHOANALYSIS (WHAT IS IT?)

(Tommy Boy)

This tuneful and twisted "collection of skitstyle material" may be a nonsensical lark, but it also offers an instructive tale from the hip-hop fringe. Prince Paul initially entered the spotlight in the late '80s as the brilliant young producer behind De La Soul and other beatific "daisy agers," but as rap became harder in the '90s, Paul migrated with the herd, giving greater vent to his personal taste for grade-B horror flicks with groups like the Gravediggaz.

Eventually his obsessions led him so far out, the only move left was "back to the underground!" In 1996 the tiny WordSound label released this pastiche of outrageous sex raps and demented spoken-word snippets, matched to everything from vintage old-school beats to cool trance grooves. And then, just the way it happened the first time, the local commotion caused by his creative efforts aroused the interest of a major label, and hence this re-release with "three brand new tracks," plus a new remix by Dr. Octagon's Dan the Automator. Like left-field albums by everyone from DJ Shadow to Missy Elliot, it proves that the hip-hop underground is as brash, fecund, and totally unpredictable as ever. The majors can work with that, or they can move over.

-- Franklin Soults