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NORTHERN STATE - Can I Keep This Pen (Ipecac)
 White girls who rap: It's a bit like Samuel Johnson's comment on the dog walking on his hind legs. It is rarely done well, but you are surprised to find it done at all. It's been a long time since Luscious Jackson created the template for this kind of female Beastie Boys party music, and yet the three girls in Northern State almost delight in their studied amateurism. Between the clunky harmonies, undistinguished beats, generic musicianship, and some of the most awkward, awful rhymes since LFO told us Chinese food made them sick, Northern State don't really do anything well, yet they act like they expect us to be delighted because they're doing it at all. Pass the mic, grrls, or learn how to write rhymes. This shtick is played out. - Jim Testa
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