Audio Cuts:
Far Out
Duck Hunt
Girls Sweat Me

Like a lot of independent Hip Hop fans, I peeped the Porn Theatre Ushers 12" back in early '99 'Me and Him'/'My Imagination'/'Cat Nip.' The Boston group consisting of emcee Nabo Rawk and DJ/Producer Mr. Jason aren't what you'd call traditional at all. Firstly, there's their name. Then comes the odd lyrics which Nabo Rawk spits and the beats behind him, supplied by Mr. Jason. Take 'Me And Him' for example, an odd sample begins the track before the beats descend into a crazy, funky medley and Nabo Rawk begins rhyming - "Now I went to your house and fucked up the place / Bustin' nuts inside the pillowcase / Banged your moms, and then the babysitter / Sat on the couch and ate an Apple fritter / Told your little sister to change the kitty litter, she even wiped my ass when I went to the shitter." Hardly very deep material, however, it's entertaining, Rawk flows well and the outcome is that a dope track is formed.

Having heard the 12" many times, I found it to be what I compared the newer tracks on the EP to. Also, the 12" tracks are listed as bonus tracks on here, incase you were wondering...Anyway, 'Sloppy Seconds' kicks off with 'Balloon Knots' featuring the "also perverted" Smut Peddlers member Cage. The beat is on a nice jazzy vibe, but the lyrics contradict that feeling pretty damn well - confusing you, yet having your head bop too.

What you basically absorb from listening to the EP is that Nabo Rawk is very conceited. From 'Girls Sweat Me' where he rhymes about what the subject states, how "Girls sweat him," to 'Bug Men' with K-NO where he begins with "I be the pile-driver / Super lyrical motivator / Sucker-emcee ill death decapitator" and continues in the same fashion. Rawk's egotistical image proves to be both endearing and irritating at the same time, mood's dictate which one applies when.

'Far Out' feels how the title implies "Far Out." The beat isn't too bad, the lyrics though, aren't Nabo's best. They're crazy, and entertaining - the first few times around. After you've heard them a few times, they tend to feel somewhat uninteresting.

Production remains consistent here, with Mr. Jason almost always supplying interesting samples and nice beats, however, Nabo Rawk doesn't tend to treat the beats in different ways, he shows the same level of enthusiasm/tone altering that he does with every beat even when a different approach would work better.

Overall, 'Sloppy Seconds' is a quite good, yet disappointing release for me. I loved the 12" and had high expectations which I didn't feel were met. The EP is worth checking, it has its good aspects, but unfortunately, not as many as I'd hoped.