As If MC Shan Wasn't Hip-Hop Enough...

It's been a while, I think it's time we come back to another one of those subtle, but slightly improved Marley Marl 12" remixes. You know, not the kind of thing where a song's given a whole new instrumental, but just where all the same elements are tweaked and arranged slightly differently, and wind up making the version on the 12" single sound just a little iller than the album version. This was becoming a regular Marley M.O. with examples like "Ain't No Half Steppin'," "Arrest the President" and "Juice Crew Law."   This is MC Shan's "I Pioneered This" from 1988.

Like "Juice Crew Law," this is another single off Shan's second album, Born To Be Wild. But unlike "Juice Crew Law," this isn't a case where you have a main, commercial single without a remix, and then a second, promo version with it. In this case the remix is right there on the main, picture covered 12" single. It starts off with the regular Vocal version, which is the same as what's on the album. And there's a Dub and A Cappella mix on the B-side. But the stand-out track on this single is the one marked Hip Hop Vocal. Now, the vocals are the same on both versions... I guess they just mean to say this is the vocal version of the Hip-Hop Mix. And even the beat is kinda the same. A casual listener who didn't hear both versions back to back might not even realize he'd heard to different versions of the same song. But when you pay attention, the differences might be subtle, but they're still substantial.

One of the reasons it can be hard to catch, too, is that on the original version, the beat isn't constantly doing the same thing. It's not one simple loop repeated from the beginning to the end of the song, it's shifting and going through variations. So at any point when you're listening to the remix, it's easy to think "oh, I'm just not listening to that part of the song right now." But the remix is definitely different. I'd describe it as more "broken down," more fucked with than the original, which often lets the bassline repeat a full refrain.

Here, we never hear more than half at best, it's more choppy. Like a lot of these remixes, it's like Marley just went back in and played with it some more, making it more original and "hip-hop sounding." Hence the name of the mix, I suppose. I could see a lot of fans, especially more mainstream audiences, actually preferring the original because it stays truer to the original sample, sounding a little more "musical." The remix also changes, well, the mix (i.e. the traditional definition of a remix), so the drums and horn stabs are a little harsher, adding to the harder feel of this remix, which is a definite plus in my book.

"I Pioneered This" is a pretty cool song either way, though. It's kind of the sweet spot between Shan's more awkward, younger records (the extreme example being "Feed the World") and his more out-there, genre switching stuff when he stopped working with Marley. This is MC Shan in full Juice Crew soldier mode, that ideal end of the 80s era.

It's pretty 80s lyrically, too, with him declaring, "Puma's the brand cause the klan makes Troops" and "I transform just like a Decepti-gone." Yeah, that spelling's right, that's how he pronounces it. I don't think he was being clever, there; I think he just wasn't that into Transformers.  ha ha  Plus, he says "write a will for your family's conveniency. Rappers I serve without mercy or leniency," which is one of my favorite contrived hip-hop rhymes of all time. Conveniency!

But seriously, Shan sounds great over a hard but smooth Marley Marl production. The main sample is the same one Big Daddy Kane would later use for his killer remix of "Uncut Pure." It's great, especially the Hip Hop Mix. And because it's right there on the main, commercial 12", it's not rare or expensive to get a copy, like some of those others are. Crate staple.

Cold Chillin' Terminators, part 2 - Toasting With MC Shan

So yesterday we looked at a couple Terminators from the very beginning of Cold Chillin'. Now today let's look at a Terminata from the last days, 1994. Not counting represses and those Traffic reissues, Cold Chillin' stopped putting out music in 1996, ending with singles by their last few hanger-onners, Big Scoob and Shanté. But 1994 was kind of the last year they had a broad roster, signed new artists and still generally seemed interesting in putting out a variety of artists like a legit label. All their big Juice Crew artists had moved on, but '94 was still the year of The Genius, King Sun and Madame Starr. Essentially, it was the last year they were trying new things. And that included the first and last single by Terminata, "Get Bizi."

