The Lost Rappin Is Fundamental (and Craig Mack) Song(s)

(An obscure promo cassette of Easy Mo Bee's 2000 album reveals unreleased material by Rappin' Is Fundamental, Craig Mack and The Soul Survivors.  Youtube version is here.)

Demo Week 2, Day 6: Doo-Hop Is Fundamental

(Youtube version is here.)

Rappin' Is Cretaceous

Here's one of the jewels of my collection: "Ain't No Smoke Without Fire," the debut single by Rappin' Is Fundamental. This one's certainly rare - I've only ever seen it, or even heard of it, once - and that's when I bought it. This dropped in 1989, two years before they came out on A&M Records with their album, video and widely released single. Interestingly, this came out on Khafra Records, a super obscure west coast label, whose only other release was the debut 12" of Prodeje, before South Central Cartel and Havoc and Prodeje* even came out. That was their second and final release, and this is their first.

Now, the few of you who are as familiar with RIF's catalog as everyone ought to be (they are seriously under-appreciated) are probably saying to yourselves, "Ain't No Smoke Without Fire? I know that song!" Yes, "Ain't No Smoke (Without Fire)" was on their 1991, major label album. But this 12" features a different version. The lyrics and the primary looped riff of the instrumental is the same - plus Big Daddy Kane's uncredited cameo appears on both, though it's a bit shorter on the LP - but the vocals and the music are different.

You notice it instantly. Again, they're rapping the same lyrics over the same break, but the delivery is different and the mastering is different. JR sounds more laid back and the beat feels simpler. Even the ad-libs sound audibly more raw. And as the song progresses, the changes are more obvious - the first mini-hook, where RIF sing, "smoke, smoke, ain't no smoke" after JR's verse is absent, and instead the break is signified just by a subtle vocal sample of Kane going "Mm, mm, mm" from the intro to "Ain't No Half Steppin'." And the freestyle singing at the end of the song is completely different - at that point, they don't even sing the same words.

The album version has a whole just sounds bigger - they seem to have taken another pass at it to make it sound "more professional." The album version features some subtle "lead guitar" by one Shlomo Sonnenfeld. When I first read that in the credits, I thought, "there's guitar in that?" But when I played it back with my ear to the speaker, I was like, "ah, yeah, it's in there." Well, it's not in here, the 12" version.

So, the question becomes, "well, which is better?" It's hard to say, actually; it's going to just come down to the listener's personal taste. There's definitely something to be said for the epic feel of the album version, and the horns sound less chintzy. The 12" version, on the other hand, feels more natural, like you're in the same small jazz club with RIF as they rap and sing over a dope track. When you hear them both, you realize how much the album version's vocals have been processed, and the 12" version has a nice, organic appeal.

I say "12" version," but technically there are two versions on this 12" version. The Club Mix, and a shorter Radio Version, which shaves a couple minutes off the song's running time.

The B-side is another album track, "You Wanna Trip," and as with "Ain't No Smoke," it's another alternate pass at the A&M version, though the differences aren't so distinct. Where "Ain't No Smoke" has a remarkably different feel, the distinction here is more trivial; you mostly notice it in the background ad-libs, plus the extra drums that come in behind the chorus on the album version haven't been added to the 12" take. Again, it's essentially the same deal - the album version sounds more professional and polished, the 12" feels more low-fi and real. The differences just aren't so strong. Also, again, the 12" features two versions: The full-length Club Mix, and the tighter Radio Version.

But it's not just the alternate versions that make this 12" such a treasure (although they'd be enough), it's the fact that this dropped in 1989, showing that the guys who invented and their own musical genre, Doo-Hop, were even more ahead of their time than anybody realized. Heck, they'd still be ahead of their time if they came out today, considering still nobody else has been able to pick up their torch. And on an obscure west coast label? This record is some serious history.

And it's a treasure because, as you see, it comes in such a fantastic picture cover... although the designers went a little conceptually overboard by designing it to look like a picture printed on the cover of a book printed on the cover of another book (look closely - it's a mock, 3-d book cover on top of another mock, 3-D book cover lol). And as a bonus, my copy is signed by the group to a guy named Charlie. I don't know who he is, but i thank him for parting with his copy so it could wind up with me. =)


*No, there's no connection to Mobb Deep; it's just a strange coincidence.

Helluva FInd

This is a testament to the record collecting truism: whatever you're searching for, just wait long enough, and eventually you'll find it. I have been looking for this one for-freaking-ever, or more specifically, since December 1994.

