(Werner Necro'd) Lyrical Kuruption - Kurupt Interview

This is one of the first interviews I did, back in '98. I was interested in getting Kurupt in because he was just starting to get recognized as a lyricist beyond the Death Row type of music he was coming up in. Rumors of the Headless Horsemen "supergroup" were just starting to form, and Kurupt was coming out with his own label, and and his solo debut, Kuruption.

So tell us about the double album.

Well, you know. One CD is for the East Coast; one CD is for the West Coast, ya know what I mean? A lot of people be twisting my meaning, though. They be thinking I'm putting it out for this East Coast/ West Coast war, but I don't see no war. I see the media creating an East Coast/ West Coast war, so what's the purpose of putting out an album like that? Especially when I don't care about that. Me, personally, I'll grab the mic with anybody. You know, I'm head-huntin'. I did it because I'm from the East, but I grew up on the West. East Coast is what gave me my skills, and the West Coast is what gave me my career. So I gave the East their own eleven songs to love, and I gave the West their own eleven songs to love.

And, now, you're no longer on Death Row anymore, right? You've got your own label, Antra. What's up with that? What's it stand for?

Entrepreneur. That's one meaning, then the other is meaning, really, what it stands for, is: All New Talented Recording Artists, because I spelled it with two A's. 'Cause I feel like, when you jump back into the game, you gotta come with the hunger of a new artist, homeboy. You can't play no games. We're just getting started. It's just gonna begin from my album. That's where the whole thing kicks in, but you know.

Now, you got a song coming out on the Pace Won album, right? Tell us about that?

Definitely. What you know about my homeboy Pace Won? It's a heater, too. You won't believe how I hooked up with my homie, Pace, man. I was in my little car, man, and I went to stop at this little spot, probably to get some cigarette or something. He was comin' in there to get something, and he came out, and he was like, "Yo, Kurupt. What's up, man?" I shook his hand; we was chillin'. And he just met me right then, and he was like, "Yo, I'm in the studio right here, man. You can just come right, through." And I'm like, "Alright, cool." So he went into his studio, and I went into my room which is just across the street from where his studio was. So, then I just left the studio, went right across the street, went upstairs, like, "What's up?" They was like, "What?" I'm like, "What's crackulatin?" Let's do a jam." They were like, "Hell yeah, let's do this." That's the way the game is. I love skills. I wanted to hear how he sounded, and he was dope, so I was like, "Yeah, that's it. It's time to drop some heat."

And you're on that Gangstarr "Three Men and a Lady," right? The remix?

Yup. Lady of Rage. That was the bomb. 'Cause it's Gangstarr, ya dig? Gangstarr, homeboy! OG and I grew up to Gangstarr. Just like doin' that song I did with Pete; I'm a legend, homeboy. So I was just like, "Damn!" But that's what I came into the game for. To do them type of things, man. You know, it's to the point where you can rock with people like that; it's like, damn. You're there. That's what this game's made of.

Now, everybody knows you came up on Death Row... What's the deal today, with you and Suge?

Well, all I can say is my homeboy took care of me. The reason I left is the game he gave me, ya know I mean? Suge broke it down on how to run a company. And I wanted to do it. You see how you didn't hear nothing about Kurupt leaving, but then you hear Kurupt got his own company. I left when I went to Philly to go live with my mother... take care of my mother. Spend some money with my family out there. So, after I did that, I wanted to open my own company. Why not? This game is made up of big business, baby.

So, are you still working with Daz, or are you split?

No, we ain't split. We'll never break up. Dogg Pound is forever, baby, yo! So, we're gonna drop the EP, Aftershock, and then we're gonna release the album, Dogg Shit.

Is that gonna be on your label?

No, that's gonna be on Death Row, definitely. I'm still gonna make money with my homie. And he's gonna make money with me.

Ok. Now you've kinda started making a name for yourself in an almost more East coast, lyricist-type way, lately, you know; like your recent battle with Graffix...

Who?

Graffix?

Who's that? I battled him?

You don't remember that?

I remember I chopped some cat's head off. That was him? Ok.

Ha ha Cool. Well, between that and doing the Wake Up Show freestyle LP's, etc... That's something a lot of people mightn't expect from you, just knowing you from being with Snoop and the Dogg Pound...

That's my thing, man. That's all I know. I'm the king of that. To me, that's the top of being an MC. Break somebody off.

So, what do you think is the next project for your label, now, after the LP?

Well, I got a movie comin' out in '99. With Lisa "Left Eye" Lopez. Starring me and Lisa Lopez and Frank Dileo . I told her I was gonna make a movie. I said, "You wanna be in it? 'Cause I'ma make it about us. I'ma come over with some things, it's gonna be me and your movie." So she said she was down and I made it. I brought it to the table, at first, she was like, "What? You're a movie maker now?" I was like, "Hell, yeah! Let's get this thing poppin' now." And the soundtrack's gonna be on my label. That's the little two-pronged money attack. It's gonna be on the big screen, though. It's gonna be dope. Frank Dileo is the cat who played Tuddy Cicero in Goodfellas, so he's G'd up in the game.

You're directing?

Nah, I don't know who we're gonna get to direct it, yet. We're lookin at that guy who did Oz - that little series on HBO - Dr. Dre, and my homeboy, DJ Pooh. That's who we're really lookin' at.

And what's up with the Four Horsemen project?

You know... What you know about the horsemen, boy? We're gonna start in '99. All four of us got companies. It's gonna be on all four of our companies, you know? It's Kurupt - Young Gotti, the Headless Horseman, my homeboy Canibus, Ras Kass, and the killer Killah Priest, nigga. For sho'. The Horsemen, homie. We're dangerous, too, boy. No dance music! No samples, just raw attack. I'm gonna get Dr. Dre to drop us some heat. I got a couple other cats. We'll get Daz to drop us some heat. They gonna get some niggas to drop some heat. We got it locked. Dangerous. Strictly for MC's, nobody else, just MC's.

Alright, now I know a lot of people want me to ask you about Foxy...

That's my fiancee.

I heard you were gonna do an album together, too, based on that?

Yeah, but we're just basically gonna chill for now. We really just wanna concentrate more on the relationship than anything now. I met her in LA; I just ran into her. We went through a lot of ups and downs. You know, we've been together for three years. We've been through a lot together.

