If having a giant white gorilla with the words Honkey Kong on the cover of your rap CD doesn’t seem racist, it might at least be tasteless or merely idiotic. As it turns out, this album is none of those things.

From jumpstreet Apathy is all smart pop-culture references and clever punch-line raps that prove the Connecticut MC’s best weapon is his sense of humor. From the lyrical gymnastics of the opening track to the slow, dramatic narration of the last, Apathy’s words are potent and his delivery is tactful. Honkey Kong is loaded with cameos and they are, for the most part, justifiable, but they never steal the show. Most of the variance actually comes from the production, which interlaces classic ‘90’s east coast hip-hop sounds with nostalgic samples from the likes of Snoop, Biggie and Digital Underground, and lot of the tracks begin with a sound bite from a movie you haven’t watched since your VHS player broke. In full, Honkey Kong marries aggressive wordplay and classic beats and the results are universally good.