Time Is Illmatic

Most folks will remember Craig G as the lead off emcee from the classic Juice Crew joint “The Symphony”, a song that if you’re not familiar with and consider yourself a true hip-hop fan, you should immediately youtube, watch, and study. What you might not know is that Craig was also respected as one of the sickest freestyle emcees of his time (check youtube to see his epic battle with the freestyle legend, Supernatural). He later would go on to help Eminem write and coordinate the battle scenes in the movie 8 Mile and also wrote the rhymes for the character Dangerous in 50 Cent’s movie Get Rich Or Die Tryin’.

With the help of his mentor Marley Marl, Craig-G eventually signed a deal with Atlantic Records and released his debut album The Kingpin in 1989, which I’ve never heard but I’m sure most hip-hop fans haven’t either, since it only sold 17 copies worldwide. I am however, familiar with his second album and today’s subject, Now, That’s More Like It. Like it’s predecessor, Now, That’s More Like It failed to reach even wood status in sales, which would lead to Craig being dropped from Atlantic after its release and sentenced to dropping forgettable independent releases and never to be relevent in the hip-hop world again.

Which obviously isn’t a lot he’s content with, which might be one of the reasons he released an album in 2012 entitled  Ramblings of an Angry Old Man.

Intro – Craig G introduces the listener to the album before going into the first song…

What You’re Used To – A Young Salaam Remi gets a co-production credit on this one. Not a great way to open the album. On second thought, a pretty boring way to open things up.

Girl Fever – Marley Marl’s instrumental sounds like something LL rejected for the Mama Said Knock You Out album, and that is not a compliment.  Based on the title you can figure out what this one is about.  Nothing ground breaking here, folks.

Take The Bait – Marley recycles the drums he used on LL’s “Chill” and adds a guitar lick and sick horn sample on the hook, as Craig G sound more comfortable on this track then the previous two. Craig’s also in battle mode, which may explain his comfort. Ah, now that’s more like it.

Somem To Swing To – Marley’s instrumental sounds empty, which isn’t a good thing, since Craig G is the type of emcee who needs energy behind him to help him standout in a crowd. And what’s up with the spelling of the song title? Is it poorly executed ebonics or an honest spelling error?

I Want To Be In Luv – Now there’s a phrase you don’t often hear coming from a rapper. This is clearly Craig’s attempt to gain some kind of female fan base. Craig buys the lady of his affection an engagement ring and asks her to marry him, on the first verse, then spends the next two verses talking about how hard it is to find a woman when you’ve got notoriety. This might have worked better if he started the song off with the last two verses, then wrapped things up with the first verse, but it is what it is.  Marley’s instrumental has that new jack swing feel that he begin to flirt with in the early nineties, which is tolerable this time around.

Give It To Me – Craig G invites Masta Ace to the stu for this duet. Each emcee gets two verses to spit over a decent Marley Marl track.  End result: our host gets murdered on his own shit.

Intro II – Remember, this was recorded in 1991, when cassette tapes were still standard. This is a short interlude to kick off the second side of the cassette.  Think of it as the halftime show for the cassette version.

Ripped To Streads – By 1991 Marley Marl had severed his ties with Cold Chillin’ over financial disputes. This separation pretty much meant the end of the legendary Juice crew, but Marley continued to support and work with the youngest two crew members, Tragedy (aka The Intelligent Hoodlum) and Craig G. This apparently didn’t rub Juice Crew alum, MC Shan (who was Marley’s original protegé) the right way, as he would later diss Marley and Craig G in the old rap mag Word-Up! (now theirs a blast from the past). “Ripped To Streads” is one of two response songs to Shan’s disses on Now, That’s More Like It. Craig’s in battle mode and quickly destroys Shan and Marley’s miniscule but effected guitar driven instrumental, in one verse. (No, the song title isn’t misspelled. “Streads” is short for street beads, which are the unwanted string of beads left laying in the streets during Mardi Gras).

Ummm!!! – The title should be spelled “Mmmm”, since that is the way Craig G pronounces it, as does the Big Daddy Kane vocal sample (from “Dance With The Devil”) that he used during the hook.  Craig G’s verses are all over the place and the hook is complete nonsense (“I kick the rhythms to make you go…mmm”? What does that even mean? I’ve never listened to a sick song and suddenly had the urge to say “mmmm, that was hot”). Marley’s instrumental is kind of nice, though, and bound to grow on you the more you listen to it.

Smoothing Out The Rough Spots – Easily one of my favorite Craig G songs of all time (not that there is much to choose from). Craig describes Marley’s instrumental perfectly in his first verse as “a refresher course in hip-hop easily listening”. He then spends the remainder of the song describing Marley’s laid back instrumental to the listener, which sounds boring, but I actually enjoyed it.

Feel Ya Way – Craig G’s calling out wack emcees who suck but still try to feel their way through the rap game. I actually enjoyed Craig’s verses on this one, and Salaam Remi gets his second production credit of the evening, turning in a pretty nice instrumental.

No Favors – Craig G’s in salt mode over a girl who left him for another man, only to regret it and later attempt to reconcile. Craig plays the salty/angry role well, and turns in four hilarious verses. Salaam Remi’s instrumental (which is listed as a remix, I’m not sure where the original mix is or what it sounds like) is kind of scarce.  But Craig’s verses carry this song and will keep you interested.

Word Association – Craig G rides this laid back Marley instrumental like a bike, no training wheels required.

U-R Not The 1 – This was one of the singles released from Now, That’s More Like It. Craig shares three separate attempts at picking up ladies, all with unsuccessful results. Craig doesn’t come with the smoothest lines, so it should be no surprise he gets shot down, especially considering the insults he hurls at them. Marley’s instrumental straddles the r&b line but manages to veer its way back, maintaining it’s hip-hop integrity. The bass line is downright infectious, though.

The next three songs are bonus tracks on the cd version of Now, That’s More Like It

Swiftness – Craig spits battle rhymes, just to prove to naysayers that he indeed is nice with it. Decent is the adjective that best describe Craig’s verses as well as Marley’s instrumental.

Live Off The Top – Since Craig G is considered one of the best freestylers of his time, it’s only right he dedicates a whole song to the art. Not the greatest freestyle I’ve heard but its decent. This should be required listening for you rookies out there, as this has become a lost art form in our chosen genre.

Going For The Throat – Another diss record aimed at MC Shan. Craig G comes equipped with appropriate ammo, but unfortunately Marley brought a water gun to back Craig up.  This would have went over a lot better had Marley not given him a garbage beat to spit over.

Craig G doesn’t have Big Daddy Kane’s charisma, Kool G Rap’s tenacity, or Masta Ace’s wit, all signature qualities that when coupled with their emcee skills helped his former crew members create solid bodies of work and become hip-hop legends. Craig’s signature attribute was his ability to freestyle, which, unfortunately is a quality that doesn’t always translate well when writing songs with themes and concepts, for a full length album. Now, That’s More Like It isn’t a terrible album. There are actually quite a few songs that Craig and Marley’s chemistry shines on. But for ever solid song on Now, That’s More Like It, there’s a forgettable one to match it. Craig G possed all the technical skills required to be a solid emcee but lacked that special quality that allowed the audience to connect and embrace an artist like Big Daddy Kane, Kool G, or Masta Ace.

-Deedub

With the Bronx being hip-hop’s birthplace and New York being the hip-hop Mecca, it was only a matter of time before some of it’s neighboring east coast states would get in the hip-hop game and make a little noise as well. Boston native Edward Anderson begin rapping as a teen in the late eighties, under the alias of Edo Rock wit a crew called FTI, which was an acronym for Fresh To Impress (I know, it sounds corny but most things from the eighties do).  Edward made a little noise with FTI, but after the group’s freshness ran out and they no longer impressed, he linked up with two well-known NY deejays Teddy Tedd and Special K (also known as the Awesome 2), dropped the “Rock” from his name and added a “G” along with fourteen of his closest homies (who I’m still not sure what part they played in the group since they never rapped or produced a track on either of the two Ed O.G. & Da Bulldogs albums) and Ed O.G. and Da Bulldogs were born.

