Time Is Illmatic

New addition to the collection. Man, May 4 1993 was a busy release day for hip-hop! Place this one right after Total Devastation.

I consider myself to be a true hip-hop head and somewhat of a hip-hop historian as well. So there are some groups that I’m not really a fan of, but when I come across some of their albums for a few bucks at a used music store, the historian in me forces me to buy them. Prime example of this impulse is today’s write-up on Funkdoobiest.

Funkdoobiest is the Los Angeles based trio consisting of lead emcee, Son Doobie, his right hand man Tomahawk Funk, and the group’s deejay/producer, DJ Ralph The Mexican (which is both a mouthful to say and a very corny moniker), who occasional goes under the alias of Tribal Funkster (which is the alias written by his picture in the liner notes). They were DJ Muggs’ (of Cypress Hill) protégés and part of his larger collective, Soul Assassins. Thanks to their relationship with Muggs, who was quickly building his brand as a respected producer by 1993, Funkdoobiest were able to score a deal with the independent label Immortal Records (with distribution from Epic) and released their debut album Which Doobie U B? in the spring of 1993.

Which Doobie U B? would feature production by DJ Ralph The Mexican, fellow Soul Assassins affiliated, T-Ray and the Doobies mentor of course, DJ Muggs. The album wasn’t a commercial success but it did receive favorable reviews.

Hopefully, Funkdoobiest can help TimeIsIllmatic start 2017 off on a good note. Happy New Year peeps!

The Funkiest – Which Doobie opens with a decent semi-dark Muggs instrumental that has Son Doobie rockin’ the mic solo. Interestingly, when I used to freestyle back in the day I would often say “action packed rhymin’ like Simon and Simon” (anybody remember that show?), and had no idea I was biting borrowing one of Son’s rhymes from this song. Hell, I didn’t even know I knew any of Funkdoobiests’ records. Muggs’ instrumental uses a shrieking loop that sounds very similar to the one that can be heard on “Jump Around,” which probably isn’t a coincidence, considering Muggs also produced that song. Decent start to the evening.

Bow Wow Wow – I believe this was the lead single from Which Doobie. The Muggs instrumental sounds like he was trying to recreate “Jump Around” with an “Atomic Dog” twist. Basically, it’s trash. Son Doobie rolls solo again and sounds like he’s freestyling with corny rhymes like “I’ll put you in my trunk like a goodfella, I’m a gut spilla, yeah I’ll get retarded like Helen Keller” and “then do the polka, I’m iller than the joker.” This one is garbage.

Freak Mode – DJ Ralph The Mexican (who I’ll only refer to as DJ Ralph M from this point on during this post) gets his first production credit of the night, and even spits a verse in between Son’s verses. Unfortunately, Ralph doesn’t make a good first impression, since his instrumental is just as mediocre as his verse.

I’m Shittin’ On ‘Em – Long before Nicki Minaj decided to squat and relieve herself on her competition, Son Doobie did it. By this point it’s clear that Son is not a great lyricist, but he sounds decent rhyming over T-Ray’s drunken piano loop driven instrumental (that uses the same Joe Williams’ “Get Out of My Life” sample used on Kool G. Rap’s “Ill Street Blues”). This is definitely an improvement from the previous song.

Who’s The Doobiest – Where is the question mark in the song title, boys? Speaking of question, I got one for Son: why the random diss of Deney Terrio? This song is hot garbage. And not just because he dissed Mr. Terrio.

Doobie To The Head –  This is easily my favorite song on Which Doobie. DJ Ralph M lays down a smooth laid back funk groove (complete with a nasty well placed horn loop on the hook) for Son and Tomahawk Funk to rhyme over. Neither emcee says anything worth quoting, but the instrumental was brilliant.

Where’s It At – That’s what I asked when I saw the title wasn’t punctuated with a question mark. But a question mark is the least of this songs troubles. This song is trash.

Wopbabalubop – B-Real stops by to join Son Doobie and Tomahawk as they rhyme over what may be the most generic and boring loop in the history of hip-hop. Not even B-Real or the Little Richard vocal loop on the hook can save T-Ray’s terrible instrumental.

The Porno King – This was kind of a weird (or useless) interlude. I guess the trio wanted you to know how much they adore porn. Moving on…

‘Uh C’mon Yeah! – You might not like it after the first few listens, but the DJ Ralph M instrumental will grow on you in time. While the instrumental might grow on you, Son Doobie’s useless rhymes will not.

Here I Am – Tomahawk Funk waited nearly the whole album for his solo joint and then squanders the opportunity with mediocrity. DJ Ralph M hooks up a decent instrumental that has a bit of a tribal feel to it, but Tomahawk spits underwhelming rhymes and quickly becomes annoying with way too many mentions of his tomahawk.

Funk’s On Me – Son Doobie ends Which Doobie with yet another lackluster solo joint. And DJ Ralph M was kind enough to match Son’s lacklusterness with a forgettable instrumental. Thank God this is the final song of the evening!

After listening to Which Doobie U B? over the last few weeks, I’m very thankful that I didn’t waste my hard-earned money on this album as a kid, and it also proves that snap judgements can be accurate. Son Doobie, who is the chief emcee (and I use the term “chief” loosely) of Funkdoobiest, sounds like a poor man’s B-Real mixed with Das EFX and Everlast, circa his House of Pain days, only less skilled and entertaining. His sidekick Tomahawk Funk only appears on a handful of songs and isn’t even worth wasting words on. The production on Which Doobie U B? is pretty cohesive, but cohesion isn’t always a good thing, especially in this case. With a few exceptions, DJ Ralph M, T-Ray, and surprisingly, DJ Muggs weave together lazy uncreative loops that lack energy and will leave you bored as shit listening to them. Based on Which Doobie U B? there is really no legitimate reason why Funkdoobiest should even exist in hip-hop, as they bring no real value to the genre. Hopefully they got better on their next few albums, but I highly doubt it.

-Deedub

No need in beating around the bush. Big Daddy Kane’s Prince Of Darkness was a hot mess. The mighty Kane seemed to have surrendered his crown and forsaken his core following in an attempt to increase his panty count. And based on the album sales, the ladies were just as unimpressed with the album as the heads. Fast-forward to 1993, and Big Daddy Kane would return with a chip on his shoulder for his fifth album Looks Like A Job For….

Like Prince Of Darkness, Looks Like A Job For would have Kane handling a portion of the production, but he would also get help from some well-respected producers in the game (that we’ll discuss in detail later). But even with the respected producers and Kane’s replenished hunger, Looks Like A Job For still didn’t move a ton of units, even though it did receive favorable reviews.

Let’s revisit Looks Like A Job For and see if Kane could reclaim the crown and continue his reign. You like that, right?

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and/or are having a wonderful Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. Happy New Year!

Looks Like A Job For… – Over a semi-rough TrackMasterz produced instrumental, Big Daddy Kane swoops down like a superhero to safe hip-hop, regain his street cred and prove he’s still one of the illest to ever rock a mic. I’m not sure about the first two objectives, but he definitely meets the last one.

How U Get A Record Deal? – This was the lead single from Looks Like A Job For The TrackMasterz get their second consecutive production credit, giving Kane a dope dark backdrop (which completely goes against the poppish grain that they are known for) for Kane to rip to shreds. Wait. Did he really just dis Kriss Kross?

Chocolate City – Things take a turn for the worse, as Kane invites his back-up dancers (Scoob and Scrap) and his little brother (Little Daddy Shane) to join him on the posse cut. The DJ Clash/Robert Brown concocted backdrop is trash, but Kane still manages to rip it to shreds. Unfortunately the rest of the parties involved can’t spit worth shit. And by the way, his boy Laree Williams (who adds some misguided adlibs at the end of the song) might have the most annoying singing voice in the history of music.

