Time Is Illmatic

Some of you younger readers may find it hard to believe that before Queen Latifah was known as an actress/singer/covergirl, Dana “Queen Latifah” Owens’ initial claim to fame was actually as a rapper. 

Following the path paved by other pioneering female acts like Salt N Pepa, Roxanne Shante, and MC Lyte, Dana decided to pursue the microphone.  She started off beatboxing for an all female rap group know as Ladies Fresh, before she would eventually connect with DJ Mark the 45 King and become one of the original members of the Flavor Unit emcees.  45 King would produce Dana’s first demo, which found its way into the hands of Yo!MTV Raps, Fav Five Freddy, which Tommy Boy Records would eventually hear and enjoy so much they offered Dana a deal, and as they say in the business, the rest is history.

Queen Latifah released All Hail The Queen in November of 89′, with the majority of the production handled by Mark 45 King, with a few production credits from a few hip-hop legends as well (more on that later).  All Hail would eventually earn Latifah a gold plaque as well as heaps of critical acclaim.   

On a personal note I’ve never listened to All Hail The Queen from beginning to end.  I’ve really only heard the singles and radio joints from the album.  The Nature Of A Sista album was my first introduction to the Queen.  I stumbled upon All Hail at a used cd shop for a few bucks and figured I’d give it a shot.  Even if it sucks, its only a few bucks lost.  Right?

Dance For Me –  Latifah uses this 45 King produced track to command the listener to dance for her.  Sorry Dana, I didn’t dance.  This was okay at best, nothing you need to listen to more than once.   Dana does warn you in her first verse that this isn’t going to be life changing lyricism, or even the best you’ve heard from a female.  She was absolutely correct with that assessment.  I appreciate the modesty, Dana.  

Mama Gave Birth To The Soul Children – Latifah invites her label mates De La Soul to join her on this posse cut, which shouldn’t be a surprise since Prince Paul produced it.  In true Prince Paul fashion he brings his signature zaniness to the party.  From the movie soundbite at the intro, to the constant changing of the samples, to a chipmunk voice shouting out his peeps, Paul leaves his fingerprints all over the track.  Latifah plays the mother and De La Soul are the sons she birthed.  But not a physical birth…as piritual one.  Yeah, the concept was kind of corny, but the song overall was decent. 

Come Into My House – What would a late eighties hip-hop album be without a house track?  Dana and 45 King provide the backdrop for Dana to personally invite the listener into her house, while repeatedly requesting you give her body (what ever the hell that means…I’m not even sure I want to know)?  I belief this was the second single off the album. Dana’s not in anyone’s top 10 lyricist list (unless we’re talking about female emcees, I guess), but her voice has a certain quality, and when coupled with her solid delivery she turns in a decent performance.  I actually like house music, so this was, and still is, pretty enjoyable for me.

Latifah’s Law – Louis “Louie Louie” Vega (yeah, I’ve never heard of him either) provides a very nice instrumental for the Queen to laid down her law.  Dana sound good enough on the mic, dropping a few clever lines and reppin’ for the motherland.  But the true star on this one is Mr. Vega’s courtesy of his instrumental. I love the cinematic feel the horns bring to the song.

Wrath Of My Madness – Latifah sounds really nice over this funky 45 King produced track,  as she comes of more nimble than anything else on the album up to this point. She rides this mid tempo instrumental beautifully, spilling rhymes all over the track, adding a little reggae chant over the chorus.  Nicely done, Dana.

The Pros – Not to be out done by his former Stetsasonic band mate Prince Paul, Daddy-O contributes this reggae tinged instrumental.  Daddy-O and Dana tag team doing their best to prove to the listener that they are top-notch emcees but don’t quite provide enough evidence. Neither party ever seems to find a comfort zone over this beat.  Daddy-O sounds way too amped up for his first few verses, which must have exerted all his energy, as he sounds worn out by the time he delivers his final lines.  This just…was.

Ladies First – This is probably the most popular song from All Hail The Queen.  Dana invites Monie Love to share the mic, as they take turns repping for the female population of the world.  They both sound pretty good and I love the 45 King’s horn sample over his instrumental.  I think the video version had someone singing the song title over the hook.  But either way it still sounds good.

A King And Queen Creation – 45 King not only provides this horny instrumental, but he also steps out from behind the boards to share mic duties with Dana.  The King and Queen use this decent instrumental to talk a little junk.  Dana sound cool, and while Mark doesn’t sound terrible on the mic, he definitely shouldn’t quit his day job. 

Queen Of Royal Badness – Latifah switches to battle mode firing verbal darts at all competitors.  45 King’s instrumentals plays as the perfect backdrop (of course he brings the horns out, again) for Latifah’s wrath.  This was hot.

Evil That Men Do – KRS-One provides the backdrop for this one, as he borrows a portion of Gil Scott Heron’s “The Revolution Won’t Be Televised” over an extremely generic drum beat that actually works (especially on the hook).  I’m pretty sure Kris wrote Dana’s rhymes as well, as it sounds like he vomited his lines into her mouth, and she in turn regurgitated them back up (he even contributes a few line on the second verse).  This was Latifah’s “message” song, but unfortunately it wasn’t that convincing.  

Princess Of The Posse -This was the demo that Tommy Boy records heard that led to Latifah’s initial deal.  She mixes slick lyrics with reggae chants and sounds solid in the process.  45 King actually leaves the horns out in exchange for a bouncy-bass heavy instrumental that works in an economical kind of way.

Inside Out – This Mark 45 instrumental uses the same sample as Ghostface’s joint “Guest House” (circa Ghostdini:), and the same horn sample Main Source would later use for “Peace Is Not the Word To Play”.  While I love both elements separately, I’m not sure if the two work well when combined.  Like the majority of the album Latifah sounds decent on the mic but doesn’t say anything that will have you hitting the rewind button.   

Dance For Me (Ultimatum Remix) – 45 King’s instrumental sucks all the dancibilty out of the original track, voiding the song’s concept and making this a complete waste of time.  The track’s dullness exposes some weakness in Latifah’s flow that I missed on the original mix.

Wrath Of My Madness (Soulshock Remix) – 45 King adds a bell here and a whistle there, and a few scratches for good measure, but not enough to warrant a remix.  Dude, this was useless.

Princess Of The Posse (DJ The Mark 45 King Remix) – Wow, 45 King borrows a portion of the “Night Court” theme song?  Really?  The bass line works… the problem is the rest of the instrumental doesn’t.  This album could have ended 4 songs ago.

All Hail The Queen represents a time when female emcees required skills and were more than verbal porn stars. Dana uses her debut as a platform to prove that ladies can emcee, and for the most part backs her argument pretty well.  No, she’s not a great lyricist, but you can’t front on her dope voice and solid delivery.  The 45 King’s (which I might add is way too long for an alias) jazzy production works for the most part, and even the guest producers turn in decent to solid instrumentals.   Even though the three remixes tacked on at the end were completely useless, overall All Hail The Queen is a solid effort.  Not spectacular or great, but solid. 

-Deedub

I was a pre-teen  in 1989, and I can remember my mom would take my twin sister and I to Target with her for frequent household need runs, because in a house of 7 someone was always using the last bit of toilet paper without letting her know they used the last roll.  Around the same time I begin receiving my first dosages of hip-hop in the form of music videos.  Each Target visit for me consisted of a stop by the electronic section to check out the new music releases.  On this particular visit I stumbled across 3rd Bass’ The Cactus Album (the compact disc was labeled The Cactus Ceedee, but it 89′ only a select few owned cds. It was all about the cassette tape, son).  Their first single “Steppin’ To The AM”, was in heavy rotation on the video shows, so I proceeded to cohoarse my mom into buying it for me (even though they didn’t condone secular music in the house…I’m a PK), making The Cactus Album my first ever musical purchase (followed by K-Solo’s Times Up and BDP’s Edutaiment a few months later)…or my mama’s first ever musical purchase for me.

For those who don’t know (or can’t tell by the cover art posted above) the emcees of 3rd Bass, M.C. Serch and Prime Minister Pete Nice, are caucasian.  Unlike the Beastie Boys, 3rd Bass weren’t former rockers turned clowns on the mic (although legend has it that Serch attempted to join up with the Beastie after signing to Def Jam), and unlike Mr. Van Winkle they weren’t posers pretending to be something they were not.  Peter “Nice” Nash and Micheal “Serch” Berrin (whose personalities were completely opposite), who were born and bred in Brooklyn and Queens respectively, were two kids who took to the happenings of their environment, which happen to included hip-hop.  Back in 87′ Sam Sever (who would be responsible for the bulk of the production on The Cactus Album) convinced then Columbia University english major Pete Nice (who also hosted a hip-hop radio show at the University) to start rhyming with M.C. Serch, who at this time was already performing solo on the NY club scene.  Add DJ Richie Rich to the mix and 3rd Bass was born.

