The early 2000s blessed us with miracles like Beyoncé, the iPhone and denim body suits. The era also gifted us with trash pop and shock value hip hop (i.e. the vulgar enigma of Slim Shady), which left us in the ripples of a hot mess decade, led by the reigning princess of peril himself, Mickey Avalon.

 Avalon is more a personality than a hip-hop artist. He may rhyme, but his lyrics and simple beats are more of a show than an ode to the genre. His sound is a little bit ’80s, a whole lot of ’90s and a few bumps of cocaine.

Avalon’s life was laced with vices from the start. He grew up in Hollywood in a family that danced between addiction and sobriety. After the loss of two family members to heroin, Avalon turned to music in the midst of his own addiction. 

In the early oughts he met fellow shock value rapper Simon Rex, aka Dirt Nasty, who helped fuel his successful and glorified party-boy brand. Avalon signed with Interscope Records by 2005 and turned his vices into a career, releasing several successful albums by 2010 and writing perhaps the most popular anthem about a dick.

Avalon’s gaudy and grungy personality gained him a niche in the mainstream scene, and he was soon on tour with huge names like Slightly Stoopid, Snoop Dogg and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. No Avalon performance was complete without a lit cigarette between his pouty lips, his half opened eyes smothered in layers of black liner and a whole lot of ass on stage.

Although he is a fuck boy by today’s standards, Avalon’s vulgar, hypersexual and apathetic music has made for several timeless party anthems. Whether you indulge in his vices or not, he’ll bring a good time and a hell of a dance party. 

Get your booty on the dance floor and do the Jane Fonda with Mickey Avalon and Dirt Nasty 8 pm Wednesday, Feb. 6, at Whirled Pies; tickets $25 for general admission and $75 for meet and greet. The show is all ages.

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