Time Is Illmatic

We last left Run DMC in 1988 with their fourth release, Tougher Than Leather. The album wasn’t as commercially successful as their previous album Raising Hell, but it still would earn the boys from Hollis another platinum plaque. I personally thought it was an okay listen, that hit just about as often as it missed. The trio would return in 1990 with their fifth release Back From Hell, which they would also handled the bulk of the production duties on.

Before Run, DMC and Jay went in the studio to begin recording Back From Hell, their was conflict amongst the crew. By this time, they weren’t getting along as well, Jay allegedly owed the IRS over $100,000 in back taxes, Run was struggling with depression and D started to develop a drinking problem. On top of each their personal issues, Jay and Run thought it was time to update the Run DMC sound, meaning copy the popular trends of the time, while D wanted to stay true to the formula that the world came to love Run DMC by. Ultimately, Jay and Run would win the civil war and (by Run DMC standards)Back From Hell flopped and received negative reviews from the critics, which I’m sure left DMC with a “I told you so” grin on his face.

Considering I’m already not a huge Run DMC fan and what I wrote about the flopping and negative reviews, I’m not looking forward to this listen.

Sucker D.J.’s – Back From Hell opens with an intro that has DMC talking and dropping a few rhymes over pretty much the same instrumental they used for their first hit record “Sucker M.C.’s”.

The Ave. – Run and DMC discuss the perils and happenings of the street life on this one, and neither of them sound authentic in doing so. Further more, the backdrop (which is built around a loop from The J.B’s & Fred Wesley’s “Same Beat”) is a bit too laid back for the duo’s content.

What’s It All About – This one picks up where “The Ave” leaves off. Only Run and D briefly make mention of the KKK, Mandela’s freedom and the newly fallen Berlin Wall, to give it a world-wide feel. Imagine a hip-hop version of Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On”, only not as good (and neither song ends the question asked in the title with a question mark…grrrrr). DMC completely abandons the song’s original concept on the third verse, as he goes on a tangent about those that question he and his team’s relevance, dropping enough f-bombs in one verse to make Richard Pryor and Sam Kinison roll over in their graves. The instrumental is built around a loop from The Stone Roses “Fools Gold”, and the bass line is pretty nice. Glen Friedman (who was the group’s photographer) and Russell Simmons are given co-production credit for this one, along with Run DMC and Jam Master Jay.

Bob Your Head – Along with Run DMC and Jam Master Jay, Frankie Inglese gets a co-production credit on this instrumental that is built around a loop from James Brown’s “Popcorn With A Feeling”, and it’s pretty sick. Run and DMC don’t say anything memorable and their verses sound like they had nothing to say.

Faces – This was the third and final single released from Back From Hell. Over a New Jack swing r&b flavored instrumental (that Stanley Brown gets his first production credit of the evening over), Run, DMC and Jam Master Jay, each spit a verse about the different faces they’ve come in contact with through their journeys. Not a great song, but I’ve definitely heard worse bad rap and r&b joints.

Kick The Frama Lama Lama – Over a sick instrumental, Run opens the song spitting a nonsensical verse about alligators and the Flintstones’ domestic disputes. D follows with a public service announcement about the importance of wearing your jimmy hats. Run then takes the third verse and sounds like he has a bit of a chip on his shoulder, going for the neck of someone (or anyone) that thinks Run DMC fell off. It was both funny and entertaining to hear the good Reverend threaten to “run this ruler up your ass to measure the shit you’re poppin'”.

Pause – This was the first single released from Back From Hell. Each of the trio spit a verse with a different meaning for the word that makes up the song title: Jay turns the word into a dance, D instructs those using drugs to pause, and I’m not sure what the hell Run’s verse is about. The instrumental (with another production credit going to Stanley Brown and Davy-D) has a bit of an r&b feel to it (I actually like the keyboard chords that come in at the end of DMC and Jay’s verses), but I found it decent.

Word Is Born – For those not familiar with hip-hop in the nineties, the phrase “word is bond”, which simply means you stand by and put everything on the words you speak, was a popular term used by hip-hoppers in that era. I’m not sure what the hell “word is born” means. My guess is our hosts were trying to sound hip and thought they were saying the phrase correctly, but I digress. Over a funky up-tempo instrumental (that kind of reminds me of LL’s “Jingling Baby (Remix)”), Run uses his verse to call out drug dealers, while D uses his to brag about his emcee prowess and call out wack emcees. Once again, our hosts don’t leave us any quotables, but the backdrop in nice.

Back From Hell – For this title song, Run and D tell the stories of three convicts’ prison experiences. Neither Run or DMC are great storytellers, and I’m not sure how the content on this song ties into the album’s overall concept, but the instrumental is hard and sick.

Don’t Stop – Over a cheesy r&b instrumental, Run and DMC attempt to give the listener words of encouragement to help push them through whatever he or she may be facing. Aaron Hall stops by to sing the hook, but even his crooning can’t save this hot mess of a song. Come to think of it, he probably adds more heat to the burning mess.

Groove To The Sound – Speaking of Aaron Hall, this one sounds like it may have sampled his voice from Guy’s “Groove Me” and imbedded it in the backdrop (which also samples one of hip-hop’s favorite sources, Bob James’ “Nautilus”). Neither Run or D impress on the mic, but the instrumental is nice, which is starting to become a running theme.

P Upon A Tree – Silly DMC interlude.

Naughty – Garbage.

Livin’ In The City – Over a very mediocre instrumental, DMC get’s a rare solo moment,  spitting one quick verse on what the title suggest. Hood politics seems to be a popular topic on Back From Hell.

Not Just Another Groove – I have a sneaking suspicion that Stanley Brown is more responsible for the production on this one (and the other three songs he’s listed as a co-producer on) than Run DMC, as all 4 of the songs he’s credited for, have a strong r&b vibe to them. Similar to “Pause”, I kind of like this instrumental, but completely understand if you think it’s garbage. Unfortunately, Run and DMC don’t add much to it lyrically. Considering the song title, It was kind of ironic that they drop random rhymes over the beat and then suddenly at the end of the song try to make it seem like this song actually had a message, instructing the listener to throw up the peace sign while chanting “stop the violence”.

Party Time – The fellas end Back From Hell with a hot mess of a song that Run even refers to as “bullshit”, as the song comes to an end.

Back From Hell reminds me of the “Return Of The King” episode from season 1 of The Boondocks. In this episode, Aaron McGruder explores the scenario that MLK didn’t die in the assassination attempt, but instead was left in a coma and finally comes out of it in the new millennium, where he struggles to adjust to a new America (“Huey, I don’t know if I need a 2o gig Ipod or a 40 gig”). On Back From Hell, it’s evident that the Kings of rock, who ruled the eighties, are trying to find their lane as the new decade begins. Some of the production work on Back From Hell is actually pretty dope, but Run and DMC’s rhymes don’t sound authentic as they come off like O.G.’s trying to sound hip (and hard) by forcing curse words into their lines, unnecessarily. And for every “hardcore” song they have a danceable r&b track, intentionally trying to be all things to all people. That’s acceptable if you’re an Apostle trying to get souls into heaven. Not so much for a legendary groundbreaking hip-hop group just trying to fit in to move units.