With the Awesome 2’s help, Edward and Da Bulldogs stuck a deal with PWL America, an offshoot of the Mercury label, and released their debut album Life of a Kid In the Ghetto in 91′.  To show his appreciation to the Awesome 2 for helping him get the deal, Edward decided to let the duo produce the entire album.

Let’s see how well that decision worked out for him.

I’m Different – Edward kicks thing off with an Awesome 2 instrumental that sounds like its lost in the woods and never quite finds its way out, remaining in an endless loop until it dies an untimely death due to lack of proper hydration and nutriment. Edward never quite finds himself either, but I’ll give him a pass, considering the instrumental he had to work with.  On the bright side: the vocal sample from Big Daddy Kane’s “No Half Steppin” used on the hook was a nice added touch.

Speak Upon It – I love this song. Edward invites Ace & Quan and Def Jef to help out on this one, as each spit a verse (Ace & Quan share one) about a few (of the many) injustices inflicted on African-Americans. The Awesome 2 redeem themselves for the previous track, providing a funky instrumental for the backdrop on this one. All four emcees do a pretty good job with Edward walking away with the song. Throw this one on your black history month mix. Classic.

Feel Like A Nut – I never liked this one and that still holds true today.  For some reason, Edward thought the listener would give two squirts about when and when he doesn’t want to have sex. Wrong.

I Got To Have It – Classic. You’ve heard Hamilton Bohannon’s “Singing a Song for My Mother” sample on several songs (which also includes one of the best horn samples ever used in a hip-hop song), but to my knowledge The Awesome 2 were the first to mess with it.  Edward spits three verses and does this sick instrumental justice in the process, arguably turning in the best song on Life of a Kid In the Ghetto.

She Said It Was Great – Over an average instrumental Edward shares stories about one of hip-hop’s favorite topics: the skinz. Some of Edwards metaphors are crazy corny (i.e.”she wasn’t like a radio, so I couldn’t turn her down”). I’m pretty sure this is no one’s favorite song (or even favorite Ed O.G. song for that matter).

Dedicated To The Right Wingers – This was in dedicated to the 2 Live Crew controversy. In case you forgot or are too young to remember, let’s recap: Back in 89′, 2 Live Crew’s album As Nasty As They Wanna Be was banned from being sold in the state of Florida because of their explicit sexual content. Luke (Campbell) and company were later arrested for performing some of their “lewd” material at a show in Florida. But 2 Live Crew fought back, and the case went all the way to the supreme court where the ruling was in favor of 2 Live Crew’s, on the grounds that banning their music violated their right of freedom of speech protected by the first amendment. Oh yeah, the song: it sucked.

Gotta Have Money (If You Ain’t Got Money, You Ain’t Got Jack) – Edward shares his theory that the only way to get ladies is by having money. I say, if that’s the only thing a lady wants you for, you got the wrong woman. The Awesome Two use the same sample we heard Premo borrow from for Gangstarr’s “Love Sick” earlier the same year. I’m surprised to say this, but I prefer The Awesome 2’s interpretation over Premo’s, only because of the addition of the cinematic sample the Awesome 2 incorporate into the track right before the hook comes in.  This was nice.

Let Me Tickle Your Fancy – Another song about Edward and his skinz.  The best part of this song is the Digital Underground vocal sample from “The Humpty Dance” (“come here, are you ticklish?”), and that’s not good.

Be A Father To Your Child – Classic.  This is my favorite Ed O.G. song off all time (and for those of you trying to catch me in a contradiction, I referred to “I Got To Have It” as the best song on the album, not my favorite. There is a distinct difference). Edward sends a message to all the absentee dads out their to take care of their responsibilities, and arguably, turns in his best verses of the evening, as he drops words of wisdom like an old sage. The Awesome 2 sample Roy Ayers classic “Searching” record, which you heard before, but I haven’t heard anyone incorporate the sick horn sample that The Awesome Two insert during the hook.  Classic hip-hop, folks.

Stop (Think For A Moment) – I think Edward is spitting battle rhymes, but I was so distracted by the battle taking place between the two clashing samples that the Awesome 2 decided to throw together on this instrumental, I can’t be sure. You know that whole water and oil saying? That applies to this instrumental.

Bug-A-Boo – I believe this was the first single released from Life of a Kid In the Ghetto. If not, it was the first song I heard from Ed O.G. and Da Bulldogs.  This playful song sounds like something Jazzy Jeff and Fresh Prince would have done back in the day. The end result: neutral.

Life Of A Kid In The Ghetto – Edward saves the title song for the last song of the evening, as he spits one long verse about coming up in the mean streets of Roxbury. This was a decent way to the show.

Other than his mother’s, Ed O.G. isn’t on anyone’s greatest of all time list. That said, he is still a decent emcee.  Decent, is also the adjective that best describes Life of a Kid In the Ghetto in general. Edward turns in serviceable verses but never spits anything that will make you hit the rewind button, while the Awesome 2’s production misses more than it connects, but when they do connect, they knock it out the park. In a nutshell, Life of a Kid In the Ghetto is three bona-fide classics wrapped up in a bunch of filler material. Still, if you’re a hip-hop fan you should at least have “Speak Upon It”, “I G0t To Have It” and “Be A Father To Your Child” on your iPod/Pad.

-Deedub

Four scores and seven years ago, before the Wu-Tang Clan would collectively leave their fingerprints all over our chosen genre, there were three:Prince Rakeem (Rza), Unique Ason (ODB), and today’s subject, Gary “The Genius” Grice. In the late eighties/early nineties the three went by the name All In Together Now, creating quite a buzz performing at parties in the New York boroughs. This buzz eventually led to solo deals (except for ODB, who was probably too involved in street drama and collecting illegal welfare to take hip-hop serious at the time), as Rakeem would release an EP on the Tommy Boy imprint, and The Genius would sign with Cold Chillin’ and release his first solo album Words From The Genius. The sales for Words From The Genius were unimpressive, which was part of the reason why the Genius would eventually leave the label, and with the help of Prince Rakeem (who’s EP didn’t do well either), begin the formation of the legendary Wu-Tang Clan.  More on that at a later date.

Now, I was fully engulfed by hip-hop in 91′, literally saving my allowance and any other money I could get my hands on to buy the new releases each Tuesday (which seemed like they came in bunches in those days) and reading The Source each month from cover to cover.  For the life of me, I can’t figure out how I completely missed Words From The Genius. It was released on Cold Chillin’, which was a viable hip-hop label in 91′, with most of its artists receiving heavy promo in the hip-hop mags as well as video rotation on shows like Rap City and Yo MTV Raps.

About a year ago, I stumbled upon a copy of the 1994 reissue of Words From The Genius at one of the few surviving mom and pop records stores in my home town (I see you Electric Fetus!!!).  Besides a generic different album cover (the album cover above is from the original release, the 94″ reissue album cover is at the bottom of this post) and the track sequencing being completely different from the original release, the only major difference between the two versions is the original release has “Come Do Me”, which is taken off the reissue and replaced with “Pass The Bone”, which is really strange considering “Come Do Me” was the first single released on Words From The Genius.

Without further adieu, lets give her a spin, kids.

Pass The Bone – Gary kicks off the evening with a duet with the Rza, who went by Prince Rakeem at the time.  This is a dedication to weed (how original). Rakeem warms things up on the first verse with the Gza wrapping things up on second. Both emcees sound pretty good and not too far removed from what they would sound like a couple of years later when they re-emerged as part of the Wu-Tang Clan. Old Dirty (Unique Ason) even get a shout out from Gza in his verse, making this feel more and more like a Wu-Tang affair. Both Gza and Rza are credited for the production, which is average, compared to the bangers Rza would serve up later in the decade. I’m sure this was included on the reissue as an attempt to capitalize on the recent success of the Wu at the time.

