Andrew E. Greatest Hits: The Very Best of Wholesome

After an absence from the Philippine music scene, rapper Andrew E. returned in 1999 to score massive commercial success with Wholesome, his first album for Sony Music Entertainment Philippines. The album's contents, however, were the opposite of wholesome, as the songs were centered on double entendre of a sexual nature, and also contained some straightforward raunchiness. 2000's Much More Wholesome was also successful, after which Andrew E. left the label and returned to local independent Viva Records, for which he had recorded a number of albums years earlier. Hence, the appearance of Andrew E. Greatest Hits: The Very Best of Wholesome. As noted earlier, many songs are saturated with double entendre, including "Rubber Dickey," which tells how much fun a girl can have with a "rubber dickey," so much fun that she won't need her boyfriend anymore. Andrew E. had one of 1999's biggest hits with "Banyo Queen" (Queen of the Bathroom), about a guy and a girl who go to a hotel room. The song samples from Ben E. King's "Stand By Me." On "Ang Bastos Daw" (Very Disgusting), from Much More Wholesome, Andrew E. answers his critics who complain of his raunchiness that the "dirtiness" is only in their minds, as the lyrics themselves are not explicit. This explanation, however, is weak, as most anyone would think his songs are dirty, and he neglects to mention the songs that are out-and-out raunchy, such as "Malupit" (Cruel), also included here. The songs on Much More Wholesome did not contain nearly as much double entendre as did Wholesome, and perhaps he toned down the contents in response to all the criticism.