So most people probably have no idea who he is by this point, however Terminata wasn't a complete nobody, and in fact had worked with Cold Chillin' before. You might remember a short lived subsidiary Cold Chillin' started in 1992 (and ended in 1993) called Livin' Large Records. And one of the artists they signed to that imprint was YZ, making his post-Tuff City comeback. He'd changed his style drastically, but it was actually a really hot album. Instead of the smooth, calm flow over the more melodic Tony D production, he came back rough and ragga over some really phat, hardcore instrumentals. And the first big single off that comeback album was the song about his comeback, 1992's "The Return Of the Holy One." And if you look at the credits on that 12", the Fonta Leaf Splif Mix says it's featuring Terminator. In fact, he can be heard on the Original Flavor/ album version, too. And yep, that Terminator is the "Get Bizi" Terminata.

So, if you remember "The Return Of the Holy One," you might be saying to yourself: I thought YZ was the only guy rapping on that track. And you'd be right, and he's also the guy saying, "it's the return of the holy one, return of the holy one" over and over on the hook. But the guy doing the rugged ragga chatting in the background? That's Terminata.

And so yes, "Get Bizi" is more of a reggae record than a rappity-rap one. But it's definitely meant to fit into that mid-90s hip-hop/reggae blend that was going on. He even got an American rapper, and Juice Crew All Star, to produce and write the music for him: MC Shan. Shan had also put a couple singles out on that Livin' Large imprint - good ones, too - and was surely feeling confident making a reggae record after he turned "Informer" into one of the highest charting reggae hits since Bob Marley in 1992.

But "Get Bizi" was never going to be a big hit, and not just because Terminata wasn't as white as Snow. It's basically just really simple and repetitive. It's got a funky, old school reggae bassline and Terminata's voice sounds great once the the NY hip-hop drums kick in. But musically it's very understated and when you try to get into it, there's actually very little to the song. He has some short verses, but the hook is like 75% of the songs, where he just keeps saying "_____ get bizi 'pon the flex." It doesn't help that his verses are mixed pretty low, but I really think this was meant more as to be just a quick something for DJs rather than a song to blow up. Like a modern day "Shake It To the 61st," where they expect a DJ to just sample the line that applies to them, so like a New York DJ would cut up "New York posse get busy," and a west coast DJ could cut up "LA posse get busy," or just let the rest of the unassuming song play as filler. That probably explains why the only other version on this 12" is the Acappella.

The B-side, "Sex" is a little more of a full, lush song. It's got very New York hip-hop drums with another old school reggae-style bassline, though this time it's less prominent, played under some screechy horn samples and stuff more reminiscent of the YZ stuff. But it's still bouncier and more reggaeish than that album. If you're a fan of hip-hop styled reggae from this era, I'd say "Sex" holds up pretty well alongside the stuff that was actually getting the airplay in 1994. Again, it would never be another "Informer," but if it hadn't been buried as the B-side to a completely obscure, un-promoted 12", I think it would've gotten some spins.

I mean, personally, I would've liked it a lot better if it had a verse or two from YZ or Shan, but I'm admittedly a total hip-hop guy who listens to rap pretty exclusively. Still, though, I think this record would've lasted, at least in knowledgeable hip-hop circles, if it had a credible rapper or several alongside Terminata. I mean, lyrically, he's not saying anything anyway, just "champgagne-ah, that's what I sip." So there's definitely room to cut some of his stuff and get some names on there. But oh well.

Like The Terminators' record, Terminata's "Get Bizi" is more of an interesting detail in Cold Chillin's history than a great, must have record. But his story doesn't end here. Terminata still performs under then name of Terminator Six, and before I end this post, I think it would be interesting to take a quick look at his press bio (which can be found here, here and here), since it has a few interesting claims, including:

"Terminator Six is the first Reggae entertainer to sing a duet with a Rapper." and "the first to connect Reggae Artists and Rappers together." Well, that doesn't seem right; but let's see... Shabba Ranks' duet with Krs-One was 1992, the same year YZ and Terminator came out. So maybe Terminata was first. Super Cat with Heavy D was '92, Likkle Wicked and 2 Live Crew was '93. He did seem to be at the forefront of the trend. I mean, certainly hip-hop and reggae had blended earlier, if you think of guys like Daddy Freddy, or Shinehead being produced by Jam Master Jay. Or guys like Special Ed doing little reggae songs on their albums. But a reggae artist with a rapper? Well, Sly & Robbie's BDP album dropped in 1989, but I guess you could say they only did the music... Oh, Third World did "Forbidden Love" with Daddy-O in 1989. That's one, and it was a big single even. So yeah, no. I knew that couldn't stand up to scrutiny. Oh and wait, that Shabba Ranks/ Krs single came out in 1992, but it was already on the album which dropped in 1991.

"Terminator became the newest member of the Juice Crew which consisted of Big Daddy Kane, Biz Marke, Kool G Rap, Mc Shan." Well, he did sign to Cold Chillin', but so did plenty of non-Juice Crew artists, like Kid Capri and Too Bad To Be True. Who decides who isn't an official Juice Crew member? Marley Marl? I could see Shan telling him "you're official Juice Crew now," though.

"The Return of the Holy One by Terminator & YZ was released & Terminator was only 9 years old." Wow. So that guy in the video was only nine years old? Or somebody else was lip-syncing to his voice? He sure doesn't sound like a kid on that song...

"Terminator wrote Shabba Ranks first Grammy album for Epic records" and "Terminator Six is the Ghostwriter for Shabba Ranks first Grammy Album (Epic), Terminator Six is also responsible for connecting Shabba Ranks and KRS1 Boogie Down Productions." When he was eight?! Shabba's first Grammy was for as Raw As Ever, which dropped in 1991, a year before "The Return Of the Holy One," which we just read dropped when he was nine. So, yeah. I don't think so.

"Terminator Six is the creator of the Hip Hop Reggae Fusion," and "Terminator Six is responsible for connecting Notorious B.I.G.(Biggie Smalls) with Super Cat and enforcing the launch of P.Diddy (Puff Daddy) Bad Boy Entertainment." Oh man, I'm done. I don't even know what "enforcing the launch" means, but I think we can safely say some embellishing has been done here. I'd be interested to find out the exact 100% truth of all that. You know, I bet he meant 19 instead of 9; so it may not be a total pack of insane lies. haha

Anyway, I bet most of you guys didn't even know the Terminator from YZ's song had his own record. And he was on Cold Chillin'! Pretty interesting, huh?

Juice Crew Greatness

This is one of those records I didn't find out about until years and years later, when it was quite old. Growing up, I was a huge Juice Crew junkie. I was a big fan of a lot of artists, but pressed to pick an all-time favorite, it would have to be The Juice Crew (and a favorite within the Juice Crew? Unpossible!). And, man, was I missing out back then. This record is one I'd dream about - literally! Sometime after "The Symphony II," when it seemed like the crew was winding down as a cohesive unit, I can still picture a dream I had of turning the TV to BET late at night to catch a music video for a huge, brand new posse cut from the whole line-up: MC Shan, Kool G Rap, Shanté...  Come to find out decades later, thanks to the internet, such a record actually existed!

The Juice Crew Allstars, collectively, put out a record back in 1987 on - of course - Cold Chillin' Warner Bros. And it's not just one Juice Crew super posse cut, it's two!

The A side is called "Evolution," and it's not just your typical braggadocio skill flexing. It's actually a serious song with a message, where each MC takes the role of a key figure in black American history. MC Shan is Martin Luther King, Kool G Rap is Malcolm X, Glamorous of The Glamour Girls is Maya Angelou and Debby Dee is Harriet Tubman. TJ Swan sings the hook, and it's produced, of course, by Marley Marl.

What? You don't remember any Debby Dee in the Juice Crew? Well, it doesn't help that they've spelled her name differently here; she usually put out records as Debbie D. No, I don't mean Dimples D. Debbie D was an MC who Marley was working with in the 80's. She probably didn't leave much of an impression because she went pretty poppy; but if nothing else, you should know her as one of the original Us Girls from Beat Street!  So yeah, she's an original Juice Crew member; now you know.