Life Of A Drug Dealer – Genius paints a very vivid picture of life from a drug dealer’s perspective on this one verse wonder. Even back in 91′  Gza’s wordplay and razor-sharp flow were fully developed. Easy Moe Bee’s funky instrumental completes the song making this an enjoyable listen.

The Genius Is Slammin’ – The Genius completely destroys this Easy Moe Bee yummy, leaving no evidence he was here, other than the finished recorded product.  Maybe its too early in the album to say this but I can’t believe The Gza didn’t get more attention back in 91′. Son was a lyrical beast! I’m still scratching my head at how I completely missed Words From The Genius back in the day.

Those Were The Days – The Gza reminisces back to Jr. high and high school, when he was honing his microphone skills. Easy Moe Bee provides a butter instrumental that the Genius dismantles with ease. The Genius doesn’t just spit rhymes, he verbally paints pictures. This song is a monster.

What Are Silly Girls Made Of – The Genius asks the question (which technically isn’t really a question since he forgot to include the question mark at the end of the song title) and then spends the next three verses answering himself. Gary turns in decent verses but the Patrick Harvey instrumental is a step backwards compared to the previous four songs.

Living Foul – The Genius confronts drug dealers, drug users (including marijuana smokers, which is a bit hypocritical, consider he and The Rza spend the entire first song passing “the bone”), and black on black crime. Moe Bee’s instrumental isn’t great but it’s not terrible either, so I guess that makes it mediocre.

Drama – Our host discusses life in the ghetto and the different snares designed to keep people in poverty. Not sure how I feel about this one. Definitely not my favorite song on Words From The Genius.

Words From The Genius – The Genius completely obliterates this sick Easy Moe Bee instrumental, as his wittiness and razor-sharp flow are on full display. You’ll have to rewind this at least once. You are witnessing a true wordsmith at work, folks.

Who’s Your Rhymin’ Hero – Patrick Harvey’s instrumental sounds like a poor attempt at a dance joint, but regardless, the Gza isn’t distracted by it and picks up where he left off on the previous song.

Phony As You Wanna Be – Gary calls out the fake/wack emcees. Our host once again turns in a stellar performance as he apes this funky Moe Bee backdrop. I sound like a broken record, but he is really that good.

Stop The Nonsense – This kind of works as a companion piece to “Life Of A Drug Dealer”, only this time the Gza calls out the selfish acts of a street pharmacist and the lives his actions effect. Decent song.

Superfreak – Gza spins two hilariously raunchy tales about of couple of episodes he had with a few gardening tools.  Patrick Harvey’s instrumental has a zany feel that perfectly fits the amusing subject matter. This one would even make Too Short blush.

Stay Out Of Bars – The Gza picks up where he left off on “Superfreak” and continues to amuse with two more hilarious bar stories, that are sure to make you laugh out loud. I can’t remember the last time I laughed at consecutive hip-hop songs, that were actually intended to make me laugh.

True Fresh M.C. – Agreed.

Feel The Pain – Both our host and Easy Moe Bee saved their best output of the evening for last, as this is hands down the best song on Words From The Genius. Unfortunately, if you bought the cassette version of the original release, you missed out on this one, as it was only included on the cd release.  

Words From The Genius might be the best hip-hop album from that I ever completely missed upon its original release. It’s rare when an artist makes me hit the rewind button to marvel at his or her rhymes, but I found myself doing that several times during the course of Words From The Genius, which is even more impressive considering it was released over 20 years ago. For the most part, Easy Moe Bee (who I think is severely underrated) provides consistently potent backdrops for The Genius to run bananas over.  There are a few mediocre moments on Words From The Genius, but the potent tracks far out way the weak ones. I have a lot more albums in my collection to listen to for the first time or revisit after several years, but Words From The Genius is going to be hard to top.  I have to listen to this shit again.

-Deedub

David Anthony Love Jr. was born in the Bronx in 1967.  At the tender age of 8, he begin deejaying at block parties (I know right? Where the hell were his parents?), and took on the moniker Kid Capri, after a female friend, who later passed away, told him it sounded like a cool deejay name. Capri would eventually work his way up from deejaying block parties to the club scene, where he would work the ones and two at legendary spots such as Studio 54. He might be best known for his 7 year stint as the house deejay for Russell Simmons Def Comedy Jam, which created a platform for up and coming black comedians in the nineties.

Many credit Kid Capri as being the godfather of the mixtape, as he was able to make a marginal profit off of his mixes in the eighties, before other deejay jumped on that bandwagon and made it as common as the cold.  Like most hip-hop deejays, Capri began to produce tracks as well.  Eventually Capri struck a deal with Cold Chillin’ and would release his debut album, strangely titled The Tape , which sounds even more awkward when you own the cd version, like myself. What is even more strange is that Capri doesn’t produce a single song on The Tape , but leaves that up to The diabolical Biz Markie, as he wanted to focus strictly on his lyricism.

Maybe he should have focused a little harder.

News Story – Kid Capri introduces himself and his crew (the Lords of Funk), before he abruptly jumps into this song. KC spits one long verse about some random drug dealer, whose hobbies include beating down punks and, of course, selling drugs, and his girl, who a porn star and helps her man distribute his pharmaceuticals, until he decides to kill her and ends up getting 25 to life. Not the easiest story line to follow, as Kid Capri will never be mistaken for Slick Rick.  Biz Markie samples Johnny “Guitar” Watson’s “Superman Lover” for his instrumental with mixed results. This was not an impressive way to start the evening, folks.

Billy – This one opens with Capri acting as a news reporter who interrupts the normally scheduled program to bring you the following special report :”we are looking for a man named Billy”.  Yep, that’s the only information provided. No age. No height. No weight. Just Billy. That narrows down the search to approximately 2 million people in the world. Apparently this Billy dappled in all types of illegal activity: fake credit cards, dealing crack, and…using UPS trucks? Wtf? Capri’s verses are ridiculously unfocused, and by the end of the song I’m not sure if Billy is a crack dealer or crack head. Kid Capri probably doesn’t know if Billy is a crack dealer or a crack head.  Biz uses the same sample from Biggie’s One More Chance” remix, which sounds okay, yet in still, this song is a hot mess.

This is What You Came Here For – Biz slows things down a bit with a laid back xylophone infused instrumental that Capri refers to as “the quiet blizzard”. KC sounds decent on this slower tempo joint but T.J. Swan completely derails any positive momentum with his horrific singing on the hook that is guaranteed to grate on your ear. Seriously, his singing is that bad.

Get ’Em – Biz Markie makes his first vocal appearance of the evening as he introduces KC before he spits one long verse over Biz’ minimal instrumental.  KC sounds okay, but I had to chuckle when he brags that he “can take an adverb and make it sound like noun”. What does that even mean?

Apollo  – This is Kid Capri’s ode to the legendary Apollo Theater. You’ll immediately recognize the horn sample this song opens with, since it’s been used on several other hip-hop songs over the years (ie “Show Em’ Whatcha Got” (PE), Show Me What You Got (Jay-Z), and “Rump Shaker” (Wreckx -n-Effect)). I must admit that Biz’ interpretation of that horn loop is the weakest of all the songs that have used it.

Hang ’Em High – This is one of two songs I remember liking back in the day, and ultimately why I had any interest in buying The Tape in the first place. Capri addresses the issue of child abuse and rape, advocating that the perpetrators of these crimes be sentenced to death by hanging. Capri turns in a decent performance but Biz Markie’s buttery instrumental is the real star here.

Lord’s Party – Biz opens this one doing the typical nonsense that made him famous, and unfortunately that is the best part of the whole song. Garbage.

You Know My Style – Biz opens this one with a “yo’ mama” joke to which Capri response to Biz that joking it not his style.  Biz provides a decent instrumental that KC does a serviceable job to, but I’m not convinced he even knows what his style is.

