Portal Gun Reloaded

Alright, I did a video about UG's highly awaited new album Portals already.  Watch that if you're interested in my thoughts on the album.  But since then, the vinyl version has dropped, as well another new bonus CD.  All told, that's three CDs, a record and a tape, and a lot of different material between them.  So, I thought I'd do my thing and break down all the versions and all their respective bonus tracks in a little, comprehensive overview.

So, first of all, let's take a quick look at the LP.  Yes, LP.  I could swear I read when this was announced that it was going to be an EP, but I guess not.  Musically, the LP is exactly same as the main CD [left], all fourteen tracks including the skits.  So that was a nice initial surprise, when I was expecting a little "best of" 6-tracker and got the whole album.  It's limited to 300 copies and as you can see above, it's a dope picture cover, and the wax is a very cool splatter-colored vinyl.  They also included a some cool bonus stickers and a second poster with the order, which was nice of them, as I mentioned in my video, the posters included with the CD were bent and folded into the packaging.  This time they're nice and crisp, albeit unsigned.  Obviously the record itself is the important thing, but I appreciate when a label gets all the little extra details right like that.

In addition to the CD and LP versions, there's a cassette version.  I showed that in the video, but in case you don't feel like watching it, I'll repeat that it's a cool purple tape.  Not only does that match the album artwork, but it's a cool reference to the original Cella Dwellas purple tape cassingle that lead directly to Raekwon's famous purple tape.  The label describes the cassette as limited on their store, but I'm not sure to how many copies exactly.  Anyway, the tape introduces the first of the bonus tracks, "We Not Playing (Revisited)" featuring Ill Bill of Non-Phixion.  It's called "Revisited" because it's a sequel to a song they did together on Ide's 2011 album, Rite of Passage.  It's not just a remix, though, it's an all new song with all new verses set to roughly the same instrumental.

Next up is the Instrumentals album (titled Portals Bonus Material on the CD itself).  Yes, this features all 14 instrumentals from the main Portals album.  That's nice to have in itself, but then it also has four more bonus tracks on it.  First up is "Wordplay" featuring Ide, an all new song that they regarded highly enough to release as an online single.  It's not one of UG's "mystical" songs, but it's pretty fresh.  Then "We Not Playing (Revisited)" is on here, too.  Next is "Scripts N Scrolls," a song which was originally going to be part of Portals (it says so on the 2011 label sampler where it was first heard), but later wound up on Ide's album Uncovered Remains.  And yes, that is another mystical-style track.  And finally, the last track is "You Already Snow (2012 Version)," a remix of the duet UG did with Celph Tilted on Portals.  Not really a favorite song of mine in either incarnation, but it's a solid remix, production-wise.

Another thing I mentioned in my video was an mp3-only bonus track that people who pre-ordered the original package got.  Well, if you missed it, don't feel bad, because it's now found a proper physical home on this new bonus CD, Portals: B-Sides and Remixes.  This is a full-length album of ten cuts, no instrumentals.  Four of these are remixes of Portals tracks, including my favorite song, "Super Gods," and "Mind Right" done by Nick Wiz himself.  There's also a remix of "Ready for War," which is cool, but the track doesn't really match the vocals, plus another version of "You Already Snow."  One song is "My Soldiers" an older track featuring Casual and Smif-N-Wessun's Steele that was originally featured on Ide's Addicted To the Vision album.  So four remixes and an older song means five all new songs, which is pretty exciting.  The first is "Intro," but it's not just some little 30 second instrumental, but a full song with vocals.  Then there's "Might & Magic Pt. 2."  "Might & Magic" was one of the best songs on Portals, and I think this one is even a little bit better.  "Close Your Eyes" was that mp3 exclusive, and it's another great one, even better than a lot of the songs on Portals.  The other two songs are cool, too.  There's "Space Ghost" and "Doc Strange" (hey, that's what I called him in my vid!) featuring DV Alias Khryst.  It would be going too far to say this bonus CD is better than the Portals album itself, but it gives it a good run for its money.

