The High Noon Saloon was especially funky Thursday night when Del The Funky Homosapien skated through Madison — and not a clean kind of funk by any means.
This was the same dirty, stinky and sweaty funk Del has prided himself on since his rise in the early ’90s.
Opening up for Del was Minnesota native Sean Anonymous and Brooklynite DJ Shiftee. Their fiery lines and insane scratching really got the crowd going. DJ Shiftee’s excellent rhythm skills spun through until the last song when there was a technical difficulty that ruined what could have been an epic finale to Kanye West’s “Mercy.”
The University of Wisconsin’s own CRASHprez even made a special performance during Anonymous’ set, performing a few of his own singles. Each of them made for great openers overall.
Accompanied on the records by Domino of Hieroglyphics, Del then strolled onto stage holding his skateboard, some candy and his PlayStation Portable to the funky beat of “More Bounce to the Ounce” by Zapp. He quickly jumped into his older cuts from No Need For Alarm such as “Boo BooHeads.”
Three songs in, Del took the show into the future with his group Deltron 3030’s song, “Virus.” While riding the beat, he broke out into a talk about jazz and improvisation as well as a classic freestyle. During the freestyle, Domino brought up a cool point: Thursday night was the only time anyone would ever hear that freestyle, thus making the show a one-of-a-kind experience.
Outside of “Virus,” as Deltron 0 — his robot alias — he “landed on planet Mercury” with the indie hip-hop hit “Positive Contact.” Other then rapping from his robot character’s perspective, Del also performed some of his funkier tracks like “Mr. Dopalina” and the Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 classic “If You Must.”
Just before “If You Must,” Del asked the crowd if they were “feelin’ the funk … this kind a funk” as he smelled his immensely sweaty armpit, conclusively proving why he is the funky homosapien. He then had the whole crowd yelling “ya gotta wash yo ass/if you must” hook in what was some incredibly entertaining crowd interaction.
After hinting that there might be a new Hieroglyphics album on the way, Del played his classic track “You Never Knew,” which features one of his most famous verses ever due to its lyrical and rhythmic complexity.
Before ending his set, Del picked up his PSP from the table and walked off the stage playing the game Mutant Throne, which he said was the best because the levels are always changing. If there was ever a concert where an in-depth discussion about a videogame fit in perfectly, it’s a Del the Funky Homosapien concert.
He then formally ended the show with “Clint Eastwood” and the crowd was simply raging along. He never missed a word or a beat, but it was a little upsetting he didn’t do a 360 triple kickflip on his skateboard.
Having now spent 20 years in the underground rap scene, Del proved with this show why he has stayed relevant today.
