Before There Was Anticon, There Was...

"Sole" is the first 12" release by Live Poets, Sole's old group with JD Walker and DJ CUZ on 45 Below Records (it's not credited on the label, but "45 Below" is etched into the run-out groove), the label that became Anticon. According to his online bio, "flush with savings from his after-school job at McDonalds, sole pressed up his first 12" and freely gave it away at the 1995 Gavin Convention to little effect." So I guess it's kinda rare... but I've seen it pop up on EBay once or twice.

There is even earlier material to be tracked down... a full-length cassette by him and his crew going under the name Northern Exposure, called Madd Skills and Unpaid Bills (and, I guess if you have the right connections, there's the demo he recorded as a young teen). But this is really the first release worth checking for above and beyond the novelty of "hey, this is a semi-established artist's earlier material I can collect!"

The bulk of the production is handled by a guy named Randy Nkonoki... Now, unless there are two Randy Nkonokis in the 90's hip-hop world (which seems unlikely), then this is the guy who would go on to be president of 88hiphop.com ...which is an online radio show or something, I guess, with a little video and some video game tips. I don't know. I checked it out just now, and got bored pretty quick, but apparently it was a pretty big deal at one time, at least in terms of money spent behind the scenes. Anyway, this is pretty much his only known production work, and it's not bad at all. The mix of piano, bassline, drums and little jingly bells makes for a definite head nodder on the first track, "Sole (Basement Mix)" - which later turned up on Sole's 2000 compilation, Learning To Walk. Sole's delivery here and the production both sound very inspired by early Black Moon (as he says in the intro, "Live Poets Society representin' Portland, Maine with some of that Brooklyn flavor, yo"); but that's not really a bad thing. In fact, it might be the selling point for a lot of people who pick this up. His lyrics? A bit corny (or maybe a lot corny... but, hey, it was 1995 and everybody's lines were corny) and there's nothing special in the content; but his flow is expert enough to keep you riding the rhythm. Here, I'll let you give you a sample:

"Sucker MCs
Be corrupt like a senator.
Rhymes hit ya mind,
And soothe like a sedative.
Props you better give,
Or become a statistic
From MC Jeffrey Dahm',
Eatin' mics, sadistic.
Blastin' MCs
Like that old dog, Yeller.
I never drop my pen;
I wanna be a best seller.
Tim Holland is the win,
Tougher than Helen Keller;
And when the beat runs out,
I rock my rhymes acappella."

Next up: "Sole (Sole Searcher Remix)" is a total lyrical and instrumental remix... It also turned up on Learning To Walk, but curiously retitled as "Give Me My Medal." This mix is credited to Sample, who I'm guessing is Sample 208 Of the Butterfingers Crew, who produced a bunch of tracks on the Whats It All About and "Respect" 12". He recently produced two of the songs on Exile, the bonus CD that came with Sole's instrumental album Poly.Sci.187 if you ordered it direct from his website, which were pretty tight. So hopefully they'll do more together in the future. But I'm off on a tangent. Sole's switched his style on this one; forgoing the Buckshot sound in favor of what is essentially his own. Which is fine, because really one track like that was enough. Sample's beat, and the hook performed by JD Walker, pull you right into the song, even if you can't quite follow Sole's lyrics for more than two lines at a stretch. ...The accapella included on the 12" is for this version, by the way.

"Ain't No Thing" on the B-side finally gets JD Walker in on verse 2, and then he and Sole trade lines back and forth for verse #3. The basic track is a kind of repetitive, clonking piano loop over a plodding drum track. But the hook totally changes the mood, swapping out the piano for another, more pleasant loop and adding a short sax break. All of a sudden, it's engaging. And then it's plodding again until the next hook. A-side wins again.

The final track is the only one produced by Live Poets' own producer, Cuz the Highlander, who'd later become better known as Moodswing9. It's kinda short and features Sole and JD Walker going back and forth over a subtle beat. It's cool if you're a fan; but entirely forgettable otherwise. Finally, there's a brief, uncredited "shout outs" track.

Today, yes, Sole has a myspace, and his own website at soleone.org (look for me on the forums!). Sole has an album due out next month with The Skyrider Band, called appropriately enough, Sole & The Skyrider Band. JD Walker also has a myspace, and just recently put out his latest album, Them Get You Them Got You, which I haven't heard yet. But you can order it, along with a bunch of his older releases, right off his myspace on a Paypal shopping cart, which is handy.

Tags: Live Poets, Sole, JD Walker

Snagglepuss Week, Day 7

^Video blog!!
(Original content created for this blog; not just linking something by somebody else.)

