Don't Interrupt Me When I'm Whippin’ On My Bitch’s Ass

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Arrest the President, 14 Years Later

Now that we're under the administration of Bush #2, The Arrest the President All-Stars dropped a sequel to Intelligent Hoodlum's original "Arrest the President" in 2004 on Anticon, with a pic cover (enlarge the image and find Rev Rhyme!) riffing on the old We're All In the Same Gang album cover. The All Stars were made up of Pedestrian, Sole and Jel, who rhymes as well as produces on this one.

The whispered hook is the same; and the instrumental echoes the original... you hear hints of the signature sirens, but Jel fades them out quickly as he's actually crafted an all new instrumental for us, though roughly in the same energetically angry vein. It's a bit closer to the remix, I suppose, in that it has a proper bassline and is generally a bit more "musical," though it forgoes the scratching that Marley did in favor of a variety of vocal samples of everybody from Bobby Seale ("the long arm of fascist surveillance, reaching from the '60s into the present") to LL Cool J ("guilty, face down on the pavement!"). For the most time they alternate kicking four bars, but for the second "verse," they rhyme in unison, which kicks the energy up another notch. Then they split back up again for the final segment:

"Sole:
Blood against blood, he threatens neighbors with nukes
When he's reading his cue cards and punching the camera.
Don't look at the forest, he's burning it down for
The royal family and the prison landlords.

Jel:
We ain't the band for no campaign tour;
We rap to distract in these times of war.
We're not righteous, but might just make you want to listen...
Yo, I'm Elvis with the words of wisdom.[<--3rd Bass quote, kids]"


This single was actually one of those "double A-sides," and the flip is a Pedestrian solo cut called "The Toss and Turn"(both this and "Arrest the President" appear on his debut album, Unindian Songs vol. 1). Pedestrian describes the tune better than I surely could, "[f]ormally, 'The Toss & Turn' is all about appropriation: jel's music is essentially modeled after raw, early '60s novelty dance tunes (like 'The Funky Penguin') and the rapping is in the late-'80s, New York vein. Thematically, the lyrics modify and in some cases invert the associations of those two genres, so that it becomes a swingy, up-tempo song about loss, a conscientiously clubby song about solitude, and a clearly, coldly rapped song about anxiety." Maybe that'll strike you as a bit pretentious, but I gotta say it all works for me... Ped's staccato flow over Jel's funky beat is perfect; the theme is substantive enough to relate to, but simple and catchy enough to just enjoy as fun, too.

This record also comes with a formal, written apology [I can't be bothered to scan it; it's double-sided. Just buy the record.] for his past discography, which is pretty silly. I mean,. if he wants to apologize for something, he'd be better off apologizing for the vinyl exclusives that also appear on this 12".

There's three (not including the instrumental for "A.T.P."). There's "Resurrection Morning Sermon," a five minute literal sermon in his preacher character (continuing a series of skits from off the album). It's actually set to a dope beat by Jel, and there's occasionally some nice scratching during the breaks. But essentially the sermon is one long, self indulgent drag.

Then there's this weird thing where some guy named Adrian Bayless (I've no idea who he is, but apparently he owns a computer!) takes the "Toss and Turn" acappella and distorts it unto an indistinguishable series of noises for about a minute and a half. Then some sound effects fade in, and this continues on for a total of roughly four minutes. If you make it that long, god bless ya.

Finally, producer Odd Nosdam takes another stab at distorting "The Toss & Turn." He basically takes the chorus and one verse, turns the drums into some kind of awful, piercing mess, and lays it over an actually kinda funky organ loop. This one would be pretty catchy if it wasn't literally painful to listen to.

Anyway, you can't really complain since they're just "bonus tracks" on a 12" with two great songs on it. So cop that shit... right after you've copped the Tragedy, of course. Do it for yourself... Do it to support good music... Do it for your country. 8)

Unfortunately, I've no idea what Pedestrian is up to nowadays. I know he left the country for a while, and that he has a very uninformative myspace for his preacher character (Evangelist J.B. Best); but that's about it, and that's seriously old news. I think he did a little writing for one or a couple Anticon-affiliated projects recently ("cbf" as the kids say), so if you find him, remind him he owes us an Unindian Songs vol. 2 soon. He takes way too long between projects, and should be chastised at every opportunity.