The trio inked a deal with Def Jam (ironically, right around the same time The Beasties defected to Capitol…coincedence, I think not. Sounds like Russell was looking for another hot white act to cash in on, now that his money cow was gone… but hey, white label Execs do it all the time to black groups, so now were even…well not quite even)  released The Cactus Album in October of 89′ and eventually it would quietly reach gold status, thanks to a few mild hits, with “Gas Face” probably being there biggest.  The duo (I mean trio, sorry Rich) would go one to release one more album together (more on that at a later date) before they disbanded, tried solo careers, then faded into the hip-op obscurity, forever.  Serch actually reemerged in the mid 2000’s, trying the reality tv path (i.e., The White Rapper Show), only to fall deeper into the black hole with added taint on his reputation.

Nostalgia has a funny way of playing tricks on our memory.  Lets see what 20 years has done to The Cactus Album.

Stymie’s Theme – Short instrumental from the Little Rascal…

Sons Of 3rd Bass – I’ve always loved this Sam Sever/Pete Nice concocted production.  It serves as the perfect instrumental to kick off the album as Serch and Nice trade verses over the stellar instrumental.  Pete Nice’s minute plus rambling of someone who apparently pissed him off in that past, is hilarious, but Sam Sever’s movie sample at the very end (“he is stupid, but he knows that he is stupid, and that almost makes him smart”) is hi-larious! Great way to start the show, fellas.

Russell Rush – Russell Simmons rambling about the group name…

The Gas Face – Hip-hop classic and probably 3rd Bass biggest hit to date.  Prince Paul provides the backdrop for 3rd Bass and their invited guest Zev Love X (better known today as the masked one MF Doom) to give sucka emcees (including Hammer, and anybody else they don’t like) the gas face (another way of giving someone the finger). You’re probably familiar with this but if not, get yourself acquainted.  This is essential hip-hip music.

Monte Hall – The Sever-Nice connection unite for the second production credit of the evening, providing a laidback-jazzy instrumental (someone else has used this sample before but I can’t quite put my finger on the song right now) for Serch and Nice to talk about ladies they’ve met at dance halls (which must be an inside joke as even in the late eighties they called them clubs).  This was decent..far from great, but decent enough to listen to without hitting the skip button.

Oval Office – After meeting the ladies at the Monte Hall, natural progression would have the duo taking their feminine acquaintances home to explore their, oval offices (props to Search and Pete for the clever song title). Even more interesting is that the Bomb Squad provides the instrumental (and a few hi-larious vocal samples) for Serch and Pete to, take office over, and they actually sound pretty comfortable over the Bomb Squad production.

Hoods – Interlude…

Soul In The Hole – Serch and Pete use this Sam Sever beat as a simile comparing rapping to basketball, and do a pretty effective job in the process (I love the “you got your socks up to your knee like Michael Cooper” line).  Sever’s instrumental makes for the perfect laid back backdrop for the duo to shoot over.  Who said white boys can’t jump?

Triple Stage Darkness – Serch and Pete Nice provide some interesting rhymes, touching on a bunch of racial issues and misconceptions, with Pete even acknowledging that white privilege does indeed exist.  Sever’s instrumental work matches the duo’s serious substance, perfectly. This was nice.

M.C. Disagree – Useless interlude…

Wordz Of Wizdom – The title doesn’t really fit the content of the song, as Serch and Pete’s rhymes jump all over the place, but Sever’s instrumental work, once again sounds very nice. That’s all I got, kids.

Products Of The Environment – I believe this was the third single off the album. Serch and Pete use this Sam Sever beat to let the listening public know they’re not just two white dudes from the burbs posing as hip-hop heads, but kids that actually grew up in the hood and took to the happenings of their environment. Overall this was a pretty enjoyable listen.

Desert Boots – Interlude setting up…

The Cactus – First there was the Jimmy, then the Bozak, and now…the cactus (which makes me think of Ice Cube’s line:black dude’s jimmies and white boy’s cactus…I know that was random but I had to throw it sonehow).  The duo provide pretty entertaining lines, but the true star of this song is Sam Sever’s drum heavy instrumental.  Wonder what Sam’s up to these days…

Jim Backus – …

Flippin’ Off The Wall Like Lucy Ball – Serch does his best Louie Armstrong impersonation over a jazzy Sam Sever sample.  Twenty years later and this is still hi-larious!

Brooklyn-Queens – Okay, this might have been the third single and ” Product Of The Environment” the fourth?  I can’t quite remember, but I know there are videos for both songs.  Anyway, Sever samples The Emotion’s “Best Of My Love” for the meat of his instrumental that Serch and Pete dedicate to the gold diggers ladies of  Brooklyn and Queens.  I remember this being a lot more enjoyable back in the day than it sounds today. That said

Steppin’ To The A.M. – I’m positive this was the first single off of The Cactus Album.  I still remember Serch bustin’ a move in the video while Pete posted up with his cooler than cool poise.  One thing I did overlook all these years is that The Bomb Squad is responsible for the production on this (which listening to it today I should have been able to tell).  I can’t remember anything Serch or Pete said, but the instrumental was pretty entertaining.

Episode #3 – …

Who’s On Third – Sam Sever and Pete Nice cut up portions of the famous Abbott and Costello skit with random sound bites thrown in for good measure.  Not great, but it’s short which makes it tolerable.

Wordz Of Wizdom (II) – Same lyrics as the original mix with a different instrumental.  Sever’s instrumental this time around sounds empty, rendering the original mix the stronger of the two.

The Cactus Album is one of those hip-hop releases from the late eighties that is often overlooked or just plain forgotten about.  This is understandable when you consider the monster hip-hip releases from the late eighties, if not 88′ alone.  Sam Sever’s production is consistently solid (and at times brilliant) throughout, and while neither M.C. Serch or Pete Nice are great emcees, they both turn in serviceable performances, keeping pace with Sam Sever’s heat.  Like most hip-hop albums there are a few missteps (and way too many skits), but overall The Cactus Album is a solid listen from beginning to end.

-Deedub

Hello faithful few.  You may have noticed its been a few weeks since my last post.  I’m currently in the process of moving so as I’m sure you all can imagine it’s been hectic to say the least.  You can expect a new post sometime in the next few weeks as I rap up the eighties with a few albums that’ll bring back fond memories, and move into the nineties.  In the meantime read the back catalog….oh yeah, comments are welcomed and very appreciated.  I care about your thoughts and opinions…well not really, but it does let me know somebody’s actually reading the posts and not just skimming through them.  

-Deedub

Thanks to the 2 Live Crew’s Nasty As I Want To Be album and all the controversy that surrounded it, hip-hop became Tipper Gore and her pet project PMRC’s, main subject of affection in the late eighties.  The PMRC would eventually broaden its scope taking aim at more hip-hip artists with material they deemed offensive, further stirring the pot in the debate between censorship and freedom of speech.  The PMRC applied pressure to the record industry, which led to the RIAA forcing record companies to place parental advisory stickers on the packaging, preventing retailers from selling these stickered albums to minors, and some stores (*cough* Wal-Mart) deciding not to sell them at all.  While I don’t consider placing an advisory sticker on an album to inform a concerned parent that the material inside may contain inappropriate content for their kid (isn’t that the same concept as moving ratings?) as a violation of the 1st Amendment, I do believe rappers had a legitimate beef when local law enforcement begin enforcing censorship at rapper’s live shows.

Ice-T was one of many rappers effected by locally imposed censorship.  Before a show in Columbus, GA, Tracy was warned he would be arrested if he used profanity during his show.  This episode and all the controversy would lead to Ice-T’ titling his third release (at least a portion of it) The Iceberg/Freedom Of Speech… Just Watch What You Say (which is way to long of a title, so from here on out I’ll refer to it simply as The Iceberg).  The Iceberg would go on to receive decent reviews from critics and be the third consecutive Ice-T release to reach gold status or above (which is really impressive when you consider the limited airplay Tracy got back in the day).

Unlike his first two albums, there’s no Darlene Ortiz gracing the cover art with her beauty, bikini, and curves.  Yep, things have already gotten off to a bad start.

Shut Up, Be Happy – Over a dark guitar sample a voice interrupts your normally scheduled program to inform the American public that all their constitutional rights have been revoked and the country is now under Marshall law. The voice then gives a list of can and cannots (including only being able to take drugs administered by your supervisor?  that was kind of weird and random to hear).  At least it does set the tone for the albums over all concept.

