Nice & Smooth Road Test part 1

This is a maybe kinda long series of videos (4 parts split into 2 videos each)... Hopefully they're enjoyable, but if they're "TL;DW" - sorry. I didn't realize I was making such an epic when I started. LOL

Props if you can find the embarrassing mistake I make in these vids before I realize it and tell everyone what it is.

^Part A (of part 1)


^Part B (of part 1)

Tags: Nice 'N' Smooth

InstaRapFlix 4: Jin: The Making of a Rap Star

Ok. As you know from the premise of this post series, I don't own any of these DVDs. But I think these posts really need an image to liven them up. So I'm jacking the cover images from Amazon... I even went back and put them in the three previous entries. But since they're not my scans, sometimes the quality may not be so great. So my apologies for that. But it does help, no?

Today's experiment, Joel, is a little biodoc called Jin: The Making of a Rap Star (Netflix rating: 2 stars - that's right, folks; according to Netflix, this should be twice as good as the last three films I looked at). I actually had forgotten that Jin existed. He was a late-joining member of the Ruff Ryders crew and had a record called "Learn Chinese."

"This is not a marketing thing, me being out here in Chinatown. You don't have the cameras on? I'm standing out here everyday; this is where I am," he says. So, what we learned from this movie is that Jin stands out in front of an upscale Chinese restaurant every day of his life.

We meet his family, which is nice. We hear him perform a couple songs live, spit a few freestyles, and even do a little battle. We watch him show up late and miss a show in Washington. We see a lot (like, I've never seen so many!) of blurred logos on Jin's clothing and snack food. We see him in the studio with Waah (a CEO of the Ruff Ryders who looks bored) claiming that nobody had told the Asian story before and how he's creating a new category. It's always nice when a newjack debuts on a major label and slights those who came before him, right? We don't see DMX, though, or Eve or any of the big-time Ruff Ryders showing up to endorse their new protege.

And of course, it all ends with a hard sales pitch of his upcoming album.

This is an interesting film to compare to yesterday's. The documentary is much better put together than M.O.P.'s (by the way, it's also about the same length, clocking in at 52 minutes including the credits): no stretching or padding, no confused celebrity host (though a few segments, like when his car gets a flat tire, are excessive)... It's a better put together film, no doubt. But M.O.P. are M.O.P., and Jin is just some random record label experiment who came and went. So ultimately M.O.P.'s movie wins by a mile, even though, ironically, there's is worse.

Tags: Jin: The Making of a Rap Star

InstaRapFlix 3: M.O.P.: Straight from the Projects

Tonight's movie was M.O.P.: Straight from the Projects - Rappers That Live the Lyrics (Netflix rating: 1 star. Don't worry, folks; they're not all 1 star flicks... just a lot of 'em haha). I picked this one, frankly, 'cause it was short. And by short, I mean less than an hour long And you know what? This was way too long.

Basically, the premise is that M.O.P. takes us on a tour through their project for a day. It's hosted by B Real; and there's your first problem right there. Dude is reading cue cards like he has no idea what he's talking about. He talks about what "we" saw that day, but he clearly wasn't there. And he's shot from two different camera angles, with both cameras constantly zooming in and out, and it cuts between cameras every single second. It'll drive you batty to watch it.

So, the host segments, which are frequent, suck and never contribute one iota - there's really no reason for him to be involved with this project. It's already so completely obvious what's happening in the film. Basically, it goes like this:

First scene) B-Real says, "and then we went to the high school they attended."
Second scene) M.O.P. says, "now we're going to the the high school we attended."
Third scene) M.O.P. points and says, "this is the high school we attended."
Fourth scene) back to B-Real for a new segment.

And that's the other problem with this film - there's basically no content. It's under an hour, it's padded with about ten minutes of useless B-Real footage... and almost all of the rest of the footage is padding to. Each new segment begins and ends (and has some in the middle) with footage slowed down, sped up, etc set to M.O.P. music. And every once in a while we cut to clips of one of their music videos - too short to be like, "oh, ok; we're watching their video now" but long enough for you to be like, "can we get back to the movie now?"

This film is all padding! And it's super short!