-Deedub

Craig G is not a new comer to TimeIsIllmatic. He spit the lead off verse on the classic Juice Crew Posse cut “The Symphony”, and I reviewed his 1991 sophomore effort Now, That’s More Like a while back (If you’re interested in reading my thoughts on that album, click here). His debut album The Kingpin, has long been out of print and is a hard find, unless you’re willing to pay $30 or more for it on Amazon or Ebay, which I am not. As fate (or luck) would have it, I was able to find and buy a copy on Ebay for a very reasonable price and make it a part of my ever-growing but still very incomplete collection. And here we are.

Craig G was only sixteen years old when The Kingpin was released on Atlantic Records. His mentor, Marley Marl would handle the production duties for the entire project (random factoid: Craig G recorded his first record “Shout Rap” at the age of twelve, which was also produced by Marley Marl). Like it’s predecessor Now, That’s More Like It, Atlantic did little to promote The Kingpin, which would result in lackluster sells numbers.

I’ve waited long enough to hear this album, so without further adieu, let’s get into it.

Love Thang – The Kingpin opens with a feel good Marley instrumental that our host uses to display his storytelling abilities, sharing a few different scenarios loosely based on the subject of love. I say loosely because none of his verses are really about love, but the title does match the semi-catchy hook. Craig does a quality job of putting his verses together, and I like Marley’s bouncy bass line on this one.

Dopest Duo – Craig uses this one to brag about how dope he and his producer/fellow Queens brethren are with this hip-hop thing. Craig’s rhymes were decent but Marley’s instrumental is missing that umph to solidify them.

Rock The House – For those who lived through the mid eighties and early nineties, you’ll recall that house music, with all its repetitiveness and pulsating drum beats, was all the rave during that time period, and of course hip-hop sniffed the fad and dabbled with it (see Latifah’s “Come Into My House” and Jungle Brothers “I’ll House You”, just to name a few). On this one Craig spits his rhymes over a house beat, hence the title. And yes, it sounds just as corny as you think. Craig doesn’t sound that bad, but Marley’s instrumental is really bad.

First Day Of School – Craig reminisces about the childhood experience of summer coming to an end and preparing yourself (physically and mentally) for a new school year. Marley’s instrumental is driven by a bouncy bass line and an organ loop that stabs the beat ever so often. Cute song, but the instrumental doesn’t match Craig’s content.

Shootin’ The Gift – Marley hooks up a simple but funky guitar loop for Craig to recite his neatly written rhymes over. That’s all I got.

Slammin’ – More boasting from our host over a decent Marley Marl instrumental.

Turn This House Into A Home – Craig spills decent rhymes over another Marley house instrumental, but I don’t even think Rakim could have salvaged this hot mess of a backdrop. To add insult to injury, the hook is corn on the cob.

The Kingpin – Craig G takes his rhyming pace down a level and takes on a vocal tone that sounds similar to LL’s on “Going Back To Cali” and “I’m That Type Of Guy”; and it actually sounds dope. Matter of fact, I think this delivery sounds better than his standard one. Combine Craig’s rhymes with Marley’s slick instrumental, and this title track is a winner.

The Final Chapter – Based on the first line of the song (“After 11 songs had your brain captured, here’s the twelve one, this is called the Final Chapter”), Craig must have been planning to have this as the last song on the album, or maybe it was just the last song he recorded for The Kingpin. Regardless, he spits decent rhymes, but Marley’s mediocre backdrop kills the momentum.

Why’d You Have To Go? – TJ Swan must have blackmail pics of each member in the Juice Crew. There is no other explanation to why such a terrible vocalist has been granted the opportunity to sabotage several of the crew member’s songs with his atrocious cameos. I’ve always thought the dude sounded god-awful, but he takes off-key to another level on this one. I considered shooting myself to end the misery, but then I remembered all I had to do was hit the fast forward button. Craig G attempts to sound vulnerable as he reminisces on the love of his life who’s left him down and out in the dumps. Instead of sounding vulnerable, the shit just sounds cheesy, and Marley’s Casio keyboard instrumental makes it sound even cheesier. This was really bad. Think LL’s “I Need Love”, only ten times worst, and I’m not exaggerating.

Smooth – Decent.

The Blues – Craig G and Marley Marl end The Kingpin joking around on this silly outro.

Craig G is considered by many hip-hop historians to be a great freestyle and battle emcee. This may be true, but neither of those attributes are on display on The Kingpin. His written verses are cute and decent but not memorable, and definitely not potent enough to put him in the same conversation as some of his fellow Juice Crew brethren. Marley’s production work on The Kingpin (like much of his work prior to 1990) is lackluster and misses as often as it hits. It’s not that The Kingpin is a terrible album, it just lacks personality, which makes it easily forgettable.

-Deedub

Before we get into this next post, I would be remiss to not shout out a fallen music icon and a product of my city, Prince Roger Nelson. You will live forever through your music. May you rest in heavenly peace.

One of the last albums I reviewed from 1992 was Eazy E’s 5 song ep, 5150:Home 4 Tha Sick. If you didn’t read the review, feel free to catch it here, or let me sum it up for you in two short words: hot mess. A few weekends ago while rummaging through the used cd bins at one of the few remaining music stores in Minneapolis (what up Cheapos?!), I came across a copy of Eazy’s solo debut album Eazy-Duz-It. So, since one of my many collection goals is to own the entire catalogs of the members of N.W.A., and one of my readers told me I would enjoy it (I see you DJG!), and additionally the price was right, I copped it.

Eazy-Duz-It was released just over a month after the release of N.W.A.’s debut album Straight Out Of Compton. Dr. Dre would handle the production duties (Yella is given a production credit as well, even though Dre does the heavy lifting) and even though the liner notes don’t give them credit, it’s been well documented that Eazy’s rhymes were penned by the collective of Ice Cube, Ren and The D.O.C.

Eazy-Duz-It would benefit from the momentum and buzz that Straight Out Of Compton created, eventually earning the dry jerry curled rapper a platinum plaque, selling over 2 millions copies in the states, alone.

By the way, congratulations to the N.W.A. on their recent induction into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame. Now, let’s jump into this album…

(Prelude) Still Talkin’ – This one opens with The D.O.C. and Ice Cube doing their best old man impersonations, as they brag about knowing Eazy since he was a little guy (At the end of the song The D.O.C. boast about knowing him since he was knee-high, to which Cube replies “he still is knee-high”). Then Dre drops an instrumental built around a funky guitar loop that Eazy actually sounds decent rapping (or talking his shit) over. Granted, he didn’t write the verses but he still sounds decent.

Nobody Move – Dre loops up a funky Rufus Thomas guitar loop for the backdrop, as Ren assists Eazy in recalling the details of a failed bank robbery. Is it just me or is it pretty hypocritical for a man committing armed robbery to refer to those he’s victimizing as “crazy motherfuckas”?  And it sounds like Eazy may have run into Caitlyn Jenner in his second verse. This was actually pretty solid.

Ruthless Villain – Ren returns to help Eazy on this one, and actually does most of the heavy lifting. It’s not often that a rapper spends the length of his verses boasting about the greatness (or in this case the gangsterness) of another rapper; but that’s exactly what Ren does on this one, leaving Eazy to only recite the same 4 bars after each of Ren’s two verses. The verses are okay, but Dre’s bare bones drum machine instrumental kind of brings this one down.

2 Hard Mutha’s – Yella plays live drums on this one (at least the discussion in the intro leads you to believe that, as Yella insist they let him play because he used to “fuck it up” back at Compton High). They lay a simple guitar loop over it, as Eazy and Ren (for the third consecutive song) tag team the microphone. It turns out that Yella is pretty nice on the drums; he’s no Questlove, but he’s decent. This was better than the previous song but still not spectacular.