That's the month that Rap Sheet printed a review of Rappin' Is Fundamental's independent comeback single on "Sole Survivor Records."  Now, this was back before you could just dial anything up on the internet, so it was pretty damn tricky to find an indie 12" if you didn't live in a key city with a dope hip-hop minded record store in it. So, it's no grand statement to say that I wasn't able to find this in stores when it dropped (though, believe me, I was checking).

Finally, in the early 2000's, I posted on the Vinyl Exchange boards in a thread where we discussed if rumored records even actually existed.  Somebody actually had a copy, and though he was hanging onto his, he hooked me up with label scans and sound clips, which both proved it existed and helped set me straight on some key details.  See, I had been looking for a record of "Helluva Guy" (see the review, right).  But that's actually the B-side.  The A-side is "You Ain't Really Down."  They also list the label as being "Sole Survivor Records, rather than the correct Soul Survivor Records... which isn't a huge deal, but will certainly mess up any online searches if you're looking for one and typing in the other.

Well, anyway, I finally got my hands on a copy this past week.  And, in the end, it wasn't even too expensive (thank goodness, considering the current state of economic affairs).  Oh yeah, and it's great!

Now, I don't know why the reviewer is carrying on about how "RIF hooked up with Producer Easy Moe Bee," considering Bee is a founding member, and has always been one third of the group.  But he's spot on with his praise, "carefully singing along with the rap while the slow funk beat rolls smoothly. Fat bass and pure 1960 sounding soul music combined with '94 hip-hop sets it off lovely."  This is some of the best work by everybody involved, and when it comes to production from Easy Mo Bee, that's really saying something.

This 12" features two killer, soulful tracks and two perfect performances by RIF. "You Ain't Really Down" was my immediate favorite, but "Helluva Guy" has grown on me to be right up there. The different flows and voices, the harmonizing, the super smooth jazz samples... shit is killer. The rhymes are a bit simple, but who cares? It sounds great. And they don't stick to a simple "rap the verse then sing the hook" formula. They kick new, different harmonizing routines throughout the song, sometimes for just a single line. And yet it's still straight, 100% hip-hop... no lame-ass "neo-soul vibes" here.

It's really a crime that these guys never put out a second album. But at least there's this. And this is great. Seriously, this is some of my favorite shit ever. RIF, if you're reading this, you need to reunite. ...And also put out any older, unreleased material you've got in the vaults. I know you've got some, dammit!

Platinum Is Fundamental

Platinum Ice Records is a new label co-owned by AB Money and Easy Moe Bee* ...which means you're pretty much guaranteed to get a lot of top-shelf production, giving them a nice head start on every other new label just coming out the starting gate. And this is their first release, a compilation label "sampler." The track-listing on the CD is kinda incomplete with the credits (and, yeah, there's no artwork at all, except a small "Platinum Ice" sticker on the back)... so for the sake of completion and my own convenience, I'm posting the full album track-listing, crediting every artists. I can't find production credits, though - they don't all sound like Easy Moe Bee's work. Anyway, here it is:

1. Ms Quick: You Should Have Known By Now
2. Ms Quick ft. Big Bub: Alright
3. Jay the Bossfather ft. AB Money, Smooth B and Swift: VIP
4. Jay the Bossfather: Boss In the Trap
5. Jay the Bossfather ft. AB Money, Mac A Don and (BU) Born Unfortunate: Keep It
6. (BU) Born Unfortunate ft. AB Money and Josi Wellz: Gab Gotcha
7. (BU) Born Unfortunate ft. Jay the Bossfather and AB Money: It's On
8. Tiger: It Ain't Cool
9. Tiger: Who I Am
10. Josi Wellz ft. (BU) Born Unfortunate: Roll Slow
11. Josi Wellz ft. Jay the Bossfather: What It Do

It's mostly straight hip-hop, but it opens with two tracks by R&B singer Ms. Quick... she's pretty good, and the instrumental for the first song is fantastic! Seriously, if this blog gets you to do nothing else, at least download that one song (they have one of those .99 per track download things on their myspace, which I link to below). I haven't been this into a straight R&B song since, like, The House Party soundtrack. Ha ha But, yeah; it's really dope. The second song is pretty bland, though. But after that, until you get to the two Tiger songs near the end (blah!), it's all straight hip-hop. Actually, I say "straight hip-hop," but there is a lot of singing on the hooks and what-not - not unlike what we used to hear from the Rappin Is Fundamental members who founded the label. In fact, a lot of times it's AB Money himself (which is frankly the reason I bought the CD).

The next song is the stand-out of the album, "VIP." Smooth Bee (yes, that one) does a verse and comes off slick. The instrumental sounds a little "fake, studio instrumenal"y (which in this day and age of fear of sampling, is all too rampant), but it still sounds good, and AB's constant background vocals and hook really elevate it.

