Time Is Illmatic

By the time 1990 rolled around Eric B & Rakim had two quality albums under their belts and had established themselves as the creme de la creme amongst their hip-hop peers.  The duo had a solid formula that worked well: razor-sharp rhymes from Rakim , and rugged and rough production from both Ra and Eric (well at least that is what the album’s liner notes would have you believe, more on that later).  Following the old adage “if it aint broke don’t fix it”, the duo would stick to the script for the release of their third album Let the Rhythm Hit ‘Em.

Now there has always been whispers that some of the production on the first two Eric B & Rakim albums were ghost produced (with Rakim claiming he singlehandedly did the bulk of the production on Paid in Full and Follow the Leader), but the whispers became Sam Kinison like shrieks in regards to the production credits on Let the Rhythm Hit ‘Em. While the liner notes credit Rakim and Eric B for the production for the entire album many sources say the late great Paul C and Large Professor were responsible for the majority of the production on the duo’s third album (Paul C was killed during the recording of Let the Rhythm Hit ‘Em and Extra P has been very vocal about his involvement in the production process).

Regardless of the controversy Let the Rhythm Hit ‘Em was heralded as another classic from the duo and would receive the coveted 5 mic rating from The Source magazine, considered by many to be the hip-hop bible at the time.

Controversy or no controversy does the album still bang?

Let The Rhythm Hit ‘Em – Props to E and Ra for getting the title track out of the way immediately. The sinister track serves as the perfect backdrop for Rakim’s razor-sharp lyrics.  Wait…did Ra really just spit 5 verses?  This song has some historical value as it’s one of only two songs during Ra’s legendary stent with Eric B that he would drop the F-bomb on wax (even though it might not count in your book since it is censored, but more on that later). I am fully aware he dropped it again on his collaboration with Canibus years later (“Buss ‘Em, Finish ‘Em”), that’s why I specified during his stent with Eric B.  This still bangs 20 plus years later, and serves as the perfect way to start the album.

No Omega – Rakim goes, as the kids would say, HAM over this funky track, that has no need to use a hook as an excuse to break up the verses or allow Ra to catch his breath (and the songs nearly 5 minutes long!).  Simply play this song, sit back and enjoy listening to a microphone master at work.  Nice!

In The Ghetto – This is one of (if not the) my favorite Eric B & Rakim songs of all time.  Ra proves he’s not limited to ripping the rugged beats but can also manuever well around the smooth ones as well.  Ra punctuates each verse with arguably the most revered and recycled lines in all of hip-hop (“it ain’t where you’re from, it’s where you’re at…).  I still think Ra’s line “I got my back my gats on my side” is one of the cleverest ever used in hip-hop.  Perfection.

Step Back – Well, they can’t all be great.  The beat sounds like something Masta Ace would have spit to on his debut Take a Look Around, which is neither an insult or compliment.

Eric B Made My Day – The mandatory early era deejay joint. This goes on for way too long.

Run For Cover – Before the industry regulated 16 bar verse format existed (which was heavily influenced by radio:in order for hip-hop artist to get airtime the song’s length had to be short enough to get a slot on the air) emcees had the liberty to spit uninterrupted rhymes until they had nothing left to get off their chest or they simply collapsed.  “Run For Cover” has Ra doing just that and he doesn’t disappoint. Over a stripped down instrumental The R goes bananas.  By the way, I love Ra’s meaning of the acronym APB.

Untouchables – This song is best described by one of Ra’s lines from this song:”Everything flows from the intro”.  The beat, rhymes, and vibe are all on one accord for this one.  I’ve always loved the Donald Byrd sample from ” Here Am I” (which was also used by ATCQ and later Simple E).  Ra rides this track like a brand new BMW 650i  whipping around the autobahn.

Mahogany – Rakim is revered my most hip-hop fans as the GOAT (rightfully so).  This title is often bestowed upon him because of his battle ready lyrics and interesting 5 percenter influenced philosophy. One quality that is often overlooked when discussing Ra’s emcee abilities are his storytelling skills, which “Mahogany” displays beautifully.  Over a laid back instrumental that sprinkles in a beautifully violin sample at the right times, Ra gets his Slick Rick on, and does a flawless job, while simultaneously dropping his 2nd F-bomb of the evening.  I wonder why he didn’t do more story driven songs like this during his career as “Know The Ledge” and “What’s On Your Mind” (from the duos 4th and final album together, Don’t Sweat the Technique were also pretty well executed.

Keep ‘Em Eager To Listen – Let’s get back into that battle shit.  I love this ruggedly smoothed out instrumental (it’ll  makes sense once you listen to it).  Needless to say, Ra tears this beat to pieces effortlessly.

Set ‘Em Straight –  There are many classic songs in the storied Eric B & Rakim catalog and unfortunately for some reason this song is not considered one of them.  That said,  in my opinion this song can hold its weight with any of those classics songs in the duo’s catalog.  This magna opus contains some of  Ra’s best lyrical work of his entire catalog.  I’m serious, it’s that good.  The funky instrumental serves as the perfect backdrop for Ra’s “slow flow” only .  Kids, you’re listening to perfection. Go ahead listen to it and we’ll debate in the comment section.

Let The Rhythm Hit ‘Em (12″ Vocal Version Remix) – This mix doesn’t hold a candle to the original mix. Luckily this was only included on the cd version of Let Rhythm Hit Em, so back in 1990 most fans purchased the cassette or LP and remember “Set ‘Em Straight” as the final song, which works as a must better way to end this classic album. Back to a point I made at the beginning of this review: this mix of “Let The Rhythm Hit ‘Em” does not omit Rakim’s f-bomb for some reason. And that concludes are regularly scheduled program.

Let the Rhythm Hit ‘Em finds Rakim spittin’ his gospel over the best batch of instrumentals he would ever get his hands on during the Eric B collaboration years (and arguably his solo career as well). When you combine Ra’s lyrical mastery, solid production to back him with the ideal album length (the album only has 11 songs if you discount the alternate mix to “Let The Rhythm Hit ‘Em”) you’re bordering on perfection.

Did The Source Get It Right? Even though Eric B’s solo effort (“Eric B Made My Day”) was a complete waste of wax (or reel to reel), and “Step Back” is only average, I’ll give The Source my stamp of approval.

-Deedub

Thanks to N.W.A. completely demolishing the proverbial door and putting the city of Compton on the map, the path was a little easier for other up and coming hip-hop acts claiming the CPT.  One such group to benefit from the city’s new found exposure was Compton’s Most Wanted.

Upon the group’s conception (or at least their first official album release), CMW consisted of emcees MC’s Eiht and Chill, deejay Mike T, and producers DJ Slip and Unknown.   CMW released their debut album It’s a Compton Thang on Orpheus Records in 1990.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending how you feel about him) this would be the only CMW project MC Chill would be involved in as he was sentenced to prison in 91′ and missed the sessions for CMW’s next two projects Straight Checkn’Em and Music to Driveby.  By the time Chill was released in 94″, thanks to soundtrack songs and numerous cameos, MC Eiht had made such a name for himself that the group decided to stick with one emcee, which would eventually led to a pretty successful solo career for Eiht.

