CD Review: Stik Figa, It Ain’t Easy Bein’ Skinny, Free MP3s

By KYLE KOCH

John Westbrook Jr., a rapper from Topeka popularly known as Stik Figa, might be hanging up the mic. According to an entry on his Myspace blog, Westbrook’s headed to college.

“i’m takin my black ass back to school come fall, can’t believe i wasted so much time with this rap shit,” he writes under the title “It’s Official,” dated December 30, 2008.

The pursuit of a college diploma is doubtless a safer choice than the frequently paperless chase of a rap career. But It Ain’t Easy Bein’ Skinny, Westbrook’s new mixtape — released in December for free through Illroots.com, is the rapper’s own best argument against the necessity of higher education.

The collection of joints old and new boasts 24 tracks. Yet Westbrook’s inventiveness, skill and charisma keep Skinny from feeling bloated. His dense rhyme schemes dance lightly on the production of each track like feet over burning coal; and his flows stutter, stretch, and arc with magisterial authority.