MC Breath :: Mr. Wizard's Woes :: Bandcamp
as reviewed by Steve 'Flash' Juon
![[Mr. Wizard's Woes]](../coverart/mcbreath-Wizard.jpg)
One thing that's very obvious to me right away on "Mr. Wizard's Woes" is that
MC Breath is passionately angry about the state of mindless willful blindness
that pervades American culture and politics. The very first full length song on
the album is "Condoleezza Rice," a self-produced song where Breath makes no
apologies for chopping up her speeches to make her say "I caused September 11th"
and berates Leeza Gibbons for not putting Rice under a microscope when they had
a one-on-one interview on national television. He's literally foaming at the
mouth with fury over the fact Gibbons asked Rice about who she's dating and where
she shops for shoes, instead of asking her about American soldiers coming home
with amputated limbs and the complete lack of evidence that Saddam Hussein ever
had weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
The next track "Donut Day" is no less scathing, attacking the American lifestyle
of downing waistline expanding pastries while ignoring the real issues of the world.
I'm somewhat distracted by the sample at the beginning though - it sounds exactly
like Daniel Crocker from The Fairly OddParents yelling "Okay everybody! The donuts
are ready!!" He definitely has no qualms about pulling any samples from pop culture
he needs to put his songs together, so you won't be surprised when famous donut
eater Homer Simpson eventually winds up in the mix too. He also seems to be mimicking
or parodying Dr. Seuss when he raps "You do not dig them so you say/Try them
douchebag, donut day!!"
Breath doesn't just drop vitriolic attacks on an undeserved smug American sense
of superiority though - he also drops occasional clever lines like "My one claim
to fame involves a pastry - I once split a bismarck with Biz Markie." (For those
not in the donut world, bismarcks are usually known as "jelly donuts.") Anyway Breath
is a rapper/producer who hails from Providence, Rhode Island. He shows off more
of his production chops on "I Don't Like Nobody," which is made up entirely of samples
such as Cameron from Ferris Bueller's Day Off saying "Pardon my French, but you're
an asshole" and Penn Jillette screaming "Shut, the f#@%, UP!!"
This forces me to address a point that I had yet to make in the first few paragraphs.
I want to give MC Breath the fairest chance I can, because he's got well thought out
lyrics and something important to say with them, but "I Don't Like Nobody" ends up
being one of my favorite tracks because he ISN'T rapping. I feel like I'd be
doing MC Breath a disservice if I wasn't completely honest about this - his flow
feels very forced and awkward. It's like he tried to stylistically borrow elements
from mc chris, MC Lars and Devo Spice but somehow wound up
a horribly mutated Brundlefly of an emcee. He tries to make up for this by keeping
his intensity level turned up to 11 in every song, but instead of compensating for
how painful listening to his flow is on songs like "Charles Grodin Is a Complete A%%hole."
This is a very strange album for me, because I don't have any issue with his
completely anti-authoritarian stance, nor his desire to put famous celebrities and
politicians to the rack and turn the crank. This kind of dialogue is very healthy
and necessary for a Democracy to be effective - we need dissent in our discourse
so we can arrive at proper conclusions about what's best for us individually and
as a society. However after listening to him scream into the microphone over and
over again you'll prefer his pop culture examinations to be limited to sample-laden
instrumentals like the oddly charming "Toes" which borrows heavily from Sesame Street.
If I may offer one other piece of advice to MC Breath, it's to not sing, even if
it's to parody the American pop culture he's so happy to lambast. As for his vocal
tone, it's probably unavoidable even if he were to calm down his delivery, and it's
just not as charming as the more natural and enjoyabe mc chris. I dig the sentiments
of songs like "There's No Social Media in the Afterlife," I just don't dig the
presentation. It's clear MC Breath has skills as a writer and as a producer, but he
should focus on those strengths and apply them to others. I'm willing to bet there's
an up-and-coming rapper in Providence with a better flow who could use his beats.
Music Vibes: 6.5 of 10
Lyric Vibes: 5 of 10
TOTAL Vibes: 6 of 10
Originally posted: October 20, 2015
source: www.RapReviews.com