But I digress.  Let’s focus on CWM’s debut.

One Time Gaffled Em Up – This was the first single released by the CMW camp. Over  a smooth instrumental MC Eiht spits about a few run-ins he and his crew have had with 5-0. I remember the video for this being very low-budget, which shouldn’t come as a surprise considering they were on an independent label. Eiht’s laid back vocal and delivery feel like they were custom made to fit this instrumental as he shows he’s more than capable to hold is own.  Nice way to start things off.

I’m Wit Dat – Eiht and the Chill MC (which also happens to be the most generic rap moniker of all time) trade verses on this one, with the end results of Eiht rapping circles around his counterpart.  The sample used for the instrumental has been used many times during the course of our chosen genre but DJ’s Slip and Unknown’s spin on it still makes this an enjoyable listen.

Final Chapter – I completely forgot about this song.  While Eiht will forever be remembered in the annuls of hip-hop for his gangster bravado he was definitely more of a battle emcee at this stage in his career.  He holds this one down solo and does a decent job, especially considering the mediocre instrumental provided.  One of Eiht’s favorite slogans “as I commence” is used for the first of many times to come in Eiht’s career.  By the way, what’s up with his line about “a drunk wino”?  Isn’t it overkill?  It’s kind of given that a wino is drunk?  I bet he “kills his competition dead” as well.

I Give Up Nuthin – The instrumental is cool but Eiht’s stiff delivery sounds like he’s reading from a script while chasing the instrumental trying to keep pace with the beat.

This Is Compton – I love this instrumental.  Eiht and Chill (after taking an extended potty break) tag team the mic to share a little info about the city they’re from.  Chill even takes a shot at Dj Quik at the end of this one. So maybe all the battle raps they’ve been spitting up to this point weren’t random but aimed at a specified target. Hmmm…

Rhymes Too Funky Pt.1 (Live At Lonzo’s 1988) – I’m assuming Lonzo’s is one of their homie’s mama’s basement, based on the sound quality of this track.  Eiht and Chill each spit a battle verse before this one fades to black.  Nice, short, and sweet, in a first draft demo kind of way.

Duck Sick – This is my favorite song on the entire album.  Both Eiht and Chill spit battle rhymes over some sick guitar lick samples, and sound believable while doing so. I still chuckle when I hear Eiht’s line “I heard you did a show on your mom’s tape deck”, especially considering they were probably guilty of the same offense on the last song.  Eiht’s clearly the better emcee of the two but both emcees sound decent on this one.

Give It Up – What would a hip-hop album be without a song dedicated to the ladies?  That’s a rhetorical question, by the way.  Warning: the song’s content is as blatant as the title might suggest.  Matter of fact, Eiht and Chill are so blatant at times it’s comical, especially Chill’s line that gripping his girl’s ass confirms his love for her.  Who said chivalry was dead?  As juvenile as the lyrics are the instrumental bangs so much more, making this an enjoyable listen. Kuddos for the “She’s Gotta Have It” vocal sample at the end.

Late Night Hype – Okay, while Duck Sick is my favorite song on the album, “Late Night Hype” is my favorite instrumental on It’s a Compton Thang. Eiht and Chill get two verses each to share stories about their late night adventures, filled with stories of hoes, weed, liquor, hoes, murder, and, did I mention hoes?  Regardless of the lyrically content you can’t front on the sickness of this instrumental.

I Mean Biznez – CMW uses a sample Premo would later use for Lord Finesse’s record “Strictly For The Ladies”.  This would be a trend followed throughout CMW’s catalog: Eiht would give Premo love on the album insert shoutouts of CMW’s second album Straight Checkn’Em, and Premo would return the love by letting Eiht make an appearance on Gangstarr’s Hard to Earn album (“Aiiight, Chill…”).  Both emcees sound decent but I think it would be pretty hard not to over such a sick instrumental .

It’s A Compton Thang – Eiht raps (pun intended) things up dolo for the title song. They use the same Juicy “Sugar Free” sample that AZ would later use for his biggest (and only) hit “Sugar Hill”, making this a pleasant way to close out the album.

It’s a Compton Thang is a decent debut by CMW.  Eiht easily establishes himself as the chief voice of the group, displaying serviceable to solid microphone techniques throughout the course of the journey, while Chill, well, does Chill.  It also helps that the musical backdrops hit way more than they miss.  It’s a Compton Thang is far from a great album but packs enough punch for any fan of golden-era hip-hop to enjoy it.

-Deedub

After kicking in the door (and simultaneously becoming number one on the FBI’s most wanted list) with NWA on their debut album Straight Outta Compton, O’Shea “Ice Cube” Jackson was at a crossroad.  After months of constant touring and monster record sales with NWA, O’Shea  found it odd that he still didn’t have enough money in his bank account to buy a bottle of activator for his jerry curl, which had become so dry by this point it was coughing.  O’Shea’s financial woes peaked his curiosity and led him to look into the business side of things, which were being handled by his partner in curl, Eazy E and group manager Jerry Heller. His findings revealed the shady business practices of Eric and Jerry which eventually led to O’Shea dropping four niggas (Easy, Dre, Ren, and Yella) and making all the dough.  Dre initially sided with Easy on the matter but a few years later he would travel the same Damascus road as O’Shea and sever tides with Jerry and Easy after finding out for himself that Cube’s claims were true.

O’Shea decided to reach out to his East Coast counterparts and friends, Public Enemy, for guidance as they would play a huge role on Cube’s solo debut Amerikkka’s Most Wanted.

Amerikkka’s Most Wanted would go one to receive critical acclaim (as well as a 5 mic rating from The Source) and commercial success that would help catapult O’Shea career in not only music but also acting and eventually writing and directing movies (family movies at that).

I wonder what Ren’s doing these days?

Better Of Dead – AMW opens with a skit that portrays O’Shea being executed on an electric chair, after giving a verbal middle finger to his tormentors. That then leads into the opening song…

The Nigga Ya Love To Hate – 1/3 of the Bomb Squad, Eric Sadler, provides a hot instrumental for Cube to go to HAM on, clearly setting the stage for the evening’s proceedings.  I always liked this beat and Cube sounds ride at home over this Bomb Squad production.

Amerikka’s Most Wanted – I’ve never cared much for the Bomb Squad’s instrumental on this title cut. Cube sounds pretty decent over it as he explains to the listening audience why he’s Amerikkka’s Most Wanted, but the instrumental feels empty, rendering this song only decent.

What They Hittin’ Foe? – Cube spits one long verse about winning a game of craps and the problems that come along with, especially when playing against broke muthafuckas: because according to Cube they make the best crooks.  Production credit goes to the Bomb Squad and Sir Jinx, but I have a feeling this instrumental was more Sir Jinx then Bomb Squad.  Either way, the Average White Band sample is sick and works perfectly with Cube’s story.  Nice.