Tags: Pedestrian, Arrest the President All Stars

Arrest the President

This was the third and final single off of Intelligent Hoodlum's debut album - after the understated "Black & Proud" and the commercial bid, "Back To Reality" with that whole Soul II Soul vibe - and undoubtedly the best. It seemed like the album had run its course, not unsuccessfully, when Trag and Marley snuck in this one final blow, which was easily the best track off the entire album (and his entire career, I'd say, despite my special soft spot for "Live and Direct from the House of Hits").

The production was like "Marley does The Bomb Squad." High pitched sirens, fast, banging drums and the occasional, gritty horn stab. And Trag just spits hard, fast and angry, only briefing stopping to repeat the line "arrest the president" a few times before kicking the next verse. It was the last song on the album, too; the perfect way to end was a little bit of a mixed bag... on one hand his most progressive track, on the other, a sort of a throwback to the sound of the raw, underground collaborations of Marley and the man then known as MC Percy.

There was a video, but it hardly got any play. The label and media had pretty much moved on already after "Back To Reality," which is a shame because it was a good video, too. The unapologetic message probably turned off some higher-ups, but with the proper promotion, I think this could have been a really big record in 1990. It's like this i the record they put out just in case they never got the chance to make another one. And it remains a classic to those Juice Crew fans in the know; but it definitely never became what it should have. In fact, the single never even got released.

The 12" was a promo only, with its hand-written label well-known to hip-hop collectors worldwide. Three tracks: "Assault Mix," "Predicate Felony Mix" & "Convicted Mix," and one crossed off: "Album Justice Mix." Despite throwing the word "Justice" in there, I'm going to assume that was just the album mix, so no big loss... we've all got it on the LP (and if you don't, get it now... I'll wait).

So we've got three mixes here. Two aren't anything to get excited about - despite the fancy monikers, they're just the instrumental and TV tracks ...although, this has to be on everybody's short list of must-have hip-hop instrumentals, so go ahead and get excited about that, too. Now, that leaves us withjust the one, basic (also Marley-produced) remix. You might ask yourself, why would you really want a remix to one of hip-hop's potentially greatest all-time beats?

Because they actually made it better. This isn't some crappy "New Jack Swing" remix, or just a slightly reworked "Blue Mix." It keeps the signature sirens, and even the same drum track. But now Marley is constantly cutting and scratching throughout the whole song (mostly a horn sample, but sometimes a vocal sample or two get cut in for a split second as well), and it's all laid down over a great, rolling bassline. Flat out, it doesn't get any better than this, folks.

As you might imagine, this record doesn't usually go for cheap... the combination of scarcity + greatness will do that. And, strangely, Traffic didn't see to fit this, or the other important 12" single tracks, on their reissue of the album... instead throwing on stuff like "Live Motivator?" So, anyway, definitely grab it when the opportunity presents itself.

I'm afraid I have no myspace links or anything for ya. After releasing his slightly presciently titled eighth album The Death of Tragedy last year, our man got locked up on a drug charge. According to sketchy online sources (hey, what do you want from me?), he's scheduled to be released in 2011. But that doesn't mean they still shouldn't arrest the president, too. :P

Tags: Intelligent Hoodlum, Tragedy, Marley Marl

Unreleased Slick Rick, Chapter Eight

My series that started in April 2007 and was last heard from that September is back! Though this time it's a little different. In all the previous entries we unearthed previously released Slick Rick releases that J-Love used for his barely mixed mix-CDs and called "Unreleased." But this time we're hit with a double LP that came out after the mix-discs (I think I prefer that term better) - it's brand new.

