GOLD Vinyl Records and CDs

It was Run DMC who first suggested bad could mean good, and Welsh hip-hoppers Goldie Lookin' Chain have taken them at their word. Fresh out of Newport, South Wales, the eight-man GLC crew's harebrained attempts to live out their version of thug life in one of Britain's most economically deprived provinces (famous for rugby, male-voice choirs and coal mining) have elevated them to cult hero status, sparking a set of raucous festival appearances and scoring a U.K. No. 3 ("Guns Don't Kill People, Rappers Do"). Chon Benwa Balls (Mr Love Eggs), Dwayne Xain Zedong (P Xain), Adam Hussain (Benny Blanco), 2Hats (2000 AD), Mike Balls (The Hardest Man In Soccer Violence), Billy Webb (Tim Westcountry), Mystikal (The Druid) and Maggot (The Hip-Hop Vampire) sling together chaotic old skool-styled tracks that yearn for the carefree days of 1983 ("Roller Disco"), revel in the joys of the cheapest THC money can buy ("Soap Bar") and celebrate their own rank stupidity and lack of class (insert any track name here). Some of hip-hop's more stern-faced supporters may not fully appreciate the joke (which is admittedly somewhat at their expense), but one thing is certain: in order to be this funny, you have to have a deep love and understanding of the genre. That and -- of course -- be very, very stoned.