And, boy, does it sound like a classic Juice Crew track - it's got all the elements. Rough, echoed drums, a simple but funky bassline, just a hint of synths, Shan's distinctive voice and Swan's singing: it is pure, undistilled Juice Crew history. You might wince when you hear Glamorous mispronounce her alter ego's name (she pronounces the last syllable of Angelou like Lou Grant), and some of the early deliveries feel a bit stilted (especially compared to the later work of guys like G Rap), but it's still a treasure.

If you think that comes up lacking at all, though, the self-titled "Juice Crew All Stars" on the flipside fills in all the gaps. If the line-up to "Evolution" felt like it came up just a tad short, how about we keep Shan, G Rap and Glamorous, but also add Craig G, Tragedy and Roxanne Shanté? And this time we cut the shit and just have everybody go for theirs and flex skills. All over another traditional Marley beat with even bigger, "Kill That Noise" style drums and his trusty "Oh my goodness!" vocal sample.

This is nice and hardcore. G Rap opens up with some, "Kool G Rap terrorist, metaphor analyst, fans I enlist, foes I dismiss" shit, Shan brags about not only having a come prepared with a bullet proof vest, but "bullet proof sneakers," and Trag is in full teen-voiced Percy mode, but still coming vicious with a slick echo effect when he says, "my brain is the bomb, my mouth is the detonator!" Even the girls come tough. And how many other times do we get to hear Kool G Rap and Tragedy on the same track together? None! This is the only one in history; can you believe it?

These joints were never released on any albums, just this sweet, sweet 12". If you missed it like I did, it's pure Juice Crew wish fulfillment.  And if you were hip to it back in the day, it's still a great record to go back and revisit.

The 50 Ways of MC Shan

I was just trawling through some old Hip-Hop Isn't Dead reviews and learned about an MC Shan song I never knew about before!  It's hard to believe, after all this time, that can still happen, but it just did.  :)  It's from 1993, and granted, once you hear what it is (and the image already gave it away, after all), your enthusiasm might wane a bit... The CD version of Snow's album, 12 Inches of Snow, has two bonus tracks including one with another MC Shan appearance called "50 Ways."

Now, Snow is not untalented.  His record's corny, and while I did enjoy "Informer" in an upbeat, no-brainer kinda way, I wouldn't otherwise listen to his stuff.  But he was cool on "Pee-Nile Reunion" and all, so I don't come out of the box hating on Snow.  There's potential for this.

Like the rest of Snow's album, it's produced by Shan... but while, by 1993, he had put down the pop music style for the more quality hip-hop styles of "Hip-Hop Roughneck" and "Don't Call It a Comeback," he was producing for a big, commercial act.  So it's more pop, yeah.  Like Kool Moe Dee's "50 Ways" before this, and Eminem's "50 Ways" just last month, the hook is a variation of Paul Simon's "50 Ways To Leave Your Lover," but where Moe Dee - and in a more altered way, Emzy - used Simon's break, too; this song just borrows the phrase for the hook.

The beat is actually pretty decent, though nothing you'll get excited about.  It's about them flexing their styles, which are a little unusual, because that's the concept - they have 50 ways to change their style.  They don't do fifty or anything, but Shan does do a different, slightly reggae-tinged style than I've heard him do on any of his own records.

Ultimately, and predictably, it's just mediocre.  But for serious MC Shan fans, hey, it's another Shan song, and he does get kinda nice here.  It's not as nearly as bad as I was prepared for it to be, or as boringly similar to other "50 Ways" (Newcleus also did a "50 Ways To Get Funky;" there've been a couple other rappers taking stabs at it as well).  It's respectably decent... for completists..