So, yeah, A.K.A Ricky D: The Further Adventures of Slick Rick is a just-released double Slick Rick LP featuring a boatload of rare/unreleased tracks. It comes in a picture cover (see image) and the track-listing is as follows:

A1. A LETTER
A2. CAPTAIN CAVEMAN
A3. CAN’T SHAKE US FEAT. SPECIAL K (KENNY DOPE MIX)
A4. FEELS LIKE

B1. WOMEN LOSE WEIGHT (ALCHEMIST REMIX)
B2. SLEAZY GYNACOLOGIST
B3. GAMBLING

C1. TROUBLE (J-LOVE REMIX)
C2. SAMPSON
C3. WORLD RENOWN (PETE ROCK MIX)
C4. GET A JOB

D1. IT’S A BOY (LARGE PROFESSOR REMIX)
D2. WOMEN LOSE WEIGHT (MORCHEEBA SPARE TYRE MIX)
D3. STAR TREK
D4. PRACTICE OVER AT CHILL WILL’S CRIB (1984)

So the first thing you should notice is that "Captain Caveman," "Trouble (J-Love Remix)" and "Practice Over At Chill Will's Crib (1984)" are first-time vinyl releases [edit: Whoops! Actually, the "Trouble" remix is from the earlier white label 12", so only the other two are first timers]. So, that already makes this a must-have. And, yes, these are all the full, unmixed songs... even the J-Love remix is free of J-Love's name tag being shouted all over it.

The sound quality, like the Ricky D EP, is a bit of a mixed bag. It sounds like a lot of post-production filtery-type work was put into making some of the poorer quality tracks sound clean, which makes the volume levels on stuff sound a little low or distorted. Some of the tracks sound perfectly fine (and they ALL sound better than on those mix CDs), but a couple tracks, like "Feels Like," do suffer.

Some of the titling is also borderline misleading... calling "Can't Shake Us" the "Kenny Dope Mix," while accurate (it was indeed produced by Kenny Dope), kind of suggests that this is a rare remix by Kenny Dope. But, actually, there's only one version of this song, which was always produced by Kenny Dope, and this is the exact same one that was on the original 2002 12". The same can be said for the "Pete Rock Mix" of "World Renown"... I defy you to find me a non-Pete Rock version. And just to clarify, both of the "Women Lose Weight" remixes on this album were on the original Morcheeba 12".

But the nicest surprise I found is that the "Star Trek" included here is actually the Large Professor remix that was featured on Legends 2.2; and not the original version as heard on the Ricky D EP. So rack up another exclusive for A.K.A Ricky D (and also a reason you'll need to hang onto your Ricky D EP).

Now there's still a few tracks I wish were on here, namely: "He Kills," the Marley Marl remix of "Kit, What's the Scoop?" and the unreleased version of "I Own America." And I'd've happily forgone the perfectly common stuff - like the "It's a Boy" remix, which has already been released and rereleased several times over, and the Morcheeba remixes - in their stead. But I can't pretend that I'm not very happy to finally have "Captain Caveman" and Extra P's "Star Trek" remix on wax... and that Chill Will practice session is a fun, vintage exclusive. Good times.

(Werner Necro'd) Shabazz the Disciple Interview Fragment

In a previous post about Shaqueen a.k.a. Ma Barker, I quoted an interview I did with Shabazz the Disciple, most of which has been lost. Basically, I have the first four of nineteen pages. It's pretty dang disappointing (not to mention the other interviews I did and lost over the years), but what I do have here is still kinda interesting. So I'm posting this fraction of what was actually a really good interview to preserve what I can. By the way, this interview was done a full decade ago: 1998. Shaqueen was present, too; but she doesn't say anything in the first four pages.

Ok, the first thing I've gotta ask you about is your departure from the Sunz of Man...

Ok, well, the whole science behind that is: me and Killah Priest was partners. We had a little demo via Atlantic Records. We went in the studio, recorded five songs. Hell Razah was my little cousin, and Prodigal Sun... we always hung together. So we featured them two on two songs, and that was the birth of Sunz of Man right there. Now, it's not like artistic differences; it's political differences. When you got some people who are in control and they have diferent views. Instead of you sitting in limbo, you believe in yourself and you know what you wanna do. You already came with a vision. You just move on, do what you gotta do. I mean, it's always love regardless.

