Time Is Illmatic

After releasing two mediocre albums, The Leaders of the New School decided to call it quits and go their separate ways in 1994. At the tail end of the LONS run, Busta Rhymes started to emerge as the breakout star of the group (rumor has it that his rising stardom was causing conflict in the group and had a lot to do with why LONS broke up), which was jump started by his hyper-energetic cameo on A Tribe Called Quest’s classic LONS collab record, “Scenario” (I could use my Tribe Degrees of Separation here, but I’ll get it in a little later in this write-up). That memorable performance would be the beginning of Busta becoming, arguably, the biggest cameo whore in hip-hop history, and more importantly, lead to the start of his solo career, as he would release his debut solo album, The Coming in 1996 on Elektra Records.

Like Pac’s All Eyez On Me, The Coming was also a highly anticipated blockbuster level release. Busta would call on the likes of DJ Scratch, Easy Moe Bee, Q-Tip and J-Dilla to sonically shape the album and call on a few of his family and friends to contribute cameos to the album as well. The Coming received positive reviews from critics and became a commercial success in , earning Busta his first gold plaque that would turn platinum a few years later.

It’s been years since I listened to The Coming, so let’s see if it lives up to the blockbuster hype it originally came with.

The Coming (Intro) – The album opens with eerie chords playing softly as Lord Have Mercy, who has a great storytelling voice, gives a quick Busta Rhymes bio (I wonder why he chose to omit the year he was born) and shares Busta’s overall mission in this here rap game: “To bring the ruckus to all you muthafuckas!” This portion of the “Intro” is followed by epic movie like music and Rampage screaming as he hypes up Busta and the album. The music switches yet again, to a more subdued mid-tempo backdrop, as Rampage continues to clear the way for Busta, who finally makes his grand entrance and shares a few words once the music ends. Then one final music change takes place, and Busta dedicates this portion to all the “niggas that keep falling” as a clever ODB vocal snippet plays behind him, emulating the sound of a man screaming as he falls from extremely high heights to his death, which I found amusing (yes, my sense of humor is a bit twisted). This concludes the extended and extremely busy “Intro” to The Coming.

Do My Thing – Now that we got all the dramatic opening formalities out of the way, we can get into the music. The first real song of the night features a simple DJ Scratch backdrop and Busta Rhymes on the mic, um, doing his thing. Busta wilds out on this one, threatening to bend wack emcees frames like plexiglass, go “King-Kong on niggas like guerrilla monsoon,” and my personal favorite threat: “I will endanger your species like an ostrich, hold you hostage, and crazy feed you swine sausage.” Were ostriches really considered endangered species in 1996? Regardless, it makes for an hi-larious bar. After the epic intro I was expecting Busta to follow it up with a track with a little more energy, but he gives the record a jolt with his vibrant voice and animated flow. If you’re listening to The Coming on tape, vinyl or cd, this track ends with a short interlude that finds Busta whipping (when I say whipping, I mean literally with a whip) the dog shit out a dude for: 1. Talking shit. 2. Biting muthafuckin’ rhymes. 3. Fakin’ jacks. And 4. Frontin’ on his crew. For one reason or another, this skit was removed from the DSP versions of The Coming. But if you are streaming the album, fret not, you’re not missing much.

Everything Remains Raw – Now this is the record Busta should have followed up his epic intro with. Easy Moe Bee gets his first of two production credits with this aggressively raw backdrop that Busta matches in energy every step of the way. A lot of the bars that Busta spits on this track were previously used on his Funkmaster Flex 60 Minutes Of Funk Mixtape freestyle, but they still entertain, along with Moe Bee’s tasty instrumental. And remember: “There’s only 5 years left!” Oh wait…this was released over twenty-five years ago. The math just doesn’t add up.

Abandon Ship – Busta keeps the good times rollin’ and the energy high, as he’s joined by his cousin Rampage. The duo pass the mic, and the Red Bull, back and forth, dismantling the frantic Busta-produced instrumental with controlled hysteria and strong bars. Other than the slight mishap with the stuttering drum beat during Rampage’s second go, and the three Rampage censored lines, this was an incredible rollercoaster ride of a record.

Woo Hah! Got You All In Check – This track starts with (or the last track ends with) the original record playing that Busta and Rashad Smith would build the loony monster of an instrumental around for the album’s lead single. Busta builds the hook around a line from an old Sugar Hill Gang song (“8th Wonder”) and floods his verses with complete lunacy and insanity, but still delivers humorously solid bars as he destroys the track like Godzilla. This is an undisputed classic record that sounds just as fun today as it did twenty-five plus years ago.

It’s A Party – This was the second single released from The Coming. Easy Moe Bee conjures up a creamy instrumental, dripping with feel good vibes as Busta and Zhane seek to set the mood for a night full of partying and debauchery. The verses and hook are chock-full of generic lines and cliches, but Zhane’s vocals sound so delicious over Moe Bee’s melodic groove, you’ll overlook that minor shortcoming. The song is followed by Busta spittin’ a quick throw away verse (most of the verse is Busta adlibbing) over a semi-decent beat. This verse was also removed from the DSP versions of The Coming, which I’m sure had everything to due with Busta’s multiple shoutouts of Saddam Hussein, who he refers to as his “nigga.”

Hot Fudge – Now here’s a record that I completely forgot about. Backspin is credited with this dark jazz textured backdrop that finds Busta calming down just enough to sound sinister and slightly scary as he gets his shit off: “Ayo, I’m in this to win this, gets down to handle my business, while I be Busta Rhymes you still be…whoever your NAME IS! In my past life the world felt my mega blast, now in my present life Imma still BUST YOUR FUCKIN’ ASS!” Busta skatting on the soulfully creepy organ loop on the hook and repeatedly screaming “numerals of funerals everyday” as the song ends are the cherries on top of this hot fudge sundae (*rimshot*). This song is followed by an odd and random skit about a Jamaican woman getting sixty-eight from some naive chump with no intentions of paying him back the one she owes him.

Ill Vibe – Busta invites his Native Tongue bredrin, Q-Tip to join him on this duet (Tribe Degrees of Separation: check) as they each get off a verse over a spaciously quirky but irresistible instrumental (credited to Q-Tip under The Ummah umbrella, which was the production collective of Q-Tip, Jay-Dee and Ali Shaheed Muhammad). Busta spits a wild tale about “getting caught up in them freaky gold digger jamborees,” while Tip keeps it cerebral and drops off a few gems and plenty of food for thought. The duo’s verses couldn’t contrast more yet mesh well and sound great together over the mellow backdrop.

Flipmode Squad Meets Def Squad – In this corner representing the Def Squad, we have Jamal, Redman, and Keith Murray. And representing the Flipmode Squad: Rampage, Lord Have Mercy (I wonder what happened to him), and Busta Rhymes. Backspin provides a gully backdrop as all six emcees square up with no hooks or gimmicks and represent for their respective crews. I know it’s not a battle, but everything in hip-hop is a battle, and I’m easily giving this one to the Def Squad. Who you got? Hit me in the comments.

Still Shining – J-Dilla (on behalf of The Ummah) serves up an airy melodic canvas that Busta dedicates to all his “baby dragons” biting his style. Wait. If Busta has baby dragons, does that make Daenerys Stormborn his baby mama? If so, not a bad choice to procreate with, but I digress. Dilla’s instrumental sounds a little empty, but the more I listen to it, the more it grows on me.

Keep It Movin’ – It’s only right that Busta reaches back and gives his Leaders Of The New School brothers a chance to shine. Dilla gets his second and last production credit of the evening, sliding LONS a dark and rugged instrumental to reunite and rhyme over. The record is decent, but also a clear reminder of why LONS was always my least favorite group in The Native Tongue collective. This one ends with a skit to set up the next song…

The Finish Line – Busta uses Scratch’s bluesy bop to talk about a shiesty brother’s trife ways, which he explains will soon lead to his demise. It’s not the strongest song of the night, but it does show a more serious side to our host.

The End Of The World (Outro) – Busta brings back one of the beats from the “Intro” and uses it to show gratitude to his supporting fans and offers up a few parting words about using your time wisely. This is followed by a short skit of a man, who’s apparently on his death bed full of regret for not using his time wisely and accomplishing all things he wanted out of life. Then, in true dramatic movie fashion, the man slips into death, travels through the “dark tunnel” where he meets Judgment Day-like trumpets, Then, a portion of the medieval classic “O Fortuna” plays, while a distorted devilish voice laughs, suggesting that the regretful man went to hell. This was a super dark ending to what was mostly a light-hearted listen.

The Coming doesn’t live up to the epic intro and outro that its songs are sandwiched in between, which honestly, would be nearly impossible to do. But it does successfully accomplish the goal Lord Have Mercy mentions in the intro, and that is to “Bring the ruckus to all you muthafuckas!!”

Busta, who possess one of hip-hop’s greatest voices, grabs the listener’s attention from the jump and holds it throughout The Coming. He spazzes on every track, clowning around on some court jester shit, but just as quickly can get on some real emcee shit, impressing with his versatile flow and quality bars. The handful of producers involved on the production end of the album provide a sonically solid palette to support Busta’s “knucklehead flows,” as he either matches their energy or easily outshines them, making them sound doper than they really are.

The Coming does come with a few scratches and dents, but overall, it’s an entertaining debut solo album from one of hip-hop’s most animated and colorful voices. I don’t know if I would call The Coming a classic, but I wouldn’t argue with you if you do.

-Deedub

Through the years, Brooklyn, New York has produced a slew of incredible emcees: Special Ed, Big Daddy Kane, Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z, AZ, Jeru Da Damaja, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Fabolous, Sean Price, and that’s just scratching the surface. All the names mentioned above were able to establish themselves in the game and cement their own legacies to varying degrees, but there were others that represented BK for only a moment, never fully able to lay a solid foundation and became mere footnotes in the annals of hip-hop. Like the subject of today’s post.

Damon Smith, better known to the world as Smoothe Da Hustler, came on the scene in the mid-nineties and got his first break when he hit the road with Biggie on his 1994 Ready To Die tour. Smoothe didn’t have a deal at the time, but the tour gave him exposure to a much wider audience than he had prior. He would continue to work independently, eventually hooking up with fellow Brownsville native and producer, D/R Period (known for his work with M.O.P. and being the maestro behind their monster record “Ante Up”) and recording tracks, including the hood classic, “Broken Language”, which would earn a spot on the once coveted Hip-Hop Quotable column in The Source. The Source plug and the regional buzz that “Broken Language” created caused the labels to come swarming and soon Smoothe would sign to Profile, where he would release his debut album, Once Upon A Time In America.

D/R Period would produce all but one of the album’s tracks, and though the project wasn’t a huge commercial success, it did receive positive reviews from the critics. Smoothe would eventually leave Profile and sign with Def Jam, where he would record a song for The Nutty Professor Soundtrack (“My Crew Can’t Go For That”) and pen songs for the likes of Public Enemy and Foxy Brown, but he would never release a proper follow-up to Once Upon A Time In America (he did release Violenttimes Day on his independent label, SMG Records in 2008, but a twelve-year hiatus doesn’t count as a proper follow up).