The Iceberg – This is the only song on the album not produced by Afrika Islam.  Johnny Rivers gets credit for this James Brown sampled instrumental, which is barely decent.  What starts out sounding like a song for Ice-T to reintroduce himself and, break the ice (rimshot), turns into Tracy sharing random tales about his crew’s sexapades, which kind of sounds gay.  This was a hot mess.

Lethal Weapon – I’m not sure if I like Afrika Islam’s instrumental or not, as the synthesizer sample brings a nice dark feel to the track but also borders on cheesy. Though I’m torn on the instrumental, I’m positive that Ice-T sounds better on slower mid-tempo beats as the faster paced joints, like this one, expose his limited flow and breath control issues.  He does makes some solid points on this one, so I can’t completely write this one off.

You Played Yourself – Islam hooks up James Brown’s horn heavy “The Boss” for this mid-tempo groove. Tracy sounds like the wise old owl, sitting in the treetops watching different scenarios unfold as the subjects play the fool, sharing their errors with the listener so you don’t walk their path. Like I said in the previous song, Ice-T is at his best when he lays in the cut on a mid-tempo grooves like this. This was and still is dope.

Peel Their Caps Back – Islam provides a bangin’ dark instrumental for Tracy to paint his murder portrait on . Tracy and  crew are seeking revenge for the murder of one of their crew members, but retaliation ultimately leads to both sides loosing.  In true Ice-T fashion he leaves an underlying message that will leave you with a lot to chew on. Tracy dates the song with mention of dubbing movies off his VCR. This is easily one of Ice-T best works.  Brilliant.

The Girl Tried To Kill Me – Over a rock-tinged guitar Tracy shares a tale about a chick he meets at a club and after going home with her, to his surprise, discovers she’s a dominatrix.  I know, on first thought it sounds like fun, but this chick is wicked.  She back flips onto his dick! I don’t care if she looked like Halle Berry with Kim Kardashian’s body, that’s some painful stuff.  Tracy and the gymnast are interrupted by an unexpected guest, who happens to be her 6’10 husband, making that two people seeking to take his life. Tracy screams each line of the song as if he’s battling the guitar sample. Even though Tracy’s delivery is poorly executed, his animation and hilarious storyline, ultimately make this song work.

Black ‘N’ Decker – This was a dumb and completely useless skit.

Hit The Deck – For the first time on IceBerg Tracy abandons a topic and just spits random freestyle rhymes.  Islam’s instrumental work is a hot mess, so it was hilarious to hear Ice-T describe the beat as treacherous.  I was think of another word starting with “t”.  Terrible.

This One’s For Me – The title doesn’t really fit the song, as Tracy’s in “dis mode” taking on a black radio station that wouldn’t play his music, the government (for allowing drugs in the hood and then arresting the ghetto dwellers who sell it), and fake people in general.  He even dedicates an entire verse discussing the internal feuding that when on within Public Enemy, calling out PE’s fair-weather friends, and proclaiming himself a dedicated supporter of both Chuck and Professor Griff, taking neither side. Boy we could all use a friend like Tracy in our corner. Islam’s track, samples from yet another James Brown song, but the results are only decent. Tracy’s sleepy delivery only makes matters worse.

The Hunted Child – This first person narrative, has Tracy in the role of a running 17 teen-year old wanted for murder, even backtracking the path leading up to the murder.  I could careless for Islam’s instrumental, and I think I’ve clearly expressed how I feel about Tracy rapping over these faster paced beats. This is no exception. On a positive note, I’ve always appreciated Tracy’s attention to detail as this storyline clearly displays.  It was just poorly executed.

What Ya Wanna Do? – This posse cut runs on for nearly 9 minutes (which is nearly 9 minutes longer than it should be) as each member of the Rhyme Syndicate gets two verses.  The only stand out on this song is Everlast, who turns in two solid verses. Islam’s track is forgettable, and there is really no reason to listen to this more than once. Tracy mentions at the end of the song that two members of the syndicate, Kid Jazz and Rangol, for whatever reason, couldn’t make it to the session for this song. Imagine how much longer this torture would have gone on if they did show up. Thanks, guys!

Freedom Of Speech – The second of two title songs finds Tracy “articulately” defending and questioning, the 1st Amendment. He takes a few shots at Tipper Gore, PMRC, Columbus, GA (which apparently threatened to arrest him if he dropped the f-bomb at a concert: reliving that got Tracy so upset he completely abandons his flow for an angry rant), but still manages to make a few good points. This song suffers from Islam’s generic instrumental work and Tracy’s sloppy execution.

My Word Is Bond – Over a simple Islam drum beat Tracy and crew take turns telling tall ridonkulous tall tales. This reminded me of an update version of L.L’s “That’s A Lie”. And just like “That A Lie” this sucks as well. Terrible way to end the album, Tracy.

Iceberg is like that girl in junior high that you thought was extremely hot and had a huge crush on, then years later when you stumble across her picture in your old yearbook, you’re hit with an epiphany: she wasn’t all that. There are 3 really good songs (“You Played Yourself”, “Peel Their Caps Back”, and “The Girl Tried To Kill Me”) and a few other decent joints, but overall The Iceberg suffers from too many lackluster beats, and too many up-tempo tracks exposing Tracy’s weaknesses. At least the cd jacket doubles as a two-sided poster collage full of hip-hop legends for you to pick out, providing a visual distraction to keep your ears from realizing they just witnessed a very underwhelming hip-hop listening experience.

-Deedub

At the tender age of 16, MC Lyte dropped her debut album Lyte As A Rock, which just so happened to come out in 88′, which is considered by many hip-hop historians to be the best year, ever, for hip-hop releases .  Lyte As A Rock wasn’t a commercial success, but Lyte showed potential in her skills, while making heads take notice.  The nagging problem with her debut (in my opinion) was in its production, with the majority being handled by Audio Two (Milk, half  of the duo, was her brother).  I guess blood is thicker than water, even if that means sacrificing the quality of your debut album.   

Lyte would return in 89″ to release her follow-up effort Eyes On This, staying true to her original format of party and battle rhymes over… Audio Two production.  Lyte would invite a few other producers to handled a handful of tracks (more on that later) but the bulk of the load would again fall on Milk and Gizmo’s shoulders.

I’m all about second chances. Maybe their work on Lyte As A Rock was a fluke. Maybe the duo matured, and they’ve learned to craft beats that compliment Lyte’s sharp flow.  Maybe they were both suffering from hearing loss during the recording of Lyte As and made enough money in between albums off royalties to get hearing aids to correct the issue, or at least purchase q-tips to take care of the wax build up.  I’m trying to be optimistic, guys.

Cha Cha Cha – This hip-hop classic was released as the first single off Eyes On This.  King Of Chill lives up to his name, providing this chill but equally funky instrumental for Lyte to spill smooth lines (that King Of Chill also wrote) over.  This sounds just as good today as it did twenty years ago.

Slave 2 The Rhythm – PMD, of EPMD (which is actually spelled out “Pee MD” in the liner notes, just a colon short of being a request) gets a rare solo production credit (other than the work on his own solo projects) for this track, and it’s actually pretty good.  Lyte puts in blue-collar day’s work on the mic, even at one point taking another shot at her long time nemesis Antoinette.  This was nice.  Now I’m curious on what PMD’s beats sound like on his solo work…maybe one day I’ll track those down.

Cappucino – Marley Marl turns in his only production contribution on Eyes On This.  I belief this was the second single off the album.  Lyte uses this simple but effective instrumental to tell a story about her quest for a cup of cappucino that turns fatal…or does it?  Props to Lyte for the original song idea.   

Stop, Look, Listen – King Of Chill’s instrumental sounds a lot more interesting with headphones than it does when listening with the naked ear.  Lyte sounds cool, but King Of Chill helped write the rhymes, so  she loosed a few cool points.  This was still a decent listen.

Throwin’ Words At U – Lyte’s brother’s group, Audio Two, provide this generic instrumental, which sounds like it was just thrown together for Lyte to, throw words at you.  The beat was so boring I completely lost interest in whatever it is Lyte was saying.  Next…

Not Wit’ A Dealer – Lyte and  a nameless female guest use this one to paint a tale about her friend who gets herself in a bad relationship that ends fatal.  unfortunately Lyte again looses points as Milk wrote this one.  I’ll give Lyte a few of the points back since Audio Two’s beat sucks elephant balls (I see you, Max!).

Survival Of The Fittest (Remix)  – This instrumental work is credited to both King Of Chill and Audio Two, but its generic feel has Audio Two written all over it (the proof is in my yawning).  Lyte’s credited for writing her own line on this one, but unfortunately she sounds half asleep.  But once you hear Audio Two’s production work you’ll empathize and forgive her for her drowsiness (*stretching* I need a nap…).   

