Paul Barman grew up in the suburban splendor of Ridgewood, New Jersey. Even as a child he dreamed of being an architect of dialect. During a summer camp field trip, Paul purchased The Dead Kennedys' Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death and De La Soul's Three Feet High and Rising. These tapes flipped his five-sided cage upside down. ...show more

Paul Barman grew up in the suburban splendor of Ridgewood, New Jersey. Even as a child he dreamed of being an architect of dialect. During a summer camp field trip, Paul purchased The Dead Kennedys' Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death and De La Soul's Three Feet High and Rising. These tapes flipped his five-sided cage upside down.

The roof became the floor, and the new roof was open. Years later, when he heard the combination of Wu-Tang's intense wordplay and Ol' Dirty Bastard's exuberant energy, Paul's sketchbooks began to go from drawings to lyrics. In 1998, Househusband Records released Postgraduate Work, Paul's self-produced 7". It included the dusted, yet intelligent, "Enter Pan-Man" about a slimy recent college graduate who gets horn and hoof implants to become a marginal star, eventually retiring to Westchester as a bad dad with arthritis.

"Enter Pan-Man" caught the ears of left-field hip-hop producer Prince Paul, who offered Barman the chance to work with him on a project. The result of their collaboration, It's Very Stimulating (Wordsound, 2000), introduced Paul to the public sphere as a heavy lyricist, rhyming about school, politics, and comedic sexcapades. The 6-track EP contained gems such as "My Dandy Voice makes even the most anti-choice grannies' panties moist." "The Joy of Your World" ends with the protagonist unwrapping a gold coin condom only to find chocolate Chanukah gelt. Until it became too expensive, Paul threw the gold foil mixture of coins and condoms into the audience. ...show less