I didn’t listen to or buy Once Upon A Time In America when it came out in ‘96, but I stumbled upon a copy in the used cd bins for a dollar and bought it on the strength of “Broken Language”. So even if the rest of the album is trash, I’ll still get my money’s worth.

Once Upon A Time… – The album opens with cinematic music playing to set the scene for a horrible audio quality skit that’s supposed to play as a movie, introducing the listener to a young nappy headed Smoothe and how he was introduced to the drug game.

Fuck Watcha Heard – The song begins with a blaring horn loop and a few words from Smoothe’s younger brother, Trigger Tha Gambler, whose also responsible for reciting the song’s hook. D/R Period brings in a dusty piano loop that sounds like it’s getting bullied by the grimy bass line, but they both work well underneath Smoothe’s raspy voice and Brownsville thuggery. The track ends with a short snippet to set up the next song (FYI: All the album’s skits sound like they were recorded on a cheap old school tape recorder, so naturally, they sound terrible).

Dollar Bill – Smoothe invites D.V. Alias Christ (who’s alias might be an early contender for worst alias of the year) to join him on the mic, as the two take turns imagining life without the dollar bill. D.V. mixes his verses with singing and rhyming (he also sings the hook), while Smoothe sticks to a traditional rhyming pattern and comes off like a semi-automatic, leaving the track full of holes. D/R backs the duo’s bars with a hard boom bap backdrop built around a loop (or interpolation) from Isaac Hayes’ “Walk On By”. Neither Smoothe or D.V. due a great job of staying on task and answering the question posed on the hook, but this still ends up being an entertaining listen with D/R’s bangin’ instrumental shining the brightest.

Glocks On Cock – This is the only track on Once Upon A Time that D/R Period is not credited with producing. Instead, Kenny Gee (not to be confused with the jazz saxophonist) serves up a gully instrumental that Smoothe uses to shoot niggas, sell drugs and talk his emcee shit over. Smoothe, whose voice is already raspy, reaches new levels of gravelly on this record, to the point I felt sorry for his esophagus and wanted to drink a glass of water on his behalf. The energy of the instrumental had me waiting for M.O.P. to pop up with a cameo, but the record is still decent despite their absence.

Broken Language – This is the grimy New York classic that will forever define Smoothe Da Hustler’s rap career. D/R creates a dark scrunch-face inducing backdrop, punctuated with a menacing bass line, that Smoothe and Trigger use to pass the mic back and forth like a hot potato, as they take turns listing all of the different occupations, roles and hats that they wear, which includes some pretty interesting, and uncomfortable to hear, titles (i.e., “the white girl gang banger, the Virgin Mary fucker, the Jesus hanger”). Brilliant record that sounds just as amazing today as it as it did when it first came out.

Speak My Peace – Smoothe shares a few words over dirge like chords before the next song comes in…

Neva Die Alone – Our host takes a stroll down memory lane, recalling the circumstances that made him turn to hustling in the streets, before using the final verse to focus on his new career as a rapper. D/R temporarily abandons his gutter boom-bap and cooks up a synthy jazzed-up bop that I thoroughly enjoyed. The track ends with a skit to set up the next song.

Food For Thoughts – Smoothe uses this cloudy and blunted backdrop to ask a series of rhetorical questions on the first two verses, then lists all the things he doesn’t want taken from him on the song’s final verse. Not a bad record, but Jadakiss’ “Why?” and Common and Mos Def’s “The Questions” we’re much better executed records with the same concept.

Family Conflicts – This short skit finds a hardheaded Smoothe getting some valuable advice from his mom, while Shirley Murdock’s classic “As We Lay” plays in the background. This bleeds into the next song…

Only Human – D/R takes another break away from his grimy soundscapes and offers up a tender groove that Smoothe uses to boast and reflect on his past decisions. Kovon comes through to sprinkle his soft vocals on the hook, putting the finishing touches on an obvious attempt at a crossover hit. The attempt might not have went as planned, but I still enjoyed the record.

Hustler’s Theme – D/R interpolates Curtis Mayfield’s “Freddie’s Dead” for the backdrop and gives it a bit of a rock feel, while Kovon returns and does his best Curtis Mayfield impersonation on the hook. Smoothe matches the instrumental’s high energy, completely spazzing out, and spits a “ki flipping” bar that reminded me of Foxy Brown’s miscalculated “ki cut and flip “verse from Nas’ Affirmative Action” on It Was Written (considering Smoothe was ghostwriting for Foxy around this time, it’s very possible that he penned her “ki cut and flip” bar as well). Speaking of ki’s, this was dope.

Murdafest – Mediocre filler.

Hustlin’ – I know “Hustler” is part of Smoothe’s alias, but do we really need a song called “Hustler’s Theme” and “Hustlin’” that both lyrically cover the same ground on the same album? Of course not, but the instrumental was pretty cool.

My Brother My Ace – Trigger returns for this one, as he and Smoothe tag team the mic one last time for the evening. The song title is corny, and the beat is bland, but I love Smoothe and Trigger’s chemistry on this one. I would have loved to hear a collab album from the Brothers Smith.

Dedication – Smoothe dedicates the first two verses of this song to all his haters and naysayers and then uses the final verse to pay respect to some of his peers and O.G.’s. D/R flips a S.O.S. Band record to create the smooth (no pun intended) instrumental that our host, tenaciously, picks apart with ease. Nice way to close out the evening.

After my first few listens to Once Upon A Time In America, I wasn’t crazy about the album. But after a few more listens it started to grow on me, and then a few more spins and I started to respect Smoothe Da Hustler’s emcee ability, and his gritty vocal tone begin to sound nice paired with D/R Period’s gutter brand of boom-bap. Smoothe’s content is redundant, a few of the instrumentals are lackluster and the lo-fi interludes do a poor job of tying the album’s flimsy theme together, but it’s still a solid debut from a competent emcee who unfortunately, never got a fair chance to prove himself in this genre we call hip-hop.

-Deedub

Wise Intelligent is one of those underrated emcees who never makes your underrated emcee list. As the lead emcee and voice of the Trenton, New Jersey-based group, Poor Righteous Teachers, Wise’s rapid-fire flow was a key component behind four PRT albums (the last of which we’ll tackle in the very near future, and the other three you can read my thoughts on by clicking here, here and here), moderate commercial success and one of the greatest, and unsung, hip-hop songs of all-time in “Rock Dis Funky Joint”. Even with him being the main voice of PRT, Wise felt the need to branch off from the group for a dolo mission, as he would release his debut solo album, Killin’ U…For Fun in 1996.

Wise would call on long-time PRT collaborator, Tony D (rip) to handle most of Killin’ U’s production, while a few lesser-known names (6-19 and Abscure) would handle the rest. Apparently, there are two different album covers for Killin’ U. The cd copy that I own has the artwork that you see above, but the alternate cover is an old picture of a bunch of white men casually gathered around to watch a black body burn at the stake like it’s a football game on a Sunday afternoon; it makes for a much more chilling image than the angry Wise Intellegent in a wife-beater with locks and nappy edges that you see above. In the liner notes for Killin’ U, Wise gets super detailed with his shoutouts, listing a whole slew of rappers, crews, deejays and producers, and sometimes doubling up on his shoutouts (for instance, he shouts out Wu-Tang Clan and The Geto Boys, only later to list their names individually as well). But most importantly, A Tribe Called Quest gets a shoutout, so I can check off Tribe Degrees of Separation for yet another post.

Killin’ U would go completely under the radar without receiving any real fanfare or praise. I didn’t even know the album existed to well over a decade after it was released, when I found it staring at me from the used cd bins at a local record store around my way. This review will by first time experiencing Killin’ U, so hopefully, it’s fun *rimshot*.

My Sound – Killin’ U begins with a snippet of a women asking a white man if he’s afraid of black men, and his response is quite intriguing. Then an eerie bass line and horn loop play for a few measures before morphing into cool drums (I love the drum breakdown that comes in every eight bars) accompanied by a few smooth piano chords. Wise comes in harmonizing, as he boasts and brags about his fresh style, proclaiming that he’s “at the top of top ten” and “the wrong nigga to fuck with “on the mic. This opening track was a convincing testament to his ballsy claims. The song concludes with a clip taken from the 1975 movie, Mandingo, setting up the next song.

Shitty Inna City – Tony D builds this backdrop around the same piano loop Buckwild used for O.C.’s “Word…Life”, but while Buckwild’s flip of the loop sounded inspirational, Tony D’s has a somber quality to it. Wise uses the sad but pretty instrumental to discuss the state of affairs in the hood, rapping, singing and chanting his way through it (he also gets vulnerable and shares: “Fo’ albums out and still po’, just thought I’d let you know, not to ask me for shit”). The laidback jazzy sound that Wise has started the evening with was not what I expected to hear, but I’m damn sure enjoying it.

I’ll Never Kill Again – Now this is more like what I expected to hear going into Killin’ U. Someone going by the alias of 6-19, hooks up a rough reggae-flavored backdrop with a bangin’ bass line, and Wise sounds comfy and cozy as he seamlessly weaves in and out of standard rhyming patterns and chanting. Despite the song title, he completely murders this shit. I’m still trying to figure out if the Foxy Brown that rhymes on the second verse is the same Foxy Brown from Brooklyn that would soon emerge as part of Nas’ Firm clique, as the squeaky-voiced guest on this song sounds nothing like the husky-voiced Ill Na Na that we would come to know (If you know, hit me in the comments). Regardless, this song was fire, and shoutout to Wham!

Freestyle (A Conscious Lyric) – 6-19 gets his second consecutive and final production credit of the night, as he provides a funky bop for Wise to jump on and carve up with a mixture of sharp conscious bars and a little shit talk: “Swine ya feedin’, your children out there trick or treatin’, worshiping demons, following these Europeans, Christmas Treein’, Easter bunny basket weavin’, you Thanksgiving, the slaughter of the Indians, you ain’t seein’, the god within’ my state of being, and the dead spirits, the reason why you ain’t seein’”. Wise’s flow on this one reminds me of Treach’s, which made me curious if the two New Jersey emcees have ever worked together. I would definitely like to hear that collab.

Steady Slangin’ – Tony D continues to bless Wise with heat. This time he serves up a warm and buttery jazz-seasoned instrumental that Wise uses to slang his potent bars and entertaining flow for all hip-hop heads to get high on. Speaking of high, this was dope.

Black Juice – Wise slings his black juice all over this track (get your minds out the gutter, people), taking on wack emcees and White-owned companies that don’t appreciate the black dollar, like Timberland and Ralph Lauren. Tony D provides yet another dope jazzy instrumental that helps Wise’s black pride rhymes jump off the paper.

Name Brand Gunn – If you’re listening to Killin’ U on Apple Music, this song is hilariously titled, “Name Brand Gum”. But instead of rapping about Trident, Orbit or Wrigley’s, Wise goes into one of his dancehall-type chants to deliver this message about the hood’s obsession with guns and the government’s plot to keep the guns in black hands across America in hopes of successful black genocide. I appreciate Wise’s content, but a name brand beat would have helped it shine more than the generic one that Tony D provides for this record.