Shut The Eff Up! (Hoe) – Picking up where “10% Dis” left off, Lyte dedicates this one to her arch nemesis and long forgotten rival, Antoinette. Some of Lyte’s shots are pretty entertaining (love the line about Antoinette’s two-for-one skips), but when she calls Antoinette out for not writing her own rhymes, I wanted to introduce the kettle to the pot. Unfortunately, Audio Two’s empty beat does nothing to evoke a battle rhyme environment, so Lyte verbage is in vain. 

I Am The Lyte – Grand Puba (yes, of Brand Nubian) provides the instrumental for this one, and it actually sounds pretty good.  Then again, after hearing Audio Two’s lackluster production for the last few songs, anything remotely decent sounds like Premo’s best at this point.  A la Pete Rock, Puba throws in his adlibs throughout the track.  This was pretty cool.

Rhyme Hangover – King Of Chill borrows Diana Ross’ “Love Hangover” for the hook, adding a bouncy bass line for Lyte to talk her trash. Decent enough.

Funky Song – Puba get his 2nd production credit of the evening for this very genericly titled song.  Howie Tee used this sample on Special Ed’s “Taxing”, and I must admit Howie’s interpretation sounds more complete, and since we’re comparing, Ed does a better job than Lyte on the mic as well. 

Please Understand – Lyte spits several tales about dudes who seem to have forgotten that Lyte is not haven’t.  Audio Two’s instrumental sounds more filled than the rest of their work on Eyes On This, and it actually works for me.  This is definitely one of the better songs of the evening.

K-Rocks Housin’ – K-Rock get a chance to go for his on the turntables, and at 4 minutes it runs a few minutes too long.   And with that we’re done.

When discussing the greatest female emcees of all time, MC Lyte has to be mentioned, no question. Granted, in the early part of her career she had a staff to help write her lyrics, but she still wrote the majority of her material, so you can’t put her in the same category as Foxy Brown, Lil’ Kim, or Kriss Kross.   The real problem with Eyes On This is the consistently inconsistent production.  There are a few times when  the stars align and the beats and rhymes move together in harmony (which normally occurs when Audio Two’s not involved), but this is the exception not the rule.  I wonder what Lyte would sound like over Premo’s boom-bap or Pete Rock’s heavy drums.   Eyes On This a very uneven listen that misses more often than it hits.  You might want to consider the water, Lyte.

-Deedub

Since its inception, hip-hop has seen many rappers come and go. Some last for a few moments, others get 15 minutes, and a few manage to extend their time to an hour.  No matter the timeframe, it’s only a matter of time before the emcee is spewed out of hip-hop mouth, left to release albums independently or better the hip-hop graveyard label, Koch.  When the artist’s time runs out they can only hope they left a legacy. 

It’s been over a decade since we last heard from Big Daddy Kane, but thankfully he left us quite a legacy.  When you talk about greatest lyricist of all time, one name that must be mentioned in the conversation is Big Daddy Kane. 

Kane’s impact was immediately felt in 88′ with the release of his debut Long Live The Kane, which mixed strong rhymes with Marley Marl’s solid production work.  The album was received with heaps of critical acclaim and went on to earn a gold plaque, leaving many to debate rather Kane had taken the imaginary crown from Rakim as King of New York.

Trying to build on the momentum from his debut, Kane came back in 89′ to release his sophomore effort It’s A Big Daddy Thing. This time around Kane handles the bulk of the production, leaving a few for Marley Marl, and a handful handled by a few hip-hop producing legends (more on that later), and Teddy Riley.  It’s A Big Daddy Thing would go on to earn Kane his second consecutive gold plague, and more critical acclaim.  They say numbers don’t lie, but I ask: do they always tell the truth?

What I really want to know is why they didn’t clean the carpet in the limo for the pic on the inside of the cd booklet.   The first album went gold, you couldn’t spend $1oo to get the thing detailed for the photo shoot?

It’s A Big Daddy Thing – Prince Paul provides the first instrumental of the evening for Kane to perform his lyrical gymnastics.  The beat sounds pretty good but Kane is the true star of this show as he completely demolishes the uneven bars.  Nice start to the show.  

Another Victory – Don’t let the title fool you: this is not a battle rap.  Instead Kane uses this dope Easy Mo Bee instrumental to address drug dealers, police harassment, unity, and squeezes in a battle rhyme or two, for good measure.  Those he looses focus, you can’t front on his lyrically ability, or Easy Mo Bee’s tight instrumental .  

Mortal Combat – First things first: this song title is and will always be sick, to me at least. Kane is credited for this instrumental work that utilizes a very familiar James Brown sample, and it actually sounds pretty good.  Kane’s in full-blown battle mode, performing his best Scorpion impressing as he lassoes the track, ordering it to “get over here” before finishing it off with his best finishing move.  This serves as a good example to why Kane should be in your top five dead or alive. 

Children R The Future – Big Daddy loves the kids, as he attempts to prove over this self-produced instrumental.  I appreciate the message, but this is inches away from making contact with corny (he even sings a portion of Whitney Houston’s “Greatest Love Of All” in a fake Jamaican voice at the end).  Correction, this was laying all over corny.

Young, Gifted & Black – Marley Marl gets his first production credit of the evening, and brother, it was worth the wait.  Kane’s baritone vocal blends beautifully with Marley’s rough instrumental, as he rips this beat to shreds, turning this one verse wonder into a masterpiece.   I repeat: Kane should be in your top five, word.    

Smooth Operator – I belief this was the first single off the album.  Kane borrows the Mary Jane Girls “All Night Long” for the back drop to this smooth groove.  Kane switches gears dismantling emcees in a gentleman like manner, and even reserves a verse for the ladies, so everybody can enjoy his smooth operation.  Nice job pleasing your entire fan base, all within the same song, Kane.  

Calling Mr. Welfare – Kane tackles the welfare system from an angle often not seen in hip-hop:  I love hip-hop.  Matter of fact, I eat, sleep, and live it.  The fiend of hip-hop still has me stuck like a crack pipe. But I’ve often struggled with the lack of responsiblity hip-hip places on the black community for the condition we’re in.  Don’t get me wrong, our ancestors past still effects are place in the U.S. (even with a black president), and I do believe there are traps set up to intentionally snag blacks (specifically black males) in America.  But we never seem to look in the mirror and take responsibility for our own actions.  Why can’t we step around the traps?  I’ll get off my soapbox…now.   Speaking of soapbox, Kane does a nice job of not stepping on his for this song, as he brings a comical touch (thinks in part to DJ Red Alert ad-libs) to a serious topic.  Kane shares three stories of welfare recipients pointing out the mistakes they’ve made to get them into the situation they’re in.  Easy Mo Bee’s instrumental is serviceable, but doesn’t hinder the overall effect of Kane’s lyrics. 

Wrath Of Kane (Live) – This plays as it reads: Kane performing “Wrath Of Kane” live at the Apollo theater. If you put your headphones on and close your eyes, you can see the lights, the crowd, Mister Cee on the turntable, Scoob and Scrap dancing, while Kane rips the mic.  Back in the day it was common to see Kane bust a move with his back up dancers, so that explains him gasping for breath like he just ran a 7 mile marathon during his performance.  But that small mishap isn’t enough to warrant an appearance from Sandman.

I Get The Job Done – Teddy Riley was definitely making his rounds on the hip-hop circuit back in the late eighties, as this is the third time in four write-ups that I’ve mentioned him for production work on a hip-hop album.  It should come as a surprise to no one that this was released as a single, as it’s easily the most commercial sounding song on the entire album.  It also helps that it’s aimed at the female audience.  Kane spins three verses trying to convince his prey to jump out of her panties and cheat on her husband with him, similar to three-fourths of the songs in LL Cool J’s catalog.  Anyway you cut it, this sucks.

Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now – Message!  Prince Paul steals borrows McFadden & Whitehead’s song of the same title as the backdrop for Kane to motivate (or at least attempt) the listener to keep pushing as we hold hands and sing “Kumbaya”.  Prince Paul’s instrumental sounds pretty lazy.  This wasn’t terrible, nor was it great, falling somewhere in the “bearable” range.  

Pimpin’Ain’t Easy – I’ve always hated this song.  Over his self-produced instrumental, Kane invites Nice & Smooth, Skoob, and Cliff Lover (who gets exactly one bar) to talk about banging random garden tools.  While I did find Smooth B’s verse mildly entertaining, this song still sucks as much is it did back in 89′.

