New Jersey's Imperial Guardsmen

This is an interesting record right here, especially for Jersey heads; but really anyone into the 90s indy vinyl scene should be intrigued by this line-up: Raggedy Man, Sah-B, Blackwatuz (okay, you might not've heard of them) and Nocturnal (the same Nocturnal I posted an interview with a couple months ago). They all came together to release The Imperial Guardsmen in 2000, an indie EP on Tribal Child Records, the label Raw Elements used to be on in the 90s.

Now the production, provided by the mysterious Dahead Beatuz Productions team, is... interesting. It seems to be based on just looping single, big chunky samples over a beat. I kinda like it, but it's not the kind of thing that impresses you and makes you want to seek out more of their stuff. It's enjoyable, and is more effective on some tracks than others... Overall it's pretty engaging, if a bit low-fi sounding.  But that's how we like our indie 12"s, right?

First up is Blackwatuz and Sah-B with "Black Summa," and if your mind is immediately leaping to Sah-B's debut single, "Summa Day," you're on the right track. Instrumentally, it's pretty dissimilar, but conceptually and lyrically it's like "Summa Day" part 2. But of course, this time it's got the Blackwatuz guys on it, and lyrically it might even be a little stronger. The production's at its catchiest here, too; and there is a singer (Judith LeTemps) adding a hook, but it's only in the background behind the Watuz doing their own hook. She winds up sounding more like a sample in the background, which is cool.

Then the Blackwatuz return for "Da Floods," which is their lyrical skills flexing track. The beat loops up a classical record, sounding like a Stoupe beat, even with a similar change-up in the music every so often. No Sah-B this time, disappointingly, but otherwise it's all good.

Raggedy Man's track is next. His was my most anticipated song before I actually heard this, but now that I have it, it's my least favorite on here. I could still see it being some peoples' favorite, though. It's a bit different, going for a more playful, Grand Puba vibe. The beat's a nice rolling piano and Judith LeTemps is back doing her chorus behind the MC's own chorus vocals, but this time she doesn't sound like background. The track is a nice rolling piano loop I haven't heard used before, and Raggedy is bringing the clever wordplay and personality... but maybe it's the drums? I'm not sure; for some reason it's just not clicking for me.

We end with "Money-N-Power" by Nocturnal, featuring Vega (of Blackwatuz). Nocturnal comes off on this one and the track has another Stoupe-ish feel (though not as close as "Da' Floods"). So it's a good, solid way to end the EP.

You get all the songs on side R, and then clean, radio edits of each on side PG. It might take a little searching, but overall, this is a cool, sleeper 12" I'd recommend for most fans of the indie 90s 12" days, with an added appeal of historical interest for this into the Jersey underground scene.

Some Unearthed Sah-B Shit

Whoa - we interrupt 'Mel's Message Week' to bring you a breaking post on Sah-B! Fifth Element Online has just posted an in-depth review (and a complete mp3 rip) of her unreleased '94 album for Reprise Records, Some Ol' Sah-B Shit! Go check it out. I'll wait here. Come back when you're done.

Okay, so here's the cover of the tape he posted (you already saw it there, but I'm re-posting it here for comparison's sake).


I've been on the hunt for this album ever since it was announced on the back of the "Summa Day" cassingle as coming soon. Of course, it never did. But I knew that promo tapes existed, and I've seen a few fly by on EBay. In fact, six or so went up relatively recently. I never got 'em because they wound up going for ridiculous money. But what's interesting is that they're not all the same.

First of all, there's this version:

It's not really too different from the one FE posted, except that it's four tracks shorter. Those missing tracks are just the skits, and otherwise the track-listing is identical, so no big deal.

Okay, but how about this:


If you look, it's dated about three months earlier than the one FE posted, and has an entirely different (and shorter) track-listing. This definitely looks like an unfinished version. "Funkmaster Flex" might just be a radio freestyle or a drop/skit. But some titles like "Tell Me Something Good" and "Don't Stop" seem to have gone missing from those later versions posted above.

