Although
DJ Magic Mike's CDs were placed in the rap bins, the main reason to acquire
Bass Bowl isn't the rapping -- it is
Mike's skills that as a mixmaster/producer that take center stage on this good-to-excellent CD. "Get On It Dog Gone it" and "Mo Booty" are infectious examples of fast, hyper, southern-style booty rap, but many of the tunes contain no rapping at all -- rather, they consist of instrumental tracks combined with various samples, soundbites, cuts, or scratches.
Mike is fairly unpredictable, and he keeps things interesting by sampling and mixing a variety of soul, hip-hop, and funk, as well as reggae and jazz. You can see the parallels between Orlando, FL resident
Mike and the bass DJs of Miami, and his eclectic approach also inspires comparisons to Northeastern mixmasters like
Grandmaster Flash and
Public Enemy's
Terminator X. But make no mistake --
Bass Bowl is the work of an innovator whose style is very much his own.