Big Daddy’s Theme – A short instrumental that Kane fittingly describes as “Pimp Shit” and used to quotes a few Dolemite lines over.  It would have made more sense to place this before the previous song.  Then again, that song was terrible, so it really doesn’t matter where this was placed.

To Be Your Man – And It’s A Big Daddy Thing is taken to new lows with this crap.  Kane provides this macaroni of a beat and brings extra cheese for this sappy rap ballad.  Picking up where he left off on “The Day You’re Mine”, Kane talks his way through this one, dropping cliché after cliché, with no sincerity (especially when you consider his content in the last two songs) while trying to talk the lady in question out of her panties.  His invited guests Blue Magic provide background vocals, and should be shot, as they sound like wounded dogs begging to be put out their misery.  Why Kane?  Why?  

The House That Cee Built – Mister Cee get the spotlight and provides a pretty solid house beat that he slices to shreds.  This was actually an enjoyable deejay cut. 

On The Move – Kane invites his back up dancers, Skoob and Scrab, to share the mic on this posse cut.  All three participants verses come off like a bunch of pick up lines.  Kane comes off effortless over his simple but funky instrumental, but his back up dancers…let’s just say they shouldn’t quit their day jobs (even more so now, since Kane isn’t as in demand as he was back then).   Next…

Warm It Up, Kane – After making sure his commercial and female obligations were met, Kane the emcee returns to completely destroy this simple but effective instrumental.  Rhymefest used this a few year back on his The Manual mixtape, setting it up to come off as if he’s battling Kane, with Rhymefest finally conceding defeat at the end.  It’s an entertaining listen and a great homage to one of the best to ever do it.  

Rap Summary (Lean On Me) (Remix) – The original version of this song was included on the Lean On Me soundtrack and was also released as a single from the same soundtrack.  This song (and the movie) is about Joe Clark, the newly hired principal of Eastside High (which is was one of the toughest high school in New Jersey in the early eighties), who literally whips the school into shape.  Kane sound decent enough (with the exception of him mispronouncing the word “supremacy” for the sake of making it rhyme).  Marley Marl’s remix is decent but it doesn’t hold a flame to the original mix.

Kane starts It’s A Big Daddy Thing off with a bang, combining potent lyrics over pretty solid production.  Unfortunately, by the midway point Kane loses his focus, apparently distracted by t&a, dollars signs, and more t&a, which unfortunately doesn’t translate to quality music.  He does slightly build up momentum near the end, but there’s not enough time on the clock to complete the comeback, so the points he put’s on the board at the end are in vain.  That said, there are still  quite a few examples to help cement Kane’s spot in the top five-dead-or-alive. Legacy, baby.

-Deedub

After releasing their ridiculously successful 1986 debut, Licensed To Kill , the Beastie Boys would take a three-year hiatus before releasing their next album, with a lot of changes taking plain the in between time.  Most notable, the boys split with the Def Jam empire they helped build, inking a deal with Capitol Records (boy I’m sure Russell is still pissed he let that money-making monster slip through his hands).  They would also leave Brooklyn and head west, leaving the congested street of New York for the sunny beaches of California.

With Def Jam and Brooklyn left behind,  they completed the wiping of the slate by parting with Rick Rubin’s sparse production in favor of the L.A. based Dust Brother’s multi-layered sample laden production for their 1989 release Paul’s Boutique.  The title comes from a (formerly) Brooklyn based shop of the same name (although the photo used on the cover is not the real Paul’s Boutique, nor was the photo taken in Brooklyn). 

Upon it’s release Paul’s Boutique record sales were slow, especially when compared to the gazillion records their debut sold.  This caused Capitol Records to call it a failure, stop promoting it, and focus on Donny Osmond’s new album (no, I’m serious).  Though it might have been a commercial failure it received heaps of critical acclaim and is considered by many to be their best work, as its praised for its innovative production and the Beastie Boys lyrical maturity.

Beastie Boys and maturity should never be used in the same sentence.  

To All The Girls – Only if this was the intro to Will.i.am’s solo debut, would this not be a weird way to start an hip-hop album.  But it’s not, so instead we’re left with a shout out to girls from different regions, countries, and continents.  The instrumental was pretty dope, so it wasn’t completely useless.

Shake Your Rump – People praise the Dust Brothers work on Paul’s Boutique for its multi-layered sampling. And while this is apparent on “Shake Your Rump” it sounds a bit scattered, jumping all over the place like a 5 year who just ate a bag of cotton candy and washed it down with a can of Red Bull.  The trio pick up where they left off on License To Ill, spilling senseless rhymes all over the place.  I wasn’t impressed.

Johnny Ryall – Over a funky instrumental the trio spin a tale about a homeless drunk claiming to be a musician, Johnny Ryall.  The line about Johnny having a platinum voice but only gold records, was pretty funny.  The story is amusing, until you realize you’re laughing at the less fortunate, then you feel guilty for laughing and realize how messed up you and society are, before the epiphany hits and you realize how genius this song is.  And that’s what good music is all about anyway, right?

Egg Man – The Dust Brothers hook up Curtis Mayfield’s “Super Fly” as the backbone for this instrumental (with loads of additional samples in true Dust Brothers fashion) that the Beasties use to spit hilarious lines about egging random passer byers.  This is the kind of immature stuff all grade school, high school, and college boys can relate to and have taken part in (along with ding-dong ditch and crank calls) while hanging with the crew.  Hey, it seems innocent when compared to drive-by shootings.  This was pretty enjoyable, juvenile but genius.

High Plains Drifter – This could have easily been titled “Paul Revere Part II”, as the boys revisit their roles as outcast criminals.  The Dust Brothers instrumental is cool, and the Beastie sound pretty nice on the mic.  But unlike “Paul Revere” which maintained a playful vibe throughout, the instrumental for “High Plains Drifter” gives the trio’s lyrics a much too serious tone.  Then you remember this is the same crew who brought you frat rap, and it becomes unbelievable… then shortly after, laughable.  

The Sounds Of Science – The Dust Brothers instrumental switches up a la Ice Cube’s “Jackin’ For Beats” with mixed results.  I actually like the mellow beat the songs starts with, but once it moves to a faster paced rock-tinged beat, the Beasties vocals get drowned out by the sounds, rendering their science as gibberish.  

3-Minute Rule – The Beasties each get a verse and all three successfully ride this Dust Brothers beat like a dress on Beyonce’s curves.  MCA provides the first f-bomb of the evening and is also responsible for the funniest line on the song as well (see his line about your mom male genitalia).  This was dope.

Hey Ladies – What would a hip-hop album be without misogyny.  Once again the Dust Brothers pull a “Jackin’ For Beats” move, with their various samples (even sampling Zapp at one point), but fails miserably.  The Beasties turn in forgettable performances, so there was no need to waste a good instrumental on this crap, anyway.  This was actually the first single off Paul’s Boutique, which might be a better explanation to the album’s slow take off as opposed to Capitol’s lack of promotion.

5-Piece Chicken Dinner – A short instrumental that sounds like something you would hear at a hoe down instead of on a hip-hop album.  Not sure what the purpose of this was.

Looking Down The Barrel Of A Gun – This sounds like something your local serial killer might use as theme music before targeting his next unfortunate victim. That is before the topic switches from acts of violence to lines about writing rhymes and some dude named Dave coordinating their chics (wtf?).  The Dust Brothers instrumental matches the song title beautifully, easily making this the darkest Beasties song I’ve ever heard.  Unfortunately the boys lack of focus in their lyrical content brings this one down faster than Rick Ross jumping from the Sears Tower draped in a million dollars worth of jewelry. If there was a hidden message in this song it went completely over my head, as this just sounds like utter randomness to me.   

Car Thief – Sometimes its hard to follow the boys lyrics, but I believe “car thief” is slang for biters?  This Dust Brothers’ beat is decent, but like some of the earlier songs on Paul’s Boutique the instrumental drowns the Beasties lyrics out.  Moving on…

What Comes Around – I think the Beasties were trying to make a point, but the message gets lost in their random lines (although, the reference to Geraldo Rivera’s chair throwing incident was kind of funny).  Random lyrics aside, this Dust Brothers instrumental was very nice, easily their best production work on Paul’s Boutique up to this point.

Shadrach – As in the biblical story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  I guess this title was chosen to refer to themselves as three “hot” emcees?  (thank you, thank you…I’ll be here all week).  The boys spit random lines, throwing in a few biblical and religious references, probably just to better justify the song title.  The Dust Brothers instrumental work was pretty interesting, though.

Ask For Janice – This is a short advertisement for Paul’s Boutique.