MC Shan Vs. Duke Ellington

"It Don't Mean a Thing" was the lead single off of MC Shan's oft - and understandably - maligned 1990 album, Play It Again, Shan.  That album, after all, featured the split from Marley and The Juice Crew, house songs, Shan singing(!) with some very cheesy computer manipulation to his voice, love songs, a duet with his wife and kid, and even a song by a girl group that Shan wasn't even featured on!  So, it's a bit of a mess*.  It was also his most heavily promoted and probably budgeted album - probably (though admittedly, now I'm just speculating) because he took every awful executive suggestion from the label and let them have their way at every turn.  But for all its myriad faults, it's an upbeat, enjoyable mess that at least has its moments.  And for me, "It Don't Mean a Thing" is one of them.

"It Don't Mean a Thing" is a pretty undisguised rap version of the old jazz standard "It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing" by Duke Ellington.  "IDMaTIFAGTS" (how's that for an abbreviation?) wouldn't be such a long-lasting standard if it wasn't a pretty catchy tune, so it's a reliable musical back-drop for Shan, who self-produced this song, and the rest of the album, along with co-producer John Ficarrotta.  So it's got a nice groove with some funky go-go percussion - a curious, but successful, combination.  And Carole Davis, who had her own album out on Warner Bros. at that time, sings a nice hook.  The horns do admittedly sound like they were played on a synthesizer keyboard, and Shan's lyrics are just your typical, unexceptional dance song lyrics ("As you can see, my rhymes are swingin' it, and when the punchline comes start singin' it").  Maybe I'm just too forgiving of the old school, but I get a lot of enjoyment from this song; and the lavish, jazz-era music video released at the time sure didn't hurt.

The 12" comes with two versions, LP Version and Fade.  The only difference between the two is that the Fade mix fades out twenty seconds earlier than the LP Version.  The longer version has a few more repeats of the hook, and Shan shouts, "pump it up!" at one point, but that's about it.  As you can see, it comes in a cool picture cover depicting Shan with four hands, and it's also b/w one of the better album tracks, "I Ran the Game."  The narrative-style lyrics are a bit corny but amusing, and the music's dope and the hook is a simple but fresh vocal sample.

So it's a cool, if pop and kid-friendly single, but the contents of the 12" are a bit underwhelming.  The only thing not on the album is a version that cuts off the last twenty seconds - who the Hell wanted those Fade versions Cold Chillin' used to do, anyway?  A DJ who wanted to fade the song out 20 seconds earlier could do that on his own easily enough, or he had no business DJing.  Oh well, regardless, it feels a bit like you're being short-changed on this one.  They couldn't throw in a remix, an exclusive B-side or at least an instrumental?

That's where this promo 12" comes in.  The "It Don't Mean a Thing (Remix)."  It's the same production team of Shan and Ficarrotta, but the music is completely different.  Shan's vocals and Carole's hook are the same, but all the music is completely different.  The drums are less go-go-ish, and all the chintzy horns and stuff are gone.  Instead you've got some subtle scratching, deep bass notes, some nice jazzy samples, a tuba loop, horn stabs, and an occasional piano riff.  If that sounds like a lot of elements, it is... the song as a whole sounds a bit too busy at times, and they would have been better off ditching the sung hook and just letting the scratching speak for itself at those points.  But it's definitely more straight-up hip-hop, and certainly a better sound than most of Shan's other stuff from this era.

Casual listeners will either just want to stick with the album version or pass on this song completely, but more serious aficionados who can listen to this with a more analytical ear will probably find it at least worthwhile.  It just doesn't quite work because the music doesn't really fit these vocals.  Or maybe more to the point, it's that the vocals just don't really make sense if they're not paired with a version of Ellington's music.  In other words... wait for it...  it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing.  :P

*The LP was a bit less of a mess than the CD and cassette versions, however, as it left off five of the songs: "Ain't It Good To You," "Rock Stuff," "Clap Your Hands," "Mic Line," and "How I Feel About You."

Time for MC Shan To Defend Himself

"Time for Us To Defend Ourselves" is one of many singles on MC Shan's generally critically panned third album, Play It Again, Shan. Without the guiding hand of Marley Marl (or any of the other regular Cold Chillin' producers), Shan was lost, self-producing house songs, love songs, duets with his wife, songs he's not even featured on himself. It had his moments of decent-ness, but as a whole; it's really hard to defend that album.

