White People Party Music

Think of him as a rapper, the host of America's Got Talent, the husband of Mariah Carey, or a stand-up comedian — Nick Cannon is such a jumble of stuff he's certainly a 21st Century Renaissance Man, but with this wild and weird album that he provocatively promoted in white-face, he just might be the post-Ryan Seacrest version of Marcel Duchamp. Call it art terrorism, million-dollar trolling, or a cloying album of epic proportions, White People Party Music sticks to its title, kicking off with a vibrant, uplifting, EDM-fueled number where Cannon has been "Looking for a Dream," and searching where most often find them, "In my head!" That's a flat, simple joke for sure, but with superstar DJ Afrojack laying a roller coaster ride of soaring synths, bass drops, breakdowns, and expensive EDM whatnot underneath, Cannon's funny whim becomes a Coachella comedy anthem. Shake your fist at it or shake your ass to it because it works either way, while later there's the less thinly veiled novelty floor-filler "Me Sexy," a macho EDM song that owes Right Said Fred a thank you note. "P******g Awesome" is the first known example of bro-trap as it fist bumps and Harlem Shakes itself through a frat party, while "F##ck Yo Birthday" gives those "It's Your Birthday" jams a good ribbing as up-for-anything rapper Fatman Scoop rattles off all the Zodiac signs over a Pitbull-worthy party beat. Speaking of Pitbull, he's here on "America," but singing bedroom R&B to a whole country isn't a clever enough joke to fill a whole four minutes, and with a track list that runs all the way up to 17, this is a bloated novelty album, even with the interludes. The interludes are hilarious, however, especially when attendees at a "Whites Mostly" party are asked if they've ever heard of Cannon. "Mariah Carey's husband!" is their top and only answer, but for folks who get — and get into — White People Party Music, they might start answering "America's leading prankster."