Kaiser Von Powderhorn 2

Prof's Facebook page lists his activities as "boomeranging, sperm donation, intimidating the elderly, stealing from gas stations, having birds sing congratulations in the morning, [and] pissing in your home through your mail slot," so it's not as if the spark of impudence wasn't always there. In five years and as many releases, he's rapped that "the only time I fuck up is when I'm on the bottom," dissed other rappers for being "too hard for Christmas," and used "Ralphed my Nader" to mean oral sex. But his persona has never quite come into focus before, maybe because, among Minneapolis peers both street and emo, he's never taken reality or himself all that seriously.

Was satire, or Lil Wayne-style free association, the edge he was missing? Prof now appears on this entertaining mix-tape EP wearing too many chains and a bear rug over his shoulder, drink in hand, pointing a gun in the beast's mouth. He raps, "I'm the flyest of all time, pterodactyl" over a Rich Boy beat, and tells you to "turn the music up loud 'til your teeth hurt" over an Omarion one. He improves on Jamie Foxx and Chalie Boy hits with quacking, catchier melodies. He rhymes "konnichiwa, snitch," "jaw, bitch," "saw shit," and "hostage," his flow as fluidly changeable as a dial-skip across Southern rap radio. But he leaves it for you to see the contradiction between "I plan to live forever, so far so good" and "I don't need to see tomorrow," or the irony in his victory dance after getting beat up by the girlfriend he's stalking.

The final track, "Utah," pays tribute to "the American tradition" by imagining a state where you can "marry as many bitches as you want... you'll never have to do dishes again!" This is the id of Slug or Trama given full vent, and not yet famous enough to become Eminem-cheeky.

Prof takes the stage at the Fine Line Music Cafe on April 9.