Homespun: Spark1Duh?, My Life with Dusty Wallets

Spark1duh? is the hip-hop alter ego of Jason Karr, the rare white rapper who doesn't waste time apologizing for or making fun of his skin color. Instead, Karr employs a mish-mash of cultural touchstones -- references to old Nintendo games and Philip Seymour Hoffman (!), smooth soul samples and curse-laden movie dialogue -- to craft a varied, entertaining album. As a rapper, Karr's rhymes are more clever than speedy, and his confident style is brash, funny and charming. He teams up with producer Splitface for "Survival of the Illest," and the track's stuttering low-end piano notes and jazzy guitar flourishes kick off the disc with depth and sophistication.