Snatch, Grab, I Love You...

Originally released in a small edition in 2003, Minamina Goodsong's Snatch, Grab, I Love You was reissued in 2005 as part of an overall reintroduction of the Atlanta-based trio's utterly whacked-out world view. Basically, these three Atlanta MC/producers are keyed into the same bizarre, surreal wavelength as the creators of Cartoon Network's Adult Swim programming block, who, coincidentally or not, are also based in Atlanta. Could be something in the water. Musically, Snatch, Grab, I Love You is an onslaught of obscure samples and bizarre left turns not seen since the mighty days of De La Soul's 3 Feet High and Rising and the Beastie Boys' Paul's Boutique. Brass fanfares that sound like they were nicked from cheesy '60s TV themes mix with chattering cartoon-like voices and percussive Afro-funk grooves, for a sound that's simultaneously hilarious and somehow, exactly right. Lyrically, the album is less overtly goofy than their debut, Time for Breakfast; personal tragedies, the pressures of encroaching adulthood, and increasingly unfunny political and social upheaval post-9/11 are all touched on in the various rappers' verses. This is in no way a downer album, though: songs like "11:11" and the pointedly political "Fortress" focus on serious themes, but in an uplifting, no-surrender fashion. "Fina," the album's first real track after the traditional opening skit, is the band's battle cry, a statement of silly purpose in the face of adulthood. How could a group who named itself in part after Piero Umiliani's deathless novelty tune "M'nah M'nah" do anything less?