At it's core, there is about 10-15 minutes of inconsequential but fun footage of M.O.P. in their old hometown, reminiscing and kind of showing us the "real them." Which is, you know, not a great documentary; but nice if you're a fan. But no matter how much of a fan you love M.O.P., this film definitely draaaaggggssss.

I've never seen an episode of MTV Cribs (or any show on MTV, really, since the final episode of Yo!); but in my imagination, it's exactly like this, except with better pacing and lots of commercials. That's one thing this DVD has going for it - no commercials! ...Except, you know, in the sense that this is one long commercial for their then (2002) upcoming CD, which they do directly pitch to the viewer. Except for that.

In the end, M.O.P. are likable guys, but I think this film ultimately illustrates how unlikely it is that you'll be able to shoot a worthwhile documentary film in a single day.

Tags: M.O.P.: Straight from the Projects - Rappers That Live the Lyrics

InstaRapFlix 2: Bling: A Planet Rock

Today I watched Bling: A Planet Rock (Netflix rating: 1 star) a surprisingly effective look at how the "bling culture" of contemporary hip-hop relates to the gruesome civil war over "blood diamonds" in in Sierra Leone (Africa). I picked this one because Big Daddy Kane got high billing, but he and Kanye West (who also gets high billing) are actually only in this for a few seconds in the introduction. Essentially, this film revolves around Raekwon, Paul Wall (appropriate, because he also owns a diamond dealership), some reggae artist named Tego Calderon, and former child soldier turned author, Ishmael Beah. They take a trip to Africa and visit places like amputee camps and womens' shelters to see the origins of the diamonds they wear.

Occasionally, it plays like another junk reality TV show - clips of Rae and Paul Wall talking to the camera at the airport feel like they've been ripped straight off the E! channel. And in general this film would have been better if it spent a little more time examining the situation in Africa and gave a little less camera time to the rappers... but in general, it actually works pretty well.

The people and places they visit are genuinely affecting. The hip-hop angle may at times seem a little forced, but when former soldiers tell Raekwon how his music and videos directly inspired them to kill their fellows for diamonds, the film shows it actually has a point and makes it. Probably the strongest aspect is that the film lets the people they visit - the diggers, victims, soldiers, etc - tell their story without interference.

The film climaxes early when they finally visit the diamond mine and the people who own it. They're allowed their say, Raekwon gets in an argument with one of them, and then... they visit a couple more places that are kind of redundant and less compelling than places they visited earlier in the film. It finally ends with a party, where the people of Sierra Leone are seen in a less downtrodden light then they had been for the rest of the film, and Raekwon performs.

It's not a perfect film by any stretch, but it was compelling for the most part - deeper reaching than you'd expect. You are left wondering afterward, though, what was the point, really... The rappers come off just as dopey and shallow at the end of the film as they do in the beginning; and except for a few moments, they really don't feel like they have any place in a documentary on such a serious issue ("ok, let's cut away from the man who had his hands cut off by rebels so we can see a Paul Wall dicking around with his seatbelt on the bus").

Ultimately, what it comes down to is that the rappers only merit a small part in the film, but are given the lead roles because they're celebrities.

A final point of interest: besides the fact that the filmmakers must like really bad, contrived puns, I think the subtitle A Planet Rock is used because this is a sequel of sorts to a short film with Chuck D called Bling: Consequences and Repercussions. It's described on the IMDB as, "tackl[ing] the issues behind Hip Hop's obsession with diamonds and the continued illegal diamond trade in Africa. Bling looks to further educate the Hip Hop generation about the murder and carnage caused by the world's greed for diamonds." ...Although, looking at the credits for both, none of the filmmakers or producers are the same. Maybe it's just a total rip-off?

Tags: Bling, Bling: A Planet Rock

Kick a Hole In the Speaker, Pull the Plug, Then I

Jet released his fairly obscure debut EP, Life Afta Darkness, in 1992 on Righteous Records... that's the label owned by Paris (of "Bush Killa" infamy). He's had some struggles getting his music out there (more on that later), but you recognize Jet from a number of guest appearances, including Pooh-Man's diss track at his former Dangerous Music Family, "Judgement Day" (this is the song that made me say, "hey, I know this guy!" and buy his EP when I saw it in the store way back when) and a couple songs on Paris's Unleashed album.