So, you got any last thing you wanna say to your fans checkin' this out online?

Yeah. What up, y'all? Dogg Pound gangster, assassin number one. The Horseman, Headless Horseman, speakin', spittin' atcha. Live online. What the fuck? (Laughs)

Kurupt has a myspace, naturally, as well as a Flash-heavy website at younggotti.com. Both seem to be out of date... the myspace is still touting his 2006, even though he's since dropped both a solo and DPG album in '07. I don't have any word on anything new, really... but it hasn't been that long yet since his last album.

Kurtis Blow's German Period

Here's one even some of you bigger Kurtis Blow fans probably missed: "Chillin' At the Spot" b/w "We the People." It came out on Public Attack, a division of Moonbase Records; a label out of Frankfurt, Germany in 1994.

1994 was a comeback year for Kurtis. He hadn't recorded or released any new material since his run ended with Mercury Records until '94. Then the Raiders of the Lost Art compilation came out, featuring a new Kurtis Blow song ("G-Party"). Mercury put out The Best of Kurtis Blow. And Kurtis Blow... went to Germany. There, he did a couple guest verses with German recording artists Techno Cop and Power Nation; and he made this 12".

It's an interesting 12". The first song comes in two versions: the radio and "Jeep" mixes (plus instrumentals for each), both produced by local producer Rudy Rude. Unlike, say, "The Boys From the Hill," this doesn't fit in perfectly with his classic material. It's definitely more contemporary (for '94, that is); and like "G-Party," this song also features a couple of essentially unknown guest rappers (they're uncredited except that the writing credits name a T. Washington and D. Wedington). They're not bad... but they certainly don't add anything better than what Kurtis Blow could do on the mic himself. And Blow is, after all, the selling point here. So I'm not sure why he seems to've felt the need to bring in younger cats to fill all his new music.

The beat has a lot of layers, including a really nice horn sample, some nice slow drums, snare, a guitar sting on the hook and a bassline that almost sounds like it was played on a xylophone. It's definitely attempting to fit in with the more relaxed, cool sounds of the time, by artists like Pete Rock & CL Smooth, and is reasonably effective. The beat and samples switch up for some of the verses which is cool, too.

"The Jeep Mix" is ok... a bit more stripped down with a cool vocal sample on the hook. But without the catchy horn sample, it's just not as compelling as the original.

The subject matter is simple and summed up entirely by the title. The hook features a couple girls (or one girl with an echo effect) softly singing the familiar line, "chillin' at the spot... with my homies after dark. Oh yeah..." A few of Kurtis' lines are corny (hey, at least try to look surprised); but for the most part his and the other MCs' rhymes are fine... just a simple, summer cool-out jam.

The B-side, "We the People" only has one mix (though there are instrumental and "Bassappella" mixes). Like I said, they songs don't sound like vintage Kurtis, but his style was always progressing (for good or ill), and just like Back By Popular Demand sounds different from "Rappin' Blow," it feels like this would naturally have been his sound had he never stopped recording. This song sounds a little less focused, and therefore less appealing, than the A-side, but it's ok. It features the same guest rappers, plus a reggae artist this time (presumably M. Breunig from the writing credits). The beat is listenable, with a cool drum track, the same "shaker" percussion that was used by Slick Rick and Dana Dane on songs like "Treat Her Like a Prostitute;" and simple and repetitive bassline that'll stay stuck in your head, and like the title suggests, the lyrics are on a political tip, very much along the lines of "The Message," which he even quotes at one point. I wouldn't mind hearing these lyrics with the delivery and instrumental of say "8 Million Stories" or "Street Rock." As it is, it's all too relaxed and "smooth" to really catch your interest.

If you're a serious Kurtis Blow fan, or just a general old school completist, you'll want to track this one down (woot! picture cover!)... it's certainly an interesting moment in Blow's career (after these 1994 German recordings; he wouldn't do anything until Nadanuf featured him on their remake of "The Breaks" several years later) and not bad for what it is. But if you don't fit into either of those categories, you can sleep peacefully at night having given this one a miss.

Tags: Kurtis Blow

Extra Prolific's Master Piece

After his second, indie album, Texas-born Duane "Snupe" Lee, better known as Extra Prolific, was promptly kicked out of Hieroglyphics. The crew put out a release stating, "the crew decided that Snupe would be better off on his own, pursuing his own solo career... His last, and sophomore album, "2 For 15" will no longer be sold online, and is the last piece of work fans will here[sic.] of Snupe's material, while he was a part of Hieroglyphics." They even held up release of their 3rd Eye Vision album to remove all his verses and solo cut (all of which they later featured on hieroglyphics.com).

During our interview (you can read the whole thing here), I asked Casual - who started freestyling with Snupe back in high school and first brought him into Heiro - if they were still down and he said, "Nah. I mean, we might see him every once in a while, say 'What's up,' or whatever, but we don't get down like that." And when I asked him what he's up to now (at the time, which was 1999), he said, "I don't know. He released a few independent tapes in the Bay, but I guess he wasn't really pursuin' it like that."

Well, he did actually come out with a third album: Master Piece on his own label, Snuper Records, in 1998. This flew under the radar of pretty much everybody who wasn't from the Bay except the most die-hard Heiro fans; but those in the know were able to order this tape straight of his Iuma page (remember those?).

Extra Pro sounds as smooth, with a flow as hypnotically engrossing as ever.he was back in the "First Sermon" days - in fact, there's a "Second Sermon" on this album. Snupe handles all his own production here, which is cool, since he's been producing all his own material since his debut (Mike G is often credited with the production on the first album, and being the other half of Extra Prolific, but he actually only produced the 41 second intro to that LP). I don't know if this is quite as good as Like It Should Be... there area few corny hooks ("Call Me" or songs with an over-reliance on off-putting R&B singers like "I Don't Know Why" "When You Hoes... (Remix)" or the aforementioned "Second Sermon"), and in general, the absence of his Heiro mates is felt. But Snupe can definitely hold his own - perhaps more than most of the others could. And songs like "That's a Shame, "Can't Reap Til You Sow a Seed" or "Action Set In Flight" bump as much as anything he's ever done.

