Between 2000 and 2002, Geico ran a funny TV commercial called “Bob Wehadababyitsaboy” in which a family tricks the phone company into getting a free long distance call. Audiences loved the fact that an entire sentence was packed into one word.

Seattle rapper Asun used a similar technique when he dropped his debut album Titanium Buttermilk Rhinoceros Briefcase in 1999. Briefcase featured tracks like “Search Party,” that were loaded with words and phrases smashed together in a blizzard of speedy vocal delivery. After that, he temporarily took on an alias named Kakurot, and continued the rapid rap technique on his Saiyan Of Earth album in 2001.

A couple of years later Asun recorded his third album, titled 2003, which gives us more of the same recklessly fast flows. Listening to the accelerated lyrics can be a fun puzzle, but at times, your ear may fail to decipher the words as they fly by. The boisterous “No Shorts” and the more reflective “Help Yo Self,” both nicely produced by Idel One, are a bit slower than the rest of 2003, and in my opinion they are two of the CD’s strongest cuts. “No Shorts” is a challenge to other MCs to battle on wax, “Trade in the gat, cop a pen, write tracks, when I mash I hold hold the jawn like I miss the strap.”

“FYI” is interesting for its gentle beat produced by Mat The Alien. The track is a good compromise for me between Asun’s tongue-twister technique and his slower, more intelligible side. At the beginning, “FYI” delivers a short rap, then lets the soothing music ride for two full minutes. The last song on 2003, “Serve It Up,” has a jolty, electric, Frankenstein-ish vibe, and it succeeds at capturing the crew’s infectious energy. Asun would continue his career with many more releases, changing his stage name to Suntonio Bandanaz in the mid-2000s. Written by Novocaine132