Fortunately, "Time for Us To Defend Ourselves" was one of the better moments. Shan is hardcore mode with a serious message about police brutality:

"There's a big loophole in justice.
Law enforcement's to serve and protect,
But in my neighborhood, they break your neck.
Police are ruthless-minded, wicked and villainous;
But not just I see you're killin us'.
What about the parents of the kid y'all killin'?"

The beat, however, is not what you'd hope for considering Shan's other work records (and even since). But that's what happens when you stop working with the greats and try to do everything yourself. Actually, that's not strictly accurate. He was co-producing with a guy named John Ficarrotta. He's more known as an engineer than a producer, but he did a lot with Shan around that time (including working on Snow's album). But it amounts to the same thing, and Shan has since said (from the book How To Rap by Paul Edwards), "I don't like to produce the songs I [rap] on, because that's too much of me influencing me and no other negative voices, a devil's advocate to say, 'Nah, don't do it that way - do it this way.'" Yeah, that's a nice way to put it.

But, still; his production wasn't all bad. Some of the tracks on Play It Again worked, and this one is... in between. It's got a great hook, mixing together a collection of compelling vocal samples, and it's got a ringing "UFO"-style loop behind it. Then there's a metal-ish guitar riff, which is kinda atmospheric, but also kinda corny. It's certainly not the kinda thing Large Professor would've ever messed with.

But that's where this 12" is saved. Because the remix that's also included on this 12" is the one point during the Play It Again madness where Shan reached out to one of Cold Chillin's in-house power producers, DJ Mister Cee. Mr. Cee reached out to two new guys, Outload and PF Cuttin, to collaborate on the remix with, who of course went on to become Blahzay Blahzay.

So to say this remix is an improvement is a serious understatement. It keeps what works about the original - the vocal samples on the hook - and replaces everything else. There's an infinitely funkier new beat, a variety of samples and fresh scratches. It might seem a little upbeat for the subject matter... that's one thing the LP version had going for it: the darker tone. But if that was their reasoning for using the LP version in the video, they were nuts, because this version's just flat-out better music.

But you don't just get the album version, the overhaul that features the best production Shan had at that time, and the nifty picture cover. This 12" has the unique B-side track, "Even If I Tore It," Shan's Craig G diss, recorded in response to Craig's "Going for the Throat" (a CD-only bonus track on his second album). You could be forgiven for not realizing that's what it was, though, because the rhymes are so general, he could just as well be spitting generic battle rhymes against theoretical sucker MCs than Craig if you didn't know the full story going in.

"Fuck a Miller, I'ma rip me a Bud,
While you're lying face-dwon in a puddle of blood.
No bargain, no pleadin', no case to acquit;
Stupid motherfucker, this is how you rip shit!
Goin' to sleep, put your teeth in storage;
Goin' through life sippin' soup and porridge.
Forget gold, ya think you done me;
Worry about yourself and stop tryin' to son me.
You couldn't write better if you switched up pens.
I don't know about records, but you make dope bookends.
See on the down-low, somebody snitched;
I hope you didn't think I'd run like a bitch.
I'm outta ya sight, but never put me outta your mind.
You can't get yours, so figured you would take mine?
With a hammer and chisel, you couldn't chip it.
(Even if I tore it, you still couldn't rip it!)"

...Those are the most specific rhymes in the whole song, the rest are completely unspecific (which isn't to say that they're wack or anything... they just don't have anything Craig G specific about them). The beat is self-produced again, too. It's decent, and all in all adds up to a nice little diss track; but it's not the underground classic it could've been if he'd stuck with his winning producer combo of the A-side. But if you don't get hung up on what might've been, and just accept what is, you get a gem of an addition to your crates, and definitely the best material Shan was putting out in this period.

Juice Crew Defies the Law!

When is an LP Version not an LP Version? When it's the LP Version of MC Shan's "Juice Crew Law," in which case it's a super dookey hype remix cleverly disguised as an LP Version!