So you might still work with them in the future?

Yeah. Right now, me and Killah Priest and Population Clique - two members of that: Tahir and Jamal - we are a four man group. So that's gonna be something new to look for.

And you've also got Celestial Souljahz, right, with Freestyle?

Yeah, Freestyle of The Arsonists. And then you got Shabazz the Disciple. Altogether, you got the Macabees Family, which is Killah Priest, his whole little set-up of his peoples, and then you put the whole thing together...

Is there actually a collective joint in the works right now?

Yeah, right now the album gonna come out on MCA. The next Killah Priest project gonna have the whole family album. But at the same time, we're doing a side album. A four-man group; we're thinking about The Four Horsemen. We're on some next shit. And with Shaqueen and Omen, the illest unknown, upcoming.

(To Shaqueen) Are you gonna be on that next project?

Well, she's gonna be involved... I mean, we're all involved. I just started working with them... I met them through, like, Gravediggaz, 'cause I represent... I go on tour with them. And on the new album, Omen is featured on the same song I'm featured on. So, we're touring together, we got tight. We networked. And then, you know, my man Baby J's album is coming out. You know, I asked him to be on that and bring Shaqueen, 'cause I always loved her stuff. The family's just getting tighter. The links... It's just all links in a chain.

So, when is all this stuff coming out? The Shabazz album, Celestial Souljahz, Baby J...

I'm a tell you... I-ight. You know how the music business goes, right? I'm looking for November, but let's say January to be safe. The Shabazz album. 'Cause, you know December's a bad time. Labels are hiring and firing, and I don't wanna get caught; so you know, let's say January. And Celestial Souljahz - second quarter. Like, right after that. But I'm gonna introduce the Celestial Souljahz on my album. Matter of fact, the next single I might make the Celestial Souljahz. Smack 'em in the head, 'cause a lot of peoples is waitin' for it.

Ok, tell us about the new 12" you've got coming out, "Ghetto Apostles."

That right there is just basically four soldiers who fight alongside each other in the same war. We hold down the same common cause. We in hip-hop... We're breathing the breath of life back into the nostrils of hip-hop. Hip-hop has no spirituality, so it's dead. So we're just comin' to bring the spirit back to hip-hop and show other fresh ideas, and bring it back to the real natural essence that it evolved from. And, you know... you got me, you got Freestyle, you got Bless who is a new artist, and you got Poetic from Gravediggaz. We've been working together for years, so we were just like, "let's just do something together." Baby J came in from London and made the beats. We recorded it. We went with it. Good responses. Did a tour. Doin' my thing. Everybody's lovin' it, so we just gonna keep it movin'.

Having heard The Arsonists... and hearing Shabazz, it sounds like two really different kinds of styles...

Exactly.

It's not a combination you'd really expect to fit together.

Exactly! That's versatility. Real hip-hop, it doesn't matter. As long as it's real, good music. Put two of the most opposite artists together, but the track... if they're real on the track... it's ok. It's on.

So let's talk about what kind of production you've got on your album coming out...

The fuckin' illest beats in the world. It might be scary to some people, some of it, you know. But I've got a full, complete album. I try to touch everybody, basically. I don't make music for, like, just kids... or just older people. Our music is for everybody, bottom line. Period. We gonna deal with it. 'Cause there's the situation, which I'm sure you faced, or you know somebody who faced, who you've dealt with, who just won't feel my energy. As far as production, we got Carlos Bess who's one of the most incredible, uinderground... underrated producers in our time, right now.

He did the remix for the latest single, right?

Yeah. On some surprise. I just gave him the reel, told him to mix it down for me, 'cause we had to go on tour. He just threw that on there on some love like yo, you know? ...Just did it on his own. Nobody asked him. He produced "Crime Saga," which was on my old single on Penalty. And he produced a lot of songs on my album that people love right now. You know, we did it in like '96. We did some of the songs in '96, like "yo, that's still ahead of its time!" Then, you know, you've got Premiere. He's dedicated to do it. You got Beatminerz. You got Nasheem Rider... the Fourth Disciple. He did my first single. Freestyle: one of the illest upcoming producers. You got Baby J. I got a lot of talented producers. I like to work with everybody who's got that energy.