TV Shoom Pang – Am I hearing things or did Wise really start this song off by saying “Let me get my sniff on”? WTF? Maybe it’s slang for something else other than what I know it to be slang for, but I digress. Abscure drops a slow-rolling backdrop built around drunken piano chords, as Wise raps with a bit of a chip on his shoulder, effectively changing his flow up as often as a newborn’s diaper, killing emcees (seventeen on the first verse) and specifically calling out “three overrated emcees” (“two from New York, one deh pon Cali.” Hit me in the comments if you know who these “three overrated emcees” are that he’s referring to). I have no idea what “TV Shoom Pang” means, but I still enjoyed the song.

So Low – Wise talks more of his sophisticated black militant shit over Tony D’s pimp-stroll inducing instrumental that’s driven by a dense and lively bass line and a dope ODB sample on the hook. That’s all I got.

Rastafarian Girl – Our host uses this slightly drowsy (in a good way) instrumental to share his findings of the perfect black goddess: “She had the almond-shaped eyes, crescent fingernail tips, Ethiopian nose, sweet Israelite lips, her hair was locked, hundred percent pure wool, black as a raven and smelled like berry oil, the breastsess were like the ripest melons, and cold black nipples are highly suckable…strong thighs, ass I like, see, I know she rode a bike”. But not only does this goddess have a bangin’ body, she’s also conscious, cooks, reads books and listens to Bob Marley. I’m sold. This was nice, and I would love to see a video for this song; just so I could see the exquisite female specimen that Wise describes in the flesh. This song is followed by a quick snippet that sets up the next song.

Kingpins – Tony D slides Wise a serious and soulful groove that our host uses to discuss a small time drug dealer’s quest to become rich and puts the street hustler’s tiny fish operation into perspective compared to the big fish with the power who swim confidently in the enormous ocean of illegal drug trade that Wise alleges, includes members of the U.S. government (Wise refers to Bill Clinton as “King Clinton” on the hook, pointing to him as a major player in the illegal drug game), which in my opinion, isn’t farfetched. Well thought out content and a great instrumental to back it.

Send Fe Me Gunn – Instead of making “Kingpins” the pretty bow to nicely wrap up Killin’ U with, Wise rhymes aimlessly over a boring and sluggish instrumental, as he and an uncredited guest talk their hood shit, which culminates into the most gangsta song you’ll ever get from Wise, but easily the worst song on the album.

To be completely honest, after looking at the cover of Killin’ U… 4 Fun, I was a little concerned with what the music would sound like. It’s not the worst artwork that I’ve ever seen on an album, but something about the font-style of the lettering and the odd camera angle of the black and white pic of Wise Intelligent has a cheesy feel to it. Killin’ U is proof that you can’t judge a book by its cover, as Wise puts together an overall entertaining listen, balancing substance and shit talk, all placed over a tasty batch of beats. Tony D leads the charge on the production end, graciously blessing our host with dope jazz-textured instrumentals that we probably would never hear Wise rock over under the Poor Righteous Teachers banner, and his flow gives new meaning to the phrase stream of consciousness. Wise also places well-picked vocal snippets in between songs that provide food for thought and nicely tie the album all together. You’ll probably never hear Killin’ U labeled as a classic, but it’s a hidden gem that I’m glad to have discovered.

-Deedub

The last and first time we heard from The Conscious Daughters was in 1993 with their debut album, Ear To The Street. The album produced a couple of mild hood hits, and there were a few songs that I enjoyed, but overall, the Oakland-based duo’s gangsta persona felt ingenuine and Paris’ beats didn’t cut it. Nevertheless, CMG and Special One would return in 1996 with their second release, Gamers.

For Gamers, Paris would only produce half of the album for his protégés, letting a few outside parties handle the other portion. Gamers received decent reviews upon its release and would climb to twenty-nine on the Billboards Top R&B/Hip-Hop Charts, before disappearing as quickly as the midnight train to Georgia. I have no idea what that means or why I said it, but shoutout to Gladys Knight and her Pips.

I wasn’t checking for TCD when they came out back in the nineties, and honestly, I’m not sure what moved me to buy Ear To The Street and later, Gamers, well over a decade after both albums were released. Blame it on the collector that dwells inside of me and torments my soul. This is my first time listening to Gamers since I bought it, so hopefully it fairs better than its predecessor.

Strikin’ – TCD starts off the night with a lively synth-heavy west coast bop that CMG and Special One use to celebrate the art of strikin’, which I learned from listening to this song is slang for driving your whip obnoxiously reckless. Nate Fox’s funky backdrop fits the bill and will definitely make you want to go wreck your shit while swervin’ to this heat.

Gamers – This title track was also the lead single from the album. Mike Mosley (with a co-credit going to Sam Bostic) slides our hostesses a mildly funky mid-tempo groove that they use to boast about their quest to get money by any means necessary. I wasn’t crazy about this one after the first few listens, but it grows on you over time. The song ends with fellow Oakland native and comedian, Luenell, doing a bit about men from the “NFL”, and her voice sounds ten thousand cigarettes less raspy than it sounds today.

You Want Me – Paris gets his first production credit of the night, as he hooks up a low-key seductive track and TCD try their hand in what we’ll refer to as exotic dance rap. I’m so used to hearing them spit thug raps that it caught me off guard to hear them give up raunchy bars like this, but I was sold the second I heard Special One say she’s “rollin’ down the strip, rubbin’ on that nigga dick”. Immediately, CMG’s thick frame on the album cover started to look a whole lot more appealing. I do have a question, though: how do talk this freaky on a song and then claim you don’t give head on the hook? Sixty-eight and you be owin’, my ass!

All Caught Up – TCD follows up their x-rated exploits on the previous track with this gangsta PSA on AIDS (which includes, what sounds like, Special One taking a shot at Eazy-E with her line “Nah, it couldn’t happen to me, you think I’m easy, hell, I know my shit is ruthless, but damn, I only fuck with men”; which might have been a little too soon, considering he died just over a year prior). Paris provides a hard funk instrumental, laced with a trunk rattling bass line to complement the ladies’ potent message.

She’s So Tight – Our hostesses use this one to talk their shit and challenge any female emcee in the game that isn’t from Oakland. CMG keeps her targets general, while Special One takes a coded shot at Boss (“You broke hungry hoe must you bite on me? Put your own shit together for your own recipe”, which is clearly referencing Boss’ song “Recipe Of A Hoe”) and Prince’s former protege, Vanity (rip), who gave up music to become an evangelist in the nineties, even catches a semi-stray (for some reason SO’s line “Maybe I should get saved like that bitch Vanity”, makes me chuckle every time I hear it). I wasn’t crazy about the generic talk box chorus or the cheesy Casio keyboardish instrumental, but TCD manages to keep the song interesting with their rhymes.

It Don’t Stop – TCD invites Bay Area rappers, Shuga Babydoll, Mystic and Suga-T to join them on the mic for this all-female posse record. Tone Capone lays down a slick instrumental for the ladies, who all give, at minimum, serviceable performances, while Lil Kristen tries her best to bring the whole song to a complete stop (pun intended) with her horrendous singing on the hook, but to no avail.

Female Vocalism – Someone simply credited as Rose hooks up some funky smooth shit for CMG and Special One to continue to talk their shit and spew their thug raps over, or as the song title and hook state: spit that “Playa female vocalism straight from the Bay.” This was dope.

Da Mack Shit – Paris serves up a hard-fried west coast banger, as the self-proclaimed “sucka-free Thelma and Louise” floss, smoke, thug and shoot-up the entire track; and of course, Special One makes sure to sneak in another subliminal, this time taking aim at Da Brat (“I crack, any rat-ta-tat-tat trick coming wack”). TCD sounds great matched with this intense backdrop, and they demolish this shit like a wrecking ball.

Who Got Da Mic – The ladies bring the energy way down with this one. After a wack emcee named B-Fad G embarrasses himself with a few horrible bars, CMG and Special One jump on the mic and rock the chilled-out instrumental the right way. It’s not as epic as the previous song, but it’s still decent.

TCD Fo’ Life (West Coast Bomb) – Speaking of epic: Paris concocts a pounding west coast monster (if the Dr. Dre produced instrumentals for “Serial Killa” and “Natural Born Killaz” had a baby, this is what it would sound like) that TCD lasso with ease and completely rip to shreds, and according to Special One, new assholes for weak muthafuckas as well. The menacing music paired with TCD’s fervent bars forced me to throw up the dubs, c-walk and hit switches in my six-fo’, even though I don’t have one. This is “Da Mack Shit” on steroids. Easily the best record on Gamers.

Come Smooth, Come Rude – This is clearly filler material. But I did enjoy the catchy hook, credited to a Sandy Griffith, no relation to Andy.

Widow – This kind of works as the sequel to Ear To The Street’s “Wife Of A Gangsta”. CMG and Special One play the roles of wives who’ve lost their streetwise drug-dealing husbands to the game and are now out to avenge their deaths and make some paper while they’re at it. Paris’ instrumental was cool, but the storyline isn’t nearly as interesting as it reads.

So Good – More brags, boasts and thuggery from our hostesses, served over a pretty synth-funk groove. This is followed by a Luenell skit that sets up the final song of the night.

All Star Freestyle – TCD closes out the night with a Bay Area cipher session, as CMG and Special One invite a slew of their friends (including Mystic, Money B, Clee, Saafir and Mac Mall, just to name a few) to jump on the mic and get off a few freestyle bars. Unfortunately, the instrumental is garbage, none of the participants spit fire, and I’m still trying to figure out who the all-stars are that TCD references in the song title.

Oh, what a difference three years makes. On Ear To The Street, TCD sounded like Boss wannabee studio gangsters trying to find their footing. On Gamers the ladies stick with their gangsta mannerisms, and while I’m still not convinced that they walk what they talk, they deliver their content with a confidence and swag that makes them hard not to like. The production on Gamers is also much improved, as Paris maestros a few absolute bangers, and he and the other handful of producers give the album an overall consistent and quality G-Funk sound. Gamers is not without flaws (“All-Star Freestyle” is a glaring one) and far from a classic, but there are enough solid to great moments to make the album an entertaining listen. I’m still confused on how they arrived at the group name, though.

-Deedub

If you’re not familiar with or a fan of Christian hip-hop (often referred to as holy hip-hop or HHH), you’ve probably never heard of Peace 586. But if you’re a dedicated reader of this blog, you might remember his name being mentioned as one-half of the duo, Freedom of Soul, who released two albums under the group name (see my reviews on Caught In A Land Of Time and The 2nd Comin’). Peace 586, along with his Freedom of Soul partner, DJ Cartoon, helped pioneer the HHH sub-genre that begin to emerge in the late eighties, and would eventually lay the foundation for artists like Andy Mineo and Lecrae to experience commercial success in today’s industry. For one reason or another, Peace decided it was time to…peace out of FOS and would release he solo debut, The Risen Son in 1996.

Per the album’s liner notes, Peace named the album The Risen Son because: “Reality is, The Risen Son (aka Jesus Christ), who made it possible for me to rise out of sin and be a risen son.” Peace would produce all ten of the album’s ten tracks (that he also refers to as his kids in the liner notes) and DJ Cartoon is credited for “All turn table expertise”, so at least we know there was no beef between Peace and Cartoon after FOS called it quits. Oh, and just in case you were curious, Peace spells out in the liner notes that most of the production for The Risen Son was done on his Akai MPC 60, which you can see him cradling with one hand, while he grips the microphone with the other on the album cover.

