When
the Egyptian Lover
's second album,
One Track Mind
, came out in 1986,
gangsta rap
had yet to become huge.
Ice-T
's
Rhyme Pays
and
N.W.A
N.W.A. & the Posse
-- two landmarks in
West Coast gangsta rap
-- didn't come out until 1987, and East Coast hip-hoppers still associated Southern California with the
electro-hop
style that
is best known for. Anyone who expects to find
hardcore rap
on
is bound to be disappointed; this LP isn't for
rap
purists. But those who appreciated his first album,
On the Nile
, will find this to be a respectable, if imperfect, sophomore effort.
Egyptian
's influences remain the same; the quirky rapper/producer still combines his appreciation of
Afrika Bambaataa
"Planet Rock,"
Prince
,
Man Parrish
, and
Kraftwerk
with elements of North African music and Egyptian imagery. It's a strange mixture --
inhabits a place in which
's Minneapolis sound, European
synth pop
, and North African music come together. But it's a mixture that works well on infectious
jams like
"Livin' on the Nile,"
the single
"Freak-A-Holic,"
"A Stranger Place (The Alezby Inn),"
which bears a bit of a resemblance to
"Erotic City."
As the title
indicates,
shares
's love of all things erotic. But this LP is never X-rated; the lyrics are suggestive rather than explicit, which is why some of the tunes on
had
urban
radio potential.
, however, was never a superstar, although he did enjoy an enthusiastic cult following. While
isn't as essential as
, it's a likable release that fans of the
sound will enjoy. ~ Alex Henderson