Yeah, this is a 12" that tends to sit on shelves, passed up by collectors in favor of other 12" singles with exclusive B-sides and remixes. That's because the label promises only a "Vocal Version" and a "Dub" for both songs on the 12", so there's not a lot to tempt anyone who already owns Shan's Born To Be Wild album. Heh. If only they knew...

This is really a must-have 12". While this version of "Juice Crew Law" uses essentially the same beat (and Shan's verses are the same), it's mixed differently, with deeper bass and harder drums. More importantly, there's tons of high energy scratching provided by the great Marley Marl (who also produced). He even talks on the mic, reprising his "I ain't gonna give y'all no microphones no more, 'cause y'all tear it up when you're out there" character from "The Symphony," telling Shan, "I ain't gonna give you no microphone neither!" It may not be radically different - "Juice Crew Law" was already a tight track on the album - but it's a distinct and marked improvement. This is the definitive way "Juice Crew Law" should be heard.

Then the B-side, "They Used To Do It Out In the Park," is different too. The beat is way more broken down, often with just Shan rhyming over the simple drum loop and snare kicks. But like the other version there's a whole bunch of new scratching. It's mostly on the hook, but also comes in at certain points to illustrate the old school stories he's telling about shows he heard in the park. The signature scratchy horn loop from the album version is still played on the hook, but now there's new horn sounds, as well as vocal samples, constantly being cut into the mix. Like the "Juice Crew Law" mix, this adds a whole lot more energy to the song, because there's clearly a live DJ working behind Shan throughout the whole song.

So here's a 12" that features two of Shan's best cuts, both given exclusive, killer remixes (plus Dub versions), that make the album versions feel like under-produced demo mixes. And it's so slept on, it always goes for cheap. I felt like I was getting away with something shady when I found this out and picked up my copy. ;)

Winter In Wernerland

^^(Video blog!)
(An all-original Christmas vlog - ho ho ho!)

Where They Are Now

This Is It, Y'all. Mp3s have been floating around the 'net for a while, but the actual record finally just came out: "Where Are They Now," the remixes. In fact, it's a Japan-only limited edition 12" on Ill Will Records (Nas's sub-label imprint), so snatch it while you can.

So, what's the big deal about a remix 12" of a mediocre (at best) Nas song? After all, Hip-Hop Is Dead is just one more in an increasingly long series of dull and disappointing follow-ups to Illmatic, and "Where Are They Now" was one of the worst songs on there. The beat was dope, but very familiar: James Brown's "Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved," which has been used in about a bajillion previous hip-hop records, from Kool G Rap's "Poison," to the most similar that I can think of, Professor Griff's "Pawns In the Game" (let's face it: essentially, this is the instrumental to "Pawns In the Game"). It's still damn good, though; and this beat would be fine - one of Nas's best even, though that's saying very little - if it wasn't for the rhymes. Yes, "Where Are They Now" is another one of those boring, lifeless name-dropping songs; where an MC does nothing but list the names of other MCs in the hopes that some of their "street cred" rubs off on them. 2Pac did it, Big Daddy Kane did it, Bahamadia did it, Edan did it; everybody's done it. It's not original, engaging, entertaining or thoughtful; it's just... a list. It's like when hip-hop albums had those boring shout-out tracks at the end, only here they're right smack in the middle and the artists think it makes them cool or something. Who the heck wants a remix of that?

Of course, most of you reading this already know the punch-line... As I say, this has been on the internet for months. But now the actual record has been released. Why is this such a must-have? Because of the line-up!

"Where Are They Now (90's Remix)" features Redhead Kingpin, Rob Base, Spinderella, Father MC, Monie Love, Mike G of the Jungle Brothers, EST of Three Times Dope, Positive K, Krazy from Das EFX, Mr. DoItAll from Lords of the Underground, Chip-Fu from the Fu-Shcnickens and Dres from Blacksheep! Nas doesn't even rap on this; he just "hosts" it, saying a few words between every couple of verses. Instead he's just found all (well, not all... but a lot) of the MCs he name-dropped on the album cut and gave them eight bars each to shine on this new, massive posse cut. The instrumental keeps the James Brown track, but blends in the instrumentals form each MC's greatest hit - sometimes more than one, even - during their verse (most of the time it works really well, though a few times they don't gel together as well as the rest... for example, "Monie In the Middle" mixes in hot, but trying to get "I Got a Man" in there feels a little awkward).

