Time Is Illmatic

I first became aware of the Los Angeles based rapper known as Threat (or Deadly Threat) from his verse on Ice Cube’s classic (and severely overlooked) posse record “Color Blind” off the nearly flawless, Death Certificate album (click here to read my thoughts on that album). “Color Blind” paired Threat up with Ice Cube, KAM, WC, Coolio, King Tee and J-Dee, who all came with their A game on the song, but Threat quietly stole the show with his smooth flow and unique rhyming pattern, in my opinion. I must have not been the only one impressed by Threat’s “Color Blind” verse, because he would soon begin popping up with cameo appearances on different artists’ songs (including a duet with Pac on Strictly 4 My Niggaz), and even scored a St. Ides commercial (remember those?). Unfortunately, the cameos were pretty weak, and it seemed that Threat may have set the bar to high for himself with his “Color Blind” verse. But regardless of his lackluster cameos post “Color Blind”, he still managed to snag a deal with Mercury Records, where he would release his debut album Sickinnahead in the summer of 1993.

I’ll be honest. I didn’t even know Sickinnahead existed until a year or so ago when I was watching a string of old St. Ides commercials on YouTube from the mid nineties when they were using rappers for their campaign (I had no idea Rakim was a part that deal), and Threat’s commercial popped up. I then became curious on what ever happened with the brother, so I Googled him and found he actually did release a solo album. Curious to see if Threat ever fulfilled the potential he displayed on “Color Blind”, I copped the album but have not listened to the album until doing this post.

Side note: I believe Threat’s named spelled in blue on the album cover is the first clue to what set he claims. We’ll get to the other clues a little later.

PDK – Based on the vocal sample used on the hook, I believe “PDK” in an acronym for Police Department Killer (feel free to correct me in the comments if I’m wrong). DJ Pooh and Suede hook up a sleepy instrumental that Threat begins the song expressing his distaste for po-po, but then his last two verses are all over the place.

Sucka Free – DJ Pooh and Suede’s instrumental improves a bit from the previous track, as our host sets out to prove to the listeners that he ain’t no sucka. This was decent. Definitely a step up from the opening track.

Niggas Like You – Basically, these are the type of niggas Threat don’t like. And I don’t like generic instrumentals like the one Suede made for this song.

4-Deep – I like this one. DJ Pooh and Suede hook up a dope mid-tempo instrumental, and Threat’s unique rhyme scheme is on full display as he shares the adventures of rolling 4 deep with his homeboys through the streets of Los Angeles. Well done, Threat.

Let The Dogs Loose – I’m sorry, but DJ Pooh’s instrumental is too stale for me to care about anything Threat has to say over it.

When It Rains – This is probably my favorite song on Sickinnahead. Bobcat hooks up a smooth mid-tempo backdrop that Threat uses to brilliantly articulate that when drama and trouble jump off they always seem to come in multiplies. Threat also drops what I believe to be, his second clue of the evening to what set he claims on this one (“Well this is an A and B conversation, so C ya, cause I’d rather C ya than B ya”). Threat’s smooth wordplay and lyrical mastery on this song are the reasons I first begin to respect him as an emcee in the first place.

Get Ghost – “When It Rains” goes immediately into this urgent Pooh/Suede produced instrumental. It’s intensity fits perfectly behind Threat’s content, as he paints a vivid picture of himself on the run from the police. This was short, sweet and well done by our host.

24-7 – Bobcat hooks up a hard instrumental for Threat to talk some ole gangsta shit over, and he drops his third clue of the evening to what set he reps (“damn, you know it’s on whatever’s clever, and that’s respect for the third letter”). This one is strong.

Shuta Fuck Up – Weak. The song ends with the first of three interludes sprinkled throughout the final eight songs on Sickinnahead, that have some dude name Joe calling a slick chick name Kim. The first installment of the interludes has Kim hi-lariously playing Joe off has her girlfriend because her boyfriend is next to her when Joe calls. Side note: all three interludes use the instrumental used on Threat’s St. Ides commercial from back in the day, and I happen to love the soulful backdrop. I wish he would have used it on an actual song.

Ass Out – Weaker.

LA Zuu – Threat discusses the pressures, drama and the daily affairs of living in the concrete jungles of Los Angeles, which he affectionately calls the L.A. Zoo, or Zuu. Bobcat’s instrumental sounds like a poor man’s Bomb Squad beat that I really couldn’t get into, and it distracts the focus away from Threats rhymes.

The Whore Said It’s Yours – Okay. If  “When It Rains” is my favorite song on Sickinnahead, this one is a close second. Pooh and Suede are back at it again on the production end of things, and Threat uses their slightly playful backdrop to call out, as Ice Cube once put it, the neighborhood hussy, who’s trying to pin her newborn son on Threat.  Threat’s in rare form as he drops clever wordplay and witty punch lines about the mother and her bastard child. This was pretty funny and entertaining.

Give It Up – Trash.

Shote (Threw Wit Money) – Over a mediocre Suede instrumental, Threat spits one quick verse about a chick he’s gamin’ on. This should have been left off the final cut of Sickinnahead.

Bust One Fa Me – On this one Threat relives that one time he had to do a short jail bid. Threat doesn’t cover any new territory on this one, and when you couple that with the weak DJ Pooh/King Tee backdrop, this one doesn’t bode well.

So Now You Know – And more useless filler shit to wrap up the evening.

I don’t recall ever pulling for a rapper as much as I’ve pulled for Threat on Sickinnahead. I really wanted to love the album and praise him for his smooth delivery and clever wordplay, but I didn’t love Sickinnahead. Threat’s definitely a quality emcee with a solid flow and nice wordplay, but his limited and repetitive content mixed with the album’s overall lackluster production and unnecessary length, all equate to a disappointing debut album from the Los Angeles native. No, Sickinnahead is not completely wack, but I was expecting so much more from the brother.

I will admit that the more I listen to Sickinnahead the more it grows on me, and I’ve probably listened to it about 50 times in the past month. So maybe if I listen to it a million more times it will be a classic.

-Deedub

Most of you will skip this review all together, but since it’s part of my hip-hop collection (I use the term “hip-hop” loosely, folks) I felt I had to review it. So, here we go…

When I hear the term disposable music, or kiddie pop, one of the first names that come to mind is Kris Kross. Kris Kross was the kid duo out of Atlanta who were discovered by Jermaine Dupri while hanging out at mall. Chris Smith (aka Daddy Mac) and Chris Kelly’s (aka Mac Daddy) original style of dress (they were rockin’ their shirts and jeans backwards) caught the eye of Dupri who got the bright idea to turn the duo, who were dancers at the time, into a rap group. Since their names were both Chris and they wore their clothes backwards, he cleverly named them Kris Kross. Dupri would sign them to his So So Def imprint, get them a deal with Columbia/Ruffhouse, and they took the world by storm with their debut album Totally Krossed Out, fueled by their smash kiddie pop single, “Jump”.

I did buy Totally Krossed Out on cassette when it came out back in the day, but have since lost it. And even though I’ve come across the cd version in the dollar bins a million times over the past twenty years, I never felt compelled to give up another dollar for the gimmicky-four-times-platinum-selling pop-project posing as a hip-hop album. But I did repurchase their second album, Da Bomb , for a dollar a few years ago on the strength of the lead single that we’ll dig into shortly.

Da Bomb would follow the same format as Totally Krossed Out (only with their clothes worn the correct way): All rhymes written (with the exception of two songs, in which Mac Daddy receives co-writing credit) and all beats produced by Geppetto Jermaine Dupri, and rhymes recited by Pinocchio Kris Kross. Da Bomb didn’t move as many units as their debut, but it did earn the duo a second consecutive platinum plaque.

Before their 15 minutes ran out, Kris Kross would go on to release one more album, with their 1996 release, Young, Rich & Dangerous, before fading into hip-hop (or pop) obscurity. Sadly, Chris Kelly, aka Mac Daddy (the dark skin one) would die from a drug overdose on May 1, 2013. He was only 34 years old. May he rest in peace.