Boyz-N-The Hood(Remix) – Eazy shares a few of his experiences growing up in the hood (that he more than likely made up) on this one. This song originally appeared on the 1987 release N.W.A. And The Posse (another album that I’ll have to track down eventually). Other than a few alterations to Eazy’s first verse, this plays just like the original. I love the drum break during the hook; it reminds me of The Neptunes’ drums on the Clipse’s “Grindin'”. Or vice versa.

Eazy-Duz-It – After Dre’s real life baby mama Michel’le gets disrespected by Eazy (while in Dre’s presence) for singing praises to Eazy, he drops a sick bass line that sounds like its going to be a monster track for this title song. Then it stops, goes a different direction and everything from that point on is pretty mediocre. It was cool to hear a brief sample of the organ from the beginning of Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy” during the bridge of this one. May both of these brothers rest in peace.

We Want Eazy – This was the lead single from Eazy-Duz-It. I never cared much for Dre’s cheesy synthesized instrumental and Eazy’s barely decent rhymes. Come to think of it, this maybe the reason I never checked for this album until now.

Eazy-Er Said Than Dunn – Now this is more like it. Dre slides Eazy a slick instrumental (which samples yet another Rufus Thomas’ record) that he uses to recite solid rhymes over (which I’m quite certain were penned by The D.O.C.). At the end of “Eazy-Duz-It” Eazy mentions he was born in 1973; and again during “We Want Eazy”, Ren brings it up again, calling Eazy a liar for the claim. If you do the math, that would make Eazy 15 when this song was released. He ends the hoax on this song admitting it was a lie. I’m still not sure why he would want people to think he was fifteen in the first place. I’m pretty sure this was the second single released from the album, and in my opinion, the best song on Eazy-Duz-It.

Radio – Eazy was so excited about getting his music in radio rotation, he wrote a song about it. You wanna hear it? Here it go. Dre builds the instrumental around a loop of Taana Gardner’s “Heartbeat” (which would later be sampled by reggae artist Ini Kamoze on his hit record “Here Comes The Hotstepper”), and you can’t go wrong with that loop. Eazy manages to sound decent on this one, and overall the song is as well.

No More ?’s – This song plays as an interview, with a woman asking Eazy-E some of the most moronic questions I’ve ever heard (“Were you ever caught slipping?” “What would be the situation when you so-called ganked someone?” “Were you slick?” “So you’re not exactly a role model?”). Based on Eazy’s delivery and cadence, it pretty obvious that Cube wrote his verses. Dre’s instrumental might have worked in ’88, but it doesn’t translate well in 2016.

I’mma Break It Down – Dre hooks up a simple (but effective) up-tempo backdrop for Eazy, and surprisingly, Eazy keeps pace with it and actually sounds pretty good reciting Ren’s rhymes over it.

Eazy-Chapter 8 Verse 10 (B.U.L.L.S.H.I.T.) – Eazy takes a stab at a spoken word piece, which as the title suggest is supposed to work as a sort of hood scripture (not sure if the 8:10 is random or if there is some significance to these chosen numbers, but if you know, hit me in the comments). This song is best described by the letters between the parentheses in the song title.

Compared to 5150:Home 4 Tha Sick, Eazy-Duz-It is a lot more quality listen. A lot of Dre’s production has an east coast feel to it, and some of it is really dope. Eazy sounds decent (at times), but I’m not crazy about giving too much credit to a puppet emcee. With all of that said, Eazy-Duz-It tends to miss as often as it hits, so standing on its own without comparison, it makes for only a decent listen.

-Deedub

Aight. So now that I’ve finished my 1992 reviews, I thought I’d start a new tradition and highlight some of the highs and the lows of the year.

I plan to start my ’93 reviews in a few weeks. But before I can do that, I have to take care of a few backdated new additions to the collection. But for now, enjoy this read and stay tuned…

Worst Moniker – The Funky White Nigga: Aka JFN, was once a part of DJ Quik’s crew, who made his debut on “Niggaz Still Trippin'” from Quik’s sophomore effort Way 2 Fonky. Unfortunately, his flow sounded just as bad as his moniker. Honorable Mentions: Rich Lord of the Mix Board (He’s given a production credit on Positive K’s “Friends”…way too long of an alias and he technically should have a comma after “Rich”), Spice 1 (Sex. Pistols. Indo. Cash. Entertainment and a random “1” thrown in for good measure…need I say more?).

Worst Song Title –  SFC – “Glory Halagroovin'” (Phase III):Being the Christians brothers that they are, Super C and company thought it would be clever to play off of the religious phrase “glory hallelujah” for the song title. Instead of sounding cute it comes off cheesy as hell (no pun intended). Honorable Mentions: Lord Finesse – “Funky On The Fast Tip” (Return Of The Funky Man): The title sounds like something you would write on the song’s demo tape until you came up with a proper song title.

Worst Album Artwork –  Spice 1 – Spice 1: The cheesy eighties style double exposure school pic of Spice 1 on the cover was a very bad idea. Luckily for Spice, his fans didn’t judge this book by its cover. Honorable Mentions: Willie D – Goin’ Out Lika Soldier: Willie D comes in at a close second with this horrible cut and paste job of his questionable profile pic slapped in front of a picture of Capitol Hill; definitely a wtf moment.

Worst Album Title – The Whole Shabang Volume 1 (Future Sound): While it’s not the worst album title I’ve ever heard, it is still kind of corny. Plus, there really weren’t that many options to choose from, so it kind of wins by default.

Worst Song – UGK “I’m So Bad” (Too Hard To Swallow): The concept of the song is built around a LL Cool J sample (“I’m so bad I can suck my own dick”), as Pimp C shares two different sexapades that end with him forcing them to tie back into the hook. This has to be one of the worst songs in hip-hop history. Honorable Mentions: Considering that the majority of hip-hop albums have quite a few bad songs on them, there are way too many to list by name.

Worst Album – 5150 Home For Tha Sick: You deserve this award if the only way to make your 5 song ep hot is to chop it down to a single. Honorable Mentions: Hypocrisy Is The Greatest Luxury (Too much content, unpolished flow and weak production get this album a mention), Close To You (Father MC gives up too much bad rap and r&b for my taste buds), Little Big Man (Bushwick Bill releasing a solo album is like leaving Jared Fogle alone with a room full of  fifteen year old girls: very bad idea).

Best Song Title – Dr. Dre “Lyrical Gangbang”: Dre’s intense track coupled with the bullets the Death Row Inmates let spray all over it, match the dope song title to a tee. Honorable Mentions: The Future Sound “Pixie Groove” (Unique title that describes the song’s instrumental, perfectly), Gang Starr “Soliloquy Of Chaos” (“Soliloquy” and “chaos” have no business being in the same sentence together…but they sound so ill together), House Of Pain “Shamrocks And Shenanigans” (Random stupidness never sounded so clever).

Sleeper Album – This Is How It Is & Whole Shabang Volume 1: This one is a tie between Original Flavor and The Future Sound’s debut albums, who were both brought to us courtesy of a young Dame Dash. Neither group had great emcees but both had wonderfully produced debut albums that I completely slept on until hearing them for the first time in 2015.

Best Album Artwork – Music To Driveby: Very ill concept to have the picture on the album cover, on the picture of the album cover. Honorable Mentions: Sex And Violence & Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde (because I’m a sucker for animated artwork), Stunts, Blunts & Hip-Hop (It’s pretty sick how Diamond D’s boys are fuzzy in black and white, while he’s the center of attention, shining in living color).