I didn’t become familiar with The Risen Son until at least five years after it was released, when I was on a secular hip-hop hiatus. It’s been years since I’ve listened to the album, so let’s see how it’s held up over time. 

Rhimespiritsoul – After a few words from Peace, an acappella vocal loop repeating the song title is brought in and is quickly joined by clunky drums and a bell loop to form the track’s instrumental (our host brings in warm beautifully sorrowful vibes on the hook, which is my favorite part of the song). Peace eventually jumps into the mid-tempo Double Dutch ropes and rhymes about his love for God, hip-hop and gets introspective about his own struggles and pain. Normally, I like the opening track of my hip-hop albums to come with more energy, but this somber introduction actually worked. You can add this one to your midnight marauders mix.

Risen Son – Peace proclaims himself as “That risen son nigga” (In 1996, a Christian rapper using “nigga” in a rhyme was equivalent to saying “muthafucka” to the ears of a modern day pharisee) and invites half of the duo that makes up LPG, Jurny Big, to join him on the mic, as the two take turns talkin’ holy shit in Jesus’ name. Jurny raps circles around his host, as he delivers his rhymes with swag and confidence in his twangy slightly whiny vocal tone. Peace should have stepped aside and let Jurny feast on this one by himself.

Listen – Peace hooks up a melodic and misty loop with steady drums and lets his thoughts flow freely over the course of three verses, while a Common vocal loop instructs the listener to “cool out and listen”. Peace’s instrumental lives up to his alias, as this track left me feeling tranquil.

Lessons Of Worship – Our host stands firmly on his soapbox and rhymes a sermon about the difference between work and worship, referencing several biblical stories along the way. While this subject matter might be appealing to bible scholars and bible school students, it doesn’t work well in the form of a hip-hop song for the general public, and the yawn-provoking instrumental only makes matters worse. 

Rain – Peace uses this one to abstractly discuss and share how he copes with the proverbial storms that life brings us all, while the other half of LPG, Theory (aka Dax), adds a woeful hook to drive home Peace’s point. If you close your eyes, you can visualize the nimbostratus clouds moving in as you listen to the somber vibes of the track. Misery loves company and I love being in the company of it when it comes in the form of dark moody music like this.

Learn – Peace lays down a competent mid-tempo bop and gets out of the way for a few of his Tunnel Rats bredrin to shine. Theory, Ralphi, and two other dudes whose voices I don’t recognize, and the liner notes don’t give credit to, spit bars over the course of three verses, while Jurny Big drops in to add a dope hook to complete the record. It’s not “The Symphony”, but it’s still a decent posse cut. 

Step Inside – Peace goes into storytelling mode as he shares a tale about randomly meeting a blinged-out drug dealer named Shaheed, who he invites to a Christian hip-hop show and Shaheed ends up giving his life to Christ in the process. This can’t be a true story, as I find it very hard to believe that a drug dealer would be so trusting that he would give his phone number and home address to a complete stranger to come pick him up to go to rap show of an artist he’s never heard of. Regardless, I like the warm and eerie vibes of the instrumental, even if I wasn’t crazy about the “Top Billin’” drums being used in it. 

Just A Hip-Hop Love Song – Peace is joined by his Tunnel Rats sister, Zane for this hip-hop duet that has arguably the bluntest song title of all-time. Peace raps from the perspective of a hip-hop beat, and Zane from the eyes of an emcee, as the two meet at a club, hit it off and quickly become husband and wife, or as the duo so cleverly puts it: rhythm and rhyme (by the way, I’ve always loved Zane’s rapping voice, and she’s still super fine after all these years). Peace’s laidback jazzy after-hours instrumental works perfectly with this well-executed concept record.

Where I’m At – Peace, sloppily, chops up a loop from MJ’s “I Can’t Help It” and pairs it with a drumbeat that’s too energetic to match it, which results in an awkward sounding instrumental that’s so frustrating to listen to that Peace’s rhymes become an afterthought. I guess you messed up your witnessing opportunity with this one, pal. 

I.D. – This track was clearly inspired by De La Soul’s “I Am I Be” off the Buhloone Mindstate album, as Peace and his Tunnel Rats crew (most of whom have already appeared on this album) introduce themselves and share “what they be” doing. It was kind of odd for Peace to place this as the closing track on his solo album, but we get to hear from the lovely, Zane again, so it’s all good.

I think it’s fair to say that Peace 586 is more of a producer who raps than a rapper who produces, which becomes clear after a few listens to The Risen Son. Peace will never be mistaken for a super lyrical emcee (though he does sound much improved on the mic since his Freedom Of Soul days…which might have something to do with the fact that LPG helped pen his rhymes on this album), but his peacefully somber production work on The Risen Son makes his ordinary rhymes and choppy flow easier to digest. Over the course of ten tracks (which in my opinion is the perfect length for an album), Peace combines melancholic and melodic soul and jazz loops with boom-bap drums, and hits way more often than he misses. At times some of Peace’s work sounds amateurish and extremely rough around the edges, which some might find unappealing, but I enjoyed it, as it gives his musical sound character and authenticity. The Risen Son isn’t for everybody, but this album will always resonate with my soul.

-Deedub

The last time we checked in with the Fugees was in 1994 with their debut album, Blunted On Reality. The album had a few bright moments, but the bulk of it was hot garbage, and I’m sure the Fugees themselves would concur (Wyclef and Pras are actually on record saying, in so many words, that the album was underwhelming). Despite the lukewarm reception and disappointing record sales, Columbia/Ruffhouse would continue to believe in the Fugees, as they would return in 1996 with their sophomore effort, The Score.

Like Blunted, The Fugees would handle most of the production work on The Score (without the assistance of Khalis Bayyan (rip) this time around, but he does receive an “inspiration” credit during the album’s “Outro”) with a couple of special guests contributing instrumentals as well. Thanks largely to a couple of huge singles, The Score would be a commercial success (to date it’s been certified seven times platinum), earning the Hattian threesome the award for Best Rap Album at the 1997 Grammys and it’s widely considered one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all times.

And the church said: Amen.

Red Intro – The first voice you hear is that of the legendary, DJ Red Alert, who gives a brief introduction to welcome the listener to this “feature presentation”. Then, stripped-down drums, accompanied by sorrowful piano chords come in and Ras Baraka (who is now the current mayor of Newark, New Jersey) laments about the plight of the black man in the inner city and the need for a revolution; and he cleverly references a bunch of the album’s song titles while on his soapbox. FYI, The Score is littered with short Ras’s rants, and I don’t plan on mentioning every single one.

How Many Mics – Simple drums, a sneaky sounding sample and a dense plotting bass line make up this instrumental, as a much-improved L-Boogie rhymes first and completely annihilates this laidback bop. Wyclef and Pras do their best to reconstruct the mic that Lauryn just destroyed and manage to turn in decent performances, but the fellas definitely should have warmed things up before the Queen knocked this shit out the park.

Ready Or Not – This was the third single released from The Score. The Fugees build the backdrop around a soothing Enya loop to create a somber atmosphere, and Ms. Lauryn Hill taps an old Delfonics song (of the same song title) for the hook and blesses the track with her warm soulful voice, as our Haitian hosts warn the world of their looming global takeover. Wyclef kicks things off with an interesting abstract verse, followed by L-Boogie, who continues to spew shear brilliance, and Pras wraps things up and manages not to embarrass himself. This is a great record that could be released today and would still sound relevant.

Zealots – Wyclef and ’em loop up The Flamingos’ “I Only Have Eyes For You”, turning what was originally a beautiful love song into a creamy otherworldly battleground that finds Wyclef, amusingly, lamenting the death of his rivals in between verses. Clef rhymes first and turns a bunch of mythology, pop-culture, and science references into some abstract emcee shit talk that I thoroughly enjoyed (He also taught me a new word: cacophonic”; I guarantee you that you’ll never hear another rapper use that word in a rhyme). Lauryn’s up next, as she starts her verse off singing about her lyrical greatness, then she drops sharp bars (including a quick lesson on physics) to prove it. Clef and Pras tag team the last verse, with Clef firing darts at Vibe Magazine for their critical critique of the Blunted album, while Pras chooses to take a shot at Jeru The Damaja (Pras rhymes on his final bar: “No matter who you damage, you’re still a false prophet”, referencing part of Jeru’s moniker and his song “You Can’t Stop The Prophet” from his debut album The Sun Rises In The East. Jeru would fire back on “Black Cowboys” off his second album, Wrath Of The Math (“I heard some emcees wanna bring it, but a female is one of their strongest men, when I step to you, don’t seek refuge”)). I’m not sure what sparked the beef, but ironically, Pras’ voice and cadence resemble Jeru’s, in a much less effective way. This is probably the most eloquent battle record in the history of hip-hop, and I loved every second of it. Definitely one of my favs on the album. A quick Ras Baraka interlude sets up the next song.

The Beast – This one is dedicated to the government officials, crooked cops and media personalities who use their authority to infringe upon the pursuit of justice and liberty for black folks in America. It almost plays like a duet between Wyclef and L-Boogie, as they take turns spitting verses, calling out everybody from Newt Gingrich to Bill Clinton to…Connie Chung? Pras, oddly, appears at the tail end of the song and drops off a quick eight bars that neither add on nor subtract from the song. Is it just me or does it sound like Sticky Fingaz is chanting the hook? Regardless, this is a solid record, and the content is just as relevant today as it was twenty-five years ago. This song is followed by one of the funniest interludes in hip-hop history, which features the comedian, Talent playing a Chinese Restaurant owner who has to serve-up a couple of “bitch ass niggas” who get a little too spicy.

Fu-Gee-La – This was the lead single from The Score. Salaam Remi (who helped create the first real magical Fugees moment with the “Nappy Heads (Remix)” on Blunted On Reality) hooks up an instrumental with mystical vibes and a bending bass line, while Lauryn, once again, blesses the track with her wonderful vocals to form the simple but catchy hook. Each of the trio get off decent verses (with L-Boogie‘s being the most impressive, of course), completing this classic track.

Family Business – Over an emotional and dark backdrop, the Fugees invite Omega and John Forte to join them on the mic, as they all take turns rhyming about the perils of life in the hood and pledge their allegiance to the Familia, and ironically, Pras is completely absent from this family affair. This is about as gangsta as you’ll ever hear the Fugees, and I enjoyed it. The song concludes with the now retired boxer, Shannon Briggs talking big shit, followed by a couple of soundbwoys doing their reggae ting to set up L-Boogie and the next song.

Killing Me Softly – This was the Grammy award-winning second single from The Score and the song that would take Lauryn Hill from dope emcee to superstardom, as she remakes the Roberta Flack classic of the same name. Clef and the team hook-up a simple drumbeat, accompanied by a well-distributed dense and bouncy bass line and the same quirky Rotary Connection guitar loop that A Tribe Called Quest used for “Bonita Applebum” (Tribe Degrees of Separation: Check). Ms. Hill sings from the bottom of her soul and you can feel the pain in her voice as she delivers each heartfelt word; it’s almost as if she’s experienced the heartache that she sings about (*cough Wyclef*). Mary J. Blige might be the Queen of Hip-hop Soul, but this is probably the greatest hip-hop soul song of all time. Yeah, I said it.

