Some Not Quite As Old Sah-B Shit

This 12" is the flagship for the comeback of Sah-B that never quite got off the ground. You'll note she's changed her name to Sakinah "Sah-B" Britton... she'd later drop the "Sah-B" completely. Anyway, this came out in 1998 on Born Hustlers... it's kinda rare now, but probably not all that expensive, because I don't think it's been all that sought after. I reckon this cassette version, which comes in a plain white cardboard sleeve, is even rarer:



The first song is called "The Freestyle" and lives up to its name. Sah-B rocks over a number of crowd-pleasing beats from that period, like Camron's "357" with the Magnum PI loop, MOP & Jay-Z's "4 Alarm Blaze" that took the "Eye Of the Tiger" beat and the "Ruff Ryders' Anthem". .. You know: "Stop! Drop! Shut 'em down; open up shop." Ha ha This is a real artifact of its day. There's no producer credited, presumably because the "guest DJ," DJ A.P. - who does some really nice cutting throughout this record, including a few points where he gets to do solos on the tables - is just flipping instrumentals on the spot. Sah-B's pretty dope here, kicking fairly hardcore freestyle rhymes over each beat - not up to her classic, "Some Ol' Sah-B Shit," but you'll definitely have a good time - as much thanks to the DJ as the MC. Plus, it's impressive how she just keeps on flowing and flowing on this long track.

"There's a lotta corny people
In this industry
Tryin' to get me to sell my soul
In exchange for going gold
Five hundred thousand units sold
I call them the devil
Operatin' on the corporate level
I speak against them
They call me a rebel
Whatever, man
I'm doin' it properly
There's no stoppin' me
I'm God's property
I've got the remedy
For those who wanna be an enemy
You ain't offendin' me
When you pretend to be
Less than my fan
Left me dead and strand
When I was reachin' out to you
You wouldn't grab my hand
Damn!
Shit...
I'm not supposed to be bitter?
I watched you like a babysitter
Become a bullshitter
If bullshit was power
You could rule the world
Try to play me like a girl
I'm every woman
It's all in me
Until infinity
Keep my head high,
Walk with dignity
I was tailor-made
To get paid, true indeed
In high school
I was voted most likely to succeed
Sweat and bleed
You gotta control ya greed
Be hungry
For what you want ain't always what you need
Watch where you be
A flower in bloom
Could soon become a weed
As I take the lead
These cats can't hurt me
Sah-B signing out
Arrivederci
And it don't stop
One, two, and it don't stop
Sah-Bdee
Up in this piece with DJ APdee
Doin' this Born Hustlers style"

...And that's just one verse.

The first of the two b-sides is produced by Lord Jazz, and its very much like his work for LOTUG's Undaground Buttas 12"s: simple, even a bit under-produced, but solid enough to support some really dope rhymes. But these rhymes are just i-ight, so all in all, it's an underwhelming effort. There's a cool violin sample that they sneak in every so often, and we get some nice cuts from Lord Jazz, though nothing as exciting as the A-side. Sah-B sounds a little more subdued (I guess she'd say "mature") on this record, which is definitely to her detriment.

The second b-side, "Tonight," sounds like some typical studio-fare, with familiar samples and an R&B chorus... it's a slow song and a bit dated, even for '98. It almost sounds like it could be a leftover from her unreleased Epic album. That said, it's not that bad. If you can tolerate this style of song, it's well done - producer DJ Backspin sounds at home handling this kind of production work, and Sah swaps the freestyling for some smart, semi-narrative rhymes... this is essentially her "Summa Day" part two.

Now, this is my third Sah-B post (see here and here), so we've covered all that "where is she now"-type stuff. I'd still very much like to know if she ever recorded her full Some Ol' Sah-B Shit album (if so, who's got them in their vault?), or even if there are just a couple other tracks from that era waiting to someday be released. Maybe if we pester K-Def enough,he'll give us a definitive answer. But until then, stay tuned... there'll definitely be some more posts on Sah-B's comeback material down the road right here.

Tags: Sah-B, Sakinah Britton, Lord Jazz, DJ Backspin, DJ AP, K-Def

Excuse Me, Do It All

Today we have another of The Lords Of the Underground's Undaground Butta 12"s, this time a Do It All solo joint... well, sort of. The first song, "Dangerous" is clearly labelled as being by just Do It All, but there's unquestionably another MC kicking the first verse. No, it's not Mr. Funky... maybe it's one of the Lunatic Asylum? Anyway, it's a pretty cool, understated little song, which picks up a bit more when Do It All takes the mic. The production is low-key but good... consistent with DJ Lord Jazz's production on the other Undaground Butta 12"'s; a cool, slightly sinister NYC crime-type record.