Best Album Title – Music To Driveby: The double entendre in the title is what ultimately gives CMW the title in this category; and the music is definitely dope enough to bump while driving in the whip, but also gangsta enough to catch a body and peel out to, if required.  Honorable Mentions: Dead Serious (The title is the duo taking a clever tongue in cheek shot at their own animated style), Business Never Personal (I’ve always loved the fact that EPMD stayed true to the “Business” theme for the entirety of the group’s catalog…this title was very fitting, considering the turbulence going on between the E and P at the time), Stunts, Blunts & Hip-Hop (With these three words, Diamond D would simply but effectively sum up the mentality of a generation of young hip-hoppers).

Best Song – Pete Rock & CL Smooth – “T.R.O.Y.”(Mecca & The Soul Brother): From the beautiful saxophone loop, to the angelic vocal sample that mystically hovers over the song, to Pete Rock’s signature heavy drums and CL’s reminiscent lyrics that sound tailor-made to fit PR’s backdrop, this song is brilliant; and just may be the greatest hip-hip song of all time. Honorable Mentions: The Pharcyde “Passin’ Me By” – Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde (Only the perfection that was “T.R.O.Y.” keeps this from claiming that number one spot…but I still put it in my top ten hip-hop songs of all time), Eric B & Rakim “Know The Ledge” – Don’t Sweat The Technique (Hard backdrop and precise rhymes from – in my opinion – the greatest to ever do it), EPMD “Head Banger” – Business Never Personal  (Top five posse cut of all time).

Best Album – The Chronic: I went back and forth on naming this one the album of the year, only because it was released so late in 1992. Ultimately, I figured since it was officially released in ’92 it deserved to be in the running, and aint no frontin’ on Dre’s stellar production and Snoop and the Death Row Inmates refreshingly innovative sound. Honorable Mentions: Daily Operation (One word: Premo), Stunts, Blunts, and Hip-Hop (Thanks to his dope production and solid rhyming, Diamond D sneaks in an unheralded classic), Music To Driveby (Eiht’s slickness combined with the brilliant production of Mike T, Slip and Unknown, makes for a nearly flawless album).

There you have it. Let me know what you think in the comments.

-Deedub

After selling millions of copies of their debut album Straight Out of Compton and touring the country performing at sold out shows from city to city, it became pretty apparent to Ice Cube that NWA’s manager Jerry Heller wasn’t handling business right, made evident by the fact when he came home from months of touring, he was broke as a joke. This was Cube’s cue to exit stage right. Fast forward a few years to 1992. Despite NWA selling millions of records on their next two projects A.C. (After Cube), Dr. Dre begin to see a lot of the things Cube was trying to hip the crew to a few years prior, mainly the shadiness of Heller. Dre would end up giving Eazy an ultimatum that either they get rid of Heller or he would leave the group. Eazy chose Jerry, and Dre followed Cube’s lead.

Dre would leave Eazy and Ruthless to link up with Suge Knight and his Death Row Records label (which would also end up being a bad deal for Dre, but we’ll get into that at a later date), where he would release his debut solo album The Chronic. Dre would handle all the production on The Chronic and drop some rhymes (ghostwritten by The D.O.C.), but he would rely on his new-found homie Snoop Dogg (who helped pen some of Dre’s verses as well) along with the Death Row Inmates (Kurupt, Daz, RBX, Rage, Jewel and Nate Dogg [rip]) to do the heavy lifting on the mic.

The Chronic would go on to sell over 3 millions copies, receive tons of critical acclaim (including a revised 5 mic rating from The Source [upon its release, it was given a 4.5 mic rating, but in 2002 they re-reviewed it and gave it 5 mics]) and is considered by many to be one of the greatest albums of the genre.

Did we save the best of ’92 for last?

Side note: Keeping with the weed theme, the artwork on the album cover pays homage to the logo found on Zig Zag rolling papers. Clever, right?

The Chronic (Intro) – Snoop is the first voice you hear on The Chronic, as he introduces the listener to the album and takes a few shots at Mr. Roarke and Tattoo (aka Jerry Heller and Eazy..ha!), Luke and Tim Dog, over a signature whiny Dre synth loop.

___ With Dre Day – This was the second single released from The Chronic. Dre’s instrumental is built around a snippet from Funkadelic’s “(Not Just) Knee Deep”, and he turns it into a certified banger. Snoop assists Dre on the mic ( I still chuckle every time I hear Dre’s line “used to be my homie, used to be my ace, now I wanna smack the taste out your mouth”) as they take aim at Eazy, Tim Dog, Luke Skywalker, and fire indirect shots at Ice Cube (“then we goin’ creep to South Central, on a Street Knowledge mission as I steps in the temple…spot ’em, got ’em as I pulls out my strap, got my chrome to the side of his White Sox hat”).  Some of the rhymes might not sound as potent as they did back in the day, but this one still bangs.

Let Me Ride – This was the third and final single from The Chronic. Dre spends all three of his verses (with a few adlibs thrown in from his new-found patna’, Snoop) rollin’ through the streets of SoCal flossin’ in his ’64. Dre builds the instrumental around a sweet loop from Parliament’s “Mothership Connection (Star Child)” and turns it into a thing of beauty. Similar to the ’64 Impala, this song is a classic.

The Day The Niggaz Took Over – Daz, Snoop, and RBX join Dre on one of the few conscious (well, slightly conscious) songs on The Chronic. Over a dark instrumental with a pulsating bass line, Dre and company discuss the Rodney King riots and the tension between the hood and the police. This one still sounds pretty dope.

Nuthin’ But A “G’ Thang – Dre first introduced us to the smooth flow of Snoop Dogg a little earlier in ’92, with the hard-hitting “Deep Cover” from the Deep Cover soundtrack. A few months later Dre and Snoop would reunite to drop this bomb on the world, that would also be the lead single from The Chronic. Dre hooks up a smooth yet funky instrumental around a loop from Leon Haywood’s “I Want’a Do Something Freaky To You” (I love the bass line on this song), as he and Snoop tag team the mic like WWF. Bonafied classic.

Deeez Nuuuts – The title is a reference to a juvenile game one would play on a friend, where the goal is to get him to ask a question ending with “what?” or “who?” so you could respond with “deeez nuuuts”. If my memory serves me correctly, The Chronic is what made the joke popular from coast to coast back in the day. The song starts with Warren G “Deeez Nuuutting” a chick on the phone, before the beat drops and you hear a sample of Dolemite telling a joke about nuts; and I don’t care how many times I’ve heard the joke, it’s still hi-larious. Snoop acts as the facilitator on this one, as he’s responsible for the hook and introducing each party before they step up to the mic; his contribution may seem minimal to the song, but along with Dre’s beat, he’s the engine that makes this thing go. Dre bats first, Daz goes second, and Dre returns to spit the third verse, before Nate Dogg makes his debut and closes out the song, singing in his signature simple but dope vocal tone. Dr. Dre’s instrumental is a certified banger. Despite the content being a little juvenile, this song is still fun and bangs as much today as it did nearly 25 years ago.

Lil’ Ghetto Boy – The good doctor builds this backdrop around a vocal and musical loop from Donny Hathaway’s song of the same title (only Donny’s version actually uses “Little” as opposed to “Lil” in the song title). Over a calm and melancholy backdrop, Snoop and Dre speak from the perspective of young black men growing up in the hood, who are influenced by the violence, drug dealing and gangbanging in their environment. Neither Dre or Snoop try to put a positive twist or give it a happy ending, but instead just tell it like it is. One of the few serious songs (or songs that should be taken serious) on The Chronic. Love it.

