The S P, Y and D, E R dash, then you add another D

Sticking with single-sided records, this here is Spyder-D's "The Real McCoy." Now to me, Spyder-D's career comes in four stages:

1) The early eighties, which yielded the very old school-style raps like "Big Apple Rappin'" and "Spinnin' Webs and Rappin' Rhymes." Good times.

2) The mid-eighties classics, where Spyder really came into his own and all the Spyder-D greats were released, like "I Can't Wait (To Rock the Mike)" and "Placin' the Beat," and where he started producing other artists like Sparky D and his little brother Spyder-C.

3) The late 80's/early 90's, where Spyder-D released more hardcore (kinda) tunes on B-Boy Records... attempting to show his versatility and grow as a more mature artist in different directions, culminating in The Spydo Music Band and especially his Macola Records release: Gangsta Wages. Definitely no hits in this period, but all dig-worthy for any Spyder fan.

4) The 2000 comeback. Meh. Coulda been worse, that's for sure.

Well, this record falls squarely into stage 3. Released on Dick Charles Recordings, not so much a record label as a pricey mastering studio that made high quality promos (though my record has two holes in it... one in the center and one way off center, covered by the label, so I guess nobody's perfect) rather than commercially available records. The handwriting on the cover tells the story of this record: "For: The Rapp Attack Show, Attn: Marly Marl/Chilly Q, 4:00 PM Jan 29 1988 Friday." There's also a release date of Feb 5 printed on the label, but the official release never came.

As for the song itself, as I say, it fits perfectly in stage 3. It sounds like it could've come out on B-Boy Records, following "Try To Bite Me Now"/ "The N.Y. Butt" ...which, I imagine, was the plan. In fact, this is probably my favorite of the stage 3s. The beat might sound a bit corny on first listen (ok, subsequent listens, too), especially with the keyboard "horns" on the hook, but if you can be a little forgiving, it's a lot of fun. A hard 808 beat track, pronounced bassline, and almost constant scratching ("hi-hi-hit it; hi-hi-hi-hit it, Spyder!") provide the backdrop for Spyder's diss rap to, well... not sure. Kool Moe Dee again, maybe? He doesn't really get specific enough to tell, but he's definitely talking about someone (I suppose it could just be a generic "sucker MC," but I don't think so):

"I'm here to spill the beans,

Know what I mean?

If you wanna take the style,

I'll make a scene;

'Cause my DJ's got the weapon:

It's a needle.

Let's face it, homeboy;

You ain't a Beatle.

You sure ain't Luther,

You're not a King.

Just ask Bernard,

You ain't hard.

Stop frontin', show somethin'

To make me believe

That you have the brain... to conceive

Of a rhyme, and not the ones from a book.

You're not the real McCoy,

You're just a crook.

"Book 'em, Dan-O,"

Is what they would say

If you rhymed on Hawaii Five-O today;

Then they'd throw you in jail, give you a skirt,

Tie your hat into a bow; you'll be a flirt.

You silly, sorry, sad wanna be MC!

Yeah, I said it...

You ain't the real McCoy."

Finally, just to keep up what's becoming a little tradition, here's Spyder-D's myspace page. And here's the website for his company: http://www.spydomusic.com/.