MC Paul Barman - It's Very Stimulating / How Hard Is That?

Continuing with the slept-on theme and another guy with Prince in his name that doesn't happen to be from Minneapolis or have changed his name to a symbol, I present to you MC Paul Barman's It's Very Stimulating EP and it's follow-up, the How Hard Is That? single.

Barman is a truly fascinating guy but I can't help being annoyed by him most of the time. His debut release, the Postgraduate Work single, was a very homemade attempt at a, uh, thought-provoking, "scientific" hip-hop record? It's not easy to describe, what with Paul rapping about MC Fibonacci Sequence and other less than generally accepted topics of discussion, although that's kind of the point since it's so far out of left-field that you don't really know what to do with it.

Prince Paul, having heard the Postgraduate Work single, pursued Barman to create a "real" hip-hop record with him. When I say "real", I mean one with some production values, Barman's performance improved and the ideas somewhat refined. Their collaboration was the wonderful It's Very Stimulating EP which was released on WordSound in 2000. It found Paul rhyming about humping sheep, his want to meet a woman who will let him try anal sex, a whole lot of sex rhymes about not getting any and more that simply shouldn't be printed. It would be boring if not for Paul's overly wordy presentation being hilarious and his humor consistently self-depriciating.

It looked like MC Paul Barman might have had one hell of a career as a truly underground, independent rapper, an impression he furthered with the release of his next single, How Hard Is That?, on Matador and also in 2000. Paul stepped it up with a parody/tribute to the Notorious B.I.G. and Ol' Dirty Bastard on the single's namesake, parodying the overly important attitude of a lot of the then-current hip-hop scene, only to flip everything on the b-side with Housemate Troubles, a quick-witted attack on a selfish slug of a roommate overtop a beat one would have mistaken for Prince Paul's if not for it having been confirmed as being produced by yet another guy named Prince, Prince Be of PM Dawn. Yeah, didn't see that coming, did ya? To be honest, me neither, and since there was nothing proving this information available for quite a while, with the credits listing the producer as All Those Mutha Fuckin' Reasons, one could be forgiven for believing such an illogical claim.

All of Paul's lead-in dissipated with two years between these releases until his full-length debut, Paullelujah!, finally surfaced. I was psyched for it's release and immediately impressed, but it's wonder quickly dried up with the realization that Paul was clearly trying a little harder than necessary to show his skills and abilities. Ill-advised attempts at folk music and hippie-esque throwbacks killed Paullelujah!'s flow and attempts at political posturing left me cold. Why does every entertainer think their opinion on the world's affairs is important enough to be heard by anyone other than themselves or those in their inner circle? Paul's anti-Bush rap didn't make the album's original cut, instead appearing as a b-side and on select compilations, though it did make the reissue, dulling things further.

Barman is still around, writing and performing and occasionally releasing tracks, but the interest simply isn't there for me any longer. The most interesting thing I heard from him in more recent times was his RZAview, his interview with the RZA turned into a rap performed entirely by himself, although it would have been far more interesting if the RZA had actually performed his own portion of the track. Barman is the type of guy that is clearly gifted but his talent needs to be presented in small doses, making it easy to understand why It's Very Stimulating leaves someone wanting more as opposed to his later releases. I've got to give him a lot of credit though, it's not like there is anything ordinary about his flow and it already takes a lot to get on stage and perform, so to perform as one of the most unlikely hip-hop artists and want to be taken seriously takes some real guts. Props to MC Paul Barman. Also, props to Skiz at WordSound as he said I could post anything from his label's discography and for just being an all around cool guy. And if you can find a copy of the It's Very Stimulating EP you should grab it in a heartbeat! Barman's self-made artwork and liner notes are wonderfully corny and entertaining! Enjoy!


MC Paul Barman - It's Very Stimulating

01 An Introduction
02 The Joy Of Your World
03 School Anthem
04 Salvation Barmy
05 I'm Fricking Awesome
06 MTV Get Off The Air, Part 2 (feat. Princess Superstar)


MC Paul Barman - How Hard Is That?

Quick Note: I own an original copy of this 12" and it has six tracks, although the additional four are just instrumentals and radio edits. I didn't think they were all that important for what I was featuring here though if anyone wants them let me know and I can post the whole thing.

01 How Hard Is That?
02 Housemate Troubles


UPDATE: I might have to do a follow-up post on his new album, Thought Balloon Mushroom Cloud. I just heard Hairy Moth Owl and it's hot! Gonna check the whole thing very soon!