Track Listing

1. Raw Sewage
2. Bubble Pop
3. Back in the Chamber
4. Slam Dunk
5. Situations
6. Naked Fonk
7. Hold Your Hand
8. Foot Down
9. I'll Tell You
10. Workin' It
11. Last Hurrah
12. Str8t Up and Down
13. I Got You
14. Funkyhomosapien

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #116025 in Music
• Brand: Dell
• Released on: 2008-03-11
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .20 pounds

Amazon.com
Co-honcho of the Bay Area's legendary Hieroglyphics collective, Del the Funky Homosapien (Teren Delvon Jones) boasts a hip-hop resume of indelibly cred-soaked pedigree. But Eleventh Hour, his largely self-produced fifth solo album--and first in eight years--lacks much of both the lyrical and instrumental verve of his best records. Committed mostly to slap-schticky attack-rap targeting one unspecified "you" or another, Eleventh Hour feels more like 1994's No Need for Alarm than Gorillaz' "Clint Eastwood," the iconic Deltron 3030, or he Funky Homosapien's seminal solo debut, I Wish My Brother George Was Here. Surprising turns of phrase and the occasional flair of free association remain, but these stylistic flourishes have been done so well and so many times before, not least by Del himself, that here it drops with far more familiarity than revelation. "Bubble Pop," "Foot Down," and "Str8t Up and Down" bounce with undeniable charisma, but Del's backing tracks often feel more like etudes than fully realized works. Of course, he's always been his revelatory freest when accompanied by brilliant others (da Lench Mob, Dan the Automator, Kid Koala, Damon Albarn), so if this is the sound of Del's Eleventh Hour, there may still be time for one more breathtaking collab. --Jason Kirk

Customer Reviews

lackluster
after waiting 7 years, i was expecting more. it's possible to listen to the album all the way through, so the music isn't horrible. but, you might prefer to listen to something else. del's flow seems to lack energy. the beats are just ok. gone are del's signature topical songs, where he is able to tell stories from the beginning to the end of a song. each and every song is about how mc's are wack except for him, and how people bother him in various ways. there are references to women in this album that do not seem befitting of a man in his mid-30's. there are a couple of highlight tracks. i, personally, like straight up and down. however, the album has a lazy feel to it. it isn't innovative like del usually is and can be. as a del fan from 1991, and after having waited 7 years for this album (i went to a concert in 2004 where del promised the soon release of 11th hour), this is not what i expected.

I Was Pleasantly Surprised...
After reading a good majority of the reviews of this album (including most of these user reviews here), I was pleasantly surprised when I gave Eleventh Hour my first listen. I really don't understand the problem...this is truly a good and decent album. It is certainly not deserving of 5 stars, nor is it necessarily on par with other work that Del has given us, but it definitely does not deserve all the negativity that I've seen attached to it.

I've been trying to understand and sympathize with a lot of negative reviewers after hearing it for myself. Perhaps since Del has raised the bar so high...hell, Del IS the bar...that if he puts out anything less than that it really stands out. Still, I can't understand why so many people seem to dislike it so strongly. I agree with the user that claimed that after a few listens it really grows on you. I usually brush suggestions like that off to the side - if something doesn't grab me on the first listen, there is a good chance I won't listen to it again...I think that's pretty normal - but not this time. This truly is an album that you actually need to listen to a few times to really feel it. When I first heard "Bubble Pop", I was a little worried that I would be dissapointed along with everyone else. But now, after just a couple of days, I really enjoy and get something out of this album, and from "Bubble Pop" especially - it's brilliant.

So, in anything, please listen and decide for yourself how you feel about this album, even if you've read a lot of negative reviews like I had.

i don't wanna hear excuses
man, i got Amplive's Rainydayz and Del's song on that is better than anything on his own release! the production on 11th is annoying at best and his lyrics are regurgitated from when his songs made my head nod. 11th hour has been a huge let down i would not have expected from one of my favorite artists. i know he's not gonna release the same thing every time, but he has always hit the nail on the head with his innovative sounds and keeping that funk going till now. either way, he needs some quality control before he releases any more of this nonsense.