TheLoneliest Punk

TheLoneliest Punk
Studio album by Fatlip
Released	1 November 2005
Recorded	1999-2005 at Hollywood Sound Recorders (Hollywood, CA), Crack Alley Studios (Hollywood, CA), Artisan Sound Recorders (CA), Dreamlink Studios (Studio City, CA) and Planet Venus West (Hollywood, CA)
Genre	Hip hop
Label	Delicious Vinyl
Producer	Selim Anchour, Venus Brown, DJ Mark the 45 King, Bob Durham, Fatlip (also exec.), J-Swift, Mike Floss (also exec.), Printz Board, Squeak E Clean

TheLoneliest Punk is the debut solo album by American musician Fatlip, released in 2005 on Delicious Vinyl. Originally slated for a 1998 release, the album was delayed numerous times before seeing its "long-awaited" November 2005 release. The album title is a play on "Thelonious Monk", the famous jazz pianist. The album features guest appearances by Chali 2na of Jurassic 5, and Shock G of Digital Underground. Production of the album was predominantly handled by Fatlip himself under the pseudonym Edy Crahp, which is "Pharcyde" spelt backwards. Additional producers include DJ Mark the 45 King and J-Swift, with the latter having been responsible for the production of The Pharcyde's 1992 album Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde.

The album is much darker in content than his work with The Pharcyde, with topics on the album including cocaine abuse, money problems and self-deprecation. The first single released in promotion of the album was "What's Up Fatlip?" in 2000, and included a music video directed by Spike Jonze. The CD version of the album was released with a documentary also entitled What's Up Fatlip?.

TheLoneliest Punk did not reach any Billboard charts. It received mediocre to positive reviews from critics.

Background

Fatlip was a member of The Pharcyde from 1990 to 1996, making contributions to their albums Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde and Labcabincalifornia. Fatlip was often regarded as the strongest rapper of the group, having well-known verses on their songs "Passin' Me By", "Runnin'" and "She Said". However, Fatlip became disenchanted with The Pharcyde and did not like the direction that the group was heading. The other members kicked him out of the group and recommended that he followed a solo career.

Following his removal from the group, Fatlip developed an addiction to drugs, particularly crack. Towards the end of the 1990s, he stopped his longtime habit of smoking marijuana, leading to a deep stage of depression. During this time, Fatlip had ceased making music and vanished from the hip hop scene.

Fatlip was mentioned on a 1998 Delicious Vinyl sampler, which was supposed to feature a Fatlip solo track. Instead, the album's liner notes state "Fatlip … is currently on a walkabout and could not be reached for comment at this time! Check for the Fatlip album Revenge of the Nerd in summer ’98.”

After a hiatus of around three years, Fatlip made a return in 1999 with the self-produced single "What's Up Fatlip?". The single was planned to be released on the aforementioned Revenge of the Nerd album, but the album never came to fruition and eventually became TheLoneliest Punk.

Content

The lyrics of TheLoneliest Punk are self-deprecating and self-doubting. Fatlip makes references to his failing rap career, squandering money and fame, living with his mother, and drug abuse, although it also features some upbeat and optimistic songs that hope for a better life. Fatlip raps about lost love on "The Story of Us", finding love on "Cook", and has a conversation with his son on the album-closer "Dreams". The album is loosely strung together with seven skits, which feature voicemail messages Fatlip leaves Delicious Vinyl founder Mike Ross and various other daily activities Fatlip participates in.

Reception

Upon its release, TheLoneliest Punk received mediocre to positive reviews from critics. Nathan Rabin of A.V. Club wrote in a positive review, "Punk marks a fairly solid return from an artist who lost nearly everything, but retained his scruffy underdog charm." He particularly commends "What's Up Fatlip?", stating "It's hard to begrudge an artist for holding out hope, but the album's optimism and paper-chasing seem facile compared to the soul-baring intimacy of "What's Up Fatlip?"." Rating the album 6 out of 10, Jack Booty of Prefix compared Fatlip's style to that of Ol' Dirty Bastard, noting "The resemblances to ODB are a bit overwhelming". Jeff Vrabel of Billboard wrote, "Stronger than not and off-kilter enough to remain engaging even when the skits come on, TheLoneliest might not have been worth a five-year layover, but it's weird and wide open." In a review that gave the album a B+, Dan Nishimoto of Stylus concludes, "Although Punk summarises Fatlip's traumatic post-Pharcyde life, the record is buoyant with character" and "Ultimately, Punk is an album of emceeing and heart, just as Fatlip always wanted."

Track listing

No.	Title	Performer(s)	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Fat Leezy"	Fatlip	Stewart	Edy Crahp	1:47
2.	"Fatlip Intro"	-	-	Edy Crahp	0:35
3.	"First Heat"	Fatlip	Board, Stewart	Printz Board	3:43
4.	"The Bass Line"	-	-	DJ Mark the 45 King, Edy Crahp	1:27
5.	"Today's Your Day (Whachagonedu?)"	Fatlip, Chali 2na	Spiegel, Stewart, Stewart, Toussaint	Squeak E Clean	4:22
6.	"Freestyle"	Fatlip	-	-	0:15
7.	"Joe's Turkey"	Fatlip	Martinez, Spielgel, Stewart	J-Swift, Mike Floss, Edy Crahp	4:14
8.	"I Got the Shit"	-	-	DJ Mark the 45 King	0:54
9.	"Writer's Block"	Fatlip	Brown, Martinez, Stewart	J-Swift, Venus Brown (add.)	3:57
10.	"M.I.A."	-	-	DJ Mark the 45 King	0:59
11.	"The Story of Us"	Fatlip	Martinez, Stewart	J-Swift	4:22
12.	"Cook"	Fatlip	Martinez, Stewart	J-Swift, Mike Floss, Bob Durham (add.), Selim Anchour (add.)	4:10
13.	"Walkabout"	-	-	Edy Crahp	0:59
14.	"All On Fly"	Fatlip	Kokal, Stewart	Edy Crahp	4:23
15.	"Lyrical Styles"	Fatlip	Stewart	Edy Crahp	1:24
16.	"Freaky Pumps"	Fatlip, Shock G, Humpty Hump, Volume 10	Hawkins, Jacobs, Spielgel, Stewart	Edy Crahp, Squeak E Clean	3:54
17.	"He's an Outsider"	-	-	Edy Crahp	0:34
18.	"What's Up Fatlip?"	Fatlip	Stewart	Edy Crahp	3:22
19.	"Dreams"	Fatlip	Brown, Stewart	Venus Brown	3:51

Notes

• Track 8 features additional vocals performed by Big Scoob and Janai.
• Track 9 features additional vocals performed by Venus Brown.

Credits

• Digital Editing & Sequencing: Selim Anchour.
• Mixed by: Mike Floss (track 3, 7, 9, 11, 12), Dylan Dresdow (track 3, 9, 11, 12), Edy Crahp (track 18).
• Engineer (mix): Dylan Dresdow (track 3, 9, 11, 12, 14, 19), Dave Cooley (track 5, 16), Selim Anchour (track 7), John Lowry (track 7)
• Mastered by: Tom Baker.
• A&R: Mike Floss.
• A&R (administration): Ty Flourney.
• Layout & Design: Dina Juntila.
• Photography: Amandi Phillips.
• Illustration: Kutmah.
• Illustration (Front Cover Logo): David Miller.