Lyrically, he flips between freestyle rhymes and kicking game ("'why can't we keep the room?' Because I'm done fucking you!"). His delivery is as relaxed as ever, though sometimes he kicks it pretty wickedly fast. The fact that he manages to be both relaxed and fast at the same time is a testament to his talents.

There're also some skits we could really do without. What's the point of the one where his girlfriend leaves him a message saying she missed his page, but she call him back? I guess it was just the times... when rappers would just put anything off their answering machine on their albums.

After this album, Extra Pro dropped off the radar for a bit, but he didn't actually disappear. He changed his name to Lee Majors and formed the Christian rap duo White Majors with partner J-White. You bet they have a myspace! It's myspace.com/whitemajors - check it out and listen to the songs they have up: not bad (if a bit corny), though Snupe is a way better MC than J-White. For some reason they don't link to it off their myspace, but you can order their album Iron Sharpens Iron (on CD) from chillmarkproductions.com.

Tags: Extra Prolific, Heiroglyphics, Snupe, White Majors

Makin' a New Artists' Page

So, I decided to make another new artists' page on my site, and make a post about doin' it. I picked Home Team, 'cause they're an under-rated group I've always just felt belonged on my site. It's the same reason I just added Kurtis Blow - how could they not be there?

I'd kind of held off for a while. I guess always hoping in the back of my mind that Malignant Graffiti would turn up (see this post for the story about their unreleased second album). And without it, their discography is kind of small/simple. One album, two singles (at least one has an exclusive remix, right?)... But working out their guest spots was a little more involved and made the page worth making.

Of course, right off the bat we've gotta have the "...and, as a member" line crediting DeBonaire's membership in The Poison Clan for their first album. And of course Drugz is featured on the skit "Drugz Bullshittin'" on Poisonous Mentality. That's the easy stuff out of the way; now it's time to get a little more involved.

First, I went through my tape and record collection and pulled out all my "related" albums... Luke's albums from the 90's, all the Poison Clan albums, Bust Down's album, etc. Even take out Sports Weekend, just to double check the liner notes there. I could've sworn at lease DeBonaire was featured on The New 2 Live Crew's "2 Live Freestyle;" but it turned out to just be a guy named Phat-Daddy. We're talking, like, fifteen years ago here, so I have to double-check everything I think I remember.

Ok, so the next thing to do is go through all the Luke solo albums... I remember some of the guest spots, but definitely not all, or which albums they appear on. The liner notes are only partially helpful. In the Nude flat out reads, "Home Team appears on 'Bad Land Boogie' and 'Freestyle Joint' courtesy of Rocksville Management" and has similar credits for the other MC's featured on the song "Freestyle Joint" with them, so that's easy enough. 1994's Freak for Life 6969 credits Home Team's appearance on "Represent," but also lists two songs ("That's How I Feel" and "Movin' On") as being just with Poison Clan. Well, "That's How I Feel" is just JT Money with a little ad-libbing by Luke, but "Movin' On" features JT with DeBonaire and the also uncredited Likkle Wicked, Luke's in-house reggae artist*. I guess they figured because Deb and JT used to both be in Poison Clan, they'd just credit it as a PC song. I check the other Luke records, but those are the only ones with Home Team on 'em.

Next up is the compilation album Christmas At Luke's Sex Shop. The cover only mentions, Luke, The 2 Live Crew, Poison Clan & Jiggie Gee (misspelled as "Jiggy G" here), but I remember them being on it. The liner notes don't specify who's on what, but listening through the whole album it's pretty easy to pick them out on "Christmas Freestyle" and the short "Jesus Is Black." There's a couple other MCs on "Christmas Freestyle." Clearly the first is JT Money, and the other two say their names, so I know one is Sir Gucci (who was down with the Poison Clan and drops a verse on one of the later PC albums); and the third guy kind of mumbles his name...

I read the thanks and liner notes to all the Poison Clan albums, but there's nothing there. Listening through all their albums, I finally catch the guy's name shouted out at the end of "Game Recognize Game" on Ruff Town Behavior. Between the two, I'm sure the name is Milky Mil, now; though admittedly I'm guessing on the spelling. Also through listening through all their albums (not exactly a chore... I wouldn't be making these pages if this isn't the music I felt like sitting down and listening to at the time), I also catch DeBonaire talking for about a minute on the intro to "Afraid Of the Flavor." I'm on the fence when it comes to including guest spots where the MC doesn't actually rap on the song, but their discography is already on the short side, so I decided to include it.

So, that's it. After typing out the track-listing the their album and two singles, I've completely cataloged the Home Team's discography (and, by the way, those songs off the Luke albums are fresh!)... though I still hope to one day stumble upon a test pressing of Malignant Graffiti. And that's my process. Hope I didn't bore you to tears. ;) 

I can't find any sign of what Deb Rock or Drugz are up to today, but JT Money has a myspace page, and is still doing his thing, now on the independent tip. He's got some new songs up from Pimpin' X-Treme, an album he seems to have been promising since 2006.


*Likkle Wicked put out an album on Luke Records, but I think was mainly kept around whenever groups like Poison Clan needed some hardcore raggamuffin-type hooks.

Alright, Now I've Had Anuf

To compliment my new artist's discography page on my "main" site, I'm reviewing a single straight off of it. This is a 1994 retread of Kurtis Blow's classic "The Breaks" featuring the man himself, guesting with Reprise Records' start-up group Nadanuf.

Nadanuf never took off - they put out their full-length (with contributions from Def Jef and Howie Tee) and one other single and then disappeared. The group consisted of two young girls from Cincinatti, Ohio: Skwert and Phor-One-One. See? The Cincinatti scene was being represented before Mr. Dibbs and Dose One. Anyway, these girls had a bit of a shtick where they always wore goggles, which they explained in an interview with Urban Network Magazine, "The goggles are kinda like a vibe. It's like our head gear or more like our armor to take on a crowd. Just like our bright clothes; if it's bright that's just Nadanuf. It has to be extra or it's just Nadanuf." Okay...

