*** Sir Mix-A-Lot, “Return of the Bumpasaurus,”...

*** Sir Mix-A-Lot, “Return of the Bumpasaurus,” American Recordings. For many hip-hop fans, Sir Mix-A-Lot’s music is a guilty pleasure--everyone’s listened once or twice, but no one will readily fess up.

Maybe it’s his country twang or the wide-brimmed fur hat, but many rap fans will be hard-pressed to associate themselves with Mix’s low-bottomed, grits-and-gravy brand of simple rhymes and flatulent funk.

But play his Grammy-winning paean to the ample derriere, “Baby Got Back,” and watch heads nod and the dance floor light up. There’s just something so humorous and so irresistible about his music, it’s hard to deny. “Return of the Bumpasaurus” is chock-full of the high beat-per-minute jams and molasses-thick grooves that made the self-proclaimed “J.R. Ewing” of the Seattle rap scene a multimillionaire in the first place. The booty-shakin’ dance anthem “Bark Like You Want It,” the funkdafied “Bumpasaurus” and the declarative “Aunt Thomasina” (about female entertainers who change their natural looks and attitude to chase the crossover dollar) make “Return” a worthwhile listen.

Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).