B-Boy Bouillabaisse – This is actually a 12 minute collage of the following 9 short songs:

a) 59 Chrystie Street – WTF?  Useless.

b) Get On The Mic – The beat switches back and forth between a beat box and a simple drum beat for the back drop for this, lack of better term, short instrumental. 

c) Stop The Train – The Beasties spit an animated and clever rhyme about the sights and sounds on the New York transit system, over a sick Dust Brothers instrumental.  Nicely done, fellas.

d) A Year And A Day – I believe this is an Ad-Rock solo joint, but I’m not completely sure since the vocal is distorted and drowned out by the instrumental.  But that not important since the beat is so sick!

e) Hello Brooklyn – Yes, this where Jay-Z got his inspiration for his song with the same title from American Gangster.  I’ll say this: Jay does a better job of sticking to the subject on his version than the Beasties, which shouldn’t come as shock to anyone.  

f) Dropping Names – Huh? At least it was short.

g) Lay It On Me – More Beastie Randomness.

h) Mike On The Mic – Mike D’s solo joint over a simply drum beat.  Sounds like a leftover from Licensed To Ill. 

i) A.W.O.L – This is just footage taken from a live show of the trio getting the crowd hyped. It quickly bleeds into the same instrumental used on “To All The Girls”, bringing Paul’s Boutique full circle, and to a closure.

Many fans and critics consider Paul’s Boutique to be the Beastie Boys finest hour. I’ll be the first to admit, I’m not the biggest Beastie Boys fan, as I’m really only familiar with their debut Licensed To Ill.  I have stumbled across most of their catalog at used record shops over the past few years (thus the reason for this review) and will chronologically work my way through their library. That said, if this is indeed the Beasties finest hour I’m not sure if I’m looking forward to the remainder of their work.  Don’t get me wrong, the boys show signs of maturation as Paul’s Boutique actually tackles serious issues (even if it’s done in a not so serious tone), and even the playful songs sound more focused than on Licensed To Ill.  The Dust Brothers’ colorful production is a nice addition , that more often than not works for the fellas.  Overall, Paul’s Boutique suffers from the Beastie Boys limited lyrical ability and song ideas.  While its a decent album, its far from great, or even one of the best hip-hop releases of the eighties for that matter.  Yeah I said it!

-Deedub

After losing his partner in crime, Scott La Rock, shortly after their debut Criminal Minded, KRS-One showed resilience, coming back to carry on the BDP legacy with their sophomore effort By All Means Necessary.  By All Means received heaps of critical acclaim and eventually earned BDP its first gold plaque.  Kris’ conscious and battle ready rhymes over raw beats helped solidify his street cred and establish a solid BDP following.

Sticking to the old adage “if it aint broke don’t fix it”, BDP returned in 89′ with their self-produced third BDP album Ghetto Music: The Blueprint Of Hip-Hop (a title which Jay-Z would later use for his own release and Nas would use as ammo against him in their legendary battle).  Ghetto Music would earn BDP their second consecutive gold plaque, but the critics reviews were mixed as it would be the first BDP album The Source would not hand a 5 mic rating.

If you’ve read my post, you know I don’t always agree with The Source’s ratings, so take that last statement for what its worth.

The Style You Haven’t Done Yet – Kris opens the show with a reggae flavored instrumental that he uses to let all competitors know he’s a threat to be reckoned with.  It’s safe to say this was a message to the Juice crew, based on McBoo closing the song screaming “I’m not down with a juice crew”, or I could be reading way too far into that statement, choose your own adventure.  This was a nice way to start the proceedings.

Why Is That? – KRS-One the teacher makes his first appearance of the evening. Over a hard track Kris gives the listener a history lesson, using his first verse to go into detail on the genealogy of Shem, eventually getting to his point: black man is the original man.  Kris’ flow get a little choppy during this song but  his lyrical content will hold your attention.

The Blueprint – Kris is back in battle mode for this semi-title song.  He spits two solid verses over a serviceable beat in serious need of a better mix.  Kris’ line: “every time you bite I yell ouch”, always makes me chuckle, or at least smile.  All in all this was a decent listen.

Jack Of Spades – This song was originally included on the soundtrack for Keenan Ivory Wayan’s cult classic I’m Gonna Git You Sucka. Kris’ rhymes our an ode to Keenan Ivory Wayans’ character, Jack Spade, the ghetto war hero, who comes back home to rid his hood of crime.  There’s a video for this song, which includes the closing scene from the movie, with BDP making a cameo which leads into this song, because every good hero should have theme music.  By the way, you got change for a hundred?

Jah Rulez – The versatile Kris Parker get his chanting on over this reggae tinged instrumental dedicated to the almighty Jah.  Kris actually sounds more comfortable with his delivery on this song than anything else on Ghetto Music up to this point.   Afrika from Jungle Brothers makes a cameo on this joint, but don’t get too excited, he just add a few scratches over the funky track. BDP emcee/vocalist, Harmony lends a nice vocal that actually adds to the song instead of just feeling up space, or ruining the song all together.  Nice job, Harmony.  I never cared much for this song in the past, but today it sound really good.

Breath Control – KRS-One’s back in battle mode, and does a decent job on the mic.  The problem with this song is the instrumental: it starts off as a D-Nice beat box before a drum beat and jazzy horns are added, which isn’t all bad.  Things quickly go from tolerable to painful when what sounds like microphone feedback, is added to the instrumental making the whole beat sound like a bunch of unbearable noise.  Word of advice: do not listen to this if your currently suffering from a migraine.

Who Protects Us From You? – This public service announcement is a rhetorical question asking the police force, who protect us (black people) from police harassment/brutality?  I think the Rodney King verdict a few years later answered that one up, Kris.  This is nothing more than a spoken word piece that would have gone over better if accapella, as the cheesy instrumental brings nothing to the table.

You Must Learn – KRS-One is back in teacher mode addressing the issues with the public school curriculum, the importance of black youth knowing their history (not just their American history which is often limited to slave ships, “colored” fountains, and MLK)  and even shares a little black history.  Kris articulates his arguments beautifully, making valid points while displaying his lyrical ability that should easily put him on everyone’s “top 5 dead or alive” list.  The instrumental for the remix (the video version) adds a heavier bass line and triumphant trumpets, rendering this mix empty and bland in comparison.

Hip-Hop Rules – Kris breaks out his raggamuffin style for this ode to hip-hop and it’s dominance over other music genres.  Kris puts his teacher’s hat back on to run down the history of recorded rap music, before he uses the second verse to boast about his own dominance.  But like far too many songs on Ghetto Music, Kris’ instrumental work fails him, again.

Bo! Bo! Bo! – An early morning jog turns into police harassment, that eventually turns Kris into Rambro, blowing random police to smithereens (the line about busting the Snapple bottle off in the cop’s adams apple was hilarious!) before he’s wounded, but still manages to escape the police raid, retreating to safety where he’s given a shower by 3 sistas (because women assisted showers heal all wounds), before Chuck D and Rakim scoop him up to complete the rescue.  Kris’ reggae-tinged instrumental was pretty dope (so was his raggamuffin’ flavored hook), and when coupled with his bizarre but entertaining story, makes this song a winner.

Gimme, Dat, (Woy) – This is a song I’ve long forgotten about.  KRS-One spits two verses instructing all wack emcees to hand over their imaginary titles.  The track, which doesn’t sound remotely close to anything else Kris has spit to on Ghetto Music to this point, sound pretty good.

Ghetto Music – Really?  Kris uses the corniest track ever, as the backdrop for him to defend underground hip-hop sound, which is so bad it almost serves as a testament to why you should avoid underground hip-hop.  I hate when the title song of an album sucks.

World Peace – The instrumental work is mildly interesting, which sounds extremely layered when compare to the production on the rest of Ghetto Music and late eighties hip-hop in general.  But Kris sounds awkward on this track, turning in a flat performance.  And with that we’re done.  Peace.

There is no question KRS-One is one of the greatest emcees of all time as the depth of his catalog easily proves.  The problem I’ve always had with BDP’s early output has been with the inconsistent production, and Ghetto Music:The Blueprint Of Hip-Hop is no exception.  Kris and the crew muster up a few good instrumentals, while the bulk of them sound like economical choices, and the remainder, just hot ghetto messes.  If you’re a Kris Parker Stan, like myself, you’ll find something to enjoy on Ghetto Music, but if this is your first introduction to KRS-One/BDP, I would recommend starting with Edutainment.

-Deedub

When you think of pioneering hip-hop artists from the south, what artist or group comes to mind?  Many will say the Geto Boys, while younger fans will probably go with Outkast (while the even less informed will say Lil’ Wayne…you foolish mortals).  But the Texas based Fila Fresh Crew is rarely ever mentioned.