The title track "Life Afta Darkness" uses the same basic instrumental samples as Grand Daddy IU's "Sugar Free" (and Compton's Most Wanted used that same year on "It's a Compton Thang"), but adds some new live instrumentation on top of it. The liner notes read, "bass keyboards, flutes, strings, bass synth and all otha O.G. shit played by: Gina Blacknell." Flutes? What flutes? Well, anyway... the live instrumentation awkwardly walks the tightrope between really adding something new to the song, making an old sample fresh and original and just layering a bunch of crap on top of a song that doesn't fit. Most of the time it's pretty good, but... a little less would have been better.

The song itself is your typical gangsta bravado rap, flipped into a cool little narrative of how he spends his nights (dealing drugs, winning at dice, etc). He's no great wordsmith (Kool G. Rap won't be threatened by any verse Jet ever kicks), but he's capable enough to hold your attention and keep you interested in everything he's saying.

"How'm I gonna make ends meet?
A nigga steady tryin' ta brush me to tha concrete.
I'm just a young, black male in society;
I only smoke coward niggas when they try me.
I'm a well known fugitive.
Positive ain't Jet, 'cause I'm negative..
But for real, though, life is precious;
Seventeen years of livin', and all of 'em wreckless.
'Cause funk? Man, it attracts to me;
But in the end, I leave punks smokin' like a factory."

Now, the 12" is just a single, featuring the street, radio and instrumental versions of the title track, but the cassette version features two other songs as well.

"Dank Head" uses the obvious "Mary Jane" sample (to match it's equally obvious subject matter), but takes a particularly lively portion, even looping thevocals behind Jet's lyrics (which sometimes obscures his lyrics, but that's ok). And then it regularly breaks down into the "Yo Kit, What's the Scoop?" break before kicking back in. ...I suppose this must be where the flute credit comes into the liner notes... they must've replayed the original loop as opposed to sampling it. It does sound maybe a little tinny, now that I'm questioning it. In that case, I'm even more impressed.

I don't recognize the backing to the last song, "Salt Shaker" - a song about those who would claim to be your friend, but behind your back, tell your business to everyone including the police - but it's similar in tone... even a little more 70's funkish. On all three tracks the instrumentals overrun the lyrics, but Jet's flow is definitely up to the task of keeping your head nodding with each song.

I should point out: the radio and instrumental versions of "Life Afta Darkness" are featured on the cassette release as well. The radio release is pretty cool, because he re-records all of his vocals and replaces the curses with new lyrics. And does a good job of it - it doesn't sound like, "this clearly isn't the version I should be listening to" like most radio lyrics.

So, yeah. Jet did some guest spots after this but his career has been a struggle... after leaving Righteous, he signed with Snake Pit Records. He wound up leaving them, though, before putting anything out. He then moved to Strickly Platnum Records, changed his name to J.E.T., and recorded his second album (or first, depending how strict you are about EPs counting as albums), American Dream in 1999. It got a pretty limited release and reception, so his next album was shelved (and indeed the entire label went under). Finally, in 2005, he changed his name to Jet Black and formed his own label, Hard Earned Records. He put out an album, also called Hard Earned, which you can still order from CDBaby. And, yup, he has a myspace. He promises a new album, called Intentional Grindin, in 2008.

Tags: Jet, J.E.T., Jet Black

InstaRapFlix 1: Queens of Hip Hop

I was bored and scanning through Netflix's browse instant list... they don't have a whole lot of movies yet, but I just discovered that they have a whole ton (well, comparatively) of hip-hop docs. So I que'd them all, even the really hokey, trashy looking ones. And I'm gonna review 'em on here every time I watch one.

The first one I watched was Queens of Hip Hop (Netflix rating: 1 star). I can sum this one up really easily. Good but too short.

First of all, it has interviews with a whole ton of female MCs. Way too many to list, but some are: Salt N Pepa, Roxanne Shante, Pri the Honeydark, The Poetess (remember her?), Rah Digga, Charli Baltimore, Champ MC, Synquis of Finesse & Synquis, Nikki D, Medusa, etc etc. This film came out in 2003 and I'd bet some of the interviews were done even earlier, because MCs like Queen Pen and Lady Luck are talking like they're on top of the rap game.