Prelude – Kane was definitely aware of the naysayers that thought he fell off and that his reign was over. Over a simple hand clap, Kane spits one hard verse to address those who think he went soft, and sends shots at the fake tough guys and studio gangsters. His verse sets up and goes directly into the next song…

The Beef Is On – Even with all of his love raps over the years, I’ve never considered Kane to be a “soft” emcee. His deep baritone and sharp lyricism have always gave him a hard edge. But he’s definitely not a gangster. He spends the length of this song trying to convince the listener (and the naysayers mentioned in the previous song) that he’s hard, and ironically becomes the studio gangster he talked about in the previous song. Kane’s self-produced instrumental rings just as hollow as his gangster rhymes.

Stop Shammin’ – Easy Mo Bee is a producer who’s not often talked about, but has quietly put together a pretty impressive production resume. He slides Kane a dope moody instrumental that he uses to tell suckas to stop frontin’. During the second verse Kane makes a weird comparison, as he criticizes black people for donating money to finding a cure to cancer (Leukemia, to be specific) and not giving money to…the Nation of Islam? Wtf? What does one thing have to do with the other? Regardless of Kane’s inane comparison, the song is still pretty dope.

Brother Man, Brother – For the second consecutive Big Daddy Kane album, his little brother, Little Daddy Shane, joins Kane for a duet. Cool V’s instrumental is decent, and so are Kane’s rhymes, but Shane should not be rapping, especially next to one the greatest emcees of all time. Not even blood should allow that to happen.

Rest Peace – Easy Mo Bee gets his second production credit of the evening. For this one he hooks up a modest backdrop that Kane demolishes with ease. This was simple, but dope.

Very Special – What would a Kane album be without a corny love song? He invites Spinderella (the “DJ” for Salt N Pepa) to join him on this duet, as they exchange cliché love phrases and generic metaphors and similes on this remake of Debra Laws’ “Very Special”. Kane is also responsible for the trash instrumental, and Laree Williams and Karen Anderson provide some borderline annoying vocals to the hook (and the adlibs they add at the end of the song are bad enough to make you skip to the next song). Bad rap and r&b at its finest.

Here Comes Kane, Scoob And Scrap – Kane again invites his back-up dancers, Scoob and Scrap, to join him on this cipher joint, as they get a chance to redeem themselves from their underwhelming output on “Chocolate City”. Kane sounds solid, but Scoob and Scrap once again disappoint and make it clear that they should stick to their day job (or night job) dancing. And Easy Mo Bee’s third contribution of the evening is butt.

Niggaz Never Learn – The legendary Large Professor stops by to slide our host an understated gem of an instrumental (which includes a portion of the same Five Stairsteps loop that Brand Nubian used on “Steal Ya’ Ho”). Kane drops two very impressive verses and makes it seem as easy as Sunday morning.

Give It To Me – This is probably my favorite song on Looks Like A Job For. Mister Cee loops up a Pleasure loop and turns it into a beautiful backdrop, as Kane nonchalantly boasts about being a lady’s man while simultaneously trying to talk the ladies out of their panties. I would love to see the names on Kane’s hit list during his hey day. It must be pretty impressive.

‘Nuff Respect Due (Remix) – The original version of this song was one of many excellent joints on the nearly flawless Juice Motion Picture Soundtrack. The song uses the same lyrics as the original, but swaps out the brilliant Hank Shocklee/Gary G. Wiz instrumental for a more stripped down Easy Mo Bee backdrop. I’ve never liked this remix and still don’t.

Finale – Over a funky little diddly of a beat (that Kane produced), Kane gives his shout outs before gettin’ the hell out of Dodge.

The criticism Kane received for being too soft on Prince Of Darkness certainly affected him, as this time around he keeps the corny love ballads to a minimum (see “Very Special”), and at times goes overboard to prove he’s got street cred (see “The Beef Is On”). While most of Kane’s own production work fails, the Trackmasterz, Easy Mo Bee and Extra P balance the album out with pretty solid backdrops. Lyrically, Kane reminds me of Jordan in his last two years with the Washington Wizards: not his best output, but still better than 90 percent of the league. Looks Like A Job For is definitely an improvement from the debacle that was Prince Of Darkness, but still far from great.

-Deedub

Over the years hip-hop has given the world a bunch or really dope groups: De La Soul, EPMD, Brand Nubian, Gang Starr, and Outkast, just to name a few. I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned several times while doing this blog that A Tribe Called Quest is my favorite hip-hop group of all time. In an industry filled with gangster posturing and tough guy talk, I’ve always loved and appreciated their common man/introspective brand of hip-hop. But if ATCQ is my favorite group of all time, The Roots are a close second.

The Roots (who originally called themselves The Square Roots, but later dropped the “Square”, as another band was using the name) original started with only two members. Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter, met in the late eighties while in high school in West Philly. As Questlove explains in his memoir Mo” Meta Blues (which is a good read for any of my book lovers out there), he and Thought came from two completely different backgrounds (Quest grew up in a sheltered Christian two parent home, while Thought was a bastard street kid), but Quest’s respect for Thought’s virtuoso rhyming ability, Thought’s respect for Quest’s skillful drumming, and their love of hip-hop, gave the two a common ground to build their relationship and music on. Eventually the duo started performing together on the streets of Philly with Quest drumming on a bucket and Thought rhyming over his rhythms. Over time the duo would add more pieces to their street band (including Scott Scorch, Leonard Hubbard and real instruments), got serious about the music and begin to seek a record deal. Eventually the group made some connections and got the opportunity to do a bunch of shows in Europe. They decided it would be a good idea to record an album that they could sell as merch at these shows, and called the album Organix (the release date is probably not correct, since according to the liner notes, one of the songs on the album (“Essawhamah?”) was recorded live on May 19, 1993. So, I doubt they recorded that song live, went back to the studio for mixing and mastering of the entire album and pressed up the tapes and cd’s all in the same day. Since I wasn’t able to verify the release date anywhere else, I’m rollin’ with Wikipedia’s date. Sorry Ed.). Organix caught the ears of a few labels, which eventually led to them signing a deal with DGC/Geffen Records.

I’ve followed The Roots since their Geffen debut Do You Want More?!!!??! in 1995, but didn’t become hip to Organix (or even know it existed) until well after the new millennium. Thanks to Cargo Records, Organix was re-released in 1998 for fans around the world to buy and listen to the humble beginnings of the legendary Roots crew. Lets listen to it together, shall we?

The Roots Is Comin’ – Organix opens with a simple and melodic mash-up, and a young Black Thought giving us a glimpse of the raw emcee potential that he would soon master.

Pass The Popcorn – Questlove (who sounds like a poor man’s Trugoy from De La Soul on this one) and The Roots’ buddy, Kid Crumb join BT on this mini-cipher joint. And Thought easily raps circles around his less polished compadres (he even comes back and spits a second and final verse, almost as to rub it in their faces). Quest and company’s live instrumentation isn’t great, but decent enough.

The Anti-Circle – The title is kind of clever, considering when this song was recorded they were calling themselves The Square Roots. Over a funky mash-up Black Thought shows more of his blossoming emcee abilities. This was pretty dope.

Writers Block – Over a mediocre instrumental, Black Thought spits a short spoken word piece. He’s definitely more effective as a spitter than as a spoken word artist.

Good Music (Preclude) – Thought spits a quick animated verse over some Questlove drums, which leads into the next song…

Good Music – Thought’s animated rhymes are all over the place (Kid Crumb makes a brief contribution to Thought’s final verse), but the smooth instrumental lives up to the song’s title.

Grits – “Grits” is The Roots’ slang word for “skinz”, which didn’t really catch on or stick (no pun intended). Malik B (who would soon become Robin to Black Thought’s Batman on The Roots’ next album), Mr. Greene and Possey Plant join Thought as they playfully brag about the amount of grits they get, and poke fun at each other about their lack of grits consumption. The band hooks up a decent enough backdrop, and this ends up a being a cute little record, I guess.

