Play with Toys
| Play with Toys | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by Basehead | ||||
| Released | 1992 | |||
| Genre | Alternative hip hop | |||
| Length | 40:59 | |||
| Label | Imago | |||
| Producer | Michael Ivey | |||
| Basehead chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| Chicago Tribune | |
| Christgau's Consumer Guide |  |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music | |
| Q | |
| Rolling Stone | |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 9/10 |
Play with Toys is the debut album by American alternative hip hop group Basehead. The album was originally released in limited quantities on the Emigre label [ECD 005] and was subsequently re-released on a larger label, Imago, with some of the tracks altered to remove samples that had not been cleared prior to its initial release. It was voted one of the top 50 albums of 1992 in Q magazine, and listed as number 43 in NME's top albums of 1992.
The music style of Play with Toys fuses elements of rock, blues,funk,hip hop,pop,psychedelic and reggae, and was described as an alternative hip hop "cult favorite". David Jeffries described Play with Toys as "slacker rap". According to Michael Ivey, "There are hip-hop elements in there, but if a hardcore hip-hop fan bought it, they might be disappointed". Ivey also stated that Basehead's music "doesn't have the expected samples and sounds." The lyrical themes of Play with Toys focus on diverse subjects, including alcohol and marijuana use,depression,philosophy,politics, and relationship breakups.Francis Davis wrote that Ivey's lyrics "[subvert] both rock music and gangsta-rap conventions." The instrumentation of Play with Toys was created largely with live instruments rather than samples, which differentiates the album's sound from that of mainstream hip hop. Instruments were altered with studio techniques for effect, and Ivey altered the pitch of his voice for sketches in which he voiced the friends of the album's protagonist. Ivey's vocals mix singing and rapping.
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