And I think you said you were putting a lot of the old singles on the album, too?

Maybe they'll be bonus tracks. 'Cause right now I got a seventeen song album. It'll be seventeen songs plus the six singles. So it's twenty-three songs.

And, as much as I hate to pull the plug, that's where the portion I've got ends. Some of the projects he talked about came out, some didn't. But he's stayed busy, putting a lot of stuff out, including his new collaborative album with Killah Priest, T.H.U.G. Angels; and he's still doing it. Check his myspace page for his latest.

Tags: Shabazz the Disciple

Updates

I'm just posting to let you guys know that I sometimes go back and update old posts when I've got some new info/scoops, to keep them as definitively informative as I can. Here're a couple links to some of the most interesting ones, including one I've just revisited today:

* Once Again Back Is the Incredible...! - I just found out that Bust Down had an unreleased album (not sure if it was completed or not, though), and why it was shelved (hint: it involves a drug kingpin). Also added a new image of the cassette version's picture cover.

* The Lost King of New York - I found an old Rap Pages review that sheds some new light on Pudgee's unreleased album.

* Pass da Remix - Da Youngsta's, famous for being the only kid group to write their own rhymes, bite a rhyme from Mentally Gifted! I wonder if any of the rest of their material is lifted from other MC's?

* Before He Was Goldy... - A commentor brought me up to speed on a third, independent album by Mhisani/ Goldy, which I added a cover image and description for... and a reference to a fourth(!), unreleased album.

* Lazy Freak - Not actually an "update," but producer Doug Lazy dropped into the comments section to add some back story of his working with Stezo and Paul C under a psuedonym. Great read!

* What I Call Produce - Cadence of Raw Produce corrected me on a few details I wrote in this entry, including pointing out to me that Pitch never did any of the scratches on their stuff. Whoops. ...Well, what do I know anyway?

There are others, too, so dig around when you're feeling adventerous (or bored). ;)

Tags: Bust Down, Bustdown, Pudgee, Da Youngsta's, Mentally Gifted, Goldy, Mhisani, Stezo, Doug Lazy, Cadence, Raw Produce

Vanglorious Testimony

Queen Mother Rage was cool. But she had a very relaxed, straight forward flow; pretty much the opposite of her counterpart, Isis the "Lady of Thunder," who came off hard and fiercely energetic. And for her album she picked almost all laid back, smooth beats (I think it was mixed a little low and muddy, too). So, no matter how determined you were to sit down and listen to her lyrics, and regardless of how strong your will power was, you soon found yourself thinking about work or working out next week's grocery list. And it's not that Rage couldn't be an effective MC - listen to Professor X's first album, each of her appearances are a highlight - but Vanglorious Law was a sleeper in more ways than one.

So, after two singles that featured nothing but album versions (and one instrumental of an album version), it must've finally occurred to them to kick out a couple remixes and add a little life to the party. Now, Paradise's LP version (also included here) is probably actually the best beat, strictly objectively speaking. It's a catchy drum break lead by a funk guitar loop and a little bass. But like I said, smooth beat + relaxed flow = somnambulistic state. So the remix could really help the more casual listeners to appreciate Rage.

Strictly speaking, you've got two remixes: the Bassmood mix and the Funk-E mix (plus an instrumental for the Bassmood one), both by Bandele & The Kid. No idea who those guys were - I've never heard of them before or since. But, anyway, the Bassmood mix is the key here.

Right away you'll hear that the Bassmood version is definitely livelier, laying some bold-strokes keyboards over a new, stronger bassline. It maybe somewhat pop-musicy, but it works, and brings out Rage's delivery so you pay attention, while remaining decent enough to keep the heads listening. It might sound like faint praise, but really, more people should probably hear this.