A Nigga Witta Gun – To kick off the second half of The Chronic (I first bought this album on cassette back in the day, and vividly remember this being the first song on the b side), Dre takes a short guitar loop from Johnny Hammond’s “Big Sur Suite” (even though the liner notes credit the loop to “Big Sir Sweet”; the loop is actually from the same song Premo sampled for the instrumental on the interlude “24-7/365” on Gang Starr’s Daily Operation) and turns it into a nasty bass line that creates the mood for Dre’s heartless vocal and cold verses. This is a slept on (or forgotten) banger.

Rat-Tat-Tat-Tat – This one opens with a sound bite from the classic seventies Blaxploitation movie The Mack; then Olinga’s positive message is shot down when RBX (I believe) responds to the sound bite with “nigga, is you crazy?”. Then Dre’s slow thumping instrumental (the liner notes give credit to Daz for programming the drums on this one) comes in as he threatens to pop you and leave you flat on your back. Snoop assists on the catchy hook, which partially imitates the sound Dre’s gun makes when he begins to spray, which also matches the song title. This one is pretty decent, but if I had to take one song off of The Chronic, this would be the one.

The $20 Sack Pyramid – This interlude is mildly amusing the first time you listen to it. It’s kind of sad to hear The D.O.C. speak with his damaged vocal cord on this one. I wonder how many more classic albums he would have blessed us with had he not got into that tragic accident.

Lyrical Gangbang – Dre takes a simple drum loop from Led Zeppelin’s “When The Levee Breaks”, and turns this backdrop into one of the hardest instrumentals in the history of hip-hop. The Lady of Rage, Kurupt and RBX each spit a verse in that order. All parties involved sound up to the challenge, but Kurupt walks away with this one. This song still knocks; and even though it might not be heralded with some of the other classics on The Chronic, it can stand up to any other song on the album.

High Powered – Am I the only one that found it interesting that out of all the members in the Death Row camp, RBX is the only one that gets a solo joint on The Chronic? I guess it’s not completely a solo joint, as Daz does some talking at the beginning and end of the track, and Rage does a little chanting at the beginning of the song. I remember back in the day everybody would go bananas over RBX’s line “have you ever heard of a killer? I drop bombs like Hiroshima” *insert explosion sound*. Dre’s instrumental (that includes his signature whiny synth keyboard sound) is solid and RBX does a solid job of spitting over it.

The Doctor’s Office – Useless interlude.

Stranded On Death Row – Bushwick Bill stops by for this one. He doesn’t kick a verse (thank God!) but instead offers up a few words of wisdom; well I don’t know how much wisdom his words contain but it sounds cool within the context of the song. Dre’s instrumental starts out with an ill organ and then morphs into and uneasy but interesting backdrop that sounds completely different from any other song on The Chronic. Kurupt takes verse one, with RBX, Rage and Snoop following in that order. All of them sound solid, but RBX takes the title on this one (yes, he actually sounds better than Snoop on this one).

The Roach (The Chronic Outro) – Dre recreates the instrumental to Parliament’s “P.Funk (Wants To Get Funked Up)”, as RBX talks about the wonderfulness of the cannabis sativa for four and a half minutes. Not a great song, but I’ll give it a pass, since technically it’s an outro. Plus the instrumental is pleasant and I hear, very accommodating for those who indulge.

Bitches Ain’t Shit – This is a hidden track on The Chronic. Over a dark monster Dre backdrop, Dre, Daz, Kurupt and Snoop all kick a verse about worthless bitches they know. Snoop gets the last verse, rightfully so, as he steals the show with a heartfelt verse about a chick named Mandy May who did him dirty. Jewel wraps this one up, singing and even drops a few explicit rhymes, as the song comes to an end. Yes, most of the content is juvenile, but this one still sounds tight, and acts as a nice bow tied around this nearly perfectly wrapped present call The Chronic.

I don’t care what coast, state, country, or planet you’re from, The Chronic is easily one of the top 5 hip-hop albums of all time (I’ll let you slide if you say top 10, though). Back before Dr. Dre became a production brand name, he was arguably the greatest producer to every make a hip-hop beat, and that ability is on full display throughout The Chronic, as his crisp sonic sound would set a new standard for production excellence. No, Dre isn’t a great emcee, and it’s no secret that he doesn’t write his rhymes, but he has a decent rap voice, and Snoop and D.O.C. make him sound decent on the mic. But he doesn’t have to sound great, as Snoop and the Death Row Inmates take care of the bulk of the rhyming duties, and serve justice to Dre’s brilliant soundscape. Some of the lyrics might sound a little juvenile and not as potent as they did nearly 25 years ago, but there is no denying the power of Dre’s production, which is guaranteed to keep your face screwed and your head nodding.

In the liner notes Dre gives “a special shout out to The D.O.C. for talking me into doin’ this album”. I would like to thank you as well D.O.C. For without your push the hip-hop world may have been robbed of one of its greatest masterpieces.

Did The Source Get It Right? In ’92 they didn’t. For credibility sake, it was wise of them to go back and give it the 5 mics it rightfully deserved.

-Deedub

After Cube dropped four niggas and started making all the dough, N.W.A. was still able to pick up the pieces and drop two controversial and very commercially successful projects without him. But by 1992 the seams begin to fall apart within the group, as Dre and Eazy (rip) fell out and begin to feud. Ren, who was a neutral party in the beef, was the first to release a solo project after the break up, with his solid debut ep Kizz My Black Azz (read my thoughts on it here). Eazy and Dre would both release their projects on the same day, but we’ll start with Eazy’s first solo project since his 1988 debut Eazy-Duz-It (an album I’ve still never heard in its entirety), an ep titled 5150 Home 4 Tha Sick.

5150 is a 5 song ep (even though the front cover calls it a “maxi-single”) which includes production from Naughty By Nature, Cold 187Um (I’ve always loved that moniker), Bobcat and Dr. Jam. With the exception of the last name (only because I’m not familiar with any of his work), the producer list looks pretty impressive. Unsurprisingly, the project would go on to earn Eazy a gold plaque.

This is my first time listening to 5150 in its entirety. I found it a few years ago for a few dollars at one of the spots I frequent, and since one of my collection projects is to collect all the albums of each member of N.W.A, I picked it up.

If all else fails, at least the beats on 5150 will bang. Right? Right??

Intro: New Year’s E-Vil – A distorted vocal Eazy E opens the show wishing everyone a Happy New Year and, without mentioning his name, extends a big middle finger to Dr. Dre.

Only If You Want It – This was the lone single from 5150. Naughty By Nature is credited with producing this one (which means Kay Gee hooked up the instrumental), and a trained ear can easily (no pun intended) tell that Eazy’s rhymes were penned by Treach. As dope of an emcee as Treach was in the early nineties, not even his pen could make Eazy sound good on the mic. The hook walks a fine line between annoying as shit and super catchy. The instrumental is kind of nice, though.

Neighborhood Sniper – Over a barely average Cold 187Um instrumental, our host goes on a killing spree and gives himself the moniker in the song title. Eazy sets the mood by sniping Rodney King for his “can we all get along” speech, during the song’s intro. I wasn’t impressed by this one.