Intro – Da Bomb opens with a few Ice Cube soundbites taken from “Steady Mobbin”, before going into the first song…

Da Bomb – The Krises invite Da Brat to join them, on what I believe to be, her debut to the world, and she murders the duo on their own shit (I don’t know if that’s even praise worthy, considering who’s she rhyming with, but, whatever). JD’s instrumental isn’t terrible, but he somehow manages to strip the soul out of the Isaac Hayes “The Look Of Love” sample.

Sound Of My Hood – Oh, I forgot to mention that Dr. Dre’s The Chronic happened at the end of 1992, which pretty much changed the landscape of hip-hop. JD thought it would be cool (or more so, lucrative) to turn Kris Kross into baby Snoop Doggy Doggs on Da Bomb . Brothers Krisses don’t even bother to chew what they bite on this one, and swallow Snoop’s style whole. Hell, JD’s instrumental even sounds like a poorly constructed Dr. Dre backdrop, complete with a Snoop soundbite from The Chronic. This was terrible.

It Don’t Stop (Hip-Hop Classic) – Over JD’s stripped down backdrop, Kris Kross pays homage to “the old school”, more so, to Run DMC. Side note: This is one of two songs in which the liner notes give Mac Daddy (the dark skin one) co-writing credit along with Jermaine Dupri. Props for the intent, but this was trash.

D.J. Nabs Break – Kris Kross’ deejay, D.J. Nabs, gets a chance to display his skills on the wheels of steel on this one. I wasn’t impressed, but, whatever.

Alright – This is easily the best song on Da Bomb , and one of the few Kris Kross songs I actually really like. Jermaine Dupri takes the bass line from Slave’s “Just A Touch Of Love” and adds a dope loop (of what, I’m not sure, but it gives the song a nice melodic touch) on the hook, along with a slick Super Cat chant, that makes for a smooth backdrop, suitable for summer cruising. Daddy Mac takes a quick jab at Da Youngsta’s (“see, I ain’t come out wack I came out right, unlike those moles who chose to pass the mic”) who criticized Kris Kross for not writing their own rhymes (which was pretty hypocritical, because I’m sure Treach penned most of Da Youngsta’s rhymes for the “Crewz Pop” record). This groove still holds up well twenty plus years later. I literally just listened to it seven times in a row.

I’m Real – Yeah, right. Kris Kross continues their blatant robbery of Snoop Dogg’s style, as they try to convince the skeptical hip-hop audience that they’re authentic and worthy of street cred. They even have the nerve to call their competition soft…Ha! JD again, tries to create a Dr. Dre beat, and after one listen, even a babe can tell it’s fugazy.

2 Da Beat Ch’yall – Mac Daddy gets his second and final co-writing credit of the evening. Too bad it’s a contribution to a trash record.

Freak Da Funk – This is the song that Mac Daddy commits blasphemy on when he compares himself to the god emcee (“Cause when I break niggas off I keep ’em broke down, I’m like the R-A-K-I-M, I aint no joke, clown”). Kris Kross definitely had chips on their shoulders on Da Bomb . On “Alright” they fired shots at the Da Youngsta’s, rightfully so, since they fired the first shots at the Brothers Krises. But as far as I can remember, on their mega hit record “Jump”, Kris Kross fired the first shot at Mike Biven’s short-lived gimmick, Another Bad Creation, aka ABC (“don’t try to compare us to another bad little fad, I’m the Mac and I’m bad giving you something that you never had”…”and everything is to the back with a little slack, cause inside out is wiggity wiggity wiggity wack”…”to the back you’ll be sportin’ the gear, is that coincidental? Act like you know and don’t be claimin’ that it’s mental”), and Mac Daddy continues what appeared to be a one-sided beef on this one (“Unlike them other teenyboppers that continue to say and jay and never ever come my way, I’m waiting for that Alphabet crew to make my day…so I can chop and chop and drop those little punks quick, and teach them never to mess with this Krossed out kid”). What was the beef? ABC came out first rockin’ their clothes inside out, so it’s not like they bit Kris Kross’ style (if anything one could argue that Kris Kross’ backwards style was inspired by ABC). The better question is why have I spent an entire paragraph analyzing this kiddie beef and garbage record?

A Lot To Live 4 – JD’s mellow instrumental on this one is actually kind of decent. The Krises use it to encourage the youth that no matter what your circumstances are, there is always something to live for. It’s kind of sad when you considering Mac Daddy’s unfortunate demise.

Take ‘Em Out – Kris Kross has already taken shots at ABC and Da Youngsta’s on Da Bomb , so why not go for the trifecta and target another kid group? This time it’s the duo, Illegal. Mac Daddy: It ain’t my fault you and your crew came soggy, and didn’t think about being hard until you saw me, so what you did made a cut, “Head or Gut”, but from me to you it sounds like you’re swingin’ on “these nuts”. Daddy Mac also says something about “how you gonna dis by sayin’ we ain’t real g, when them niggas that you run with is straight r&b?”. Not sure, who that was aimed at, but whatever. Hot garbage.

Alright (Extended Remix) – Same lyrics and instrumental as the original mix, but with a few more breaks and Super Cat adlibs.

I’ll keep this wrap up short and sweet. Da Bomb is the prototype for disposable music, and time only magnifies its uselessness. With the exception of “Alright” Da Bomb  is trash. *Mic drops*

-Deedub

Joseph Antonio Cartagena is the half Cuban, half Puerto Rican emcee out of the Bronx known to the world by the alias, Fat Joe (in the beginning he went by the alias of Fat Joe Da Gangsta, but thankfully he dropped “da gangsta” after his first album) and the founder of the Terror Squad. Like many of his contemporaries, Fat Joe grew up in the hood, running the streets getting into trouble, and even got shot during the heart of his hoodlum days. He would eventually leave the thug life behind, and begin to focus on his rap career, which begin to take off after he linked up with the legendary Diggin’ In The Crates crew. Joe would ink a deal with Relativity and released his debut album Represent in the summer of 1993.

Represent would mainly be produced by Diamond D with a few assists from fellow Diggin’ In The Crates crew members, Showbiz and Lord Finesse. Even with the well-respected cast of producers, Represent was a flop and didn’t garner a warm reception from the heads, either.

I have to admit, I’ve never been a big (no pun intended) Fat Joe fan, but have gained more respect for him as an emcee since the turn of the century (you can’t front on “Lean Back” or “All The Way Up”). I found Represent in the dollar bins a few years ago at one of the spots I frequent, and when I saw that Diamond D handled the bulk of the production, I figured that even if Joe was trash on every track the production would be dope. I have never listen to Represent before today and I’m hopeful that my theory rings true.

When you look back at all the talented emcees (i.e O.C, AG, Big L, Lord Finesse) and producers (Diamond D, Showbiz, Buckwild) that the Diggin’ In The Crates crew produced in the mid nineties, I would have laughed in your face if you told me that Fat Joe would wind up being the most successful and last industry relevant member of the crew. Time is truly illmatic.

A Word To Da Wise – Represent opens with a short soundbite from what is probably ninety percent of all emcees favorite movie, Scarface, which quickly bleeds into the next song…

Livin’ Fat – Right from the start Fat Joe displays how limited his flow and lyricism were at this point in his career. My favorite line, that still has me scratching my head trying to figure out what the hell he was trying to say, is “rockin’ and shockin’ the whole rap scene, I’m mean, my favorite color is green…I guess that’s why they call it the blues”. What the hell does his favorite color being green, or his love of money, have to do with the blues?  Was he trying to say he has the blues because he doesn’t have any green? If so, he did a horrible job of connecting the two…moving on. Lord Finesse gets his only production credit of the evening, and I’m not sure how I feel about it. Sometimes the melodic instrumental is cool and other times its sounds empty and kind of cheesy. So, I guess it just depends on my current mood whether or not I like the song.

My Man Ski – Joe gives one of his homeboys (Ski) a little shine on this interlude, and Ski pretty much uses it to threaten to kill your family (or as he exaggerates it, “faaaaaaaaaaamily”) if you don’t buy Fat Joe’s album. This was pretty useless.