And while the trio of Fresh K, Doctor Rock, and Doc-T were born in raised in Dallas, it’s fair to say that their rap career didn’t take off (if that’s what you want to call it) until they went west to California.  Dr. Rock was once a deejay for Dr. Dre’s sequence wearing, make-up sporting World Clash Wreckin’ Cru.  Eventually, Dre traded in his glitter for guns, and along with Eazy-E, Ice Cube, Ren, and Yella, formed the infamous N.W.A.  Dr. Rocks’s relationship with Dre helped the Fila Fresh Crew land a spot on N.W.A.’s, unofficial album debut, N.W.A. & The Posse.  The Fila Fresh Crew would go on to release their own album, which eventually went aluminum, causing the trio to squabble over pennies and usage of their community 72′ Ford Pinto, leading to their break up by 1988.   Even though the Fila Fresh Crew (which is a very corny name, by the way) was done, Doc-T was just getting started. 

Doc-T (whose government name is Tracey Lynn Curry) would change his alias to the D.O.C., and go one to pen lines for Dre and Eazy-E and contribute his own verse on N.W.A.’s landmark album Straight Outta Compton, and would again play Casper with a pen, writing the bulk of Eazy-E’s solo debut Eazy-Duz-It.  After paying his dues, Tracy was reward with a solo deal by Eazy-E and the good people at Ruthless Records.

Tracy released his debut album No One Can Do It Better in 1989.  His Dr. Dre produced album would go on to earn tons of critical claim, including a 5 mic rating from The Source, while earning a gold plaque three months after it’s release and eventually turning to platinum.  Shortly after No One Can Do It Better‘s release the D.O.C. suffered a car accident that left his vocal cords severely damaged, leaving his once booming voice as just a scratchy whisper.  He would go on to release two more solo albums (with rumors of a third in the ear as of this write-up), but without his once authoritative voice, both albums were ignored by the public, leaving No One Can Do It Better as Tracy’s defining moment (that is until a he later had the pleasure to father Erykah “Window Seat” Badu’s daughter… lucky bastard).

With Dr. Dre (who was already a commercial success) co-signing it should come as no surprise that No One Can Do It Better received all the praise and accolades that it garnered.  But the true question is was it worthy of all the hype?  You probably already know the answer, but if not, come follow me.

It’s Funky Enough – Without wasting time on a useless intro, the good doctor provides a banger of an instrumental for Tracy to completely annihilate.  The rough guitar sample over Dre’s beat complements the D.O.C.’s rough vocal, perfectly.  There’s no better way to start an album than with a certified hip-hop classic.  This sounds just as good today as it did twenty plus years ago.

Mind Blowin’ – I believe this was used a few years back for either Madden or NBA 2K, one of those EA Sports games (which was a pleasant surprise compared to all the crap they usually put on the soundtrack for those games).  The D.O.C. delivers another solid performance, over another solid Dr. Dre instrumental.  Nice.

Lend Me An Ear – Dre provides his best east coast impersonation of his entire career, throwing in a few extra elements along the way to give it that signature Dre touch.  Again, the rawness of the track matches D.O.C. vocal beautifully (before the accident he had one of the best rapping voices, ever).  While this isn’t as strong as the first two songs on No One Can Do It Better, it still makes for an enjoyable listen.  

Comm. Blues – Dr. Dre’s baby mama, Michel’le (now that’s a name I haven’t heard in a while) takes on the role of a juke joint singer, providing a bluesy vocal, warning all those in earshot that the D.O.C. is in the building.  Michel’le’s harassed by a few drunken fans (which sounds like the D.O.C. and Ice Cube, but I couldn’t make out the third voice) who deliver a few comical lines, making this not a complete waste of time.

Let The Bass Go – This is a song I completely forgot about.  Dre borrows a sick guitar sample from Issac Hayes’ “No Name Bar”, which makes up the heart of this laid back instrumental.  The D.O.C. relaxes his tone just enough to ride this smooth instrumental, turning in yet another nice performance.  But Dr. Dre’s instrumental is clearly the meat and potatoes of this song, as that guitar sample is mesmerizing.  Tupac would later use the same sample on “Soulja’s Story” (a song which I love) but Dre’s interpretation sounds so much better, proving that sampling is indeed an art form.

Beautiful But Deadly – This modern-day Jezebel tale is the only conceptual song on No One Can Do It Better.  The D.O.C., who had one of the strongest voices in the game, sounds like he’s fighting against Stan “the Guitarman” Jones’ live rock guitar, which renders neither party victorious.  The third first got kind of weird when the D.O.C. stops in the middle of his verse to point out (in his talking voice) to the listener which groupie at the concert he’s referring to, before he abruptly goes back to rapping the rest of his verse.  Even though this was just okay, it would have been interesting to hear Tracey do more conceptual songs.  

The D.O.C. & The Doctor – This certified hip-hop banger was the first single released from the album.  The D.O.C. turns in another superb performance over the D-R-E’s rock enthused instrumental.  You can’t help but screw your face (screwface: the look one’s face takes on when they’ve held back a crap too long, which is normally followed by a penguin trot to the nearest toilet) when the guitar lick from Funkadelic’s “Good Ole Music” comes in on the chorus.  Listening to No One Can Do It Better is actually getting me excited for Detox, even though I’m sure it will be a disappointment…but one can dream, can’t he?

No One Can Do It Better – The D.O.C. provides an exhibition on verbal gymnastics, making a strong argument to back up the album and song title (it was kind of funny to hear the D.O.C. “humbly”rate himself a 9 on the emcee scale; you’re so humble Tracy).  Dre provides yet another stellar instrumental.   It would have been nice to hear a Rakim-D.O.C. duet over a Dre instrumental (pre D.O.C. accident, of course).    

Whirlwind Pyramid – First things first: this is one of the sickest song title’s of all time (sounds like something Wu-Tang would use).  And fittingly, D.O.C. turns in one of his sickest lyrical performance of the evening.  Dre’s provides another raw instrumental, that pulls back just enough during the verses, for Tracy to shine,  and rip this Dre production to shreds.  This was sick. 

Comm. 2 – Over a funky bass heavy Sly Stone sample, D.O.C. uses this one to give his shoutouts, which sounds kind of awkward since there are still three songs to go on the album. 

The Formula – This was also released as a single and like the other singles this is a certified hip-hop classic. Courtesy of Marvin Gaye’s “Inner City Blues” Dre hooks up a smooth midtempo groove for The D.O.C. to get flip on.  Boy, hip-hop could use a little more of this formula today.  This was nice, and might be my favorite song on No One Can Do It Better.

Portrait Of A Masterpiece – The D.O.C. spits one long verse that displays his dope voice, lyrics, and deliver (providing a little comic relief when he stops mid verse near the end to catch his breath).  Dre’s beat was okay at best.  I guess you can’t expect them all to be monsters.

The Grand Finale – Picking up where they left off at on N.W.A.’s “Parental Discretion Iz Advised”, the same cast is invited back to each spit a verse (with the exception of Dre) over this live (in the figurative and literal sense of the word) instrumentation.  Cube sets thing off with a strong verse, setting the bar extremely high for the other parties involved.  Ren, and surprisingly, Eazy (whose verse I’m sure Cube penned for him, so it shouldn’t be a surprise) turn in solid verses, but Cube’s bar isn’t cleared again until our host finishes things off on the final verse.  This is how a grand finale should sound, making this a perfect ending to a nearly flawless experience.

No One Can Do It Better is often forgotten, but is hands down one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all-time.  Dr. Dre’s production takes us back to a time where he actually hand crafted his instrumentals and wasn’t just a brand name for a production team.  Dre’s production knocks from the beginning until the grand finale. And even in the rare occasion when Dre’s beats aren’t stellar, the D.O.C.’s booming vocal provide the spark. Unfortunately, the D.O.C.’s accident left his vocal cords damaged which made it impossible for him to live up to this masterpiece on his later work, sadly making this D.O.C./Dr. Dre classic collaboration a once in a lifetime experience.

Did The Source Get It Right? Hello, did you read the above paragraph? Better yet, did you read the rest of the review?  Yeah they got it right! While every song isn’t stellar there isn’t a skippable moment on No One Can Do It Better.   I’ll keep my fingers crossed for Detox, but if the first single is any indication of what we can expect as a whole, we’re in trouble.

-Deedub

By 1989, twenty-one year old James Todd Smith had two platinum selling albums under his belt and was a bona-fide rap star.  While Radio‘s revolutionary sound was the cornerstone to building the Def Jam empire and James career, his follow-up BAD (on the strength of the rap ballad “I Need Love”) brought the crossover success and rocketed his star power into the stratosphere.  With loads of money, the world in his hands, haters in every direction, and more pussy than one man’s testosterone can handle (if that’s possible), the hip-hop world waited in great anticipation to see what the Kangol’d one would do next.  Well, maybe not the whole hip-hop world but at least New York.

