Learn Along With Werner, part 10: The Last Thing Whistle Ever Recorded?

Guys, this is why I let the internet live.  Yeah, sure, corporations invade your privacy, hackers collapse governments, and people started DJing with mp3s instead of records.  It's been pretty awful, but then a thing like this happens.  I'm just poking around discogs and stumble upon a record I've never heard of by a group I've been a fan of since I was a kid.  And in this case, though it may be just a guest spot, it turns out to be a final chapter in their career.  I'm talking about Whistle, and this record from 1993 (their last album was in 1991, with one last single coming out in 1992) would appear to be the last thing they ever recorded, at least that actually got released.

The actual guy whose record this is, though, is M.C. Boo.  I'm fairly certain this is not the same M.C. Boo who was down with Magic Mike and the Royal Posse, or the junior member of BDP.  This is yet another MC Boo who just put out this one single record on Studio Records, a Maryland label best known for putting out novelty records like "Are the Redskins #1? Hail Yeah!!" and "Karate Man."  Not a good sign, but happily this is not a joke song but a sincere musical endeavor.

As you can probably guess by the title, it's a essentially a rap version of Stevie Wonder(who also gets a writing credit on the label)'s "I Can't Help It."  You could do a lot worse than chunky Stevie Wonder sample, and MC Boo's maybe not going to blow anybody's mind, but he's certainly a capable rapper, sort of in the category of Little Shawn.  He's kicking somewhat simplistic love raps, but with an ear towards more respectable lyricism and wordplay.  You know, by very early 90s standards, "I'm shakin' and breakin' and movin' and makin' the heart that you made me. I'm movin' and groovin' and soothin' the tempo you gave me.  The bass is kinda light and your eyes are kind, too; I guess that's why I can't help but to love you.  Yea, that's it.  I think I'm goin' crazy bein' round your sexy ways.  Your love is like a puzzle, but better yet a maze."

The only disappointing, but totally predictable, aspect is that Whistle are just here to sing the hook, not actually contribute to the MCing.  It's predictable, of course, because that's the direction they were always going in, away from rap and towards R&B, so of course they ended with a sung chorus instead of a verse.  And they sound good, although there's no moment where Terk comes in to really belt some more impressive notes or cuts by Silver Spinner.  It's a calm, laid back track with a mellow groove they just lay into.

There are a couple tracks on this 12", but they're all just variations on the one song.  There's the aptly titled Regular Version, the Instrumental, a mix with some extra (live) piano called the Piano Mix, and two shorter dub mixes called Doo Boo and Boo Beats.  By the way, it might be interesting to note that the label still says "Whistle appears courtesy of Select Records," so even though they didn't release anything further, Select was still hanging onto Whistle on their roster.  And not only is this Whistle's last record, it's seemingly M.C. Boo's first and last, which I'm... pretty ambivalent about.

He was decent enough, but not somebody I got excited about and would need to track down more of his discography.  I just bought this for Whistle, and honestly, unless you're a completist, it's not worth buying for them either.  They sound fine, the production's fine, Boo's rapping is fine, the concept is fine.  It's all just fine.  Not mad at it, but you're not gonna run out and slap it on a mixtape.  Once I put this away, I probably won't go back to it until I've completely forgotten what it sounds like and I see it on my crates and go, "what's this M.C. Boo record?"

Some Overlooked CD Bonus Cuts

Today I thought we'd talk about... oh you read the title already? Ok, then let's just get on with the specifics. This is probably one of the last albums you'd expect to find out has CD bonus cuts on it (Hell, it's almost surprising there's a CD edition of this album at all), but sure enough, here they are. Whistle's second album, Transformation, was released in 1988 on Select Records. It's called Transformation because this is the album that really bridges the gap from rappers to singers. Sure they sang some on their first album, too; but they were known for their rapping. And this follow-up is the herald of their departure - after this, they'd be an all-singing group from then on - and it's split right down the middle. It features all R&B on side A, and all hip-hop on side B.

And like the blurb on the CD cover[pictured, above] says, it "INCLUDES TWO BONUS CUTS." Fortunately for us, the bonus cuts both appear on the hip-hop side. Both tracks are kinda short. And like most of the tracks on the album, they're produced by Kangol and Howie Tee and co-produced by Whistle.

The first is called "And This Is True," a reference to the hook of their biggest hit ("Nothing' Serious (Just Buggin')," that goes, "we're called Whistle/ And this is true/ We love to do the things that we're not supposed to do/ We don't be lyin'/ Stealin' or muggin'/ In fact don't take it seriously - we're only buggin'!" It's basically a Kool Doobie solo song, though the group croons in the background, over a super hard drum track (with the occasional heavy metal guitar riff). It's a single verse with a hook, but it's interesting for being possibly the most hardcore sounding track Whistle has ever done. The way he ends by declaring "suckers!" and all... I actually think this song may've been inspired by BDP's Criminal Minded.