If they don't already, labels should have a position for the guy who comes up with their rappers' gimmicks' explanations. Not the designer or whoever who first comes up with the ideas like, "you girls shall always wear goggles," or "Y?N-Vee, you girls will always wear your pants below your thongs" (remember them? What marketing genius came up with that idea?). I'd just like to be the guy who comes up with the official explanations after the gimmick's been chosen. Like, "it's our vibe... headgear, armor..." that's weak sauce. See, if it was me, I'd give them something more along these lines: "See, there's all these forces in the world trying to control your perspective... our vision of the world. Corporations, government, the media, all trying to shape the way we perceive events, like, this 'you should want this product' or 'these people are guilty' even before the trial. So the goggles are our way of saying, 'hey. We're going to view the world the way we choose to see it. We're going to think and make decisions of how we choose to act based on our ideas and our unique perspectives.' No matter hwo much you try to change us, or control us, and make us see things the way you want us to see them, you can't ...'cause we got these goggles." That shit would've got the girls a full-page write-up in Rap Pages! But did they come to me? No. And now it's too late.

So, anyway, yeah. A remake of Kurtis Blow's "The Breaks" by up-and-coming major label unknowns sure doesn't qualify as a "must-have" in my book - not now and not in 1994 - but they went the extra distance by actually getting Blow on the track, so I picked up the cassingle for 99 cents when it came out. Now, in the same Urban Network Magazine interview, they talk about how that all came about, "Babyboy [producer Aaron "Babyboy" Griffin] just came up with the idea to re-do the song and at the time we were working with Def Jef because we had just finished recording 'Worldwide.' Def Jef said, 'I know Kurtis, he's just right around the corner. I can call him up.' Kurtis came by the next day. At first we were just going to ask him to do his original 'Clap ya hands everybody.' Then he asked could he do them all. So he re-did the whole song with us. Afterward we ran to 7-Eleven and got a disposable camera to get our pictures with Kurtis." It's not really bad, but the final verdict is obvious even before you hear it: there's no reason to play this song when you could just as easily play the superior original.

This is ok as an alternative, though - the music is essentially the same, but with more traditional verses by the girls. Then Kurtis Blow comes up with new "that's the breaks"-isms for the hook (it may possibly be your only chance to hear Kurtis Blow say "late night creep" as well, so think carefully before passing this one up). He actually has a lot of energy and sounds damn enthusiastic to be there, which makes this a pretty fun listening experience.

The B-side, "Many Emcees (Madd Drama)" is actually better than you'd think. The first MC (sorry, I've no idea which is Skwert and which is Phor) comes out with fast freestyle rhymes: "You musta thought we couldn't get down, you under estimate, you smell like shit now, we makin' hits now, we been down, we take you MCs to four thousand degrees, you others make me sneeze, like infect-u-ous disease. I tear you into pieces as I hit you with my thesis; I release the vocals that you smoke to," etc. She wasn't exactly going to be the Canibus-before-there-was-Canibus; but she holds her own on a posse cut. The secondMC, then, comes and steals the show with a surprisingly compelling, smoother verse. Finally, the third verse is shared by two guest MCs who aren't credited in the liner notes; but a little online searching tells me their names are Elmyzik and Manzini. They come out doing their best Onyx impression ...which is frankly a bit silly. Just try to remember: it's all in fun.

Today, Kurtis Blow is still performing (and preaching!). He's got a myspace, of course, and he's got a new mp3-only single with his new Christian rap crew, The Trinity, called "Just Do It." You can download it at b4entertainment.com. One of the other members of The Trinity has several mp3-only albums available there, too... a couple of which feature Kurtis, and one even features Bushwick Bill! Their next one, apparently come soon, is called "Crunk Wit It" b/w "Grace of God" with the Gospel Gangstaz. So look out for that. ...Unless you're like me and think it sounds terrible, in which case stay far away from it. You know which choice is for you, I'm sure.

(The Nadanuf girls don't seem to have any myspaces... goodness knows what happened to 'em.)

Tags: Kurtis Blow, Nadanuf

NOW You Abandon Vinyl?

Check out Pace Won's new joint... it's on his myspace, Youtube, etc. Even if you threw away your Outsidaz fan club membership long before they split, or if you were only somewhat into them in the first place, I'm confident you'll dig this. It's almost "Nostalgia" part 2. Man, what an ode to hip-hop, with contemporary, fresh lyrics that are still witty and original over an addictive beat, a sampled hook and some nice scratching by his new producer/DJ Mr. Green... I can't wait for the 12" to drop!

Except, when asked (via myspace, thanks soulcondor) about it, his response was:

"Vinyl?
Definately Mp3 and CD...

Won"

Now, this is not me having a go at Pace Won. ...Well, maybe a little bit (I mean, come on!). This is about the indie hip-hop scene in general. Have a look at UGHH.com's store page. Their 12" list has been blasted with a shrink-ray! It used to be this impressive list of brand new and pending indie 12"s, and now it's tiny, dwarfed by the CD list.

If you missed this November '07 Wired article, you should really read it. Go ahead; I'll wait here. Essentially, it's a thorough, encouraging piece all about how, while the RIAA cries about downloads killing the music industry and CD sales dropping at record speeds [yes, that was a pun. Sorry. but they're dropping very far and very fast is the point], record sales are, as Ian Connelly, client relations manager of independent distributor alliance IODA, put it, "way up. And not just the boutique, limited-edition colored vinyl that Jesu/Isis-style fans are hot for right now."

Amazon.com even created a new vinyl only section, which they didn't even have in the heyday of Sandbox and Hiphopsite in the late 90's.

Now, Wired just made a new article where even the RIAA, who long tried to deny the vinyl resurgence, finally had to admit that "the American music industry sold 36.6 percent more Extended Play (EP) and Long Play (LP) records than it had in the previous year, increasing vinyl sales revenue by 46.2 percent. CD unit sales, on the other hand, declined 11.7 percent with revenue dropping 20.5 percent during the same period." That's a really drastic difference for a single year!

And where is hip-hop? Look at that Amazon vinyl section I linked. Today their featured pieces are R.E.M., Radiohead, Amy Winehouse, the Juno soundtrack, and Elvis frikkin' Costello. There's not even a single, crappy crossover psuedo-hip-hop release in the sidebar. Now go back and look at UGHH's emaciated "New Vinyl Singles" selection again.

After years and years of us hip-hop fans buying and supporting vinyl when everyone else on the planet would look at us like we were escaped mental patients and ask, "you mean, the big round black things I used to play as a kid? Ha ha How novel!" After years of "SUPPORT VINYL" t-shirts and impassioned articles by DJs and collectors in Subculture, Rap Pages, Vinyl Exchange, URB, etc. etc.... Now my real estate agent and the hipster at the local supermarket are building massive 33 1/3 collections.