Leonard I-V – The Roots hook up a moody backdrop that Thought flips all over (“and I believe it’s destiny that I got put, in a position to throw lyrics like a shot put, yo, no matter the circumstance, Thought can always make you dance, like ya got the hibbie-jibbies or a hot foot”). The song title must be an inside thing, but this is probably my favorite song on Organix .

I’m Out Deah – If you first became familiar with The Roots from their second album Do You Want More?!!!??! (like myself), than you may recognize the dope after hours jazz groove on this one from the intro on their sophomore effort. Black Thought rips the shit out of it, showing more glimpses of the rhyming virtuoso he would soon become.

Essawhamah? (Live At The Soulshack) – This was also included on Do You Want More?!!!??!. Well sort of. The mash-up is slightly different, and Thought’s rhymes and skats are different. Must be a spontaneous thing they improvised at live shows, and according to the liner notes this version was recorded at a show in Slovenia, Yugoslavia (which the liner notes in Organix misspell as “Ugoslavia”).

There’s A Riot Going On – Short interlude of someone snoring. I’m not sure what the hell this was about, but whatever.

Popcorn Revisited – As the title suggest, this kind of works as a remix to “Pass The Popcorn”. Questlove and company provide a hard instrumental with a menacing bass line. Thought rolls solo with the rhymes, as he regurgitates his first verse and Questlove’s verse from the original, before adding a new third verse. This was okay.

Peace – Another Black Thought spoken word piece that I could do without.

Common Dust – The hook would lead one to believe that this song is about the frailty of man, but Black Thought and Kid Crumb’s rhymes are so abstract I’m not sure what they’re rapping about. I love The Roots instrumental work on this one, though. Especially Chuck Treece’s sick guitar licks.

The Session – The Roots invite their extended Philly family and crew, known as The Foreign Objects, to join them on what may be the longest posse cut in the history of hip-hop, as 10 different emcees (AJ Shine, Lord Akill, Mr. Manifest, Shorty (the female emcee who I first became familiar with on a few contributions she made to De La Soul’s Buhloone Mindstate, which was also released in ’93, and I’ll be covering it in the near future), Myself(??), Possey Plant, Mr. Armstead (whose alias I can’t quite make out in the introduction), Malik B, Questlove and Thought) grace the mic on a cipher that goes on for nearly thirteen minutes (12 minutes and 43 seconds to be exact, which The Roots felt the need to document in the liner notes). Unfortunately none of the emcees really impress (including Black Thought) and the instrumental is drab, so it makes the thirteen minutes a pretty painful listen.

Syreeta’s Having My Baby – Again, the title must be and inside thing (unfortunately at this point Questlove wasn’t putting detailed info for each song in the liner notes, so the listener is left in the dark to the meaning). It’s basically a short and decent instrumental mash-up.

Carryin’ On – Over an instrumental that sound suited for the circus, Black Thought and company end Organix with a little horse-play. And we’re done.

Like I mentioned in the intro, my introduction to The Roots was their sophomore album Do You Want More?!!!??! back in 1995. And that is an album I still hold in high regard today. I didn’t purchase Organix until about 8 years ago, and when I initially listened to it I thought it sounded amateurish compared to the rest of their catalog, so I kind of wrote it off as trash. Fast forward to today, and after several listens the past few weeks, I’m changing my story. Do You Want More?!!!??! set the standard high. And even though the grooves aren’t as tight, at times it sounds too experimental, and Black Thought (who in my opinion is the most underrated emcee of all time and deserves a spot on your top 10 list…yeah, I said it!) was still a little wet behind the ears as an emcee, there are some bright moments on Organix , even if you have to dig a little deeper than usual to find them. No, Organix is not (even close to being) a great album, but it does serve as the foundation and a historical reference point for one of the greatest hip-hop groups, and the greatest hip-hop band, of all time.

-Deedub

After writing up my last post on Guru’s Jazzmatazz: Vol. 1 and beginning my assumed next post on The Roots debut album, Organix, all this jazz influenced hip-hop made me think about the subject of today’s post (Well, listening to Organix actually made me think about them, since The Roots make reference to them at least twice on that album). I’ve had the album in my collection for years, so I did some date checking and found that I wrote the wrong release date on my spreadsheet, which isn’t the first time and I’m sure won’t be the last. You can file this one right after Apache’s Apache Ain’t Shit.

When it comes to jazz infused hip-hop it’s fair to say the A Tribe Called Quest fathered the style (I know they weren’t the first group in hip-hop to sample jazz records, but no one did it as consistently, skillfully or was more impactful with the style than ATCQ, and I’m sticking to my story). As the nineties continued many more groups surfaced using jazz flavored production reminiscent of ATCQ. Seemingly out of know where, the Digable Planets were one of those groups to arrive on the scene.

While none of the true three members in Digable Planets are from New York (the group’s founder and chief emcee, Butterfly is from Seattle, Doodlebug is from Philly, and Ladybug Mecca is from Maryland by way of Brazil) the group’s birth is rooted in Brooklyn (Check out Brian Coleman’s Check The Technique for in-depth detail on the groups beginnings and formation). I say true members in the last sentence, because the group had a few different line ups prior to finalizing the roster and signing their deal with Pendulum in 1992 and releasing their debut album, Reachin’ (A New Refutation Of Time And Space) in early 1993.

The liner notes make it clear that Butterfly is the brains of the operation on Reachin’, as it reads the album was “conceived, freaked, arranged and produced” by him. It was also Butterfly’s idea to have each member take on a moniker of an insect, which tied in to some of his socialist/communist ideology that the group should “work together for the good of the colony”(shout out to Bernie Sanders). Thanks in large part to their smash hit lead single (that we’ll get to shortly) Reachin’ earned the trio a gold plaque (for both the album and the single) and a Grammy. Despite the groups commercial success, Digable Planets did catch some criticism from some of their peers who thought their jazzy-hipster brand of hip-hop was too soft (most notably, the highly respected god emcee KRS-One).

It’s not often that a commercially successful album matches is critical acclaim, but it does happen from time to time.

It’s Good To Be Here – Reachin’ opens with a smooth instrumental that falls somewhere in between laid back and mid-tempo. The trio use it to celebrate their arrival to planet earth (the album’s running theme is that the DP’s are from outer space, which is supposed to explain (or justify) their abstract rhyming styling), and the opportunity to bless the mic and share their music with the world. Nice start to the evening.

Pacifics (From The Soundtrack To The Motion Picture N.Y. Is Red Hot”) –  Butterfly goes dolo on this one (well, for the most part…Ladybug and Doodlebug make a very brief appearance during the second verse), as he describes the happenings of the wild Brooklyn neighborhood he lives in. Butterfly’s rhymes are cool, but his backdrop is brilliant. Random factoid: This was not including on the soundtrack for “N.Y. Is Red Hot”. Matter of fact, the movie doesn’t even exist. Butterfly just thought it would make the song title sound iller. I can’t say that it made much of a difference, but whatever.

Where I’m From – This was the third single released from Reachin’ . Butterfly hooks up a smooth loop from K.C. And The Sunshine Band’s “Ain’t Nothing Wrong” (the same one DJ Quik used for 2nd II None’s, um, “Ain’t Nothin’ Wrong”) for the backdrop, and the DP’s each give you a verbal glimpse of where they come from. This was dope, but the instrumental on the “Aural G Ride” remix is bananas!

What Cool Breezes Do – The theme for this one is: to do you, as long as you’re being true to who you really are, and I can dig that. Butterfly hooks up a low-key rumbling bass line and adds a dope horn loop which makes for an enjoyable backdrop.

Time & Space (A New Refutation Of) – Butterfly’s instrumental feels like a mix of swing music and jazz, as he, Ladybug and Doodlebug smoothly talk their shit in their own abstract hipster way.

