Unreleased Slick Rick, Prologue

(Note: this particular blog entry is, essentially, just a very long "intro" to the next several Unreleased Slick Rick entries to follow.)

I only have one mix-CD by J-Love, but as far as I can tell, he's not much of a DJ. The CD I have is Slick Rick - Legends vol. 2. Three things separate this "mix" CD from any generic, half-assed mp3-made CDR kids make to clutter the internet with:

1) A super short "Intro" (specifically, it clocks in at 24 seconds), with J-Love saying something over a Slick Rick instrumental... I can't tell you exactly what he's saying, because the vocals are mixed far too low and so are completely washed out (and for the record, yes, I own an original copy of this mix-CD, not a dub or downloaded copy).

2) Some super lazy radio blends between songs... apparently doing the bare minimum to say, "yes, look, this is an original MIX; not just a bootleg; please don't sue me!"

3) J-Love annoyingly name dropping himself over various tracks, so other DJs can't steal the tracks for their own mixes. Another DJ might protect his work by making a top quality mix, full of creative blends, beat juggling, cutting & scratching, and maybe even a few freestyles to make his mix instantly recognizable as creatively hsi own. But J-Love isn't that kinda DJ... he falls less on the side of DJs like Q-Bert, Babu, Battery Brain and Dr. Dre, and more on the side of Craig G, S&S and DJ Clue. To put it another way, he's less on the side of musically talented hip-hop DJs making a significant musical contribution, so much as making money by selling illegal copies of other artists' music.

So, why on Earth would somebody actually pay money for this crap? Well, two reasons, depending on the listener. For the more casual Slick Rick fan (assuming they don't mind supporting the piracy and who also haven't, for whatever reason, mastered the art of downloading for free), it's because Def Jam has yet to release an official "greatest hits" LP, so mix-CDs like this are a cheaper alternative to buying his full albums. For most of us, though; it was probably because of this: "********** 11 UNRELEASED SONGS **********" printed across the front cover. Holy cow! Eleven never before released Slick Rick songs? I'm sold!

Which brings us to the point of this blog and the ones to follow (no, it's really not to bash on one particularly hapless phony DJ following a long tradition of talentless phoney DJs who've been giving a terrible name to the art form for over a decade... though I have to admit, it's super easy and kinda fun hehe). The unreleased songs. Here's the track-listing for his CD, where he helpfully notes for us which are the ones he considers "unreleased" (all spelling, punctuation, etc. is exactly as he has it printed on the inside cover):

1. INTRO 2. THE SHOW FEATURING DOUG E. FRESH 3. MONA LISA 4. I SPARKLE 5. WORLD RENOUN FEATURING PETE ROCK (UNRELEASED) 6. CHILDREN'S STORY 7. A LETTER TO (UNRELEASED) 8. VENUS 9. HE KILLS (UNRELEASED) 10. STAR TREK (UNRELEASED) 11. CAPTAIN CAVE MAN (UNRELEASED) 12. THE NUTTY PROFESSOR (UNRELEASED) 13. GAMBLING (UNRELEASED) 14. THE MOMENT I FEARED 15. LA DI DA DI FEATURING DOUG E. FRESH 16. SITTIN IN MY CAR FEATURING DOUG E. FRESH 17. I OWN AMERICA (UNRELEASED VERSION) 18. WHY YOU DOIN THAT (UNRELEASED) 19. SLEAZY GYNECOLOGIST (UNRELEASED) 20. SAMPSON (UNRELEASED) 21. MOSES 22. HEY YOUNG WORLD 23. TREAT HER LIKE A PROSTITUTE 24. I SHOULDN'T HAVE DONE IT

That CD came out in 2004, by the way. A little internet searching shows he's rereleased the CD more recently with a different track-listing (and artwork), including some more unreleased stuff:

1) INTRO 2) TROUBLE - PRODUCED BY J-LOVE 3) WOMEN LOSE WEIGHT ( UNRELEASED ) 4) SITTIN IN MY CAR 5) I SPARKLE 6) THE SHOW FEAT DOUG E FRESH 7) MONA LISA 8) MONA LISA PT 2 9) CHILDREN'S STORY 10) IOWN AMERICA ( UNRELEASED VERSION ) 11) I SHOULDN T HAVE DONE IT 12) VENUS 13) HE KILLS ( UNRELEASED ) 14) A LETTTER 2 ( UNRELEASED ) 15) STAR TREK ( UNRELEASED ) 16) WORLD RENOWN ( UNRELEASED ) 17) CAPTAIN CAVEMAN ( UNRELEASED ) 18) VANESSA WILLIAMS ( UNRELEASED ) 19) WHY YOU DOING THAT ( UNRELEASED ) 20) MEMORIES 21) HEY YOUNG WORLD 22) THE SUN FEAT GHOSTFACE KILLAH,RAEKWON,RZA ( UNRELEASED ) 23) MOMENT I FEARED 24) GAMBLING ( UNRELEASED ) 25) SLEAZY GYNECOLOGIST ( UNRELEASED ) 26) NUTTY PROFESSOR ( UNRELEASED )

So there it is, our starting reference point. In the next few entries, I'll be examining these unreleased tracks... where they're from, where you can get them "unmixed," etc. Join me... won't you?
Oh, p.s. - Did I mention the sound quality really sucks on this CD? Because, yeah. It does. :-P