And when I reach out to the great old and true school artists, the leading figures in holding it down for the hip-hop underground, asking when their next 12" is dropping, I get, "LOL wut?"

Seriously, vinyl is up 46.2% just this year, while CD sales are still plummeting so fast record label CEOs are slitting their wrists in their high-rise offices,and NOW is the time you guys pick to abandon vinyl? I'm sorry, but my best, most thoughtful response to that is, "you suck!"

Now, I appreciate that a lot of indie artists are on low to no budgets... but you know who else is? Me! And if you want me... and by extension, I daresay, the rest of us remaining hip-hop fans who haven't completely given up on the notion of supporting you artists and voting with our dollar, to just downloading all your albums as illegal mp3s for free. If you want us to show you some love, you've gotta get your acts together.

Records are back! But a time for celebration turns into a pitiful day when we see Madonna and Elvis Costello proving to be more hip-hop than Pace Won or, say, the entire roster of Koch Records.

[Edit to add: it occurs to me that my "Mini Posts" are actually all, like, really long. Maybe I need to come up with a new name for 'em; what do you guys think?]

Tags: vinyl, records

Tags: hip-hop

Mmm Dropped?

So, in the comments to my recent post Hot Garbage, on the subject of Hot Karl's debut album (or his second, depending how you look at it), it was brought to my attention that Hot Karl was featured in a documentary called Dropped. It's distributed by Sundance, but seems to be a Netflix exclusive.  I guess they mainly bought it for their channel.  So, anyway, I said I'd rent it, I did, and here's the scoop:

It's a roughly 60 minute film, broken up into 7 or 8 segments, each on a different music group that got dropped from a major label. It's not Hip-Hop specific, but three of the segments are on Hip-Hop acts (including, yes, Hot Karl). With that many pieces crammed into that short a running time, you might think they couldn't possibly get into very much depth - and you'd be right. They're mostly just short interviews mixed with performance clips for each artist or group... they play like EPKs for the most part. And, well, I'm just going to touch on the Hip-Hop acts, 'cause, you know, nobody cares about rock music on this blog. ;)

I've just watched this, and I already don't remember much about Spearhead's segment. It's the most EPK-ish of the three... a single interview with lead vocalist Micheal Franti who spends most of his time talking about the first Spearhead album. He makes the point that he's glad he was dropped because this way he can continue to address topics his label wouldn't like because his music was too radical.

The Hot Karl piece is actually much better... it's the one they open the film with, the longest by far, and it features interviews with a bunch of people besides just Hot Karl himself. A couple radio DJs talk about how he won an on-air freestyle contest, which is what got labels interested in him; and they seem pretty genuinely enamored with him as an MC. Will I. Am shares some memories of also being on Interscope when all of the label's attention was focused on Karl. As Karl elaborates, Interscope was apparently convinced he would be the next big thing and gave him a limitless budget. Whatever he asked for he got... at least until they signed Eminem, after which he was totally shut out, his project was shelved and they lost all interest in him. Mack 10 (whose name this doc continually spells as "Mac 10" on-screen) talks about how he tried to sign Hot Karl to his own label but Karl held out for the Interscope deal (hindsight is a big theme in this doc). You can also tell by how his clothing and background locations keep changing that they interviewed Karl on more than one occasion, unlike the other artists in the other segments - this is clearly their star segment. I'd bet the doc was originally intended to be all about Karl, and then the other interviews were added to broaden the subject matter into something more marketable.

One thought I had while watching the Hot Karl segment... he takes a shot at A&Rs, saying they're all really just frustrated musicians who wish they could rap or perform but lack the talent. It's almost painful how he misses the irony that the exact same thing could be said of former musicians who get dropped before releasing any records. Both statements are unfair, mean-spirited, and true probably about 95% of the time. Maybe he should be applying for an A&R position at Interscope?

Finally, the third Hip-Hop segment claims to be about Burning Star, but I think the filmmakers are just confused here... The segment consists of just one interview with Apl. De Ap who talks all about The Atban Klan. He details how they were signed and dropped by Ruthless Records, which is kinda interesting; but it's all much too brief to really hook us. Bizarrely, Will I. Am was interviewed for the Hot Karl segment, but not this one, even though he was a lead member of the Klan! Now, Burning Star is a band that did a few songs with the Klan/ Black Eyed Peas, but Apl. is not a member, and the whole interview is about the Klan, not Burning Star. There are a few seconds of footage of a Burning Star show, which I guess Apl. was at when they interviewed him. Considering the filmmakers didn't know how to spell Mack 10's name, I'm guessing Hip-Hop isn't really their "thing" and they just didn't understand the distinction between the two groups.

Anyway, all in all, Dropped doesn't get nearly close enough to its subjects, and is too lazily assembled to be considered a good film. The Hot Karl segment is the most compelling and the best done, and even that's way too short to justify tracking the film down (basically what I wrote above gives you all there is to be found in the three Hip-Hop segments, and the rock segments are no better), so save yourself the trouble. But if you happen to catch it on the Sundance channel, it'll hold your interest for the short time it takes to plow through.

The Last X-Clan Record?

X-Clan's big comeback album in '07 - which they'd been talking about for years - was pretty disappointing when it finally dropped, huh? It didn't help that by the time they finally put it together, Professor X had passed on. And it didn't help that even though he'd made all of these recordings, they wound up using none of them on the album. And it really didn't help that they decided to scrap their signature sound and replace it with a compilation of disparate beats by a various west coast producers. Oh, and they filled the album with up a bunch of random indie MCs. I can just see everyone in the studio trying to one-up each other in second-guessing the X-Clan, throwing more and more random people into the mix to get the "kids" interested. Meanwhile, I don't think any of the artists they got: Fat Jack, Charli 2na, DJ Quik*, RBX, Abstract Rude (plus a bunch of unknowns) - are really who "the kids" are listening to anymore, anyway (well... maybe Charli 2na). It's like thirty-somethings enlisting some tired twenty-somethings to totally fail reaching the teens.

And it's telling that Return to Mecca was CD-only. They also talked a lot (on their site, on their myspace, in their press releases etc) about their first single... when there actually was no single; just an mp3 and youtube video.

