Learn Along With Werner, part 9: One and One More

Several years ago, I blogged about the two records by a somewhat obscure, 90s duo called One and One.  It was actually sort of a secret comeback record for UTFO's Doctor Ice, who signed with a new label (Next Plateau) under a new name with a new, updated style.  The other member was his cousin, and they called themselves Harry Balz and Sonny Boy (Doc = Sonny), which he later changed to Sonny Bumz.  The records were hot, especially their debut single "Phenomenon," but you know Next Plateau wasn't exactly launching careers in the late 90s, so they never got the recognition they deserved, and they just had the two records.

...Or so I always thought.  But recently I got to have another one of those awesome moments where the internet showed me a record I never knew existed back in my day.  Apparently, before signing to Next Plateau, they pressed up their lead single independently, and used that to get industry attention.  It makes sense, as that's exactly what Doc Ice had done just a couple years prior, releasing his first solo comeback single on his own label, Rely On Selph Records, before getting it picked up on Wrap/ Ichiban and coming out with his second solo album.  It's actually pretty impressive that Ice could keep resetting his career and with a single 12" get a new record deal, considering most rappers go their whole careers struggling to get signed once.  But even if you don't like his style, think he's too old school or maybe some of his humor's corny; that guy's an undeniably talented MC.  And so here we have "Phenomenon" by One and One on a little label owned by Tyrone Thomas called Streets Of Sound Records.

So, "big deal," I hear you say.  "A rare, early pressing of the same single that came out wider a little later on?  Maybe you can get your collector jollies on, but otherwise it's just the same song, right?"  And it is.  I listened to them back to back, and the it's not even an alternate rough mix or anything.  "Phenomenon" is exactly the same, including the spoken intro.  It even features the same four versions: Radio, Album, Instrumental and Accapella.  But this original, indie pressing has something the later records haven't got: an exclusive B-side.

So forever, I thought One and One only had three songs to their name (well, unless you count that weird, Absolut vodka compilation album).  But no, there's a fourth!  And by the way, this record also teaches us something else very interesting.  The Next Plateau single always credited the production of "Phenomenon" to Swing Of Things Productions, whoever the heck that was.  But this early record label spells it out; it's Mark Spark, along with a partner named Hasan Pore.  And they produced both the tracks on this 12".  And the instrumental's on here, too, for those wondering; though it's more of a TV track.

So how's the new song?  It's cool.  It's definitely not clear to me why Next Plateau didn't choose to include it.  I mean "Phenomenon" definitely stands out as the cut that could really make noise in '96; but both are solid tracks; there's definitely no reason to bury "What's On Your Mind."  It's got some cool, moody production.  And it's a relationship song, but it's much closer to "Looking At the Front Door" than some pop love rap.  It's about the frustration of not being sure what your partner's really thinking even when she's saying all the right things.  Is she really cheating on you or just doesn't want to see you?  Doc does his first verse from the perspective of a man in jail writing to his woman at home, and he ends with a pure sex brag.  The whole record is on a surprisingly street tip you never would've expected from the UTFO guy in a lab coat and stethoscope.  Werner approves.

The Craziest Show

I'm not sure how many heads are really familiar with UTFO, beyond "Roxanne, Roxanne," these days. But certainly to anyone who was, it's pretty well known that Doctor Ice wound up leaving the group to pursue his solo career, and in 1991, for their final album, the famous four-man crew became three. But it's been well less publicized that, in 1986 for the period of their second album, the four man crew was also reduced to three when EMD, The Educated Rapper rather mysteriously went AWOL. He returned four their third album, Lethal. But for their one EP, Skeezer Pleezer, they were briefly one man short, consisting only of two MCs: Kangol Kid and Doc Ice, and their DJ Mixmaster Ice. But they still managed to produce one hit single, "Split Personality."

"Split Personality," like the rest of Skeezer Pleezer, was produced by their parent group, Full Force; and it's already a damn fun song. Kangol tells light-hearted anecdotes of being afflicted with not only split, but constantly reverting, personalities:

"Help an old lady across the street...
Then trip the crab by sticking out my feet!
But then I'd pick her up before she dirties her dress...
And charge her five dollars for all that mess!"

And Doc Ice in particular uses it as a platform to segue from one silly impression to another. He becomes Miguel, the Chief Rocker MC or his larger than life ragamuffin personality Dread Doc, which he actually maintained throughout the rest of his career.  He not only rocks crazy foreign accents, from Chinese to... Eddie Murphy, but even raps in foreign languages.