Whisper – Biz slows down the pace for Capri and his Lords Of Funk cronies, Silver D and Money Mark, to whisper in the lady of their respective choices ear.  The whispering is apparently working as some chick sounds like she’s having an orgasm during the hook.  Kid Capri sounds like Rakim compared to his Lords Of Funk brethren, so at least he didn’t get murdered on his own shit.

Jokes on You  – Jokes on me, as I’ve slept on this sick Biz instrumental for years. As usual, Capri’s rhymes are all over the place and not very entertaining. Just focus on the instrumental and Capri’s rhymes go down a lot smoother.

Pay Attention – Now this is my shit. If you don’t fall in love with this infectious Biz Markie instrumental, you don’t have a heart. Capri might not hold your attention but Biz’ instrumental with definitely make you obey the song title.

Don’t Sweat Me – Decent.

Step-off  – Okay.

The Shout-Outs – Over a sick instrumental that sounds nothing like something Biz would normally cook up, KC shows love to his peeps. It’s probably best that he didn’t try to rap over this instrumental as its way too serious for anything Kid Capri could conjure up.

The Tape made me think back to Micheal Jordan’s story. After winning his third consecutive NBA championship in 1993, MJ retired from basketball, stating he no longer had a desire to play the game. Many believed this decision was based on the murder of his father which took place a few months before he announced his retirement. He then decided he wanted to give baseball a try. After a brief stent in the minor leagues, MJ gave up on baseball and returned to the NBA and would go on to when three more consecutive championships, cementing his legacy as the greatest to ever play the game. Why did he leave baseball, you ask?  Because he sucked at it, and even though it was a dream he knew he wouldn’t be successful at it.   Sometimes you have to know your lane. The point I’m trying to make: Kid Capri’s lane is not rapping.  Overall, Biz Markie’s production is average, with a few stellar moments mixed in, but even if the The Tape was laced with masterpiece production from beginning to end, it wouldn’t make up for the lyrical lacking of our host.

-Deedub

In 1980 Maxwell Melvins was sentenced to live in prison for murder and would serve his time in the maximum security penitentiary in Rahway, NJ.  In between meals and lifting weights, Melvins had time to reflect on his mistakes and longed to find away to right his wrongs. Unfortunately for Melvins Jesus has a patent on the whole resurrecting thing, so bringing his victim back to life wasn’t an option.

What Melvins decided to do instead was become involved in the Lifers Group Juvenile Awareness Program (also known as Scared Straight), which invited juvenile delinquents to spend a day in prison so they could witness first hand the grim reality of life in prison and scare the devil out of their bad asses.  Melvins would eventually become the president of the program, but wanted to take the scared straight idea to the next level. What better way to accomplish this then to created a hip-hop project, right?

Melvins formed the Lifer’s Group which consisted of 14 members, all serving time in Rahway for serious crimes.  The groups mission: to demythologize the romanticism of prison that often informs rap music.  Somehow, even behinds bars, Melvins was able to shop his idea to different labels with no success, until he finally got the attention of late Hollywood Basic label head, David “Funken” Klein, who would give the Lifers a chance. Klein brought in a portable studio and within three weeks the Lifer’s completed their debut EP #66064, which is a shout out to Melvins’ prison number as he wa the brainchild of the whole. The EP allegedly sold 50,000 units, which gave Hollywood Basic some faith in the group as they would release a full length album a few years later (Living Proof), before coming a footnote in the annuls of hip-hop.

I happened upon this EP a few years ago while on one of my frequent visits to the used cd bin at a local pawn shop. I vaguely remembered a video from the group and an article in The Source about the project, and since it was only as buck, I took a chance on it.  I’ve never listened to the EP before.

Until today.

The Real Deal – The album opens with a greeting from Melvins, AKA 66064, instructing the listener to help keep their exclusive membership low. The drums drop before Aleem, Knowledge Born, Amazing G, B-Wise, Original, Rocky D, and Chuck X each spit a verse sharing with the listener what activities led up to their incarceration or their personal experience since moving into this gated community. With a runtime of just under 6 minutes and its reoccurring themes of a “cell is hell” and repeated reminders to “never drop the soap”, this song is too long. Is it just me or does Rocky D (the second to last verse) sound like an incarcerated version of Ice-T? The Dr. Jam and Phase 5 (yeah, I never heard of them either) instrumental was pretty decent, but none of the inmates serve it justice. No pun intended.

The Real Deal (Radio Edit) – Just in case the original mix of “The Real Deal” was to “real” for you, here’s the edited version.

Belly Of The Beast – Goldie Boone, aka #59119, opens this one by introducing himself as “one of the ones who didn’t listen”, as he’d been incarcerated 14 years by the time this was recorded (Goldie was 52 in 91′, which would make him 75 today. I’d be interested to find out how life has treated him over the past 20 plus years. If anyone has the inside scoop, hit me in the comments). The same inmates that rapped on “The Real Deal” also get a shot on this one, along with three more members: Merciful, Maxwell, and Almighty L. “Belly Of The Beast” is more of the same themes from “The Real Deal”, making the verses in the two songs pretty much interchangeable. Once again, Dr. Jam and Phase 5 provide a decent instrumental but the Lifers Group’s verses are underwhelming.

Belly Of The Beast (Radio Edit) – Same as original with the curses bleeped out.

Nightmare Man – Crazy Chris, aka 62098, spits a quick spoken word describing his prison persona: the nightmare man.  That’s all I got.

Suckers Edit – This one recycles “The Real Deal” instrumental and adds a few of the inmates vocal snippets taken from Scared Straight interventions.  Inmates Big Al, Commander, and Ron share some powerful words that would make any inspiring gangsta reconsider his career path . This is easily the strongest piece on #66064, which is sad considering its only an interlude.

The Real Deal (Big Bass Instrumental) – I’m not sure if the bass sounds any “bigger” on this mix than the original, but…whatever.

Belly Of The Beast (Instrumental) – Plays exactly like it reads.

Bonus Beats – This is basically the last few seconds of “Belly Of The Beast” with fellow inmates Gentlemen of Distinction singing the same refrain from the “Belly Of The Beast” acappella. Considering its acapella, this was a strange song title, and an even stranger way to end this maxi single disguised as an EP.

Kudos to the Lifers Group for sharing their stories in hope that it would deter troubled youth from making the same mistakes that landed them behind bars. Their intentions were good, but the results were not.  The instrumentals on 66064 are average at best and won’t stick to your bones after your done listening to them, but the bigger problem with#66064 is the rapping. The Lifers Group’s rhymes may be heartfelt, but they lack personality, soul, and more importantly, skill.  In order to save the troubled youth, you first have to gain their attention, and unfortunately #66064 doesn’t cut it. Not today or yesterday.

Just because you have a testimony doesn’t mean you should emcee. And every brother with a criminal record shouldn’t be a gangsta rapper.

-Deedub

What better way to kick-off the year of 1991 then with one of the greatest hip-hop groups of all time?

Gang Starr released their debut album No More Mr. Nice Guy, in 1989. And while the album was meh at best, Guru and Premo showed enough potential to keep heads interested in taking a listen two their sophomore effort Step In The Arena a few years later.  Step In The Arena may have the most generic album cover artwork of all time.  The title looks like it was scribbled by a 1st grader. And if that’s not bad enough, the low-budget pic of Guru and Premo has them both looking like broke bums instead of a future legendary hip-hop duo.

Never judge a book by its cover.

Name Tag (Premier & The Guru) – A smooth piano sample plays as a Guru vocal sample reminds the listener who the members of Gang Starr are.

Step In The Arena – This title song was the fourth and final single released from the album. I’ve never cared much for this song. Premier’s squeaky sample is boring and borderline annoying, which really makes it difficult to focus on Guru’s flow, whose monotone delivery can be a challenge to follow in and of itself .