But this is the last actual record they released (to date - there's still hope). It's pretty overlooked and definitely under-rated... it came out in 2004 on Up Above Records. There's still no Professor X here, but the production is still essentially "in-house" X-Clan, as both sides are produced by Dark Sun Riders O.G. Ultraman. To be fair, they did let Ultraman produce one song on Return To Mecca, by the way - and if you notice, it's by far the best track on there (hint taken for the next album, I hope?).

"The One" is just dope. The beat is deceptively simple, with several subtle layers to the track that will get your head nodding whether you want to or not. And Brother J is definitely bringing his A-game, both lyrically and delivery-wise. I mean, yeah ok... it's not as good as the classic, amazing X-Clan singles from their heyday, but it's a very worthy entry into the X-Clan/Dark Sun Riders oeuvre.

The b-side is OK... Brother J's delivery sounds a little less enthusiastic, and the beat's definitely less engrossing - it actually sounds more akin to the Return To Mecca stuff (but better than most of it). It's not bad, though... it gives you more of Brother J MCing, which, after "The One" is exactly what you'll be wanting to hear. But the A-side is the winner and clearly where they directed all their creative energies at the time.

This record also includes instrumentals for both tracks, although both have Brother J's ad-libs and hooks all over them. But the best thing about this record is that it was so over-looked, you can pick it up for bargain-bin prices (ughh.com, for example, still has copies four years later, now at a marked down red price). If you're an X-Clan fan or were still feeling Brother J when he came back with the Dark Sun Riders, then you'll definitely want this in your collection - this would be one of the best tracks on that album. And only "Weapon X" off their latest effort comes close to "The One."

Oh, and I almost forgot: they do have a myspace. There's a video up there now with Brother J saying he's working on a new album called Mainstream Outlaw - hopefully this one will be a little more like an X-Clan album and a little less like a Project Blowed compilation. They also have an official website at xclanmusic.com, which looks like it could use an update. ;)

*His contribution sounds nothing like the work of DJ Quik, anyway. I don't know how good X-Clan and DJ Quik could ever possibly sound together, but this is terrible. If I were them, I'd be demanding Quik send me the check back.

Tags: X-Clan, Dark Sun Riders

Mo' Lux

This is the debut single from Lux*, "Boom Box" b/w "Gangsta," that I mentioned in my last post. It came out in 1994 on Feature Recordings. Both tracks are produced by Steady B and "remixed and engineered" by DJ Miz.

The A-side also features Steady B on the mic. "Boom Box" - in the liner notes, it's given the longer and preferable title, "Boom Box Material" - only comes in one version (well, except for an instrumental)... it's clean, but it sounds like the MCs are censoring themselves as they perform. Anyway, although there's a decent amount of curses they have to drop out, it's not too distracting. The beat's ok. It's a little cheapish sounding, but it's basically just a hardcore track for the Lux and Steady to spit over, so it serves its purpose. "Boom Box (Material)" is a dope song designed to introduce the world to Lux, and Steady shows he's still got it as well.

"Gangsta" is the same as the version that later appeared on the EP. Interestingly, though, the credits are a bit different. The EP says it's co-written by Steady B, Mizery and Dame Dollaz (who's credited as asistant engineer on the single); but this release gives sole writing credit to Levi Scott Jr. (I assume that's Lux). This single also gives Steady B production credit for the track, which he doesn't get on the EP. The EP does say it's co-produced by someone named Wycked (I'd guess not the guy who produced for 2Pac and Thug Life, but hey, you never know), though, who gets no mention on the single.

Anyway, whoever did what on it, "Gangsta"'s a dope song (in fact, it's the song I quoted in my The Man They Call Lux write-up). It starts out with a loop from The Godfather theme softly playing, which is then quickly overshadowed by a loud, banging track with some deep piano chords. The sample keeps playing in the background, though, filling in what few gaps the drums and Lux's vocals leave in the track.

The single features radio, street, instrumental and even acapella versions of "Gangsta," and the main and instrumental versions of "Boom Box." It's a dope 12" for anybody, and a must track-down for Lux fans fiending for more material.

*Just to clarify since some online listings get it wrong: the title of the EP was The Man They Call Lux, but the artist's name is just Lux.

Tags: Lux, Steady B, DJ Miz

The Man They Call Lux

What do you get when you combine Freddie Foxxx and Steady B? You get Lux (that's a good thing). The Man They Call Lux is Lux's main release, although he had an earlier 12" single (featuring Steady B himself) and later did a few appearances. Lux came out of the overlooked indie Philly scene in the late 90's, and was produced by DJ Miz (as in Freshco & ______), here going by the name DJ Mizery.

Now, there's two versions of this EP - the cassette version and the vinyl version, with different track-listings. The vinyl version has:

1. Just Enuff (Vocal)
2. Just Enuff (Instrumental)
3. Why? (Vocal)
4. Why? (Instrumental)
5. Street Playa
6. Baby (Instrumental)
7. Don't Give a...

...while the cassette version track-listing is this:

1. Intro
2. Jailhouse
3. Winna
4. Don't Give a...
5. Why?
6. Street Playa
7. Just Enuff
8. Gangsta
9. Outro

...So, basically, the cassette version has some extra songs, and the vinyl version has the instrumentals. They both came out in 1996 on No Front Inc., a label co-owned by DJ Miz and Jonas Goldstein.

Lux had just gotten out of prison before putting out this EP (for racketeering and controlled substance distribution, according to the Philadelphia City Paper), hence the delay between the initial single and this release. But it sounds like that time was put to good use making this EP dope. "Jailhouse" is a live recording of a performance, where you can hear the crowd loving his hardcore flow. And that experience is how this whole EP feels.

The production is consistently solid - simple for the most part, just pure rough street tracks. One song, "Why?," add a terrific piano sample and a brilliant use of a line from Slick Rick's "Hey Young World" on the hook that will easily pull any hip-hop fan in, no matter what style they're into. Oh, and when DJ Miz comes in at the end to cut up the "but they're still telling lies to me" line from "The Bridge Is Over?" Forget about it!