So pre-ordering Portals is a thing of the past, as all versions have landed, with the vinyl arriving on my doorstep just in time for Christmas.  But looking at their site, you can still buy either bundle or every individual item separately.  The tape, each bonus CD, just the t-shirt.  So you can pick and choose however you want.  I'd recommend the main album on whichever format floats your boat [just kidding; vinyl all the way!] and the B-Sides CD, or a bundle if you're really a fan.  I mean, if this is your thing.  I could totally get how UG's "mystic" stuff is probably too strange for most people who just want a relatable pop song or a tale of grim, urban reality they can take seriously.  But I love it; UG's got a unique talent and I already can't wait for his next album.

Hip-Hop's Dr. Strange

(More new music, this time from one of the original Cella Dwellas, who's basic on the bizarre, mystic tip.  Censored Youtube version is here.)

Lost Portals To Secret Realms

Where IS it? Damn it. Way back in 2010, Creative Juices Music released a sampler album with a couple very tantalizing songs by UG of the Cella Dwellas. "Taken from the forthcoming album: Portals," it said. Wow, not only were we finally getting the first solo full-length from UG, but after listening tot he songs, it was clear he was reclaiming his crazily creative  mystical style! By 2011, Portals was being announced all over the blogosphere... videos of UG in the studio were posted... it had (and still has) a "coming soon" page on ughh. They even had an exact date - May 17th. Creative Juices had it listed on their website and every email blast if you were on their mailing list. It was there... and there... and there... It was there all the way until Spring of 2012, when it wasn't there anymore.

Well, I contacted Creative Juices and asked them about it. They gave this disappointing reply, "Since its been there for over a year we decided to take it down until we knew more about what was going on. Thanks."

If you look at Creative's output from 2010-2012, UG was all over it. He's got mad cameo verses and guest spots. He had a couple more songs on their second sampler album in 2012. That album unfortunately didn't specify which projects each song was from, so it's hard to say if any were intended for Portals or just guest spots... Well actually, "We Not Playing" wound up on an Ide album. Even one of the "taken from Portals" songs from the first sampler, "Scripts and Scrolls" eventually wound up being placed on Ide & Alucard's latest album.

Remember the announced return of the Cella Dwellas, too? Where they were doing a reunion album with Nick Wiz? They had a video and everything. It's been a long time since we heard anything about that, too.

Did UG just disappear? His twitter hasn't been updated since 2001. It feels like the UG appearances we were seeing by 2012 were stuff recorded for Portals and Creative Juices just stuck them on other projects rather than let them go to waste. I mean, look at that ad. The album was to be produced by Ide and feature Ill Bill... then there's a song with UG and Ill Bill on Ide's Rite of Passage album? That's gotta be a Portals song. Dude could've dropped off long before his material quit dropping.

And it's especially frustrating because Portals seemed so right for him. Creative Juices has great production that's perfectly suited for UG's voice and exotic lyrical content. I mean, let's face it, some of their core artists are really just guys emulating UG's lyric-writing. But he was still the master. The stuff we heard of him on CJ was some of the best we've heard from him since the Dwellas first came out in the early 90s. Were some of his 12"s or mixtapes a little below par through the late 80s and early 2000s? Yeah, okay. But this album was setting to become a return to form... and that's not just speculation, because we got to hear some of it. Granted, I would've preferred a Necro-produced beat for UG than a verse for his album; but overall this was going to be a great album.

So where is he? Where's Portals? I'd start calling hospitals, except I'm starting to think those calls should've been made back in 2011. But seriously, I want answers. Somebody must know something.

Creative Juices Music

More hot new music? How about a whole label's worth? Until pretty recently, I was sleeping on these guys, which gave them a chance to create a whole back catalog of ill music I need to check out. In case you've been missing out, too, I'm talking about Creative Juices Music. They got plenty of new talented artists putting out their first releases, including Alucard, Critical and Ide, who seems to be their centerpiece artist. And they've got some established artists signed to their label, including Jise of The Arsonists and UG of the Cella Dwellas.