But the zany heights soar even higher on this 12" single, where it's been remixed by Howie Tee. It's about a minute longer, and most notably features the infamous organ refrain from Bach's "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor," known throughout the world for being the theme of The Phantom of the Opera. Again, this dropped in 1986, and evidenced by the big programmed beats and crazy voices and free-for-all nature of the songwriting, this is clearly their entry in a long line of "The Show" knock-offs.  But the fact that they tie everything together with the concept of multiple personalities - there is a coherence to what the MCs are rapping, if not a lot of actual sense - plus some of the darker themes, lyrically and instrumentally with the Phantom theme, give this almost as much in common with songs like "Haunted House of Rock" and "Amityville (House On the Hill)." This makes it just as much of a Halloween party record as another record in "The Show" mini-genre.

So either version of the song is a good time, and most of the elements of the song are featured in both versions. But the 12" version just goes that extra but further, making it easily the definitive version.  I can still clearly remember back in the 80's when I bought Skeezer Pleezer, and being disappointed that the Phantom theme never played, "this isn't the right version!"

There's only the remix on 12". The B-side is the The Remix Dub. Fans should also know that Doctor Ice also wrote a bit of a sequel to "Split Personality," somewhat darker (but not without its own sense of silliness) for his second solo album in 1994. It's called "Possessed," and while it doesn't fully recapture the magic of this near classic, it's pretty enjoyable in its own right - especially if you're familiar enough with the history to appreciate it. But of course, nothing beats the original.

The Viper and the Doctor

A couple weeks ago, I got a nice e-mail and a request for a blog post on Vandy C. Then I got distracted by other posts I wanted to make and forgot about it... but look, I've remembered! Yayy, me!

- Now, before I start, I'll point out that Fifth Element has recently gotten through with a terrific series of posts on Vandy C, including a pretty definitive video interview.  Some of the best hip-hop blogging of the year, so be sure and check that out, starting here. - 

So I decided to take a look at Vandy's very first record, "'V' the Viper."  I found out about this record pretty early.  By "early" I mean early for a kid in the suburbs who didn't have access to old school, underground vinyl and was just buying the latest rap tapes at the local Sam Goody's. But word of this record stood out because of one of the featured guests, Doctor Ice.  I was big into that whole Select Records scene, including UTFO and of course Whodini, too - so I was really curious about this obscure, old school record that featured an early appearance by the Doc.

And, not having heard it... I wasn't even sure if it was the same Doctor Ice. After all, there was a Doctor Ice who put out a record on Enjoy Records all the way back in 1981.  In fact, I'd bought that record thinking it was the Doc Ice I became a big fan of by the time he dropped his solo album, The Mic Stalker. So I was pretty disappointed when it turned out to be some other Doctor Ice. I didn't want to get burned again. Over the years, I started to see Vandy C's name come up as a producer on some pretty random projects (Kid Flash, The Don)...

So fast forward a bunch of years when I became older and more learned, and started picking up classic vinyl, etc. I finally got this, and was happy to discover two things. Yes, it was the "real" Doctor Ice like I was hoping it would be, and also this Vandy C had the talent and sensibilities to make a good rest of the record.

This is a two-song 12" from 1986 on Whop Records (and yes, we will be doing the whop before this review is out).  The first song is the song without Doctor Ice on it: "'V' the Viper."  It's an interesting blend of hardcore street and an upbeat dance record.  It's all about rocking the club, but with hardcore horn stabs, rough deliveries ...well, by 1986 standards.  It's not quite "It's Yours," but they were definitely one of the early groups ushering in the new, post-disco rap era. The rhymes are tight, and as super old school and low-tech as the instrumental is, unlike many records of that era, every element of the track holds up today - when you listen to it now, it works just the way it was supposed to back then. And it's not every record you get to here the MC brag about his Centipede score.  =)

So then track two is "Do the Whop." This was the era when everybody had a smurf or whop record, from Jalil to Blaq Poet. And so this is their perfunctory dance track. But they make it more than just another generic entry in a long line by A) just having some tight production chops with a big, infectious beat and some really catchy vocodering and B) turning it into a minor posse cut. You've got Vandy and his partner Bill Blast, plus fun guest verses by none other than the original Doctor Ice (I think I may've mentioned already him already?) - he brings all of his charisma and a sense of fun to the table, even kicking a little chorus of Dr. Pepper commercial.  And lastly T-Funk, who's got a funky deep voice - Vandy C went on to produce his record the following year.

Vandy C was a dope producer, and I can safely recommend pretty much every hip-hop record he laid his hands on (with the possible exception of The Don); and this, their first outing, is definitely right up there. It's a fun, old school party record, but considerably more street than you'd expect... and that's definitely a good thing.

