Nervous Breakdown

Poc, Moc, and Chip Fu of Fu-Schnickens are three young Brooklyn men who spent their childhood watching way too much television. Their raps riff on karate flicks, monster movies, Batman, Bugs Bunny, sitcoms, and cereal commercials--in other words, they spout the common mythology of Americans 29 and under. For those in that demographic, Fu's raps clear a trail into the dark recesses of memory lane. For those who don't get it, though, the trio's second album, Nervous Breakdown, is much more than a catalog of the collective Gen-X unconscious. On the record we hear three distinct personalities, all lightning-paced rappers with tremendous control of their voices. First comes Poc, the smooth and graceful one; last is Moc, a hard and solid rhymer. And with the mad flow in between is Chip, who percolates and wheezes like a highly caffeinated coffeepot, hiccups and coughs like a drunk with a chest cold, and all the while busts lyrics as furiously nonstop and involuntarily as a sprinter gasping for breath. He's an original, hear-it-to-believe-it rapper, and never anything less than hilarious fun. Nervous Breakdown, running less than 44 minutes and with only nine new tunes (plus a remix of "What's Up Doc?" featuring Shaquille O'Neal), is an unfortunately slim workout. It is, though, a potent taste of how hip-hop continues to stretch when rappers flex bigger muscles. --Roni Sarig