The label has a surprisingly unified sound... The production is rich and the lyrics are very late 90's. Think of that era when you first heard The Rebel Alliance or Jedi Mind Tricks, or when Canibus was an exciting new artist. The lyrics are smart and sometimes topical, but they still retain that raw hip-hop freestyle nature. All the MCs come with nice lines without sounding jokey, instead remembering to fall back on creativity and flow. They've got a house DJ, DJ Connect, adding first class scratches to their projects. This label is the epitome of "keeping it real" from a late 90's ethic. Hell, this is the label that got The Outsidaz to reunite ("Still In This" features Pace Won, Young Zee and Yah Yah)!

I've recently picked up a bunch of their projects - if you want a good place to start, try Ide and DJ Connect's incredible Ideology and Ide & Alucard's For Fuck Sake album, an ill ode to liquor - but still have a bunch more to score. And if it's still all a little too overwhelming, fortunately they've got a a nice (unmixed) sampler CD (pictured... and better yet, ughh has it in their freebie section, cop it quick!).

The one and only Mista Sinista cuts up a quality introduction, and then we're thrown right into it. New and as-yet-unreleased cuts by their full roster. There are some nice cameos, too, including Thirstin Howl III, Shabaam Sahdeeq, Casual, Steele (of Cocoa Brovas), and Hell Heaven Razah. But the guys you don't know will impress you at least as much as the big names. It helps a lot that the production is some serious, consistently quality stuff. Think of like The Snowgoons or Marco Polo.

There are new songs by UG - and oh shit, he's kicking his "mystic" style material for the first time in at least a decade! Those songs are advanced tracks from his upcoming album for Creative Juices called Portals. Damn, I can't wait!

Seriously, I got a bunch of their discs (yeah, unfortunately they're all CD and no vinyl... the one downside to this outfit) all at once, and I'm just putting one in after the other, and each song is as impressive and exciting as the last. Fuck, why didn't anybody tell me about these guys earlier? They've got a website, so you can check it out here for more info. Or maybe all you guys reading this are already completely up on them, and I was the only jerk sleeping. Heh

The Black Whirlwind

Tonight, we're starting with the B-side, gang.

I'd never heard of this guy before stumbling upon his 12", but apparently Etcetera is a Brooklyn MC and producer who's put out a few records over the years, and is still doing it. There's no date on the label, but according to an old, online press-kit of his, this dropped in 2000. And if you look closely at the label scan, you can see why I picked it up: "Tonight" is a posse cut featuring fellow Brooklynites UG and Gauge.

And when I got it home and plopped it down on the tables, this song turned out to be even better than I was expecting. The beat is hard and energetic, perfect for being torn up by some Brooklyn hardrocks, with cracking drums and wailing industrial-like samples reminiscent of Public Enemy records if they made beats for Stretch and Bobbito freestyle sessions; and both UG and Gauge bring their A-game, spitting two verses apiece. UG dances the line between his classic mystic style and uncompromising ruggedness:

"Who wanna battle?
I travel like bullets through gun barrels!
Get grappled and tackled to the gravel;
Clap you with chrome,
Crackle the bones
Under your vest.
David Koresh
Burnin' your flesh, fricassee.
No one is sicker than me;
Spittin' degrees
Hotter than the sun.
...
The black whirlwind.
Ya world ends!
Your friends and your girl,
It's over.
I separate your head from your shoulder;
Flying guillotine.
Rhymes kill a team,
Murder verbally.
Who ain't heard of me,
I'll send 'em straight to surgery
Leakin' burgundy.
You vs. me, UG,
An ill specimen
That assembles weapons in milliseconds
To kill your section
And then vanish...
Into thin air!"

Etcetera isn't quite as ill as these two, but he keeps up with a more playful punchline-y flow. The hook is a clever play on a lyric from "The Show."

So, how about the A-side? It's called "Beez Like That," and without the guest verses, it certainly lacks the excitement of "Tonight," but it shows that Etcetera can do alright on his own, and the beat's still pretty tight. It's good, and he has some amusing lines, but you probably won't flip this record over too often to find out.

So, like I said, Etcetera is still doing it. He has a myspace here... some of his new tracks seem pretty bland and mainstream to me, but I guess if you like the kinda stuff 50 Cent is doing nowadays, you might like it. He does have another track with Gauge that's at least worth listening to ("Oh No - Version II"), but nothing suggests he's coming with anything as ill as this joint.

