The Cenobites' Final Unreleased Joints?

Remember when Godfather Don was swarming the limited marketed, with hot releases on One Leg Up, DWG and No Sleep? There was his solo stuff, and there was a sick Cenobites EP on OLU. We were loving it, but then the well seemed to run dry. A lot of heads assumed that we'd just thoroughly cleaned out his vaults; there just wasn't anymore. But us super(nerd)fans who followed all the mixtapes, radio recordings and Napster mp3s knew there were still a couple more Cenobites tracks left unheard.  What was the deal with them? Maybe the masters were lost, and those terrible sounding rips were the best we would ever get. But a brand new record from Chopped Herring called Pull the Trigger and Step disproves that notion - they've got "Kool Keith & Godfather Don's final, unreleased joints from the mid 90's Fondle 'Em Records sessions!"

And yes, songs we've known about and heard are finally presented on here. Even better, completely vintage but new to our ears songs have been found and presented here! The only strange thing is that they say "final, unreleased joints," but just like we knew and I wrote in 2008, we know there's still a couple more still unreleased. Maybe those masters really are lost? But, regardless, this is an awesome and welcome release, so let's dig in and break it down track by track:

1. Cold Peein On Em (Remix) - Yeah! "Cold Peein On Em" is the song I've probably seen requested online the most that never turned up. And here it is, sounding great. But... it's a remix? So, there's one still unreleased track right there - where's the original mix? I mean, actually this version sounds like the one that people have heard. It's got the same killer horn sample on the hook, same lyrics, same funky track. I guess we've never heard the original version? So, that's good because that means people are getting the version they want here, and we've never heard it in full quality on vinyl before.

2. Hot Crib Promo Pt 2 w/ Cage - "Pt 1" was on the Demented Thoughts EP, and like that one, this is another radio freestyle that was previously featured on Cage's self-released For Your Box tape and CD. This its debut on vinyl, though, and it sounds notably better here. I guess they got a better source from Don, so I'm happy to have it here.

3. Pull the Trigger and Step - Whoa! What is this? I've never heard of this one! Like I said, this EP introduces us to new unheard material, and this is one of the best Cenobites tracks across all their records! No wonder why CH made it the title track.

4. Lazy Woman - Finally. This is a dope little song about the perils of attaching yourself to someone who'll just use you for your money that's been floating around for years and years. Now we're finally getting it on vinyl in high quality.

5. Break Em Down - This is another we've been waiting for. This is a really funky track from Don, and Keith comes kinda smooth on this one, though with his trademark craziness, too, of course: "I get a piece of your neck just like a haircut. Deep in that booty, I'm rubbin' alcohol. Okay. MCs wanna play play, soundin' like they're gay gay, I tap 'em all on their shoulder and say yo, hey hey. No snappin' necks. Piss and shit on the floor. Yo, give me your address, I'm comin' over... right now."

6. Your Time Is Now - This one's been floating around as a Kool Keith demo entitled "Suckas Be Gone," because Don doesn't rap on here. But he made the track and it sounds very much in keeping with the other Cenobites tracks here, which is a compliment 'cause the Cenobites sound is great.

And by the way, unlike the Demented Thoughts EP, this EP heavily features Keith. This isn't another one that's practically a Don solo EP with a token appearance by Keith. Both of them are on almost every track.

So what's still MIA? Maybe not a ton (that we know of), but there's some stuff for sure. Well, again, that mysterious O.G. version of "Cold Peein On Em" of course. There's one called "You Lose," which is more just an interlude than a full song, but it's got an original instrumental and all... it's not a skit. And most importantly of all is "We Can Do This," a wild posse cut with Ultramagnetic's TR Love and Mike L from some of Don's early 90s records. I love the flute sample on that one, combined with the frenetic beat. Plus, there's the extended version of "MCs Out To Murder the World" (which is double the length of the original) and "Stretch and Bob Buggin Out" freestyle joint that One Leg Up only put out as mp3s on ITunes. I think there's just enough for a solid Volume 2 here, that would be worth the purchase. So hopefully that word "final" isn't too etched in stone.