Form Of Intellect – This is a step back in  the right direction.  Premo provides a simple guitar sample that serves as the perfect backdrop for Guru’s monotone flow. Guru is not often mentioned when discussing greatest emcees but this one definitely displays some of his lyrical dexterity .

Execution Of A Chump (No More Mr. Nice Guy Pt 2) – I’ll start off by saying part two runs lapses around the original (which is on No More Mr. Nice Guy). Premo whips up a mid tempo instrumental for Guru to send threats to a friend that tried to play him, and in the following verses, anyone else who fronts on the Gifted Unlimited Rhymes Universal. Well done, gentlemen.

Who’s Gonna Take The Weight? – This is one of Premo’s sickest instrumentals of all time, which is saying a lot considering Premo’s healthy catalog of gems.  Premo samples a Maceo Parker saxophone snippet that will completely mess your head up when you hear what sounds like a siren, drop on the beat. Then to add insult to injury, before the songs fades out Premo scratches the life out of the same sample to ensure your left with a severe brain freeze. Guru does a good job handling Premo banger but there is no question Premo’s instrumental is the star of this one.

Beyond Comprehension – Not one of my favorite Premo beats or Gang Starr songs. It just feels like its missing something.  Like a heart.

Check The Technique – Now this is more like it. Years before Dodge and Dockers resurrected Marlena Shaw’s 1969 record “California Soul” to push their product in commercials, Premo borrowed it to create the backdrop for this classic Gang Starr song. Over rough drums and triumphant violins Guru peacefully builds on this track with each lyric until his pyramid is complete.  This is one of Gang Starr finest moments.

Love Sick – This was another single released from Step In The Arena. Over a melancholy Premo backdrop Guru clearly needs of a hug as he sadly recalls the events that led up to he and his lady’s breakup. Guru’s natural monotone sounds great over this instrumental and with the songs overall mood and subject matter. This is the proper way to make a hip-hop love song: soft and vulnerable without coming across corny.

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow – Guru spits two quick verses, sending a few words of wisdom about longevity in this here rap game.  Based on the man’s catalog, I’d say he’s qualified to speak on the topic.

Game Plan – Interlude…

Take A Rest – Guru’s in battle mode, but apparently Premo didn’t get the memo. His instrumental isn’t nearly aggressive enough to carrier battle rhymes.

What You Want This Time? – Guru dedicates this one to the groupies that’s can’t take a hint. Premo’s instrumental uses the same sample used a year earlier on BDP’s record  “The Racist”.  I like the ringing telephone sample Premo adds in at the beginning of the song to set up Guru’s opening verse. Guru turns in one of his best performances of the album on this one: his verses are precise, colorful, and detailed. Nice.

Street Ministry – Over a beautiful laid back jazz tinged Premo instrumental Guru uses one verse to wax poetic, leaving a few jewels for the listener to marinate on.

Just To Get A Rep – Hip-hop classic. Easily one of the greatest Gang Starr songs in their heavily stacked catalog. Guru uses Premo’s simple but addictive instrumental to spit two verses about a stick up kid and the reasons he does his dirt.  I still remember the video for this song, which actually adds a third verse where the victim from the second verse comes back seeking revenge on his perpetrator.  It’s worth checking for after you listen to the original mix.

Say Your Prayers – Guru continues his street ministry, spitting a quick one verse sermon for you to chew on over a dark and eerie Premo instrumental.

As I Read My S-A – This may be the corniest song title in all of Gang Starr’s catalog. But it literally plays like it reads (no pun intended). Premo provides a decent instrumental but the song still feels like it’s missing a soul.

Precisely The Right Rhymes – I completely forgot about this song. Like “Take A Rest” Guru’s in battle mode over another track that doesn’t quite fit the mood of his rhymes.  I do love the guitar sample Premo sprinkles throughout the instrumental, though.

The Meaning Of The Name – It’s only right that Premo ends the evening with his trademark boom-bap. This one has a dark feel and sounds even better when listened to after midnight. Guru spends two verses to explain what the title states (which apparently has quite a few different meanings), and though he strays from the subject a few times, he manages to stay focused for the most part. Nice way to end the show.

On “Form Of Intellect” Guru mentions that it only took them two weeks to create No More Mr. Nice Guy. This should come as no surprise as the majority of the debut sounds rushed and incomplete (especially Guru’s rhymes). Oh what a difference two years makes. Premo and Guru obviously spent more time creating Step In The Arena as Premo’s instrumentals have gotten sicker, and Guru seems to have found his lane as a viable emcee. There are a few underwhelming moments on Step In The Arena but those moments are far and in between. Step In The Arena is a good album and a prelude to their next three albums that would define and secure the Gang Starr’s legacy.

-Deedub

No, I didn’t forget to put in the month and day of the release, I’m not sure what the actual release date is, but I do know it was released in 1990. If you happen to know this information feel free to hit me with it.

As we bring in 2014, we’re also wrapping up 1990 on Time Is Illmatic.

The final review for the year of 1990 is the second (or if you count their independently release EP Fully Armed, their third) release from our sanctified brethren, SFC, titled A Saved Man (In The Jungle).  The once 4 man crew has been cut in half as only Super C and DJ Dove return for this mission.  This shouldn’t be a big disappointment to any SFC fans as Brother G, and QP (the other half of SFC) only rapped on one or two songs on Listen Up, with Sup handling the majority of the microphone and production duties, which is the same formula used on A Saved Man (In The Jungle)
A Saved Man.

SFC’s previous record (Listen Up) was filled with cheesy instrumentals, corny song titles, and poor execution, rendering it a complete hot mess. So, with the bar set so low things can only get better this time around.

Right?

Whatever – Over a simply (and empty) instrumental Sup spits a one verse wonder, which left me anxiously waiting for its end. Not that Sup was a terrible emcee at this stage in his career, but he is miles away from the polished emcee he would blossom into a few years later. This was very forgettable.

A Saved Man – Man, what’s up with these naked drum beats? Was it against SFC’s religious beliefs to sample a little James Brown or something? Then again, this was released on a small independent label so they probably didn’t have James Brown sampling money.  I’ve never been one who thinks a hip-hop song should conform to any standard format (i.e. 3 sixteen bar verses, separated by the hook), but hearing Sup go on for what feels like 200 bars straight makes me want to reconsider.  Team too much.

Suplex 2 Mind – Okay, now this is more like it. The instrumental sounds like Sup chose to recreate rather than sample James Brown’s “The Payback”, and it still sounds pretty nice. Sup temporarily strays away from his  strictly “Jesus” rhymes, mixing things up with a few battle spits. Nice.

KACR 1 – When Christian hip-hop came on the scene back in the day it was frowned upon by most church folk, including Christian radio. On this short interlude SFC takes a jab at Christian radio for not getting behind Christian hip-hop. Awe, Christian beef, so cute.

Idiot Box – This one is dedicated to the TV and its many poisons that subconsciously influence our minds. Sup makes a lot of good points on this one that even listeners who don’t believe in God can appreciate. The guitar licks sampled on the hook was a nice touch. Well done, gentlemen.

Long Way – This is SFC’s interpretation of hip-hop meets praise and worship.  The end result is not good.  Sup invites female vocalist Appointed, who is apparently tone-deaf, since her adlibs at the end of the song sound like someone was killing a cat. Sup’s cheesy Casio keyboard instrumental doesn’t help matters either. This was God awful (no pun intended).

Rominos – Useless interlude…

Peculiar –  The title of this song is built around the bible scripture taken from 1 Peter 2:9, in which Paul instructs the church to be a peculiar people, set a part and called out of the darkness (of course I’m paraphrasing). Sup does a great job of building on this without taking himself too serious or coming off self-righteous, a trap which many of his holy hip-hop contemporaries would fall into a few years later. Sup’s instrumental sounds like something Extra P would have produced back in the earlier nineties, which is definitely a compliment since I consider Large Pro one of the greatest (and underrated) hip-hop producers of all time. This is easily my favorite song on a A Saved Man (In The Jungle).