Return To the Realm of the Mystics - UG Interview

The Cella Dwellas was one of the illest lyrical groups in the 90's that put out a few hot records, but never really got the chance to do everything they could do. Well, now UG (a.k.a. Lan Outlaw) is coming back to set that record straight, with his own label, Spaz Out Entertainment (here's a link to his myspace).

Well, let's begin with how the Cella Dwellas formed… wasn't there a third member at one time? I remember some press releases referencing…

Oh yeah. It actually wasn't a third member, just when you run with a group of people… it was a person that we had with us named Lord Have Mercy.

Lord Have Mercy from Flipmode?

Yes. My partner had actually got him signed with Busta's management. We also had got him a situation with Das EFX and them: The Hit Squad. That was like the third member of the group.

Yeah, because I think I remember the press release stating that you each represented, like, different elements, and he represented robotics.

Right. It was the mystics, the hypnotics and the robotics. It was three - 'cause we were called Realm 3 and it was three realms represented the Realm 3 camp.

And did you guys ever record anything like that? I mean, I know there wasn't a record as Realm 3, but did you ever record demos, or…?

Well, what happened is the first record we had recorded was "Duck, Duck, Goose." That was the first time that all three of us had recorded. And as we recorded the record and laid it down… throughout the process of recording the album, we offered the third member some money. We were like, "yo, let's do this. Let's get you on a record; let's get you some money." He was like, "nah, nah, I'll just do it for free;" we were like, "nah, let's get you some money."

You know, so we got him some money. And that's when my partner got Busta to manage him and put him down with Flipmode. We were like, "yo, you need your own situation. We're close with Bus; why don't you go over there?" Because prior to that I had got him signed to Hit Squad, and whatever happened, the situation between him and them got messed up.

Then, when he got signed to Flipmode, after he got done recording the verse for the album, I guess he had a talk with Busta. After that, he came back to me and Phantasm and said, "Busta said I should get some more money." And we were just saying to ourselves, "you wanted to do it for free at first!" We told him, "we got you some money, now towards the end of the album, you're down with Flipmode and Busta told you that you need some more money, you come over here." So we clipped that song from the album. That song was never released. But I have it.

Man, I'd love to hear that. It would be great if you could put that out somehow…

Well, what I'ma do… I've got a bunch of Dwella songs that never got released, so I'm trying to put that together right now.

And then, the situation after that, it kinda turned. Not for the worse, but he went his way and we went our way. Because Lord, he was headstrong. He wanted to be the leader and so forth, and as a group we were just like no leaders. We represented three realms, and that's just that. But you know how people get, you go through the politics, the industry, you smell a little success, you run with the people that are successful, and it kinda changes you if you don't have nobody to level you out.

Yeah, actually, listening to Lord Have Mercy, especially his early material, you can hear in his flow and his lyrical style how he could be a part of the same group as you guys.

Well, to tell you the truth, when I first met Phantasm, he wasn't an original Cella Dwellas member. There was a person that was before him even. And him and Lord wanted to manage me or produce for us. And the person I was with went to play football overseas, and I was doin' it by myself. And when I met Lord and Phantasm, their whole style was totally different. Phantasm was Special Ed-ish, and Lord was Special Ed-ish with 'im. So when I started talking about dragons and casting spells and stuff like that, it was something new to them, and they were like, "yo, let's ride this!" And that's how they got involved with the mystics, the hypnotics and the robotics. They got that through me. That's why everything was so similar, because we were always together, and they were like, "yo, let me hear that!" And I would rhyme the castle, large winds… stuff like that and they were like, "yo, that's kinda crazy." I was like, "since it's something new, let's all just ride it." And that's how that happened.