Rebirth Of Slick (Cool Like Dat) – This was the lead single from Reachin’ and is easily the biggest hit the Digable Planets limited catalog. I still remember hearing this song for the first time on BET’s Rap City back in the day. The black and white video had the Digable Planets taking the stage at a jazz club (which was probably supposed to be the facetious Cocoon Club that they jam at on the interludes throughout Reachin’) with a full band backing them as they spit their raps to a full crowd. At that point no one would have imagined (at least I wouldn’t) that this song would blow up the way it did, and eventually lead to the trio winning a Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. Some so-called hip-hop purists might have thought this was too soft back in the day, but you’re full of shit if you say you weren’t vibin’ to the rumbling bass line and addictive Art Blakey horn loop. And who was immune to repeating the catchy hook or the last bar from Butterfly’s opening verse (“we be to rap, what key be to lock”)? This was not only a smash pop hit, but is also a certified hip-hop classic.

Last Of The Spiddyocks – A spiddyock is apparently an old slang term used for a jazzhead, which if you haven’t noticed by now describes the DP’s pretty well. Props to whoever was in charge of the sequencing because this was the perfect way to follow-up “Rebirth Of Slick”. Butterfly sprinkles a slick trumpet loop over a dope bass line and drums, as the trio represent their love for both jazz and hip-hop.

Jimmi Diggin’ Cats – The DP’s go retro on this one, and pay tribute to the music and pop culture from the seventies. Butterfly loops up Kool & The Gang’s “Summer Madness”, and gives the smooth loop a different flavor than DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince’s flippage of the same loop on their mega hit “Summertime”. This was dope. Legend has it that the DP’s originally wanted to used a vocal sample from a live Jimi Hendrix performance, hence the song title. They couldn’t get sample clearance, so the male voice you hear speaking in between verses tries to capture the magic of that Jimi sample. You can be the judge of whether he succeeded or not.

La Femme Fetal – “Rebirth Of Slick” is the strongest song on the album, but in my opinion this one is a close second. Butterfly hooks up an emotional backdrop and resorts to a spoken word delivery (that he admits he borrowed from Jalil from the Last Poets) to tell the story of a pregnant female friend who is contemplating abortion. Butterfly sets his abstract rhymes aside and takes on a more straight forward approach and winds up delivering the strongest and most powerful verses on Reachin’ . This is a much slept on classic.

Escapism (Gettin’ Free) – Over funky guitar licks, Butterfly, Doodlebug and Ladybug each take a turn to get open and get free. Random factoid: Butterfly reveals in Brian Coleman’s Check The Technique that they originally were going to use Parliament’s “P-Funk (Wants To Get Funked Up)” on the hook, but couldn’t get sample clearance.

Appointment At The Fat Clinic – This may be my least favorite song on Reachin’ . And it’s still not a bad song, which says a lot about the quality of the album.

Nickel Bags –  This was the second single from Reachin’ . No, they’re not talking about weed, but they do compare their music to the herbal medicine, hence the song title. Butterfly’s instrumental has a nice breezy summertime feel mixed with a touch of funk swag. This was a nice way to follow-up “Rebirth Of Slick” and show a slightly different musical side to the group.

Swoon Units – Butterfly hooks up a smooth-melodic backdrop that he and Doodlebug use to celebrate beautiful women, aka swoon units. You can put this one next to De La Soul’s “Buddy” or ATCQ’s “Bonita Applebum” and “Electric Relaxation”. I’m probably trippin’ with that last statement, but it is a dope record.

Examination Of What – Every time I hear this it sounds like they ripped the whole idea from ATCQ’s “What” (and I feel like I’ve mentioned ATCQ’s way too many times in this post). That said, I still like their verbal abstractions and Butterfly’s understated and slightly mournful backdrop. “We’re just babies, man”.

Long title aside, albums like Reachin’ (A New Refutation Of Time And Space) are truly the reason I enjoy doing this blog. I’ll be the first to admit that about ninety percent of the stuff I loved and appreciated back in the day sounds dated or juvenile when I listen to it today. It’s rare that an album that I listened to as a snot-nosed kid sounds equal or better today than it did way back then. Reachin’ is one of those rare occasions. Musically, from beginning to end, Butterfly’s slick jazz concocted (with a slight touch of funk sprinkled here and there) soundscapes are just as enjoyable today as they were over twenty years ago. But the trio’s abstract rhyming sounds more intriguing now than it did back in the day (which can probably be contributed to my more developed attention span and personal intellectual growth). Reachin’  isn’t gangsta, but I wouldn’t call it soft either . It’s simply grown folks hip-hop. And a classic hip-hop album that stands the test of time.

-Deedub

It’s safe to say that with three solid albums under their belts (well, at least two solid albums…No More Mr. Nice Guy was questionable) and another one to come the following year, that by 1993 Gang Starr was peaking (shout out to the makers of the Netflix series Marvel’s Luke Cage for naming each of the episodes in the first season after Gang Starr songs, But I digress). A Premo beat was quickly becoming high demand, so when he wasn’t cooking up hot shit for his partner Guru to spit over, he was providing audible goodies for several other artists and quietly building his catalog and legacy as arguably the greatest hip-hop producer of all time. Not to be out done by Premo and his individual endeavors, Guru would also take on a side venture of his own. Many of the loops that Premo used on Gang Starr songs came from jazz records, so it wasn’t a far reach to hear Guru was releasing Jazzmatazz Vol. 1, which was his experimental solo project that would fuse hip-hop with live jazz.

Jazzmatazz would include live instrumentation and vocal contributions from such names as Donald Byrd, Roy Ayers, Lonnie Liston Smith and Ronnie Jordan, to name a few. Jazzmatazz didn’t sell a ton of units domestically, but it did manage to break the Billboards Top 200 R&B/Hip-hop albums (peaking at #91), and it also sold pretty well in Europe where jazz is more popular.

But you know my motto: sales don’t mean shit when it comes to determining the quality of music.

Introduction – Over a simple trumpet loop (or maybe Donald Byrd playing live? The liner notes don’t specify for some reason), Guru opens Jazzmatazz explaining why he took on this “experiment”, and shout outs all the parties that contributed to the album. Short and sweet.

Loungin’ – This was the first single released from Jazzmatazz . Jazz legend Donald Byrd puts in work on the trumpet and piano over hard drums and a dope bass line. Guru’s rhymes are kind of all over the place, but the instrumental work is sick. This one still knocks today.

When You’re Near – Guru invites Brand New Heavies’ vocalist N’Dea Davenport to join him on this very tastefully done hip-hop/r&b love duet. N’Dea contributes most of the vocalist, with Guru weaving in and out dropping a line or two, here and there. The production is credited to Simon Law (formerly of Soul II Soul) on the keyboards, which is cool, but the nasty bass guitar licks is what gives this song a soul.

Transit Ride – With Branford Marsalis on alto and soprano sax, and Zachary Breaux on guitar, Guru attempts to verbally paint the visual of a train ride through Brooklyn. The end results are decent.

No Time To Play – This was the final single released from Jazzmatazz . Guru stresses the importance of planning and hard work in order to be successful, while Ronny Jordan adds some nice guitar licks to Guru’s drum beat. DC Lee (who sounds a lot like N’Dea Davenport) and Group Home alum, Big Shug add some pretty solid vocals to complete this successful experimentation.

Down The Backstreets – Guru invites jazz pianist Lonnie Liston Smith to help create a dark sonic atmosphere, as he sends warnings, advice and threats to his rivals. I don’t know if Guru’s rhymes were that effective (or focused), but the instrumental is dope.

Respectful Dedications – Guru starts off the second half of Jazzmatazz (or side two if you’re listening on cassette) giving his dedications over what I’m pretty sure is Roy Ayers on vibes.

Take A Look (At Yourself) – Speaking of Roy Ayers, he is definitely present on this one. He lays down some dope vibes, as Guru gives constructive criticism to the “suckas always complaining about their situation”. This one is nasty. Definitely one of the strongest songs on Jazzmatazz .