The Verdict – This is Sup’s dis record to…Satan?  Over a simple drum beat Sup uses three verses to spit battle raps aimed at the Prince of Darkness (and I’m not talking about Big Daddy Kane). The verdict: this song was really corny.

In Your Speaker – Sup invites a few of his bible study buddies (one who will read a lot more of later down the road) into the studio for this posse cut that you’ll completely forget existed as soon as the song is over.

The Bomb –  Sup’s instrumental sounds like a poor man’s Bomb Squad track and that is not intended as a compliment. Dude, this was a hot mess.

My Alarm/ Freestyle – Over a reggae tinged instrumental Sup uses the first part of this song to tell a story about a traffic stop that morphs into quite the adventure.  I won’t spoil the song for anyone, but Sup manages to keep the goofy storyline entertaining.  The “Freestyle” portion of the song is just Sup giving shoutouts and chanting Christian hymns as the song fades out.

Honesty – This short interlude will make you chuckle at how the song title and serious instrumental contrast with the juvenile subject matter, which I believe was SFC intent in the first place.

KACR II –  I don’t know how I feel about back to back interludes. This is another jab at Christian radio with DJ Dove respectfully, interrupting are regularly scheduled program to defend the legitimacy of christian hip-hop.

Can’t Wait – Hot mess.  Next…

Success – And yet another useless interlude…

2 Much Chemistry – Decent.

A Word From Our Pastor – It plays exactly how it reads.

Jungle Message 2 Man – DJ Dove gets his solo joint, which uses some very cliché samples of what the jungle is supposed to sound like, over a drum beat with a few vocal samples about Jesus, black male statistics, more Jesus, and a Guns N Roses vocal sample. Guess which Guns N Roses vocal sample they used?

Prime Time Mix – This is basically an instrumental version of “Idiot Box” with a few TV and commercial snippets mixed in for s&g.  This was a very 1 Peter 2:9 way to end the album.

In comparison to SFC’s first proper release Listen Up, A Saved Man (In The Jungle) is a vast improvement. Sup’s lyrical dexterity has improved since the last time we heard our sanctified friend, and while there are a load of crappy ones, Sup also manages to bang out a few moderately nice instrumentals as well.  But don’t get it twisted: I didn’t say A Saved Man (In The Jungle) was a good album, but, an improvement over the last one. The majority of Sup’s instrumentals range from mediocre to terrible, and even though his verbals have improved he still has several relapses to his former robotic/sloppy delivery and monotonous subject matter. The album cover of A Saved Man (In The Jungle)(which is a collage that shows Sup with his head in a “grinder”, along with pictures of Malcolm, Martin, Huey, and nooses) would lead one to believe the content would be full of in-depth commentary covering religion, spirituality, race relations, and Sup confronting his own personal demons.  Nope.  You won’t find none of that here, proving the old adage true: never judge a book by its cover.  A Saved Man (In The Jungle)may have worked better as a EP with a different title. Luckily for Sup and company this was just a stepping stone as their music would continue to improve on their next few projects.

-Deedub

EPMD is one of those groups that just knows how to make good old fashion quality hip-hop. Parrish Smith and Erick Sermon are never mentioned in hip-hop circles when discussing the greatest emcees of all time (and if you listen to either of their solo projects you’ll have evidence as to why), but like Voltron when these two forces come together the chemistry between PMD and the E-Double, is undeniable, and it comes across strong in their beats and rhymes. Must be the fisherman hats.

We last left our Long Island Brethren in 1989 attempting to wrap up some Unfinished Business, which if you read my blog regularly know I felt was a suitable name for the album, but not in the same manner that EPMD intended. Unfinished Business was not a bad album, but a step back when compared to their groundbreaking debut Strictly Business, thanks largely to the debacle that was “It’s Time To Party” and the court issued public service announcement “You Had Too Much To Drink”.

With 1990 came the third installment of EPMD’s Business series, Business As Usual. Like all EPMD projects, you know what to expect from the duo: hardcore braggadocio rhymes over hard funk beats.

Lets just pray the left out the gimmicks that tainted Unfinished Business.

I’m Mad – I’m not sure who got these brothers upset, but the Green-eyed bandit and PMD come out swinging as if their lives depended on it. Thanks to the sampled piano stabs and the hectic sample placed throughout, the dark instrumental matches the title perfectly making this an awesome start to the show.

Hardcore – Our hosts choose to slow the pace down a bit, so they can get their “slow flow” on over this slow and bleak instrumental.  Though I’ve never been crazy about this song, today it sounds more affective than it did in years past. The instrumental’s  eerie feel makes it the perfect companion piece to “I’m Mad”.  More importantly, this will always be remembered as the song that introduced Redman to the world, as he spits the final verse on this song.

Rampage – E & P quickly pick the pace back up for this threesome with former Def Jam label mate LL Cool J.  The beat is a banger, and even though I would have changed the batting order (with E setting it off, PMD going second and LL wrapping it up) all three emcees do their thing on this one, with LL easily walking away with this one. Man, I miss nineties hip-hop.

Manslaughter – Over a sick laid back smooth instrumental E and P do what they do best: talk shit on the mic. They both get two verses and neither of our hosts disappoint as they both deliver clever line after line.  This still bangs.

Jane 3 – Their all two things you’ll always find on an EPMD album: The word “business” in the album title and a song dedicated to Jane.  I’ve never really cared for the  Jane series but their usually short, which makes them bearable. On this third installment PMD handles most of the verse (with a little help from E-Double) and spins a pretty comical tale of his encounter with Jay Jane. You might chuckle the first time you hear it. Or if you listen to it once every 10 years.

For My People – This instrumental is bananas!  Erick and Parrish each get a verse and do a pretty good job, but the true star of this song is the instrumental they’ve concocted. Even though they went on to have successful solo careers (well, at least Erick), neither member’s individual production ever matched the quality of their group efforts, proving the old adage true: there is power in numbers.

Mr. Bozack – Was that Bob James’ “Nautilus” playing softly as “For My People” fades out and this song begins before its rudely interrupted by the bombastic horn sample of James Brown’s “Take Some…Leave Some”?  Yep. I’ve never noticed that before, and you probably won’t either when listening with the naked ear, but a decent headphone will surely reveal this small mishap, which whoever mastered the album either missed or were just too damn lazy to go back and edit it out. Moving on: This is basically Parrish having a conversation with his cock (played by E-Double) who happen to find a little action the night before but didn’t use protection and ends up contracted an STD.  What a dick.

Gold Digger – This might be where Kanye got inspiration for his mega hit that shares the same song title.  I believe this was the first single released on Business As Usual. Erick and Parrish both share stories of how they fell into the snares of miners (not to be confused with minors. This is an EPMD song, not Michael Jackson) in hope that the listener will take heed to the hard lessons they’ve learned through their experiences. I still chuckle when I hear E’s line “I tell her that I love her so much, but really wishing she gets hit by a mac truck”.  This is still entertaining.

Give The People – Not to be confused with “For My People”, “Give The People” finds EPMD getting as conscious as they’ve ever been in their entire catalog. Parrish even  makes mentions of “a dream of a black president” before prophesying that one day hip-hop would  be controlled by politics. The instrumental is a straight ripoff of  the O’Jay’s “Give The People What They Want”, but it still works well.

Rap Is Outta Control – I used to dismiss this one as garbage, but the more I listen to it the more it kind of grows on me.  Both emcees are having fun on the mic as they experiment with different styles but the end result still comes off as an incomplete idea.

Brothers On My Jock – So the whispered “Nautilus” sample that inadvertently plays at the beginning of “Mr. Bozack” reappears as the musical backing for this song.  Redman makes his second appearance of the evening as he kicks things off, turning in a verse that sounds miles ahead of his verse on”Hardcore”.  Parrish and Erick follow respectively, and all three Hit Squad members murder this track.