For Serious Curiosity Seekers Only...

"Whatever You Need" is an interesting, lesser known second single off of Doc Ice & R.O.S.'s Rely On Selph album. The first was "All Night Long," which he put out by himself, independently, and then again through Ichiban Records, who signed Doc Ice along with a grip of other old school artists (including Kool Moe Dee, MC Madness, Kwamé, Fearless Four...) in 1994, giving them all brief, low budget comebacks. I say "brief" because Ichiban only allotted them one album apiece before giving up on the whole venture. So, Doc Ice pretty much only had the one album and the one single in this phase of his career. But a small run of this unpromoted second 12" squeaked out the gate right at the last minute.

A lot of people dismiss most or all of the music that came out of this wave, and I can't say I blame them. Budgets were low, time was short, and it yielded almost uniformly lower shelf material from all of the artists involved. If you go to a Fearless Four show, everybody wants to hear them perform "Rockin' It," not "Getcha Thang On." But, on the other hand, a lot of interesting artists were involved, and so even when they're at or near the top of their game, I still find a lot of their material compelling. Or at the very least, interesting.

And it's certainly on this level that I appreciate it "Whatever You Need." Even though it's no "Roxanne, Roxanne" it's still a good listen in my book; and even those who'd disagree would surely have to admit it's at least interesting.

"Whatever You Need" starts out with a great, hardcore break, perhaps most recognizable X-Clan's "Heed the Word Of the Brother." You know, that incredibly aggressive, high-energy thumping bass, "thumb, thumb, thum-thum-thum-thum thump!" But Doc and his producer, Major Jam (who co-produced Whodini's "Freaks" years earlier) make the unusual choice of slowing it down and softening it up. And instead of squealing horns that railed along with Brother J's aggressive intonations, they've got subtle keyboard tones, an old school funk guitar sample and several R&B singers - male and female - softly crooning the chorus. I couldn't fault you if you didn't recognize it.

But don't be misled, it's not a love song. In fact the main verse is actually Jalil's verse from "Funky Beat!" Yes, the whole thing verbatim: "right here and now, I do declare, this to be the new funky beat of the year" etc. If you didn't know, Jalil, is Doc's brother, and he concludes with this explanation:

"Ya know him like I know him, he's my brother come to see me speedy.
You know his name, he's Jalil from Whodini!
I needed a verse to kick some phat shit to succeed.
He said, 'you need it, Doc Ice? Huh, whatever you need!'"

There's some more freestyle rhymes spread around the record, and Doc spends a lot of time in his "Dread Doc" persona, scatting ragamuffin style with the singers. It's really a pretty wacky, bugged-out song, but it manages to fly under the radar because it's been, as BBD would say, smoothed out on the R&B tip.

And the B-side is just as weird as the A-side: "I Keep Forgettin." On first glance, this one is a love song. It's actually a rather impressively produced love song - one of the best I've heard of hip-op's dubious subgenre in fact, with a tight sax sample and a genuinely touching and melancholic vibe to it, with a hook that whispers, "I keep forgetting... We're not in love anymore, but I keep coming back for more and more. I keep forgetting." And again, to most people who never bothered to scrutinize, that might be the beginning and end of the story.

But on closer inspection, there's weirder shit going on that makes this a more compelling little oddity. First of all, as unusual as it was to hear Doc Ice make the decision to recycle a verse from an old record on that last song (bear in mind, this was years before lazy artists like Common and Krs started recycling freestyle verses on their various guest appearances, so this was pretty unheard of), it's even more unusual that he's done it twice! This time, one of the verses here is taken from one of his previous love songs - the reggae one, no less - from his last album, specifically "Fever." But it actually blends in pretty well, and if you weren't familiar enough with Doc's catalog to recognize the lyrics, you'd never think anything was forced in or out of place in this sad song about a man being left by the woman he loves. ...But halfway through the song, the tone starts to shift from sad to goofy, as he sits alone in his apartment, crying himself to sleep when suddenly:

"There's a knock at the door, so who the Hell's there?
I loaded my nine so I could check. Yeah,
You know that I'm buggin' because that knock that I heard
Was my pet bird.
I got to get away like Bobby Brown - word!"

"Pet bird," what? Now, at this point, things could just be chalked up to awfully corny and just flat-out bad writing. There's a lot of that going around in the realm of hip-hop's token love songs, after all. But things get to the point where the it's clear that the silliness has to be intentional, as he starts illustrating that his drinking and heartbreak is so bad he reaches out for help, saying, "my name is Doc and I'm an alcoholic" and a roomful of people cheerfully rejoin, "HI, DOC!" But it's all oddly compelling, because it doesn't play like a joke song... the majority of it is played so straight-faced and earnest, and then it just turns defiantly irreverent. It probably takes a very rare combination of personality traits to appreciate a song like this, but for some inexplicable reason, it's right up my alley.