You Can’t Fade Me – When it comes to great storytelling emcees, Ice Cube is rarely mentioned: this song serves as one of the primary reason why his name should come up in that conversation.  Over a funky Bomb Squad/ Sir Jinx instrumental (again, feels more Sir Jinx influenced than Bomb Squad) Cube share a tell about the “neighborhood hussy” trying to pin her soon to come child on him as the father.  Cube does a masterful job paying attention to detail while providing some hi-larious lines, some which I probably shouldn’t find funny (i.e. his contemplation to kick the chick in her tummy).  This still works very well today.

JD’s Gaffilin’ – Short interlude with O’Shea’s homie, JD (member of Ice Cube’s Da Lench Mob) explaining how he used to “jack them fools for them Nissan trucks” at the McDonald’s drive-thru.  It’s worthy of a chuckle but it’s placement in sequencing kind of made me scratch my head.

Once Upon A Time In The Projects – O’Shea spins another gem of a story: this time about a project chick he goes home with and meets her family before finding out it’s a crack house and ultimately ends his evening behind bars (this definitely wasn’t a good day).  Sir Jinx provides a laid back funk instrumental that serves as the perfect backdrop for Cube’s comical (but sad) story line. The moral of the story: never mess with a girl from the projects, yo!

Turn Off The Radio – After a brief message to the Oreo cookie, Cube goes after radio for not playing more hip-hop (for my younger readers there was a time when urban radio was afraid to play hip-hop, yet alone “hardcore” rap) in their daily rotation.  The Bomb Squad provide an instrumental that is only registers at the decent level, taking away from the overall enjoyment of the song.

Endangered Species (Tales From The Darkside) – O’Shea invites Chuck D into the studio to provide a verse for this one.  The Bomb Squad’s instrumental is all over the place, and in this case that is not a good thing.  It should come as a surprise to no one that Chuck D sound right at home over this instrumental, while Cube sounds like he’s trying to keep pace with the beat and never quite catches up. Never cared for this song in the past and I’m sticking to my story, mon.

A Gangsta’s Fairytale – Over a bangin’ Sir Jinx/Eric Sadler concoction O’Shea remixes a few of your favorite childhood fairy tales and nursery rhymes, giving them a little gangsta touch.  Pretty comical, especially the ad-libs from the kid throughout the song and the Mother Goose sample from Andrew Dice Clay.

I’m Only Out For One Thang – Well, since the Bomb Squad produced the album and Chuck D got a verse, its only right that Flavor gets to make a cameo…right?  Wrong.  Flavor spits a nonsensical verse about trying to screw a chick (that he apparently can’t find the right hole to put it in), and he sounds like he drank a lake of tequilla (seriously, I can’t even make out half of the stuff he says on his verse).  Cube easily raps circles around his guest, even though he sounds bored with the Sir Jinx instrumental.  This won’t require more than one spin, and its short length is a plus.

Get Off My D*** And Tell Yo B**** To Come Here – Cube spits one verse over a semi-funky Bomb Squad instrumental… not much to see here, folks.

The Drive By – Interlude/skit of…you’re smart enough to figure it out.

Rollin’ Wit The Lench Mob – One would think this would be a posse cut for the Lench Mob members, but it’s not.  It’s just Cube talking about his crew.  That’s all I got.

Who’s The Mack? – Classic.  Over a rough but laid back Bomb Squad instrumental Cube spit three scenarios illustrating the art of macking while answering the song title’s rhetorical question.  If you get as chance, youtube the video to this one.  Hi-larious (here’s the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ko0llmBIELI&ob=av2e).

It’s A Man’s World – Cube introduces the only female member of the Lench Mob, Yo-Yo on this duet as both emcees do their part to rep for their respective genders.  Over yet another funky Sir Jinx instrumental both artist provide solid rhymes (though I suspect O’Shea wrote Yo-Yo’s lines) making this a pretty entertaining listen.

The Bomb – Never cared for this song.

My copy of Amerikkka’s Most Wanted includes the additional bonus track:

Endangered Species (Tales From The Darkside) (Remix) – Sounds the same as the original, only a minute longer than it’s predecessor with a bunch of extra noise added in for S&G.  And with that AMW is a wrap.

Amerikkka’s Most Wanted displays Ice-Cube as a socially conscious emcee, balanced with the same gangsta qualities that NWA fans had come to know and love.  Adding the socially aware piece to his repertoire definitely gives our jerry curled friend more to talk about on AMW than in his former life.

Did The Source Get It Right? After this statement I know some might want to revoke my “hip-hop head” license (and other might want my head on a platter): Amerikkka’s Most Wanted is not worthy of 5 mics.  There are a few great songs and a handful of good songs, but there are also enough mediocre joints to make AMW only worthy of 4 mics.  Let the stoning begin.

-Deedub

Derrick Jones, better know to the hip-hop world as D-Nice, is one of the three original member of the legendary Boogie Down Production crew (along with KRS-One and the late Scott LaRock) and he’s also married to the still very hot actress Malinda Williams (she played Bird on the old Showtime series Soul Food)  Legend has it that a beef between D-Nice and another guy (apparently over a chick) lead up to Scott LaRock’s murder while trying to play peacemaker between the two.  Just a factoid that you’ll find interesting or just plain random…choose your own adventure.

D-Nice essentially held down deejay duties for the first three BDP albums, but somehow managed to snag a solo deal with Jive Records (also the label home of BDP) and released his debut in 1990 Call Me D-Nice.

But…is the project worth calling him anything?  Let’s give it a listen.

Crumbs On The Table – Derrick waste no time and goes straight to work over a dope instrumental (complemented by a sick bass line).  No, Derrick won’t be on anyone’s top 5 list (other than Melinda Williams) but he does have a nice vocal, good energy, and a decent flow.  Nice way to kick things off.

Call Me D-Nice – Speaking of dope bass lines: this has to be one of the top 10 bass lines on any rap song, ever (yeah, I said it).  The organ sample is pretty nasty too.  This was the first single off the album and easily Derrick’s biggest hit.  Derrick rides this funky instrumental beautifully, dropping some nice lines and sounds right at home.  This is definitely a hip-hop classic, yo!

Glory – This was also released as a single and was also included on the soundtrack for the Morgan Freeman/Denzel Washington movie of the same name about the 54th regiment the first all African-American army unit during the civil war.  Derrick definitely has an ear for banging bass lines, but other than the bass line this song was kind of boring.  Derrick does his best KRS-One impersonation with this history lesson but looses the listener in the process.

The TR 808 Is Coming – KRS-One stops by to endorse his BDP brethren and provide the hook for this one.  Derrick’s instrumental is way too empty and bland, and his delivery and rhymes (“I wear a cap and gown when I’m teaching”? Huh?  WTF?) are really bad on this one.  I think Malinda would even take him off her top 10 list after hearing this one.