Underground – I completely forgot about this song. Erick & Parrish sample Grover Washington Jr “Hydra” for the back drop as they lay in the cut and rip this one to shreds in their classic “slow flow” style. Warning: EPMD’s mix of the Grover Washington Jr. sample doesn’t hold a candle to The Beatminerz genius interpretation of the same sample later used on Black Moon’s classic “How Many Emcees”.

Hit Squad Heist – Erick, Parrish, and K-Solo give the ins and outs as they execute a (bank?) heist that leaves a few unanswered questions (ie. did Erick die from his gunshot wound? Did they actually get away with the money?).  Guys, for future reference: if you’re going to rob a bank you could have at least used a more intense instrumental to do it to.

Funky Piano – The last song of the evening is an ode to the duo’s talented (and often slept on) deejay, Scratch. Between Erick and Parrish’s verses Scratch does exactly what his name entails, and does a solid job in the process. And with that, we’re done.

After suffering from a few setbacks on their sophomore effort, EPMD steers things back on course, as the dynamic duo sticks to the formula that made them hip-hop legends: hardcore braggadocious rhymes over hard funk beats, making the title Business As Usual a fitting one.  Like most albums, there are a few pieces that I could do without, but Business As Usual packs enough heavy hitters you’ll forget about any small quarrels you have with the rest of the album. Cheers to one of the best duos to ever do it.

-Deedub

The nineties was an interesting and innovative time for hip-hop.  The late eighties saw both the gangsta and pro-black/conscious rap sub genres develop and fully take shape as the new decade begin.  While both the gangsta and conscious movements were in full effect, thanks to groups like De La Soul, and A Tribe Called Quest, hip-hop begin to tap into new alternative territory that fused jazz loops with hard beats that these new age emcees used as backdrops to touch on the reality of the listeners who were neither gangsta or militant, but just your average Tyrone living a normal life and in love with hip-hop.  As Q-Tip once so elegantly put it:”saying this and that, cause this and that was missing” from hip-hop.

Loosely connected to the Native Posse, Brand Nubian arrived on the hip-hop scene in 1990, mixing some of the alternative sensibilities of De La and ATCQ with some of the black militant attributes of Public Enemy and Ice Cube (post NWA but pre Lethal Injection era).  Lead emcee Grand Puba, who had mild success in the eighties with a short-lived rap group called Masters Of Ceremony (which is another album I need to track down eventually), pulled together a few of his aspiring emcee cronies from his stomping ground (New Rochelle, NY, better known to Brand Nubian fans as Now Rule), Sadat X (or Derrick X), Lord Jamar, and deejay DJ Alamo to round out the group.  They would eventually score a deal with Elektra and dropped their debut album One For All.

One For All would go on to receive heaps of critical acclaim and is only 1 of 15 albums to receive the once highly coveted 5 mic rating from the The Source upon its initial release, which any real hip-hop head from the nineties (or anyone who reads this blog on a regular basis) knows gave an artist undeniable street cred. Unfortunately for east coast hip-hop artists in the early nineties, street cred didn’t translate into great record sale as was the case for  One For All.

But if I only reviewed albums with gold certs or higher this blog probably wouldn’t exist.

One For All – This was the third and final single released from the album.  Over a simple laid back instrumental, Grand Puba bats first, and in true Puba fashion, he effortlessly knocks it out the park.  Sadat X and Lord Jamar bat second and third respectively, and both turn in solid verses, but never quite reach the bar that Grand Puba sets so high leading off. Great start to the album.

Feels So Good – I first bought One For All on cassette back in the day and this song wasn’t included on that format. This is one of two bonus songs only included on the cd format of One For All.  Since buying the cd I’ve listen to this song a few times and never really cared for it, until today.  No, it’s not essential to One For All or anything, but the instrumental that once felt way too whimsical has now moved to at least a few feet above tolerable.

Concerto In X Minor – I’ve always been a fan of Sadat’s unorthodox style of rhyming. He’s often overlooked, which is understandable when you’re walking in the shadows of a lyrical talent such as Grand Puba, but he’s no slouch on the mic. Sadat goes for dolo using this joint to address a few of the injustices in the black community, and does a pretty decent job in the process. By the way, I love the song title.

Ragtime – This one has a raw cipher feel to it.  Each emcee gets a verse to spit over Skeff Anselm’s funky instrumental and of course Puba walks away with another one.

To The Right – Back in the day this was one of my least favorite songs on One For All.  Not much has changed today.  All three emcees turn in solid performances, my issue with this song is the boring instrumental.

Dance To My Ministry – The Nubian’s sample the drums and horns from Earth, Wind, and Fire’s “Bad Tune” for the musical backdrop on this Lord Jamar solo joint.  Puba starts this one-off by instructing Jamar to start the revolution, which Jamar apparently interpreted as spit a bunch of 5 percent lessons and terminology, as that is what he spends the majority of his two verses doing.  Jamar does a serviceable job on the mic, but the true star on this one is the sick instrumental.

Drop The Bomb – I almost forgot about this one.  I think I might actually like this one less than “To The Right”.  The three emcees mission on this one is to drop the bomb “on the caveman crew” aka the devil, but bka the white man. Not literally bomb him like Hiroshima, but verbally call him out for the racial injustices he is responsible for. Similar to “To The Right” my issue with this one is the instrumental, which, ironically, sounds similar to the instrumental used on “To The Right”. Go figure.

Wake Up (Stimulated Dummies Mix) –  Puba turns in his first solo joint (of many more to come) of the evening, beckoning all black men to awake from their mentally sleeping state. The “Reprise In the Sunshine” mix of this song (which appears a little later in the sequencing) was also the second single released from the album, and the much more favorable version of the two, in my opinion.

Step To The Rear – The Stimulated Dummies provide a laid back instrumental that Grand Puba quietly sneaks up on before he smoothly devours it. I still chuckle every time I hear Puba’s boast of knowing he was “dope ever since he was semen…swinging in his daddy’s big nuts”.  This song just reminds me how grossly underrated Grand Puba is as an emcee.

Slow Down – This was the second single released from the album and arguably my favorite Brand Nubian song of all time.  The Nub’s sample some Kool & The Gang, Funkadelic, and for s & g, throw in a vocal soundbite from Edie Brickell & New Bohemians eighties hit “What I Am” for the backdrop, as they send a word of caution to the ladies to avoid living life in the fast lane (i.e. smoking crack and whoring).  For the first time of the evening all three emcees turn in equally potent verses.  This is classic hip-hop, son.

Try To Do Me – Puba makes a embarrassing blatant attempt to reel in the heel wearing population that might prefer their hip-hop diluted with a little R&B flavor.  Not only does this song suck but it doesn’t even remotely mesh with the rest of One For All up to this point.  Wisely, Sadat and Jamar chose to sit this one out.

Who Can Get Busy Like This Man – Over a sick laid back reggae tinged instrumental Puba rips yet another solo track. Speaking of solo, the second half of One For All is starting to sound like a Grand Puba project.

Grand Puba, Positive And L.G. – If there was a Grammy for most generic song title, this would have been a strong contender in 1990.  Puba and Positive “I Got A Man” K tag team the mic and sound okay in the process, but the instrumental is too stale to even care. Even though Brand Nubian is credited for producing this one, Puba has gone on record as giving L.G. credit for producing this instrumental, which makes sense considering the song title and all. I’m sure L.G. is okay with not getting credit for this garbage.

Brand Nubian – This was also not included on the cassette version of the album. Puba sounds kind of sloppy during his verse and overall the song comes across as an incomplete thought, which may be why they decided to leave it off the original release.

Wake Up (Reprise In The Sunshine) – Same lyrics as the Stimulated Dummies mix, only with a better instrumental that samples Ray, Goodman & Brown’s “Another Day” and Roy Ayers’ classic “Sunshine. Classic.

