Review Summary: With great lyrics, huge production, and good guest appearances, Incredibad is a must-buy for those with an affinity for low-brow humor and an eye for the excesses of hip-hop.
I'm on a boat with my dick in a box so I jizz in my pants like a boss.
If that sentence bears no meaning to you and just grosses you out, odds are you aren't a very active user of Youtube, or perhaps even the Internet. Childhood pals Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, and Akiva Schaffer, the men responsible for these modern comedy classics, have released a 19-track comedy album under the name The Lonely Island. With a slew of high-profile guest stars and massive production, it's fair to say that Incredibad is one of the most ambitious comedy albums in modern history.
So, what is the result of this high ambition? A funny, *catchy* album worth multiple listens. Even if you don't laugh at one-liners like "I'm gonna fly this boat to the moon somehow," you better believe that the song's absurdly catchy jokes and hooks will find their mark. Viral juggernauts "Dick In A Box," "Lazy Sunday," "Jizz In My Pants," and "Like a Boss" all feature fantastic beats, hooks, and one-liners. But, since 9 of the 19 tracks have been featured on "Saturday Night Live," one might be tempted to ask of the quality of the lower-profile tracks.
For the most part, they're great. "Who Said We're Wack?!?" plays on the violently sensitive nature of gangsta rappers, with lines like "Say we're wack? You prolly get smacked. If you said we're wack. DID YOU SAY WE'RE WACK?!?" The title track reveals the outrageous (and hopefully fictional) tale behind the Lonely Island, as well as the album's title and cover. "Dreamgirl" and "Punch You In The Jeans" are among the best in the entire album, featuring lines like "You drippin' in turqoise; my Santa Fe queen/One short leg; you've got that Santa Fe lean" and "I've got a vendetta; it's against your jeans/Gonna put my knuckles up against the seams." Almost every joke made in those songs hits its mark, and could be easily made into one of the group's infamous Digital Shorts.
Not all of the tracks succeed in such a manner. "Normal Guy" is terribly unfunny and actually kinda dark. Think Adult Swim. "Sax Man," "Ras Trent," "Space Olympics," and "Shrooms" also miss the mark, to varying degree. It's okay though, because only one of these tracks runs more than a couple seconds over two minutes. At first, "The Old Saloon" seems like one of these less-funny cuts, but it is almost entirely validated by a tremendous guest appearance from DJ Larry. The other guests aren't slouches either; E-40 and Natalie Portman give straight-faced delivery to some of the best lines on the album, while Julian Casablancas and Norah Jones provide stellar, sing-along hooks to two great tracks.
Though many will use Incredibad as a cost-efficient way to purchase the high-profile singles, Incredibad truly has much more to offer. With great lyrics, huge production, and good guest appearances, Incredibad is a must-buy for those with an affinity for low-brow humor and an eye for the excesses of hip-hop.