Lyrically, though a lot of his songs are straight, hardcore freestyles ("I got the mad skills with a handful of niggas in my corner. Ya walk my path, yaass can be a fuckin' goner. So get the rubber ready for the syringe, hit the skin, and watch me closely as I come around the bend. It's a thin line between love and hate. We can make a date; it'll be your worst fate - you punks couldn't bust a grape. Tighten up the girdles and the garters. Ya smack a nigga in the face, he might work harder."), he still remains conscious, on a very street level. Like I said, very reminiscent of Freddie Foxxx. Check out his lyrics for "Why?" (the whole song, taken from an old Front Inc press-kit. Punctuation etc as originally written):

"Why? And you forgot Why?

Why are things the way that they are
Why when the night fall out comes the stars
Why is corruption in this government so evident
Why is the black man so damn diligent
Why did I do time for cocaine, when Dolorean doesn't do a day because of his name
Shame about O.J., but murders happen every damn day
If that was Hillary would they treat Bill the same way
Oh my god our world is so corrupt, Woody Allen gets accused of the same but
they got to go and see Mike's nuts
Oh Why do things go on this way,
Kennedy gets away, but see Tyson had to pay
Why is my music with the soul always control a naked soul and accept fuckin
Rock n Roll, unfold and listen closely when I'm schoolin
Somebody tell me WHY?

And you forgot Why?
Say Why?, Why, When You know WHY?

Why do things get captured on camera, cops get acquitted, admit it what the
fuck would happen if I would of did it
Why is there a war against drugs
When white collar see, that's are biggest fuckin thugs
Slugs on the ground, your put six feet down, Mothers constantly frown,
Wanna be gangsters runnin around our town
They blame AIDS on blacks in the ghetto , we heard you said it, but we all
know that that's a man made synthetic
Genetics tell me better , get your shit together because you won't be able
to hold my people down forever
Never will we let go of the collar of the crook, they say the best way to
hide from a nigger, put it in a book
They gave me a peep, I took a look
It wasn't right, know they got to feel some strife tonight
I'm fly'em high as a kite,as soon as they give it to me cut em with a knife

Somebody tell me WHY?
And you forget
Why when you know WHY?

Why do they think we all rob and fuckin steal
Why do they stop us from driving fly automobiles
Why is the subburbs we hear and don't know
and they separate us all from the ghetto
don't get me wrong though cause we still love the ghetto
but why is it only bad parts about the ghetto that you show
Why can a black singer only sing, when you name a theifen devil like Elvis King
These are things we need to pull off the shelf, and questions we really
need to ask ourselves
somebody tell me WHY?
and you forgot why?
Your still tellin lies to me!!"

The EP also features a hot duet with Tommy Hil from The Ram Squad - their styles are pure street lyrically, delivery-wise and right down to the track. "Gangsta" is the same song that was on the b-side to his first 12", co-written by Steady B, and "Just Enuff" pays homage to the old school... the notes don't specify, but I'd bet your house that the hook here is sung by East 27th Street, an R&B act that was also signed to No Front Inc at the time.

Basically, The Man They Call Lux is a little skit-heavy (at least the cassette version), but every song on here bumps, including the ones left off the vinyl version. This is one of those releases you're going to feel the first time you hear it; and then the more you listen to it, the more you'll dig it even further. Track it down. Classic slept-on Philly.

Tags: The Man They Call Lux

(Werner Necro'd) It's 2099 - Jeru the Damaja Interview

This interview was done in 1998, when Jeru the Damaja was just mounting his independent comeback on his own new label, KnowSavage Records. No longer working with Premiere, Jeru was now doing all of his own production. An artist he was working with at the time, Miz Marvel, came with him.

You were just telling me you had a new project coming out, so...
 
Yeah, ay-ight, it's called "Safe Sex (Billie Jean)," you know what I'm sayin'? But it's not gonna come out on London. It's gonna come out on KnowSavage Records. And it's only gonna be on wax. Strictly for the DJs, so all the internet heads, who are DJs, that's how ya get it. Ya gotta call up or see it in a store around the way... It's gonna be in all the specialty stores. But it's not gonna be like CDs and cassettes.

You did that before with "Ya Playin' Yaself," right?

Yeah. I mean, some records are just for the DJs. I mean, not that it's not for everybody; it's just that when a DJ gets it, it goes that extra length. So, it's like I'm givin' 'em something special, 'cause they're trying to destroy the wax... the whole hip-hop thing. So, certain things I gotta do just for DJs just to keep that balance.

And KnowSavage Records, is that your label? Do you own it?
 
Yeah, that's my label. That's my own thing. I'm not crazy big or official or nothing like that; it's just my own thing. Small, little distribution. It's like that; tryin' to work it like that. This is aside from what I'm doin' with my album on London.

Do you know what the title on that is gonna be yet?
 
I know the title. The title of my album Armor of Gold, Dirter Dan Ever and that's solely produced by Jeru the Damaja. Now it's my turn. I mean, Premier's beats are hittin'. I hear there's, like, a lot of controversy, or people are talkin', but the only reason I'm not usin' Premier is because it's just time for Jeru the Damaja to do beats, you know what I'm sayin'? Some people are gonna love 'em, and some people are gonna hate 'em, but that's with anything in life.

Do you still consider yourself part of the Gangstarr Foundation at all, or is that kinda dead?
 
I mean, with Jeru and KnowSavage Productions, that's it. Sometimes you gotta go and start your own team. We all still cool and everything, as far as that goes, but as far as I'm doing my own thing and they're doing their own thing. You saw the new Gangstarr record, you saw who the new Gangstarr Foundation is. I'm Jeru the Damaja, doin' his thing.

Are you still working with Afu now? I know he's got his new single out...
 
Who? "Afu?" Oh, nah, he's got his own thing. He's out there working with a lot of different brothers I really don't know. I really can't speak on that. I'm just KnowSavage Productions, Jeru the Damaja. I'm doin' my girl, Miz Marvel, right here. We're getting ready to throw out a single on KnowSavage Records... another joint. She's also rhymin' on my album, and on the single that I'm doing, "Billie Jean," and the b-side is called, "Bitches With Dicks." And it's a joint that's got me, Miz Marvel, and my man L'il Dap from the Group Home. And, basically, that's it. So, support Jeru the Damaja. This is gonna be on the internet, right?

Yeah.
 