Update 9/18/07: Snag already has some new tracks up on his myspace (i.e. newer than those appearing on his new CD), so I guess this is more than a one-off comeback, which is a good thing. =) If you click the link to his manager's myspace, though, the quote by his name says, "pmg no longer represents snagg!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" so I guess there's some drama going on there. 0_o

Tags: Snagglepuss

Snagglepuss Week, Day 6

^Video blog!!
(Original content created for this blog; not just linking something by somebody else.)

Tags: Snagglepuss, Bounce Squad, Doo Wop

Snagglepuss Week, Day 5

^Video blog!!
(More original content created for this blog, as opposed to linking some random Youtube vids created by somebody else.)

Tags: Snagglepuss, Red Bandit, Hurricane Holla Mackwell, Raggedy Man, Positive K, Grand Puba, Notorious B.I.G., Grand Daddy I.U., Pudgee the Phat Bastard

Snagglepuss Week, Day 4

^Video blog!!
(100% pure, original content created for this blog, and this blog alone; not just linking something by somebody else.)

Tags: Snagglepuss, Alkaholiks, Likwit Crew, Xzibit, Phil da Agony

Snagglepuss Week, Day 3

^Video blog!!
(Original content created for this blog; not just linking something by somebody else.)

Tags: Snagglepuss, Shyheim

Snagglepuss Week, Day 2

^Video blog!!
(Again... this is original content created for this blog; not just linking something by somebody else.)

Tags: Snagglepuss, Brand Nubian

Snagglepuss Week, Day 1

^Video blog!!
(Original content created for this blog; not just linking something by somebody else.)

Tags: Snagglepuss, Pudgee

Unreleased Slick Rick, Chapter Seven

Apparently J-Love is back again with another version of his Slick Rick: Legends vol 2 CD, this one dubbed 2.2. And so, too then, must this blog series rise up out of the grave like a Grave Riser Outer in response. Here's the latest cover and renovated track-listing (thanks to Fecam at the DWG forums for bringing this to my attention):

1. Women Lose Weight Rmx Produced By J-Love 04:02
2. Moses 02:47
3. Lick The Balls 03:31
4. I Own America Rmx (Unreleased) 03:37
5. Treat Em Like A Prostitute Feat Doug E Fresh Live 03:49
6. Reggae Chat Feat Doug E Fresh (Unreleased) 00:50
7. La Di Da Di Feat Doug E Fresh 04:48
8. The Rulers Back 03:33
9. Whats The Scoop Marley Marl Rmx (Unreleased) 04:12
10. Indian Girl 03:06
11. Its A Boy Large Professor Rmx 02:50
12. Dont Come My Way Feat Common 03:27
13. Star Trek Large Professor Rmx (Unreleased) 03:09
14. Art of Story Telling Feat Outkast 03:59
15. Just Another Case Feat Cru 03:13
16. Tonto 03:01
17. I Run This 03:56
18. King 02:27
19. Cant Shake Us Feat Special K (Unreleased) 04:01
20. Pimpin Anit Easy Feat Dana Dane 03:13
21. Get A Job 02:34
22. Cuz Its Wrong 02:48
23. 2 Way Street 03:11
24. Sampson (Unreleased) 03:22

So this new track-listing kinda makes it clear why he reworked the CD the first time around (see here)... this version seems to be intended as more of a sequel to the first one (specifically the redux of the first one), rather than a replacement; and the strange decision to remove "Sampson," for example, now makes perfect sense since it's been added here.

Now, I haven't heard this yet, but you can see on this 2.2, we've got a couple new remixes (including his own remix of "Women Lose Weight"), "Reggae Chat" with Doug E. Fresh (I'm guessing another clip from a live performance? It's under than a minute long, whatever it is), and the only new "Unreleased" song he's added to the mix: "19. Cant Shake Us Feat Special K (Unreleased) 04:01." As with most of the ones on his previous entries, this song actually has been released, and if you want to hear it without the radio blends and J-Love's name all over it, it's pretty easy to find.

The original release of this song comes from the Special K 12" "Can't Shake Us" b/w "Nobody Loves Me" (which doesn't feature Slick Rick; just an unnamed R&B singer on the hook) on Never Knew Records from 2002. Produced by Kenny Dope, the instrumental is a pretty simple break with a chop of the main sample from The Crash Crew's "On the Radio" on permanent loop. It's an ok song, though the production on both tracks sounds a bit tinny, with Slick Rick kicking a short opening verse, then passing the mic to Special K for the rest of the song, only returning to provide the hook.

So, once again... we're treated to another episode of frustration via a third selection of great Slick Rick tracks that continue to never get proper releases. Why can't this stuff get pressed onto a proper slab of vinyl with some halfway decent sound quality? Large Professor remixing "Star Trek?" I need that on 12", man. But also once again, at least there's not so much new material as J-Love claims, and most of these songs are otherwise available.