The same could be said for this 3-song tape:

"Do You Love Him Enough To Do the Time" persists through all the versions we've seen, and ties it to the Reprise album; but the other two songs, again, seem unique to this tape. Somebody must have some pretty deep vaults of unreleased Sah-B shit.

Especially since it looks like Reprise was also considering releasing some singles that never saw their way out the gate... check these out!

...That last one, of course, did come out as the B-side to "Summa Day." I just included it because it includes an Acapella version that was never released.

But how about those other songs? "Merciless" (plus a possibly alternate "Final Mix"), "Sah-B Show" and "Can't Let Go?" And these look like singles, too - so there's a good chance they're hotter than many of the album filler songs. Apparently they made a lot of passes trying to please Reprise, and none of them succeeded.

Now, it's important to note, I don't actually have any of these tapes... Is it possible that one or two of these seemingly different songs are actually the same but alternately titled? Sure. Maybe the song on the single "Sah-B Show" is "Sah-B" on that eight-song tape.

But one thing's for sure. There is a crap-ton of unreleased Sah-B material - much of which we can now hear thanks to Fifth Element Online and much we cannot; but all of which needs to be given a proper, official release. Who can make this happen?

(By the way, I love it that there can be "breaking news" on Sah-B's album in 2011. hehe)

The Sah-B That Never Was

So I can't end my Sah-B coverage without finishing the tale in my usual, definitive (critics could probably come up with another term for it) style. In my last post, I talked about the flagship 12" of her return, "The Freestyle," and how it seemed designed to hype up a comeback that never followed.

When she was still a teen in the late 80's, she started out in a crew called The Revolutionary Posse of Terrace, which included other NJ heavy-hitters Redman and The Lords of the Underground. And of course, it was her attention grabbing debut on Lords Of the Underground's posse cut (with fellow up-and-comer De'1) "Flow On" that we all still really know her for today - it didn't hurt that an already really hot track was later given a smooth Pete Rock remix when LOTUG put it out as their sixth(!) single. They all followed that up with another impressive posse cut, "Da Underground Sound," which was put on the B-side to De'1's debut single; and she did one more guest spot on LOTUG's second album. Off the strength of those, she became one of the first (though not the first) female MCs to land a major label record deal and released a really nice single (especially the b-side!) on Reprise Records in 1994. Unfortunately, the label then lost interest in her (possibly as a backlash, since she was known for her almost shrill, hardcore but witty lyrics and rapid-fire staccato flows, and her debut single was a blatant stab at crossover mainstream pop rap, a la The Fresh Prince of Bel Air), and her promised album Some Ol' Sah-B Shit never surfaced.

Here's my first good scoop: I asked then-producer K-Def if her or De'1's albums were ever finished… if original, unreleased recordings might be tucked away in an A&R's closet or a promo cassette sitting on some music journalist's desk. He answered, "I'm not sure either album was completed. I do know is I did a few more songs for De'1 that was on the album supposedly. I'm pretty sure Marley has it locked in the vault...lol" Thanks for getting back to me, K!

So, that was it from Sah-B for a couple of years. Either tied up in label politics, or just not interested in dealing with the uphill battle, she didn't come out with anything until 1997, when she returned to the scene with some less than thrilling, mainstream R&B remix singles (I'm sorry, but I don't think *any* MC could get me excited about an Uncle Sam remix). But she also came out on the independent tip, appearing on Systahood's "M.O. Money" single (already blogged about here). Then in 1998 came her own, aforementioned "The Freestyle" 12" and the 3 Minute Blunts EP with The Andre Johnson Project, which was really just several different remixes of a song called "Why We Swing." In 1999, she did a couple more appearances. By 1999, it seemed like it was almost all over already… when Lords Of the Underground made their (first) underground comeback album, she was featured on the track: "Hennessey: Pt 2" (it was just okay, but then... everything on that album was just okay). And I didn't discover it until a few years later, but she did do one more guest appearance: it was an independent 12" on Cipher Records (backed by the infamous Echo International) with a group called Blackwatuz, who as far as I know, never put out anything else. It's an ok song (the b-side, which doesn't feature Sah-B, is better), but she only contributes the hook - no verses.

