2020: Year of MC Mechanism

(DJ Too Tuff's recordings with MC Mechanism the Articulate One have finally been secured on vinyl thanks to Chopped Herring Records. Youtube version is here.)

Tuff and TL Back To Yell

The Tuff Crew's reign ended in the early 90's. They released their fourth album, Still Dangerous, with only three members remaining in 1991 - one of whom was a new addition (Smooth K). And by 1993, Ice Dog (one of the two remaining)'s solo 12" dubbed him "Formerly Of Tuff Crew." Two of the core members conspicuously absent from the Still Dangerous line-up were Tone Love the Teacher and probably the biggest draw of the crew, DJ Too Tuff. It turns out, they were off working n their own project in '1991, as the mostly unreleased Danger Zone Mobb Sqwad.

The Danger Zone Mobb Sqwad were preparing their debut album, TL Back To Yell. It was never finished. But they did release a very rare, cassette only (essentially... I'll come back to that) single on Sure Shot Records. And that single has just been pressed on vinyl and released in 2012 by Dope Folks Records.

What we have here is two versions apiece of two tracks. The rhymes and production are handled by TL and Mac-G (who also produced the TL tracks on the recent Remember? EP on Solid Ground, the label which, interestingly enough, first announced this release), and the cuts are of course by DJ Too Tuff.

"Flp'n Keeloz" is a pretty solid track, with a lot of seriously in-depth talk about the drug trade. Seriously, there have been thousands upon thousands of rap songs about drug dealing, but after having heard them all, you're still gonna feel like you're learning a lot from this one. The hook consists of a lot of well-selected Scarface (the DePalma version, of course) vocal samples, and the beat consists of a nice break, funk guitar riff, and a very effective kettle drum. Still, it definitely fits in a lot better with their less compelling 90's material, than they're seriously banging 80's stuff, where the Crew really excelled. Too Tuff having no scratches on the track is a part of it, but the whole thing just has that less exciting, 90's vibe to it. It's a good song, but disappointing considering the Crew's track record and the reputation the Mobb Sqwad single has.

That reputation is earned much more on the other track, though, which features a lot more energy, freestyle rhymes, banging drums, a fast rolling bassline, and yes, scratches by Too Tuff. I can see why they chose this for their title track, and I suspect, even if the album was finished, this would've been one of the best songs on it. There's no real breakdown or anything where Tuff really gets busy, though - he's just providing very clean, choice cuts on the hook and back-up, making a strong song even stronger. I was way more excited by this song from the opening seconds, but when the horns came in, it totally took me back to the best Tuff Crew moments. "Flip'n Keeloz" is a cool song to have, too; but "TL Back To Yell" is exactly what we're hoping for anytime we fans pick up a Tuff Crew release.

And didn't I mention there were two versions of each song? Yup.

The Montana Mix of "Flip'n Keeloz" isn't too wildly different from the Straight YaYo Mix. It's the same rhymes over the same instrumental with the same vocal samples for the chorus. The Montana runs a few seconds longer, but the main difference is that, on the hook when they play Scarface clips, they also switch to an instrumental piece from the Scarface soundtrack, whereas on the Straight YaYo Mix, they keep the same beat going through it. And during the final breakdown, they take another synth line from the original film and lay it over their track. Personally, I prefer the Montana Mix... the bulk of the instrumental is unchanged, so you don't feel like you're losing anything from the Straight YaYo Mix, and yet the Montana Mix feels richer, and the drama of the narrative is more engrossing, with these other musical elements from the film. This B-side remix raises my opinion of the song a lot and makes it feel like a more worthy companion to "TL Back To Yell."

The differences between the "TL Back To Yell"s are more obvious: The Come Back Mix is a dub/TV version of the Strong Mix.

Now, I said I'd come back to the original release being cassette-only. That's because there is actually a super, incredibly rare promo-only 12" version. If discogs is to be believed, there are only 5 copies in existence. So, realistically, we don't have one and we're not going to get one. Making this Dope Folks release practically the sole vinyl version available. And even if you did own one of those 5 copies, that 12" is missing the Montana Mix of "Flip'n Keeloz" (the better version!) and the Come Back Mix of "TL Back To Yell," so you'll want to pick this up anyway. As always, the Dope Folks 12" is limited to 300 copies, sells for $20, and can be ordered directly from their site.

