Dirty Jersey Week, Day 5: Redman Going Solo

Here's a really interesting record: Redman's "It's Like That (My Big Brother)."  What's so interesting about it?  Well, let's work our way up.  One thing that's interesting is that it's pretty typical for a major single to have a promo version and a nice picture cover version.  But the promo doesn't usually have its own, unique picture cover.  Red definitely can't complain that Def Jam was fronting on the marketing budget for his upcoming third album; this is down-right excessive.  But, hey, it's cool for DJs and collectors to have something more than just a black and white no frills label in a plain sleeve.

The next reason is that it marks the comeback of K-Solo.  He'd basically disappeared when his deal with Atlantic wrapped up in '92.  Plus, when EPMD split, he seemed to side with PMD's less successful Hit Squad than Sermon's powerhouse Def Squad.  Not that he made any appearances on Hit Squad projects either.  But now he was coming back on the most anticipated release from any of these guys, and it was on the Def Squad side, not Hit Squad.  The beat for this is co-produced by Erick Sermon and Redman (though it's basically just a slight tweak of Mantronix's classic "Cold Gettin' Dumb" for Just-Ice with a little "Top Billin'" laid over the top).  Did this also mean the Def/ Hit Squad split was healed?  Had everyone gotten back together and was an EPMD reunion next on the way?  Fans were understandably excited; and yeah, next year EPMD was Back In Business.  But K-Solo's career got left in a closet somewhere.  All he got out of it was a guess appearance on Stezo's indie 12"; and that guy was more on the outs that Solo.

So anyway, you already know the song on the Muddy Waters album is called "That's How It Is (My Big Brother)."  Redman and K-Solo trade verses back and forth over "Cold Gettin' Dumb."  But on the promo 12", the song has an alternate title: "That's How It Is (It's Like That)", and one of the versions on there, besides Instrumental and Acappella, is "(My Big Brother) - Radio Edit" (the Dirty version's on there, too).  So, that begs the question, what is "That's How It Is (It's Like That) - Radio Edit," a completely separate track without the "(My Big Brother)" part?

Let's look at the retail version.  Here, we get entire different sets of song credits for "It's Like That (My Big Brother)" and "That's How It Is (It's Like That)," even though they have identical writing, production, mixing, mastering, publishing and sample clearance credits.  There's just one difference.  Only "It's Like That (My Big Brother)" also credits additional vocals to K-Solo.  Yes, both 12"s have the duet you're all familiar with from the album and music video on them.  But they also have an alternate version with the same beat, but minus K-Solo.  Redman's verses are all the same, but since removing K-Solo would make the song about 90 seconds, he also has all new, additional verses at the end.  The song also has a different hook and is missing the "Reggie Noble's stinking ass" intro.

I'd love to know the story here!  Did Redman record the song solo, and then K-Solo came around last-minute, so they re-edited it to cut him in?  Or did they record the duet and then remake it without him?  Was this the result of the tumultuous Hit Squad/ Def Squad drama still bubbling, or maybe Redman just wanted a solo version so he could tour with the song when Solo wasn't around?  Which version came first?

Anyway, I've always been a K-Solo fan, so I like him being on there.  I mean, his return was what made the song so exciting in the first place, and the two of them going back and forth with their distinct voices gives the song more energy.  If the song's not a duet, it's a little too much like just an unnecessary "Cold Gettin' Dumb" rehash.  But on the other hand, any Redman fan is going to also want the solo version with twice as many bars of him going crazy like, "I go down to White Castle to get a bitch who's on the dick for the whip. The lyricist is shit; I explode at full blitz to put Time Warner on the fritz."

Both 12"s have exactly the same track-listing, which is unfortunate because, while they come fully loaded with the instrumental and radio edits of both versions, they only include the Dirty and Acappella versions of the K-Solo song.  And yeah, I like that one better; but it means we don't have an uncensored version of the Redman solo song; and as you just read, he definitely throws in some words that they had to cut out.  Still, either 12" is a big step up from only having the album and the one, famous version of the song.

