Lil NoiD’s uncooked, influential Memphis rap cassette Paranoid Funk to receive vinyl reissue

Lil NoiD's uncooked, influential Memphis rap cassette Paranoid Funk to receive vinyl reissue

Let’s get the obvious cultural reference out of the way: contrary to what you might think, Lil NoiD’s relative absence from the Memphis rap scene over the last 20 years isn’t due to an extremely well-concealed propaganda campaign on the part of a national pizza chain. The real Lil NoiD a.k.a. Derrick Harris looks nothing like the advertised pizza ruiner, and “avoiding the noid” likewise certainly wasn’t necessary, as Harris’s musical contributions during the early-to-mid-90s were so local that you really had to be hooked into the scene (which birthed the eventually successful Three 6 Mafia) in order to catch a listen. One such contribution was Paranoid Funk, a 1995 cassette from Lil NoiD that was buoyed by Juicy J, one of the founding members of Three 6.

I’m not even sure Paranoid Funk made it beyond the state of Tennessee at the time of its mixed conclusion, but gradually, the tape became appreciated in select circles for a style that was way ahead of its time. And now, Delroy Edwards’s LA Club Resource imprint is set to offer the first-ever vinyl release of the album, out next week on May 26.

Listen to the track “Binghampton Niggas” below, and get an immediate impression of the teenage Harris who, self-admittedly, was running wild at the time:

Paranoid Funk tracklisting:

01. Introlude
02. Criminalistic Knowledge
03. Hoe Call
04. Hamptown
05. Try Me
06. Death Row
07. Load My Clip
08. In the Dark
09. Binghampton Niggas

• Lil NoiD: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lil-Noid/180972452612
• LA Club Resource: http://laclubresource.tumblr.com

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