Bad Bad Man – Diamond D takes a loop of microphone feedback (from Yvonne Fair’s “Let Your Hair Down” record) and turns it into a brilliantly constructed backdrop. Fat Joe uses it in an attempt to convince the listener that he’s a force to be reckoned with it. At the beginning of his third verse, Joe takes what sounds like a direct shot (no pun intended) at Buckshot from Black Moon: “One day I was chillin’ caught a buckshot, the nigga was butt, so he gets no props” (I won’t believe it’s a coincidence that he uses “buckshot” and part of the title of Black Moon’s first single (see “Who Got Da Props?”) in the same bar). I wonder what his beef was with Buckshot (or Black Moon). If you know, hit me in the comments. Joe gives it all he’s got on this one, and his energy is commendable, but his lyrics fall short of the glory of God. But Diamond’s instrumental is genius. 

Watch The Sound – This was the second single released from Represent . Joe invites Grand Puba and Diamond D (who also produced the song) to join him on the mic. All three emcees slightly alter their verses for the video mix, but Puba makes the biggest alterations: on the album version he kind of disses Tommy Hilfiger (“lets squeeze a trigger for the nigga, see I flipped to the low, cause I’m through with the Hilfiger”), but his video version verse (tongue twister mucher) give props to Hilfiger (“it’s that same ole nigga, dressed low in Hilfiger, but my pockets got a little bigger”), which I found both confusing and interesting. As much as a fan I am of Puba’s flow (he’s definitely in the discussion for best flow in hip-hop history), Diamond D quietly walks away with this one.

Flow Joe – This was the lead single from Represent . Joe’s flow doesn’t sound that impressive, and it sounds like he may have been taking a shot at Heavy D on this one (“rappers come heavy, but yo, I weigh a ton”). Diamond D’s instrumental is a bit conflicting: he samples a piece of Morton Stevens’ “The Long Wait” (better known as the theme music for “Hawaii Five-O”) that gives the song a sinister feel when coupled with the hard drums. But for some reason he adds a playful flute loop (not to be confused with fruit loop) during the hook, which kind of undermines the sinisterism of the Morton Stevens loop. Thankfully, they took the flute loop out of the video version of the song.

Da Fat Gangsta – Diamond D slides Joe yet another quality mid-tempo instrumental, and Joe actually does a decent job with it this time. Yeah, he struggles with his breath control and sounds sloppy at certain points (and he sounds super Cuban when he yells the hook), but the shortcomings on this one aren’t as bad as they are on some of the previous songs.

Shorty Gotta Fat Ass – Diamond’s instrumental is kind of nice, but Joe’s rhymes and concept are trash.

The Shit Is Real – This was the third single released from Represent. This is probably Joe’s best lyrical output on the album, as he revisits his upbringing and coming of age. Now that I think about it, it’s probably his honesty that’s more appealing than his actual lyrics. Unfortunately, The Beatnuts’, um beat, is very drab. Thankfully, Premo would breath new life into the song with the remix, that would be included on Joe’s second album, Jealous One’s Envy.

You Must Be Out Of Your Fuckin’ Mind – Joe invites Apache and Kool G. Rap to join him on this one. Diamond hooks up a dark and bleak backdrop that the three emcees compete to sound the most psychotic over. Decent enough, I guess.

I Got This In A Smash – Showbiz gets his first production credit of the evening, and it’s pretty dope. Joe continues to spew mediocre rhymes, and comically mispronounces Richard Gere’s last name when he brags about getting more skins (aka sex) than him. But Joe’s mediocrity can’t undermine Showbiz hard backdrop.

Another Wild Nigger From The Bronx – Put this one on the ballot for worst song title of the year. And what’s up with spelling “Nigger” with an “er” instead of an “a”? Something about the “er” ending gives me visions of “Colored” marked water fountains and bathrooms. Joe invites Gismo, Kieth Kieth (pronounced as Keith Keith, but for some reason he puts the “i” before the “e”… or maybe they just misspelled his name in the liner notes?) and King Sun to join him on the final cipher joint of the evening. King Sun definitely sounds the most impressive of the four emcees, but Chilly Dee’s instrumental is the true king of this song.

Get On Up – More underwhelming rhymes from Joe over a solid Diamond D beat.

I’m A Hit That – The final song of the evening has Joe salivating over a hottie he wants to bang out over a decent Showbiz instrumental. This was pretty weak, and an awkward way to end a hip-hop album.

I’ve heard Fat Joe say in interviews that his flow was feeble at this point in his career. I concur. He has definitely improved as an emcee as time went on. Luckily for Joe, he had a top-notch beatsmith in Diamond D to help make up for what he lacked lyrically, and make Represent an enjoyable listen. Represent is not a classic album, but there’s enough quality material on it to make it a decent debut from the self-proclaimed fat gangsta.

-Deedub

Cypress Hill’s 1991 self-titled debut album was both a commercial and critical success, even if it took sometime for both successes to take fruition. Led by B-Real’s nasally praises of weed and violence and DJ Mugg’s blunted backdrops, Cypress Hill not only got respect in the hip-hop community, but also managed to gain a bit of crossover success while staying true to their hardcore foundation. What would the Latin threesome do next? Cypress Hill would return in the summer of 1993 with their sophomore effort Black Sunday.

Black Sunday would pick up where Cypress Hill left off, with more weed avocation and gun penetration over Muggs’ blunted beats. Like it’s predecessor, Black Sunday would earn Cypress Hill a platinum plaque and heaps of praises from hip-hop heads and weed heads alike. I personally thought that Cypress Hill was a bit overrated, with a few great singles hidden in a sea of decent to mediocre songs. Lets see if Black Sunday is an overall better body of work than our blunted amigos’ debut.

I Wanna Get High – The album opens with some spooky horns, before Muggs’ blunted bass line and slow-paced reggae tinged drums comes in. After a few bars, B-Real then joins in on the fun and spits one quick verse, and based on the song title I’m sure you’re smart enough to figure out what his bars about. Nice way to kick off the evening.

I Ain’t Goin’ Out Like That – This was the second single released from Black Sunday. Muggs’ hooks up a dark instrumental with a trunk rattling bass line that B-Real and Sen Dog use to issue violent threats to anyone that thinks that Cypress is soft. This one is hard.

Insane In The Brain – This was the lead single from Black Sunday, and is easily the biggest hit on the album, and probably in all of Cypress’ thick catalog. I never was a fan of this one. Probably because I always felt like they were trying to recreate House Of Pain’s “Jump Around” (which Muggs also produced) with it. That said, it’s not a terrible song, it just doesn’t have a soul.

When The Shit Goes Down – Muggs samples an Outlaw Blues Band record (that if you’ve followed hip-hop since the early nineties, you’ve heard it used a time or two before) for the mid-tempo back drop. B-Real advises all, that when its time to shoot it out with the police, make sure you have enough artillery for the battle, kids. Even though Muggs uses a recycled loop, he manages to bring new life to it in how he flips it. This was pretty dope.

Lick A Shot – Muggs’ instrumental on “I Ain’t Goin’ Out Like That” sounds very similar to the one he uses for this one, but somehow this one sounds so much harder and better than the former. B-Real rolls solo this time around, as he does more of his tough guy gun talk shit, and the simple but effective hook (“so I let the gat hummmmmmmm…”) is the cherry on top of this gangsta sundae. Speaking of sundaes, this is probably my favorite song on Black Sunday.

Cock The Hammer – Muggs follows up the hard darkness of the previous song with a cold and callous backdrop (punctuated by a rain sample that makes it sound even colder)that B-Real and Sen Dog use to brandish their weapons and praise violence over. And folks, the worship of violence never sounded so good.

Lock Down – A decent little instrumental interlude.