The Score – Our hosts follow-up one the biggest pop records of all time with some classic boom-bap shit. Diamond D builds the instrumental around a couple of funky guitar loops and turns it into an infectious groove, as the self-proclaimed “best producer on the mic” joins the Fugees and gets off a verse as well. Naturally, Lauryn spits pure fire, but Clef and Diamond do their thing as well; and Pras…does Pras. This brilliant banger is easily my favorite song on the album. The song is followed by the Talent conceived “Michelle Leslie Brown” skit, which is hilarious.

The Mask – The Fugees dedicate this one to everyone that’s ever had to front or simply fake-it-to-make- it to get through the day. All three of our hosts share interesting storylines (with Clef’s coming wildly out of left field), but the slightly quirky, almost circus like feel of the instrumental is the driving force behind this record. I absolutely love the zany tuba sprinkled throughout the song and the sad trumpet chords brought in at the beginning and end of Pras’ verse.

Cowboys – Clef and the crew conjure up western movie vibes, as the Fugees invite John Forte and the Outsidaz (Pacewon, Young Zee and pre-Flipmode Squad, Rah Digga) to dress up in cowboy hats and boots and partake in a lyrical shootout at the O.K. Corral. Clef is paired with Pacewon (who’s line, “I pull out my gun and plug two like Trugoy” makes me chuckle every time I hear it) on the first verse, L-Boogie and Rah Digga represent for the ladies on the second, Pras and Young Zee (whose flow reminds me a little of Redman’s) on the third, and John Forte goes on a solo shooting spree with his rapid-fire flow on the song’s final verse. Wyclef’s comical hook is the icing on top of this entertaining posse joint.

No Woman, No Cry – Wyclef takes on the Bob Marley classic and makes several lyrical changes to it. Clef’s version ain’t got nothing on the original, but it’s still cool. Completely random side note: I just found out that Wyclef played the classic bass line on Eric B & Rakim’s “Don’t Sweat The Technique”. If you watch the video, you’ll see a facial hairless Clef strumming the strings in the opening scene.

Manifesto/Outro – The Fugees bring back the drums and the sorrowful piano chords from the intro, but up the bpms this time around. Clef spits a verse from the perspective of a modern-day Jesus, L-Boogie plays a woman scorn (*cough Wyclef*) and I have absolutely no idea what Pras is talking about. The song is followed by another random rant from Ras Baraka, before DJ Red Alert wraps up the proper album by reading the album credits, and of course he slides in his signature adlib.

The following three records are listed as bonus tracks on the cd version of The Score:

Fu-Gee-La (Refugee Camp Remix) – The Fugees hook up a laidback funk groove for this remix, make several alterations to the original lyrics and add an altogether new verse from John Forte. This remix isn’t as impactful as the o.g. version, but it’s still dope in its own right. Side note: There is also a “Refugee Camp Global Mix” out there (readily available on all DSPs) that uses a stripped-down version of this instrumental and features the trio spitting some of their bars in French.

Fu-Gee-La (Sly & Robbie Mix) – The Jamaican production duo, Sly & Robbie, put a dark dancehall twist on the “Refugee Camp Remix” version, and a young Akon adds a short chant at the end of the song (I believe this is Akon’s official debut). Yet another dope remix; and rest in peace to Robert “Robbie” Shakespeare who passed away in December of 2021.

Mista Mista – This bonus track finds Wyclef somberly strumming his acoustic guitar as he sings about drug addicts begging for money to feed their addictions. The song’s a bit of an enigma, as the music and subject matter take on a serious mood, but Clef delivers his content in a humorous fashion (though I’m not sure if he intended to be comedic), leaving the listener wondering if they should laugh or cry. Me? I laughed, hysterically. 

Like I mentioned in the opening of this post, the Fugees debut album, Blunted On Reality was mediocre at best (and that’s being generous), but the trio did show promise with the Salaam Remi produced “Nappy Heads (Remix)”. The Score is the Fugees making good on that promise, as they deliver an undisputed hip-hop masterpiece.

The album comes equipped with five weapons of mass destruction (see “Fu-Gee-La”, “Killing Me Softly”, “Ready Or Not”, “Zealots” and “The Score”) nestled in between album cuts that range from solid to great, and a few of the most entertaining interludes in the history of hip-hop. Wyclef and L-Boogie sound like they were eating their artistic spinach during the album’s creation, as Mr. Jean masters his “abstract raps, simple, with a street format,” while Ms. Hill’s in a complete zone throughout the album, and right before our eyes, transforms into one of the illest lyricists of all-time. The Fugees also do an excellent job of masking Pras (who is clearly the weakest link in this chain), limiting his mic time so not to fuck things up, and sprinkle in the perfect number of guest cameo appearances as well.

While The Score is hip-hop at its core, it dabbles with r&b, doo-wop, reggae, country and pop elements, but brilliantly keeps an eclectic cohesiveness from beginning to end, resulting in arguably, the best hip-hop album released in 1996, and a strong candidate for top ten hip-hop albums off all-time. Yeah, I said it.

It’s unfortunate that things crumbled before the Fugees could give the world a proper follow-up to this classic. But at least they got a chance to settle the score, once and for all.

-Deedub

Most of you probably know Skillz (formerly known as Mad Skillz) as the rapper who invented the year end “rap-up”, where he literally recaps the previous year in the form of a rap song. It’s an annual tradition he’s held down for almost two decades now (even though Uncle Murda ganked his idea years ago and started doing it better than the concept’s inventor…but that’s neither here nor there.), and he claims 2021’s rap-up will be his last, but he’s also said that in previous years. But before Skillz became known as the “rap-up” rapper, the Virginia native became regionally known for his freestyle ability, which would eventually lead to him signing with Big Beat/Atlantic, where he would release his debut album, From Where??? In 1996.

From Where??? would feature production from some heavy hitters, including Jay Dee, The Beatnuts, Buckwild, Large Professor and DJ Clark Kent. But despite the impressive producer list, From Where??? would only yield a couple of mildly successful singles and the album would produce dismal sells numbers, which I’m sure had something to do with why From Where?? would be Skillz first and last album on Atlantic. In hindsight, I’m sure Skillz and Atlantic regret releasing From Where??? the same day as All Eyez On Me and The Score.

I found a used cd copy of From Where??? several years ago and bought on the strength of one of my homeboy’s excitement over it back in the day (what up, Ray?). I’ve heard a few of the songs but have never listened to the album from beginning to end until now. Let’s see how this goes.

From Where??? Intro – The album begins with Skillz and his homie, Lonnie B freestyling in a cipher, and the onlooking crowd is so blown away by Skillz rhymes that they swear he’s from New York. After the crowd guesses a couple of incorrect boroughs, Skillz eventually lets them know that he’s from Virginia, thus explaining the album title and concept.

It’s Goin’ Down – The late great J Dilla gets his first of two production credits of the evening, as he slides Skillz a chill-melodic canvas that he uses to paint with his humorous punchlines, similes and metaphors. I was hoping for something with a little more energy to kick things off, but it’s still a passable record.

The Nod Factor – This was the album’s lead single. The Beatnuts loop up Johnny “Guitar” Watson’s “Superman Lover” for the backdrop, and as many times as this loop has been sampled throughout the history of hip-hop, this may be the first time I didn’t like it. Something about the Beatnut’s flippage of it sounds boring and lazy over the scare drumbeat, and Skillz’ dull monotone flow only makes matters worse. There is absolutely nothing about this track that made me want to nod my head in ’96 or today.

VA. In The House – Now this is more like it. Buckwild cooks up an airy soulful groove for Skillz to “represent VA the right way”. Virginia can be proud of their son on this one, as he does a serviceable job, but Buckwild’s dope production work is the heart, soul and driving force behind this record.

Tongues Of The Next Shit – Skillz is joined by his homie, Kalonji The Immortal on this duet, as the two take turns doing their best to impress the listener with witty punchlines and clever wordplay (I literally, chuckle every time I hear Kalonji spit “My superpowers catch wreck, I’m mixing up ill styles like interracial sex”). Skillz also gets into his producer bag for this one and lays down a creamy instrumental for the duo to get their shit off over, and they both do a serviceable job.

Doin’ Time In The Cypha – Skillz pays homage to one of the forgotten tenets and best training techniques for emcees: the cypha. Buckwild delivers again with a bassy backdrop, laced with haunting chopped and screwed-esque angelic voices, while our host describes the inner workings of the cypha and taps a dope Masta Ace line for the hook. This was brilliant, and easily my favorite song on From Where???

Tip Of The Tongue – Nick Wiz (whose name I first became familiar with for his work on Miilkbone’s Da Miilkrate album, and I still can’t believe how freely the milk-tone rapper dropped the “N” word on multiple occasions and nobody, not even his Naughty By Nature neighbors (Kay Gee even produced a couple of tracks on that album), called him out on it. But I digress) slides Skillz a dark and moody instrumental, and our host adapts an aggressive vocal tone, as he, once again, tries to impress the listener with comical one-liners. On the song’s final bar, Skillz says “My shit’s tighter than five virgins in a Volkswagen”, which I found corny, but Skillz apparently thought it was so clever that he doubles down and repeats it as the song fades out, as if to pat himself on the back for coming up with something so “witty.” How embarrassing.

Extra Abstract Skillz – Large Professor and Q-Tip stop by to jump on this track with our host (Tribe Degrees of Separation: check). Extra P not only spits the song’s opening verse (which ends up being the hottest verse of the whole song and reminded me that he may be the best producer on the mic (sorry, Diamond D)), but also provides the heat that he and his comrades spit on as well. Skillz sounds out of his league rhyming next to Extra P and Q-Tip, and his second verse gets embarrassingly sloppy at certain points. Even with the corny song title and Skillz’ amatuer performance this was still enjoyable, thanks to a strong Queens representation.

WMAD (Interlude) – Useless interlude to set up the next song…

Get Your Groove On – Buckwild creates a laidback jazzy groove for our host, who essentially makes this a party record, as he crafts his verses to describe a night out at a club, and brings in Khim Davis to sing the hook, which was an obvious attempt at making the record more appealing to his non-existing female fanbase. Skillz’ bars are decent, but the instrumental is the true star of this one. Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever heard an instrumental that sampled Kool & The Gang’s “Summer Madness” that I didn’t like.

The Jam – J Dilla gets his second and final production credit of the night, building this one around a melodic and spooky vocal loop that I enjoyed, but the snapping drums didn’t sound great underneath it. Skillz continues to force feed us punchlines, and he spits his most questionable bar of the evening: “Like last November, when your man got dismembered, it was me, I ate his meat, and it lasted to December.” Pause. I can’t believe his mans didn’t call him out on that line.

Move Ya Body – This was the second single released from From Where??? The legendary DJ Clark Kent hooks up a track that sounds like something Trackmasters or L.E.S. would have made, which is probably why it reminds me of the instrumental from AZ’s “Sugar Hill”. For the first time tonight, Skillz sounds more focused on his flow and delivery than his wordplay, which was a welcomed change of pace. This record feels more polished than the rest of the album and sounds like a blatant attempt at a crossover hit. Needless to say, the plan didn’t work, but it’s still a decent record. 

