Allah Got a Shotgun!

Lord Mustafa and DJ King Born Allah had a disappointingly brief but amazing run as Movement Ex on Columbia Records. Not that their careers ended after the release of their sole, self-titled album in 1990 - DJ King Born went on to produce for Erule through pretty much his entire career, and Mustafa became a freestyle legend on The Wake Up Show.* But their stint together as Movement Ex was almost more exciting for how quickly it came and went, like a sudden flash of light across the night sky. These guys were tough, high energy, serious and controversial. And not "stick Nine Inch Nails in each one of your eyeballs" shock value-style controversial, but real "we're here to say some political, social and even religious shit that mainstream America absolutely does not want to hear" controversial.

If you're not sure what I mean, just read the title of today's single: "Freedom Got a Shotgun." A rallying cry for armed revolution packaged in picture cover with no picture, there's nothing cute about this record. With a syllable-flipping flow, he tells us he's out for "the blood sucking serpent that needs to be impeached!" But just in case you think he's only talking about impeachment, he comes back to clarify that Bush needs to suck his gun barrel like "the gays in Egypt." He announces, "This government's full of shit; this gun will be the laxative," and even gets into racial conspiracy theory territory like, "it's a scheme, they inject the blacks with syphilis... then they tried to take us out with the AIDS virus!" Amazingly, Columbia put out a video for this.

Produced by their regular producer Sir Randall Scott, this is a hell of a track, too. Just the horn sample could stand alone as a killer instrumental, but coupled with rapid fire drums, an angry electric guitar riff and fast bass notes, and you've got the perfect sound-bed for some rough, energetic raps - the antithesis of g-funk.

The 12" starts out with the Single Edit, which is the version you heard in that video. It's shorter, and naturally replaces the curses ("this government's full of it"). It also replaces the conversations that took place on the break of the album version: "Did you read that article in Newsweek, man? They're trying to diss rap! Them, the FBI, The PMRC. Yo, that shit should stand for premeditated rap conspiracy! You know what I'm saying? And what about that time they dissed Griff? I don't understand these people." And they cut off the shout-outs. In a way, the Single version is actually tighter and might be preferable.

Then you've got the Power Mix, which disappointingly just turns out to be a slightly extended instrumental. And you've got another album track, "I Deal With Mathematics," a smoother, funky track that definitely deserves the extra shine of being highlighted on the single.

But the most compelling exclusive they save for last. "Freedom Got a Shotgun (Allah's Mix)" is a an all-new remix. They really change the tone - the signature horns are gone (for the most part, a piece of them comes back in the hook) and the guitar foundation. This is smoother... similar to "I Deal With Mathematics" in a good way. It almost plays like a whole new song, except fo course the words are the same. And considering how short the world is on Movement Ex songs, that makes this a real must-have.


*Quite un-intuitively, the rapper now known as Born Allah was Lord Mustafa, not King Born Allah.

Lord Mustafa and DJ KIng Born, United

Movement Ex really kinda reminds me of an East coast Low Profile, where you've got a solid, lyrically conscious MC paired up with an incredible DJ - King Born - who fills their entire album with a ton of hype scratching. The MC, Lord Mustafa, is the weaker link of the pair, though. He's pretty adept and clearly focused on intellectual and socially relevant content, but he just doesn't have the voice or style that'd threaten to knock another politically radical MC like Brother J or Wise Intelligent out of position... which is probably why they (again like Low Profile*) never made it to a second album. And that's a shame, 'cause this is some quality hip-hop right here.

So they only had the one self-titled album in 1990, but fortunately their catalog doesn't quite stop there. They released two tight 12" singles, including this one, "United Snakes of America." Just look at that picture cover. You've got a good shot of them, and their logo, in front of the pentagon, with a giant blue snake wrapped around it! And look at that little blurb promising an exclusive Marley Marl remix... that's the kind of cover that when you see it in a shop, you buy it even if you don't know who the artists are.

So "United Snakes of America" is in many ways what you'd expect, but you'd probably find it surprisingly up-tempo, which really works in its favor. It gives a lot of energy to Mustafa's rhymes, and sets King Born up perfectly to cut the shit out of the hook. The beat, produced by Sir Randall Scott, who made all of Movement Ex's beats (and as far as I know, nobody else's), has some nice change-ups and layers. By the third verse, new sample elements are still being introduced. But it doesn't sound cluttered at all. The instrumental's also included, so you can take the time to appreciate it.

Then, on the B-side of course, we come to that Marley Marl remix. The drums and hardcore horn-stab definitely sound more Marley Marlish, but it doesn't feel like a signature MM track. It's damn good, though, and has a sick horn sample on the hook. The scratching's a little muted on this version, which is the only disappointment. This isn't so much as an ideal replacement of the original so much as a nice companion piece. And considering the severe shortage of Movement Ex songs, it's a very welcome addition to your collection.

Finally, it wraps up with another album cut, "Zig Zag Zig." The beat is the great, funky soul break from Rose Royce's "Zig Zag" (you probably remember it making a stand-out cut called "Buggin' On the Line" on Tony D's debut album). Again it's full of rapier-like cuts by DJ King Born. And again Mustafa is kicking some slick, fast-paced knowledge on the track. Granted, it gets a bit immaturely mired in confrontational white vs. black stuff, and some of the lines don't seem too well thought out ("no caves in Africa, so who you callin' a caveman" is a nice, anti-stereotype sentiment... but, you know, there are plenty of caves in Africa - like a lot - so you kinda feel a little embarrassed for him there). But they were young and sincere, and they brought a lot of dope music to the table; so you've gotta work with 'em here and cut them a little slack.

It's sad that Movement Ex never returned, but I say it's a credit to Columbia Records that they put these guys out at all. Let's just enjoy what we've got, 'eh?


*WC and the Maad Circle don't count. :P