Lil’ Putos – For those who don’t know and are too lazy to look it up on their own, “puto” is a derogatory spanish word for a male homosexual, or a coward, or a traitor. Over a slow-paced instrumental built around a loop from Lou Donaldson’s “Ode To Billie Joe” (another sample you’ve surely heard used before if you’ve followed hip-hop since the early nineties), B-Real and Sen Dog talk about how they react when three little chumps try to rob them. I’ve never really felt this song. Muggs’ production work feels lazy on this one.

Legalize It – Short interlude advocating for the legalization of marijuana.

Hits From The Bong – Over a mellowed-out Muggs’ backdrop, B-Real gives details and pointers on smoking weed through a bong (if you don’t know what a bong is, Google it and you’ll find plenty of resources to reference). Even though I’m not a weed head, I can still appreciate a well put together song about weed, especially when the backdrop is as pleasant to listen to as this one.

What Go Around Come Around, Kid – The hook on this one reminds me of “When The Shit Goes Down”, and Muggs again turns off his creativity and recycles a sample (“Get Out Of My Life Women”) that had been used at least three times prior in hip-hop, and doesn’t bring anything new with how he flips it. Needless to say this one doesn’t work for me.

A To The K – Filler shit.

Hand On The Glock – Loose recreation of “Hand On The Pump”, but is doesn’t come close to the former.

Break ‘Em Off Some – And more filler shit.

For Black Sunday, Cypress Hill sticks to the old adage, if it ain’t broke don’t fix, as they use the same formula as the debut album: dusty-blunted Muggs production (though it sounds a bit more refined this time around) with B-Real and Sen Dog smoking weed or an adversary, on every track. Also, like the debut, Black Sunday starts off strong and slowly begins to go down hill (no pun intended) from there. With the exception of “Hits From The Bong”, the entire second half of Black Sunday is filled with regurgitated concepts and recycled loops that result in a mediocre listen. I might get stoned (no pun intended) for saying this, but in my opinion, Black Sunday is not the classic a lot of Cypress Stans claim it to be. Cut it in half and then you half an argument. As is, it’s Wendy Williams: top-heavy, but not much going on on the bottom end.

-Deedub

Well, let’s go ahead and add another one to the list of one and doners. One hitters and quitters. One pump chumps. That last one probably isn’t the best analogy, but you get the drift. Anybody remember the Rumpletilskinz?

No, I’m not talking about the children’s fairytale. I’m talking about the four man crew (consisting of The Capitol L.S., Sha-Now aka Remedy Man, Jeranimo and the group’s deejay/producer, R.P.M.) from the Long Island suburb of Uniondale, New York. The first time I heard Rumpletilskinz was their cameo on The Leaders of The New School cipher joint “Sound of The Zeekers”, and if you read my blog on a regular basis you already know how unimpressed I was with that song (if you don’t read my blog on a regular basis and want to read how unimpressed I was by that song, click here). Fast forward to 1993 (or rewind?). One day while I was watching one of the hip-hop music video shows, a video of four grimy looking cats rapping over rough drums and one of the illest horn loops my ears have ever heard comes on, which happened to be the lead single for Rumpletilskinz debut album. Earlier I mentioned the first time I heard Rumpletilskinz was on the LONS joint, but I didn’t know who they were by name (I actually didn’t realize that Rumpletilskinz was on the song until I was thumbing through the liner notes while revisiting A Future Without A Past for this blog). The instrumental on their lead single (which we’ll discuss in more detail in a bit) was dope enough to make me cop their debut album What Is A Rumpletilskin?

R.P.M would handle the bulk of the production duties on What Is A Rumpletilskin? with an occasional assist from his crew members and two outside sources. What Is A Rumpletilskin? was not critically acclaimed upon its release, and it’s probably still about 150 sales short of earning a wood plaque. Ultimately, the boys would close the Rumpletilskin shop after one album, giving up their dreams of becoming hip-hop legends, and get jobs at the local Home Depot.

My memories of What Is A Rumpletilskin? aren’t great ones, but lets see how it sounds nearly 25 years after its release.

What Is A Rumpletilskin? – Over a simple drum beat, our hosts attempt to answer the question posed in the title of this interlude. And while they do manage to spit some forgettable bars, they never give a proper answer to the question. Props for actually punctuating the song title, though.

Attitudes – This was the lead single from What Is A Rumpletilskin?, and the song that was so pleasing to my ears that I couldn’t resist buying the album back in the day. R.P.M. hooks up, in my opinion, one of the best instrumentals of 1993, and one of the illest horn loops in hip-hop history (yeah, I said it). Capitol L.S., Sha-Now and Jeranimo aren’t great lyricists, but the catchy hook combined with the rough drums and beautifully warm horn loop laced throughout the song make up for what the foursome lack lyrically.

Hudz – R.P.M. hooks a dope mellow backdrop for this one, as his crew uses it to spit more forgettable lines over.

Mad M.F.’s – I’m not a fan of Chyskills dusty backdrop or Rumpletilskinz below average rhymes on this one. By the way, Capital L.S. sounds like a poor man’s mixture of Busta Rhymes and Sticky Fingaz.

I-N-I – By this point it should be pretty clear to the listener that they will not be memorized by lyrical wizardry from the Rumpletilskinz. But you should be able to enjoy the smoothness of the R.P.M. and Jeranimo concocted backdrop.

Sweet Therapy – The self-proclaimed “mad muthafuckas” get in touch with their softer side on this one, as they sing praises to and serenade the ladies in their lives. Someone going by the letter “E” gets credit for the instrumental, which is built around a loop from The Stylistics’ classic “You Are Everything”. This was a decent listen.

Snikslitelpmur – Simple drumbeat interlude that the boys decided to title the group’s name spelled backwards.

Earthquake – Capitol L.S. takes a stab at the production thing, and manages to hook up a pleasantly laid back jazz flavored backdrop that he and the crew spew more mediocrity over.

Mushroom Talk – This is a song that I completely forgot about. R.P.M. flips a dark piano loop and turns it into a gem of an instrumental for the crew to sang praises to weed and shrooms. But back to the instrumental: it’s really, really good.

Is It Alright? – This was the second single released from What Is A Rumpletilskin? I didn’t know that until recently when I discovered the video for this song (or video for the remix of this song). The melodic backdrop on this mix is a lot more entertaining than the hot mess of an instrumental used on the remix.

Theramixx – This is a remix to “Sweet Therapy”. E’s backdrop for the original wasn’t spectacular, but it was a lot more entertaining than the bland mess R.P.M. provides for the remix.

Dacumin – Dope mysterious-sounding instrumental interlude, courtesy of R.P.M.

Hi Volume – Rumpletilskinz closes out What Is A Rumpletilskin? with an eerie-slightly dark R.P.M. produced backdrop that the boys use to spew out more underwhelming bars.

I have to admit that revisiting What Is A Rumpletilskin? these past few weeks has been a pleasant surprise. Maybe the massive amounts of other quality hip-hop albums I was vibing to back in the day when it came out caused me to give it limited attention, as I remember only really getting into the first two songs and writing the rest off as trash. But after living with What Is A Rumpletilskin? for the past few weeks, it’s actually a pretty decent listen. Don’t get it twisted, their rhymes are still trash, but the bulk of the production on What Is A Rumpletilskin? is vintage east coast hip-hop, and pretty enjoyable to listen to.

-Deedub

The break-up of 3rd Bass in 1991 started the beginning (and the end) of both MC Serch and Pete Nice’s short-lived solo careers. Both would release solo albums under the Def Jam imprint, which was also the label home for all three of 3rd Bass’ group efforts. MC Serch would strike first in the summer of ’92 with his solo debut Return Of The Product (click here to read my thoughts on Serch’s solo album, and to find out more about 3rd Bass’ break-up). Pete and 3rd Bass’ deejay, Daddy Rich, would go second, releasing their debut Dust To Dust, nearly a year after Serch’s project.

Pete Nice and Daddy Rich would handle the bulk of the production on Dust To Dust, with the steadily emerging production team, The Beatnuts, handling a handful of beats as well. Needless to say, Dust To Dust wasn’t a commercial success, and it received mixed reviews upon its release.

