A hardcore rap group that dabbled in new jack swing,
No Face had an underground hit in 1990 with
Wake Your Daughter Up. In contrast to social and political commentators like
Ice-T,
Public Enemy and
KRS-One,
No Face set out to not to educate or inform, but strictly to entertain. There's nothing groundbreaking or innovative about the group's sexually explicit lyrics -- some blues artists had been offering raunchy lyrics 60 years earlier. But strictly as a party album, it succeeds. While the X-rated lyrics brought to mind
the 2 Live Crew -- which joins forces with
No Face on "Fake Hair Wearin' Bitch" -- the group's slower style of rapping and R&B-ish approach to production are very much its own.
No Face switches from rappers to singers on the engaging new jack swing number "Half," a commentary on being financially assaulted after a divorce. ~ Alex Henderson