But the documentary is only 58 minutes. Take away the time for opening and closing credits, and a pointless series of clips where the MCs shout out the documentary they're in (you don't have to promote it; we're already watching it, guys!), and you're down to like 45 minutes.

So basically each MC gets a little video clip... roughly 1 minute long to tell their story (who they are, how they got into the game), and then it's on to the next one. Then, for the last 20 minutes, they come back, and some of the MCs get a second clip, where they talk about how being an MC has influenced their family life. Every once in a while, they also show a short clip of one of their music videos, and two of the MCs (Paula Perry & Invincible) even freestyle.

Most of these MCs are pretty damn interesting (albeit some more than others), and it's really a shame the filmmakers never ask any questions... when Lady of Rage says she's suing Death Row, no one even says, "really, tell us about that?" When Roxanne Shante claims to be the first female MC, no one brings up The Sequence, Sha-Rock, Mercedes Ladies, etc. It's just a couple sentences and then CUT! onto somebody else.

There's also the problem of cheesy graphics. The gimmick of having four on-screen images zoom past each other during the opening credits was so annoying I had to skip past them (and the equally cheesy opening credits song didn't help). And every once in a while, during the interviews, the image splits into three for no discernible reason... it's just distracting. But the worst was the on-screen comments. Like, when Invincible stood up to freestyle, this flashing purple text floated all over the screen saying, "She's bangin'!" Yowza!

Now I can sort of guess why they did this. When you're just stringing along a series of unrelated short clips, as an editor, you're surely thinking "I've got to do something to make this more of a 'movie' and justify my fee." Of course, the thing to do to make this a more substantial movie would have been to get deep with the interviews, ask probing questions and maybe even explore the subjects more than once in a quick in-studio interview. The fact that it would have stretched the running time out to proper feature length would only have been a bonus!

But, for all its flaws, it's still cool. They do get a lot of dope MCs, and even the wack ones and complete unknowns (Mary J. Wanna, or some girl named Diamond D who was signed to Ruthless but never came out) are interesting to hear from for the short time they're on.

It's so short and superficial, I'd be mad if I bought the DVD. But for an instant viewing on Netflix? It's definitely worth checking out.

Tags: Queens of Hip-Hop

Before He Was Goldy...

Call It Like I See It by Mhisani is the little known debut album by Dangerous Music's Goldy under his original name. Mhisani Miller is his real name, but if you have to include a pronunciation guide on your album cover, then you can't really be blamed for deciding to change it. Call It came out in 1991 on the indie label Timbuktu Creations, which as far as I know only put out Mhisani's material.

Surprisingly, the sound of this is very pop. Both the music, and the man's voice and flow would fit in perfectly on a tape with Snap, Rico Suave, Kyper, Mellow Man Ace, etc. The first song "Hump" could easily have been a hit on MTV, except the lyrics are way too x-rated. It's fun if you can embrace your inner preteen and lower your standards enough to let lyrics like, "I slid my car into her garage; it was a tight fit because my car was large" slide.

Mhisani is a guy looking for an identity here, really. On one song he complains about police mistaking him for being a drug dealer, then on another song he talks about how he deals drugs. "Midnight Rendevous[sic.]" sounds like his real bid for the mainstream, though, with poppy singers on the chorus and clean love song lyrics. Just listening to this album, you get the impression he's one of those artists that was "put together" by the label or management, like Menudo or Timex Social Club.

There are some scratches by his DJ Macaroni and a mixture of new and familiar samples... all in all, like I've said, it feels really poppy. One song is practically a Miami bass song, until the Pink Panther theme suddenly pops in and he starts kicking some sex raps (his favorite topic). The only guest star, Rich Nice, pops up to kick a verse on "This Is How," their ode to Oakland (he uses the same instrumental for his shout out track at the end of the album). He has some "message" songs (though they're mostly ham-fisted and simplistic statements of how violence, racism and drugs (when he's not supporting them) are wrong. He also comes out against the theory of evolution (yes, really) and women using men for their money. There are a couple of uncredited skits in between songs... including a fun one where "the man" hires a hitman to assassinate Mhisani for telling the truth to the people.



