Born Suspect

A chunk of raw Rock, before he hit the big time with Saturday Night Live, HBO, and everything else. This CD was recorded at a 1991 gig in Atlanta, and while it lacks the polish and daring of his later hit Roll with the New, it has plenty of laughs to satisfy his fans. Born Suspect has some nice Rock riffs on his life back then: "Minimum wage means that we would pay you less if we could, but it's against the law!" and "Don't you hate it when your boss asks you 'How ya doin'?' You know exactly how I'm doin'--bad!" Plus, he makes fine fun of Washington, D.C., mayor Marion Barry: "Now you can't tell your kids, 'Don't smoke crack, or else you won't be nothin'.... 'Well, I could be mayor." Though on Born Suspect Rock is unpolished, a little self-indulgent, and not as razor-sharp as he later became, the disc is nevertheless worth a listen, if only to get a glimpse of this great talent.