Under Some Budda’ – Derrick provides a reggae tinged instrumental that samples a Pee-wee Herman vocal, which actually works well with the content of the song.  Derrick’s first two verses follow a decent story line of a rival crew trying to challenge he and his crew, leaving Derrick to believe the only reason any one would possibly challenge him to a battle  is if he was smoking weed (humble, not).  Then he throws in a third verse that completely abandons what he was building on previously.  Never the less this was an okay listen.

It’s Over – This was Derrick’s blatant attempt to gain a female audience.  He invites Dawn “Jalisa” Lewis (remember the show Different World?) to sing the hook (which wasn’t the best idea) for a song about a relationship gone bad.  I remember this sounding cheesy back in the day and it’s maintain it’s cheesiness after all these years.  That’s not a good thing, by the way.

A Few Dollars More – I’ll say it again: Derrick definitely has an ear for banging bass lines.   This one compliments his funky instrumental perfectly (I love the horns over the refrain).  Derrick’s back in storyteller mode as he shares a story about the choices the character “Stan” makes in pursuit of the almighty dollar.  It wasn’t done with the greatest execution, but I’ve heard worse.

It’s All About Me –  Derrick’s in battle mode but his instrumental sounds a little too playful for anyone to take any of his boast or threats seriously.  Some of his rhymes even sound like he’s dissing himself (ie. “to hang with the Nice you must be insane”).  All in all, this was okay.

Pimp Of The Year – I guess even BDP members have to get their misogyny on from time to time.  This was supposed to be funny but it won’t even muster up a chuckle, rendering this completely useless and awkward.  I guess he needed to make sure there were enough songs to make this a full length release.

And You Don’t Stop – After using the first minute and a half giving shoutouts, Derrick spits one verse which sounds like an out take from “Crumbs On The Table” (based on the way he end the verse), then uses the last 45 seconds to give more shoutouts.  Interesting way to end the proceedings, but probably not the most effective idea.

Call Me D-Nice starts off very strong before slowly drifting into mediocrity, but to D-Nice’s credit, it never reaches the terrible stage.  D-Nice displays decent emcee skills on the mic and provides pretty solid production behind the boards with a knack for adding bangin’ bass lines, but he would probably be more effective in a group as opposed to a solo artist. Then again, he was a part of BDP, where no one saw much mic time except KRS-One, which is probably why he felt it was necessary to go solo in the first place.  There are several points during the album that Derrick sounds like he has absolutely nothing to say but still manages to fill out ten songs with filler material, making Call Me D-Nice a full length release when it probably would have been better suited as a 4 song EP.  But hey: he did provide us with the classic title song, though, so there is a silver lining to the cloud.

-Deedub

During the late eighties the afrocentric movement was fully on the rise in hip-hop.  Groups like Public Enemy, Boogie Down Productions, and the Jungle Brothers rocked African medallions and spat rhymes full of black pride, provoking a new consciousness in hip-hop.  X-Clan would also walk this path.

X-Clan was a Brooklyn-based collective made up of chief emcee Brother J,  The Overseer, Professor X, Sugar Shaft the Rhythm Provider (aka group deejay), and according to Wikipedia, Paradise the Architect, who honestly, I’m not sure what his role was in the group, but this must be true, since that would account for the four brothers posing on the front and back of the cd insert.

X-Clan released their debut albumTo the East, Blackwards which would mix funk loops with heavy afrocentric lyricism.  It was received with heavy critical acclaim and is also included on The Source’s top 100 hip-hop albums of all-time.

Sadly, Sugar Shaft would die of complications of AIDS in 1995 and Professor X would die from complications of spinal meningitis in 2006. RIP to both of them.

Funkin Lesson – After Professor X provides his signature seal of approval, Brother J goes to work like an architect over this Parliament sampled instrumental, and builds a beautiful mansion.  “Atomic Dog” and “One Nation” aren’t original sample sources but listening to X-Clan’s use of them sounds surprisingly refreshing. Nice way to start the album.

Grand Verbalizer, What Time Is It? –  Brother J goes right back to work, using the same sample from Eric B & Rakim’s “Microphone Fiend”, and rips the heart out of it, all while supplying a Black History lesson for the listener.  It sounds like Brother J takes a few shots at KRS-One/BDP, and I vaguely remember hearing of some beef between the two “conscious” crews. Regardless, this was hot.

Tribal Jam – This head nodding instrumental fits the title perfectly.  Brother J delivers another solid performance dropping lines about his norm: white devils, cavemen, and Black power. This sounds a lot better today than I originally remembered it.

A Day Of Outrage, Operation Snatchback – Brother J proves that he can snap on any style of beat as he completely demolishes this rock-tinged instrumental, and adds 3rd Bass to his list of nemesis, when he takes a shot at the melanin challenged emcees. I think it’s safe to say Brother J doesn’t have any white friends, or like white people to that point. Which is ironic considering whites were probably responsible for the majority of the album sales.

Verbal Milk – Warning: the bassline on this one is addictive. I love the song title but I wouldn’t consider Brother J’s verbals to be milk as they pack way more substance.  100% beef, baby. By the way, where does Professor X come up with the babbling he does at the end of these song? It’s entertaining, though.

Earth Bound – I’ve never liked any song that has used the Parliament sample used on this song, and this is no exception.  Lyrically, Brother J sound solid, but very uncomfortable rapping over this instrumental. Oh well, no one’s perfect.

Shaft’s Big Score – Resident DJ, Sugar Shaft gets a chance to display his ability on the wheels of steels over a tribal sounding track.  Of course, no X-Clan track would be complete without an interruption from clan leader Professor X and his babble.  Those of you who read this blog on a regular basis already know how I feel about these types of songs.  It doesn’t help that it plays on nearly two minutes longer than it had any right to.

Raise The Flag – X-Clan completely changes the pace with this semi-jazz tinged instrumental that Brother J rides like a saddled horse. Brother J uses this one as a call for Black unity and the results were vanglorious!

Heed The Word Of The Brother – I belief this was the first single off the album, or at least the first song I remember hearing from X-Clan.  The instrumental samples Zapp’s “More Bounce To The Ounce” and Brother J rips it to pieces (as usual) while on his soapbox.  Professor X’s request for Aristotle, Plato, and Socrates to “step off” is still hi-larious. Nice.

Verbs Of Power – After Professor X spend the first minute with his random chatter and reminding you who “this is protected by,” Brother J takes you to chuch over a heavy bassline and organ sample.  Amen, brother, amen.

In The Ways Of The Scales – In between dropping jewels, Brother J takes another shot at 3rd Bass, but this shot is an eye jammy.  The instrumental samples from a hip-hop artist favorite source material.  This was a pleasant way to close out To the East, Blackwards.

To the East, Blackwards is a very solid debut. Brother J proves himself to be a more than capable emcee and the production pretty much bangs from beginning to end. My only quarrel with To the East, Blackwards is the subject matter, as it never leaves the black militant stance and you could literally switch the lyrics to any of the other songs and it would fit perfectly. That said, Brother J has a lot to say and delivers it cleverly and will have you rewinding some of the songs several times to fully chew and digest his meat (lyrical meat that is).  This is protected by the red, the black, and the green, with a key….sissy’s.