The next is probably a little more in tune with what you'd expect from a Whistle song. It's called "Hello Skeezer," and has Jazz kicking some fun story raps about "a type of girl/ That's known throughout the country/ And half the world/ We call them skeezers/ For those who don't Know/ A skeezer's a pleaser/ Or hip-hop ho/ They go from show to show/ And place to place/ You might recognize the body/ As well as the face." It's definitely lighter, and features a classic old school sample set (it's buggin' me that I can't remember the hip-hop classic that used it first, but you'll recognize it instantly... especially the whistling on the hook) blended together with Howie's unique drum sounds. This is a fun song for any Whistle song, though it feels a little to short... it's basically two verses with a minimal hook and some shout-outs at the end. A third verse would've made it feel more full, I think, but fuck it. There's too few rap songs by Whistle in this world as it is, and I'm happy to find two more that've long been overlooked. So I'm just enjoying. :)

Whistle and Jazzy Jeff Transform Together

Disappointingly, this is the only single off of Whistle's second album, Transformation, that features any rapping (there were two other singles: "Falling In Love" and "Right Next To Me," but they were pure R&B). It's a genuine double A-side - the picture cover is flippable, so whichever side you face out shows one track on the bottom and one on the top. It's also in keeping with the album's gimmick, where one side is straight R&B and the other straight hip-hop. So, being the site this is, let's start with the hip-hop.

"Transformation," is of course the album's title cut. It's a fun song, but certainly feels like an unlikely choice for the lead single. It's an up-beat, party style track, co-produced by The Hitman Howie Tee and Whistle, with Jazz and Kool Doobie kicking various short verses, which seem loosely (at best) tied to a common theme (additional lyrics credit is given to Kangol, of UTFO, who worked a lot with Whistle over the years). Perhaps most memorably, for such a typically G to PG rated group, this song features a very unexpected verse about S&M group sex in the middle of the song:

"Pay attention, people;
Kool Doobie is speaking.
There's a lady
That I've been seeking.
I see her over there
And I'ma ask her her name;
And if she's with it, yo Jazz,
Bring your whip and your chain!
(I got a rope!)
Bring your rope so we can tie her down!
(And handcuffs!)
Handcuffs so she won't move around!
(I got a radio.
I'll bring it down to your room.)
What for?
(When she screams, we can)
PUMP UP THE VOLUME!"

I'm sure it's all meant in good fun and not intended to be taken too seriously, but it sure does... stand out. Still, if you can get past that, there's a lot more to this song that one outlandish rhyme. Silver Spinner cuts up Rakim's classic "pump up the volume" vocal sample for the hook, while some girl sings "traaanns... formation!" in the background. Silver's cuts are dope and, appropriately, he throws in a bunch of nice transformer scratches.

But that's just what was on the album. On this 12" is a surprisingly undervalued "Transformation (Swing Beat Mix)," which is remixed by none other than DJ Jazzy Jeff (and engineered by Joe the Butcher). Bear in mind, this was 1988; and Jeff was not working with anyone outside of his LPs with The Fresh Prince. Yeah, he did a few underground tracks beforehand, and has done plenty after; but I believe this is the only outside production/remix he did during this era. Anyway, it features all new transformer scratches (I guess by Jeff this time, though Spinner proved himself just as capable on the previous mix), and a bunch of new samples - some vocal samples, some instrumental, giving the whole song a more chopped up, wildly varied feel. And if that wasn't enough, it's a vocal remix, too, with all new rhymes from Doobie and Jazz, mixed in with the old ones... some verses start off with the old stuff, then switch to new lines, and vice versa (but don't worry, they all include the S&M part lol).

Then, there's another remix, called the Street Mix (at least, I'm pretty sure this is the Street Mix and the other is the Swing Beat Mix... the sequencing on the label is screwed up; so this is my best guess), which is again substantially different. There's new scratching again on the hook, this time primarily cutting up Cheryl Lynn's "Got To Be Real," and the instrumental has been replaced with a classic, funk breakbeat - the same breakbeat and bassline The UMC's used for "Invaders of My Fruit Basket" the following year. That's right, you wouldn't normally think of these guys as being the first to any classic breaks; but Whistle had this ultra-funky groove first. And it's impressive how much naturally funkier the rhymes sound over this break. This one's also got an extended breakdown at the end with some more classic, old school samples; and also uses the new 12" remix rhymes.

Finally, is the other A-side, "Still My Girl." Like I said about their other R&B songs on this album, they went pretty classical on this. It's co-produced by Kangol and Whistle, and while it isn't acapella (in fact, the Instrumental version is included here... think long, drawn out synth lines), it really puts all of the emphasis on the singing rather than the music, which is put in a pure backdrop role. This isn't the sort of new jack pop style R&B you might've expected, but pure ballad. Still, these guys were capable singers (if a bit bland when you take out the 80's studio tricks). And, unfortunately, that's the direction they took their career after this album, sadly giving up on hip-hop.

By the way, it's interesting to note that on their next album (Always and Forever), Whistle took another stab at this song and recorded "Still My Girl (90's Version)." I'm not really sure which I prefer. It's all about The A side,anyway. Or, umm, side 1.