Pop music today is, without question, different than what it used to be. Sure, it’s always been pre-packaged for our listening pleasure, over produced based on the latest formula for mass-market success and devoid of most redeeming qualities other than “it’s fun to dance to.” But the new album DooDoo Face by Oakland artist Wallpaper. (aka Eric Frederic) moves back to a time when music actually meant something. Frederic’s alter ego Ricky Reed, who acts as the pseudo-front man of Wallpaper., embraces everything that is wrong with pop: overindulgence, rampant narcissism, and flagrant use of the now-infamous auto-tune. It’s through this satire on the sad state of pop music that we see the message in all of his music, the sad truth that inside all celebration, there lies a little bit of sadness.

Despite this sobering epiphany, DooDoo Face Face is still an amazingly funkadelic tribute to Afrobeat, Bay Area Rap, and the fine art of having a kick-ass time. This album also marks Wallpaper.’s transition from electronic to organic beats. The transition is no surprise considering the wide success of his live band remix of Das Racist’s “Combination Pizza Hut & Taco Bell,” which even made an appearance on Perez Hilton, MTV news. At its core, DooDoo Face does exactly what all great music does by giving you two layers of enjoyment. Give it a casual listen and you’ll groove along for a bit and have the tune stuck in your head all day; sit down and take in the album as a whole, and you’ll be left with something much more than a catchy tune.

Get Wize: The full length album Doodoo Face comes out September 22nd. Head to iTunes to download it