This came out in 2004 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
John Smith knows how to keep it real. Or at least real local.
The everyman rapper’s latest solo full-length Pinky’s Laundromat pays hip-hop homage to his North End hood. Using the titular Arlington Street cleaners as a home base, Smith wanders the mean streets and dirty alleys of his beloved inner city, romanticizing the crooks, cronies and characters who inhabit the world north of the Slaw Rebchuk bridge. “This is my life and I love it,” claims Smith, using his lazy flow and conversational tone to ingratiate himself while he spins tales of murder and drugs. Set to a surplus of slinky grooves, bumpin’ beats and smart samples, Smith’s urban-realist tracks aim to put the Peg on the rap map.
FILE UNDER: Talk of the town.
TELLING SONG TITLE: Bible Belt Babylon.