And, unfortunately, that's all she ever put out (to date). But here's the second good scoop of this entry: I have a demo CD of material she didn't put out on Born Hustlers Ent.



It's untitled and consists of four tracks, and two of them are the-b-sides to "The Freestyle" 12": "Tonight" and "Let Me Know." But the other two tracks are all new (unreleased).

The first new song is "Nobody," produced by someone named Vega (he's also listed in the contact information on that Blackwatuz 12", so that's the connection there). It's got fast, kind of bouncy/ kind of hard track with a lot of cuts and a repeating horn loop that's very catchy, if a bit cheesy. As with "The Freestyle" 12", nothing is up to her classic "Some Ol Sah-B Shit," and what's really surprising is that this is the same hook The Outsidaz used for the song called "Nobody" on their demo, and which was slated to appear on Pace Won's unreleased Pace Won Effect album, right down to the scratching... the only difference is it's Sah saying the hook instead of Pace and Zee! I gotta say the Outz version (especially the grittier demo version, before they polished and slowed it down for Pace's album) is the hands down winner - it's an unreleased Jersey classic. But the track is indeed addictive, Sah comes with some nice freestyle rhymes, and it's a good hook even if you did hear it before (we'll probably never know who came up with it first).

The other track is "Born Hustler," also produced by Vega. It's slower, with a cool 70's ambiance. It's got a bit of a more mainstream vibe… but if it does, it sounds like it'd be one of the few good tracks on a crappy mainstream rapper's album… if you take my meaning. Like the title suggests, Sah-B explains the hustle behind her label name:

"Born hustler,
Stay sweet like sugar
Who's the nicest?
Well, pick me like a booger.
Know why?
'Cause I'm gon' live and die for hip-hop
I seen crews flip-flop
Until they drip drop.
On the tic-toc, ya don't stop
Love me tender
It's time to surrender
I'm rocking this here down
So remember
See more dirt than Huffy
Know more Bad Boys than Puffy
Dudes find it hard to trust me
Know why?
Because they stay stagnated
And constantly, my thoughts stay elevated
So they think I'm slickin' them
Straight gettin' them
But my shoes ain't fittin' them
Or they average ho
I coulda got you for your dough
Long time ago
But now I'm doin' me
'cause only through the Earth
Is a real man able to find his true self worth
See, I was born to see
Born to teach
Born to be
Born to speak
Born to be
A born hustler."

But holy cow - I'm still not done! Here comes the third good scoop of this post:

'Cause a little after all the Born Hustlers stuff faded, I was contacted by her management. I'd already written about her for The Source, and they were putting me on to another comeback she was mounting. In fact, I was even gonna do her website… I got as far as designing the front page for'em. They sent me a 1-track CD single to review on my site. It never wound up getting released except they gave me a mailing address that people could mail order 'em from that I put up in my forums. That was 2001, so even though the threads still there, I wouldn't send 'em any money and expect to hear back.

The CD single is titled "Whut That Be About" and don't feel too bad about missing it if you weren't reading my site in '01 (though it's just one more example of why you should always be checking my site! Haha) unless you're a real fan. It's kinda disappointing. If the Born Hustlers phase was a step down from the Reprise phase, then this is a step down from the Born Hustlers phase. I said in my previous post, "Sah-B sounds a little more subdued (I guess she'd say "mature") on this record, which is definitely to her detriment," and she's gone further in that direction on this release. Gone is the energetic, Milk Dee voiced, rough punchline spitting MC we were all dying to get an LP from. And in her place, we've got a dull, slow, generic female rapper who sounds like she 's been listening to too much Eve, post-45-King Latifah, Da Brat, and so on.

