Stupid Birthday’s “The Last Piss:” South Moorhead Hip-Hop Evolves

Stupid Birthday is giving his record away for free at Orange Records in downtown Fargo.  His latest release, “The Last Piss,” was released in late February and is a good example of an artist who is in control of their medium.  This is the fourth solo album by Stupid Birthday and it grabs listeners like kidnappers, shoving minds into bags and then tickling them into a frenzy with mixes that are intriguing and commanding, pounding away the ears with beatific beats.

“It was four to five months of development, until the finished product found its way to the hands of the public,” Stupid Birthday said.  “It isn’t that new of a mix.  It’s four years old and I’ve played this set live three times.  It gives a good idea of what I’m capable of during a live show.”

The album begins with a lone scratch with a male MC, it all drops to a mysterious interlude before deep bass beats begin and crashes with devastating scratches and dizzying speed.  The album announces itself and throws no errant punches. This is hip hop, south Moorhead style, and it won’t be ignored.  The first track ends with the medieval sounding timbre and walks into a rap that flows into more mixing.  Hip hop-a-phobes need not be afraid.  The reason for the season has come, and Santa is no where to be found.       

Stupid Birthday keeps the mixes interesting by not letting the beats play out to long.  He mixes music that causes the jaw to drop with its seamlessness, causing listeners to do a double take when he doesn’t miss a beat between different bouncing vinyl kings.  The album has a classic feel with most mixes drawing on memorable hip hop albums. 

Stupid Birthday keeps his mixes tight, short, and on message.  The album is only thirty-seven minutes long, with the actual title tracks clocking in at thirty minutes.  It has the feel of listening to a mix tape that a friend painstakingly recorded.  The album is at home on a MP3 player as it would be in a car cassette player.  There’s an intimacy, an instant familiarity in the music that is partly the result of his Stupid Birthday’s use of classic hip-hop albums.

The last four tracks are extras that feature members of the South Moorhead Scratch Dungeon.  Those tracks are no less sharp than the album they grace.

While the title may contain the word, ‘last,’ and the album cover picturing a resting Stupid Birthday, Stupid Birthday is not about to retire, “I wanted it [the album] out of my life so that I could piss again. I’ve got three more mixes in my head that I’m going to get down during this year. 

The photo is me, drunk, passed out in a satanic rock ‘n roll practice space,” Stupid Birthday said.
     
Stupid Birthday’s “Last Piss,” does the impossible by satisfying strictly hip-hop listeners with it’s technically proficient scratches and mixes, and by using familiar tunes, he has also created a catchy and dynamic album that those not familiar with the genre will appreciate.     
 

Album/order info
Stupid Birthday, “Last Piss”
Cost—free at Orange Records
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