Street Rules – Over a melancholic backdrop, Skillz gets off a three-verse PSA warning the listener about the dangers of getting wrapped up in the cold and callous street life. Several rappers have made this same type of record with better results, but I still enjoyed Shawn J. Period’s moody production work. 

All In It – Speaking of Shawn J. Period, he comes right back and blesses Skillz with this quiet storm instrumental that Skillz claims is as “Pretty as Chante Moore” (if you know, you know. If not, do your Googles). Skillz’ rhymes were decent, the hook is corny (although I did appreciate the part that samples a portion of one of my favorite Guru lines), and the instrumental was pleasant, even though it’s borderline boring.

Unseen World – Don’t let the mystical song title fool you. This ain’t nothing but a cipher session with Skillz and his crew, collectively known as The Supafriendz. Ez Elpee creates a soulfully airy atmosphere, as Lonnie B, Kalonji, Mindbenda, Lil Roc and Javon The Medieval spit verses along with our host, and his guests all sound way more entertaining on the mic than he does (Did he really think “I want more G’s than a girl named Gigi gaggin’ on some gin and garlic glue” was a dope line? Smh). This was dope and left me interested in what a Supafriendz album may have sounded like.

Inherit The World – Skillz closes From Where??? with a storyline that has him coming from the perspective of a monster emcee (both figuratively and literally), known as the Body Snatchin’ Dread. Apparently, this monster emcee’s rhymes were so potent that they’ve devoured the world and everyone and everything in it, leaving him lonely and full of regret: “Nothin’ to look forward to, day after day, so why write rhymes-who’s gonna hear what I have to say? And if I do, who’s gonna appreciate it? Humanity terminated, I’m alone and I hate it.” It’s not a great storyline, but kudos to Skillz for trying something different. I love the beautiful loop that Shawn J laced the instrumental with, and the Busta Rhymes vocal sample in the hook was a nice added touch. 

On From Where???, Skillz seems so focused on spitting witty bars from “Metaphor Ave” and “Punchline Metropolis” that he completely overlooks how his rhymes are delivered; and as they say: it’s not what you say, but how you say it. But not only does Skillz’ flow lack personality and sound sloppy, a large chunk of his metaphors and punchlines sound forced, over the top and downright corny. On the flip side, Skillz has a great ear for instrumentals, as his beat selection on From Where??? is damn near flawless (with the “The Nod Factor” being the exception). So, even when his haphazard flow makes you cringe and his embarrassingly bad punchlines leave you shaking your head in disbelief, you can still enjoy the music that backs him.

-Deedub

1995 was an interesting year for 2pac. He released his third album, Me Against The World, in March of ‘95, and not only would it go on to reach double platinum status, but it would also become a critical darling with many critics and fans proclaiming it Pac’s finest hour and one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all-time. Simultaneously, Pac was serving a 9-month prison sentence, and even with the success of his album, he was broke; and to add insult to injury, his dear momma was in jeopardy of losing her home as well. Legend has it that Pac had his wife (Keisha Morris) reach out to the notorious Death Row Records founder and CEO, Suge Knight for help. Knight would oblige by gifting 2pac’s mother 15k and posting Pac’s 1.4-million-dollar bond that would get Pac out from behind bars, but lock the Oakland bred rapper into a three-album deal with Death Row Records. Pac would knock out two of the three albums with his 1996 double album release, All Eyez On Me.

All Eyez On Me would be the first double album released by a rapper and would start a trend that many of your favorite emcees would soon follow. Pac would call on a plethora of producers to sculpt the sonics for All Eyez On Me, including Dr. Dre, Daz, DJ Quik, Bobcat, DJ Pooh, Devante Swing and QDIII, but it would be the relatively unknown, Johnny J (rip) who would manage most of the production load, producing eleven of the albums twenty-seven tracks. Like anything else released on Death Row Records during the mid-nineties, All Eyez On Me would be a commercial success, selling more than 500,000 units during its first week released, and by 2014 it would reach diamond status (diamond is ten million copies sold, which technically means five million copies were sold, as each disc in a double album counts as a separate unit for certification). All Eyez On Me was also a critical darling with many proclaiming it one the greatest hip-hop albums of all-time.

Making a 27-track double album is an ambitious feat, even for a rapper of 2pac’s caliber. Let’s revisit All Eyez On Me and see how it’s held up over the years.

Book 1:

Ambitionz Az A Ridah – All Eyez On Me begins with hard stripped-down drums and a few devious sounding keyboard chords (courtesty of Daz), and Pac quickly finds the beat’s pocket and ambitiously (see what I did there?) rides the muthafucka in true Pac thug fashion. Side note: There’s an unreleased version of this song called “Ambitionz Az A Fighta (Mike Tyson Mix)” that Pac rhymes about Iron Mike’s quest to regain his title after losing it to Buster Douglas and serving a three-year prison sentence for a rape conviction. It’s readily available on the internet, and it’s actually pretty dope.

All Bout U – Johnny J builds this backdrop around a loop from Cameo’s “Candy” and puts some G-funk swag on it. Pac makes this a family affair, as he’s joined by Dru Down on the intro, while his Outlawz bredrin, Hussein Fatal and Yaki Kadafi (rest in peace to both) spit forgettable misogynistic verses next to Pac’s mediocre output. Thankfully, Nate Dogg (yet another rip) blesses the track with his smooth vocal stylings on the hook, and Snoop’s closing commentary was pretty amusing.

Skandalouz – Pac addresses some of the scandalous, excuse me, skandalouz women that he’s encountered over Daz’ laidback synth groove. For the second consecutive track, Nate Dogg lends his smooth vocals to the hook, completing this dope West Coast bop.

Got My Mind Made Up – Pac is joined by Daz (who also gets the production credit for this song), Kurupt, Method Man (continuing the impressive cameo run he was on in the mid-nineties) and Redman for this cipher session. Daz kicks things off and sounds half-asleep during his verse (I can’t make out half of what he’s saying), while Pac, Kurupt and Red all spit solid verses. But it’s Method Man who cuts the head off Daz’ banger and walks away victorious. This was and will always be a hard record. Side note: Rumor has it that this song was originally a Dogg Pound record featuring Lady of Rage, RBX and Inspectah Deck (which would explain why you hear “INS The Rebel” scratched in at the end of the song), but all three guests’ verses were removed, and Meth and Red’s added after Daz gave the track to Pac. I would love to hear what the O.G. version sounded like.

How Do U Want It – This was the third single released from All Eyez On Me. Johnny J builds this sexy groove around a funky guitar loop, while half of Jodeci (K-Ci and JoJo) sprinkle the hook with their distinct vocals and crooning. Pac matches the sexy backdrop with lusty bars aimed at the ladies (well, at least for the first verse and a half; the second half of the song is all over the place): “Tell me is it cool to fuck? Did you think I come to talk? Am I a fool or what? Positions on the floor, it’s like erotic, ironic, ’cause I’m somewhat psychotic, I’m hittin’ switches on bitches like I been fixed with hydraulics”. Truth be told, I used to hate this song back in ‘96, but over the years I’ve learned to appreciate it, as it’s aged well. Side note: The B-side of this single was the infamous dis record, “Hit ‘Em Up” that would put the east coast/west coast feud into full motion.

2 Of Amerikaz Most Wanted – I believe this was the second single released from the album. Daz creates the perfect atmosphere for a gangsta party, as Pac and Snoop, who had both experienced legal woes, boast, brag and swag about their notoriousness.

No More Pain – Devante Swing hooks up an average at best backdrop (leaving Mr. Dalvin as the sole member of Jodeci that did not contribute to All Eyez On Me) that Pac tries to rap life into, but unfortunately, he can’t revive it. I completely forgot this song existed, and now I remember why.

Heartz Of Men – DJ Quik gets his sole production credit of the night with this one (although he is credited with mixing a large chunk of the album), as he slides a rejuvenated 2pac a slick banger that he uses to spew his thugged-out raps over. The trumpet loop Quik uses in this song is absolutely bananas. This record might sound better today than it did 25 years ago, and I happen to love the song title.

Life Goes On – Our host uses this somber backdrop to pay respect to his dead homies, and during the song’s final verse, he morbidly shares his personal wishes when he passes: “Bury me smiling, with g’s in my pocket, have a party at my funeral, let every rapper rock it, let the hoes that I used to know, from befo, kiss me from my head to my toe, give me a pad and pen, so I can write about my life a sin, a couple bottles of gin, in case I don’t get in.” I’ve always loved this song, but hindsight of Pac’s early demise makes it hit home even harder.

Only God Can Judge Me – In my opinion, Pac was at his best when he was in introspective-slightly-paranoid-death-obsessed-self-loathing mode, and he gives us all that energy on this one: “I hear the doctor standin’ over me screamin’ I can make it, got a body full of bullet holes, layin’ here naked, still I can’t breathe, something’s evil in my IV, cause every time I breathe, I think they killin’ me, I’m having nightmares, homicidal fantasies, I wake up stranglin’, tangled in my bed sheets, I call the nurse, ’cause it hurts to reminisce, how did it come to this? I wish they didn’t miss.” Speaking of self-loathing, Pac takes it to the next level when he ends the song saying, “My only fear of death is comin’ back to this bitch reincarnated” (sentiments he also rhymes on “No More Pain”). Doug Rasheed recycles the drums from “Top Billin’” and places whiny-synthesized chords over it, along with a talk box vocal that recites the song title on the hook, and it all sounds great underneath our host’s callous bars. The Bay Area rapper, Rappin’ 4-Tay drops in at the end of the song and gets off a quick verse, and though I’ve never been a huge fan of his music (although I can’t say I’ve heard enough of his music to have much of an opinion), he sounds nice tiptoeing over the dope backdrop. This is easily one of my favorite songs on All Eyez On Me.

Tradin War Stories – Pac invites his Outlawz/Dramacydal cronies (Kastro, E.D.I. Mean, C-Bo, Napoleon and Storm) to join him on this one, as they take turns sharing thugged-out street tales over an emotional soundscape, credited to Mike Mosely and Rick Rock (not to be confused with Rick Ross). I like the instrumental, but this would have worked out better as a duet between Pac and Storm.

California Love (Rmx) – This was the lead single from All Eyez On Me that would soon become a timeless West Coast anthem. Dr. Dre (who also gets the production credit) and Roger Troutman (rip) drop by to help their “fresh out on bail” associate “serenade the street of L.A.” and celebrate the rest of the golden state. The original version of this song was built around an ill Joe Cocker piano loop (that Dre also produced), but this remix has a more traditional g-funk feel that I personal enjoy more than the original.

I Ain’t Mad At Cha – Daz gets his final production credit of the night, as he builds this melancholic instrumental around an interpolation of a portion of Debarge’s “A Dream”. The music moves Pac to reminisce about a reformed homie who found God and love, an old girlfriend who held him down while he was behind bars, and on the final verse he addresses all his traders and haters (He also becomes the only rapper to ever use “convalescent” in a rhyme. Well done, Pac). Danny Boy makes his first appearance of the evening, dropping by to add adlibs and sing the hook. This was and still is a dope record.