So everybody support Jeru the Damaja. He's trying to do his own thing. By the time this airs, my record'll be out. KnowSavage Productions. You just gotta look it up in the directory. It'll be there. KnowSavage Productions Incorperated. That's Jeru the Damaja. You see that, call me up. Find out where to get those records from. 'Cause what I'm doin' now is strictly for hip-hop. And, like I said, in a month or two, I'ma put out Miz Marvel's shit and do it like that; underground, strictly. Not the fake shit. This ain't about no Mo', no Benzes, or nothin'. It's about hip-hop. I mean, I'ma make my dough, no doubt. You should get paid for any work that you do. That's the law. You like to get paid for your job. But that's love. For all the brothers and sisters who love hip-hop, support Jeru the Damaja, go out and buy "Billie Jean" b-side, "Bitches With Dicks." Support hip-hop. It's for the real Jeru fans who want something new. If you're looking for the same exact thing as on my last two albums, then you can't get it. It's the same, but now it's some new futuristic shit. It's 2099. That shit I be on is 2099, not 1999.

So who're you listening to? 'Cause I remember on your last album, you kinda called out Foxy Brown... is there anyone big today, like on Hot 97 or whatever, that you would listen to?

Who do I like? I don't listen to Hot 97. I listen to the new 105. (Laughs) For real, if you really wanna know... Basically, Jeru the Damaja is the same as he's always been. Some people I like. I like all the regular heads... that's good. That know how to MC. But, to me, most everybody else is corny. And people gotta understand, too. It's not playa hatin'. 'Cause I don't hate. I'm happy when people make money and make a livin'. I hate corny. I'm a corny hata. If you're a playa, you're a player, if you say. But a playa don't spend. That's trickin', not pimpin'. So I can be a trick hata, you know? So, I don't know.

Anyway, off that subject. Like I said, mostly everybody to me, the artists who talk about they're the nicest and all of that, be really corny. They're ay-ight. I'm not knockin' 'em for what they're doin'. I don't envy, and that's another thing. I don't envy no other man, what no man has, or what no man is doing. I'm an opinionated person; that's it. And if my opinion is that it's corny, it's corny. If I like it, I like it. And, the reason with Foxy Brown and all that is, I mean, ain't nothin' to really say about that. I called it how I saw it. It wasn't nothin'. It was singin'. But, that's a girl. And a girl is gonna act like a girl. Plus, if you don't write your own rhymes like that, you can't battle.

And it's not like a motherfucker is mad a person's making money, 'cause I had a record deal years before that. I've been all over the world in spots that platinum artists haven't even touched that. I've done thousands of shows, you know? Professional. So it's ain't envy or anything like that. I read in a magazine, "Oh, he's just sayin' that to be bad." I'm not bad. You're just corny. That's it. It ain't like that. I just call it like that. I said, "With all that big gun talk, you're playin' yaself." And motherfuckers like, "Oh, Jeru's a playa hata." but that same year, you see, niggas get killed. And I said it's gonna happen. 'Cause you're playin' yaself. You can't be a certain way and expect certain things. It's not gonna happen. Like me. I don't be claim to be the most perfect or the most righteous. To a certain level, I do shady shit. Not intentionally. Not with malice in my heart. But I know that, and I know the consequences. I know if I do something shady, the consequences of something shady happening to me are more likely.

You mentioned battling... Are you still down for battling?
 
If you try to pull your sword out on me, than I have to battle you. Any mic, with whatever MC is there. It don't matter if they're selling one million, or one record, ya understand? On the mic, it's mic domination. That's it.

Even though it's been a while since your last album, you've been doing projects, like Walkin' Large and Rae & Christian... some pretty diverse stuff. How'd you hook up with those?
 
Like I said, Jeru the Damaja, I'm worldwide like that. I've been to spots that heads ain't really been. So, dudes out in Germany know me like that. So they could call me up. And Rae & Christian, I know those dudes in Grand Central, down in Manchester, 'cause I flow through there. So they call me up, like, "What's up?" And I'm like, "Cool." If I like what they're doin', then I'll fuck with it. If not, I don't.

Ay-ight... It's kinda old news, but you just wanna touch on, real quick, the Fugee thing? Where they're talking about you on the record and such-and-such.
 
I mean, it's like this, man. All that type shit, I ain't really got nothin' to say about, 'cause can't none of them can burn me MCing. That's really the bottom line. you can sell a million records, you can have a million bitches, whatever. But, you can't burn me MCin?, bottom line. That's what I'm sayin', as far as all of that. If motherfuckers really want to take that to a level, let's just battle.

You said, on your last album, your label kinda fucked up your project's momentum, on "Too Perverted"...
 
Right.

What'd you mean by that? What happened?
 
I mean labels don't really know what the fuck they're doing. They just don't listen to a brother. Because, the status that I got, the sales don't reflect. So, obviously, it's not me, 'cause I'm not the one selling the record, or marketing the record, or promoting the record.

Right, ok. So, real quick, you went on tour for a long time with DJ Shadow, Latryx... What was it like touring with them, out west? It's not the type of groups that people might associate you with.
 
I mean, I tour with all types of heads. I'm alternative, but still underground. I'm regular, but I'm still alternative. I appeal to an alternative, college crowd. So, really, the crowd was mine, anyway. It wasn't different than nothing. Those were the crowds I appeal to, the college crowd, the white crowd. It's not just like for the boys in the hood. It's for everybody from the boys in the hood to the Filipino kids... Whoever. They like Jeru the Damaja for bringing conscious lyrics. It's just hip-hop. No matter what it sounds like, it?s hip-hop. It's no gimmick. It's no nothin', just hip-hop. And they like that. They feel that. They feel that, because that's culture. That's the way I live my life everyday. And that's what hip-hop is. Culture. It's not a fad, and the kids respect that. I got culture in my shit, and the culture that I have is gonna spread out. And that's it. So, playin' with DJ Shadow wasn't nothin'. I'm bringing my culture.

Today, Jeru is still doing his thing. His latest album, Still Rising, just came out this past October on Ashenafi Records, plus he just did a stint on Ill Bill's latest album. And of course, he has a myspace page. Miz Marvel changed her name to Omega, which she's mostly been ghost-writing pop songs as, though she also did a track for a compilation album called Queendom vol. 1 last year..If she has a myspace, though, I can't find it.

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