But again, let's focus on what we have got. I'm impressed with the sound quality here. There's always been a low-fi feel to The Cenobites' recordings, but it's nice and crisp, even if it doesn't have the lush sound of a glossy U2 album recorded in a billion dollar studio. It's certainly a huge upgrade from the old cassette dubs I've had all these years, or what's still kicking around Youtube. As you can see, it comes in a sticker cover. And Chopped Herring have bumped up their limited run a little bit, pressing 400 copies of this: 75 on clear (clear), black & green mixed colored vinyl, 75 on white(white), green and blue mixed colored vinyl, and the remaining 250 on your standard black. It's a great day for fans.

Three New 45s

(Youtube version is here.)

WARNING: UNAUTHORIZED ULTRAMAGNETIC BOOTLEG RELEASES

In 1994, Tuff City released The Basement Tapes 1984-1990 by The Ultramagnetic MC's (which Ced Gee refers to as volume 1 on the CD), a pretty self-explanatory compilation of some dope unreleased material. And in 1996, they released they released a second volume, New York What Is Funky. It was then that Kool Keith felt compelled to speak out, issuing a statement on the label of his Big Willie Smith 12" "Prepare" on his own Funky Ass Records. In fact, he did it twice, following up the message with a similar one on his "Don't Crush It" single (from Sex Style).

"WARNING: DO NOT BUY ANY ULTRAMAGNETIC RELEASES ON TUFF CITY RECORDS THEY ARE UNAUTHORIZED BOOTLEGS." And, yes, those are some interesting labels.

Tuff City kept on anyway, releasing albums until 1998, totaling four (and a fifth announced, but it was just a live album, so it would've been nice, but probably not such a great loss). Now, I mentioned "On the CD" above, because the CD version of each album is different than the vinyl versions. Sometimes the sequencing is different, but the key difference is that each CD has at least two bonus tracks not included on the LP. Here's a proper breakdown of those:

*The Basement Tapes 1984-1990: "Ced-G, Tim Dog (Lab Free Style)" and "Ya Not That Large"

*New York What Is Funky: "Tim Dog Live On Capital Radio" and "I Like Your Style" (an alternate mix of the song that was featured on Funk Your Head Up)

*Mo Love's Basement Tapes: "Kool Keith Wild," "Wack MC's," "Freestyle" and "D To the N"

*Smack My Bitch Up: "Nervous" and "Talkin' Out Your Ass (Remix)" (the original of which was on Mo Love's Basement Tapes)

There were also two 12" singles on Tuff City with songs from these releases, one of which included the otherwise CD-only bonus track, "Ya Not That Large." (Remember, you can get the full track-listings for both 12"s and both versions of each album on my UltraMagnetic discography page).

Another key difference is that the first two volumes featured intermittent narration by Ced Gee, telling you (briefly) the history of some of the songs. If you're a vinyl purist, but want to get a sense of what that was like, check out that aforementioned "I'm Fuckin' Flippin'" 12" with "Ya Not That Large On" on the B-side... they include Ced's explanation narration for that song there, where he explains why the song cuts out in the middle (because the engineer was "gettin' weeded").

And the last difference is that, on the back cover of the 1998 Smack By Bitch Up CD (it's not anywhere on the LP), Tuff City finally responded to Keith's label shots with one of their own:
"Don't Believe the Gripe: Kool Keith Cashes Tuff City Checks." From what I recall, there was never any question that they might actually be straight up bootlegs, but that Ced Gee perhaps sold the material to Tuff City without including the other members. Davey D paraphrased a radio interview, where Keith explained, "producer Ced Gee had fallen onto some hard times [he's hooked on crack] and had done some very hurtful things to the group in an attempt to satisfy his habit. One of the things he did was sell the groups old studio out takes and practice songs to Tuff City Records. Tim Dog explained that the label owner Aaron Fuchs then put out a 'fake' Ultramagnetic MCs album. Not only was he issuing old studio out takes as songs, but he also scanned some pictures and with the aid of adobe photoshop had created an album cover which depicted the group alongside a guy they didn't even know. Kool Keith explained he had no idea when the photos were taken... and what's ironic the 'unknown' member of the group was just as shocked as Kool Keith to see himself on the cover. Entitled 'New York What Is Funky'.. Tim Dog explained as he shook his head that the lp with it's sub par recording made the group look bad and it's sad that folks will go so far to make a buck..."

