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Before 2 Live Crew shocked America with their sex-rap anthem "Me So Horny", before The Mentors dressed up in black hoods and sang about free fixes for a fuck, before Kool Keith got mixed up in porn, there was Clarence Reid. The aforementioned artists weren't even sperm and egg when Mr. Reid transformed himself from kingpin R&B producer to the sickest, filthiest, most licentious musical smut peddler in the bidness. Imagine your sixty-something black grandfather -- if you have a sixty-something black grandfather -- dressed up in a sparkling sequined mask and cape, endowed with a sexual appetite that rivals a testosterone-crazed teenage boy, and you'll have Reid's alter-ego, Blowfly. Fahrenheit 69 (the adolescent jokes start quickly!) is something of a concept album, favoring the seemingly disconnected topics of politics, pimpin' and private parts. Blowfly may have missed his chance in 2004, but he's actively prepping for his 2008 White House run with Veep-candidate Afroman. Bill Clinton adopted Fleetwood Mac's "Don't Stop" as his campaign song, while King Bush II preferred Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land", but the talented Blowfly prefers to write his own campaign material, as the funky "Blowfly For President" suggests. For a Blowfly tune, "President" is wildly restrained, though the sexy female backup singers leave plenty of room for imagination. Blowfly's tagline? "I won't promise you'll all get paid, but vote for me and you'll all get laid." The album takes a turn for the nastier on "Your Precious Cunt" (a reference to Jerry Butler's "For Your Precious Love") and the parody rip-off of R. Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly", crassly titled "I Believe My Dick Can Fly". It's hard to imagine that someone could get a soulful groove going while crooning about vaginas, but leave it up to Blowfly to get it done. Here, in a departure from earlier Blowfly offerings, the backing band throws in hints of rock 'n' roll, with an occasional wankin' guitar solo slipped in between the syncopated ninth chords. When asked how he'd handle the youth drug problem inn one of the album's numerous between-song banter tracks, Blowfly points to nose pickin' as the answer. "Diggin' Boogers" suggests that if kids have their index fingers plugging up their nostrils, there won't be any room for cocaine. The song's nursery-rhyme rhythm might sound like something your kids could gleefully sing along to, but don't get any ideas; you're dealing the man who penned "Electronic Pussy Sucker". If you're concerned about the recent rise in gasoline prices, look no further than "The Booty Bus": Blowfly advocates that you "ride some ass" and even sings a few verses in Spanish, reaching out to the minority voting contingent with open arms and spread cheeks. Fahrenheit 69's guest appearances include a stint by Slug on "The Great Debate", and San Fran electro-spazzcore queens Gravy Train!!! on "When Darkness Falls". Each adds plenty of spunk to Blowfly's raunchy rhymes. And when the cape-adorned, filth-spewin' rapper waxes poetic about "Cuntaleeza Rice" and the DNA evidence that "proves" she's actually a full-blooded Caucasian (on "Pimpin' Policy"), you'll either howl along in delight or be utterly shocked. If you're not among the shocked contingent, keep Fahrenheit 69 close to your CD player and start putting your spare cash aside -- Blowfly 2008 needs your donation! - Andrew Magilow
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