Steve 'Flash' JuonA brief refresher for those who are new to this topic follows — if you’re already familiar you can skip to the second paragraph. Bobby Jimmy and the Critters are a comedy group formed by radio DJ Russ Parr in response to the success of his novelty rap song “Roaches,” itself a parody of Timex Social Club’s smash hit “Rumors.” If I had to sum up the 1980’s trend of records like this I’d give it to you in seven words: “Think Weird Al Yankovic… but less funny.” A lot of the people who were poking fun at rap were also convinced the music was a fad that wouldn’t last, so instead of making songs that made fun of rap in a loving way, they were low effort mimicry that did the bare minimum to sound like their counterparts.
“Ugly Knuckle Butt” is just such a low effort record with an important footnote. One of the “Critters” heard on songs like “Just 4 the Hell of It” is Arabian Prince, who would achieve slightly more fame and notoriety as a “Posse” member heard on N.W.A. and the Posse in 1987. I say “slightly” because after he recorded “Panic Zone” and “Something 2 Dance 2” his tenure with N.W.A. came to an end. The two sides had disagreements over creative direction and compensation via royalties, but to be blunt and perhaps a bit unfair, his departure from the group did not make waves. Most N.W.A. fans barely knew he was a member or cared when he wasn’t. He was completely overshadowed by Dre, Cube, E, and Ren. Even DJ Yella was more well known and memorable. Sorry Prince.
At least as a seminal member of N.W.A. he got his 15 minutes of fame. As one of the “Critters” he’s unrecognizable unless he mentions his name in a verse. The star of this group is Russ Par and to call him the star defies all known definitions of luminosity. I’ll give him all the credit in the world as a radio deejay and talk show host. He was incredibly successful in that world, and I still remember listening to his morning radio show on my drives to work doing data entry 9 to 5. I was living in Michigan at the time and you could be stuck in traffic on I-94 for a LONG time, and he kept me entertained, which was exactly what I needed to keep from going insane. The title track of this album can’t do the same.
In fact “Ugly Knuckle Butt” is likely to have the opposite effect. While “Roaches” had the benefit of parodying something good, “Ugly Knuckle Butt” has no such redeeming qualities. Somebody had too much fun messing around the sampler, repeating samples over a minimalistic beat, with actual rap bars being almost non-existent. The samples aren’t anything to write home about either — laughter, screaming, and somebody saying “big butt, a big butt, I got a big butt” over and over. Maybe that’s funny to someone under the age of 10 in the time period it was released, the same way “skibidi toilet” is funny to the same age group now. It holds no value for anyone older. The beat is nice though.
I’ll give Russ Parr a/k/a Bobby Jimmy credit for one thing though — he makes himself the butt of his jokes. “Knuckle Dragger” has a woman calling him an unwashed disgusting mess, with BJ seeming to not give a damn about how gross he is. The dangerous thing about a song like “Knuckle Dragger” is that the title implies he’s a gorilla, and Parr himself makes gorilla noises to emphasize the point. Stop and imagine the reaction a deejay would get for releasing a song like this in the 21st century, and whether you believe the “radical left” is real or imaginary, the reaction and subsequent cancellation of his radio show wouldn’t be surprising. He’d be accused of promoting racist stereotypes quicker than a hiccup. BJ also tries to “sing” on “You’re My Woman,” a song Prince wrote for him. It’s not good.
The last time I spoke about Bobby Jimmy, I made the point I’d rather listen to N.W.A. than a sad parody of the same group. “Ugly Knuckle Butt” doesn’t even have making fun of N.W.A. or Timex Social Club going for it. There’s a certain kind of humor that works for a radio show host that doesn’t lend itself to good music. I don’t think Mancow or Howard Stern would dare to claim they are rappers or singers. They might not even claim to have talent. At least one of the two would demure and say they’re just good at pissing people off. I’d disagree. Being the host of a radio show is a skill that may be easy to learn but incredibly hard to master. You have to juggle interviewing guests, chatting with co-hosts, taking calls from listeners and being funny enough to keep people tuned in. That’s hard work and everybody who does it deserves credit. Russ Parr is a great radio deejay but a terrible rap artist. That’s the facts, Jack.