Trust Me – I believe this was the second single released from Jazzmatazz . On this one Guru is trying to convenience his weary woman to stay with him. N’Dea Davenport makes her second appearance of the evening, and provides some dope vocals over the beautiful jazzy/bluesy Guru produced backdrop. After all these years, this one still sounds fresh.

Slicker Than Most –  Guru gets into some emcee shit on this one, spitting battle bars over Gary Barnacle’s sax and flute, and an uncredited guitar bass line. Well done, Guru.

Le Bien, Le Mal – This was the third single (I think) released from Jazzmatazz . French emcee MC Solaar joins Guru on this duet, as they discuss “the good and the bad” (at least Guru does…Solaar spits his rhymes in French, so hopefully he stuck to the script) over a slick backdrop.

Sights In The City – Guru wraps Jazzmatazz with this somber number that has him recalling some of the sad events that take place in the inner city. Courtney Pine plays alto sax, soprano sax and the flute, Simon Law is on keys and Carleen Anderson sings the borderline annoying hook. The song isn’t terrible, but if there is one song that could have been leave off of Jazzmatazz it would be this one.

Jazzmatazz Vol. 1 proves that live jazz fused with hip-hop can be pleasurable to the earlobes. Guru does a great job of staying true to hip-hop on Jazzmatazz , while allowing all his guests to shine and showcase their talents as well. Guru’s lyrics aren’t terrible on Jazzmatazz , but they definitely take a backseat to the music. All in all, the experiment was a success.

-Deedub

Thanks to groups like Cypress Hill, Redman, Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre’s mammoth solo debut album, The Chronic, weed became a vogue topic in hip-hop in the early nineties. While many rappers have bragged about getting blunted and provided free advertisement for dealers around the world, the self-proclaimed marijuana band Total Devastation, who may be a forgotten blip in the annals of hip-hop, may also have been the most dedicated hip-hoppers to the weed movement.

Total Devastation is the Oakland based collective of Da Soopa, Red Eye and DJ Tuf Cut Tim (who is also credited as the producer for most of their debut album). The trio released their debut self-titled (and I believe only) album in the spring of 1993 on PGA Records(which was a subsidiary label of Arista), home to such acts as gospel singer Pat Reid (yeah, I’ve never heard of him or the label before today, either). Total Devastation would not only boast of partaking in the herbal essence, but would also serve as advocates for the legalization of marijuana as well (they actually dedicate a full page in the liner notes to contact information for several regional and national groups working for drug law reform). I don’t personally know any one who bought this album back in the day (although I wouldn’t be surprised if Tony A Wilson owns a copy) and would be willing to make an educated guess that it didn’t move many units.

I copped Total Devastation a few months ago from one my favorite used music stores (shout out to Cheapos!) for a few dollars on the strength of the lead single that I kind of dug back in the day (more on that in a bit). I’ve never listened to the album in its entirety until today. So, come and join me on this musical adventure, folks!

Legalize Today! – The album opens with a loop from Peter Tosh’s “Legalize It”, which sets the tone for what you can expect to hear on Total Devastation.

Hemp Rally – Yep. The title is pretty self-explanatory. Over a very drab backdrop, Red Eye and Da Soopa takes turns endorsing their favorite pastime. And folks, I’ve never heard two rappers make smoking weed sound so boring. Other than the dope Busta Rhymes vocal sample on the hook, this shit was weak.

Many Clouds Of Smoke – This was the first single and the only song I’ve ever heard from Total Devastation before listening today. Tuf Cut Tim loops up Billy Brooks’ “Forty Days” (which you may recognize from ATCQ’s “Luck Of Lucien”) to create the dope backdrop. So, even though Red Eye and Da Soopa’s rhymes are sub par, you can still enjoy the lovely instrumental work.

Da Soopa Doopa – This is Da Soopa’s solo joint, and everything about this song sucks. Da Soopa just may have the most boring rap voice in the history of hip-hop. And it doesn’t help matters that his lyrics are garbage as well.

Fat Blunt Caper – Total Devastation continues to discuss their favorite pastime, and invite their buddy Da Rymeskeme to help them celebrate. Red Eye takes the last verse and goes on a weird rant about a women accusing him of rape, and him proving his innocence by producing a video tape of the activities (which is also a crime without the lady’s consent, homie). Even before Red Eye’s random rant this song was headed in the wrong direction.

Da Horny Man – Da Soopa had a solo joint, so it’s only right that Red Eye gets one too. Over a generic up-tempo backdrop, Red Eye drops one quick verse before gettin’ the hell out of Dodge. I must admit, he sounds a lot better than his partner in rhyme, Da Soopa. That said, this song is still trash.

Wonderful World Of Skins – Total Devastation takes a brief break from their favorite topic, to discuss another popular subject in hip-hop: sex, aka skins. It’s pretty clear at this point that Da Soopa and Red Eye aren’t going to impress lyrically, but at least Tuf Cut Tim’s instrumental is decent.

Come Again – Hot Garbage.

Cloud Nine – More monotonous praise and campaigning for the legalization of weed. Tuf Cut Tim manages to hook up a decent backdrop, but Red Eye and Da Soopa bring absolutely no lyrical value to.

The D.G.F. Style – Total Devastation invites Flymar and Whoop “D” Wham (which will definitely earn him a spot as a candidate for worst moniker) to join them on this cipher joint, as they display their “don’t give a fuck” style. As you probably already expected, no one impresses on this one, but it was kind of interesting to hear Da Soopa fire coded shots at the Oakland emcee Paris (“the devil made me do it, and break the grip of shame (both titles to Paris songs), punk muthafucka stay true to the game…poppin’ that shit about sleeping with the enemy, used to be a friend, but now you’re not shit to me”) and direct shots at N2Deep (“ya tryna sound black, but your shit sounds wack”) on his verse. I’m sure his futile verbal bullets didn’t even leave flesh wounds on his victims.

You’ll Get Blasted – The last line from “The D.G.F. Style” has Da Soopa talking about his tech-nine going “bow!”, which then immediately goes into this song. Da Soopa and Red Eye spend the length of this song threatening to put hot led in their adversaries asses. Threats that are hard to take serious coming from two weed head rappers with a frat boy persona. The instrumental is kind of nice, and the Ice Cube (‘with the boom, ping, ping!”) and RBX (“every night they shoot, it’s like Beirut”) vocal samples are a nice added touch.

Zooted – More praise and worship of marijuana, over a decent blunted instrumental. This time they invite their buddy Nappy (no, seriously…that’s what he goes by) to join them in the festivities.

Hemp Hemp Hooray (Relegalize Today) – The proper albums ends with a blunted instrumental and a man who sounds like he should be a game show announcer, sharing random facts about the history of hemp, and some of them are quite interesting.

Many Clouds Of Smoke (Remix) – The remix uses the same Billy Brooks’ sample as the original, but also includes a beautiful trumpet loop from the same song, giving it a little added flavor, which makes it more enjoyable than the original.

The self-proclaimed marijuana band, stays true to their cause and purpose on their self-titled debut album. Unfortunately, that doesn’t result in quality output. Tuf Cut Tim manages to hook up a couple of nice backdrops, but misses more often than he hits. But the biggest issue I have with Total Devastation is the emceeing: Red Eye and Da Soopa are both the quintessential wack emcee. From the content, to the lyrics, to the delivery, to their energy, the blunted duo bring absolutely nothing to the table, other than a dime bag of weed and a blunt, of course. Ultimately, Total Devastation is almost a total waste of wax, vinyl, tape and time.

-Deedub

We last heard from Masta Ace in 1990 with his debut album Take A Look Around. The album didn’t move a ton of units, but it was a critical success. Nearly three years later Ace would switch labels (leaving Cold Chillin’ for Delicious Vinyl), regroup, literally, and come back as Masta Ace Incorporated for his second release SlaughtaHouse. Ace adds the “Incorporated” to the name because his UmDada crew members (Lord Digga, Paula Perry, Uneek, Eyce, Latief, the Bluez Brothas, etc.) would make appearances and contribute to the production on SlaughtaHouse. Interestingly enough (to me, at least), Marley Marl doesn’t produce not one song on SlaughtaHouse. I’ve always wonder if Ace and Marley fell out after Take A Look Around, since Marley hasn’t produced an Ace song since. But I digress.