-Deedub

Pardon the bulge in the front of my pants but I’m a huge (no pun intended) A Tribe Called Quest Stan.  Now that we got that out the way, let’s proceed.

During the mid to late eighties the source material for the majority of  hip-hop artists instrumentals were constructed around R&B and funk loops (i.e. James Brown) and the rhymes consisted of garbage bags full of braggadocio.  Then the Native Tongue collective hit planet earth.  The Jungle Brothers and De La Soul would both use jazz samples and cover topics the average man can relate to, but I think most heads will agree that A Tribe Called Quest perfected the art of the hip-hop-jazz fusion and as Q-Tip would describe their rhyme style: “saying this and that, cause this and that was missing”.

A Tribe Called Quest upon its conception consisted of lead emcee Q-Tip, his mic assistant Phife, deejay Ali Shaheed Muhammad, and Jarobi, who I’m still not sure what his function actually was in the group.  After making cameos on both the Jungle Brothers and De La Soul projects (at least Q-Tip) ATCQ would ink a deal with Jive/RCA and release their debut album People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm…a title that’s way too long for anyone good and will be refered to as People’sfor the remainder of this write up.  People’s
was received with critical acclaim but not so much commercially(it took 6 years to reach gold status), earing a 5 mic rating from The Source (wow, it been’s a minute since I’ve done a “Did The Source Get It Right?” segment…remember those? ), but probably more importantly laid the foundation for their next two efforts which are undeniable gems and possibly the best one-two punch albums in hip-hop history. 

Michael Rapaport recently released the documentary about ATCQ titled Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest [Blu-ray], which I strongly recommend for anyone who considers themself a fan of ATCQ or golden era hip-hop. 

Music, please.

Push It Along – This starts with what I’ve always assumed was a newborn baby traveling through the birth canal to reach its destination into the world, a metaphor for ATCQ’s birth into the listening publics ears.   Once we get past the dramatics, heavy drums dropped and soon are accompanied by a beautifully warm jazz loop.  Fittingly, Q-tip takes time on the first verse to humbly introduce himself to the listening public and explain his position in the game (“saying this and that, cause this and that was missing”). Phife gets half a verse before Q-tip interrupts him, snatches his mic and takes over for the remainder of the song (hmm..maybe some early evidence to Phife’s claim in the ATCQ documentary of Q-Tip being a tyrant amongst the group members?).   Perfect way to start your debut album…although the 2 in a half minutes of Jarobi welcoming us to the album, introducing us to the group members, and the next song was kind of overkill.

Luck Of Lucien – This serves as Q-tip’s tongue-in-cheek dedication to his french ami Lucien (which if my memory serves me correct later made a cameo on Kurious’ Constipated Monkey.   Most of Tip’s line are inside jokes that probably make a lot more sense to Lucien but not so inside that the listener can’t enjoy the song.  The instrumental is lovely and only gets better when the horns kick in during the refrain. 

After Hours – There is a reason Q-tip calls himself the Abstract Poetic, you know.  I can’t say I’ve ever heard a rapper describe something as mundane as hanging out late night with the fellas so poetically, even at points sounding sage like with line like “we all say peace and go our separate ways, youth is fading as we gain our days”.  The instrumental serves as the perfect backdrop for Tip’s rhymes and fits the song title perfectly.

Footprints – This instrumental bangs like Pops Witherspoon, and Q-tip lightweight voice does a solid job of keeping pace with the heavy drum beat as well.  Four for four.  Nice start, fellas.

I Left My Wallet In El Segundo – Okay.  I love ATCQ but ironically I’ve always hated this song which also happens to be their first single.  Q-tip paints a tale of a trip to El Segundo (which as he explains in the ATCQ documentary was inspired by Red Foxx’s character Fred G Sanford from “Sanford and Son”) where, like the title suggests, he leaves his wallet.  Nothing about this song is appealing to me and Tip only makes matters worse when uses  the term “badder”.  Not sure if I’ve mentioned this before on this blog but the only term I hate more than “badder” is “worser”…ugh!

Pubic Enemy – DJ Red Alert (who is also responsible for getting ATCQ in the door) co-signs throughout this song as Q-tip shares two tales of a man and a woman who didn’t use protection and got burned.  In the past I’ve never cared much for this Public Service Announcement, but today Q-tip’s lyrics held my attention (maybe I’ve matured in the last 20 odd years…I hope so).  The instrumental still sounds like a bunch of noise, though.

Bonita Applebum – Easily one of the top five hip-hop song off all time.  I repeat: if you consider yourself a “head” you MUST add this to your playlist immediately.  It’s that urgent.  Q-Tip is in spoken word mode as he expresses his feelings for a young lady, and his approach fits perfectly with this instrumental.  If you’ve never heard this song before stop reading this write-up immediately, download the song, listen to, then return to your normally scheduled program.  Yes, it is that serious.

Can I Kick It? – I believe this was released as the third single from the album.  While the album version samples Lou Reed’s “A Walk On The Wildside”, the video leaves it out giving it a little different feel (i.e. empty) in comparison.  I’ve never been crazy about this song, but it’s alright, I guess.

Youthful Expression – Q-tip rides this funky instrumental with a perfect dead pan delivery as he weaves a lyrical web with witty punch lines and comical one-liners.  I love the base line…nice.  

Rhythm (Devoted To The Art Of Moving Butts) – Okay.  If you don’t like this song I completely understand.  The instrumental is simple and can even be classified as empty.  Personally I still like this song as it has a serene feel to it .  It sounds really good on cloudy or rainy days.  I’m serious, play it on the next cloudy day…its musical meditation, man.  

Mr. Muhammad – This is an ode to the group’s DJ, Ali Shaheed Muhammad. I don’t hate this song like I do “El Segundo” but I do have a strong dislike for it.  Oh, Phife returns from his extended potty break and spits a verse too.

Ham ‘N’ Eggs – In case you had any questions or concerns about ATCQ’s dietary regiment…here you are.  2 things to note: Phife makes his 4th and final appearance on “Peoples”  and the only explicit on the entire album (an F-bomb) is dropped as they get hyped while chanting the hook as the song fades out.   

Go Ahead In The Rain – Q-tip shares a spoken word poem (in a somewhat distorted vocal) over a laid back guitar loop, encouraging the listener to keep striving in spite of adversity…thus the title of the track.  Get it? Go ahead…in the rain?  Moving on…

Description Of A Fool – Q-tip uses 2 verses (the second one is extremely long and could have been broken into two, but once you listen to it you see it plays out better as one verse) to paint vivid pictures of said “fools”.  I love Tip’s intro as he asks someone to read the definition of the word “fool”, then lets the dope instrumental loop play for a while almost as if giving the listener a chance to find it in Webster’s (or in this day and age google it), then coming back in with a distorted voice to read the definition.  This was nice and a pretty decent way to end the album.