What’z Ya Phone # – Pac’s in full-blown heat looking to give some willing young lady a dosage of his thug passion on this one. Johnny J loops up The Time’s “777-9311” to create the funky and sexy backdrop that suits Pac’s raunchy rhymes, perfectly, while Danny Boy makes his second consecutive cameo singing the hook. The song ends with a nearly three-minute phone exchange between Pac and a random PYT that gets pretty dirty. Did I enjoy the exchange? Does a bear shit in the woods and wipe his ass with a rabbit?

Book 2:

Can’t C Me – Pac kicks off “Book 2” of All Eyez On Me with a bang and a banger. Dr. Dr gets his second and final production credit of the evening, as he, for at least the fourth time in his career, loops up Funkadelic’s “(Not Just) Knee Deep” (see “Fuck Wit Dre Day”, and the “G-Funk Intro” and “Who Am I (What’s My Name)?” on Doggystyle), and somehow some way, he makes it sound amazing (I absolutely love the well-placed tuba chords laced throughout the song). Speaking of Funkadelic, George Clinton makes a cameo, adding some colorful adlibs and spoken word to the track, while a lively 2pac talks his shit and thugs his way through the record, and sounds convincing in the process. This was a brilliant way to start the second half of All Eyez On Me.

Shorty Wanna Be A Thug – Pac spins a street tale about a young shorty’s maturation from snot nose kid to full blown thug (although he should hardly be called a shorty, since Pac claims the kid stands at 6’10 inches). Pac doesn’t cover any new territory with this one, and his rhymes weren’t mapped out well (he starts the first verse off saying the kid’s a “middle class nigga” and by the second verse the same kid grew up with no mom or dad. Details matter, man), but it still makes for a decent listen, I guess.

Holla At Me – This song finds Pac heated and seeking vengeance on those he felt betrayed him. The final verse is clearly referencing Ayanna Jackson (the woman who accused Pac of rape that he would eventually be convicted of and serve time for), but the first two verses could be aimed at a plethora of people (Biggie, Haitian Jack, Stretch…). The unsung legend, Bobcat, gets his sole production credit of the evening with this one, and he crafts a decent fast-paced dimly lit canvas for Pac to paint on, while Nanci Fletcher swings by to sing threats to Pac’s adversaries on the hook.

Wonda Why They Call U Bytch – Pac gives a few lame examples to explain and attempt to justify why he calls certain women bitches. The content is juvenile and Johnny J’s backdrop is boring. That’s all I got.

When We Ride – This instrumental sounds too serious to be a DJ Pooh production, but it is. Pac is joined by his Outlaw Immortalz crew: Hussein Fatal, Kastro, Napoleon, Mussolini, E.D.I., Kadafi and Khomeini, as all nine of them get off a verse, making this one lengthy cipher session. Unfortunately, other than Pac, none of them sound impressive on the mic, but the true star of this one is Pooh’s instrumental.

Thug Passion – Pac is joined by Kastro, Napoleon, E.D.I. Mean, Kadafi and Storm on this ode to a mixed drink (part Alize, part Cristal) that Pac guarantees will “get the pussy wet and the dick hard”. Johnny J interpolates portions of Zapp’s “Computer Love” for the instrumental, as DJ Quik, appropriately, adds Roger Troutman like talk box vocals to the track, and the unheralded, Jewell stops by to sing the hook. This makes for tolerable filler material that wouldn’t be missed if it didn’t exist.

Picture Me Rollin’ – This instrumental reminds me a lot of the instrumental for Me Against The World’s “Death Around The Corner”, which Johnny J also produced. I wasn’t crazy about Pac’s, Syke’s or CPO’s rhymes, and Danny Boy’s singing wasn’t pleasing to the ear, either. At least the music was enjoyable.

Check Out Time – Pac, Kurupt and Syke use this one to recall the previous night’s antics in their hotel rooms, which involved a whole lot of drinking and next level sexcapades (things got so wild that Pac claims a few of the chicks tried to rape him and his boys). Johnny J borrows a dope Minnie Riperton loop for the instrumental (the same loop A Tribe Called Quest used in ’91 for their classic record, “Check The Rhime” (Tribe Degrees of Separation: check)) that creates soothing backing music for the threesome’s raunchy rhymes. Very decent album cut that sounds better with each listen.

Ratha Be Ya Nigga – Richie Rich drops by and makes his first of two cameos of the night, as he and Pac take turns trying to convince the objects of their erections to give them a shot. The first line of the song is Pac saying, “Your fuckin’ with niggas that’s insecure”, which for some reason sounds super ill to me and amazingly vulnerable, especially coming from the lips of a rapper. Doug Rasheed creates a chill mood with his slick instrumental, built around elements of Bootsy Collins’ “I’d Rather Be With You”, while a couple of young ladies (the liner notes credit Puff Johnson (rip) and Ebony) sprinkle their smooth vocals over the hook. I’m not sure if Pac and Richie’s targets took the bait, but it sure made for an entertaining listen. 

All Eyez On Me – The album’s title track features a smooth loop backed by a bouncy bass line (courtesy of Johnny J) that finds Pac mixing paranoid bars with floss and shit talk like a bartender does drinks. For some reason, Pac lets Big Syke get off a verse, which was completely unwarranted and underwhelming. Placing the album’s title song this deep into the track sequencing was kind of strange, but the song still sounds solid.

Run Tha Streetz – Pac tries to convince his lady that allowing him to run the streets with his homies will only enhance their love life, or as he so eloquently puts it: “A nigga who hang out more will come home and love you better”. Storm and Mutah also chime in on the topic with verses sandwiched in between Pac’s. Johnny J interpolates a portion of Guy’s classic “Piece Of My Love” for the instrumental, putting a little g-funk twist on it, while Michel’le reinterprets and sings the hook from the same song. Random thought: I wonder if Jay Leno knows Pac gave him a shoutout on this record.

Ain’t Hard 2 Find – The Bay area is in full effect on this posse joint: E-40, B-Legit, C-Bo and Richie Rich all stop by to help Pac talk big shit to their foes and haters over a serious sounding Mike Mosley/Rick Rock concoction that’s dripping with west coast vibes. This was pretty dope.

Heaven Ain’t Hard 2 Find – No, this is not a remix of the previous song. Pac closes out All Eyez On Me with a breezy west coast bop (courtesy of QDIII, who on the low, had quite an impressive production run in the nineties) that he uses to spit one long pick-up line, over the course of three verses (Am I the only one that finds it amusing the way Pac uses the word “activate” in songs?), while Danny Boy’s voice borders on annoying, as he moans and whines on the hook. This is a decent record, but an underwhelming way to close out the album.

All Eyez On Me starts off strong with some pretty amazing production work, and Pac sounds enthusiastic and convincing spewing his thugged-out bars over the potent instrumentals. But by the time “Book Two” rolls around, the production starts to wane, the tracks become weighed down by an overabundance of mediocre cameos, and Pac’s thuggery and shenanigans start to sound redundant, leaving me yearning for more of the “death-paranoid-introspective-conscious” side of Pac, who is almost completely absent from All Eyez On Me. But even with “Book Two” being inferior to “Book One”, it’s still decent, and All Eyez On Me as a whole is a solid album that would have worked better as a fourteen or fifteen track single album.

-Deedub

I’ve never been a huge fan of posthumously released albums. I can count on one hand, actually, I can trim that down to two fingers, on how many posthumous albums I’ve ever liked: Biggie’s Life After Death and Pac’s, excuse me, Makaveli’s The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory. I personally don’t count either as a posthumous album, since Life After Death was completely done at the time of Biggie’s death and released just two weeks after he passed, and I’m pretty sure The 7 Day Theory was close to completion at the time of Pac’s untimely demise. But technically speaking, since they were both released after their deaths, they are considered posthumous albums. But most rappers’ posthumous (I’m getting tired of typing that word!) albums don’t walk the same path and are normally stuffed with a bunch of old freestyles, random unreleased shit, cameo appearances from other artists to fill in the gaps, all placed over a bunch of beats with no cohesion in an attempt for the label to make a quick buck off of the deceased rapper’s name with no regards to the quality of the music or how it may affect the rapper’s legacy. So, when I found Eazy’s first posthumously released album, Str8 Off Tha Streetz Of Muthaphukkin Compton a few months ago, I was hesitant to buy it. But since I’ve already written about the rest of his catalog, the completionist in me forced me to, and here we are.

Str8 Off Tha Streetz was released ten months after Easy passed away from AIDS-induced pneumonia on March 26, 1995. Rumor has it that most of the songs on Str8 Off Tha Streetz were incomplete leftover Eazy-E scraps that his long-time friend and former NWA bredrin, DJ Yella, recovered from a double album project Eazy was working on back in 1993 that never saw the light of day. Str8 Off Tha Streetz would receive mixed reviews, but regardless of the critics’ opinions, the album was a commercial success that would go on to earn the late rapper another gold plaque.

This marks the first time I’ve ever listened to Str8 Off Tha Streetz. Hopefully, it defies the odds of most rap posthumous (there goes that word again!) albums, but that won’t be an…easy task. Pun intended.

First Power – The album begins with a gunshot, followed by semi-spooky sounding piano chords, as Eazy jumps back into his “devil’s son-in-law” persona and shares a few demonic opening words.

Ole School Shit – Eazy is joined by his “Real Muthaphuckkin G’s” alumni, Gangsta Dresta and B.G. Knocc Out, as well as female emcee, Sylk, as they continue to feud with Death Row Records, waging their war of words over a dark and hard Yella produced instrumental. It was pretty amusing to hear B.G. Knocc Out stumble during the middle of his verse, and instead of punching him in or having him do another take, they kept the mistake, and you can hear Eazy instructing him to “pick it back up”; and he manages to recover, nicely. Despite B.G. Knocc Out’s microphone mishap, every party involved does a serviceable job, making the first song of the evening pretty damn entertaining.

Sorry Louie – Eazy uses this one to rap praises to a unique weapon of choice: his Louisville Slugger. Over the course of three verses, E shares a few sticky encounters that he’s forced to pull out his Louie and bash a few heads in with. The contents kind of gory, but it’s all in jest (I think), and Eazy’s high-pitch vocal and choppy flow sounds nice over Bobcat’s raw and rugged boom-bap. The vocal snippets (taken from the movie Apology) laced throughout the song add to its already menacing nature.

Just Tah Let U Know – Apparently, this was the lead and only single released from Str8 Off Tha Streetz. This is also the first tangible evidence of the evening that the content on this album was taken from older Eazy material, as he says “Comin’ through with a big lick for ‘94” during the song’s opening verse. Eazy spits three verses chock-full of generic gangsta rhymes, and of course he had to take another shot at Dre (“that nigga makin’ more money off your hits than you do”) and Snoop (“So bow down, bow wow, the big dog’s in town, and them guts is the only thing a nigga pounds”). The instrumental isn’t horrible, but something about it sounds cheesy, and the hook is corny as hell. The song ends awkwardly with Eazy rambling on about absolutely nothing.

Sippin On A 40 – Yella builds this funky backdrop around a dope loop from WAR’s classic record, “Slippin’ Into Darkness” (that in my opinion, was flawlessly flipped and will forever belong to Poor Righteous Teacher’s classic, “Rock Dis Funky Joint”), as Eazy is joined by BG Knocc Out and Gangsta Dresta to detail their ghetto quest to cop some liquor. The rhymes and hook (which also borrow from “Slippin’ Into Darkness”) are mildly entertaining, but the beat undeniably knocks.