I found Dust To Dust a few years ago at one of the used music spots I frequent. I’ve never listened to Dust To Dust before today, and even though I was aware that Pete and Rich released an album, I don’t remember hearing any of their songs on the radio or seeing any of their videos on TV back in the day. Like Serch’s Return Of The Product, Dust To Dustwould be the only album released by Pete Nice & Daddy Rich. 3rd Bass would go on to briefly reunite at the tail end of the nineties, but the trio wouldn’t give the hip-hop world any new music. It would have been nice to hear at least one more 3rd Bass album from my favorite white boy rap group.

Side note: Click this link to hear MC Serch talk about the hit Hammer had put out for 3rd Bass for dissing him back in the day. I hadn’t heard this story before, until a few days ago. Pretty interesting listen.

Rat Bastard – This was the lead single for Dust To Dust. Pete and Rich kick things off with a sleepy instrumental produced by The Beatnuts, and Psycho Les (of The Beatnuts) joins Pete on the mic. This was a very underwhelming way to start things off. Hopefully this isn’t a sign of things to come on Dust To Dust.

The Sleeper – Boy, is this one properly named. Pete Nice and Daddy Rich get together to concoct what may be the most boring instrumental in the history of hip-hop. He’ll, even the vocal sample on the hook (which is a clip of a woman performing a hypnotism telling her prey “you are getting sleepy”) encourages you to catch some Z’s. And as Pete pussyfoots through the track, you’ll become more and more woozy.

Kick The Bobo – This was the second single released from Dust To Dust. The energy level improves, slightly, on this one, as Pete and Rich hook up a decent backdrop, but Pete’s flow continues to sound choppy compared to the smoothness the listener became accustom to hearing when he was with 3rd Bass. I guess it’s all about evolution though, right?

Verbal Massage – This is the second Beatnuts’ produced track of the evening, and surprisingly, they get off to and 0-2 start. Pete Nice’s flow sounds disastrous over an instrumental that is the audio equivalent to watching paint dry.

The Lumberjack – Pete uses this one to give props to his deejay, Daddy Rich, and his turntable skills. Pete and Rich’s backdrop isn’t great, but it’s definitely an improvement from the production mediocrity that’s plagued Dust To Dust thus far.

Pass The Pickle – Fittingly, the duo follow-up the ode to Daddy Rich’s cutting skills with a comical interlude that has two old white guys (who I’m pretty sure are both played by Pete Nice) trying to recruit Daddy Rich to work in their deli slicing up meat (for $3.25 an hour), since he’s so nice at cutting things. They do make some comments that could be viewed as racist (like assuming Rich would take his paycheck and go buy a “big Jeep with big wheels” so he can “ride around with his hoodlum friends”), but it’s all in fun. It made me chuckle.

The Rapsody (In J Minor) – Pete Nice reunites with his production buddy from his 3rd Bass days, Sam Sever, who hooks a dope instrumental for his pal. Pete sounds more comfortable spitting over Sever’s backdrop than he did on any of the previous songs. Sever’s bouncy bass line and feel good vibes will make you want to listen to this a few more times. Plus, the song title itself is a clever play on words. The song closes with a voicemail from Pete’s mom, blasting him for getting involved in the rap game, which a nice little comic relief to cap off easily the strongest song on Dust To Dust.

Ho – The Beatnuts give Pete Nice yet another throw away instrumental to rap over, and he does nothing to make it even slightly interesting to listen to. This should have been called “The Sleeper Part II”.

Outta My Way Baby – Finally, The Beatnuts hook up a decent backdrop for Pete to flow over. You may recognize the piano loop that the instrumental is built around from Funkdoobiest’s “I’m Shittin’ On ‘Em” (or from the remix for Kool G. Rap & Polo’s “Ill Street Blues”…Jill Scott also used it on her song “Brotha”). I found it kind of interesting (or strange) that a white rapper would use a vocal sample of Slick Rick saying “rap money makin’ nigga” on the hook of his song. But all in all, it still makes for a decent listen.

3 Blind Mice – Pete makes a rare attempt at getting socially conscious on this one, as he invites Benz (a black man) and Kurios (a Hispanic man) to join him as they discuss racism, prejudice and stereotypes (all we’re missing is the Asian man and we could make this into a joke). Pete uses the song’s subject matter to slip in a “nigga” during his verse, which I’m not really a fan of, but I guess it fits in the context of his content. Unfortunately, the three emcees’ message gets lost in poor execution and Pete and Rich’s trash instrumental.

The World According To Hubert Dover – KMD gets credit for the bluesy backdrop, as a soundbite of Hubert Dover (I’m not sure who that is, but if you happen to know, feel free to fill me in in the comments) mumbling about being shot, plays over it. This didn’t do much for me, but whatever.

Rich Bring ‘Em Back – Pete invites Benz back to spit a verse, as well as his fellow Caucasian emcee, Cage. Pete and Rich’s instrumental sounds like a throw away MF Doom beat, but it’s not terrible. Unfortunately, Pete nor his buddies say anything impressive on the mic to make this song worth playing twice.

Blowin’ Smoke – Finally, Ebony & Ivory manage to hook up a dope backdrop. Peter doesn’t bring much to the table with his rhymes, but the rough guitar licks during the verses combined with the dope horn loop brought it on the hook make for a winning combination.

Double Duty Got Dicked – This interlude take segments from an interview with legendary Negro League baseball player Ted “Double Duty” Radcliffe, who earned his moniker for being both a quality hitter and pitcher. He died in 2005 at the ripe young age of 103. The duo take segments of Radcliffe talking about the misconceptions of the Negro League, being underappreciated and Babe Ruth. Not sure how this fits in to the overall scheme of Dust To Dust, but it’s a pretty dope historical piece that might make you think and/or tug on your emotions, like it did mine.

Dust To Dust – For the title track, Pete and Rich hook up a scant instrumental that still manages to sound pretty dope, even in its emptiness. Pete sounds as good as he did on “Rapsody” rapping over this minimal masterpiece.

Verbal Massage (Part II) – Pete and Rich invite The Beatnuts to remix the track they originally produced earlier this evening. They make just enough changes to make it a little more entertaining than the original mix, and suitable for midnight marauding.

In my opinion, MC Serch was the heart and soul of 3rd Bass, with Pete Nice being the Robin to his Batman. And after listening to Dust To Dust repeatedly for the last few weeks, that Batman analogy becomes more evident. First things first, Pete Nice does not have the personality, charisma or lyrical prowess to carry an entire solo album, which becomes painfully obvious about three songs into Dust To Dust. And unlike some other mediocre emcees who had quality production to make up for what they lacked on the mic, Pete doesn’t have that luxury on Dust To Dust, as he, Rich and (surprisingly) The Beatnuts, put together a string of boring loops and mediocre instrumentals, which gets interrupted from time to time with a dope track (see “Rapsody”,  “Blowin’ Smoke” and “Dust To Dust”) or a an entertaining interlude. I’m a collector of music, so I won’t, but I completely understand if you burn your copy of Dust To Dust and leave it as a pile of ashes.

-Deedub

Boss. Total Devastation. Mad Kap. Capital Tax. These are just a few of the hip-hop groups that dropped debut albums in 1993, only to disappear, never to be heard from again and become trivia questions in the annals of hip-hop. Today we’ll add another group to the ever-growing list of “one and doners”. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you: Da King & I.

Da King & I was a Brooklyn-based duo consisting of Izzy (the emcee and the  “I” of the group) and Majesty (the  deejay/producer and the “Da King” of the duo). I don’t know a whole lot about their back story and how they came together, but somehow they did, and released their debut album, Contemporary Jeep Music, on Rowdy Records (now there’s a blast from the past) in the summer of 1993. With Majesty handling the production for the entirety of the album, and Izzy holding down microphone duties completely by himself, Contemporary Jeep Music received pretty positive reviews, even though it didn’t move a lot of units.