But that's not the half of why this 12" is so exciting! Both of those songs are right off the album, after all. And while you do also get both Instrumentals, it's two other tracks on this 12" that make this 12" essential ...if, you know, you go for this sort of thing. There are two exclusive remixes of "Whatever You Need."

The first one is just labeled as the Remix. It's got a whole new beat... another smoothed-out kind of track, with an emphasis on more keyboard riffs, sort of in the vein of JG's "Put Down the Guns," if you remember that record, or even an early 90's R&B song. Yeah, I know that doesn't sound too enticing, but it actually sounds good. There's also the addition of another guy singing off-key on the chorus, which doesn't add much; but at least manages not to get in the way of anything either. Most noteworthy, however, is an all-new verse by Doc. Lyrically it's okay, nothing amazing, but he comes off pretty nice with his flow, and shows off his personality and flow more than the original was able, what with it devoting so much time to old Whodini rhymes and raggamuffin breakdowns. Here, you can tell why Doc Ice is an established MC with a credible track record.

Finally, there's a version called the Sweet Stik Mix. It uses the same "Heed the Word" funk break as the original mix (and the funk guitar lick), but strips away the keys and R&B stuff, replacing the hook with Doc and his crew just talking shit between verses. Furthermore, it's a lyrical remix, with two more all-new verses, which I can only describe as playful, and this time it doesn't include any of the old material, like the "Funky Beat" rhyme. He also has refreshes the raggamuffin bits and ends with some extended shout-outs.

So yeah, between these two remixes, there's a lot of new, exclusive material on this 12". ...But probably for my fellow eccentric enthusiasts only.

...And One

...One and One returned in 1997 with their second single, "My Soul" on Next Plateau.  It's another quality cut with an essence that's pure, vintage 90's.  It's a little slower, more of a smooth song than the rugged, energetic "Phenomenon," which for me makes it less compelling.  But I suppose your mileage will vary there, depending on your personal tastes - if you're the type that's always seeking out those Midnight Marauders/ The Roots-type cuts, this may be more up your alley.  But, whichever side of that fence you fall on, it's still a quality, respectable song.  They flip another great sample ("Tell Me This Is a Dream" by The Delfonics), which has been jacked by a couple other artists since, but it sounds great here.

And unlike their previous single, this one makes with the remixes.  First up is the Soul Mix, which isn't bad either.  It's got some heavy bass notes and a cool, mellow vibe.  The downside is that it all sounds a little too studio-crafted... which is to say that the music all sounds like it was programmed and created with studio equipment, as opposed to rich samples (or live instrumentation, of course).  So, it's okay... sort of like the 12" single version of album filler, but for the most part, you're going to want to stick with the original.

That's followed up by The Boogie Mix, which embellishes the R&B... all the versions have a little uncredited singing on the hook; but on this mix, she croons constantly in the background, it's more pronounced on the hook.  The music is more traditionally "R&B"ish, too, with sparse piano notes and another soft keyboard loop.  The whole venture just has more of an early Video Soul groove.

Flip it over and you've got Instrumentals for the Album and Soul Mixes; and, better still, you get a B-side song called ""Didn't I."  This is a pretty cool and harder track.  It's built around another Delfonics tune, this time (obviously) "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)."  They even have a girl singing a variation of their chorus for the hook.  It's not quite as good as there other two songs, but still nice.  Unfortunately, even though the label says "Album Version," this is clearly a censored Radio Edit with reversed curses.  And this song features a lot of cursing, so it really sucks that this is the only way to hear it.

Unfortunately, this was the last One and One record; they never released a full-length, which is a big disappointment.  Interestingly, though, they did reunite in 2002 to contribute a couple of tracks to the rather odd-ball Legends of Hip-Hop compilation, released by Absolut vodka, which I reviewed this time last year.

I wonder if there's an unreleased One and One album in somebody's vaults, somewhere.  The fact that Next Plateau had them for over a year (one single in '96, another in '97) and the fact that they released a Clean Version without a Dirty Version both suggest that one probably was recorded, or was at least underway.  Something seriously needs to be done about all this great hip-hop music being locked away in vaults; it's downright criminal how much the people are missing out on!

One...