The only disappointing part is that they drop the hook in favor of just letting the beat ride between verses. Now, normally dropping the hook would be a gutsy and admiral choice, but the hook for "Key Testimony" was great: no singing or chants. Just a candid recording of a single, male voice (Sonny Carson, maybe?) speaking - or giving the "key testimony," I suppose - over the breakbeat. That's it. Each hook is different, but here's a sample one: "Pure black nationalism. I grew up in a home where faiths, the faiths... the many faiths... the muslims, the hebrews... they came together under black nationalism." It's the sort of hook that hip-hop didn't make enough of.

The Bassmood also drops Professor X's blustery introduction, but it was one of his worst, so that's not so much of a loss. Oh, and the Funk-E Mix? That's just the LP version minus Professor X's contributions ...possibly making this slightly preferable to the LP version. I'll let you make up your own minds on that score.

So, while there's nothing stand-out/ must-have on this 12", it's a surprisingly effective way to introduce new fans to the Queen Mother. Or to encourage those of us who picked up the album ages ago and quickly neglected it to wipe off the dust and rediscover some good music... without having to hop yourself up on caffeine.

Tags: Queen Mother Rage, Professor X, Blackwatch

Kool Moe Dee's Lost LL Diss

After his long run with Jive, and his brief but prolific stint with Wrap/Ichiban (two albums in the same year ain't bad), Kool Moe Dee came out with one last record. "Love Love" came out on Spoiled Brat Records, a label best known for putting out some spotty Kool Keith records before people realized just how bad he was falling off. They also put out obscure comeback releases by Father MC, Three X Dope, and the Krown Rulers. I mean, any label that spells the artist's name wrong (see the pic) pretty much speaks for itself.

But "Love Love" is actually pretty ok. Despite what its title suggests, it's no love song; just straight, hardcore freestyle rhymes mixed with a little Stop the Violence message. He uses a lot of fast, playful short rhymes to showcase his skills. You won't be blown away or anything, but it's enough to remind you why he was such a highly respected lyricist back in the day. This song's like a cross between "Death Blow" and "New Rap Language," though not quite as good as either of those: "mad heads want that rah-rah, but uh-uh; I'm like the papa - The Idi Amin Dada, cut ears off with the mic; I'll kill rah rah with la-la, like Fugees did 'Fugee-La,' that rah rah I can't feel ya, so I will be like 'see ya!' My ether makes me the born king so I will be the impeccable rhyme speaker, drop missles like heat seekers." The beat is also no doubt meant to be reminiscent of his James Brown-heavy LL diss, with a similar drum track a simple bassline and a sample which is basically exactly the same as the signature "Death Blow" horn stabs, but played on a keyboard (I'm guessing).

Did I mention LL dissing? Yeah... the real reason most of you will probably want to seek this out is the b-side. It's got a 70's Cold Crush-style hook and an old school, hardcore beat. And he sounds angry: "to me the microphone is like a razor blade in prison." The first verse is kind of a generic battle rhyme, but verse two starts with an LL quote, "What the uh? I thought I conquered the world! Crushed Moe Dee, Hammer and Ice-T;" and it's on from there:

"Who the hell you crush? What?
You can't touch the god.
Come on, let's keep it real; You know I crushed ya, Todd.
You're trying to hit the new heads with hip-hop fallacies;
But in reality, you wouldn't battle me.
The stage was set, the money was up,
I placed my money and said 'what?'
And like a bee-otch, we watched the girlie come up out ya;
Heads know about ya, old heads can vouch for
The facts of your fiction ciphered in your diction;
You're just talking shit like a jaded politician.
Say you're rippin', ain't nothin' different;
You want the whippin'? I'll step in the house where ya livin',
And do it on TV, so people can see me,
Wreck you in your own house - make it easy.
While you're frontin', you don't want none;
You never had a battle;
Your mic is like a rattle.
Your style is goo goo gah gah,
But you know you do nada;
You talk it like it's rah rah,
But we know you're pooh nah nah.
Fourteen shots to the dome?
You'll get your spot blown;
I'm talking after dark where it's not shown.
I'm talkin' rhyme time on straight up prime time,
Where men do battles on mics in places that you can't find!"