Niggaz My Height Don’t Fight – As you probably already figured out by the song title, our vertically challenged host uses this one as an excuse (or a warning) to why he doesn’t fight but will pump yo’ ass with led from his 9mm if you test him. Bobcat’s instrumental is kind of decent, but you’ll still forget everything about this song as soon as it fades out.

Merry Muthafuckin’ Xmas – I guess since the album was going to be released less than 2 week before Christmas, Eazy thought this would be a good idea. In all actuality, it’s a hot mess. I found it interesting that the king of dirty poetry Dolemite (Rudy Ray Moore), makes a brief appearance at the beginning of the song before being interrupted by some foul mouth chick. Also, Buckwheat from the Wascals (who made a few cameos on Pharcyde’s Bizarre Ride) spits a few decent bars about Christmas and his two front in the middle of the song. Still, this was a hot mess.

I’ll keep this short and simple. 5150 Home 4 Tha Sick is pretty much a complete waste of time. Respect to the dead, but Eazy was never a decent rapper and the only instrumental on the EP that really works is Naughty’s on “Only If You Want It”. I can’t even use my go to “this would have fared better as an ep” line, because it is an ep.

-Deedub

When Paris came on the scene in 1990 with his debut album The Devil Made Me Do, he created quite a bit of controversy with the title track and its militant stance, calling out the white man for his many transgressions since the conception of the United States. Through all the controversy, Tommy Boy stood behind their man. For a little while at least.

When he returned in 1992 with his sophomore effort Sleeping With The Enemy, Tommy Boy and the distributor Warner Bros, refused to release and distribute the album due to its content (which speaks of killing then President H.W. Bush [even one of the inner pages of the liner notes has a picture of Paris hiding behind a tree with a tech nine, as Bush approaches on foot] and crooked cops), and ultimately Tommy Boy would drop Paris from the label. This wouldn’t stop Paris from releasing the album, as he would start his own label Scarface Records, and release the project independently.

Paris does mention in the liner notes that the “album was censored and rushed”, which makes me wonder what and why it was “censored”, considering it was released independently; and is “rushed” code for SWTE is a hot mess?

The Enema (Live At The White House) – SWTE opens with what is supposed to be a shootout at The White House. Exhibit A for why Paris was dropped by Tommy Boy.

Make Way For A Panther – Over a mediocre backdrop our host demand that you make way for him and his violent black conscious message. Side note: the liner notes gives Shadow-as in the underground legend DJ Shadow-credit for the sample. Am I the only one that finds it interesting that a militant pro-black artist like Paris would let a white guy help with his production? I’m just sayin…

Sleeping With The Enemy – Paris dedicates this one to the brainwashed brothers that assimilate to white America and its European sensibilities. The instrumental is decent (I guess), but Paris doesn’t do a great job of articulating his points on this one.

House Niggas Bleed Too – This one kind of ties in with the previous song. On the title track, Paris calls out the “house niggas”; on this one he threatens to take them off the face of the earth for being “house niggas”. Well, at least the instrumental on this one is slightly interesting.

Bush Killa – The song opens with Paris snipping H.W. (Exhibit B for Tommy Boy dropping Paris). Paris uses the rest of the song to list the many reasons why he wants Bush dead in the first place. The first half of P’s instrumental is kind of nice, specifically the rough drums and bouncy bass line. Then he switches everything up and brings in a backdrop that has a Teddy Riley New Jack Swing vibe to it; needless to say, the dance track doesn’t quite work with Paris’ violent content.

Coffee, Donuts, & Death – Paris dedicates this one to killing crooked cops who’ve done the black community dirty. Exhibit C for Tommy Boy dropping him. Not a great song, but props for the clever song title.

Thinka ‘Bout It – Paris tones things down a bit, as he samples The Gap Band’s “Outstanding” for the instrumental and takes a slightly less violent approach, as he asks brothers to reconsider the destructive choices they make. Not a great song, but I have a soft spot in my heart for any song that samples “Outstanding”.

Guerrillas In The Mist – P’s song title happens to be the same as Ice Cube’s crew’s (Da Lench Mob) debut album and overall concept. Paris must have felt guilty about this, as he inserts a Cube sound bite at the beginning of the song, almost in an attempt to acknowledge them for using the concept first. Regardless, I’m not a fan of this one.

The Days Of Old – I believe this was the only single released from the album, and one of two reasons why I bought SWTE in the first place. Over a beautiful Blackbyrds’ loop (with the sample credit going to DJ Shadow), Paris reminisces on the innocence of yesteryear and how the black community has lost its sense of unity. It was nice to hear Paris put some of the blame for the plight of black America back on us, as we’ve got to start taking responsibility for our own actions ( “or maybe even more of us a blame the white man, before we understand now the problem is not him”). It sounds like Paris was siding with X-Clan on the whole humanist vs pro-black argument, while also taking an indirect shot at KRS-One with his line “What I’m telling ya is actual fact, I aint pro-human cause all humans aint pro-black”. P’s rhymes are solid and the content is still very relevant; and the instrumental sounds even better than I remembered it.

Long Hot Summer – This interlude has Paris having a phone conversation with a few of his boys (Khaliq Asharri & Kif) regarding the black struggle and a pending black revolution.

Conspiracy Of Silence – Paris invites his friend LP and probably one of the most unlikely emcees to appear on a Paris song, Sun Dubious (from Funkdoobiest), to join him on this one. And yes, Sun actually spits some slightly conscious rhymes. None of the three emcees really impress, and to make matters worse, the hook is trash and the Khaliq Asharri & Kif instrumental is ass.

Funky Lil’ Party – Reason# 2 why I bought SWTE. Over a mellow and smooth instrumental (with another credit going to DJ Shadow for the sample), Paris recounts the details of a party he and the crew decided to go to one evening. While making his way to the bar (to get a glass of juice), Paris is approached by a group of fine ladies that make it crystal clear to him that they “want to do the oochie coochie and spread it ’round”. Like any honest warm-blooded heterosexual man, the righteous Black Panther considers the offer for a minute, but ultimately rejects them and leaves them with some “knowledge of self”, warning them of the consequences of being a hoe (“only gets ya kids, AIDS, or crabs”). Then everything goes wrong when a fist fight between two dudes, turns into gunplay and dead bodies. Grim ending and all, this was a dope song.

Check It Out Ch’All – Over raw, heavy, crashing drums, P-Dog spits more black revolutionary rhymes. Paris doesn’t say anything quote worthy, but his instrumental is kind of nice.

Rise – Khaliq Asharri & Kif return to produce and perform (I think?) this spoken word piece. Not live changing, but I’ve heard worst.

Assata’s Song – This is Paris’ ode to the black woman. Over a mellow jazz tinged instrumental (I love the live saxophone), Paris expresses his love and need for his Nubian sisters; he also shows a rare sign of vulnerability, as he apologizes to black women for running game on them and viewing them as just a piece of ass in the past. This was nice.

Bush Killa (Hellraiser Mix) – This mix uses the same instrumental and verses as the second half of the original, with one additional new verse and unnecessary extended instrumental breaks; and this mess goes on for nearly 8 and half minutes.

It’s a tough task for any emcee to make a full length album full of militant pro-black messages both conscious and entertaining throughout. It’s nearly impossible for a tier B (or C) emcee like Paris to pull this off. On Sleeping With The Enemy, the messages become repetitive, the bulk of the production ranges from mediocre to trash, and Paris (who sounds like a poor man’s Rakim) doesn’t have the charisma or lyrical ability to keep the listener engaged for a full album. SWTE would have definitely fared better as an EP.