Doctor Ice has had a couple of cool careers in hip-hop: dancer for Whodini, member of UTFO, and successful solo artist signed to Jive (and later Ichiban).  But I don't think many people realize that he invented himself another time in the 90's and had another successful little hip-hop career during the "lyrical," underground, grimy  backpacker-type era.  Well, okay, maybe not successful as in huge record industry bucks.  But successful as in quality records that real heads ought to appreciate.

"Yo, kid.  let me tell you something about this business.  It's a fucked up business, you know what I'm saying?  I gotta teach you a whole lotta shit before you see what this shit is like.  It ain't nothing but some dirt, kid.  'Cause if your shit ain't phenomenal, you ain't in there.  So your shit must be phat."

That's the intro to "Phenomenon," the 1996 single by One and One on Next Plateau Records.  And One and One is Doctor Ice and his cousin, recording under the aliases Sunny Bumz and Harry Balz.  lol  I know, but try to get past the names.  See, you'd never know Doc Ice or anybody old school was remotely affiliated with this project if you didn't know going in - this is a pure 90's release, along the lines of like Black Maddness or Ill Bizkits.  It's all about rugged but clever wordplay spit over a slow boom-bap beat with seriously hard drums and under-stated samples.  Seriously, the beat's really tight.  In fact, DJ Premier later lifted it for his single "Equality" with Afu Ra; but One and One, who co-produced the track themselves with some guy(s) called Swing of Things, had it first, by about four years.   In fact, I'll go one step further and say it sounds better here.

So, Harry takes the first two verses: 

"Study long, study wrong,
You know lessons get learned in minutes.
Keep my diction - full of non-fiction,
I hate gimmicks,
executives' views on the rules
Of the game,
I'm using sense to make dollars
Real scholars bring change."

...And at first it seems like Doc's just gonna spit the hook in support of his younger cousin's street flow, but then he comes in with a sick final verse.  He comes so hard, again, you'd never thing it was an old school UTFO cat unless you recognized the voice. At the end, he even breaks into a little Brooklyn-style ragamuffin (which is actually something he's done on a few past projects).  Don't even think of it as a Doc Ice-related project, just another cool, completely overlooked "random rap" release.  Then, the fact that there's an old school legend on here is just like a little bonus.

This single just features the one mix of the one song, but it comes in the four requisite versions: Album, Radio, Instrumental and Acapella.  The one drawback is that the Acapella is actually of the Radio version, not the album version, so the curses are censored.  What's the point of that?

This is a really nice release, and like I said, it's pretty slept-on, so something you should be able to score pretty cheap.  Pretty cool, right?  But maybe now you're wondering if this is their only release, or if there's more.  Well...

Legends of Hip Hop

"LEGENDS OF HIP HOP describes a project that includes more than 35 hiphop legends from the first hour veterans to the recent stars. It includes names like Bambaataa, Melle Mel, Grandmaster Flash, Kurtis Blow, Ice-T... just to mention a few. The album was based on an idea to connect rap and hiphop greats from both the old and new skool[sic.] scene into one big project. The highlight of the album is the track 'The Fifth Element' which is performmed[sic.] by 34 hiphop legends."

That's the introduction to an album that I can't believe has somehow managed to be pretty much never written about. Legends of Hip Hop came out in 2002 on Absolut Records. Yes, like the vodka. A full-length album that features all original (well, almost... more on that later) material by such great big names in hip-hop that somehow managed to fly completely under the radar? How? Why?

Well, the album was put together by Kurtis Blow, in association with his Legends of Hip Hip old school tours. Blow co-produced all the music on this album with two guys named Informer and DJ Buck. They utilize a lot of live instrumentation, too... the liner notes credit musicians for guitars, trumpets, sax, a couple of violins and a viola. So, how is it? What exactly do we have here?

Ok, let's start with the "highlight of the album" (according to the liner notes quoted above... I actually disagree), the mega-posse cut "The Fifth Element." 34 hip-hop legends. That's pretty impressive, right? And the actual list will probably impress you more: Melle Mel, Ice-T, Flava Flav, Cheeks, Special K, Bambaataa, Run, Smooth Approach, Sha-Rock, Doc Ice, Busy Bee, Whodini, Raheem, Reggie Reg, Grandmaster Caz, DLB, LA Sunshine, Grand Puba, Pete DJ Jones, Kurtis Blow, Hollywood, Eddie Cheeba, Big Daddy Kane, Dano, Ceelo (as in Goodie Mob, yeah), Waterbed Kev, Speech, Kidd Creole, Grand Wizard Theodore, Dota Rock, Rakim & DJ Kool Herc. That's not a bunch of nobodies peppered with a few names, that's an incredible assembly of an all-star line-up!

