Side C-Stu Ungar review by John M. Ellison IV

As of late I’ve been thinking about my trip to Las Vegas last year. Well, two things jogged my memory about it. The first being gaming sites like party poker and the other being the Zappa-sampled Side C song “Stu Ungar.” So, I thought I would combine both interests in one piece
For the people that aren’t aware, the song “Stu Ungar” is inspired by the late professional poker and gin rummy player, Stuart Errol “Stu” Ungar. I ran across this song awhile back on a Zappa forum where the song caught a mixture of outrage and praise. The reason for the outrage from fans was because the song “Stu Ungar” samples Frank Zappa’s “Willie the Pimp” off of the mostly instrumental Hot Rats album. As a devoted Zappa fan myself, I have mixed feelings about the song as well. But, I can’t deny the fact that the “Hot Rats” album has sample potential and Side C proves it.

For those who aren’t familiar with Side C, Side C is a five man Canadian rap group based in Montreal. The group is fronted by rappers Strath, Syps & Rigo. The group also features drummer Drefus and Dekoy on samples.

In “Stu Ungar”, they usurp Captain Beefheart’s lines “I’m a little pimp with my hair gassed back/Pair a khacki pants with my shoes shined.” and “Twenny dollah bill (I can set you straight)/Meet me onna corner boy’n don’t be late. In a different context, it sets the tone that’s complimentary to the overall theme of the song. Flow-wise, the guys in Side C are adequate but nothing that really stands out.

Interesting enough, DMC, Talib Kweli, MMM (Mix Master Mike) & Ahmet Zappa all collaborated on a rap song in the vein of the original Willie the Pimp that was featured on the The Frank Zappa AAAFNRAAAA Birthday Bundle 2010 compilation here.

In closing, check out Party Poker for online gaming and check out Side C “Stu Ungar” and DMC, Talib Kweli, Mixmaster Mike and Ahmet Zappa’s rendition of Willie the Pimp for proof on how the music of Frank Zappa is slept on sample wise.