Dedications – Grand Puba dominated the second half of One For All, so it’s only fitting that he closes the show by himself as well, right?  What starts out as Puba shouting out his favorite emcees in the game, quickly turns into Puba dropping random rhymes about skinz and any other random crap that comes to his mind, before bringing things full circle and reminding the listener what his original objective was for this song.  The execution wasn’t great, but it’s always a pleasure to hear the Grand Puba do his thing on the mic. Side note: The vocal sample Tupac used for the hook on “Old School” from Me Against The World  can be found on this song.

The cassette I bought and wore out back in the day didn’t include “Feels So Good” or “Brand Nubian”; and while neither song is outright terrible, they’re not essential to the whole One For All experience either.  On the other hand, a few of the original songs from the cassette version of One For All should have been left on the cutting room floor (i.e. The Stimulated Dummies Mix of “Wake Up”, “Try To Do Me”, and “Grand Puba,Positive, And L.G.”), but there are enough enjoyable songs on One For All to help lessen the sting of these few iniquities. All in All, One For All holds up pretty well today.

Did The Source Get It Right?  I might catch some flack on this one, but that’s a negative.  The sting of the few iniquities mentioned above may have been lessened, but the stinger still remains.  One For All is a good album, but falls a few inches short of reaching the great status.

-Deedub

I love it when the stars align. This past weekend I, ironically had the awesome pleasure of seeing today’s artist of discussion perform live.  North Minneapolis puts on an arts showcase each year which promotes the arts and gives local artists (visual, musical, dance, fashion, etc.) the opportunity to display their art in the community. One of the local radio stations sets up a stage for local artist to display their art to the masses (if 45 people can be considered “the masses”; the turn out this year wasn’t impressive).  After watching local acts, that range from decent to downright horrible, it was finally time to hear the real reason why I even came out: Big Daddy Kane.

Now, anybody who reads this blog regularly knows what high regard I hold Kane at. In my opinion, he is easily one of the top 5 emcees of all time.  It was both sad and shocking to see such a weak turn out for a hip-hop legend of his status, especially considering it was a free concert. The weather could partially be blamed for the poor turn out as it did rain a little that afternoon.  Regardless, after DJ Skaz Digga (though it would have been cool to see Mister Cee on the ones and two’s) warmed the crowd up with some classic hip-hop joints, Kane took the stage and completely murdered his nearly hour-long set, proving that even a little rain can’t stop the reign of the Kane (I know, that was a bit cheesy, but I’m a roll with it anyway).

Kane’s first two albums did well both commercially and critically, and he returned in 1990 hoping for the trifecta with Taste of Chocolate. Unfortunately, like all good things, Kane’s consecutive gold selling album run came to an end with the release of Taste of Chocolate; but it would still receive favorable reviews from critics.

But on this blog, this critic’s opinion is the only one that really matters.

Taste Of Chocolate Intro – After shouting out all his fans, Kane spits a quick one verse wonder over a smooth instrumental that he also whipped up.  Nice way to start the evening’s proceedings.

Cause I Can Do It Right – What would a Big Daddy Kane album be without his signature ladies man themed braggadocio, filled with punchline after punchline on his sexual prowess (the line about “having more women in areas than a skypager” was kind of dated, though). If my memory serves me correct this was the first single released from the album as well.  Kane’s instrumental was decent, similar to the over results of this song.

It’s Hard Being The Kane – Prince Paul provides a sick instrumental that Kane completely rips to shreds. This is arguably one of Kane’s best songs of all time, In my opinion.

Who Am I – Kane is known for his vicious battle lines and ladies man image, but many overlook (forget or never knew) his ability to craft a song with depth.  “Who Am I” finds Kane doing just that, as he paints the prospective of an African slave and a once hardcore rapper turned pop, as they both find themselves asking their selves the proverbial question the song’s title ask.  Malcolm X’s daughter, Gamilah Shabazz stops by to answer the question from a woman’s point of view, and does a serviceable job. Kane also proves he has the ability to craft pretty nice instrumental. Well done.

Dance With The Devil – Kane uses this one to warn the listener to avoid midnight waltzing with Lucifer, providing the second punch in his “conscious content” combo. Kane’s lyrics mesh beautifully with Cool V’s dark instrumental, and the addition of  the sample of Jack Nicholson as the Joker from the 89’ Michael Keaton version of Batman (which happens to be one of my favorite movie lines of all times) only makes this more intense.

No Damn Good – I’ve always loved this song.  Kane spits 2 verses, one about a freak named Monique, and the other about a wannabe player named Corey.  20 plus years later, Kane’s jabs still pack a powerful punch, as I still laugh at some of his lines (I love the joke about a dude’s peter having too many “knots” in it). Prince Paul gets his second production credit of the evening, and while it’s not as potent as his first one, it still gets the job done (no pun intended).

All Of Me – “To Be Your Man” from It’s a Big Daddy Thing and later, “I’m Not Ashamed” from Prince of Darkness were pretty blatant attempts at crossover rap ballads, bu this hot mess takes the cake and bakery. Kane invites the legendary Barry White to the stu, as the two spend nearly 6 minutes conversing about finding true love and subconsciously battle to see who’s baritone voice can go the deepest . This was clearly an attempt at reaching his heel wearing fan base, but I don’t even think they appreciate this mess.

Keep Em’ On The Floor – And the downward spiral continues.  This time Kane invites Barbara Weathers (formerly of Atlantic Starr, or for you young bucks, the lady who sang lead on  “Secret Lovers” and “Always”) to sing a terrible hook on this mess of a song, which is apparently supposed to evoke the listener to want to dance; and I’m sure that never happened, and you’ll agree once you listen to Kane’s garbage instrumental. On the bright side, at least Kane is back to rapping on this one. Wait..did he just refer to the dance floor as a disco? Wtf? What this recorded in 1990 or 1977?

Mr. Pitiful – Cool V provides a pretty nice instrumental that Kane uses to spit one long verse about his come up in the rap game, the success that followed, and the drama that comes along with it all.  This kind of reminded me of LL’s “Cheesy Rat” from Mama Said Knock You Out.  This was nice.

Put Your Weight On It – This has the same theme as Ice Cube’s “Jackin For Beats” only with not as entertainment instrumentals and a not so clever song title.  Kane still manages to do his thing on the mic, though.

Big Daddy vs Dolemite – For those of you who don’t know who Dolemite is, he was a slicked tongue character created and played by comedian/actor Rudy Ray Moore in several blaxploitation movies in the seventies. Kane invites Mr. Dolemite in on this one, as the two duke it out, exchanging hilariously outrageously boasts, until Dolemite ultimately signifies Kane into submission.  Classic entertainment.

Down The Line – Mister Cee provides the instrumental for this posse cut and everybody in the crew gets in on the fun.  Kane sets it off, simultaneously setting the bar way too high for any of his crew to reach. Scoop, Scrap, Mister Cee, Little Daddy Shane (Kane’s younger brother), and even Kane’s bodyguard Ant Live grab the mic and waste the remaining few minutes of this song, as well as the listener’s time, with their amateur contributions.

Taste Of Chocolate Exit – More shoutouts over the same instrumental as the intro. And we’re done.

They say numbers don’t lie. I say, they don’t tell the truth, either. Why? because numbers can’t talk, stupid…duh. Music, on the other hand, does have a voice; and despite poor record sales, Taste of Chocolate speaks pretty well for its self. Yes, the album does have two huge misfires during the middle section, but the rest of Taste of Chocolate makes for a pretty entertaining listen. The production ranges from decent to fire, but Kane’s top-notch lyricism never waivers, leaving you so intrigued you’re willing to overlook the few mediocre instrumentals included on the album (warning: you will never be able to overlook the abominations that were “All Of Me” and “Keep ‘Em On The Floor”). Sadly, Taste of Chocolate marked the beginning of the end of Kane’s reign, as two of his next three albums were disappointments, and before the turn of the century his once crown worthy high-top fade would completely fade (pun intended) off the scene.

– Deedub