Like his previous release, SlaughtaHouse didn’t do well numbers wise, but was respected and appreciated by hip-hop heads alike. SlaughtaHouse would also mark the beginning of Ace’s current stretch of concept albums, including one he’s release just this year.

A Walk Thru The Valley – SlaughtaHouse opens with a bassy backdrop over heavy drums that Ace uses to spit a poem about the paranoia and cautious mind state a brother naturally acquires growing up in the concrete jungle. Not terrible, but I’ve heard better. The song ends with a short interlude that has Professor Masta Ace teaching a course in Hardcore Rap 101. He hilariously instructs his students to embrace all the clichés of hardcore hip-hop (“now when you rhyme, you have to say that you smoke blunts…also, you have to mention that you drink forties… you have to mention that you carry a nine millimeter, a tech nine, a mac ten, M-16, or an oozy”), setting up the next song…

SlaughtaHouse – This one opens with the faux rap duo of MC Negro and Ignorant MC, spewing out violent rhymes, as they promote their new LP, Brains On The Sidewalk. Then Paula Perry and Lord Digga interrupt things, introducing Masta Ace, as Uneek’s hard drums come in and Ace spews battle rhymes declaring war on all wack emcees.

Diggadome (Intro) – Over a simple instrumental, Lord Digga drops in to give the listener a formal introduction to SlaughtaHouse, and gives a brief explanation on the title and concept behind the album.

Late Model Sedan – Latief  lays down a jazzy up tempo instrumental that Ace uses to share the trials and tribulations of living in the hood. There is also an underlying story line about some kids who do a shooting and get away in a late-model sedan, hence the song title. This was pretty solid.

Jeep Ass Niguh – “Braniac dum dums, bust the scientifical, approach to the course and the force is centrifugal” may be the illest opening bar to a song in the history of hip-hop. Casual hip-hop fans may recognize the lyrics to this song from “Born To Roll”, which is actually the remix to this song (which was included on Ace’s third release, Sittin’ On Chrome). The Bluez Brothas hook up a disgustingly sick backdrop that Ace uses to celebrate his jeep’s bangin’ sound system. “Born To Roll” is easily the biggest hit in Ace’s catalog, and I love the instrumental on it, but the backdrop on the original is dope in its own right.

The Big East – Ace drops freestyle rhymes over a smooth mid-tempo backdrop, brought to you courtesy of The Beatheads. Lord Digga provides the hook, and Ace is kind enough to let him drop half of a bar. What a generous guy.

Jack B. Nimble – Over a simple Uneek instrumental, Ace tells the story of a drug dealer named Jack and his run in, and run from, the police. Decent song, but definitely one of my least favorites on the album.

Boom Bashin’ – Ace hooks up a monster instrumental with an extra nasty bass line, and drops pretty solid battle rhymes, with Lord Digga again stopping by to handle the hook and drops a few bars. Again, Ace’s backdrop is bananas.

The Mad Wunz – Ace’s rhymes are all over the place on this one. And his new-found “onbeat-offbeat” flow is on full display, while Lord Digga continues to do what he’s done for pretty much all the other songs on SlaughtaHouse to this point. Latief’s jazzy loop and heavy drums sound great behind Ace’s rhymes. The song ends with Ace talking about slavery and how the oppressors now use “cages” (aka the hood), to keep blacks in bondage, before going into the next song…

Style Wars – Masta Ace goes to war with himself, mixing conscious/militant rhymes with braggadocio lines, sometimes within the same bar. And what would a song on SlaughtaHouse be without Lord Digga’s minimal contribution? Ace and Digga’s rhymes are cool, but Ace’s hard instrumental is the true star of this one.

Who U Jackin’? – Paula Perry makes her only real appearance on SlaughtaHouse (no, I’m not counting the minimal contribution she made to the title song), as she plays the prey to Masta Ace’s stick up kid character. I know the subject matter sounds heavy, but Ace, Paula and the playful but solid Bluez Brothas instrumental, help keep things light. Shout out to Ace for including the question mark in the song title.

Rollin’ Wit UmDada – Ace uses this song to talk about a night out partying with his crew, UmDada. Ace’s rhymes aren’t that impressive on this one, but I love his instrumental, especially the warm horn loop brought in on the hook. The second part of this is a hidden track that has Ace kickin’ a playful freestyle over a backdrop that sounds a lot like one used on EPMD’s “Hardcore”.

Ain’t U Da Masta – More Ace freestyle rhymes over a decent Bluez Brothas’ backdrop, driven by a bluesy-drunken piano loop.

Crazy Drunken Style – The song begins with Ace and company making Lord Digga’s name into an acronym and spitting out comical randomness for each of the letters in his name as they spell it out over a simple, but dope, drum beat. Then the Bluez Brothas sick instrumental drops and Digga and Ace take turns spitting on it. Neither one of them sound spectacular on it, but they get the job done.

Don’t F*** Around (Outro) – An uncredited female (is that Paula Perry?) sings/sends a warning to all would be adversaries to not mess (or fuck) around with UmDada. The instrumental is built around the same loop that Dr. Dre previously used and made into a hit record for The D.O.C.’s “It’s Funky Enough”, which kind of takes away from Ace’s flipage of the loop.

Saturday Nite Live – Ace closes SlaughtaHouse with this cipher cut, inviting Uneek, Lord Digga and Eyce to join him (where’s Paula Perry at?), as they each take turns slicing up Uneek’s hard backdrop. It’s always nice to hear a cipher joint that each party involved holds their own weight.

On his debut album Take A Look Around, Ace had a lot to say. And while it had its share of fun freestyles, it also had a lot of well thought out social commentary pieces. I won’t say SlaughtaHouse is without substance, but Ace is definitely more focused on battle rhymes and showing off his new “onbeat-offbeat” flow than sound song concepts. Surprisingly, with all the hands involved in the production on SlaughtaHouse, it still manages to maintain a quality and cohesive soundscape. SlaughtaHouse definitely shows a different side of Ace than his fans were accustom to, but it’s still a dope album and holds up pretty well, twenty plus years after its release.

-Deedub

The Coup is an Oakland based group that came on the national scene in the early nineties. Upon its conception, The Coup consisted of three: chief emcee, Boots Riley, E Roc and the group’s deejay, Pam The Funkstress (nowadays, they’re pretty much a full ensemble band). Unlike the majority of west coast hip-hop groups in the early nineties, who were on some gangster shit, The Coup had a black militant stance and spewed consciousness in their songs. They signed to the now defunct Wild Pitch label and released their debut album Kill My Landlord, which was a clever way of calling out their white oppressors, and is a clever enough title to earn a TimeIsIllmatic nomination for best album title of 1993.

The liner notes for Kill My Landlord credit the production and arrangement to Boots, but as Boots adds in the “Producer’s notes”: “There’s hella shit on this album that’s naked-live, original basslines, hard to find drum samples, other live instrumentation, etc.”. Kill My Landlord didn’t move a ton of units, but it did receive favorable reviews.

The roster has changed through the years (and the labels), but The Coup is still making music today, with Boots as the face and voice (and afro) of the band. And even though they’ve tweaked their musical stylings over the years, they’re one of the few groups that have never compromised the message in their music, and that is commendable.

Dig It! – Kill My Landlord starts with a mid-tempo funk groove that has Boots and E-Roc setting the foundation on what political and conscious messages you can expect to hear throughout the album. Nice start to the evening’s proceedings.

Not Yet Free – This was the first single released from Kill My Landlord. Over a laid back groove Boots and E Roc give several reasons why the black man in America isn’t truly liberated, but only experiencing “casual freedom”. I love Boots’ final bars of the song: “my teacher told me that I didn’t know what right was, but she was wrong because I knew what a right was, and a left and an uppercut too…I had a hunch, a sucker punch is what my people got, that why I’m constantly red, black and blue”. Deep.