I believe Kool Keith has since recanted the "crack" comment. Certainly, Tim Dog told Vinyl Addicts that, "to my knowledge Ced Gee was never on crack. But I once made a reference to the way he sold the music to Aaron Fuchs like a crack head. Basically a crack head would sell your moms TV which costs 500 euro and sell it for 50 because they’re desperate. So I made that reference to Ced Gee," which I think explains that rumor away.

But it's worth noting that while Tuff City responded that Keith had indeed gotten paid, they didn't say that 'till 1998 (remember, Keith called them out in 1996), so it's possible they only finally squared it away with Keith and them after two years. Anyway, TR Love gave a less sensationalistic account of what happened years later in an interview with Unkut, which I'm inclined to believe is a little more accurate, "Actually, those tapes had gotten stolen and got in to the wrong hands, and when Ced found out he immediately thought he needed to get it out there, so he started doing The Basement Tapes. There was rumour goin’ around that Ced was on drugs, this, that and the third, that’s why he was sellin’ the tapes – but it wasn’t that. It was just the fact that we wanted to get those songs out, but we were gonna do something like a compilation of our greatest hits, but when the first couple of songs started leaking, everything just snowballed. So we just let it go. Aaron Fuchs was just a lucky person to buy into the situation and be able to do what he had to do to produce it."

At any rate, if you've allowed Keith's remarks to make you write off and dismiss these albums, you've really missed something here - there's a lot of nice material on all of these. Granted, the sound quality was varied, and one song ("Smack My Bitch Up" which was also made the title of one of the compilations) was doubled up and included on two volumes - did they think heads were really that excited that some punk/dance band sampled that same "Give the Drummer Some" phrase that it would be some kind of goldmine? Oh well. There's still a crapload of great material here, from a sick demo track to radio promos to a superior alternate O.G. version of "Message From the Boss" from their second album. Some songs are better than others and you could nitpick all day, but there albums blow anything the group put out themselves at the time.

But even across all these volumes, this doesn't encompass all the ill, unreleased UltraMagnetic tracks... Unkut has posted some smoking hot radio rips of alternate mixes of "MC Champion" and "Message From the Boss" (different than the one I mentioned from Mo Love's Basement Tapes) that I'd love to hear cleaned up and properly released. Kool Keith's own website also lists some unreleased UltraMagnetic songs on his discography page, but you can't tell from the titles if these are vintage songs or stuff from one of their many reunions in the 2000's. I know it's been over ten years since their last volume, but maybe we could convince Tuff City to take one more look into their vaults for a fifth Basement Tapes album? And if there's not enough material for a full album, I think we'd be exceedingly happy with a 12" of the remaining songs.

Rarely Demented

It's shipped and I just got mine today: The Cenobites' Demented Thoughts EP! It's a limited (200 copies) of unreleased material from the classic pairing of Godfather Don and Kool Keith from 1993-1996. The masters for six long lost Cenobite recordings were recently discovered by Bobbito and have now been pressed up on this real nice vinyl release. Only one of the tracks, "Hot Crib Promo" featuring Cage, has ever seen any kind of release before: an off-the-air radio recording on Cage's For Your Box cassette compilation... But, while that version features a little extra music at the beginning (a Clockwork Orange soundtrack interlude, probably not from that same session, but just mixed in for the tape); it ends before Don's awesome verse! So this is clearly the definitive version.

Interestingly, this is almost more of a Godfather Don solo release... Kool Keith is only really featured on one track (a really ill verse he kicks on the last song, "Slaves"), and of course Don produced all the tracks as well. Otherwise, it's just all Don, with guest verses by Bobbito and the aforementioned Cage collabo. And you know what's wrong with a vintage Don solo release - nothing!

Now, this still leaves some Cenobites material unreleased... even with the rerelease of the original EP including two extra tracks, and the third release featuring even another. All those and this EP add up to 16 songs, and there's definitely other radio recordings floating around out there. So hopefully somebody can dig up the masters for those as well. But for now I'm happy, 'cause this EP is dope!

Now, I believe most of the copies have already been pre-sold, but UGHH supposedly has the last ten available, so if you're interested, be quick. 8-)

Tags: Cenobites, Godfather Don, Kool Kieth, Bobbito