...But, wait. The song's only four minutes long. And it's got a recurring hook, which takes up almost 50% of the song. And, half those guys are DJs, how do they rap on this track?

Well, if you guessed that everybody is given about 6-8 words to perform, you'd be right! But you didn't guess that, did you? Because that would be so ridiculously wack, you ruled it out before the thought could even fully form in your mind, right? But it's what they did. Excited to hear a Rakim feature you never heard before? Wanna read the lyrics? Well, here ya go:

"Ya owe it to yourself; get your education."

...That was it. That was the entirety of his contribution. And his was longer than a lot of the others!

So, yeah. They call it the "highlight of the album." They even include two mixes on here, the original and "Beathoavenz RMX," which liberally samples some Beethoven. I call it a big, fat "who cares?"

But the rest of the album is much more interesting. Most (plus a few other dudes) of the artists featured on that silly posse cut turn up again on this album to perform all new songs. Most are collaborations you've never seen happen before and are pretty interesting. Raheem, Grandmaster Caz and Shinehead provide a song called "Be 4," Ice-T, Chilli Mac and Rakim perform "Game of Life," Reggie Reg, Skeeta Ranks, Jalil, Ecstasy and Doc Ice do "Shake Them Hips," etc. Here we actually get to hear these artists get a chance to do something!

Just for the record, the other artists who turn up on this album are: Thug Nation, Kurupt, Harry Balz (don't know who that is? He's the other half of One and One, who we last heard from on Next Plateau Records in 1997!), The Ying Yang Twins, Steph Lova, T.O.P., GQ, and Lovebug Starski.

So, how are these songs? Well, they're varied... there's some nice lyrical performances, a variety of concepts and a good mix of styles. The production team of Blow, Informer and Buck I'm sure doesn't have you at the edge of your seat, but they're at least attempting something creatively different that's still got a traditional hip-hop vibe. It's not a great album, but guys like Ice-T, Melle, Sha-Rock, Kane, and others do drop some head-nodding verses. Flava Flav provides an amusingly bugged hook to "Old School Ball," with a faux British accent. The live instrumentation helps keep things interesting and some songs have nice cuts, too. It's a mixed bag, certainly; but a lot of this is really better than you jaded vets would expect.

To add to that mixed bag feeling, though, we have to address why Eminem and Royce da 5'9's names are on the cover. Well, "Nuttin To Do" by Bad Meets Evil is on here. Yes, the song from their '98 12" in Game Recordings. Why? I dunno. More interestingly, though, is "Bad Meets Evil - New Shrooms Mix." Yeah, Blow and team actually do their own, exclusive remix of the song from the Slim Shady LP. It's, uh... yeah, it's pretty corny.

But except for those two tracks and one other - this album also features Justine Simmons' dance tune "Praise My DJ's" featuring Run that originally dropped in 2000 - this is all new, original material, reminiscent of the noteworthy Raiders Of the Lost Art compilation released in 1994.

Now, in addition to this album, there are three related releases you should probably know about:

1) A 12" release of "The Fifth Element," which includes the original version and the Beathoavenz Remix version that's featured on this disc, as well as four more remixes (specifically: Sleepwalker Remix, Efe & Leeroy Remix, Nasty Remix and the Double Remix). Interesting, but I never picked this up, because frankly changing the beat wouldn't fix what's wrong with this song.

2) Another, completely unrelated hip-hop compilation called Legends of Hip Hop, which is just a generic collection of songs by 2 Live Crew, Ice-T and The World Class Wreckin' Crew on a label called Blue Dolphin. They're entirely unrelated save for the coincidentally matching title, so you can go ahead and disregard it... just be careful if you're ordering online that you know which one you're getting.

3) A 2-disc version that was released in Europe. Disc 1 is essentially the same as the US version, except it's missing the Bad Meets Evil remix, and instead features the Sleepwalker Remix of "Fifth Element" (from the 12" above). The second disc is then just another generic compilation of pre-existing hip-hop songs, this time basically a greatest hits of rap, featuring stuff like "Express Yourself" by NWA and "Summertime" by DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince. Personally, I'd stick with the single-disc US version, since it has the exclusive Bad Meets Evil remix, and if you really want the "Fifth Element," remix you could get the 12".

So, yeah. It's not a great album, but it has some worthwhile material. And with all the talent involved, it deserves at least to be talked about.