Contemporary Jeep Music would be the only album from the duo, who disbanded shortly after the album’s release. Majesty would go onto to have a short-lived career producing songs for a few different r&b acts (most notably, a song for SWV, which came well after their “Weak” days (no pun intended)), while Izzy would go on to have his picture posted on the back of milk cartons throughout the country.

Contemporary Jeep Music – The album opens with a jazzy instrumental playing and Izzy giving an explanation for the album title.

Let’s Take A Trip – This one starts out with heavy drums, and a few seconds in, a nasty piano loop bleeds into the track. Then the bouncy bass line is added as Izzy makes his introduction to the world through rhyme. And with that, Contemporary Jeep Music gets off to pretty nice start.

Flip Da Scrip – This was the lead single from Contemporary Jeep Music. Izzy delivers semi-battle rhymes over Majesty’s mega-mellow jazz flavored backdrop. Izzy has a tendency to get too nasally with his tone and sounds like the Hanna-Barbera character, Snagglepuss, at times, And some of his bars are questionable (i.e. “talkin’ loud and aint saying nothing, your styles are more shitty than butt fucking” and “if your girl tried to diss me I wouldn’t care, because her nigga’s on my dick like pubic hairs”). All in all, this was a solid lead single for the duo.

Interlude 1 / Mc Asshole – Useless interlude.

Krak Da Weazel – This was the second single from the album. Over a hard and slightly dark instrumental, Izzy attempts to get gangsta as he shares a tale about his deejay/producer getting kidnapped and the lengths he goes through to get him back, which include him having to “krak da weasel”, which is slang for “having to use his gun” (a slang term that didn’t catch on, obviously). Izzy’s attempts at sounding like a hard rock aren’t even slightly believable, but Majesty’s instrumental is a thing of beauty (especially the sick break loop that comes in on the hook).

Interlude 2/ Amusement Park – Apparently Izzy never heard Ice Cube’s “Gangsta’s Fairytale”, or maybe he did and still decided to rip Cube’s whole idea for this song. The instrumental and Izzy’s animated flow sound like something that could have been on Pharcyde’s Bizarre Ride album. It’s not that it’s a terrible song, it’s just not original.

Brain 2 U – Majesty’s instrumental work on this one is really nice. Izzy, who is far from being an upper echelon emcee, actually rides Majesty’s backdrop beautifully on this one. But don’t expect this caliber of performance from Izzy for the duration of Contemporary Jeep Music.

Tears – This was the third single released from Contemporary Jeep Music. Majesty hooks up a bluesy backdrop built around a loop from The Ohio Players’ “Our Love Has Died”, as Izzy sheds a few tears after finding out he’s getting played by his main squeeze. This is a slept on classic, folks.

Soul Shack Interlude – Jazz meets hip-hop on this pleasant instrumental interlude.

Ghetto Instinct – This is a song I completely forgot was on Contemporary Jeep Music. Majesty lays a lovely mid-tempo backdrop built around a flute loop that Izzy uses to discuss things he deems as “ghetto”. Hearing this song today was like finding a $100 bill that you forgot you stuck in a drawer for a raining day.

Mr. All That – Izzy gets cocky on this one, and his Snagglepuss tendencies rise to new heights. But Majesty’s lovely instrumental blots out all of Izzy’s transgressions.

Interlude 3 /Jazz Skit – Dope jazzy instrumental interlude. My buddy actually used this loop for the instrumental on a demo he recorded back in the day. But I digress.

This Is How We Do – Never could really get into this one. It’s not a terrible song, but it’s definitely one of the weaker songs on the album.

Interlude 4/Izzy Sings Da Blues – Today it’s common place, but there was a time when emcees lost credibility for mixing hip-hop with r&b. Da King & I take a jab at the trend, as Izzy sings over a r&b track, before suddenly being interrupted by Majesty who smacks him up for “selling out”. This all sets up the next song…

Lost My Mind – And I actually enjoyed the smooth r&b groove on the previous song more than this trash.

Represent – I’m pretty sure between ’92 and ’95 it was a prerequisite for all hip-hop artist and groups to have a song called “Represent” or “Representin'” on their album. Over a bouncy up-tempo backdrop, Izzy does his best to represent and winds up doing a decent job.

Crack Da Weasel (Dat Other S***) – This sort of works as the remix to “Krak Da Weazel” (and I’m not sure if they intentionally changed the spelling in the song title or if they completely forgot how they spelled “Crack” and “Weasel” the first time around). This time around Izzy leaves the kidnapping tale behind and instead gives us three verses to brag about how dope he is. Majesty’s instrumental is dope, but not quite as dope as the instrumental on the original.

What’s Up Doc – This may be my favorite song on Contemporary Jeep Music. Majesty builds a beautiful backdrop around a Young-Holt Unlimited piano loop, as Izzy gets introspective, gives thanks and his shout outs. The only problem I have with this song is the corny hook, Izzy’s whiney vocal tone when he says the song title on the hook and the missing question mark in the song title.

After you listen to Majesty’s production work on Contemporary Jeep Music it’ll become crystal clear why he’s referred to as “Da King” of the duo. It’s not to say that Izzy is a terrible emcee, but at best he’s average. And without Majesty’s quality jazz drenched backings to support Izzy, I’m not sure if he would even reach the average territory. Majesty has a few mediocre moments (see “Lost My Mind” and “Represent”), but the majority of his instrumentals are fire. So, from a production standpoint Contemporary Jeep Music is a great listen, just don’t expect mind-blowing rhyming. I’m still curious to why Majesty didn’t get tapped to produce for more emcees after his masterful production work on Contemporary Jeep Music.

-Deedub

Will stick with the Queens theme for this one.

If you ask most folks about Akinyele, they’ll probably respond with “who?” And those that do recognize the Queens, New York native’s name, immediately remember him for his soft porn hit “Put It In Your Mouth”. Few remember his debut cameo appearance on the legendary Main Source posse joint “Live At The Barbeque”. Like all the other parties involved on that song, Akinyele was overshadowed by a young Nasty Nas’ legendary lead off verse, but his verse on that song was strong enough to get him a deal with Interscope Records, where he would release his debut album Vagina Diner in the summer of 1993.

The album title (and the artwork) for Vagina Diner would lead one to believe that Akinyele would be on some Luke/2 Live Crew shit, but he’s not (at least he wasn’t at this point). While woman degradation is the topic for a few of his songs (will get to those in a few) the majority of the album is Ak on some straight emcee shit. So, maybe Vagina Diner is a metaphor for the way he eats up these pussy emcees. But I digress. Akinyele would tap his fellow Queens brethren Large Professor, to handle the production from beginning to the end of Vagina Diner.

So if all else fails at least the beats will bang, right?

Worldwide – Vagina Diner kicks off with a flavorful jazzy backdrop and Akinyele dropping clever punch lines and rhyming with the hunger of a Christian coming off of a 40 day fast. My favorite line on the song (that still makes me chuckle every time I hear it) is “I graduated from lobbies, bangin’ on walls for a hobby, I’ll battle anybody, even a dead body”. Reading that doesn’t do much justice for the line, but listen to it in the song and you’ll appreciate it. The only bad thing about this song is the end when they fade Ak out as he continues to rip the instrumental to pieces.

Outta State – On this one Ak deals with the reality of becoming a man and surviving on his own. And like many poor ghetto dwellers, Ak turns to illegal activity to secure the bags. For those unfamiliar with Akinyele, he randomly does this gimmicky thing where he’ll end the final word of each bar with a frog “ribbit” type voice, and it can become pretty annoying at times. There’s no question Ak can spit, but he struggles to find himself on this underwhelming Extra P instrumental.

Ak Ha Ha! Ak Hoo Hoo? – I believe this was the first single released from Vagina Diner. Over a smooth jazz flavored backdrop our host spits more freestyle braggadocio rhymes. I was never a big fan of this song back in the day, but after listening to it again through some pretty quality headphones, I noticed a lot of interesting things going on in the track that I didn’t notice before (like the sick violin loop laced throughout the song). A better mix would do this song more justice, but I still appreciate it as is.