So, yeah. This album was successful enough to get him a deal with Jive Records and a membership in Too $hort's Dangerous Music Crew. And he released his "debut" (as Jive advertised it) album, In the Land of Funk, in 1994. But those in the know remembered Mhisani for who he was. In fact, the b-side to his first single (first as Goldy, that is) "Whipped Cream, Nuts & Cherries" (pictured above), "Prostitute" was lifted right off Call It Like I See It, although this time the production credits go to Goldy and Pee Wee, and it has a little more a g-funk element to the instrumental.

That "Whipped Cream, Nuts & Cherries" has a funky little hidden interview track on it, where to introduce himself (and Too $hort's upcoming album as well) to the world. It goes like this ...notice how neither make any mention of the fact that he already put out an album years before:

TS: Ay yo, Goldy, what's up, man?
G: What's happenin'? What's goin' on?
TS: You know what? You've been on two Short Dog albums, you've been on two Ant Banks albums.... by now, man, I think people wanna know: who is Goldy? What's up with Goldy? When's your album coming out? Something.
G: Check this out, y'all. Motherfuckers been anticipatin' this Goldy album for the longest. I done put in hard work and effort in the ghettos to come up and stay where I'm at, right Dog?
TS: Right.
G: I done wrote shit like "Parlayin'" for Ant Banks' The Big Bad Ass on his album, right?
TS: Right.
G: Now I gotta lay down this mack, pimp vibe I got. You know, I done sucked up game from the last nine albums you done dropped, right?
TS: In the Land of Funk.
G: Exactly. In the Land of Funk about to drop; and it's hittin'; and every time you see Goldy, guaranteed to hit. Pick it up. Check it out. So, Short Dog, check this out, man. Banks got The Big Bad Ass, you're nine albums in the hole, now you got Cocktails comin' out. What's happenin' with that?
TS: You know, pimpin's been around since the beginning of time, and it's gonna go right on until someone puts the lights out on this little planet, you know what I'm saying?
G: I hear ya, man.
TS: It's a pimp thing, straight from the Oaktown. We always represntin' Oakland, bitch.
G: East side, west side, in the house.

As Goldy, he finally settled on his image, an Oakland player as heavy on the sex rhymes as ever. Jive only opted to put out the one album from him, but he did a number of Dangerous Music guest appearances...

Update 6/6/8: In the comments of this post, manmyheadishuge (great name, haha) pointed out to me that I missed a Goldy album. So I immediately found a copy (how awesome is the internet that I could instantly find a copy of the cassette for $8 and have it at my house in about a week?), and here's the new addendum to my Mhisani write-up: Thanks!

Goldy came back on the independent tip (Cool Cats/Anansi Records) in 1998 with his third album, The Golden Rules (plus a single for the song "Ghetto Star"). He's still on some straight playa shit (the liner notes include 14 "Golden Rules" of pimping written out like the ten commandments. This is actually his best album! He really steps up his delivery, often going for a sort of E-40ish tongue twister, fast rap. The production is handled by Gruvlyne, Black Hornet Productions and Ruff Knight, and the album features some nice guest verses by G.A.M.E., Thicker Than Water and T-Rell. Yeah, no Dangerous Crew involvement; but he still carries the label on his album cover and shouts out Too $hort and the fam in his liner notes.

Said liner notes also promise another Goldy album "coming soon," called Cork Poppin' & Paper Peelin', but it never came out.

Tags: Mhisani, Goldy, Goldie

Once Again Back Is the Incredible...!

I'm back from the festival (good times), with another indie comeback 12"... this one from rapper Bust Down (often spelled as Bustdown, or sometimes even Bust-Down). It's "Anotha Fonkey Rhyme" b/w "There It Is" on Sheska Records (a small New Orleans label... I think their only other release was the DJ Let Me Play EP by T-Mann), and it came out in 1997.