The Chillologist pt. 3

The best for last. Especially if you have the LP since, while all of the Doctor Ice 12"'s had some original content, this is 100% new stuff... The first track is a remix of one of the best album tracks, "Word To the Wise." This "Funk Swing Remix" by Full Force (who actually produced every album track and all the 12" remixes for all of Doctor Ice's 12"'s on Jive), might not be as appealing to the die-hardcore crowd (hey, it's not every day I make up a bad pun!), as it adds keyboards and a general new jack swing kinda feel to the track (though not quite as pop as, say, a Teddy Riley mix might be). But it's still pretty fresh and adds some new elements, including an introduction by Kool DJ Red Alert[1] and a new breakdown. The rhymes are some fun freestyle lyrics ("'Cause I was born without ya, and I'ma die without ya. If you step off, I won't cry about ya"), with the third verse going into some storytelling "Lick the Balls"-type territory:

"I was known to act the fool
With a friend I thought was real cool.
We started rhyming 'cause that was my thang.
See, me and homie was kool and the gang.
But he did things I did not know...
Like kick MY rhymes... at his show.
What should I do - confront him or chill?
Put the lead in his grill? That's kinda ill...
Though the rhymes I write are invincible,
But it's not the raps, it's the principle
Of biting the Doctor's style?
...I hope he's not his mother's only child."
 
The second track is the most skippable, the "Dreadlock Remix" of his token reggae joint (remember when rappers had token reggae joints on their records?) "Feelin' Irie," performed as his alias, Dread Doc. Still, Doctor Ice was better at it than many - probably falling somewhere above Special Ed and below Heavy D - so "Feelin' Irie" was definitely a passable album track... The instrumental to this version goes for a bit more of a traditional reggae vibe, and a little less hip-hop. Decent, and a good thing for us Doctor Ice fans starved for more material, but pretty forgettable to most, I'm sure.
The b-side, though, is the real gem. A brand new track featuring Red Alert again, "Make You Feel Alright" is a showcase of classic old school samples over a simple drum break and bassline and a scratched chorus. At one point, the track cuts back to nothing but handclaps as Doc Ice rips it "New Rap Language style." Then the propmaster drops his signature, "yeeeaaaaahhhhhh" and the beat kicks back in as Doc continues to rap:

"You see the time is overdue, for me to kick to you
Wisdom... and my point of view.
It goes word for word; every eye's open.
If I was a crackhead, knowledge I'd be smokin'.
But I've the knowledge, and I'm the teacher of everyone else.
If they had Knowledge Across America, I'd stand by myself!
Doctor Ice, yo, don't mistake me. (Wha-wha-why is that?)
Because there's a lot of malpractice in the industry.
But I'm the funky MD; you've seen the hearthrob,
That's reason enough why I'm fit for the job.
And if you're not impressed by the gift that I shoot,
Sucka.... file a lawsuit."

Of course, DJ Red Alert's still on the air, but just for the sake of completeness, here's his website: http://www.kooldjredalert.com/ and his myspace page. Full Force are staying busy in the industry, too, writing and producing for a lot of acts, including Britney Spears and all kinds of crap you'd probably be better off not knowing about and just sticking with your memories. But, anyway, you can catch up with them on their site at: http://forcefulworld.com/, and their myspace page... be sure and check out the video they've got up of "Ain't My Type of Hype" with an animated E-Crof - The Force says, "Word!"


[1] Doc Ice was a Red Alert favorite back then; he'd spin "Nobody Move" on his show all the time... in fact, I think it wound up on one of Red Alert's Next Plateau albums.

The Chillologist pt. 2

"What, baby?
What is a love jones?
Come on, girl,
That's when you love someone
Very, very much,
And you just can't seem to get yourself together..."

If you were watching the rap video shows in the late 80's, you saw this one many, many times. "Love Jones" is the second single off of The Mic Stalker. I'm not going to try to make a case for this song, you either like this rap love song with spoken word (and non-rhyming) lyrics and a lot of R&B on it, or you'll want to stay a mile away from it. This was one of the better ones, though; for sure. An update of Johnny "Guitar" Watson's classic, of course, from his Gangster of Love album; the '89 "Love Jones" features Cheryl "Pepsii" (spelled with two i's to avoid any lawsuits) Riley, who was also a member of the Full Force Family[1], and the Force themselves.

Besides being able to add personality to battle raps, Doctor Ice has a knack for being earnest in his love songs, being able to embrace the inherently kitschy aspects of the song with a subtle sense of humor, showing enough intelligence to put this type of song across without trying to seem to smart for the material (a la the recent strain of "nerdcore" comedy raps). So you can smile at his delivery of lines like, "if you can trust anyone, you can trust... the Doc" without it feeling like a hacky joke. And that humor makes, then, makes the cheesier love rap stuff a lot easier to swallow:

"You see, girl,
I not only want you,
But I need you.
And that need is so strong,
It's almost like that of a basshead."