-Deedub

I’ve been feeling under the weather for the passed few weeks (I was actually diagnosed with pneumonia this past Monday), which has caused a delay in me posting reviews. But when I got the news from my sister this morning that one-third of my favorite hip-hop group off all time had past away at the fairly young age of 45, I had to post about the Five Footer.

I immediately starting reminiscing about how Phife, Tip and Ali Shaheed’s music has touched and shaped my life since I was a young teen. Their innovative jazz infused brand of hip-hop, “common man” content, and the undeniable chemistry between the trio (and sometimes quartet, if you count Jarobi) set them a part from the crowd. I can’t count the hours I spent listening and studying their music and rhymes (and I can probably still recite every rhyme from every song off The Low End Theory and Midnight Marauders albums verbatim), as they helped me cope with the stresses of my teen years, and later helped shape my thinking as a young man.

Selfishly, Phife’s passing saddens me when I consider the fact that I will never get the opportunity to see ATCQ rock a stage live. It also made me wonder how much more classic music ATCQ would have given us had they not went their separate ways after The Love Movement album. There will always be regret and questions of what could have been, but I want to thank Malik “Phife Dawg” Taylor for blessing my life through his music. Rest in peace.

-Deedub

Anybody that reads my blog with any regularity knows how I feel about Kool G. Rap. But for those who don’t, a quick summary: he’s a great lyricist that doesn’t receive nearly the amount of credit he deserves. After going back and checking his first two albums, Road To The Riches and Wanted:Dead Or Alive, it occurred to me that while the heavily lisped emcee is an undeniable beast on the mic, maybe the fact that neither of his first two albums were spectacular could have some effect on the people’s’ opinion of him. Maybe G. Rap was aware of this too, as he would switch things up a bit on he and Polo’s third release Live And Let Die.

While G. Rap was known to do a little tough guy talk from time to time, Live And Let Die is the album that he would begin to reinvent himself as a ruthless gangsta throughout the majority of the album. Along with his new-found persona, he would also bring in Ice Cube’s right hand man, Sir Jinx, to produce the bulk of the album.

None of these changes helped Live And Let Die move units, as it probably didn’t even go wood. But forget the sales; we here at TimeIsIllmatic are only concerned about the quality.

Intro – Short introduction to New York city and the album.

On The Run – This was the second single released from Live And Let Die. G. Rap plays the role of a drug runner for a Mafia family, who one day gets the bright idea to rob his boss and skip town, but things don’t go as smooth as expected. The whole story line sounds like something Scarface would spit (even G. Rap’s delivery sounds similar to Face’s on this one). I like Sir Jinx’s smooth instrumental but it doesn’t really fit the mood of the song. You may remember the single/video version used a harder instrumental which was a much better fit for G. Rap’s content.

Live And Let Die – For the title song, G. Rap explains his rough upbringing and the things he saw in the hood that would lead to him becoming a ruthless drug dealer. Jinx’s instrumental uses the same Blackbyrds’ sample used on Da Lench Mob’s “Lord Have Mercy”, but when mixed together with the rest of the stuff he has going on in it, it sounds like a hot mess.

Crime Pays – Over a miniscule Jinx’s backdrop, G. Rap spits two verses that highlight the benefits of the fast life. I don’t agree with all of G. Rap’s theories, but he does makes some interesting points on this one. This may have been a dope song if Jinx’s instrumental was of a higher quality.

Home Sweet Home – The song title and content are a tongue-in-cheek take on the woes that come with living in the hood. Jinx’s instrumental is decent, and the song overall is pretty cool.

Train Robbery – In great detail, Kool G. explains the ins and out of what the title suggest. In today’s super sensitive and politically correct climate, there is no way a label would release a song like this (especially the part when he forces a woman to give him oral sex). Jinx’s instrumental is empty but it kind of works within the song’s scheme. If you take this for what it is, which is a movie type drama articulated through hip-hop, you’ll be able to appreciate it.

# 1 With A Bullet – This one opens with the sick Chi-Lites trumpet sample that would become mega popular after being used on Beyoncé’s “Crazy In Love”. The sample had me believing that Jinx was going to come with some fire on this one; then the beat kicks in and the instrumental falls a part. G Rap invites his Juice Crew brethren, Big Daddy Kane to spit a verse on this one. Kane’s a dope emcee but gangsta rap is not his lane, which is made very apparent on this one.

Operation CB – This is one of the few songs I remember from Live And Let Die from back in they day. On this one G. Rap drops two hi-larious verses about cock blockers: Sir Jinx is the culprit in verse one, and the second verse calls out a kid who’s being babysat by a chick G. Rap is trying to smash. Jinx’s instrumental is decent, but G. Rap’s punch lines are so potent on this one it could have been accapella and would have still been entertaining. It was also a nice break away from all his gangster posturing.

Straight Jacket – The Trackmasters (or Trakmasterz, which is how they spelled their name at the time) get their first production credit of the night, and it’s actually a pretty solid backdrop. G. Rap uses it to invite the listener into the mind of a psychopath. This is another one that a Face cameo would have been perfect for. All in all, pretty nice.

Ill Street Blues – This was the lead single from Live And Let Die. The Trakmasterz hook up a nasty groove for our host to spill more of his murders raps over. I love the line “so to the next weasel that freezes, your begging and your pleases are only getting you closer to meeting Jesus”. This is probably the best song on the album.

Go For Your Guns – Over a serious Sir Jinx’s backdrop, G. Rap gives several examples why he’d rather use his gun than his fists in a battle. This was dope.

Letters – I wasn’t really feeling this one.

Nuff Said – G. Rap spits one long verse full of threats and sound pretty good in the process. Jinx’s instrumental kind of pissed me off, though. During G. Rap’s verse, it sounds like garbage; then all of a sudden at the end of the song it goes into a bluesy organ and guitar loop that would have been nice to hear underneath G. Rap’s verse. Wtf Jinx!

Edge Of Sanity – Over a melancholy instrumental, G. Rap discusses how his past bad decisions lead to him making more bad decisions, and the consequences have him on the verge of going insane. This one was pretty cool.

Fuck U Man -This one picks up where Wanted: Dead Or Alive’s “Talk Like Sex” left off. Over a decent Trakmasterz instrumental, G. Rap drops clever punch line after punch line as he assumes the role of Fuck U Man, which sounds like the perfect name for a porn superhero, or Deadpool. G. Rap is guaranteed to make you laugh at this one.

Still Wanted Dead Or Alive – More murderous threats from our hosts. Well, at least one of them. I’m not sure what Polo actually contributes to Live And Let Die; which is probably why this would be the last album that would list them as a duo. Jinx’s instrumental is semi-decent, though.

Two To The Head – For the final song of the evening, G. Rap invites Scarface (whom I’ve been waiting to show up for pretty much the whole album), Bushwick Bill, and Ice Cube to join him on this bloody cypher session, as each party tries to sound more psychotic than the others. While Cube probably contributes the best verse, Jinx’s dark instrumental is the true star of this one.

Live And Let Die marks the beginning of G. Rap’s new-found mafioso flow, as he would continue to get deeper into this style as his career went on. Even though I’m not big fan of this version of G. Rap, there’s still no disputing, son is sick on the mic. Speaking of not being a big fan of, Sir Jinx production is really uneven throughout Live And Let Die  (surprisingly, the Trakmasters provide three quality tracks, which make me wonder what Live And Let Die would sound like had they taken the production wheel). When you combine the hit and miss production with G. Rap’s repetitive narrative for the bulk of the seventeen songs, as much as I was hoping I could, there is absolutely no way I can call Live And Let Die a dope album. It not terrible, but not even in the same galaxy of classic status.