Bust Down's comeback story is almost identical to Clayvoisie's, which I recently wrote about. Both artists were hardcore, up and coming MC's signed with Luke, on his sub-label, Effect Records. Both put in appearances on records by Luke and Poison Clan, and both may be best known for putting out a diss record on one of Luke's albums, co-rapping with JT Money (Bust's was "Pussy Ass Kid and Hoe Ass Play (Payback Is a Mother Fucker)" off I Got S--t On My Mind). The only difference is, since Bust Down came up first (by about a year), he got several singles and his entire album released on Effect before it shut down (as opposed to Clay's single 12").

So like Clay, Bustdown came back with an indie 12". Both songs here are produced by an Abdul "D.J.W." Abdullah, who does a pretty nice job. Production-wise, this sounds a little more like the NY indie 12"s that were big at the time (which is not a bad thing at all), and Bustdown's flow is the same as ever.

"Another Fonkey Rhyme" has a brief intro (and outro) between Bust and his DJ, and then it's just Bust ripping one freestyle rhyme for the entire length of the song over a fairly mellow track. It uses the same bassline as Grand Daddy IU's "Nobody Move;" but the beat is flipped differently enough to feel pretty unique. The instrumental for "There It Is" is slightly faster, with a little go-go even - a bit more in tune with his first LP. And D.J.W. provides some nice if unexceptional cuts to the rhythm of both tracks.



Update 8/2/08: This was also released on cassette and CD, with the same catalog number and a picture cover (see above). Interestingly, those made "There It Is" the A-side and "Anotha Fonkey Rhyme" the B-side. Even more interestingly, the cassette notes promise it's taken from the Bust Down's upcoming album Back On the Map ...though that was never released.

More interestingly still is the story of the record label, Sheska Records. It was owned and run by Richard Pena, a notorious New Orleans drug kingpin whose suppliers and main distributors, like Bust Down, came from Miami. In a VH1 news article, Scott Ando of the DEA explained, "The drug-trafficking organization that Pena led was responsible for bringing thousands of kilos of cocaine into this area over the last several years... He not only employed people that were involved in drug trafficking in the middle-man kind of level, but he had police officers on his payroll, policeman who kidnapped people so they could be killed." Pena is also the guy that No Limit rappers Kane and Abel got involved with and indicted on drug-trafficking for. Pena's operation was shut down, with over 20 people being convicted (including three police officers), in 1997 - the same year this 12" came out. So I guess it's no surprise that Bust Down's Back On the Map got sadly lost in the mess.
Anyway, this is a must-have for any Bust Down fan, and a nice, underrated 12" for the collection of anyone into the indie 90's vinyl scene... even if you wouldn't normally check for Poison Clan-type artists, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

There's Three of Them, But They're Not the Beatles

If you got all worked up when the Wu-Tang Clan announced they were sampling The Beatles on their latest album... If you're one of those guys who talks about how Paul's Boutique is, like, the most clever record ever because of all those crazy samples by artists like The Beatles... If you thought his mixing of Jay-Z acappellas and Beatles loops on The Grey Album was proof positive that then up-and-comer Danger Mouse was the next generation's Primo... Then you'll be needing this.

In fact, a rap group had acquired the rights to a Beatles song long before the Wu's mis-announcement. See, the Clan originally claimed that "the first single from [8 Diagrams] is the first legal sample of the Beatles ever used, appearing as the backing track to "The Heart Gently Weeps.'" on their myspace. But they later back-tracked to admitting they had George Harrison's son Dhani Harrison and John Frusciante of The Red Hot Chili Peppers replay some of the song's elements, because they couldn't clear the rights to the original. But years before all this, manager Charles Stettler went through some major negotiations to get the rights to The Beatles' "Baby, You're a Rich Man" from Michael Jackson (who owned the rights to their catalog at the time) for his superstar group, The Fat Boys.



Their version of The Beatles' "Baby, You're a Rich Man" (the b-side to 1967's "All You Need Is Love" on Capitol Records, pictured above) was featured on the soundtrack to their film, The Disorderlies in 1987. The soundtrack came out on Polydor Records, the major label that scooped them up from Sutra Records that same year. The Fat Boys also perform "Baby, You're a Rich Man" in a scene about midway through the film. And it was finally released as a 45bpm (even the 12" was 45, yes) single on Polydor in '88.