Next up is Do It All and Jac Swinga's duet, "Which Side Iz Which." Now, you may be wondering just who this Jac Swinga character is... The only material he put out before this was a song on the b-side of the only non-LOTUG-related (well.... not entirely non-LOTUG-related, as you'll see) Undaground Butta 12" "On the Real" by Nas. Here, just to clarify by catalog #s, the Undaground Buttas label went like this:

UBLMT11 - L.O.T.U.G. "M.O.N.E.Y." b/w Lunatic Asylum "Lunatic Asylum" (already blogged about here)
UBLMT12 - Nas "On the Real" b/w Jac Swinga "Coast II Coast"
UBLMT13 - L.O.T.U.G. "Bring It" b/w The Infamous Backspin "Sing My Song" (blogged about here)
UBLMT14 - Do It All "Dangerous" b/w Do It All & Jack Swing "Which Side Iz Which" & The Infamous Backspin "Ready To Party" (the blog entry you're reading now)

...So, his appearance here kind of ties UBLMT12 in with the rest of the series. And when you actually listen to the song, he explains explicitly who he is and his connection: he's Do It All's little brother, who he thanks for introducing him to the scene. On top of that, he's actually pretty good... he sounds like a mix between UG and RA The Rugged Man, but a little less over the top. He and Do It All really compliment each other with their styles and voices as they trade verses back and forth, line for line, over a simple, bassline-heavy instrumental that pulls you right into their flows. This song is a definite winner. The instrumental is included for this one, though they make the odd choice of not just including hte ad-libs, but the "conversation" at the end, where Jac thanks his big bro.

The b-side, labeled "Party Joints," on the other hand, is an entirely different kettle of flounder. Backspin (who, after this record, has indeed earned the title of Infamous in my book) returns, this time without the safety net of a familiar, classic instrumental to ride on (read my post on his "Sing My Song"). Instead of being the "Uptown Anthem" instrumental with a few added vocal samples, this is a dull, plodding bassline and drumtrack with a few vocal samples just looped over and over. It's painfully monotonous and it's sooo slow... I was genuinely beginning to question if I was meant to be playing this side at 45bpm. I don't know who Backspin thought would be partying to this... ground sloths celebrating a retirement? Ridiculously, they then include an instrumental version of this song - yes, the main mix is already an instrumental - where they just remove the vocal samples from it. ...Except for some of them, which they leave. So it's not even like you just get the beat and bassline if (for some reason) you wanted it... it's still got vocal samples ("Say 'oh yeah'" and "ha ha" looped) stuck on it. It's just like the main mix, but... even more boring.

Now, I've already linked to their myspaces and stuff in the previous posts, but I should point out that LOTUG has a new full-length album that just came out now called House Of the Lords. I can't say anything about it, because I haven't heard it yet. But it's available from ughh.com and places like that.

Tags: Lords of the Underground, LOTUG, Do It All, DoItAll, Du Kelly, Jac Swing, The Infamous Backspin, L.O.T.U.G.

Bring It Back

Following up my L.O.T.U.G.M.O.N.E.Y.U.P.D.A.T.E. post (they never make it clear in the song just why the title "Money" was written as if it were an acronym... maybe just because "C.R.E.A.M." was), this is the second indie 12" from LOTUG, which came out in '97. And it's definitely a cool record.

This wasn't destined to become any kind of major hit, since The Lords are just rapping over a very familiar, old school beat (KC & The Sunshine Band's "That's the Way"); but hearing DoItAll and Mr Funky go back and forth over a classic, funky bassline is pretty much the ideal formula for a LOTUG record, short of producing another "Funky Child." This is the sort of record, really, you wish would've got a little airplay when it came out.

The B-side is a DJ track by The Infamous Backspin (pretty sure this is the DJ Backspin who provided scratching on the second Fugees LP and what-not), very much in the vein of something like Frankie Cutlass's "Puerto Rico/Black People," with various, repetetive vocal samples being laid over Naughty By Nature's "Uptown Anthem" instrumental. It's a good, engaging track, because "Uptown Anthem" is a good, engaging track, but Backspin really doesn't do much with it, so you can go ahead and file this under "nothing special."

Undaground Buttas steps up their game this time around, providing instrumentals for both tracks. Definitely worth obtaining of you're a LOTUG fan. And it's typically pretty easy to find if you look, since I don't think a ton of people really know about it.

There are several DJ Backspins... One from Detroit, one from Paris, one from Massachusetts, one from San Diego... Seriously, if you're an aspiring DJ, do us all a favor and think of another name. So, I tried to find a website or myspace link, but couldn't find one. He might have one, but... there are just too many DJ Backspins. :P