Yeah; speaking of that, I feel like you guys kinda got caught out there a little bit... that you guys were coming out with something really creative and then the whole "horrorcore" fad blew up around you guys. So it kinda got tarnished with this brush of being corny because of all these new horrorcore artists coming up all of a sudden…

Well, you know what it was also? LOUD back then was made up more of fans than people that wanted to work records. And they had the PRs and the street teams, and they were Wu-Tang stans. LOUD at that point was just like, "let's throw this out and see if this sticks." So we had to go out on the road and do shows on our own and support our own album, and sell 250,000 copies on our own. It was sort of a lean towards Wu. And Wu was crazy, they were doing their thing; but as a label I always thought when you put a project out, you're supposed to push everything equally. If Wu is taking off, then you don't have to push them anymore.

We were on the road with The Liks, The Mobb before "Shook Ones" blew… and then they blew. So they didn't need the push no more because the record was pushing itself. And the Liks got into their little altercations with the record labels, and the stations didn't want to have them up their because their name was Tha Alkaholiks. So they had their issues, but we just always thought that we didn't get that direct push.

Now we were doing shows; we were demolishing headliners! The underground fans were coming out and we were demolishing people. That's how we started to sell units on our own. You know? So the first album passed, the second album came, and they started to realize that they had something. I just thing we were ahead of our time with that.

And with the whole horrorcore situation, their style was similar to ours. I met Russell Simmons nephew. They came to our shows... I seen these dudes at our shows, like, "yo, y'all style is crazy!" And then next thing you know, "horrorcore" pops up! They decided to change the mystics stuff around to horror, and I don't know if Russell Simmons thought it was gonna be a good idea, but you know… You can tell when a person's not real with what they're speaking or they're spitting. So a lot of people wasn't believing that crap.

Same thing happened when RZA and the others had, what was the name of that group?

Gravediggaz?

There you go. And they tried to do the same thing! And they did it for a minute, but then they wound up breaking up. You know, it was crazy, but a lot of things stemmed from that style. But that's the one thing I didn't like, because, you know, I took time with the lyrics. We weren't just trying to rhyme over records, we were trying to paint pictures then.

And then Inspectah Deck got his deal with LOUD, and Phan brought up that we need to get a solo deal, because everybody's breaking off and getting a solo deal, let's try to see if we could do that. So we started to do that. And when the second album came, we started to get the features: Pharaoh Monch, Large Pro, and everything we wanted. The second album was crazy; but again, LOUD didn't do they job. You know, Steve just snorted too much coke or whatever it was.

(Laughs)

You know, it was just crazy! He was buying movie companies and spending money on all types of shit that he didn't need to spend money on. So that's how we got caught in that loophole, and that's how we got moved to Stimulated. We felt that was more of an underground label, more of a Koch force, and they'd focus on us. Our A&R at the time was like, "that would be a good move, because they over there bullshittin' at LOUD."

That was Dante Ross's label, right? Stimulated?

Yes! And Dante was cool. He was with it. But then LOUD wasn't giving him the backing, and we just kept getting caught in all this shit. And then, down the line, me and my partner started getting into a little bullshit. I don't want to point fingers, but at the same time… work ethics wasn't the same. Motherfucker was getting caught up with the broads and the bitches and he was missing shoots and all kinds of shit. And that just threw a real bad taste in my mouth. So we just kept working harder and harder on our solo shit until we just split up. I never had no beef; but I just saw at one point or another, his work ethics weren't the same no more.

Well, I have noticed that of the two, you're the one that always did guest spots and put out a series of solo 12"'s; Phantasm didn't really do too much…

Right. Because, like I said, instead of him putting work first, he would put the women first. All the time. And we would argue about that, because I would tell him: it's gonna come with the territory. There's gonna be millions of them, but let's make this money first. He was just so used to being a solo artist, he was his own man, he had all the attention… and it was just little, dumb arguments. Then I just decided the group thing wasn't for me because it's too much ego. When people can't put their egos aside, I couldn't do it. Phan is still my man, but I don't know. As far as doing records? It'd take something real, real big for me to do a record with him again.

Well, you guys did come together for one reunion 12". On Underground Academy?

Yeah, but that was done during the second album. When we were on tour in Paris, the guy from Underground Academy named Olivier had us do that record. But that was it. And I started to realize there's gotta be more to me than just rhyming on top of beats; there's gotta be something else. And you know, I got into the business side of it, and me and my manager put a company together called Spaz Out Entertainment.

