Handsome Boy Modeling School

Handsome Boy Modeling School was a teaming of quirky super-producers <a href="spotify:artist:7ajUo7DyiAOYvCndGLoJ1u">Prince Paul</a> (best-known for his work with <a href="spotify:artist:1Z8ODXyhEBi3WynYw0Rya6">De la Soul</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:6gl67jXbrwnMYZNZv88MKk">Stetsasonic</a>) and <a href="spotify:artist:4fv5w0LJib9OMbXQegqZ01">Dan "The Automator" Nakamura</a> (fresh off his underground success with <a href="spotify:artist:3zFaWPA8Jobgf5egh38KD2">Kool Keith</a>'s <a href="spotify:artist:7dr3cSEOIZ6tBrm4y1wsnr">Dr. Octagon</a> album). Taking their name from an episode of the cult Chris Elliott sitcom Get a Life (which was sampled several times on their album), <a href="spotify:artist:7ajUo7DyiAOYvCndGLoJ1u">Paul</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:4fv5w0LJib9OMbXQegqZ01">Dan</a> adopted the über-stylish alter egos of Chest Rockwell and <a href="spotify:artist:75Hc85c2sVptUPHFykMVTY">Nathaniel Merriweather</a>, respectively. Their debut album, So...How's Your Girl?, was a loose concept record packed with guest stars: rappers <a href="spotify:artist:0YsLR3SQd5QTXAhGIGX7cl">Del tha Funkee Homosapien</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:5bb5uytW59wDF0gpv8iQbE">J-Live</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:57UnSUpae3SbRekxNa5Kgl">El-P</a>; members of <a href="spotify:artist:2te8VJxgUxcElC8Uq6eJs6">Cibo Matto</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:3YyZFf9ZN2YbkqeZia8zHX">Brand Nubian</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:03r4iKL2g2442PT9n2UKsx">the Beastie Boys</a>; star turntablists like <a href="spotify:artist:5CE2IfdYZEQGIDsfiRm8SI">DJ Shadow</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:4vQVZ7VneTqv31qErhdtJV">DJ Quest</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:2s0438sn0pYL2OuukcFqPN">Kid Koala</a>; electronica artists like <a href="spotify:artist:4aaBjq7VqqQvpSF69GglvO">Moloko</a>'s <a href="spotify:artist:3qwabfaWewpfli7hMNM3O8">Roisin Murphy</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:1EMlPfrse4I1I1hA3iwhk9">Atari Teenage Riot</a>'s <a href="spotify:artist:3YGigudQiWDb5NdJOC5StS">Alec Empire</a>; and even Saturday Night Live's Father Guido Sarducci. So...How's Your Girl? was released on Tommy Boy in the fall of 1999 to mostly favorable reviews, and the opening track, "Rock n' Roll (Could Never Hip Hop Like This)," was licensed for a TV ad campaign. <a href="spotify:artist:4fv5w0LJib9OMbXQegqZ01">Nakamura</a> subsequently moved on to a host of other highly conceptual projects, including <a href="spotify:artist:2efzHZrUGhawnSOTpyAHOQ">Deltron 3030</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:3AA28KZvwAUcZuOKwyblJQ">Gorillaz</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:2AgMAiv3MvgQMwYrnLBeje">Lovage</a>. The duo returned to record-store shelves in 2004 with White People, their first album for Elektra. ~ Steve Huey, Rovi