In attempt to please the heads, ladies, and radio, Uncle L unleashed Walking With A Panther in 89′.  Cool James and Dwayne Simon, formerly of the LA Posse (who handled production duties on BAD) would handle the bulk of production duties with a little help from a few legendary hip-hop producers (more on that later).  Walking With A Panther did sell over a million units but received mixed reviews, largely do to his blatant pop attempts and cheesy rap ballads.

But is there enough substance to offset the fatty extras?

Droppin’ Em – Cool James comes out the gates with guns blazing, spitting battle rhyme after battle rhyme, which seems to go on for 20 verses (and that’s not a complaint).  LL & Dwayne Simon’s raw instrumental makes for a nice backdrop for Uncle L’s spitfire.  This was a nice way to start the show.

Smokin’ Dopin’ – No, this isn’t a say no to drugs message.  Instead, LL and Dwayne cook up a smooth instrumental for L to put his flow on cruise control and simply ride this track like I-94 on a Sunday afternoon.  You have to give L props when it comes to versatility: he can go from a hardcore scream, to a composed smooth tone, to a vulnerable-lover man whisper, at the drop of a dime (making his move to acting a natural transition).  In spite of the corny song title (which other than it being the first words LL utters on this song has nothing to do with the song) and matching hook, this was a pretty solid joint.

Fast Peg – Over a skeleton instrumental LL spits one verse relaying a story about Peg, would loves to speed.  Peg, who’s man is in the mob, doubling as her pimp,  eventually becomes a victim to her (and his) life in the fast lane.  Trust me, this sounds more interesting with me describing it than it does when you actually listening to it.

Clap Your Hands – Over a simple drum beat and live guitar licks provided by Billy “Spaceman” Patterson, L’s back in battle mode spitting lines to back the statement that his last album title claimed.  Apparently Cool James is a contortionists, as he claims he’s able to give himself head, which is both comical and disturbing at the same time.  All in all this was just okay.

Nitro – LL rips the heart out of this Bomb Squad (well, at least two-thirds of the Bomb Squad) produced track.  The hard beat meshes beautifully with L’s vocal as he goes into scream mode and comes off like he’s in a UFC bout with the instrumental. Uncle L comes out the victor, turning in some of his best battle rhymes to date.  This serves as a reminder to  why LL is considered one of the best to ever do it.

You’re My Heart – Wow.  How do you transition from “Nitro” into this crap?  But what would a Cool James album be without a rap ballad?  Ladies Love makes a blatant attempt to secure a female fan base (which I can’t even see ladies falling for this crap), as he throws actual rhyming to the wind, and talks (adding in an occasional psychotic scream) his way through verses trying to convince his lady to stay because she’s the only one for him, with a little “if you leave me I’ll kill you and myself” undertone.   The sappy instrumental doesn’t help matters either.  This was really bad, dude.

I’m That Type Of Guy – Cool James stays in spoken word mode, spending almost 5 minutes to, slowly, explain why he was able to bone your girl, while highlighting your shortcomings and his virtues (which include him seasoning “it” before he eats it… you’ll never look at Lawry’s the same way).  Some of L’s lines are amusing but the empty space in between their delivery is similar to Bobby Brown’s teeth when he smiles.  This was actually a single released off the album.  The instrumental is bangin’, which is really frustrating when considering Cool James would have been more than capable of ripping this beat to shreds.

Why Do You Think They Call It Dope? – Over a funky instrumental Ladies Love gets things pointed back in the right direction, turning in some pretty solid battle rhymes.  At one point L spits a portion of his lines a capella, doing his best Twista impression which fails miserably, but props for taking chances.  Other than that small misstep this was pretty enjoyable.

Going Back To Cali – This Rick Rubin produced track was another single released from Walking With A Panther.  And like “I’m That Type Of Guy” Cool James goes into spoken word mode over a dope instrumental.  The song feels like Uncle L dumbed down his lyrics exchanging his soul for worldly gain.  This is probably the most popular song on Walking With A Panther, and while the instrumental and hook are catchy, it’s far from LL’s best work.

It Gets No Rougher – This time the entire Bomb Squad chips in to concoct this effective instrumental which sounds a little empty by Bomb Squad standards, who normally have so much chaos going on within their instrumentals that if armageddon had a soundtrack they would be the perfect choice to produce it. But what the track lacks, Uncle L’s booming vocal more than makes up for, filling in the gaps and turning in a solid performance.  This was pretty dope.

Big Ole Butt – This is the third single (I believe) released from the album.  L and Dwayne Simon whip up a track that sounds like something EPMD could have produced. LL turns in three verses about his weakness: ladies with ill hind features.  While LL isn’t mentioned in the discussion of great storytelling emcees, he turns in a brilliant performance over this banger of an instrumental, painting three detailed verses that you can close your eyes and visualize the scenarios playing out (which amazingly enough look just like the video for this song in my head).  This is hot!

One Shot At Love – Bang! And just like that, Walking With A Panther‘s upward momentum is shot down.  I guess one sappy rap ballad wasn’t enough for the one the ladies love, so he waste more of the listener’s life with this crap.  Cool James shares his philosophy on love, breaking love into two categories: physical love (isn’t that lust) and mental love.  Mental love? Really?  Sounds like something you’d call an in love couple with down syndrome.  Needless to say, this was terrible.

1-900-L.L. Cool J –  Cool James is back in battle mode as he smoothly dismantles his adversaries over this dope instrumental, even taking a brief intermission to explain how he likes his skinz, before completing the task he started at the beginning of the song.  This was nice, but not nice enough to help me forget the debacle that was “One Shot At Love”.

Two Different Worlds – WTF!  Todd Smith clearly suffers from bi-polar disorder.  How else do you explain him sandwiching aggressive battle rhymes in between two soft, corny rap ballads without winking (whoever was responsible for the sequencing of Walking With A Panther should be executed ASAP).  Cool James spits elementary rhymes while a tone-deaf Cydne’ Monet turns in a painful vocal on her verse and the hook (dude, her singing made my ears bleed).  This is officially when 90 percent of his fan base became those of the heel-wearing population (I see you Canibus!).

Jealous – Cool James snaps out of his “lover man” persona and get back into emcee mode. Over his funky but smooth instrumental (that uses the same sample that Nas would later use on “Dr. Knockboots”), Uncle L lays in the cut sending a message to all those haters (i.e. MC Shan, Kool Moe Dee, Ice-T) suffering from a bad case of jealousy.  This was actually pretty nice.

Jingling Baby – The remix of this song (which contains the same lyrics as this version with a few edits to make it suitable for radio play) was released as a single (and used in the video) and included on LL’s follow-up Momma Said Knock You Out. While this version is solid, Marley Marl added just enough bells and whistles to make the remix sound worlds better than the original.

Def Jam In The Motherland – Over an instrumental that uses the same sample used on EPMD’s “It’s Time To Party” (although not to much better effect), Uncle L completely destroys this beat, turning in one his best lyrical performances of the evening.  Although the title and hook have absolutely nothing to do with the verses, this was still dope.

Change Your Ways – LL dumbs down his lyrics (again) and sacrifices his normally solid flow, in favor of this sloppy work which plays like a corny hip-hop interpretation of  “We Are The World”.  Cool James provides a naive message that if we simply change are ways the world would be perfect and we would live happily ever after.  This is one of very few songs in Cool James catalog that can loosely be categorized as “conscious”. Maybe he took heed to Ice-T’s advice and felt it was time to write at least one song with substance.  What ever the reason, this was a corny and terrible way to end this roller coaster ride of an album, which left my stomach feeling a little upset.

Walking With A Panther was clearly Cool James attempt to be all things to all people: mixing hardcore raps, soft cornball rap ballads, and a few dumbed down radio friendly joints to secure record sales.  The production on Walking With A Panther is pretty solid (even on the intentional pop attempts “I’m That Type Of Guy” and “Going Back To Cali”) and LL provides plenty of examples to prove his lyrical ability is still intact. While L’s pop attempts are bearable (depending on your mood on the day your listening to them) the painfully bad rap ballads are unforgivable, and when coupled with the other handful of mishaps, the album begins to wobble, similar to Dom Cobb’s totem at the end of Inception, ending abruptly and leaving you to draw your own conclusion on whether or not it stands up or completely topples over once the scene ends.  Thank God Cool James found his appetite and came back starving on his follow-up Momma Said Knock You, regaining the fans he lost after Walking With A Panther. Temporarily, at least.

-Deedub