E-40’s debut set the standard for Bay Area hip-hop in the ‘90s. More than any other rapper in history, 40 showed it was possible to be wildly abnormal AND retain street credibility. Like many albums before it, Federal is a masterpiece of crime rap, but 40’s style is so off-the-wall that it at times seems like an entirely new art form. In “Outsmart the Po Po’s” 40 paints a day in the life a crack dealer the way that Dalí painted landscapes: “15-5 for the margarine / A-1 Yola tightly packed / 17-5 for the coochierack… Bring me out a unit, a birdie, a cake / With the gypsyness before it’s too late.” “Rat Heads,” “Drought Season” and “Extra Mannish” follow a similar pattern. Gritty portrayals of the criminal lifestyle are renewed by 40’s fearlessness with inventive vocabulary and his inimitable delivery (imaginative the Mad Hatter, had he been born a street rapper). Underscored by a groaning chorus of heavy bass and minimal drum programming, Federal’s malicious intent cannot be denied.