Remember this last gay day how upset I was when Canadian raunch rappers Stinkmitt were cancelled from the main stage because the entertainment schedule predictably ran overtime? The band, their fans and many eager folks wanting to catch them for the first time were sorely disappointed by this scheduling mishap, but oddly enough it brought about some good things, like the decision for a young local upstart, Cochon Records, to put out Stinkmitt’s sophomore release, The Red Album, due in stores on November 28, just in time for everyone to snatch up multiple copies for the many people you know who would adore the high quality gift of new music from Canada. In case you haven’t noticed, there are a huge number of Canadian bands making their marks on the pop charts, in the music blogosphere, with the indie kids at college and within any number of stylistic references from alt-country to electro-pop, all from our neighbors up north. One genre you don’t hear about as much is Canadian rap or hip hop though there has always been some representation of this starting in the 80’s and mirroring the popularization of Rap music worldwide. Then about two years ago, fresh on the heels of electro-clash sensation and fellow Canadian, Peaches came this mysterious female powered outfit called Stinkmitt. Some listeners might categorize their sound as closer to the electro-clash innovations of Peaches or Avenue D but what set Stink Mitt apart a bit was the actual undeniable vocalization skills employed by their two female figureheads. They actually could hold their own just fine as MC’s, spitting out rhymes as fat and filthy and boastful as any male dominant rap act and in addition to this they could both sing, one of them possessing a remarkably soulful and strong wail reminiscent of Alison Moyet or Helen Terry or even Diva House mainstays like Martha Wash. To further the entire Rap-style mystique the vocalists created the distinct personas or alter egos Jenni Craige and Betti Forde, two Canadian cougars living the trailer park life, loving food, having multiple children, fucking underage boys, getting their tubes tied, drugging and date-raping men, pimping themselves out for sexual services, smoking lots of chronic and even getting it on with each other. This was quite a pretty picture to create in the style of the male dominant self-aggrandizing, often misogynist and masturbatory world of rap music. It’s brilliant parody and Stinkmitt serves it up fearlessly. Their first LP Scratch n Sniff provided more laughs than ought to be allowed, everything they said and did was quite simply deliciously wrong. Additionally they backed it all up with a fantastic live appearance here at the Eagle Tavern, proving that Stinkmitt can put out in the performance sense, the mad skills of their record fully delivered like battle MC’s in competition.
Needless to say I was anxious for the arrival of their follow up LP, and very curious as to how they might try to possibly top their first record or continue the legacy they had started. What might their focus be? Where were they going to go, what territory could they forge their way through to strike a nice effective shocking blow to common sensibilities, Canadian censors and their fans? The cover art on their new CD kind of says it all and all I could say was “Good God.” The Red Album features a gold and white tea cup full of blood with a tampon submerged in it like a tea bag. I immediately wondered how many stores might very well refuse to carry this disc because of the cover. I knew we were in for a wild ride. The first single release from the disc is called “Crime Scene” and it’s quite simply about menstruation. I couldn’t stop laughing. This act simply knows no boundaries or limits when it comes to taste and topics considered taboo. Likening the ever-euphemized menstrual cycle to a crime scene just slays me, and honestly I really don’t know how people might react to this shocking image, let alone the graphic lyrical treatment or celebration of the revered/reviled time that all men will never understand and have grown to fear. In a way I think this furthers the ongoing emasculation of rap’s inherent misogyny that Stinkmitt have created by way of just expressing ideas about things in the same way that male rappers have done for years. 2 Live Crew had “Me So Horny,” Stinkmitt has “Crime Scene” and I guarantee you, this song could disturb a lot of men intensely. “I’m on the rag, but I don’t let it stop me/I’m gonna burst if somebody don’t pop me/right here right now get the yellow tape out/ seal off the room—your doomed.” This is an achievement I must commend. The song ends with a female reporters voice saying, “I’m reporting to you live from a very serious crime scene, authorities have not yet issued a statement but I can tell you, there is blood everywhere.” Indeed.
Other topics handled on the red album are the hedonism of touring (“Roadkill”), taking pictures while having sex (“Fotograph”), a mythical sexual predator (“Jabba the Slut”) further explorations of sexing up the very young (“Secret”) and phone sex (“Freakline”). The third member of Stinkmitt, producer and keyboardist Bigstuff takes on a much more inclusive role on this disc, handling a couple lead vocal spots. His production on this disc is as crisp and clean and slick sounding as ever, that big old 80’s dance music sound, well executed , lush and large. I wonder if he will tour with them this time.
The good news is we’ll soon enough find out when Stinkmitt plays the Eagle Tavern coming up in February.