...And he keeps going, ripping LL 'till the end of the song.

Spoiled Brat records had some very limited, unusual distribution, so they can be pretty hard to track down. But fortunately, not a lot of heads know about this one - or were checking for Moe Dee during that era - so the few that are out there are usually pretty inexpensive. Get it cheap while you can.

Oh, and by the way, Kool Moe Dee is apparently working on a comeback album called Return of the King on Platinum Diamond Records. You can hear tracks off of it on his myspace page. Of course, it says it will be out on 2007... so that might be the only way you'll get to hear it. The production kinda sucks anyway.

Tags: Kool Moe Dee

InstaRapFlix 10: Slip N Slide - Memorial Day Weekend

I've only watched a handful of Netflix's colorful array of hip-hop instant view DVDs, and they've just added a bunch more! I've really gotta get cracking on these. Well, unfortunately Netflix didn't think to add this one in time for the titular holiday, but I decided to go with this now, anyway, since it's one of the new ones: Slip N Slide: Memorial Day Weekend (Netflix rating: 2 stars).

Now, it occurs to me that if you're reading this and not a Netflix user, you're missing out on the handy write-ups from other Netflix users, so I'll quote you a bit. The top reviewer, who gave this DVD 1 star, warns us not to, "waste your time watching unless you like to hear constant cursing and seeing ashy naked women with bullet holes in their thighs prance around, plus the rappers with nasty gold teeth sounding like they need to go back to kindergarten." Another viewer described this DVD as, "long and boring," which is interesting, since it only clocks in at 55 minutes. And the film itself only lasts for the first 40 - that's 40 minutes including the opening and closing credits - with the last 15 just tacking on the full versions of some of the music videos they showed portions of previously in the film.

So unsurprisingly, Memorial Day Weekend is really just a shameless promo piece with Trick Daddy and Trina taking turns complimenting each other, broken up with shots of fans praising them both, music video segments, a little live performance and yeah, a lot of bikini bottoms (and very brief nudity*). There are brief appearances by his dad, brother, producer and others (Kid Capri, JT Money, Busta Rhymes and more), but the clips are so short - often less than a single sentence - they're just completely pointless. Other celebs touted on the cover as being featured in this doc, like R. Kelly, Fat Joe and Ed Lover, are only briefly glimpsed at a celebrity basketball game they cover for about a minute or two, and don't say even a single word to the camera. :P

There was one notably interesting part, though - Society, who was signed to Slip-N-Slide but never came out, is interviewed. He talks for about a minute and a half, and seems pretty proud to be a part of S-N-S, and genuinely involved with the team (focusing on his involvement in Trick Daddy's "America" video). I was hoping he'd turn up in this doc, but assumed he wouldn't. So that was a pleasant surprise. It's a shame they never put any of his material out.

Every once in a while this hints at the interesting doc it could have been if anyone involved was interested in actually exploring the subject at any depth. But as it is, it's just a slick advertisement for a concert you'd already missed when the DVD was released, and a couple of CDs. I felt like, after this commercial, the actual full-length film they were hyping would follow... but of course the hype was all there was.

*If anyone's picking this up for shock or pornographic reasons, they're going home extra disappointed.

One Book To Unite Them All

The 2nd edition of Freddy Fresh's epic reference tome, The Rap Records, is now out. And the first thing you will notice is that it is literally twice as thick as the 1st edition from 2004 (wow - was it that long ago?).

Freddy Fresh's book is the definition of definitive. It's a massive, massive effort to catalog rap like no other book has even thought about scratching the surface of. If you don't know, this is (to quote the back cover), "the one and only guide on rap 12" singles and the labels that released them." It certainly blows away my humble, little hip-hop site.

Where the first edition covered all titles from 1979-1988, this edition has been expanded to include into the mid-1990's. It also has listings missing from the first edition (go ahead and delete that addendum you downloaded off of Freddy's site after the first edition came out - it's all in here now), heaps more photos, and an updated section on British and foreign labels (which is a bit like overkill, because really who cares about all that European rap, amirite? hehe). There are also some other neat bits, like a guide to spotting represses/bootlegs, and a fantastic by-artist index.