People’s is a solid debut from, if you haven’t figured out already, my favorite hip-hop group of all time.  Q-Tip establishes himself as the face of the Tribe, waxing poetic, sagic, and introspective while covering topics that your favorite hardcore or gangsta rapper wouldn’t touch with a 10 foot pole over laid back jazz sample infused beats.  Phife does make a few appearances but wouldn’t be appreciated until their follow-up The Low End Theory (boing!!!) and hopefully I’ll get to that by the year 2020.  There are 3 or 4 songs that could have been left on the cutting room floor and no one would have missed them (i.e. “El Segundo”) but the majority of it works. 

Did The Source Get It Right?  As surprising as this may be for some of you to hear from my mouth:no, they didn’t.  It’s solid effort but there is definitely room for improvement which they would make on The Low End Theory.  See, I’m not always bias.

-Deedub

By the time 1990 rolled around PE was the highest profile hip-hop act on the scene (at least a hip-hop act that still had street cred).  After the massively successful (critically and commercially) It Takes a Nation of Millions, the controversy already surrounding the group and its militant stance continued to grow while troubles amongst the group members began to blossom as well.  Professor Griff would leave the group all together after he and the crew could no longer see things eye to eye, and beef between Chuck D and chief member of the Bombsquad, Hank Shocklee begin to simmer.

In spite of the cat fight between Chuck and Hank, the show would go on as both parties would put a side their differences and complete work on PE’s third release Fear of a Black Planet. 

All of the controversy would pay off as Fear of a Black Planet would go on to move a million units in its first week receiving heaps of critical acclaim (it’s included on The Source top 100 albums of all time as well as number 300 on The Rolling Stone 500 greatest albums list) and the Library Of Congress would even go on to have it added to the National Recording Registry recognizing it for its cultural and historical importance.   Yes it was that serious.

But how will it stand up today?

Contract On The World Love Jam – Intro which uses a bunch of vocal samples to address the state of PE in 1990,  as well as the climate of the African-American struggle.  I love the instrumental so this was very enjoyable.

Brothers Gonna Work It Out – This was released as a single.  The Bombsquad provides a hard instrumental for Chuck D to stand on his soapbox and spit in his booming baritone (oh yeah, Flavor does add a line and a ad-lib or two for S&G) about the brothers taking care of our business.  I’ve always loved how the Prince guitar sample’s chaotic sound meshes beautifully with the rest of the organised noise surrounding it.  Nice.

911 Is A Joke – This was also released as a single off the album.  Who can forget the hilarious video for this song as Flav criticizes the slow response time of Emergency personnel.  The instrumental is decent and Flavor Flav is engaging and entertaining , what more could you ask for?   

Incident at 66.6 FM – Interlude

Welcome To The Terrordome – Easily one of the greatest songs (top 5) ever created by PE, and my personal favorite.  The Bombsquad instrumental sounds like they threw together a bunch of different sounds that begin to wage war against each other and somehow in the mist of the battle found peace.  I guess it could best be defined as a beautiful mess, and I mean that as a compliment.  Chuck completes this Magnum Opus with razor-sharp rhymes delivered in a booming vocal that sounds like God gave him just to record this song.  This my friend is one of the reasons PE is revered as hip-hop royalty.  Very nice.

Meet The G That Killed Me – Ummmm…I think the G is Aids?  Your thoughts?

Pollywanacraka – Chuck addresses interracial dating as he narrates the reason a certain black woman and a certain black man choose to date outside their race, or more specifically what the title suggest, why they date caucasians.  The instrumental does nothing for me and Chuck’s delivery is not only beyond awkward but borders on annoying, making this very skippable.

Anti-Nigger Machine – After a minute and a half of only an instrumental which includes repetitive ad-libs from Flav, a hard instrumental interrupts are normally scheduled program and Chuck drops two quick verses before it segues into the next song.  If my memory serves me correct the video version for this song had an additional verses.  

Burn Hollywood Burn  – Chuck D invites guests Ice-Cube and Big Daddy Kane to the festivities as they all cover the under and misrepresentation of blacks in Hollywood.  Each emcee rips this miniscule Bombsquad production to smithereens.   

Power To The People – This instrumental reminds me too much of “Fight The Power”.  This is pretty much an interlude that Chuck uses to drop random spoken word pieces encouraging the masses to, fight the power!

Who Stole The Soul? – This was cool.  That’s all I got.

Fear Of A Black Planet – The title track flirts with the idea of interracial dating eventually causing the world to become black (I think). The chipmunked Chuck D vocal during the chorus was kind of weird to hear, especially in comparison with his usual bombastic delivery. The Bomb Squad has a knack for taking a handful of sounds that should hate each other and manages to blend them in perfect harmony, but when they don’t blend well you’re left with a bunch of noise that translates to a hot mess (i.e. this song).

Revolutionary Generation – PE defends all the soul sistas out there as Chuck addresses how black women have been mistreated in the past and how they should be treated in the present (Chuck even makes an interesting reference to his song “Sophisticated Bitch” from Yo Bum Rush the Show).   The instrumental was forgettable, but props for the overall message.  I love my momma.

Can’t Do Nuthin’ For Ya Man – Hands down my Favorite Flava Flav solo of all time.  The beats a definite banger (I’ve always loved the bridge break down) and always will be.  “You want six dollars for what?”  Hi-larious. 

Reggie Jax – Chuck spits one verse over a subdued reggae tinged Bombsquad instrumental that is quite enjoyable.  This was decent enough…it ends before it ever has a chance to get annoying.

Leave This Off Your Fu*kin Charts –  Terminator X takes center stage as he scratches the life out of this instrumental.  I’ve never been a huge fan of these types of joints (as you already know if you read on a regular basis):that said, this wasn’t terrible, just not my cup of tea.

B Side Wins Again – I never cared for this song in the past but today it actually sounds pretty decent.  Chuck D’s slighty distorted vocal over this rough Bomb Squad instrumental actually works.  Fine wine, baby.  

War At 33 1/3 – This actually sounds like the perfect companion piece to the previous song.  Maybe this was the “A” side that the previous song was battling, which comes immediately after the “B” side, symbolizing a bowing down in submission to the victor.  Maybe I’m reading to far into this.  It would be a nice battle to watch, though. 

Final Count Of The Collision Between Us And The Damned – Not sure how this instrumental correlates with the title.  On second thought, I’m not even sure what the title means.

Fight The Power – This is one of the best hip-hop song’s ever created (according to VH1 this is THE greatest hip-hop song of all time), which was first released on the soundtrack to Spike Lee’s classic movie “Do The Right Thing”.  If I recall correctly this song was way over exposed by the time Fear of a Black Planet dropped (it was released as a single off the “Do The Right Thing” soundtrack), but it was still nice of them to include it on a PE album for the many of us who didn’t buy the “Do The Right Thing” soundtrack.  Nice way to end the proceedings.

