Emotional Hooligan album cover
Emotional Hooligan

Gary Clail & On-U Sound System

1991
Perfecto

It’s hard to know how to categorize Gary Clail. Not a rapper, exactly — his hectoring, declamatory style doesn’t usually track with the rhythms of his instrumental tracks — but by no means a singer, he performs more in the manner of secular street preacher with a backing band. The fact that his band on The Emotional Hooligan consists largely of members of Tackhead, alongside other luminaries of the On-U Sound stable, means that his mini-essays on homelessness, vegetarianism, and romantic vexation get maximally funky and dubwise settings. The result is an unusually compelling album.

Rick Anderson

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