Recalling the sonic hilarity of De La Soul, I Am the Freshmäka is all hip beats, goofy "70s music samples, and spoken-word mischief. Some samples are obvious, such as Nicolette Larsen"s "70s hit "Lotta Love" in the track "Lotta Love (Get Up Thru Da Night 99)," while the obscure piano melody to "Dancing in the Moonlight" seems to grace "La La La." But beyond sample trainspotting, the Freshmä"ka attempt to bring hip-hop back to the people with hands-up-in-the-air grooves and constant self-references. Actually a duo including one Duke Mushroom, the Freshamäka reportedly were a successful A&R team at Tommy Boy before turning artistic. They also penned the score for Whoopi Goldberg"s film Eddie, MTV"s The Real World: Seattle, and even composed the music for Billy Blanks"s Tae-Bo videos. Perhaps that explains who paid for some of these brazen samples. Nonetheless, I Am the Freshmäka is a ball of fun, whoever made the music. The title track, with its funky bass lick and trumpet squeals recalls a hip Huggy Bear or perhaps Fat Albert. Gooey piano chords underpin a bulbous beat, rapid rapping, and protofusion keyboards in "Fyvush Finkel Flavas." Regardless of production or clever references, the Freshmäka succeed in making music that is oddly soulful, sonically inventive, and gleefully idiotic. --Ken Micallef