Don't get me wrong; it's not terrible. The track, again produced by Vega, is fun - it's got a weird string sample emulating a buzzing bee playing throughout and a cool horn sting every so often. The lyrics still have the edge of an intelligent writer, though as you might gather from the title, the hook's annoying as.

Through everything, you can always see the talent running underneath each of her endeavors. But like just about all rappers and groups making comebacks, you can't help but pine for what they'd've accomplished if they just went for theirs and did their own thing instead of trying to fit in with whoever was featured in last month's Vibe.

Tags: Sah-B, Sakinah Britton

Some Not Quite As Old Sah-B Shit

This 12" is the flagship for the comeback of Sah-B that never quite got off the ground. You'll note she's changed her name to Sakinah "Sah-B" Britton... she'd later drop the "Sah-B" completely. Anyway, this came out in 1998 on Born Hustlers... it's kinda rare now, but probably not all that expensive, because I don't think it's been all that sought after. I reckon this cassette version, which comes in a plain white cardboard sleeve, is even rarer:



The first song is called "The Freestyle" and lives up to its name. Sah-B rocks over a number of crowd-pleasing beats from that period, like Camron's "357" with the Magnum PI loop, MOP & Jay-Z's "4 Alarm Blaze" that took the "Eye Of the Tiger" beat and the "Ruff Ryders' Anthem". .. You know: "Stop! Drop! Shut 'em down; open up shop." Ha ha This is a real artifact of its day. There's no producer credited, presumably because the "guest DJ," DJ A.P. - who does some really nice cutting throughout this record, including a few points where he gets to do solos on the tables - is just flipping instrumentals on the spot. Sah-B's pretty dope here, kicking fairly hardcore freestyle rhymes over each beat - not up to her classic, "Some Ol' Sah-B Shit," but you'll definitely have a good time - as much thanks to the DJ as the MC. Plus, it's impressive how she just keeps on flowing and flowing on this long track.

"There's a lotta corny people
In this industry
Tryin' to get me to sell my soul
In exchange for going gold
Five hundred thousand units sold
I call them the devil
Operatin' on the corporate level
I speak against them
They call me a rebel
Whatever, man
I'm doin' it properly
There's no stoppin' me
I'm God's property
I've got the remedy
For those who wanna be an enemy
You ain't offendin' me
When you pretend to be
Less than my fan
Left me dead and strand
When I was reachin' out to you
You wouldn't grab my hand
Damn!
Shit...
I'm not supposed to be bitter?
I watched you like a babysitter
Become a bullshitter
If bullshit was power
You could rule the world
Try to play me like a girl
I'm every woman
It's all in me
Until infinity
Keep my head high,
Walk with dignity
I was tailor-made
To get paid, true indeed
In high school
I was voted most likely to succeed
Sweat and bleed
You gotta control ya greed
Be hungry
For what you want ain't always what you need
Watch where you be
A flower in bloom
Could soon become a weed
As I take the lead
These cats can't hurt me
Sah-B signing out
Arrivederci
And it don't stop
One, two, and it don't stop
Sah-Bdee
Up in this piece with DJ APdee
Doin' this Born Hustlers style"

...And that's just one verse.

The first of the two b-sides is produced by Lord Jazz, and its very much like his work for LOTUG's Undaground Buttas 12"s: simple, even a bit under-produced, but solid enough to support some really dope rhymes. But these rhymes are just i-ight, so all in all, it's an underwhelming effort. There's a cool violin sample that they sneak in every so often, and we get some nice cuts from Lord Jazz, though nothing as exciting as the A-side. Sah-B sounds a little more subdued (I guess she'd say "mature") on this record, which is definitely to her detriment.

The second b-side, "Tonight," sounds like some typical studio-fare, with familiar samples and an R&B chorus... it's a slow song and a bit dated, even for '98. It almost sounds like it could be a leftover from her unreleased Epic album. That said, it's not that bad. If you can tolerate this style of song, it's well done - producer DJ Backspin sounds at home handling this kind of production work, and Sah swaps the freestyling for some smart, semi-narrative rhymes... this is essentially her "Summa Day" part two.