Unfortunately, the rest of the album never really reaches those heights again... it's consistently OK. All the new MCs are fine but don't really stand out (from other rappers in the game today, or even from each other), except for Josi Wellz. He does a slow hip-hop sing-songy thing which is pretty cool but definitely dependent on getting solid production behind him (which he has on this sampler - I recommend you check out "Roll Slow").

More recently, PI Records just sent out an mp3 to everyone on their mailing list - the latest song by Jay the Bossfather, featuring Cappadonna, Masta Killer and AB Money (though AB's just on the hook, unfortunately) over a dope beat by Easy Moe Bee. It's fresh, but they only sent the clean version, which is fine until the third verse, which just becomes an unlistenable, edited mess. Guess we'll have to wait for the album.

He's also got some other songs on his myspace, including one with Grandmaster Caz, which is pretty dope. Jay isn't bad, but you can't help but wish Easy Moe Bee, AB and all these dope guest MCs would cut out the middle man and do a record together, instead of putting all that music and energy into playing a back-up role for this new guy. They could even give this guy a couple unwarranted guest spots, if they wanted, just to promote his upcoming project. Like I said, he's not bad. He's just kind of generic and unexceptional... he doesn't have the delivery of AB, the clever lyricism of Caz or the charisma of Masta Killer. Hell, they should just call up JR and put out the next seriously overdue RIF album.

Still, whatever they do, there's some real talent behind this label. Even the weakest tracks (well, except some of the R&B) are decent and will get your head nodding if it's playing wherever you are. They've definitely at least got my attention for what they're going to do next, which I'm sure is what this sampler was designed to do. If you want to check them out, too; the official site for Platinum Ice is platinumicerecords.com, and here's that myspace I mentioned (Jay's and the other PI artists' pages are linked in the Top Friends). Have fun. =)


*Along with two other guys who I don't think are involved in the music end.

Tags: AB Money, Platinum Ice, Easy Moe Bee, RIF, Jay the Bossfather, Rappin Is Fundamental

Rapping Is Fundamental

This is the alternate UK 12" of Rappin' Is Fundamental's debut 12", "Rapping Is Fundamental" (the song title has the "g" at the end; the group name does not), touting two original remixes by DJ Streets Ahead (who did a lot of this type of work at the time), not featured on the domestic version. The idea of taking Rappin' Is Fundamental signature stylings and doo-wop sensibilities and trying to turn it into a European dance club hit seems a bit, umm... what's a fitting term... hopeless? And it is. Easy Moe Bee's soulful, sample-based production is replaced on the "Brighton Daze 12" Remix" with a simple, high-tempo drum track that really works against RIF's signature harmonizing - I can't imagine this being an anthem of the UK nightlife scene anymore than I can see any Harlem crate diggers attempting to nod their head to this rhythm.

The second "Ubiquity 12" Remix" uses the same basic track but adds some more instrumental samples/effects, creating more of an original, alternate take on the song. It also takes out all the singing, leaving just the raps (the hook is replaced with a few vocal samples, which would have been helped a LOT if they'd actually been scratched in, but que sera sera). Like the first, it's still misguided and decidedly inferior to the original, but this mix is cool enough to merit some spins for serious RIF fans who've overplayed the original to the point where they'd welcome an alternative.

On the b-side you've got the "Extended Remix" that's also featured on the domestic 12"... The fact that this 12" includes this as well as the two exclusive mixes makes this the one to own in my book (unless you're particularly after the instrumental), even if those mixes are subpar. This remix is by Easy Mo Bee, so already you know it's going to be the best of the remixes; but unfortunately it's not all that different from the LP Version. It strips away a bit of the original music, and drops in a few pieces of familiar, faster bpm breaks in from time to time... but essentially it's the same as the LP version (including the super cheesy introduction with the super villain laugh) but not quite as engaging. I guess the idea for this mix was to make it more dance-floor friendly, too, which - as talented as they are - just doesn't work for these guys. I could see A&M Records and Streets Ahead making this mistake, but Easy really should have known better.

Finally, there's the "Radio Version" which is the same remix as the "Extended Remix," only not the extended length. I think this is the one they made the video for.

Easy Mo Bee has his own site at: easymobee.com, but for all it's fancified Flash animations, there's really not a lot of worthwhile content there. He's also got a myspace page, of course; but perhaps more interesting is the myspace page for his and AB Money (who's also got his own myspace page)'s new label/project - check out the track with AB, Smooth Bee and some others(?) called "VIP." They've also got an official site at: platinumicerecords.com. Whew. That's a lot of links. Doesn't seem to be one for JR, though.