The song was produced by Paul Gurvitz (who also produced their cover of "Wipeout," which actually featured The Beach Boys), and was edited by Albert Cabrera of The Latin Rascalz. It opens with just a sytar and Buff Love beat-boxing, and then the beat kicks it into a full-fledged Beatles rap cover! The writing credits only name P. McCartney and J. Lennon, but somehow i doubt they had a hand in Kool Rock Ski or Prince Markie Dee's rhymes:

"Now rich livin' is def
So funky fresh
Ya have so much in life
And won't settle for less
You can live like a king
And pursue your career
To be a billion - or trillion -
or zillionaire
You can have what you want
Or what you desire
So much money
You could set it on fire!
If I was rich
I'd be a selfish star
Have champagne for breakfast
With caviar!
Girls at my feet
And gold on my neck
And when I get real bored
I'll write out checks!
A fourteen karat
Gold solid band
And a bag full of money
The rest by hand!
I'll cruise around the city
In my black Rolls Royce
And choose the finest lady
Of my choice!
I'll get real ill
But won't get greedy...
Donate half of it
To the needy!
But if I ain't set
And not legit
Get the girls off my feet
And take the gold off my neck!"

Interestingly, he's not credited on the label anywhere, but Dweezil Zappa played guitar on this song. There's an interview with him on IdiotBastard.Supanet.com, where he talks about it, "I think it was on a soundtrack, but I haven’t heard that since I played on it. I remember that was the shortest session I ever did. I went in, they played me the song. It was tuned down a half step and my guitar I tune to A4-40, and so it was like a really weird key for me to play in at that point. It was like B-flat I had to play in, because my guitar was not in tune with the track. And I remember just playing one thing, and once I got to a certain point on the neck, I got confused as to what key I was in because it wasn’t standard tuning. I started doing really weird stuff. And they kept it. That was it. Just one take of the solo. And they said. 'That was it! Great. No problem. Thanks very much.' OK."



The 12" includes three mixes: the "!2" Version," "Single Version," and the "Album Version." Except for the fact that the "Single Version" is heavily edited down to about half the length of the other two, the three mixes aren't all that different. The actual 7" (pictured above), by the way, only features the "Single Version" and has a unique b-side the 12" doesn't have: "Jellyroll" (a song that would later be featured on their album Coming Back Hard Again).

...And if after you get this record, it still hasn't been enough, then you'll just have to track down the square- and star-shaped vinyl singles of "The Beatles Rap" by The Quoreymen. That'll finish you off, for sure.

Finally, before I close this, a quick note to my regular readers: I'll be going away for the next couple of days to speak at The Connecticut Film Festival (which is also screening my first film, Lunch Break). So there won't be another update for a couple of days. But I hope I've left you with a good one. ;)

The Goddess

It seems like a lot of heads have heard vaguely of Wanda Dee as a hip-hop artist but don't really know much of her... while pop fans will know her as the front woman for KLF during the time of their biggest hits. But those who were checking for great but slightly off-beat hip-hop in the late 80's will surely remember this wild Tuff City 12".

Wanda Dee started out as a member of Afrika Bambaataa's fam, and she released a pretty cool, more club-oriented 12" a few years earlier [I'll blog about that one someday, too]... but this is where she really made a name for herself. It's a double A-side in the truest sense... even the picture cover has two alternate fronts images.



"To the Bone" is a hot track, produced by Jazzy Jay. In some ways it's dance oriented, with a bouncy bassline and snappy drums, but Jay uses some great, dusty horn samples for the hook and throughout that really ground it in soul. And Wanda raps pretty hardcore. It would fit right in with the material on Jay's classic Cold Chillin' In the Studio Live album. She very briefly sings, "I Wanna See You Sweat" which is the sample KLF first took.

...See, what happened was they sampled her voice on two of their singles which blew up, so they then brought her in to be their live vocalist. Later they broke up, and got heated when Wanda continued to tour with their name. But, really, who cares about the KLF stuff? This 12" is where it's at!



