Charlemagne's Eva Bomb

In 1998, when it looked like Mr. Voodoo, L-Swift and A-Butta were hitting it big with their Tommy Boy signing, Charlemagne was making short-lived power moves of his own. Since Natural Elements were no longer his label's showcase act (and Raidermen and Nightbreed were being sadly neglected), Charlemagne signed a pretty impressive deal for Fortress Entertainment.

Fortress Records was merging with Nervous Records, to become a separate subdivision (like Wreck or Weeded Records). And Charlemagne was going to be the signature producer. They even made one of those cool, Nervous cartoon variation logos (right). They ran big, full-color ads in The Source and all the other rap mags. The big debut was going to be two 12"'s, recorded by the label's first signees - both produced of course, by Charlemagne - released at the same time in January, 1999.

Since both records came out on the same day, we'll go by catalog number and look at NE-FS 20340 first. Speaking of catalog numbers, you'll notice they started special, new hyphenated catalog numbers for this sub-label.

Ok, so NE-FS 20340 was the debut (and final, to date) 12" by an MC named K-Bomb, called "Bump This." It's got a pretty funky percussion line, with a lot of snaps and what-not mixed in with the drums, laying underneath an echoing horn loop. Lyrically, it's on the freestyle tip, and is kinda underwhelming, especially to anyone who might've picked this up hoping for some NE-style wizardy. The B-side, "Stories I Know (Chico)," works a little better. The two verses are separate street stories (one about a guy named Chico and one about a girl named Alexandria, who apparently needs a better agent), with a strong Kool G Rap influence in his rhyme pattern. The beat's a bit better, too; though very similar. It's got simpler, straight New York-style drums like you'd expect from Charlemagne, and a similar, but harder, echoing horn loop. B-side definitely wins, and while K-Bomb isn't amazing, this is a pretty good 90's 12" by anybody's standards.

NE-FS2031, then, is Eva Flo(spelled "Eva Flow" on the snippet tape)'s "I'm the One." It's a little more on the funkier, off-beat tip, with a head-nodding collection of short samples, and Eva kicking fresh rhymes, with a voice and flow sort of like a less extreme Scott Lark. It's definitely more playful. The B-side, "Whut You Smokin," on the other hand, is more of a disappointment. It features an unappealing synth sample and some generic rhymes about smoking weed. I mean, it's ok, and he tries to do something a little different on the hook. But this is definitely a song you'd talk over if you heard this come up on a mix-tape.

Both 12"s came with Vocal, Clean Edit and Instrumental versions of each song, but I guess they didn't perform like expected - and they were pretty underwhelming, though the better song on each record stood the test of time rather well - because that was the end of "The Nervous/ Fortress alliance." And these wound up being the last records released on Fortress in any capacity. Oh well. Charlemagne clearly landed on his feet in his production career; but it was definitely sad to see Fortress come to an end, especially without much of a bang.

Battlefields

So, the vinyl pre-order packages of Sole and the Skyrider Band's Plastique album (as mentioned in my recent interview with Sole) are landing today, and with them the limited (to 500 copies) vinyl EP, Battlefields.

Battlefields is a 6-song EP on Fake Four Inc. (not Anticon); the title track of which is taken off the Plastique full-length. It then includes three new, unreleased songs and two exclusive remixes.

Surprisingly, the stand-out cut is the "Battlefields" remix. And I say surprising, because it's by someone named Tobacco of Black Moth Super Rainbow, a name which just screams sloppy, emo, made-on-a-laptop suckage. But damn if he doesn't just kill it. Especially considering "Battlefields" wasn't exactly one of my favorite tracks on the LP in the first place... though with its slow, mellow-ish vibe and sleepy hook sung by Marcus Archer (of 13 & God), it works better here as an alternate mood piece, sort of like a reprise to the Tobacco version. This remix replaces the original industrial collage with a funky guitar loop, a groovy bassline, and soft, thumping drums. An ill keyboard solo kicks in during the breakdown, too. The other version may've come first, but this really feels like the definitive version "Battlefields" was meant to be, and this cut alone not only justifies the EP's existence, but makes it more of a must-have than Plastique.