Now, this is my third Sah-B post (see here and here), so we've covered all that "where is she now"-type stuff. I'd still very much like to know if she ever recorded her full Some Ol' Sah-B Shit album (if so, who's got them in their vault?), or even if there are just a couple other tracks from that era waiting to someday be released. Maybe if we pester K-Def enough,he'll give us a definitive answer. But until then, stay tuned... there'll definitely be some more posts on Sah-B's comeback material down the road right here.

Tags: Sah-B, Sakinah Britton, Lord Jazz, DJ Backspin, DJ AP, K-Def

Systa, Systa

Here's an obscure one most of ya'll will probably be glad to learn about… Systahood's "M.O. Money," from '97. I originally picked this up just for the Sakinah Britton (you may know her better as Sah-B) appearance, but it turns out to be rather nice as a whole.

Systahood is comprised of two women who grew up in East Orange, NJ: the MC, Kandi and the DJ, Twista (no relation to that Twista, naturally). This was their only release before they called it quits because, as Twista said in an interview with FAMDO.com (the interview's no longer up on their site, though unfortunately, so don't waste your time searching for it), "I had bills to pay and I was fortunate to have a career I could fall back on [a clinical operations coordinator in the pharmaceutical industry, apparently]." Even before putting out this single, though, she also co-founded Systas 4 Systas, an East Orange charitable organization, whose mission (according to the IRS) is to "combat juvenile delinquency." As Twista explained it, "this is a grass-roots organization in which five childhood friends and myself noticed that the external support organizations and community services we were once privileged to have, were slowly disappearing. We wanted to do what we could to deter the younger generation of women from teen pregnancy, drugs, alcohol and gangs."

One of those five friends, apparently, is Sah-B - an online charity database lists, M. Sakinah Britton as "(Community Representative) Vice President" for Systas 4 Systas Inc. So I'm guessing that first initial stands for Mawiyah, which solves the mystery from my old "Just a Summa Day" post. I think we can now safely assume Sakinah is using her middle name, and her full name is Mawiyah Sakinah Britton. You see? You dig around long enough, and you find out fun, obscure info. Here's another fact I found that way - Systas 4 Systas is also the name of a hair salon in East Orange… They have different mailing addresses, but since there's only two listings for "Systas 4 Systas" anywhere in the world, and they're both in East Orange, I decided to call them up and see. It's the same answering machine thanking you for calling Systas 4 Systas Inc. So that's them, too. 8)

Ok, so now you know who Systahood is; let's take a look at their work. "M.O. Money" starts off with Sah-B's guest verse (she also does the hook), and she comes off pretty nice… definitely still retaining some of that voice and flow that made her early work so enjoyable. Kandi takes the mic for the next two verses… she isn't as good (in terms of voice, lyrics, or flow), but certainly capable enough to keep an indie record like this afloat. Most impressively, the production, handled by Twista, is hot. Gripping horn samples and a fast, captivating bassline definitely pull you right into the song. The b-side, "Keep It In the Fam," is solid, too. It's more mellow, driven by a slower, deeper bassline (and yes, instrumentals are included for both). Kandi is a bit of a victim of her times here, filling her lyrics with lines like, "we stick together like stacks of new money," but hey, it was '97; who wasn't writing like that? Anyway. you can easily see why the A-side was picked to be the lead-off track, and this song is definitely the worse for not having another guest appearance by Sah-B, but you'll like both. And all in all, this rare, indie release (as far as I know, the only release on True Records) is definitely worth tracking down if you can.

It's been a long time since we've had a release from Sah-B - I was very disappointed to hear she wasn't featured on the new LOTUG album - and she doesn't seem to have much of an online presence (i.e. a myspace); but since they're working together, maybe there's still a chance Sah-B will come back, with some production from Twista and a guest verse from Kandi. …Come on, guys; make it happen.