Now, I'm hanging onto my 1st edition because it's signed to me (for that matter, so is my 2nd); but it's also worth hanging onto for some of the "extras" in the back, which have been replaced with new stuff in the 2nd. Where the 1st one had all these neat top ten lists or favorite moments from all sorts of hip-hop artists and producers, the 2nd has a bunch of neat interviews with big-time collectors (I really want to visit these guys' houses!). But where it counts, of course, it's all about the 2nd edition - craptons more listings!

If you're the sort of person who reads this site (and apparently you are; there's no use denying it this far into my article), then you need this book. Need. Fortunately, a lot of places carry it, so get it from wherever you feel most comfortable (maybe while you're placing a record order from UGHH), or just go ahead and get it direct from the man himself at freddyfresh.com. I'm also tradition-bound to link you to his myspace. ;)

Kurtis Blow's German Period part 2

Kurtis Blow's "Chillin' At the Spot" (see: this post on his previous venture outta Deutschland) wasn't actually his last record. He did one more 12" in Germany, "Freak Rock Till the Breakadawn" on ZYX Music, a prolific label that put out a lot of releases by a wide variety of artists over the years. There's no date listed anywhere on it, but by comparing the catalog numbers, this would've had to've come out in either 1994 or 1995. Interestingly, he also claims it's both years at different points in the song... so I'd assume it was started in '94, then finished and released in '95.

You've got four mixes of the same song, and they start right out with the best, definitive version (IMHO, of course), the "Headbang Mixtension." Now "Headbang" might be overstating matters - but it does feature a liberal dose of electric rock guitaring. It's not quite as good as his earlier "Street Rock" (yeah, the one with Bob Dylan), but if you liked that song, you'll like this one, too. Kurtis Blow does a lot of quick, short rhyming wordplay and keeps up fine with a fast paced track. He's not quite the lyricist to make Kool G. Rap start looking for a new career, but he represents himself fairly well in what's clearly meant to showcase his "skills" to the new, 90's hip-hop audience: "Spit it/ Get wit it/ I let the rhyme flow/ Though/ I'm getting psycho/ On the micro/ I'm K. Blow/ For the nine-fo'/ The old school/ Super cool / Cat/ From way back/ The microphone maniac," etc. Sure, Kurtis Blow's always a little corny, but he's got a nice flow over a well-produced track - the guitars, a lot of scratching, fast drums with a catchy old school hook. You'll have to be a pretty surly, stick-in-the-mud Grumpy Gus not to enjoy this one.

The "88"th MXX" is kind of disappointing. It removes a lot of the guitars and stuff... I guess in an attempt to appeal to the narrow-minded purists who'd equate guitars with selling out pop music, but really all this leaves you with is what feels like an unfinished song. And the "Radio Edit," predictably, is just a shorter version of the main mix (that is to say: the "Headbang Mixtension"), tightened up for a radio set. It's fine for what it is (and with that version clocking in at over seven minutes, I can see why there'd be a call for this version), but if you like this song enough to put the 12" on your table at home, you'll surely want to stick with the full version.

But the "Guitar Mix" is the interesting one. It doesn't feature any extra guitar playing, as the name suggests... or feature just the guitars without the vocals or anything like that. No, this mix is essentially the same, instrumentally, as the "Headbang Mixtension." What's different is that Kurtis Blow has replaced himself with another, uncredited rapper! Kurtis Blow's voice is only heard on the hook in this mix. The new guy is ok... kind of generic (and no, he doesn't have a German accent) in a "studio musician" sounding kind of way, but he doesn't embarrass himself or anything. He's ok. Why Kurtis Blow would make a non-Kurtis Blow version, though, is beyond me. I'd really be interested to find out who this guy is... it sounds like he says at one point, "my name is Carl J and I'm twenty-five," but I'm not sure. And we may never find out, because as any US MC who's gone over there to record will tell you: "what happens in Germany, stays in Germany."

Tags: Kurtis Blow