The Turquoise Jeep crew have been releasing comedic rap and R&B records for a couple years now, but it was 2010's "Lemme Smang It" that really introduced Flynt Flossy, Yung Humma and the rest of the group to the world at-large. They started touring (to a mix of fans of hip-hop and internet comedy fans, an unusual audience), and released a number of follow-up singles.
The group's YouTube channel covers the basic thrust (no innuendo intended) of the group's output, from the blatant double-entendres of "Fried or Fertilized" to the even more blatant double-entendres of "Cavities." But "Lemme Smang It" was the one because it wasn't just absurd and full of juvenile humor; it was a catchy-ass song, too.
The newest—"Treat Me Like a Pirate"—though, is the best track the group has released since "Lemme Smang It" because it's genuinely funny in the way only Turquoise Jeep can be, but with a high level of replayability. OK, sure, the pirate stuff should be so corny. But, in the event it needs explaining (and, well, it does) here are eight reasons why this is sicker than your average Turquoise Jeep video/rap video/anything:
- It's a catchy-ass song. Tre-tre-tre-tre-treat me like a pirate.
- The beat isn't just trill; it uses one. A trill is when an instrument rapidly alternates between two adjacent notes. It's what gives the beat an authentic pirate feel.
- The suave delivery of Yung Humma and the over-the-top delivery of Flynt Flossy. Unarguably the best comedy rap tag-team since Baby and Mannie Fresh.
- The pitch-perfect anonymous weed carrier verse from Whatchyamacallit. The group's music is most interesting when it brushes closest to something actual rap fans would listen to, just with a considerably less self-serious attitude, and a verse from a guy who could easily have guested on a Ying Yang Twins track in 2005 only pushes the song further into that territory.
- Yung Humma's icily seductive mean-mug. I mean..
- The perfect balance of craft and laziness. The special effects in the video are cartoonish and ridiculous; the setpieces are hokey, and it makes sense, because who takes a rap song about pirates seriously? At the same time, it's obvious that this required some tender loving craft. It's reminiscent of when rap fans draw their favorite album covers in MS-Paint. Part of what makes those drawings entertaining is the strange dynamic between the sincere effort that obviously went into certain details, and the parts that were rushed through.
- The girl Yung Humma dances with in the video. Call me.
- It's unapologetically comedy-rap, but it doesn't mock the idea of rap music. Typically, comedy-rap is an unforgivable genre. If you want to make comedy rap, why not just become a rapper? Rap is already funny. Why segregate yourself? Which is why this song is so great; it succeeds at being a hip-hop song, and at being comedy. If anything, these guys seem deeply into rap music; the subject matter isn't far from what hundreds of Miami and Atlanta bass songs are already about. It just also appeals to nerds who think pirates are funny (n.b. I am one of these people, as long as the pirate jokes are balanced with lowbrow double-entendres for butts).
- The plank-walking dance. LMAO.
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