One of the most overlooked albums of all time and one of the most underrated bands of all time,
Play with Toys, the debut of Washington's Basehead, presents a style of music that is truly uncomparable and unique. Not quite hip hop, not quite rock,
Play with Toys set off a series of daring albums for a group that subverted the gangsta trends of mainstream rap and ignored the in-your-face, bravado of rap-rock for an almost low-key slacker cluster*** of blues/funk/rap/pop/R&B with diverse lyrical themes ranging from beer-drenched nights to depression, politics and breakups, with vocals provided by Michael Ivey, providing half-asleep sing-raps.
Beer and pot smoking turn up as the main subject of "2000 BC" (brain cells) and "Ode To My Favorite Beer". Ivey deepens or speeds up the pitch of his voice to portray his character's buddies (one of which sounds like Barry White), who turn up to offer relationship advice on "Brand New Day" and "Not Over You", or comment on black-on-black violence in "Evening News". Ivey also affects a faux Southern drawl in the opening and closing tracks in the guise of the lead singer of a fake honky-tonk band called "The Grahamcrackers", pissing off an imaginary audience member by singing about screwing the peckerwood's wife.
Much like
De La Soul,
Play with Toys also has an underlying layer of psychedelia to its sound, particularly in its title track (the lyrics commenting on violence in our society). Ivey also distances himself from hardcore rappers by decrying, not promoting, gang-infested ghettos on "Better Days". Even within the multiple socially relevant tracks, Ivey makes a point of pointing out that he is unable to offer a solution to the problems he addresses, because if there are, he doesn't have them.
Basehead continued to produce a set of great genre-crossing albums afterward, including
Not in Kansas Anymore,
Faith, and the Christian-oriented
In The Name Of Jesus,
dc Basehead and
Rockalyptic Music. While all of these albums are excellent,
Play with Toys is the record that started the whole thing off, recorded solely by Ivey as vocalist and guitarist, with additional instruments provided by whoever happened to come into Ivey's home studio during the low, low-budget recording sessions.
The use of live instrumentation here reaffirms Basehead's emphasis on
music in hip hop, separating
Play with Toys from hip hop albums produced entirely by sampling other albums. Though a well-placed sample is used to good effect, like Ivey's "buddies" trying to find a "happy song" on the radio and tuning into "Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone", or "8-Ball Junkie" turning up in a turntablist break. This is a true alternative classic.
