"Park Slop's Pumpkinhead has banged around Brooklyn for ages, spitting battle raps and promoting the early '90s hip-hop credo of loop-based beats and hard, witty rhymes. Criticized by fans for being nothing more than a punchline pundit, Pumpkinhead has reinvented himself on his third album, bringing storylines and insights in spades. Attacking snobs in trucker hats and white tees alike, Pumpkinhead doesn't subscribe to any camp's philosophy, criticizing gun talk while still threatening to break your teeth. Buoyed by Marco Polo's consistently dope Beatnut-era beats (thank God somebody is still using rhythmic scratching!), Pumpkinhead shits on military service, praises the grace found in grinding and still finds time for posse cuts. Though Orange Moon has a few potholes (a dumb Napoleon Dynamite skit and a recycled "woman as hip-hop" metaphor), most criticisms seem trivial in the face of songs like "Rock On." A tale of his life laid over a priceless A Silver Mt. Zion sample, its veteran mix of story, insight, failure and faith proves three times is a charm." - CMJ.
For a full copy of the CMJ New Music Monthly (2005) review, see below...