And right now, the mix-tape: XXL is putting it out. I got a street album coming out. Me and Sean Price is also working on an album right now. Everything is in the works.

Everything is good. Everything happened for a reason. I kinda took time off to raise my son for a minute, and I learned the business aspect of the game and got my own company now. We got a clothing line coming out in the summer time… I've been working hard.

And are you still working a lot with Nick Wiz?

Well, you know, I didn't really do anything with Nick Wiz since the second album because the same situation kinda happened with him, too. He kinda burned a bridge with me, because his label wanted to give me a deal; and Nick Wiz had introduced me to the person that wanted to give me the deal. But he tried to tell them he was gonna do all the production on my album and he was gonna have control… It was all about control and I couldn't understand why, because every album we did, we made sure that Nick Wiz had nine, ten songs on there. So it became a conflict of interests, and that just never happened. That went down the tubes. So I started to realize, if that's the way it's gonna be in the industry, you know, it is what it is, people change or whatever.

But it was a learning process for me, honestly. You know, I never thought that me and Phan would break up. Never. But that's what you get for saying never... it always happens. Things happen for a reason, though; and I'm not bitter. I still love them dudes, but as far as us doing a bunch of things? That might not ever happen. We would have to sit down and really talk about things.

But so much is happening now. I got this totally underground, overseas album that's crazy. I've got a bunch of features, Steele, Shabaam Sahdeeq, Pharoahe Monch is hollerin'. Everything has been beautiful. We got producers, singers, dudes that shoot videos. And I never knew this side of the business, 'cause all I wanted to do was be a rapper.

Well, let me ask you this about the new stuff. Do you have anything coming out, or ever plan in future, on touching that mystical style again? Or is that something you kinda put behind you back then...

Nah. In fact, the underground album - I don't have a title for it yet - but that's all it is, basically. I never really changed that 'cause that's what got me in the game. That was MY style, so I never really changed that. All I did was adapt to what you hear now. But, like, you will never hear me doing a "Superman" song. I will always stay lyrical. Wherever I get on, if the hook is stupid? The lyrics are gonna be crazy! You've gotta adapt to the game. But as far as mystically? I'm better than I was back then! I wish you were recording right now, I'd spit something for you!

Well, actually, I am recording this...



Let me ask you this real quick, too, before we break off. Obviously Raekwon is pretty famous for having the purple tape, but you had it...

First! Yes sir. That just goes to show you, you know. I think we were just a little bit ahead of our time then, man. If they would've really embraced it, and if we would've hit the colleges really hard, it would've been crazy. We'd've been rock stars right now.

So, it's long been my theory... let me ask you if I'm right. Having the purple tape made perfect sense with the song "Land of the Lost"...

Exactly!

And with LOUD then doing it with Raekwon, I wondered if it was just because they had it set up already with you, like they used your left-over purple plastic.

That's exactly why we made the tape purple! That was the images that we had. It went with the big lock, and the purple sticker with the gold lock on it. Those were the images we had. We had the pages for the book, just the authors that had the money didn't want to produce the copies of it. We had the visuals... We had somebody that was gonna do a cartoon! It was crazy.

But everything happened for a reason. Because now, everyone that we came up in the game with, we're getting back together and everybody wants to form this alliance. Because we're tired of what's going on. These dudes are not even rapping no more. Nobody's taking their time and painting pictures no more; they're just babbling.

Well, now that you're running your own company, how do you feel about the comeback of vinyl? Would you consider putting out a 12" now, or....

I would come out on anything! And everything is coming back around full circle anyway. The beats is coming back to regular boom-bap. Even listen to Busta's new stuff. Premo's coming back. Everything's coming around, so I wouldn't mind putting out anything on vinyl at all. In fact, let me tell you how funny some things are. I just got a letter from Universal, they bought Sony or something happened over there. And I got a call where LOUD didn't sign off on the papers on The Last Shall Be First, so we're gonna re-release that album. Everything comes full circle. It is what it is, I guess; that's hip-hop or that's the world.

Shout out to a.d. - bklyn mint - spazout ent.-and creative juices.