by Scott Gordon October 22, 2008

If hip-hop albums get bonus points for lines worth chewing over on repeat listens, Stink Tank's new Books On Tape scores pretty high. Local rapper Laduma Nguyuza formed Stink Tank with producer Mitch Pond, a.k.a. Man Mantis, and "killed off" Mr. Parker, the persona that introduced his engaging verses via Madison bands Dumate and Smokin' With Superman. The duo then created a new set of characters for Nguyuza to voice, in part to parody and comment on the real-life characters who populate the hip-hop world.

The multiple personalities on display on Books On Tape allow Nguyuza to explore his range and agility as an MC. The MF Doom- and Ghostface Killah-inspired Dudu Stinks sticks close to Nguyuza's own balance of intellect and mischievous humor. Baritone gangster-wannabe Jimmy French Fries swaggers in with double-edged, darkly comic boasts: "I lead a dream life, nigga, gotta pinch myself / chains hang low like I'm tryin' to lynch myself." Misguided Midwestern kid Billy Buffalo enters the album's vague storyline when he forces the others to listen to a genuinely awful, nasally freestyle. Pond's beats are diverse enough to suit the cast, from the laid-back rhythm and cool synths of "Howdy Dudu" to the playful funk of "NSFA." Books On Tape crams all of it into a well-rounded 41 minutes, and it's one of the best local CDs of 2008. Before appearing at the High Noon Saloon for this Thursday's CD-release show, Nguyuza and Pond spoke with Decider about concept albums and sampling James Baldwin.

Decider: There are obviously stories and ideas threaded into the songs, but there aren't a lot that seem really focused on one point. Do you try to keep it open-ended?
Mitch Pond: A big parallel that I see is Deltron 3030, this futuristic hip-hop album that Del Tha Funkee Homosapien did, supposedly set in the year 3000 or whatever. But it's basically just like a normal hip-hop album with laser guns in it. We are trying to push a concept, and there is a story to a degree… But on the other hand, it's got to be something that you can just put in and listen to and not have to say, "Okay, am I paying attention, am I gonna get lost, is it gonna make sense?"
D: Laduma, you've talked about your characters as parodies. Do you still feel that way about them?
Laduma Nguyuza: To a degree, you have to take it seriously in order for it to be real. The stuff that we say with Billy Buffalo and Jimmy French Fries is completely not real. I think it's a lot more tongue-in-cheek. But if you just heard a song with Jimmy French Fries, you may take it seriously, you might not. It's not the parody that I wanted to make it when I first started with it.
D: Well, Billy Buffalo's the only one that comes off as entirely silly.
MP: There's always that guy who comes at you with a point to prove. He's gotta battle you, even if you don't care. You can be like, "No, fine, you're better than me," but he has to battle you, or he has to corner you downstairs before the show, and he has to freestyle with you, and this and that.
D: The song "Knockin'" uses a sample of writer James Baldwin's voice. What made you want to use that?
LN: In that quote, he's talking about having to deal with expressing yourself with tools that you had to make on your own. I just think it's impressive that this group of people dominate a musical genre that deals with, specifically, using language as not only a basis for a song, but the rhythm in a song, and also ideas, that wouldn't have been your native language. The way you've learned it is completely different from the way other people have learned it.
D: Baldwin had such an unusual voice, too—kind of effete but also forceful. What was it like to work with that sound, production-wise?
LN: When I put it together, it only had to be doctored in one place. Other than that, it just fit, because Baldwin speaks in such a hip-hop rhythm, it's eerie. You can put a beat behind one of his speeches, and for many bars he'll be right on the beat.

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