The single opens with an extended version, then the generic single edit. The flip side offers the ridiculous "Trust Me, I'm a Doctor Mix," which, after a whispered introduction...

"Hey, baby. Where you goin'? Nah, I'm not done yet... Now you know you've been givin' my cat to some other dog. That's alright; I'm here now. And after I'm done with you tonight, you won't want nobody else. Trust me... I'm a doctor."

...is the same as the album version. But about halfway through, it turns into a crazy clowning session with his crew, Hospital Hell[2], literally screaming, howlingand crying in the background. Very silly. Finally, there's the "instrumental," which really juststrips off Doctor Ice's vocals, and so acts as a well deserved showcase for the vocal stylings of Full Force and Riley, since their talents were definitely a key element in raising this above most songs of its type from the era.

Now, that's where my 12" stops; but there's a second pressing, which is otherwise identical, but also features the hot album track, "Bass Up - Bass Down." So if you haven't got the LP (and why, may I ask, not?), you may want to hold out for this version.

I already linked Doc Ice's myspace in my last update, but he's not the only "Love Jones" alumni still in the game and kickin'. Cheryl Riley's got her own cherylpepsiiriley.com, and for the sake of consistency, here's her myspace page. She's got a comeback album she put out on 2005, which you can still order off her site.


[1] Besides being the pop R&B group we all knew and loved for singles like "Unselfish Lover" and "Ain't My Type of Hype," Full Force produced a lot of other successful artists in the 80s, including Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam and Samantha Fox. UTFO was put together as their rap group... in fact, UTFO stands for UnTouchable Force Organization. They also chased Kid & Play around in the House Party movies.

[2] Hospital Hell = Juice and Wiz (the sick patients), Tammy Coleman (the nurse), Frankie D. (the surgeon) and Fly Tyrone (body guard). When Doc Ice came back on Ichiban in '94, Juice and Wiz stuck around as his R.O.S. (Rely on Selph) crew, along with a guy named Kay Kay. There ya go - bet you didn't know all that before.

The Chillologist pt. 1

"Sue Me!" is the first of Doctor Ice's 12"'s off his debut solo album, The Mic Stalker. This single, like the album, is a hip-hop classic, pick it up and you will definitely not be disappointed. Both songs (produced by Full Force) are fast paced, with bangin' drums and the kind of James Brown samples that made so many fall in love with hip-hop in the 80's. The extended version adds a fresh 20-second breakdown in the middle of the song, which makes it the definitive version. With the production featured here, this record would be worth picking up with pretty much nay generic, no-frills MC on it. But the fact that it features Doctor Ice, at the height of his rap delivery game and with his distinctive personality (he, Slick Rick and Chubb Rock have to be pretty much the greatest MCs of all time in terms of sneaking a likable charm into freestyle/battle rhymes) elevates it to an all-time great status:

"Suckers should be seen and not heard; that means you.
I'm not stutterin' - speak when ya spoken to.
And never ever ever diss a man you never met before;
Because a family of five is now a family of four!
...
'Cause I'm a fugitive like Robin Hood, I want wealth;
But if I steal from the rich, I'm goin' for self!
Love but don't fear me; you heard what I said.
You tellin' me to go to Hell? That's like a trip to Club Med.
I'll make you wish you never knew me...
Like it, lump it, or SUE ME!"

The b-side features "Sued! (Take Me To Court Mix)", with a totally broken down instrumental and a new verse at the start:

"I prepared my gear; this'll be my year
To give the people who come to party a reason to cheer.
I ain't sayin' I'm back (Tell 'em, Doc),
Because I never left, so get it right and exact.
You know, a few of you knew what Doc could do,
(I'm going) solo now, so don't act new (Boy!).
'Cause I'm new and improved, once again I'm born;
For those that are getting fed up (huh!) hold on!
And teach the newcomers somethin'."

You also get the original version's instrumental, and the great album track "Word Up Doc!" You know you can't go wrong when both song's titles end in exclamation points.

And before you ask, yes! Doctor Ice does have a myspace page with a new comeback song on it. It's pretty good, though the instrumental is... well, let's be kind and call it "familiar." He's also got the "Where Are They Now?" remix he's featured on up there.

P.s. - I've got the sticker cover, as you can see... But there's also a very cool picture cover release of this 12", which uses that photo of the Doc standing between two guys in jean jackets with "Dance With the Doctor" spray-painted on the backs. You can see it on his myspace page.