By the dawn of the 1990s, no other rap album had furthered the art of the punchline than Lord Finesse and DJ Mike Smooth’s Funky Technician. Unfortunately, it did not sell an awful lot of copies. Angry eyes must have darted towards Wild Pitch Records, an independent label notorious for producing many hallowed rap records that commercially stiffed, not to mention eventually go out of print. Do names like Critical Beatdown, Breaking Atoms, and Word…Life ring a bell or two?

Understandably dissatisfied with Funky Technician’s performance, Finesse and Mike Smooth jumped from one ship to another: Warner Bros. subsidiary Reprise. Notably, it was the home of Ice-T, a friend who apparently had enough clout to make Finesse’s record deal possible. And so it was that early in 1992, with Smooth still providing the scratching sans the co-billing, Lord Finesse released Return of the Funky Man: an album in certain ways worthy of as much acclaim as its immediate predecessor.

Why do I make such a bold declaration? It’s “bold” because while all the praise is showered on Funky Technician, barely anyone talks about Return of the Funky Man. And that’s quite unfair, because if anything, Finesse increases and sharpens the punchline count the second time around. Skip the worthless intro for the title track, where he displays “lyrics so advanced, you’d think [his] brain [is] computerized” and rightfully designates himself as a smooth rapper with “[compound rhyming] and punchlines.” More delights await in songs like the metaphorically named “Praise the Lord,” where he “kick[s] more a*s than the star of a karate flick”; and “Isn’t He Something,” where he brutalizes with lines like “I'm able to stop a crew, pass any obstacle/I’m not Bobby Brown, but I still wanna ‘Rock Wit’chu’/[…]/I stand ahead of them, the smooth rap veteran/Relieve any crowd like a dose of Excedrin.” Even more so than Funky Technician, it is truly an outstanding test of restraint to paste every single metaphor and simile found in the bountiful Return of the Funky Man.

Of course, it has been long established that Finesse’s greatest strength is his rhyming technique, but he does not live on that alone. He reveals his sexual preferences in “I Like My Girls With a Boom,” mocks the women who initially wrote him off during his less fortunate days in the hilarious “Save That S**t,” delivers a one-verse account on his struggle to make it in the rap world in “Hey Look At Shorty,” offers words of caution in “Stop Sweating the Next Man,” transforms into a financially frugal yet smooth-talking mack in “That’s How Smooth I Am,” and has the last laugh on his various detractors (even family members and fellow MCs) in “F**k ‘Em.” In Return of the Funky Man, it is exceedingly clear that Finesse, more than ever, tries to expand his topical palette.

Running at 70 minutes, however, the funky technician’s sophomore effort is consequently padded with filler, the second-tier battle cuts being the chief offenders. “Fat for the ‘90s,” even with the assistance of a still-improving A.G., is regrettably unmemorable. “Show ‘Em How We Do Things” features lackluster verses from associates Shel-Rumble and Harry-O, cluttered with absolutely horrid lines like “I’ma kick this off just like a football game” and “My rap style may change like a cashier.” The inclusion of “Yes You May” only reminds me of the far superior, jazzier remix that features the debut of a scene-stealing Big L. And if the album closer “Kicking Flavor With My Man” proves anything, it is that Finesse’s pal and fellow Bronx man Percee P is much better in small doses at a time, with a dazzling compound-rhyming flow but nothing much else.

But oh, what about the beats that dress the lyrical opulence of Lord Finesse? Well, they’re okay, if anything. Return of the Funky Man marks the beginning of Finesse the producer: a role that would actually threaten to overshadow his lyrical contributions as the ‘90s rolled on. Here, he produces or co-produces about half of the album, which could be why song after song has the same mind-numbing funk- and soul-sample template. There are a few surprises here and there, like the fast-paced “Funky on the Fast Tip” and “Party Over Here,” or the silky “That’s How Smooth I Am.” However, the fact that more experienced producers such as D.I.T.C. teammates Diamond D and Showbiz and Ice-T’s Rhyme Syndicate members DJ Aladdin and SLJ are on board only justifies the slight letdown. Generally speaking, the beatwork in Return of the Funky Man hasn’t exactly aged well.

According to Finesse in “Isn’t He Something,” “First album was dope, second one should be a gold mine.” Well, from a commercial standpoint, his hopes were dashed, as Return of the Funky Man did not fare any better than Funky Technician. However, Finesse’s follow-up is a gallant—and in a sense, refined—effort from the man who is able to “turn a party into a concert.”

TRACK LISTING:

1. Lord Finesse Intro
2. Return of the Funky Man
3. I Like My Girls With a Boom
4. Yes You May
5. Hey Look At Shorty
6. Praise the Lord
7. Save That S**t
8. Show ‘Em How We Do Things
9. Isn’t He Something
10. Fat for the ‘90s
11. Stop Sweating the Next Man
12. Funky on the Fast Tip
13. That’s How Smooth I Am
14. Party Over Here
15. F**k ‘Em
16. Kicking Flavor With My Man

MY LORD FINESSE SERIES:

Funky Technician (1990)
Return of the Funky Man (1992)

Recommended: Yes