I prefer the other EP remix here - B.Fleischmann's remix of "Black" - to the album version, too; but it's not the stand-out highlight that Tobacco's "Battlefields" is. I think mainly I was just glad to have the cymbal-smashing, garage-band-jamming feel of the album version (enhanced by the fact that Sole is using that distorted, low quality microphone sound on this song, a la The Beastie Boys' "So Watch' Cha Want") replaced by... anything. And so this mix has more of a relaxed feel, with a more traditional drum pattern and lots of slow organ-like keyboards. It's also easier to hear Sole on this mix, where before you had to really concentrate to make out his words through all of the noise. Fleischmann's made Plastique's skip-over track into a very listenable experience.

Of the original songs, "Cut Off Moon" is both my favorite and, again, the least grunge band-y. The cover says this song features Telephone Jim Jesus (of The Restiform Bodies), but there's nobody on this track vocally besides Sole, so I guess it's him providing a lot of the instrumentation, accounting for the difference in sound. Again, it's got a more organized, polished feel to it, with a deep but slow and simple drumline and a lot of science fiction-like, warbling synths, which are appropriate given Sole's lyrics. It's superficially a first person science fiction narrative from a guy sitting on the moon lamenting humanity's future condition; but of course it's essentially a commentary on our own current one:

"Millions fought over the Great Lakes,
And poisoned its water with shrapnel waste
And cooked limbs.
Needless to say,
That was a real tough summer for some.
But few care about those forgotten nations.
History began
When we left and filled the stars like ants. In space,
The only enemies we found were each other."

The other two songs, "This Bad Reputation" and "Good Bacteria" kinda go together... they use the same basic sample for their instrumentation, which again is along the lines of melodic, science fiction soundtrack keyboards. Lyrically, well... Sole told me in our interview that he never was abstract like some of the other Anticon members, but maybe he'd like to take a crack at explaining the lyrics to "Good Bacteria" for us? "This Bad Reputation," a more straight forward song about Sole's struggles with artistic identity, takes the same basic music several steps further, by having the band increasingly rock out over the track as the song progresses. But it's still grounded by the underlying melody, which again seperates the feel of EP from the LP.

Plastique is more about discordant guitars, rock & roll and bashing cymbals - seriously, did I mention all the cymbals? - whereas Battlefields is smoother and more focused, with a consistent sonic theme. So, yeah, the LP's cool - it feels more like a natural follow-up to the original Sole & The Skyrider Band album - but the EP is the real gem that I'll still be spinning six months or six years from now. It's definitely worth going out of your way to find someplace still selling the Battlefields bundle as opposed to just quickly picking up Plastique on its own.

Now, remember my post in July about the free mp3 ticket that came with BusDriver's latest album? Well, I'm happy to report that Sole's album(s) came with one, too. It has a link to the Battlefields EP download (which also includes a handy .pdf file with all the lyrics) and a code to download the entire Plastique album. What's more, the card includes another password for a bonus "beats" album, which includes all of the Plastique instrumentals. People who ordered the pre-order package also got a signed poster and a sticker for each album.

Now that's how you handle an album release in 2009.

InstaRapFlix #23: Nerdcore Rising

So, it had been such a shamefully long time since my last InstaRapFlix update, that I figured I better do another one before I get lax and let it drift away again. So here we go, kids, #23!

Now the film's promotion and title might lead you to suspect that Nerdcore Rising (Netflix Rating: 2.5 stars) is a comprehensive look at the tiny, novelty sub-genre of hip-hop known as "nerdcore"... and it sort of is. But it's really more of a glorified promo DVD for one nerdcore MC in particular, MC Frontalot (who, according to this doc at least, invented the term "nerdcore"). This was probably infinitely more obvious to hardcore MC Frontalot fans, since it turns out Nerdcore Rising was also the title of his 2005 album.

Interestingly, nerdcore hip-hop (at least as shown here) is really no different than a lot of underground hip-hop... typical, punchliney battle rhymes with a pop culture reference thrown in every so many lines. Everyone seems delighted that, well heck, I'll directly quote one example, "anytime you can work the name Ralph Macchio in a song, you have to respect that!" As if hip-hop wasn't already plagued with rappers throwing cheap pop culture references like Ralph Macchio into their music already. What I learned most in this documentary is that, except for one song about Magic: the Gathering, nerdcore hip-hop isn't as compellingly different or interesting as I imagined it might be.