Nutz On Ya Chin – After one listen and before reading the credits, I could immediately tell that Treach penned Eazy’s rhymes and Kay Gee produced the instrumental for this one. Treach is one of the most ferocious emcees in hip-hop history, but his rhymes don’t hit the same when delivered by Eazy, who’s limited rhyming ability becomes blatantly obvious as he tries to spit with Treach’s swift cadence. Kay Gee’s instrumental sounds like something he threw away and decided to take it out the trash and clean it up as best he could when Eazy (or Yella) called him for a beat.

Tha Muthaphukkin Real – Eazy reunites with his former NWA partner, MC Ren, as the duo take turns sharing more generic gangsta rhymes over a quiet slow-rolling Yella produced backdrop. It’s not a great record, but it makes for decent filler material.

Lickin, Suckin, Phukkin – Eazy gets off some verbal porn on this short interlude that sets up the next song…

Hit The Hooker – Given the song title and what I mentioned about the previous interlude, I think you’re smart enough to figure out what this song is about. Once again, Treach and Kay Gee are credited with producing the track, and it’s clear Treach penned the rhymes and Kay Gee hooked up the instrumental. Eazy continues to struggle to rhyme with Treach’s aggressive rapid-fire delivery, but at least Kay Gee’s instrumental was solid this time around.

My Baby’z Mama – Our host dedicates this one to his baby mama, whom he clearly despises. Apparently, he despised her so much he (or Yella) didn’t care how godawful his rhymes and flow sounded when recording this dis record. And the instrumental sounds even worst.

Creep N Crawl – More filler material that I could have done without.

Wut Would You Do – Eazy invites Dirty Red (an early candidate for alias of the year) to join him on the mic, as the two take one last shot at Death Row for the evening. I wasn’t blown away by Eazy or Dirty Red’s bars (though I literally chuckle every time I hear Eazy dis Snoop while references a line from “Murder Was The Case”: “Murder was the case that they gave me, I’ll smoke all you fools, even your boo-boo and your baby”), but the dark grimy instrumental (credited to a Tony G) was dope. By the way, can I get a question mark at the end of the song title, please?

Gangsta Beat 4Tha Street – Yella builds the smooth backdrop around a Delphonics’ loop (the same one Gang Starr used for “Lovesick” and Ed O.G & Da Bulldogs used for “Gotta Have Money”) and turns this into a gangsta cipher, as Eazy is joined by Gangsta Dresta, B.G. Knocc Out and Menajahtwa on the mic, as they all take turns celebrating boomin’ systems, dope beats and the gangsta lifestyle (or as Eazy so cornily puts it at the end of his verse: “Being a gangsta is so neat”). This was decent.

Eternal E – The last track of the night features a horrible synth-funk instrumental (credited to Roger Troutman (rip) and Tony G, with a co-credit going to Yella) that has snippets of Eazy talking about police brutality, NWA’s placement in hip-hop history, and his thoughts on why black kids join gangs, which all results in one random rant. Roger saturates the track with his signature talk box adlibs that make the terrible backdrop sound even worst. At the beginning of the song, Yella claims that Eazy wanted this track on the album, but I’m sure he wouldn’t approve of this hot mess.

Str8 Off Tha Streetz is the perfect example of why I don’t like most posthumously released albums. It sounds like Yella took old unreleased Eazy material, placed it over he and a few guest producers’ beats and filled in the holes with a bunch of cameos (I’m curious to why Bone Thugs didn’t make the album, though); and I found it completely ridiculous and unnecessary for Yella to continue Eazy’s beef with Death Row even in, um, death. There are a few bangers on Str8 Off Tha Streetz, but most of the album is a mixture of mediocre, forgettable, and corny material, but this time we can’t hold Eazy responsible.

-Deedub

Greetings, my peoples! I hope you all enjoyed the holidays, and that the New Year is treating you well! I definitely enjoyed my hiatus, as I was able to devote my time to some of the other things that are important to me in this life. But it’s time to dust off the pen and get back into the swing of things. So, let’s kick off 2022 with the year in hip-hop that was 1996.

By 1996, Arrested Development already had two albums under their collective belts (three, if you count their MTV Unplugged album), a multi-platinum selling album, four gold plaques, five Grammy nominations and a couple of Grammy wins. They had also experienced the highs and lows that come with the music industry. Their debut album, 3 Years, was a huge commercial success (thanks to songs like “Tennessee” and “Mr. Wendal”), but their follow-up, Zingalamaduni didn’t receive nearly as many accolades or make as much noise as its predecessor (I personally, thought it was a better album than the first, but that’s neither here nor there). Even with the disappointing numbers on their sophomore effort, AD’s label (Chrysalis/EMI) didn’t give up on the group, as they would get one more group project off in 2000 (Da Feelin’ EP). But before AD would release their third project, the voice and backbone of the group, Speech, would strike a solo deal with Chrysalis, releasing his self-titled debut album at the beginning of 1996.

Speech would handle most of the album’s production duties with an occasional assist here and there from a helping hand. Like Zingalamaduni, Speech was a commercial failure that came and went without a peep. But based on Speech’s music and aura, he doesn’t seem to be one motivated by money and/or accolades.

I found Speech in the dollar bins at one of my spots a few years ago. Since I liked some of the stuff on Arrested Development’s first two albums, I copped it and here we are. So, let’s jump into and hopefully get 1996 off with a great start.

Can U Hear Me? – Speech starts the night off with a little mic check and gets some help from Pappa Jon (not to be confused with that racist muthafucka who used to be the face and CEO of the pizza company with the same name). Speech spits passable bars, but Pappa Jon sounds like he borrowed Marty McFly’s DeLorean and traveled from 1983 to 1996, and that’s not a compliment. Speech’s instrumental is technically solid, but something about it feels dull and boring.

Ask Somebody Who Ain’t (If U Think The System’s Workin’…) – Over a mid-tempo folkish backdrop, Speech shares the story of a struggling single mother of three doing everything she can to make ends meet. The anonymous female’s story is used to highlight the bigger issues of wealth, poverty, employment and etc. in America. This was a cute little bop that’ll leave you with a few things to think about.

Filled With Real – Some young lady’s got Speech wide open on this one. So much so that he decided to write and sing a love song about her. Wait…did he just tell her “I’d like to fill you up with me” and then ask her “Have you ever climbed this tree, uh, uh not that tree, but this tree?” Them hippy niggas be the freakiest. I wasn’t crazy about this one, but it’s not terrible, either.

Why U Gotta Be Feelin’ Like Dat – Pappa Jon returns to join Speech on the mic for this duet that finds the duo taking turns calling out a couple of toxic ladies in their lives. Poppa Jon delivers (no pun intended) his verses and the hook in this super annoying singing rap cadence that sounds even worse when paired with the cheesy instrumentation backing him.

If U Was Me – On the surface this appears to be a traditional love song, but it’s actually a somber acoustic ballad dedicated to white America from a black man’s perspective. This was dope, and it seems to sound better after every listen.

Impregnated Tid Bits Of Dope Hits – Our host hooks up a dark minimalistic instrumental and gets off some “stream of consciousness” bars over it. Speech’s rhymes are solid on this one, but his instrumental sounds empty and soulless. He does shout out A Tribe Called Quest on the hook (Tribe Degrees of Separation: Check), so that should atone for at least a portion of the backdrop’s transgressions.

Let’s Be Hippies – Speech gets into his Prince bag on this one, putting his own unique folkish acoustic twist on it. Speech plays in the falsetto range for a large chunk of this song, and some notes were cringe worthy, but for the most part, he pulls it off. This is the farthest thing from a hip-hop song, but it’s easily one of my favorite records on the album.

Freestyle #8 From Speech’s Vault – Thanks to vocal distortion and the vocals being recorded way too low, Speech’s rhymes are almost impossible to understand on this minute-and-a-half freestyle. The only thing I understood was the end when he gives a promo for his vinyl only underground album called Beats From Speeches Vault that this short freestyle was taken from. I hope the rest of that album doesn’t sound like this shit.

Like Marvin Gaye Said (What’s Going On) – Our host pays homage to Marvin Gaye’s iconic record, but unfortunately, the results are subpar.

Hopelessly – Speech is in love again. But this time instead of singing to the object of his affection (well, he and Laurnea Wilkerson do sing on the hook), he raps poetically about his love (or infatuation) for this beautiful black Queen over a slick bop built around light mid-tempo drums and a few ruggedly smooth flute chords. In the immortal words of Q-Tip, this is a fly love song.

Insomnia Song – Over a creamy upbeat backdrop, Speech sings about some of the things that keep him up at night, like his newborn child, bills, and his parent’s well-being, as he laments throughout the song: “I got a million stories in my head, Insomnia song got me rollin’ in my bed.” I love the melodic instrumental, and Speech’s content is timelessly refreshing and easily relatable to all.

Poor Little Music Boy – This was too folksy and abstract for my taste buds.

Ghetto Sex – Speech comes from the perspective of an innocent young brother in the hood who meets and gets turned out by a voluptuous young sista, whom the streets say has poom-poom so good it will make you cream your draws, or if you’re Speech, your “bloomers”. In true Speech fashion, there is a deeper underlying meaning to the song than just a brother getting whipped by a bangin’ ghetto chick. The instrumental, which sounds like it’s in a tug of war between melodic and funky, is dope and works well with Speech’s sexy and deep content.

Tell Me Something (Let Me Know) – This is Speech’s ode to the motherland, that he explains at the beginning of the song he wrote while on his way to South Africa :”Yo, I’m going back to Africa, all the people around the world they laugh at ya, called you savage as they smile at Rwanda, call you a bitch after they bust a nut in ya, I’m upset cause their hands are covered with blood, puppet leaders shook hands with colonialism, despite some bad I’m glad you’re livin’, and I’m comin’ to return the love you’ve given”. Speech’s rhymes come off more like a spoken word poem than a rap, but they work well with the somberly soulful vibes of the instrumentation.

Runnin’ Wild – Speech invites Laurnea back to join him on this duet that finds the two sounding like newlyweds as they sing (Speech also sneaks in a quick rap) about their love for one another. This soulful groove is only for the grown and seasoned, and I loved it.

Speech isn’t your traditional hip-hop album. Matter of fact, you could argue that it’s not really a hip-hop album, as it plays like a gumbo mix of pop, r&b, folk and hip-hop all stirred together and served hot to feed both your soul and thought. Speech is a freeform artist who happens to rhyme when inspired, as he spends just as much time singing as he does rapping on the album; and occasionally, he blurs the line between the two art forms. Every song on Speech comes with a message over our host’s unique brand of quirky production, and while I appreciate Speech’s artistic spirit and bravery to explore outside the restrictive box most hip-hop artist tend to rest in, only about half of the songs connect, rendering the other half forgettable, too abstract or just down right corny. Speech’s music isn’t for everybody, but if you’ve acquired a taste for his music, I’m sure you’ll find at least a couple of songs on this project that’ll tantalize your musical taste buds.

-Deedub