an, that DJ Yoda, he's a one, huh? When it comes to hip-hop DJing, he keeps them bouncing all ways possible. Some nights he'll be cleverly subverting standard rap music practices by dropping the theme tune from “Cheers” into a straight up hip-hop set in front of a crowd of 750 hollering and hooting students, other nights he'll be cleverly subverting standard rap music practices by dropping the theme tune from “Trapdoor” into a straight up hip-hop set in front of a crowd of 750 hollering and hooting students. Or dropping “Take On Me” into said set. Or Tears for Fears. Or... yeah.

So, yeah, he's got a formula: take what sells to a certain type of hip-hop fan (turntablism, old school “when it was about fun” mentality, Soul Jazz “inspired” sampling, and a metric ton of goofiness) and serve it up repeatedly. Nine times out of ten? It’s fun, like betting on the outcome of Wacky Races or something. The How to Cut and Paste series of mixtapes contains stuff you should still be playing today, five years later (“Delta Ebonics” and “Rhubarb Tart,” specifically), Jewbonics was a straight-up classic, and he even dragged a decent song out of People Under The Stairs’ useless asses (“Quid Control”). But The Amazing Adventures of...?

The Amazing Adventures Of... isn’t a horrid, ugly, or even bad record. It's real crime is how fucking weird it comes across most of the time. For instance, Andy Cooper from Ugly Duckling (not the Kevin Smith look-alike or the one with the glasses) pops up and does a 50 Cent impression that degenerates into a stream of indecipherable mumbling. It's then followed by Andy Cooper from Ugly Duckling doing a four minute long Dutty South pastiche called “Holdin' Down the Block”, complete with “urrs,” “hurrs,” and “whurrs.” Is it meant to be a piss-take? If so, why aren't there any jokes in it? It's lol-less apart from the moment where he compares the face of a woman he's beaten up to Seal. He then drops the term “faggot,” which for a member of Ugly Duckling is some kinda event horizon.

Maybe it’s just that Yoda's stuck in the past. Aside from getting David Dickinson in to do a shout-out (he stopped being an ironic student reference point in December 2003, if my watch is right), there are also tracks here featuring MC Paul Barman and Princess Superstar. Were Gold Chains and Hesta Prynn not available? The last time I checked, “old school” hip-hop mentality didn't refer to nostalgia for Gerard Houllier’s tenure at Liverpool. Superstar's track is OK, to be fair. “Let's Get Old” sees her mumble about geriatric sex for a while, but it thankfully gets drowned out by a basement beat thud and the kind of jazz age piano that got flappers moist back in the day. I can't actually bring myself to listen to the Barman track—but it goes without saying/listening that it's awful.

It’s not all bad. Yoda's “Duelling Banjos” turntablism routine brings smiles. “The Zipper Scratch” is a perfect piece of throwaway comedy, a DMC-tournament worthy piece of scratching as performed on someone's coat fastener. Biz Markie turns up on two tracks (“Breakfast Cereal” and “Haunted House”) and does his usual “I'm like a child, except I'm an adult!” schtick, but few make for a more entertaining self-parody than the Biz. Sway's verses on “Chatterbox” are a helpful reinstatement of intent for those of us who were worried about how bad his verse on “LDN” is, and “Wheels” creates an entire hip-hop beat out of Level motherfucking 42.

The Amazing Adventures of DJ Yoda in summary? Yoda likes his movie samples. Here's another one for him: “Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.” Some artists don't need the safety and organization that a full-blown studio album affords. Yoda is one of those people. Mixing from Mobb Deep into “99 Luftballoons” at Keele Uni freshers ball, on the other hand...