So, you've got the 90's remix, plus the instrumental, then you flip the record over and damn! "Where Are They Now (80's Remix)," which is formatted the same way and features MC Shan, Raheem of the Furious Five, Doctor Ice and Kangol of UTFO, Kool Moe Dee, Sha Rock of US Girls and The Funky Four + One, Tito of the Fearless Four, Grandmaster Caz, LinQue, Dana Dane, Pebblee Poo (remember? She did "Fly Guy," the answer record to the Boogie Boys' "Fly Girl") of the Masterdon Committee and Just-Ice!

Then there's "Where Are They Now (West Coast Remix)," which gives up on the decidedly east-coast sounding James Brown foundation in favor of a more mellow track for the West Coast MCs: Breeze, Kam, King Tee, Candyman, Threat, Ice-T, Sir Mix-A-Lot and the Conscious Daughters. It's a definite head-nodder, but they've also forgone the technique of blending in each MC's previous hit(s) to the instrumental, which is a little disappointing. Guess they got a little lazy by remix #3, but it's still cool; you won't really miss it.

Now, I say how can you not need this record just looking at those line-ups? And most of the MCs come off well, too (even the ones that don't instill much faith based on their past output). Stand outs for me would be: Redhead Kingpin, Shan, Doc Ice, Kool Moe Dee and Breeze; but I'm sure everybody will have their own favorites. I made two previous posts (here and here), naming what I feel are the two essential, full-length albums of 2007 to date. Well, this would be one of the two essential 12" singles of 2007 (the other being Master Ace & Marco Polo's "Nostalgia;" except, lamely, it only features the clean/edited version), definitely a necessity.

Juice Crew 3rd Millenium

I grew up as a Juice Crew junkie, so what better way to start my new blog than to look at my favorite hip-hop crew as a teen? I also chose it because I've never been able to find (and believe me, I've looked), any information about this record anywhere online. I'm guessing this just flew under a lot of peoples' radars, and if it's not entirely unheard of, it's at least thoroughly forgotten.

Of course, it's no "Symphony;" but 1999's "Thug Money" by Juice Crew 3rd Millenium ain't bad. The line-up here doesn't quite feature the All-Star line-up of your dreams either; but it's not a bunch of completely unrelated new jacks using the name, like say "The Unit" who Latifah was putting out around the same time. It features MC Shan (Juice Crew Allstar), Big Skoob (yeah, he counts as a Juice Crew Allstar), Grand Daddy IU - who also produced the track (he's almost a Juice Crew allstar... he just came a couple years too late), Oz-Born (who I believe is the Oz of IU's "Oz's Track," which he put out independently that same year) and D-Low (new jack who sings the hook).

"Thug Money" is the only song on this 12", with Dirty, Clean, "Super Clean," Instrumental and Acapella versions. The instrumental is a slightly understated but effective track for a thuggish posse cut. It won't blow you away, but it's pretty good; and every MC comes with a reasonably tight, hardcore verse ("Our projects stand alone; I represent the zone: Pickett Avenue, you get robbed on the payphone.").

It was pretty surprising to see the Juice Crew turn up as a collective on Universal Records(!) as late as 1999, and it's easy to dream about a full-length project that never was to be, reuniting all the Juice Crew members for a collective album to finally follow In Control vol 1. But this joint, while not bad, doesn't exactly scream "summer hit sure to lead to a major label contract." Indeed, this was actually due to be featured on (as can be clearly read on the label) a Mr. Magic sampler album (all originals? Or lots of prereleased material? We'll never know) called Mr. Magic's Greatest Flavors, an album which never wound up happening. All we have is this. It's no must-have if you're not a die-hard Juice Crew enthusiast, but if you're thinking you'd like to check this out based on the line-up, you won't be disappointed.

Update 1/31/12: see this new video post I made on this same record.