About

Formed in 1999 by acclaimed hip-hop producers Dan the Automator (Gorillaz, Dr. Octagon, Deltron 3030) and Prince Paul (Stetsasonic, De la Soul, Gravediggaz,) Handsome Boy Modeling School is a concept project that instantly turned heads and brought a whole new dynamic to the world of hip-hop. Hidden behind the world-class and all-star lineup, the group created a project that parodied vain, consumerist, materialistic, and self-absorbed members of upper-class society.

While the 1999 release of their debut project, "So... How's Your Girl?," helped to set the tone and introduce the world to Handsome Boy Modeling School, it was their 2004 follow-up, "White People," which helped to solidify the project as a game-changer amongst hip-hop heads.

With Dan the Automator and Prince Paul behind the boards, "White People" featured a stacked list of features including but not limited to De la Soul, Jack Johnson, Lord Finesse, Mike Shinoda, Pharrell Williams, El-P, and RZA.  

White People has undoubtedly become a somewhat overlooked gem of its era. Topping out at #168 on the Billboard 200, #79 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and #4 on the Top Heatseekers charts, this release has only grown in popularity over the years as it is discovered by more and more hip-hop heads looking for the left-of-center. - Get On Down

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Five years after their rightfully revered debut, So...How's Your Girl?, brainiac producers Prince Paul and Dan the Automator return with Handsome Boy Modeling School's a-little-too-smug sophomore release, White People. Like the title, a good third of the album feels too forced. Another third is fair, but the remainder is stunning - mostly song-based and mostly nonirreverent. 

Tim Meadows' "The Ladies Man" character and a bunch of narration from Modeling School Central keeps the Handsome Boy concept going, but it's a concept that could carry one album, not two (also of note: "The Ladies Man"'s appearances are often tacked right onto the end of tracks, making the album more difficult to whittle down to a concise mixtape). Minus Del tha Funkee Homosapien and Casual, the rappers on White People sound too aware of their surroundings, too mannered. The mega-talented Pharrell Williams' contribution to "Class System" could have been carried off by anyone, so that leaves it up to people from the pop and rock realm to really bring it to the table. They do, with solid songs that could exist outside of Handsome Boy's heavy-with-concept world. 

Expect Jamie Cullum and John Oates' pop-solid "Biggest Mistake" to show up on a Christina Aguilera album sometime soon, while Cat Power's track is so well formed you have to wonder what the reaction will be when a Handsome Boy fan encounters one of her indie, skeletal, and spent early albums. Sounding like Paul Simon for the hoody generation, Jack Johnson's "Breakdown" is a surprising success, but just as surprising is that the genre-hopping, always risk-taking Mike Patton can't find the spark. Bringing reminders of a better track on a better album, "Rock & Roll (Could Never Hip Hop Like This), Pt. 2" is the album's problem in one song. Jumping from one style to another, the song never digs in like How's Your Girl's "Part 1," since ambition overtakes reason and cleverness overtakes everything. 

There's a killer EP worth of tracks strewn among the album and more than a few signs that Dan and Paul still got it. Stuck trying to re-create the daring excitement, Handsome Boy Modeling School turn in an album that's half as interesting as their debut, and half as interesting as their guest list. — (via AllMusic)

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Label: Tommy Boy
Format: 2 x Vinyl, LP, Album, Limited Edition, Reissue, White
Country: USA & Canada
Reissued: 2021 / Original Release: 2004
Genre: Hip Hop, Rock, Reggae
Style: Conscious, Jazzy Hip-Hop

File under: Hip Hop
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