Dear Diary – Over a forgettable instrumental Akinyele spits more battle rhymes filled with cute punch lines. The song title and hook make absolutely no sense, as Ak encourages wack emcees to write  “this” in their diaries, and never really clarifies what exactly he wants them to write. Someone didn’t think this one through all the way.

Bags Packed – Akinyele offers up a little comic relief on this one, as he tells his freeloading girlfriend to get her shit and kick rocks. Some of Ak’s punch lines are witty and hi-larious (like “no living for free on my couch, eh yo I ain’t operating no type of covenant house” and “before you burst give me my keys, stop pleading for please, this ain’t church get off your fuckin’ knees…I’m not looking for a blow job, you better get a real job, so we can have some dough hobbs”), but his flow sounds awful on this one (he falls off beat a handful of times and stretches the annunciation of certain words, forcing them to fit). And as much as I love most of Extra P’s production, this beat is hot trash.

The Bomb – This was the second single released from Vagina Diner, and probably the biggest hit (I use the term “hit” loosely) on the album. Ak sounds revived and a lot more comfortable than he did on the last few songs, spittin’ over Extra P’s high energy backdrop. Well done.

Beat – Sometimes a song title sums the song up perfectly. Which is the case for this short instrumental interlude.

Checkmate – After the brief intermission that was the last track, Akinyele picks up where he left off at on “The Bomb” and completely destroys this understated Extra P instrumental. He also drops what is probably his best rhyme on the album with “I make punk rappers stutter, ya-ya-ya-ya-yo, I bring out the Das EFX in a muthafucka”. This song is tough.

I Luh Hur – There is no way in the world this song would have made it off the cutting room floor today. And especially not on a major label like Interscope. Ak tongue and cheekly, talks about his girl getting pregnant and how much he doesn’t want her to keep the baby. He then outlines several diabolical schemes to get her to lose the baby, which include: giving her a hanger to perform her own abortion, having his boy kick her in the stomach, punching her in the stomach and pushing her down a flight of steps. He does come back at the end of the song to say even though he’s talking all this shit that he still loves her. But that’s a hell of a way to joke with your lady. On a lighter note, Extra P’s instrumental on this one is a thing of beauty.

You Know My Style – Short, but dope instrumental plays while our host repeats the song title several times over for about 30 seconds.

Exercise – Our host gets back to the comic relief on this one, as he explains how much he despises exercise. Extra P’s jazzy backdrop compliments Ak’s amusing punch lines well.

No Exit – Here is another song that would have never seen the light of day if it were made in the new millennium. Extra P slides Ak a bluesy backdrop that he uses to play an abusive boyfriend who threatens to kill his woman if she leaves him. Yes, the subject matter is very dark, but Ak tries to approach it in playful manner. If you’re like me, you’ll feel a little guilty when you chuckle at line likes “after one hit, you’re ready the split, what are you test crashing cars? That’s that old dumb-dumb shit”. It’s a guilty pleasure, but I actually like this song

30 Days – Akinyele ends Vagina Diner with this ode to doing time in prison. I would have been perfectly fine with Vagina Diner ending after “No Exit”.

I’m sure I’ve said it before at some point on this blog, but I’ll say it again: Extra P is one of my favorite hip-hop producers of all time. So, back in day when I initially saw that Large Professor produced Vagina Diner in its entirety, I was super excited to hear the album. And I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed after listening. Don’t get me wrong, Vagina Diner is not a bad album, it’s actually a decent listen, but I was expecting so much more. Only about half of LP’s beat are dope and the other half dangle somewhere in between mediocre and wack. As far as Akinyele himself, he displays enough to prove that he is a formidable emcee with the ability to deliver witty punch lines, reminiscent of Lord Finesse, but at times on Vagina Diner a tight flow and delivery take a back seat to his cleverness. And some of his song ideas are god awful and/or arguably inappropriate. If you happen to come across Vagina Diner for a few bucks it might be a worthwhile purchase, but your collection won’t be incomplete without it.

-Deedub

We last heard from the Intelligent Hoodlum in 1990 with his self-titled debut album. While the album didn’t move a ton of units some of it singles (“Back To Reality” and “Arrest The President”) made enough noise for A&M/Polygram Records to green light a follow-up project. The intellectual thug would return in 1993 with his sophomore effort, Saga of A Hoodlum.

With Saga of A Hoodlum the Intelligent Hoodlum would begin to shed his old alias and replace it with his new one, Tragedy (years later that would morph into Tragedy Khadafi). Tragedy’s debut album was surrounded with a little controversy, as Marley Marl was given the production credit for several songs that Large Professor actually produced (even Tragedy will vouch for that). This time around Marley Marl, along with his apprentice K-Def, would handle the bulk of the production load. Much like Intelligent Hoodlum, Saga of A Hoodlum didn’t move a ton of units, and came and went like the summer months it was released in. It wouldn’t be until the new millennium that Trag would release another album, as he would re-emerge, as his much more thugged out persona, Tragedy Khadafi. But that’s a story for another day.

Shalom A Leck – Tragedy opens Saga of A Hoodlum with a raw and stripped down K-Def instrumental (with a funky little piano loop sprinkled throughout), and spits a quick freestyle verse that feels like he’s warming up for the rest of the album.

Hoodlum Intro – A short instrumental plays and it’s punctuated with our host saying “hoodlum is the past, intelligent is the future”. This would lead one to believe that our host is maturing…until they hear him get ratchet in the very next song.

Underground – The song opens with a beautiful trumpet loop, before the hard beat drops and Tragedy and his buddy, Trag-Lo, exchange verses. Tragedy says what may be the funniest rhyme off all time in his second verse when he spits “I do a backflip into a split, grab my dick, pick-up the glock and load the clip”. No matter how many times I hear that line I still literally lol when I visualize somebody actually doing all that shit (and his next line about being “so funky that my pen smells like shit” keeps the lol going). Based on the trumpet loop laced throughout the song, I would have guessed that Marley Marl produced this one, but the credit goes to K-Def, which shouldn’t be too surprising considering he was Marley’s production protégé.

Funk Mode – More funky horns courtesy of K-Def, who also uses the same Lou Donaldson loop that’s been flipped a million times before. Our host spits more freestyle bars and serves the quality backdrop justice.

Grand Groove – Tragedy dedicates this one to all his “peoples that passed away”, even though his rhymes have nearly nothing to do with his deceased crew. K-Def hooks up a beautifully somber backdrop that’s built around the same Isaac Hayes loop that Marley used for LL’s “6 Minutes Of Pleasure”. Even with Tragedy’s lack of focus, this was dope.

At Large – Trag gets political on this one, as he calls out the Catholic Church, Clarence Thomas, JFK and honest Abe (I still chuckle every time I hear him refer to Abe Lincoln in plural form (“Lincolns”)). K-Def and Marley Marl get credit for the quality backdrop.

Death Row – Over a cinematic K-Def/Marley Marl produced backdrop, our ex-convict host spits one verse from the prospective of a current death row inmate, chronicling his regrets, frustrations, anger and feeling of betrayal. Tragedy does a great job of making you feel and believe the character he portrays on this one.

Speech (Check The Time) – Short interlude that must have been taken from one of Tragedy’s live shows. The short clip has Trag and one of his partners talking to a crowd about checking the time, thus the song title.

Mad Brothers Know His Name – Tragedy uses this one to kick battle rhymes as he threatens to burn biter’s “mouth like hot sauce” and brags about having more loot then Ebenezer Scrooge. Trag’s rhymes are kind of stale on this one (especially when he makes a Little Rascals reference and says as a kid he was “nappy headed like Stimey”. I’m pretty sure he meant Buckwheat, but whatever), but even worst is the empty Marley Marl/K-Def concocted instrumental.

Pass The Tec – Over a mediocre K-Def backdrop, Havoc (one-half of Mobb Deep) stops by to drop a verse in between Tragedy’s. This song may have the corniest hook (see “pass the tech, we get hot like sex”) that I’ve ever heard on a rap song.

