Huey, vocalist and guitarist of the Fun Lovin' Criminals, may seem like one cool and confident dude onstage, but like the rest of us, he has his spates of self-doubt. "We were going to name the album 'The Mistake'" he says, referring to their latest release. Ultimately, however, the band chose a more confident handle: "100% Colombian," not as a reference to Colombian music, coffee, or cocaine, but, as Huey explains, because "Colombian is a term we use – it's like a vernacular. If something's good, then it's Colombian. If it's really, really good, it's 100% Colombian. I know that people mix that up and put drug references on the end of it, but people are going to do that."

And in this journalist's humble opinion, 100% Colombian is, in fact, "really, really good." The CD is a relaxed blend of rap and hip-hop that's highly accessible. Whereas most verses of today's rap zip by me so fast I can't quite grasp what the artist is ranting about, the cool R&B-tinged grooves on 100% Colombian allow time for the artists' reflections, rhymes and rhythms to soak in. This is not to slight Busta, ODB, Beasties, et al, whose collective talent is unquestionable. It's just that rather than slapping you over the head with their music, FLC eases you into their many moods, experiences, and views on society, be they crime, street life, or the power of love.

Love, by the way, seemed to be at the forefront of Huey's mind during the band's February 10, 1999 appearance at New York City's Irving Plaza. After announcing that he's observed a shortage of this positive vibe in our culture lately, Huey led the band through a killer rendition of "Love Unlimited," FLC's paean to love-meister Barry White. I should mention that the band also delivered a good helping of high-octane numbers during the concert, as they do on the new release. That's right, the Criminals are not ready for the old-folks rap home quite yet.

A Criminal's Life
Formed in New York City in the early '90s, Huey, Steve (drums, programming) and Fast (bass, keyboards, harmonica) met at the Limelight night club in New York City. "I was a bar back," says Huey, "and Fast was answering phones. Steve was an alcoholic who hung out. Actually, Steve was a friend of Fast's and we used to get him in on the guest list. But yeah, that's how we met and we just kind of hit it off – had the same kind of sense of humor and we realized that we were all kinda musicians at some point."

Eventually, "we all moved in together," says Huey. "We figured we all got along so well. This is before we had started the band. We figured we might as well. There were actually five of us in the apartment and it was just that – five guys in an apartment going crazy, shooting cans of corn across the street with a catapult… We never really rehearsed [in the apartment] just listened to the stuff really loud. [Neighbors] complained. Eventually we got evicted."

More recently, the band has had the good fortune of collaborating and recording with industry heavy-weights such as Echo & the Bunnymen and BB King (who contributed to the tune "Mini Bar Blues" on the new release). What was it like working with the King of Blues? "Well," says Huey, "BB King's definitely a hero of mine and, of course, he's a blues legend and one of the finest guitar players ever. Every time we meet him we cry. He did play on the record and he's a wonderful man, gracious for doing it. But we couldn't have him in the studio with us because we'd have just been crying on the mixing console and shorting everything out. But, yeah, he did it in Chicago. We sent him a tape; he sent it back."

Not concerned with trivialities such as set-lists and rehearsals, FLC's live performances come off fresh and original. The band likes to interact with the audience, and the Irving Plaza concert was no exception. During the show, Huey took the occasion to tell a stray bar joke and dole out some of his father's advice to the males in the crowd ("If you can't eat it, don't fuck it."). He also dedicated songs to his Aunt Lucy, the owner of his neighborhood "Korean Bodega" (one of their song titles), a friend recently released from jail and another who has gone to that big rap show in the sky.

The Fun Lovin' Criminals are clearly nearing the top of their game, churning out music with a good-time vibe on par with legends such as the late great Marvin Gaye. Assimilating rap, rock, hip-hop, and rhythm and blues, the band's crossover sound, which had been compared to that of the Beastie Boys, is easily achieving its own identity of late. So what has the band done about its new found fame and fortune? "Well," says Huey, "I have a garbage company that I own [DiFontaine, Carting and Asbestos Removal Co.]… That's what I did when we got a couple of bucks from the record contract."