Fear of a Black Planet comes out the gates like a pit bull terrier chasing down a dude with a steak embedded necklace dangling from his neck, before turning into a lullaby at the midway point, then regaining momentum as it comes to a closure.  Overall Fear of a Black Planet is a solid effort and personally my favorite P.E. album.  In retrospect it’s kind of sad listen when you consider this would be their pinnacle before they begin the slow trek back down from the mountain top.

-Deedub

Tupac Shakur: Probably the most famous (an infamous) rapper ever to walk the face of the earth, which in part can be credited to his very public personal issues and ultimately his untimely and controversial death that somehow remains unsolved to this day (but that’s a story for another day).  Before Tupac became a household name the group in today’s review is responsible for giving him his big break into the game: Digital Underground.

Digital Underground is a west coast hip-hop collective that begin to sprout in the late eighties, led by Greg “Shock G” Jacobs with a supporting cast that changed its roster more often than a newborn baby’s diaper.  They will always be best known for their party vibe, frat party humor, and their big nosed caricature Humpty Hump (more on that later).  DU released their debut album Sex Packets in 1990, a concept album based loosely around a fictional pill for him or her to meet their sexual needs.  Sex Packets, which fused P-funk samples with live instrumentation, would go one to earn the group a platinum plaque and even earned a spot on a The Source’s top 100 hip-hop albums of all time in 1998.

20 years later let’s see if Sex Packets still stands up.  I’m talking about the album…get your minds out the gutter!

The Humpty Dance – If you had any type of pulse in the early nineties you’re already familiar with this song, which is easily the biggest hit in the DU catalog.  Shock G plays his big nosed alter ego Humpty Hump and proceeds to drop random boasts from his sexual prowess (I always thought it was funny that the video censored “funk” which apparently the powers that be mistaken for “fuck”) to how sick he is on a microphone,  then finally using the third verse to give instruction on how to do the “Humpty Dance”, which if done correctly you’ll look like “MC Hammer on crack”.  Shock’s funk instrumental acts as the perfect backdrop for Humpty’s hilariously random rhymes.  Nice way to start the show.

The Way We Swing – Over another funk driven instrumental (get use to that, folks) Shock G holds down microphone duties (like he will for the majority of the album, including his alter ego) explaining to America how DU gets down, musically speaking.   Shock G manages to sound pretty good, although is verses are repetitive.  It was slightly funny to hear him say “America we hope you like are sound, but if you don’t we really don’t give a fuck”.  The instrumental was very nice.  My only real issue with this song is its length as there is absolutely no reason this should have gone on for nearly 7 minutes.  All in all, still an enjoyable listen.

Rhymin’ On The  Funk – The title pretty much says it all.  Shock G and Money B tag team the mic on this one (which also happens to run over 6 minutes).  While Shock G sounds decent on the mic, Money B quickly displays why his mic time on Sex Packets is limited and why his name will never be found on any one’s top ten list (remember Raw Fusion? Stop laughing!) as he at want point proclaims himself as “the poop”.  Really? Who calls themselves “shit” unless they’re using the term “shit”?  DU used a popular Parliament sample which sounds decent enough.  While I gave “Way We  Swing”  a pass for its excessive length I won’t do the same for this one.  DU would later recycle this instrumental and use it on “Arguing On The Funk”, which was included on DU’s EP, amply titled This Is An EP (which is a play on acronyms but more on that at a later date).  That version pairs Shock against Humpty discussing funk pioneers and who is and who isn’t worthy of props.  That versions in fairly entertaining, plus no Money B.

The New Jazz (One) – Nothing more than a piano interlude.  Much to short to have a legitimate opinion on.

Underwater Rimes (Remix) – Sticking with the funk instrumental theme, “Underwater Rimes” pick up were we left off at prior to “The New Jazz”.  Shock G rides this smooth track with infinite references to water or objects found in water, and the results are liquid solid.  Shock adds yet another alter ego to his repertoire, introducing the listener to MC Blowfish, who picks up where Shock let off, closing the song on a funny note.  I’ve never heard the original, maybe I’ll spend some time looking for it on the World Wide Web.  This also marks the first real song on the album that runs under 6 minutes.

Gutfest ’89 – Shock G and Money B share mic duties again (well, kind of) for this misogynistic song ode to booty.  I found it mildly interesting that Shock referred to receiving head as “skull” or “brains”, which might make him the first in hip-hop to refer to oral sex as such.  This might be the first song on Sex Packets that falls in line with the album title, but it still does nothing for me.  Apparently the cassette release of Sex Packets
has an extended version, in which I will not personally waste any energy seeking out.  Next…

The Danger Zone – I don’t think any one’s ever bought a Digital Underground album looking for music with a message, but DU uses “The Danger Zone” to take a stab at it.  Shock G speaks on the drug (mainly crack) epidemic that was very much prevalent when Sex Packets was released.  Props for the attempt but DU should leave these types of song to PE or BDP, and stick to the humorous joints.

Freaks Of The Industry – Getting back to the album’s overall theme: Shock G and Money B spin tales of their sexapades while proving that they’re the biggest freaks in the biz over a smooth laid back groove accompanied by a funk guitar rift.  While I can’t recall any of Money B’s verse, Shock G saves the day providing a very entertaining verse while the Piano man takes us out over some jazzy keys. Overall this was pretty good.

Doowutchalike – The first single off of Sex Packets.  I still remember seeing this video for the first time and thinking “who the hell are these guys?”   Who’ll ever forget Humpty instructing the ladies to grab a guy they like “in the biscuits”?  Shock’s shout out to Vanessa Williams “just to hear her name in his rhyme” was pretty comical too.  Nice touch to leave a space at the 3:30 mark of the song for radio station to insert their station identification  and even provide a fade out, only to come back in for another 4 and a half minutes, which I can tolerate since this includes my favorite part of the song, as the Piano man (making his second contribution in as many songs) provides a dope medley on the keys.  If any one song could accurately depict DU’s personality, “Doowatchalike” is that song.  This still works over 20 years later.

Packet Prelude – The “Piano man” provides a pleasant piano piece that segues into…

Sex Packets – The title track.  Over a laid back Prince-esque (at least the synthesizer sound used over the refrain) groove, Shock G goes into crooner mode to describe a pill that, depending on your preference, will bring to life a man or woman to fulfil all your sexual needs when your significant other isn’t available or  just plain isn’t in the mood.  Or as Shock G so eloquently puts its: “biochemically compacted sexual affection” or “your favorite toss-up in a pill”.  This still sound nice, and props to DU for the original concept.

Street Scene – Interlude to set up the next song.

Packet Man – Somebody has to distribute the sex packets, right?  Shock G plays the dealer trying to solicit Humpty for a few packets, an attempt that ends successful.  Kudos to Shock G’s attention to detail as you can visual the interaction between himself and himself Humpty as he paints it.  The storyline and lyrics are dead on but I’ve never cared much for the instrumental used to back this one.  The instrumental used on the remix (included on the This Is An EP) works a lot better as the beat captures the essence of the scene Shock is trying to paint.