The Tuff Crew Ride Through the House

There aren't a lot of 12" exclusives from The Tuff Crew. After their rare, debut singles "Get Smart" and "Philly Style" - which are so old school they don't even sound like the Tuff Crew we know and love - it's pretty much a case of: if you've got the albums, you've got everything. The "My Part of Town" Remix was an exclusive for a minute when it first dropped; but a few months later, it turned up on the Crew's next album. Really, if you're after vintage remixes and exclusive B-sides, there's only one 12" single you need.

"She Rides the Pony" dropped on Soo Deff Records in 1989, the second single off their third album, Back To Wreck Shop. Kind of late in the Tuff Crew's legacy, it's already signalling the group's change in tone and direction. Rather than a bombastic ode to their hometown or their incredible DJ's turntablism, it's a sex song. Times were a-changin', and the Crew, to their detriment, was changing with them. If the hip-hop world wanted smoother, more gangsta, west coast-style rap, the Crew was gonna go there for us, which is why their next album is easily their worst.

But they hadn't gone there completely yet, we're just catching the first glimpses here. Fortunately, the beat is an incredibly funky production, and this track owes as much to The Jungle Brothers' "Jimbrowski" as it does anything from Compton (they even refer to "my Jimmy" about fifty or sixty times in the song). Unfortunately, I guess the vibe they were going for was too low-key to let DJ Too Tuff detonate the ace deuces; but it gave them a chance to prove they could make a killer track without lathering it in exultant scratching. Instead, they take possibly my favorite drum break of all time (Tommy Roe's "Sweet Pea" - most memorably used for MC Lyte's "Lyte As a Rock," but tons of great artists utilized it, from Gangstarr to Chuck Chillout, De La Soul... even, Tragedy for his best record ever), but marry it with a fast, rumbly bassline and 45 King-style horn stabs. If you can 0ver the juvenile aspect of the lyrics and the fact that there are no cuts on a Tuff Crew record, this can stand right alongside their greatest hits.

Oh, but I was talking about 12" exclusives, right? Well, okay, right after the album track "She Rides the Pony" comes the Remix. It keeps the same drums, but replaces the bassline with dominant funk guitar loop, which may've been inspired by South coast hip-hop of the time, but the Crew manage to keep it from going too far afield of the original's sound. It's also got some new stabs and horn samples - as well as keeping the horns from the original mix; making the whole thing feel more upbeat and lively. So it's a little more club oriented, but enough to alienate Tuff Crew fans, who'll surely want both mixes.

Then you've got a Dub mix of the "Pony" Remix, and another album track called "What You Don't Know." This is the one they had the video for, which makes sense, because I imagine "She Rides the Pony" would've been a tough sell to the FCC in 1989 (today, they'd probably be happy for a song so innocent; but in 1989 it was edgy). It features another funky break as its main selling point, some funky understated congos. And this time, they let Too Tuff get bust, cutting up the hook and getting busier on the breakdown. Overlord's distinctive voice dominates most of the track, but Tone Love comes in near the end to breathe some extra life into the track just as it was starting to run short. Overall, it's a pretty cool track, but doesn't quite click like their best work... it's dope, but never totally takes off.

The label apparently felt the same way. But their solution was to... hire an outside producer and turn it into a house track? Yup, and this is actually the version they used in the video. EC LaRock keeps a lot of elements from the original, including the congas, though he sometimes swaps them out for some more new jack house percussion. He also adds keyboards and some really traditional house samples for the breakdowns.

That might sound like a travesty, but it actually works. There's enough of the original track, the Crew's rapping and most importantly Too Tuff's cuts to keep the proceedings down to Earth. This is "Tuff Crew meets house," not your typical "house music tropes completely overrun whatever music it was added onto" mix. It actually gives the verses and cuts that extra kick that the original version was calling for. This song manages to make the extremely short list of house mixes that even the die-hard hip-hop purists who would normally accuse the subgenre of ruining half a decade of rap music will have to give it up for.

So, overall, you get two quality album tracks, a Dub and two exclusive remixes. Not bad for a Tuff Crew fan who's been starved for more material... Reminder for Solid Ground Records: don't leave us hanging on that Danger Zone Mobb Sqwad material!

Remember the Tuff Crew Band?

(Youtube version is here.)