-Deedub

While the west coast may not be the originators of gangsta rap (that title is often credited to Philly native Schoolly D), there is no disputing that they innovated the style, adding their own left coast swag to it, and made the sub genre popular all over the globe. With the help of artist like Ice-T, N.W.A. Above The Law, Compton’s Most Wanted, Cypress Hill and Snoop Dogg, it became the west coast’s signature style, and by the early nineties you had all kinds of west coast artist popping up that would approach the mic with a gangsta persona. The Pharcyde was one of the few west coast artists to arrive on the scene in the early nineties and go against the grain.

Los Angeles natives Slimkid 3 (the “3” is pronounced “Tre”), Fat Lip, Imani and Bootie Brown were actually dancers before they ever thought about picking up the microphone. But thanks to a mentor who had an in-house recording studio, the foursome would soon start honing their mic skills, formed a group and begin recording. In 1991 Pharcyde’s three song demo would wind up in the hands of Delicious Vinyl co-founder Michael Ross, who loved it and quickly signed the quirky quartet to a deal. The Pharcyde would release their debut album Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde, in the winter of 1992.

The Pharcyde would  let newcomer J-Swift (who actually produced the demos that got them signed) handle the bulk of the production duties, with a co-production credit going to themselves as well. Bizarre Ride wasn’t instantly deemed a critical or commercial success upon its release, but thanks in large part to one key hit single (that we’ll get to in a little bit), the album slowly begin to pick up steam. Though it took nearly 4 years, the album did earn the quartet a gold plaque and now many hail Bizarre Ride as a classic. But before we do that, let’s go back and revisit Bizarre Ride.

4 Better Or 4 Worse (Interlude) – Bizarre Ride opens with J-Swift playing the instrumental to “4 Better Or 4 Worse” on the piano. I remember listening to this back in the day and rewinding it over and over again, just to bask in its beauty. It sounds just as pleasing to the ears today as it did back then. If this is the last thing I hear before I die, I’ll leave this earth content; it’s that good.

Oh Shit – The Pharcyde officially begin their bizarre ride with this comical piece, as Slimkid 3, Imani and Fat Lip each take a verse to recall a sexual encounter that made them utter the two words in the song title. Decent song, but it’s probably one of my least favorite songs on the album.

It’s Jiggaboo Time (Skit) – When it comes to interludes and skits,Bizarre Ride probably has the best group of them on any album I’ve heard. Over dope piano keys provided by J-Swift, the boys throw out different actions that they equate to jiggaboo like behavior (does spelling jigaboo incorrectly count as jigaboo like behavior?). Side note: when they first got started, Pharcyde was thinking about naming the group True Jiggaboo, but decided it might be too controversial of a name. I think they made a wise choice.

4 Better Or 4 Worse – This is was the 4th and final single released from Bizarre Ride, and my second favorite song on the album. Over an airy and melodic instrumental filled with good vibes, Slim Kid and Imani spit metaphorical verses, comparing their commitment to hip-hop to a marriage between a man and a woman (maybe this was the blueprint to Common’s classic “I Used To Love Her, released a few years later?). Tre and Imani’s verses are decent but Fat Lip steals the show with his psychotic third verse (“I’ll take a hammer and start to drill your skull…and then I’ll really start picking…your brain cells I will be thinking…mmm…mmm…mmm…you taste so intelligent!”). By the way, Fat Lip’s portion in the video for this song is hi-larious. This is a timeless and very underrated record.

I’m That Type Of Nigga – Over an average instrumental, Pharcyde invites their buddy Buchwheat from the Wascals to join in this cipher joint, and in my opinion he delivers the best verse on the song. This is not a bad song, but it doesn’t really have a heart.

If I Were President (Skit) – Another skit over more dope J-Swift provided keys.

Soul Flower (Remix) – The original version was on the Brand New Heavies’ Heavy Rhyme Experience album (read my thought on it here). I prefer the original, as I never cared much for this remix.

On The DL – No, this song isn’t about married men who cheat on their wives with other men. In the nineties the acronym was used to describe a person being low-key or keeping something a secret. Slimkid 3, Imani and their buddy Buckwheat, spit verses about different scenarios that they want to keep on the down low, but decided to share them with the world through song. This is still a dope song; I love the instrumental.

Pack The Pipe (Interlude) – Interlude.

Officer – Pharcyde takes a more lighthearted approach to a serious subject. Over a solid up-tempo backdrop our hosts spit rhymes about their run ins with the boys in blue. Decent.

Ya Mama – This was the lead single released from Bizarre Ride. The fellas use this one as a mama ranking session. A few of the jokes in their raps will make you chuckle but the best ones come at the end of the song when they stop rhyming and start throwing out mama jokes at each other (“your mama was an extra on The Simpson”). You can feel the fun they had recording this record.

Passing Me By – This was the second single and easily the biggest record on Bizarre Ride. Pharcyde beautifully articulates a situation most men can relate to: crossing paths with the perfect woman, but are not able to work up the nerves to approach her, for many different reasons. J-Swift and the gang throw together samples from Quincy Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Skull Snaps, Weather Report and Eddie Russ and turn them into a brilliantly blended instrumental. This is one of the top 10 hip-hop songs of all times. Yeah, I said it! Feel free to agree or debate me in the comments.

Otha Fish – This was the third single released from the album. Slimkid 3 gets the only solo song on Bizarre Ride, as he raps and sings the blues about a lover who’s left him heart-broken. The melancholy jazz flavored instrumental compliments Tre’s rhymes perfectly.

Quinton’s On The Way (Skit) – Another dope skit. Literally and figuratively. On this one the fellas sing praises to their weed man. Side note: Quinton actually tried to capitalize on his exposure from this skit and released a single “Quinton’s On The Way” on Tommy Boy. I don’t think an album ever materialized from it, though.

Pack The Pipe – By 1992, the weed dedication song was almost a perquisite for a hip-hop album; and Bizarre Ride is no exception to this rule, although they dude approach the subject in a slightly different manner than most. The instrumental was cool but I’ve never been a fan of this one.

Return Of The B-Boy – Pharcyde closes the album with a dedication to old school hip-hop, which in 1992 was considered the mid eighties. Time is illmatic. The fellas all adopt old school flows and use the old school call and response chants of yesteryear.  Just like on “Ya Mama”, you can feel the brotherhood and fun these dudes were having; and that along with a dope instrumental, makes for a solid closing record for Bizarre Ride.

Bizarre Ride lives up to its name, as this is not your typical west coast nineties hip-hop album. There is no gangster posturing, drug dealing, or murder confessions on this album (well, there is one on “On The DL”, but it was done in self-defense). Instead you’ll hear a bit of emotion and heart-break mixed with a heaping helping of quirky lighthearted rhymes from four urban everyday Joes having fun expressing themselves through their music. They kind of remind me of an animated west coast version of A Tribe Called Quest, with their content and jazz tinged backdrops.

I personally don’t consider Bizarre Ride a classic album. J-Swift’s production is pretty solid throughout, and half of the songs on the album are actually great records. Occasionally, the foursome put together rhymes that match the quality of J-Swift’s instrumentals, but none of the fellas are great lyricists, so the other half of the songs end up sounding pretty average.

-Deedub