5 years on from the critically acclaimed hip-hop-as-a-finishing-school concept “So…How’s Your Girl?” Dan the Automator and Prinse Pawl have resurrected the indie hip-hop genre, grappled from the cold, dead hand of the Gorillaz. White People contains many of the same reasons How’s Your Girl? worked so well. The collaborations are diverse (Alex Kapranos, Pharrell Williams, Mars Volta, Rza, Mike Sinoda and Chester Bennington from Linkin Park, Jamie Callum (?) Chino Moreno and Kid Koala to name just a few.), the skits are genuinely funny and in Del The Funky Homosapien, HBMS have their star pupil.

At various points this album harks back to its predecessor, particularly with the album opener, its off-kilter drum loops and subtle scratching make it seem like a the track that didn’t quite make the cut last time round, but the album picks up quickly. “The World’s Gone Mad”, the jump off single, is a cod-reggae beat featuring Barrington Levy, with Del the Funky Homosapien and Alex Kapranos sharing vocals.

The real gem on this album rears its head halfway through. “Breakdown” is the bastard child of the Graduation Song and a lullaby I recall from my youth, but despite that Joe Jackson manages to fashion a precious stone from a piece of coal.

After that its back to the hip-hop game the handsome ones do so well, with tracks like “It’s Like That”, “Rock and Roll (Could Never Hip Hop Like This)” and “The Hours” are straight up old-skool hip-hop which borrow heavily from The Roots, Deltron 3030, and some of the better parts of Gorillaz.

The closing quartet of tracks are some of the best down-beat tracks from the genre, with Pharrell Williams teaming up with Julee Cruise on “Class System”, and the wistfully beautiful “Greatest Mistake” featuring Hobbit on Day Release, Jamie Callum, who somehow manages to not turn the close into a pissed-up free-form jazz evening.

Although White People doesn’t break any of the barriers “So…How’s Your Girl?” did, it is none the less a graduation. Although collaborations will always be its stock and trade, this year’s crop of Handsome graduates more than make the grade. Step forward to receive your diploma.

7/10

Standout Tracks: Breakdown, Class System, Greatest Mistake

David Macnamara