The Return Of the Return of K-Solo

Over the summer, we looked at K-Solo's indie comeback record from 1998, City of Shaft. Well, in 2004, K-Solo came back to make another go of it with this 12", "Wolf Tickets." He came out on Waste Management Records, which was his own label. They had a website all the way up 'till '07-'08 and he still reps Waste Management on his myspace, but so far this has been their only release.

I held off on picking this one up at first, because I heard a couple lackluster reviews; but actually it's pretty dope. The A-side, "Wolf Tickets," definitely wins this round. The beat is subtle but strong, with a killer rolling bassline. It kinda reminds me of a slower version of "Excalibur," but the lyrics remind me more of "System." That's probably because he recycles a whole verse from that song (the first verse of "Wolf Tickets" = the last verse of "System"). Yeah, it's kinda lame; but at least he chose the best verse, and the other two verses on this track are new.

There's no production credits on here, so I can't say who did what, but somebody did good. The hook is real simple, just a K-Solo repeating a couple lines between verses. The instrumental doesn't change up either; it's just all about Solo spitting over a hard track - like it should be.

The B-side isn't quite as strong, but it's ok. It's got a solid drum track, but otherwise relies on kind of a generic "gangsta rap studio sound" looped sample, and features a chanted hook, like a throwback to the early 90's. It seems to be a posse cut, but it's hard to tell, 'cause no one says their names, and they all sorta sound like Solo. But, no... it's definitely only him on verse four, so the other tracks must be some other dudes. And he outshines 'em all. I guess they're his Waste Management weed carriers crew? So, as a whole it's a little underwhelming; but you can't really complain about a rugged posse cut where each MC is just coming as hard as they can over a simple beat. Nothing exceptional, but it gets a respectable pass.

Both tracks come in Main, Edit and Inst. versions. For years, K-Solo said in interviews that he was coming with a full-length called There'll Be Hell To Pay, but it never materialized. Of course, since he's still repping Waste Management, maybe it's still coming. He also signed a couple other artists, including Canibus (which is why Solo appears on two of Canibus's later albums), but Can kept coming out on other labels during that time. So I guess maybe Waste Management Records has been acting more as a management company since this record? Anyway, both of his indie comebacks have been hot... so here's hoping there'll be a third.

The Lost City of K-Solo

Four years after his last album, K-Solo had fans amped for a comeback after an ill guest verse on former comrade Redman's Muddy Waters album. He followed that up with a verse on one of Stezo's indie singles the next year and finally, in 1998, he came out with his own independent release. It was a two-song 12" titled City of Shaft, that came out in two different pressings (but more on that later).

Now, on first glance, you might be put off by his producers... Golden Child and Figure 4 Music? You would've thought PMD was a given (unless he was able to land a big-shot beat from someone like Pete Rock or Large Professor); but who the heck are these guys? But don't worry about it, because they manage to lay down to perfectly rugged, bumping tracks with wailing horns and relentless basslines that really exceed any of the predictable funk-sampled tunes P or even E would've thrown his way.

Solo kicks nothing but hardcore battle rhymes and lays down his law:

"My era dates back when Harlem was all black,
And the Apollo was packed with folks who knew how to act.
There was one man to fight on, back then,
Before you threw your fists in the air we'd all scream 'right on!'
Shaft was happening back then;
The legacy of all that is mine. I'm back again!"

...and the music's more gruff and street than anything on his albums for Atlantic. It's a perfect example of underground, indie 12" scene that ruled the 90's for everyone who was in the know.

Now, the other pressing (not shown) seems to be a bit more sought after - at least, it usually goes for more loot - possibly because it came first (though I'm not sure... I believe Solo put them both out himself the same year). It certainly has a prettier label with genuinely useful track information and production credits. But I went with this one because it has an additional mix for each of the songs, not featured on the green labeled 12". For "Excalibur," it has a radio edit, which I could really give a fuck about, but the B-side, "System," features an acapella, which is pretty sweet. So the white label's the version I'd recommend... plus this way you'll save a few bucks. ;)