The other side, "The Goddess," is produced by The 45 King in his prime. It's cool and surprisingly less dance-oriented (considering he was doing all those house-type tracks for Latifah around this time)... it's uses some familiar elements, but combines them in a new way. There's a little "Oooh, love to love you baby" vocal sample on the hook; but it's greatly overshadowed by Wanda doing some really intense straight-out-of-a-porno moans of passion between each verse. I don't know if it really adds anything musically, but it sure gets your attention and made the track a memorable one (bear in mind, this was almost twenty years ago). On this song, both Wanda's delivery and lyrics walk a strange line between hardcore raps (and also shouting out the other female MCs of the time who she considers queens) and a softer, sexier style:

"God fearin', domineerin';
The blood in your face Is searin'.
The Lips? Succulent and bold.
Physique is the peek: body of goddess mold.
Skin of bronze, hair of gold;
Wild child from the Nile - my tale is told.
Serious, delirious and imperious;
Call me just the queen? I get furious!
Eternity's a certainty.
'Ashes to ashes, dust to dust?'
...Ain't for me.
'Cause your love strong I live on;
That's what I came to explain
...In this song.
I give my flesh the best, and yes,
That's what I came to confess...
I'm the goddess!"

There's vocal and instrumental versions for both songs, and there's a hidden (not mentioned on the sleeve or label) acappella for "To the Bone."

Disappointingly, she doesn't seem to have a myspace. In 2003, though, Wanda Dee did make a comeback, forming her own record label (Goddess Empire Record Label... adding the "Label" so it would acronym into G.E.R.L. - get it?) and putting out a new album (and at least one 12" single), The Goddess Is Here. Among other things, she sings a house music version of "La Vie En Rose." 0_o She's a talented and energetic singer; and if you like that electro-dance-diva kind of stuff, it was a pretty underrated album. But me? I'll stick to Wanda Dee the MC.

Tags: Wanda Dee

Black Power In Miami

Oooh. Just discovered this one (thank you, Al Gore, for inventing the Internet). Clayvoisie (sometimes spelled "Clayvoise") was an upcoming artist on Luke Records. He did a couple appearances on Luke & the Poison Clan's albums... You'll probably remember him mainly for rapping alongside JT Money on Luke's infamous Dre diss "Cowards In Compton:" "You can fool a groupie, but you can't fool a gangsta."

Well, Effect Records (a subsidiary of Luke Records) got as far as putting out one single in 1992 ("I.O.U. Nuthin'"), and then dropped him. To be fair, that was probably as much to do with their financial problems as anything against putting out his music... Effect Records closed up shop in '92. In fact, "I.O.U. Nuthin'" may've been their last release.

But Clayvoisie apparently didn't give up that easily. He came out with this independent release on Black Power Entertainment. I don't know exactly what year this came out, since there's no date on the label and I missed it when it first dropped, but I'd assume it couldn't be too long after stint on Effect... so I'd say '93 or '94 is a safe guess.

It's three tracks deep (with instrumentals for all on the flip): "What I Feel," "Voodoo" and "City Boy Funk" with an uncredited guest MC (it just says "Featuring Special Guest" on the label). There are no production credits either, so I've no idea who did any of the music. As far as I know, this is also the first and only release on the label (the catalog number in the run-out grovve, BP-001) suggests that, too.

"What I Feel" has a distinct g-funk influence in the instrumental, but still rough... Clay sounds a little different, but still hardcore and angry, just like we like 'im. :) The hook's a little corny, but passable. There's an R&B singer doing back-up vocals, but she doesn't detract.

"Voodoo" uses some of the same formula as the first track, with the g-funk elements; but the instrumental's a little rawer. The song is literally about voodoo in the inner city, which is pretty damn interesting ("somebody nailed a damn cow tongue to my door!"). He uses the obvious Brother J sample, "voo-doo... runnin' from my madness," but slowed way down.

"City Boy Funk" has Clay doing the classic Miami thing... fast sex raps ("ride this dick, ho!") over a super fast beat, scratching, and a hyper, shouted chorus. But it's not like a lot of the Miami bass style junk that might first pop into your head... I mean, yeah, there are themes in common of course, but you'll be genuinely impressed hearing Clayvoisie keep up with a bpm this high. Where a lot of groups would give up and just do shout and calls over a track like this, Clay keeps busting verses.

It's a great thing that I can still unearth lost music from artists I was digging fifteen years ago. Clayvoisie on Black Power Entertainment... who knew?

Tags: Clayvoisie, Clayvoise