Fuck A Perm – Short interlude that Boots shows his black pride, stressing that “beauty is a natural fact”, so there is no need for brothers and sisters to put chemicals in their hair. Or as the title simple states, “fuck a perm”.

The Coup – Over a mid-tempo groove (with some dope live instrumentation) Boots gives a long drawn out explanation on the meaning of his group’s name, and during the process drops a lot of meat for the listener to chew on. It was kind of interesting to hear Boots call out Donald Trump twenty plus years before anyone thought he would be running for POTUS. Time is truly illmatic.

I Know You – Boots and E Roc discuss the tumultuous relationship between the black community and the police. The mid-tempo backdrop will touch your soul as it takes you on an emotional roller coaster (I love the organ on the hook). I love this song, and it couldn’t be more relevant based on the current climate of things in America.

I Ain’t The Nigga – Boots and company lighten the mood (well, kind of) with this one, as they make an argument on why it’s not cool for black folks to call them themselves the N- word. The instrumental uses a Sesame Street vocal sample, and the same Cymande loop Masta Ace used on “Me and The Biz” for the backdrop. This was dope.

Last Blunt – While most rappers endorse marijuana, Boots provides an interesting perspective and speaks to why we should not partake in the herbal essence. By the way, the female vocalist singing the hook almost single handily brings this song down in a fiery wreck. Yes, she’s that bad.

Funk – Boots relays a story about being mistaken for a crackhead, and the drama, or funk, that it brings him. He also asks the great question: Why is it so easy for the black man to bring the funk on their own instead of their white oppressors? Boots sounds good on the mic, but the true star of this one is the incredibly funky and infectious bass line.

Liberation Of Lonzo Williams – Over a ridiculously slow-paced instrumental, Boots and E Roc tell the story of their boy’s journey from drug dealer to freedom fighter. I couldn’t really get into this one.

Pam’s Song – The Coup’s deejay Pam the Funkstress, gets to showcase her skills on the ones and twos over a pretty dope backdrop, and she actually does a good job.

Fo Da Money – E Roc uses his solo joint (with an intro and outro speech provided by Boots) to share the perspective of three different black men and the circumstances that made them turn to a life of crime to make ends meet. Props to E Roc on the intent, but it’s painful to listen to him carry a song on his own. The dragging pace of the instrumental doesn’t make matters any better.

Foul Play – The instrumental is cool, and Boots sounds sharp as usual, but something about this song just doesn’t grab me. Maybe it’s the annoying loop on the hook that has a female voice repeatedly saying “It’s funky, it’s funky, it’s funky, it’s a funky situation”.

Kill My Landlord – For the final song of the evening (which also happens to be the title song), The Coup invite Schwinn and T-Mor from Elements of Change and Defrost, to join them in listing reasons on why they want to kill their (literal and figurative) landlords. I couldn’t really feel this one either.

Kill My Landlord is a solid rookie effort from the Oakland collective. Boots provides meaty verses over a cohesive dosage of west coast funk that will keep the listener bobbing his or her head while chewing on the thought-provoking dishes he serves up. They could have left three or four songs on the cutting room floor (as well as E Roc), but Kill My Landlorddefinitely hits more often than it misses.

-Deedub

We last heard from Run DMC on 1990’s Back From Hell. For those who don’t read my blog religiously, a quick recap: Back From Hell had the legendary group copying current trends and sounds in an attempt to fit in and stay relevant. A few have manages to pull this off in the past (see LL Cool J), but Run DMC was not one them. Although I liked some of the production on Back From Hell, overall the album was weak, it flopped, and had many believing the self-proclaimed Kings of Rock’s reign was officially over.

Some time between 1990 and 1993, Run and D found Jesus, which helped them overcome the demons they were facing during the recording of Back From Hell (Run was said to be battling depression, and D a drinking problem). With renewed spirits, the boys from Hollis came back in 1993 to release their sixth album, Down With The King, which was both a reference to their King of Rock title and their new-found relationship with God, the ultimate King. Along with Jam Master Jay, Run DMC would recruit a handful of respected hip-hop producers to produce Down With The King. Overall, the album received favorable reviews from critics, and was considered a step in the right direction after the disappointment that was Back From Hell.

I bought Down With The King a few years back, and have never listened to it in its entirety (man, I’ve been saying that a lot lately…wait until we get into the early 2000’s!); and I’m really only familiar with the singles released from the album. Based on the list of top-tier producers with productions credits in the liner notes, even if Run and D disappoint, at least the instrumentals will bang. Right?

Down With The King – The album opens with the title song and lead single. Pete Rock provides a monster backdrop, complete with his signature heavy drums and a celestial choir like vocal sample that haunts the track, beautifully. PR and his partner in rhyme, C.L. Smooth, both contribute verses along side Run and DMC. DMC drops a decent verse, but CL walks away as the king of this song, as he easily delivers the best verse. This is probably the last classic record Run DMC will ever make.

Come On Everybody – And just like that, the momentum on Down With The King takes a steep downward spiral. It’s no surprise that Run and DMC, who were both well passed their prime by ’93, drop unimpressive rhymes. But I’m very surprised by the garbage instrumental Q-Tip gives them to rhyme over. This was terrible.

Can I Get It, Yo – Erick and Parrish (aka EPMD) are credited for this song’s instrumental. And it sounds like the duo made have helped the Kings of rock write the final verse of the song as well. EPMD’s instrumental is not nearly as bad as the hot garbage Q-Tip dished up on the previous song, but it’s nothing to write home about, either.

Hit ‘Em Hard – I have all types of problems with this one. It’s clear from the jump that Treach from Naughty By Nature wrote both Run and DMC’s verses. I’m not crazy about the idea of ghostwriting, but at least DMC recites his rhymes in his own style and voice. Run decides to take things to another level and sounds like Treach’s hand is up his ass, as he takes on all of Treach’s cadences and mannerisms. And if Run’s antics weren’t bad enough, Kay Gee’s lazy backdrop sounds almost identical to the instrumental he used for Naughty’s “Uptown Anthem”. Really?

To The Maker – Over a decent JMJ instrumental, Run and D use this interlude to give a quick shout out to God.

3 In The Head – The Bomb Squad stops by to provide the first of two instrumentals they would contribute to Down With The King. It sounds nothing like a traditional Bomb Squad instrumental, as the pace is laid back with a jazzy feel, and it doesn’t have 6 million samples, but I like it. Unfortunately, D and Run continue with their identity crisis and adapt an Onyx persona for this one. Okay. If you’re going to have any member of Onyx pen your rhymes, at least get the best lyricist of the crew (which is clearly Sticky Fingaz) to write them, not Fredro (no, Fredro’s not credited as the writer, but listen to their rhymes and tell me they don’t sound just like him…matter of fact, Fredro even contributes some adlibs on Run’s final verse). And wtf is Run saying on his final verse?

Ooh, Whatcha Gonna Do – This was the second single released from Down With The King. I never really got in to it back in the day. Probably because of Run and D’s unbelievable gangster posturing, and the ridiculous hook (“Never let a punk get away with murder, gunshots, gunshots all ya hearda, whats up, whats up, whats the worda, press your luck and buck and make a sucka just duck”). But today, I’m digging the Bomb Squad’s smooth west coastish instrumental.

Big Willie – Run and D sound more at home rapping over this instrumental, as it’s reminiscent of the kind of hip-rock that made them famous in the first place. Daniel Shulman builds the rock tinged instrumental around a Blood, Sweat and Tears sample, and it sounds pretty cool. Not a great song, but a lot better than most of the previous songs on Down With The King.

Three Little Indians – JMJ’s instrumental is decent, but he, Run, and D sound like their doing Onyx at karaoke.

