As half of Handsome Boy Modeling School, producer Dan "the Automator" Nakamura watched Prince Paul receive most of the laurels, and though Deltronic 3030 would have been nothing without him, it was assumed to be the baby of rapper Del Tha Funky Homosapien. So, of course, Blurmeister Damon Albarn is considered the leader of Gorillaz -- a project that morphed from Deltronic with most of the same members (Del, Dan, Damon, DJ Kid Koala) -- simply because he commands the largest fan base.
Those fans will eventually visit Gorillaz' Web site and discover that it isn't a band but a cartoon drawn by Jamie Hewlitt ("Tank Girl"). The multiculti membership reflects the borderless music, which ranges from clubtown to punky thrash to the Buena Vista Social Club, which even donated Ibrahim Ferrer for an afternoon of singing. Other guests include Tom Tom Club and Cibo Matto's Miho Hattori, who is supposedly the model for Noodles, Gorillaz' 10-year-old Japanese guitarist.
Albarn's newfound fascination with African modes is seen by some as further proof he's trying to live down his past as a pop aesthete, but it turns out that pop aesthete stuff comes in handy on the loping hip-hop duet "Clint Eastwood," which has nothing to do with movie stars and everything to do with trying to sound like the best car song of the year.
Take a bow, Damon & Del . . . you too, Dan.