Update 1/27/11: I just finally found the vinyl version of this release! The track-listing is the same for both, but we can glean some interesting tidbits of info from the label, including the fact that Kandi's full MCing name is actually Kandi Kain, and that this record was actually executive produced by Cool Vee!

I've also since learned some more about what Systahood is up to these days... Kandi Kain has written a book! It's called Hip Hop Holla-Backs, and apparently it's "the first of its’ kind to feature crossword puzzles, word searches and jumbles, trivia and artwork for coloring fostered around the theme of hip hop." She's published it herself through her own company, Tru Systa Books, which has a website at trusystabooks.com.

There's also a website for Systas 4 Systas over at s4sinc.org. It's got a heap of info on what they do over there, so I'll just let you go explore... By the way, I guess Sah-B got married, because there's a bio for one M. Sakinah Reed. So congrats, Sah! :)

Just a Summa Day

Here's another nice summer jam. Coming straight out of the House of Hits in '94, Sah-B put out her first single on Reprise Records on the strength of her cameo on The Lords Of the Underground's hit, "Flow On." With a distinctively high-pitched voice, hardcore flow and clever punchline-style rhymes, Sah-B was definitely creating a buzz, and this attempt at a mainstream crossover release may've been a poor choice for a debut to an audience who would've been hoping for a reprise (no pun intended, but it's there and we're all just going to have to live with it) from just that sort of thing at that time... but it's still pretty nice.

Like you'd expect from a summer jam, this Marley Marl produced song is a relaxed, take-it-easy type record with a brief flute sample, keyboard, light bassline and slow drums. A hook by Avery Moore that goes: "It's just a summer day... come out and parlay. Come out and parlay," sets up Sah-B easy listening rhymes (written by Mawiyah Britton. Sah-B's real name is Sakinah Britton, so who's this? Her sister? Mother?):

"People fake sick just to get the day off,
'Cause it's too hot to work; the heat'll make your head hurt.
The heat sometimes'll make you aggravated;
And those without ACs are really frustrated.
Mosquito bites just gettin' to ya,
And the sweat got your PJs stickin' to ya;
So you jump into the shower,
Stay about an hour,
And throw on the Johnson's Baby Powder."

Here's the cover of the cassingle, so you can see the kind of vibe they were goin' for:

But it's the b-side, "Some Ol' Sah-B Shit" that's the star of this show. Produced by K-Def, with nasty horn samples, intense scratching, a banging piano loop and Sah-B (this time writing her own material) ripping it ill and hardcore, this is Sah-B living up to everything her burgeoning fans were hoping for, and then some. There's a warning on the label, "Attention: Track B1 may not be suitable for on-air/in-store play." Yeah, it sure ain't. And it's better than anything the Lords or any of Marley's other acts managed to come out with at the time; she really just kills it over one of K-Def's best tracks.

Now, here's an ad that ran in a summer issue of Rap Sheet:

...Note (if you can... AOL seems to've shrunken it a bit) that it mentions her "forthcoming debut album on Reprise." Sadly, this never materialized. The cassingle credits go a bit further, mentioning, "the Reprise album Some Ol' Sah-B Shit, available on cassette and compact disc (4/2 - 45716)." Now I'm no marketing guru, but surely that title was shooting themselves in the foot. Sah-B did attempt an independent comeback a few years later (of course, as always, you can see all the specifics on my Sah-B page), and continued to appear on the subsequent LOTUG albums, but her increasing attempts to sound more conventional (read: boring) really worked against her.

As far as I can tell, Sah-B's no longer recording (though maybe when LOTUG comes out with another album, she'll return), and I can't find a myspace or anything... Here's K-Def's myspace page, though. And here's Marley's (not to be confused with this, unofficial Marley Marl myspace page).

Tags: Sah-B, Sakinah Britton, K-Def, Marley Marl