FUN LOVIN’ CRIMINALS
100% Colombian (Virgin)
Rating: 4 out of 7
By Craig Rosen

   This New York-based hip-hop trio, which sounds sort of like G. Love meets 3rd Bass, first gained notice in 1996 with the drug-fueled bank-robbing tales of "Scooby Snacks." After enduring a record company closure, FLC has re-emerged on a new label with its second full-length album. It’s titled 100% Columbian, but it’s really a mixed bag.
   This time around FLC mostly favors slow jams like the album-opening "Up On The Hill" and the life-saving Barry White homage "Love Unlimited." In fact, the trio doesn’t get things pumping until the fourth song, "Korean Bodega," which rocks with a Bo Diddley-styled beat. Later, it cranks things up further with the tempo-shifting rager "10th Street."
   Elsewhere, the crime/love story chant-along "Southside" and the the supermodel fantasy "Big Night Out"--which cleverly samples Tom Petty’s "American Girl" and makes it sound funky--show that FLC are pretty fly for some white guys. Better yet are the straightforward "Mini Bar Blues" and skiffle instrumental "Fisty Nuts," which highlight the fact that these guys not only know how to rap, but can actually play instruments.
   Too often, however, it seems like the guys in FLC are caught up believing in their own pseudo-gangsta shtick. As a result, after partying down with this album, you may find yourself wondering if 100% Colombian is the genuine article or just some whack dope.