In The House – Pete Rock gets his second production credit of the evening for this one. The instrumental is decent, and Run and D sound more like their old selves rapping over the track.

Can I Get A Witness – Run DMC add yet another brand name producer to the list, as Jermaine Dupri provides the backdrop for this one. The duo have absolutely nothing to say on this song, and JD’s instrumental is butt. By the way, Run DMC’s hooks suck on this album.

Get Open – JMJ and Chyskills team up to create this dope jazzy concoction for the duo to spit over. Again, Run and D don’t say anything worth quoting, but I like the backdrop.

What’s Next – Run DMC dedicates this one to the ladies, and invite Mad Cobra to add a little chanting on the hook to go with the generic reggae tinged instrumental. Both Run and D’s verses and deliveries sound circa 1984. And am I the only one that finds it amusing that DMC make a reference to Shabba Ranks when he has another dancehall artist on the song? It’s even more amusing to hear Mad Cobra’s chuckle ad lib when DMC mentions Shabba’s name.

Wreck Shop – See the comments from “In The House” and substitute “second” with “third” in the first sentence.

For 10 Years – Down With The King ends with this interlude that has DMC speaking randomness over a short and simple JMJ instrumental. That’s all folks.

Run DMC may have found Jesus in between Back From Hell and Down With The King, but they didn’t find themselves. The identity crisis they struggled with on Back From Hell is only intensified on Down With The King. While Back From Hell had them playing with different musical stylings, but staying true to their rhyming scheme, this time around, Run DMC doesn’t only tweak the musical stylings, but bite, eat, chew and digest the style, cadence and delivery of no less than four other emcees/groups (Run, more so than D and Jay). Speaking of music stylings, considering the list of legendary producers with credits in the liner notes, one would expect Down With The King to sound stellar, sonically, but this is not the case. There are a few great backdrops, but this is the exception, not the rule. Sadly, Down With The King is a disappointing effort that has one of hip-hop’s pioneering groups resting on their laurels. Or should I say, resting on the laurels of others?   

-Deedub

Freestyle Fellowship is the Los Angeles collective consisting of Aceyalone, Mikah Nine, Mtulazaji. PeAce (who I’ll simply refer to as Peace from here on out) and Self Jupiter. They originally came on the scene in 1991 with their debut album To Whom It May Concern, released on the independent label Beats & Rhymes. I’ve never heard the album, but it made enough of an impression on the powers that be at 4th & Broadway, that they signed them to a deal, where they would release their second album, and the subject of today’s review, Innercity Griots.

The majority of the production on Innercity Griots would be handled by the production team, The Earthquake Brothers (which is The Jamm Messenger D, Mathmattiks and The Mighty O-Roc). The album didn’t sell well and would be the only album released by the foursome on the 4th & Broadway imprint. While all four would go on to release solo projects after Innercity Griots (with Aceyalone easily becoming the most successful, making a name for himself on the underground scene, with his lengthy solo catalog), it would be eight years before they would release another group project.

I’ve never listened to Innercity Griots in its entirety, but bought it a few years ago on the strength of the lead single that I liked back in the day. So, without further adieu, lets give her listen.

And if all else fails, at least the cover artwork is dope.

Blood – Innercity Griots opens with Peace making it clear that the title of this song has nothing to do with gangs, but everything to do with “physical blood that you bleed”. After that’s established, he spits a quick acapella spoken word piece, that I could take or leave.

Bullies Of The Block – The Bambawar produced backdrop is built around a Bootsy Collins funk loop and sounds like something EPMD would have hooked up back in the day, which is a compliment. In my opinion, the fellas from Freestyle Fellowship (tongue twister muchers!) aren’t great lyrically, but decent, and their colorful styles bring tasty flavors to the song.

Everything’s Everything – Again, if you’re looking for exceptional lyrics you’ve come to the wrong show. But the foursome do have great chemistry, which shines through on this song, and parts of The Earthquake Brothers’ instrumental shines as well.

Shammy’s – Freestyle Fellowship dedicates this one to the bust downs, hoes, tramps, or what they affectionately refer to them as, Shammy’s (not sure why they spelled it with an apostrophe “s”, but whatever). Decent enough song, I guess.

Heat Mizer – Quick interlude that has Aceyalone spitting over an underwhelming up-tempo Earthquake Brothers instrumental.

Six Tray – While some west coast rappers sang praises to the ’64 Impala, Peace talks about the adventures that take place in his six tray. I’m not really a fan of Peace’s rhyme style (or his content) on this song, but I absolutely love this Earthquake Brothers’ backdrop.

Danger – Not really a fan of this one.

Inner City Boundaries – This is the only song I was familiar with when I bought Innercity Griots a few years back. Daddy-O (from Stetsasonic) stops by to drop off a smooth instrumental, and contributes a verse for the album’s first single. The catchy sing-a-long hook and Daddy-O’s brilliant instrumental make this song irresistible.

Bomb Zombies – Over a dark Earthquake Brothers instrumental, Self Jupiter spits a quick verse about a woman who is murdered in front of her young child (I think?). Yeah, I know, it sounds like heavy shit, but Self Jupiter does a poor job of articulating his words, and the overall execution is terrible. I wasn’t feeling this one at all.

Cornbread -This is an Aceyalone solo joint, and he rocks the shit out of this simple old school instrumental,  as he pairs random words with food referencing (I can’t stop saying “chick-o-sticks, big fat chicks”). I don’t think I’ve ever heard utter nonsense sound so entertaining.

Way Cool – Couldn’t feel this one either.

Hot Potato – The four man crew come together and pass the mic around like the title suggest, making references to potatoes the whole way through. I love the jazzy feel of the instrumental (credited to someone by the name of Edman), which sounds even better when midnight marauding.

Mary – Aceyalone, Mikah Nine and Self Jupiter dedicate this ode to marijuana. The Earthquake Brothers’ instrumental is fire, and even though I don’t partake in herbal meditation, the fellas do a pretty good job of getting their point across, and make it sound enjoyable.

Park Bench People – Mikah Nine uses his solo joint to sing/rap about the homeless people he encounters that make the park bench their bed. The live jazz instrumentation behind Mikah is dope. Another one to add to my midnight marauding mix.

Heavyweights – Freestyle Fellowship invites their buddies, collectively known as Heavyweights (Cockney “O” Dire, Archie, Volume “pistol grip pump on my lap at all times” 10, Spoon and Ganja K) to join them on this cipher joint. This is a huge improvement from the posse cuts I’ve listened to lately (i.e. Capital Tax’s “Treetop Connection” and Mad Kap’s “Dopest Verse”), but still not great.

Tolerate – Freestyle Fellowship comes off like a step team on this interlude, as they name off a list of things they will not tolerate, in unison.

Respect Due – The fellas use this one to show respect to the old, the current, and the new schools of hip-hop. I love the intent, but intent doesn’t guarantee great execution, which is this song’s downfall.

Pure Thought – The album closes with a mid tempo instrumental with a dope rumbling bass line, as the Freestyle Fellowship brethren sound reminiscent of the Cold Crush Brothers (I invite you young bucks that don’t know who Cold Crush are to Google them), reciting most of their lyrics in unison. Great way to end Innercity Griots.

Historically within hip-hop groups, there is usually one emcee who outshines the rest of the team (see Kool Moe D in The Treacherous Three, Ice Cube in N.W.A., Andre 3K in Outkast, Lauryn Hill in the Fugees, Cee-lo Green in Goodie Mob…I could go on forever, folks). That is not the case with Freestyle Fellowship (though one could make an argument that Aceyalone is the star emcee), as all four emcees match each others skill level throughout Innercity Griots. But this is both a gift and a curse on Innercity Griots: it’s awesome to hear four different emcees match each others energy, and while I can’t call any of the four wack emcees, no one in the crew is great behind the mic either, so most of their content falls in the middle of the road. When coupled with the hit and miss production, only about half of Innercity Griots is worth your time.

-Deedub