Update 9/4/7: Ok, I've heard it now. That "Reggae Chat" is indeed just a clip of what sounds like a live performance... The sound quality on this 2.2 is a bit of a step-up from his older CD, but still not great (and the name-drop samples over every song is super annoying... these mix-CDs aren't press promos - despite disingenuously having "for promotional use only" written right on the cover, they're clearly commercial products produced only to be sold to paying listeners). The remixes are all a bit underwhelming... I actually preferred the original to the Large Professor remix of "Star Trek," the Marley Marl remix is cool (it sounds vintage), and the J-Love remix of "Women Lose Weight" is pretty worthless. The loop just doesn't match with the song and ESPECIALLY doesn't when the hook comes in (he should've taken a hint from The Alchemist's mix). I'd still like to see the remixes (except the "Women Lose Weight;" he can keep that one) get a proper release, though, along with all the genuinely unreleased tracks from the older discs.

Tags: Slick Rick, Special K

Personics!

Personics!

Who remembers Personics? Well, I still have my old Personics tape (plus a friend's as well, which he gave me once he wound up buying all the albums his Personics songs were taken from); so I'm gonna talk about that tonight.

"Uh, what the heck is this Personics," you ask? They were big arcade game lookin' things that were set up in music stores like Sam Goody's all across the country. You could listen to a whole bunch of songs, select the ones you like, fill out an order form, and get custom-made cassette albums of your songs right there in the store... Here's an excerpt from a May, 1987 article in Time Magazine, explaining the whole thing, "After consulting a catalog of available selections, the customer gives the order to a clerk, who transfers the music from a master optical disk to a blank cassette, and may use a computer to print a custom label for the tape. The high-speed equipment can record 40 minutes of music in less than five minutes. The cost: 50 cents to $1.25 a tune. ...So far, Capitol and Warner Bros. are among the leading record companies that have agreed to let their songs be distributed by the system. The firms, which will receive royalties whenever one of their songs is selected, hope to recoup some of the estimated $1.5 billion in sales that the record industry loses annually to home taping." The whole thing eventually went bankrupt in 1991.

But, considering this was way before the internet and mp3s and CD burning, this was pretty neat while it lasted. Here's what the actual tapes looked like:

And you got this fold-out tracklisting with song credits on the inside:

...You can see what I was rockin' in my pre-high school days. Heh. Sorry it's so small, though; AOL journals automatically shrinks graphics to save on bandwidth and what-not.

They also had take-home catalogs, and yessir, I sure did save one:

Like the front cover says there, this issue encouraged you to make tapes for the troops stationed in The Persian Gulf, and the on the back cover, they give you two sample track-listingsand letters you could write. And one sample letter you might receive from a soldier requesting a tape (I guess they think you should make the tape now to be prepared should such a letter as the following arrive), "Dear Sue, Been thinking alot [sic.] about home and would love some great American music to listen to. Is there any way you could make a tape of these songs and send them to me? I miss you and hope to see you soon, Love, Richard." I guess Sue sent Richard that tape, because we won the war.

Now, here's a sample page of what the catalog looked like inside. I marked all the hip-hop songs with a pen... not now, for your benefit. I actually did this through the whole catalog as a kid so I could pick what I wanted:

Again, it's been shrunken pretty illegible, I guess (yay, AOL!), but there's some stuff by The Jaz, Jazzy Jeff (the Funky Four + One one), Jonzun Crew, Just-Ice, Kid 'N' Play, Kid Rock, Kool Moe Dee and Kool Rock and the D.J. Slice on that page. In the pink column is, "TOP 20 - LAST MONTH'S BEST-SELLING RAP;" and the list reads:

"1. The Humpty Dance - Digital Underground
2. Intro: Turn This Mutha Out - M.C. Hammer
3. Funky Cold Medina - Tone Loc
4. Doowhutchyalike (Remix) - Digital Underground
5. It Takes Two - Rob Base and D.J. E.Z. Rock
6. Wild Wild West - Kool Moe Dee
7. Rollin' With Kid 'N Play - Kid 'N Play
8. Cuss Words - Too Short
9. Me Myself and I - De La Soul
10. Freaky Tales - Too Short
11. 6 'N the Morning - Ice-T
12. Parents Just Don't Understand - D.J. Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
13. You Gots To Chill - EPMD
14. Walk This Way - Run D.M.C.
15. Rock Dis Funky Joint - Poor Righteous Teachers
16. Paid In Full - Eric B. & Rakim
17. Ladies First - Queen Latifah
18. Planet Rock - Afrika Bambaataa
19. Freaks Of the Industry - Digital Underground
20. Let's Get It Started - M.C. Hammer"

So, does anybody else remember Personics, or better yet, still have their tapes?My friend Mike's had three Too Short songs, Schooly D's "Saturday Night," Boogie Down Productions' "You Must Learn (12" Remix)" and UTFO's "Bite It" (hope you don't mind me putting that out there - heh). What'd you guys rock on yours?

