The last time we heard from Doug Krum (that is, Playdough) was several years ago with the release of his sophomore solo album, Don't Drink The Water (that, of course, is not counting his Deepspace 5 membership or the countless appearances he makes all over the place). But, in December of 2008, fans got the good news that they would finally have access to an EP that Playdough had previously recorded in Australia, that was only available in Australia until that point. With the cuts from Australia's own DJ Flagrant, the Goodonya EP brings somewhat of a down under sound, while not being too entirely different from the sounds that you're used to from one of your favorite emcees.

Part of why the sound still has a familiar ring to it is that, though the cuts are by Flagrant, all the production was done by names the average Playdough fan might recognize a little more: Harry Krum (Playdough's regular producer), Sean P. (fellow hip hop artist) and Freddie Bruno (co-Deepspace 5 member, who did five of the seven tracks on this EP).

Starting us off is "Move A Little," whose beat bears a slight resemblance to Don't Drink The Water's "Huh!" It's a signature Playdough track, though it gets kinda repetitive, especially with the several repeats of it at the end. Then, of course, what hip hop album would be complete without an appearance from Pigeon John? Certainly not the Goodonya EP. "Drinks On Me" brings him in for a song that, from what I gather in the hook, is about hospitality, or something to that effect. It's also nice that he brings Jesus to the message in the last verse. The next track, "Oh!riginal," was actually a freebie download given out by 7Spin Records if you bought a physical copy of Don't Drink The Water. Though Playdough playfully raps a lot about how talented he is in the hip hop area (this song included), "Oh!riginal" also shows his true, humble side too.

"Down With The Man" is next, getting started flawlessly in the first verse. It seemed surprisingly short, as it felt like it was practically over right after it started. It makes way for "Wait Here," where the hip-hopper is as outspoken as ever, "I know that I do dumb things, but some things that I got make one decision pivotal, critical, gotta keep it from the hypocritical, cynical, night when I'm worried what the next man thinks, I'm living my own through black ink that was written down in the New Testament...I wanna realize and live it out, why I was sent." The topic of the song as a whole is change: "I want you different than you came here." "Singing Nun" sounds like a track that you could've possibly heard on Playdough's solo debut, Lonely Superstar, but still with enough new school Playdough to probably not fit on that album. And then Goodonya is topped off with guest appearances by Con Safos and Nill Void on the song "Rick Cua," both of whom have deeper voices than the main attraction.

Those who bought Don't Drink The Water when it released were treated a beautiful hip hop album. And certainly those who bought it on or around release day have since been waiting a long, long time for the next chapter in the Playdough saga to come out. Well, I haven't heard anything yet about a new full-length, but the Goodonya EP is certainly worth the money, and it's a great way to tide yourself over if you simply cannot stand waiting any longer for new music from this man. You can get it through his MySpace, so if you're jonesin' for it, what are you waiting for? You won't be disappointed.

- Review date: 1/13/09, written by Scott Fryberger