Craig G's Infinite Playlist, Part 2: Drum, Bass 'n' Craig

So pouring through the endless list of guest spots on my Craig G page, this is probably not one of the records anybody would guess that I owned, but I do.  Mostly just because I was trying to fill a "buy 3, get 1 free" type of offer, and I spotted Craig G's name.  I had no idea who Woogie was, but what the heck.  "Free Your Level," 2003.  Craig G guest spot for free, D&D Records is one of the labels, should be pretty decent, right?

Well, when I first put this on the turntables, I thought I'd made a big mistake.  Even for a free record.  Woogie's not a rapper, or even a Hip-Hop artist at all, I realized; this is a Drum 'n' Bass record.  And not to dismiss the whole genre, but it's not my thing.  I'm a Hip-Hop head.  And this is just Craig G lazily freestyling off the top of his head over a DnB beat that doesn't fit the vocals at all.  At the beginning of the song, he proclaims that he'll "spit shit to anything, dawg, anything" and alright.  But I'm not sure people want to hear just anything.  Yeah, they mix in some classic Craig G samples (first the "Droppin' Science" remix, later "The Symphony," then back to the horns from the original mix of "Droppin Science") at certain points, but still, no thanks.

But fortunately I stuck with it to try out the B-side.  Because it is so much better.  The A-side is actually a remix by Mike & Ike, some drum & bass guys.  And look, DnB isn't my thing, but I can appreciate a really good DnB record.  But this mix isn't a really good DnB record.  Maybe there's a bit of novelty/ nostalgia in hearing Craig against some of his old school samples, but really, just listen to the original records, they're infinitely better.

But the B-side, which is actually the original mix, is kinda dope.  So, who/ what is Woogie?  I'm still not too familiar.  I've heard his other single, "Painting a Rhythm," and that's pretty generic Drum 'n' Bass.  But this Original Woogie Mix of "Free Your Level" isn't.  I mean, it still has a drum line that's atypical Hip-Hop and closer to DnB, but it's got much more of a Hip-Hop appeal.  It's got a really terrific, head-bobbing bassline and jungle sound effects looped in the background a la "Sounds Of the Safari" (though not nearly as complex or creative in that regard).  And Craig G sounds really natural riding over this beat; this must be the one he actually recorded to.  And it's long, like seven minutes of non-stop flowing from Craig.  If you're in the mood for something different, this one's actually pretty funky.

It's just the two versions of the song, one on each side.  No instrumentals or anything.  It's a 12" that plays at 45rpm, and as you can see above, comes in a sticker cover.  There's a full-length Woogie album, called Farmin for Beatz, which also came out in 2003 on the same label, Taciturn Records.  It has the original Woogie version of this, and that "Painting a Rhythm" song from 2002, too.  It has some interesting samples and stuff, but I wouldn't recommend it for non-DnB fans.  Just get the one 12" for the Craig G song, which you should be able to scoop up for under a dollar.  It's no Juice Crew classic, but it's worth more than that.