Personics - 1988-1991, R.I.P.

Tags: Personics

Markie Deethroned

Here's a surprisingly little known record (not on Discogs, etc), considering it was a pretty major label release from a long established artist: Markie Dee's "Bounce."

Perhaps part of the reason for the obscurity is the name change... Prince Markie Dee, formerly of the Fat Boys had already established a fairly successful solo career for himself, putting out some hit records of his own in addition to producing a lot more. Still, his '95 Motown album, Love Daddy, failed to yield any hit singles, so I guess he was looking for a new image. So, here he's just Markie Dee... though the front cover sticks a little crown image in place of the word "Prince," but the spine of the tape and the tape itself just reads "Markie Dee," and that's how this record's cataloged; so this was a full-on name change... though the writing credits do credit "Prince Markie Dee"... I'm guessing it was a label-imposed change, perhaps? He has since gone back to using the "Prince."

And this record has a new (or at least different from his last two albums) sound to go with his new image... in addition to dropping the "Prince" from his name, this artist-formerly-known-as stepped away from his, frankly kinda boring, R&B-heavy last album style for a more traditional hip-hop track.

For this venture, Markie Dee plays it relatively safe, using Kool & The Gang's essentially unaltered "Hollywood Swinging" for the track. The rapping delivery is a bit more relaxed then the Prince Markie Dee of old, and clearly a bid for the Hot 97 market. I can totally hear it coming out of my car radio in the late 90's in my mind... ;-) There's a real Bad Boy sound to this record - so much so, in fact, that Puff Daddy and Mase used the same track and made basically their own copy of the same record for their record, "Bad Boys." Anyone who used to work at Crave, if you're reading this... that could have been your hit!

See, what happened with this was: "Bounce" came out on Mariah Carey's short-lived vanity sub-label (of Sony), Crave, in 1997. When Mariah Carey divorced former Sony/ Columbia Records CEO Tommy Motolla that same year, the label was shut down, making this Markie Dee's final record (to date). The fact that he's not even on his cover (it's a woman's breasts, because the song is named "bounce," right? How classy) and no upcoming album is mentioned in the liner notes suggests that it was over before it began, and Crave just threw this out into stores knowing there'd be no follow up.

Now, this song comes in two versions: "Bounce" and "Bounce (Ol' School Intro)." The first version features several live instruments, almost tuning up, showcasing the fact that Markie Dee still had the whole Soul Convention engine behind him ...there's even a female R&B singer doing her thing in the background of the hook. The "Ol' School Intro," on the other hand, dumps that and replaces it with the much easier, but also much catchier, horn sample intro to the original Kool & The Gang record. I think Markie Dee agreed with me that this is the preferable version, as it's the "Ol' School Intro" version that's used for the instrumental mix on the B-side.

The hook of the song, interestingly, is a play on some of Rob Base's from "It Takes Two." It's a peculiar choice, and a lot of people who didn't grow up with "It Takes Two" on the radio every single day like me probably didn't catch it, but check out this lyric comparison and see for yourself:

"I'm Rob Base and I came to get down.
I'm not internationally known,
But I'm known to rock the microphone;
Because I get stupid,

I mean outrageous.
Stay away from me,

If you're contagious.
...
Ladies love me,

Girls adore me;
I mean even the ones who never saw me

Like

The way that I rhyme at a show"

Vs.

"My name is Mark and I came to get down.

And I'm internationally known

For chillin' in my Benz with an eighteen chrome.

I got honies,

So outrageous;

We can get it on

'Cause Mark is the greatest.

Ladies, they love me;

Yes, they adore me;

Wanted to bounce the first time they saw me,

Like:

Bounce, bounce, bounce!"

...That's more than just a coincidence.

Today - that's right - he has a myspace page. He's how living in Florida where he hosts a radio show. Now, I don't know if you remember, but around the time of the Love Daddy album, he did a little press talking about a Fat Boys reunion album. In fact, the Fat Boys had done a little production and DJ work on his solo albums, so it's not like they'd ever had irreconcilable differences. Of course, tragically, Buff Love died in 1995. But there was still talk of putting out an album, using the tracks Buff had already recorded... of course, this never came out. But we know there's at least SOME Fat Boys reunion material recorded. Obviously, this needs to be released in some way, shape or form and anyone with access to this material, directly or indirectly, needs to get the f' on it already. Right now. I'm serious. Go.

Tags: Markie Dee, The Fat Boys, Prince Markie Dee, Soul Convention