Street Life – Over a mellow mid-temp groove (perfect for midnight marauding), Trag shares the perils of a pregnant teen, a young drug dealer and stick up kid. This was released as a single (well, at least the remix was), and is a very underrated song.

Pump The Funk – Marley makes a little something suitable for pumpage in the jeep and are host gets his floss on over it. Decent enough, I guess.

Role Model – Tragedy puts back on his socially conscious hat for this one, as he addresses the importance of the youth having positive role models (or the lack of them). Kool Tee gets credit for the decent instrumental, and the song ends up sounding pretty decent.

The Posse (Shoot Em Up) – This song was originally released on the soundtrack for Mario Van Peebles movie Posse, which was released about a month prior to Saga of A Hoodlum. I always thought it was a bit odd that they tapped Tragedy for the song, but when you consider the soundtrack was released on A&M Records and that Tragedy was part of the A&M family, it makes perfect sense. Mr. Freaknasti hooks up an instrumental that does a good job of creating a western movie vibe and still manages to stay true to hip-hop’s code. Tragedy uses it to shares some interesting information about the history of the black cowboy and salutes the melanin-havin’-gun-totin’ gunslingers.

Grand Groove (Bonus Mix) – This is easily my favorite song on Saga of A Hoodlum, and ironically it’s not even a part of the proper album. For this remix, K-Def loops up a portion of Patrice Rushen’s “Remind Me” and builds a beautifully emotional canvas for Tragedy to reminisce and show love for his love ones that have passed away. And unlike the original mix, he manages to keep his rhymes focused this time around. Slept on classic.

Funky Roll Outro – Funny piano loop plays shortly bringing Saga of A Hoodlum to an end.

In 2007, Nature Sounds released a double disc featuring Tragedy’s first two albums (Intelligent Hoodlum and Saga of A Hoodlum), which includes the following bonus songs:

Funk Mode (Large Pro Remix) – Extra P, who is one of my favorite hip-hop producers and extremely unrated, gives the remix a rougher feel than the original with his hard-hitting drums. Both mixes work well in their own right.

Live & Direct From The House Of Hits – Tragedy pulls up and old demo from the Marley Marl vaults, and he and fellow Juice Crew alumni, Craig G tag team the mic and sound nice as hell in the process. Marley’s laid back instrumental samples the same James & Bobby Purify “I’m Not Your Puppet” record that Biz Markie used for Grand Daddy I.U’s “Something New”. I think Marley’s aiming his shot at Biz and I.U. at the end of the song when he says “now you know this is the first record you heard this beat with”, but I could be wrong. And after revisiting “Something New” today, bar for bar, I believe I.U. would give both Trag and Craig G a run for their money.

At Large (Marley Mix) – Marley’s instrumental pales in comparison to the original mix he and K-Def hooked up on the proper album. This one could have been burned, buried and forgotten, and not even Tragedy would have thought twice about it.

Saga of A Hoodlum came out in the mist of hip-hop’s golden era, where you had a lot of solid to classic albums being released on a regular basis. Saga of A Hoodlum is not a classic album, but it is definitely a solid effort from the Queenbridge native. For the most part, Marley and K-Def (as well as the lesser known producers on the album) provide quality beats, and Tragedy proves he’s still got it, as he matches the beats with quality rhymes. At least most of the time. Pound for pound Saga of A Hoodlum is better than Trag’s debut, and not a bad add to your collection if you happen to run across it.

-Deedub

“This is protected, by the red, the black, and the green, with a key…sisseeeeeeeeee!”. Anybody who has listening to hip-hop since the nineties should be familiar with that signature song closing statement. In fact, in an era when a lot of rappers and producers stamp their songs with signature statements and adlibs (i.e. Kanye West, Rick Ross, French Montana, Mike Will Made-It, Metro Boomin) the subject of today’s post may be one of the first hip-hoppers to ever do it.

Most of you know Professor X as the crippled bald-headed leader of the Marvel Comic superhero clan the X-Men, but some of you may also remember him as the sunglass-African-garb-wearing overseer and hype man (and arguably the face) of the black militant hip-hop group, X-Clan (and a very small portion of the world may know that he was also the son of the political activist, Sonny Carson). After X-Clan released their highly respected 1990 debut album To The East Blackwards (read my thoughts on it here), Professor X would release his solo debut album, Years Of The 9, On The Blackhand Side, the following year. I have never heard a single song from that album (that I’m aware of, at least), but I did find his second solo release, Puss ‘N Boots (The Struggle Continues…), at one the spots I frequent.

Other than the lead single (that we’ll get to in just a second) I’ve never heard anything else from Puss ‘N Boots before today. The entire album was produced by Scratch Me Productions (which I’m assuming is a collective) and came and went without anyone really noticing. I’m not a huge fan of Professor X, but I was a bit curious on how the man who only spoke on the intro, bridges, and outros of songs with X-Clan, would carry a solo album. And for a dollar I was willing to follow my curiosity.

Sadly, Professor X passed away in 2006 from Spinal Meningitis. He was only 49 years old.

Close The Crackhouse – This was the lead single from Puss ‘N Boots, and the only song from the album that I’ve heard prior to today. Professor X kicks thing off with a nine minute Public Service Announcement, and he brought a bunch of his friends along to help. Brother J (from X-Clan), Wise Intelligent (from Poor Righteous Teachers), Big Daddy Kane, Shock G, Humpty Hump and Money B (from Digital Underground), Ex-Girlfriend (who I thought was En Vogue), Chuck D, Sister Souljah, Mickey Jarrett, Freedom Williams (whom I was mistaking for Ice-T until I read the liner notes and discovered it was C&C Music Factory’s lead man), YZ, The College Boyz (did you know that once upon a time the actor Romany Malco was the lead emcee for The College Boyz?), and Two Kings and A Cypher join our host in demanding that all crack houses be closed down. The intent was good, but this was painful to listen to. It’s hard to make a collage of beats (a la Ice Cube’s “Jackin’ For Beats”) work, especially when the majority of the switch ups are garbage. To add insult to injury, none of the emcees involved sound that impressive. But if I had to pick a winner I’d go with BDK.

Shalom – Is the Hebrew word for peace. I didn’t have the patience to decode all of Professor X’s riddled spoken word/raps (and I’ve listened to it well over 10 times by this point), so I’m not sure what the hell he’s talking about on this song.

They Don’t Know Jack – Brother J makes his 3rd consecutive appearance on Puss ‘N Boots (he added adlibs to “Shalom”), as he and Professor X are back on their soap boxes exchanging verses. It was nice to hear Brother J spit on this one. Not only because he’s pretty nice with the mic, but also because I’m getting tired of hearing Professor X’s nasally spoken word pieces.

Cum – The song title may grab your attention, but that’s about the only thing about this song that is interesting.

Year Of The Wreck – The Scratch Me Production team slides Professor X a dope aggressive backdrop that he continues to spew his extremely abstract black militant messaging over.

Confidentiality – More coded militant messages from the Professor. I like the melodic instrumental, and love the horn loop brought in on the hook.

Wine E Wine – Over a brilliantly seductive instrumental Professor X continues his spoken word approach, as he (and the moaning woman vocal sample laced throughout the song) gives his politically charged message some sex appeal. Or is he really talking about sex?

U Can Do Better – Scratch Me Production hooks up a pretty solid backdrop for the Professor to verbally dance all over. Decent enough song, I guess.

Oshio – In numerology Oshio is a name for one of the life paths. The life path number for Oshio is 3. Now, I have no idea how Professor X’s rhymes (or spoken words) relate to Oshio, but I did find his comment about King David being “the original gin and jew” pretty amusing. The instrumental was pleasant and a nice way to end Puss ‘N Boots.

Puss ‘N Boots is a hot mess. Some of the production work is pretty nice, but Professor X’s whiney (or wine e) delivery becomes a bit annoying after only a few songs in. And trying to decode and make sense of his intensely abstract couplets is enough to give a brother a headache. Don’t get me wrong, I love music with substance, and I’m okay with some abstractions, but this shit is too much. Thank God it’s only 9 tracks long.

-Deedub