Packet Reprise – Instrumental version of “Sex Packets”.  And with that, Sex Packets
is a wrap.

The cassette version of Sex Packetshas three addition songs ( “Hip-hop Doll”, “Sound Of The Underground” and “A Tribute T0 The Early Days”) as well as an none of which I’ve heard, but might seek out after I finish this blog.

After listening to Sex Packets again after all these years, I’ve come to the conclusion that Shock G who, let’s face it, pretty much IS Digital Underground, is severely underrated.  No, Shock isn’t one of the greatest emcees of all time and Sex Packets is not one of the greatest hip-hop albums ever made either. Sex Packets is a solid debut and the majority of the credit should go to one of the most creative minds in hip-hop (yeah, I said it.  What??!)  While Sex Packets does have a few mishaps, over all it’s a comical- funky-enjoyable listen.  In a genre that often takes it self way too serious, albums like Sex Packetsare always a fun treat to revisit.

-Deedub

As I wrap up the eighties portion of my collection and press forward to the year 1990, fate would have it this weekend while on one of my many used cd shop visits, I would stumble across an out of print and very hard to find (unless you want to fork out $75 and buy it on Amazon, but who can afford to that in this economy?) cd from the California-based duo, Low Profile,  titled We’re in This Together.  Since it was released in January of 1990, it quickly moved up to the front of my review list.  Is this fate or chance?

You may or may not have heard of the group Low Profile (which is a sick name for an underground rap group), but you’ve probably heard of at least half of the parties in the duo.  Low Profile, was made up of DJ Aladdin (who worked alongside Ice-T’s long time production partner Afrika Islam) and the half you’re probably already familiar with, veteran west coast emcee W.C.  As a group, We’re in This Together would be the duo’s only release together hence adding huge amounts of irony to the album’s title.

Most of you are probably familiar with W.C. based on his collaborating with Ice Cube and Wac Mac 10 to form the not so super group, Westside Connection.  I first became familiar with W.C. on his work with W.C. & The Maad Circle (which also included former crackhead, Coolio as a member, before he went solo, blew up, and became a household name), post Low Profile, pre-Westside Connection era.  I remember thoroughly enjoying the Maad Circle debut album Ain’t a Damn Thing Changed (We’re in This Together was also released on the Priority label), and specifically, W.C. and Coolio’s chemistry on the mic as they spit over Sir Jinx and Crazy Tunes funked–out productions.  So even though I’ve never heard (or at least don’t recall) a Low Profile song, all of those fond memories of that Maad Circle cassette came rushing back and I had to buy We’re in This Together if only to see if W.C. would sound as good with Low Profile as I remembered him sounding with the Maad Circle.  That and the fact is was less than $3, so even if it blows it isn’t a huge investment lost.  Plus I can sell it on Ebay for 25 times what I paid for it and recoup my small investment.   You gotta love America, kids.

Funky Song – Over a simplistic but serviceable DJ Aladdin beat, W.C. goes right to work without wasting any time on an intro.  W.C.’s flow didn’t grab me like it would a year later on W.C. and the Maad Circles debut Ain’t a Damn Thing Changed. But sometimes nostalgia has a weird way of playing tricks on you.

That’s Y They Do It – W.C. used 4 plus minutes (and 4 verses) to explain to the listener why brothers in the hood slang, and does a pretty good job articulating his points.  Aladdin’s instrumental work is (again) simple but effective.  I’m sure the more I play this one the more I’ll like it.  My ear still has to adjust to W.C. subdued flow, though.

Pay Ya Dues – W.C. covers a topic most of the youngins from the current era are probably not familiar with. His line about a sucka emcee sounding like “KrChuckDKooMoeS-One” was kind of corny but funny at the same time.  I’m very curious to know who the “soft emcees” he referring to in the 3rd verse are (if you know hit me up in the comments).  DJ Aladdin provides a typical West Coast beat for that era.  Take that comment for what it’s worth.  Overall this was a pretty solid song.  

Easy Money – Over a lazy DJ Aladdin funk guitar loop W.C. gets as lyrical as we’ve heard him up to this point as he expresses his love and discipline for the art. Because, as he puts it : rapping is easy money compared to slaving at a 9 to 5 (amen to that, brother). Though I’m not sure exactly why Aladdin’s instrumental appeals to me, and W.C. sounds pretty good over it.  After a few more spins I’m sure I’ll really like this song.

Keep Em’ Flowin’ – Aladdin uses the same sample EPMD made famous on their song “Please Listen To My Demo”.  W.C. sounds like he was awaken out of a deep sleep, giving a script and held at gunpoint in the booth while forced to recite his lines.  To say he sounds subdued on this one would be a huge understatement.

Aladdin’s On A Rampage – This is W.C.’s ode to DJ Aladdin.  I love the chemistry these two display as Aladdin finishes W.C.’s lines with scratched in vocal samples.  I’ve never been a huge fan of the “ode to my deejay” song (though I respect the sentiment) but this was actually pretty decent.

How Ya Livin’ – W.C. takes on the issues of black on black violence and the crack epidemic (he also manages to throw in a random shout out to the 40 oz).  His line  “doing 10 to 20 [in prison] braiding another brother’s hair” paints a pretty hi-larious picture.  Overall W.C. does a good job (he actually sounds awake while performing his verses), and Aladdin’s instrumental is…presentable.

Comin’ Straight From The Heart – No, this isn’t a heart wrenching melodrama (thank God!).  It’s just W.C. talking random shit, but making some valid points along the way. The instrumental is not great but something about it is appealing, though I can’t quite put my finger on what that “something” is.  Unfortunately, W.C.’s energy level have plummeted to new lows, making his content mostlyforgettable.  

We’re In This Together – For the title track W.C. (for the first time on this album) sounds loose and as if he’s actually having fun during the recording process.  Aladdin provides a funky instrumental and adds a live saxophone over the hook which actually works well.  Like I always say: it’s always a good thing when the title song works.

Make Room For The Dub B.U. – Everything about this scream demo: Aladdin’s instrumental sound incomplete,  W.C.’s energy level changes on every verse as if he recorded all three verses on three different days. That said and the song still wasn’t that bad.

No Mercy – What better way to end an album then with a battle rap, huh?  Did I mention W.C. is probably not on anyone’s “top 10 dead or alive” list?  But he is serviceable, and Aladdin’s beat complements the C-Walkin emcee well.  And with that we’re done.

After one complete listen We’re in This Together isn’t life changing, nor does is cover any new ground that Low Profile’s contemporaries hadn’t already touched upon.  There are a few hiccups in the road: W.C.’s flow isn’t as potent as it would become in the years to follow, and Aladdin’s beats aren’t great by any stretch of the imagination.  Yet, We’re in This Together
still shapes up to be a decent listen.  One that I’m sure that will become more enjoyable with a few more listens.  Not bad for $2.95.

-Deedub