The movie has some Frontalot performance footage (I'll give him credit, he does attempt some styling in his delivery), brief soundbites from fans, and a few other nerdcore rappers and other celebs (Weird Al Yankovich, Prince Paul and J-Live, most notably), which it keeps cutting back to every so often. And for the rest of the time, about 98% of the film, it's basically a behind-the-scenes tour documentary of MC Frontalot and his band, which means a lot of footage of them bantering in parking lots or hamming it up in hotel rooms. At one point, Frontalot admits to the camera that he's "not that good at rapping," which is refreshingly candid on one hand, but on the other just makes you wonder why am I wasting my time with this foolishness?

Unsurprisingly, the editing is enhanced with a lot of random computer graphics. Basically every single effect in the Final Cut Pro package was probably used, possibly going directly down the list in perfect order. And while, unlike a lot of other InstaRapFlix DVDs I look at, this is a proper, full-length film, that really works against it when you keep checking the clock and it's like, oh my god, we're only 30 minutes into this! There's just not enough substance or content to sustain a feature film, and so it's all padding and random footage of the band chatting about nothing. By the 45 minute mark I really, really wanted to turn this off; but stuck with it for the sake of writing a completely fair review here. But now that I have made it through to the end, I can look back and say I really wouldn't have missed out on anything but more of the same.

So I can't recommend this unless you're a serious Frontalot fan, because really, this movie just boils down to spending 90 minutes with him and a little of his music. And I can't even recommend "nerdcore" as a whole unless you're endlessly amused by the juxtaposition of gansgta rap cliches and computer geek memes. If these guys weren't such "outside artists" to begin with, they'd realize they're not nearly as novel or refreshing as they seem to think, as hip-hop's already been packed with all the stuff these guys bring to the table for ages. While Frontalot himself seems like a nice guy, the bottom line is: I was expecting a fun time with this Instaviewing, but just wound up disappointed, bored and annoyed.

Kool G Rap In Space

Remember Unkle? It was the collaborative duo of James LaVelle, owner of Mo' Wax Records, and DJ Shadow. Their album, Psyche Fiction, was one of those post-Dr. Octagon spacey/ electronica/ college radio/ hip-hop/ trip-hop/ whatever albums that were really in vogue at the time (late 90's). It was originally touted as a one-off collaboration only, but later they wound up bringing in new members from all different countries, doing new albums and blah blah blah. I don't care either.

But that one-off album did have one compelling guest spot on it. And thank goodness, they released it as a separate 12". And so Kool G. Rap's 1998 "Guns Blazing" single was born.

At first G Rap seems to be phoning in a lackluster, half-hearted performance ("more reservoir dogs than Tarantino"), but by the time the second verse kicks in, he's cooking with gas, spitting his standard post-Cold Chillin' syllable-massacring freestyle mafioso raps:

"Your whole frame laid in the white chalk.
You got the smoking section
First-class ticket to resurrection,
Forever destined to a place where niggas never restin'.
Headed in Hell's direction,
Lost at the crossroads and intersection;
Should've wore a vest for chest protection."

Update 10/20/09: Krisch pointed out in the comments section, and I've just confirmed, that Kool G Rap used this same verse for his guest spot on B-1's Rawkus single "Cardinal Sins" that same year. And G does sound a little more natural over that beat. Still, though, the second verse is definitely original to this song... he even mentions Shadow ("G Rap and DJ Shadow leave your bones squashed") in it.

The music, which is apparently entirely handled by DJ Shadow on this one, is ok, and interesting in that it's a little different from your average Kool G record. But at the end of the day, it's (predictably) not really suited to him, and you'd be better off putting one of his Giancana Stories beats behind him ...which you can do, because this 12" conveniently comes equipped with an acapella. It's not bad, though. Once you get past a really tedious two minute introduction of random sound effects (pro-tip: skip past this bullshit and start the song at the 2 minute mark), it's got a grumbling bassline and hectic drum beat, which feels a little all-over-the-place, but it's pretty hard and generally appropriate. Of course, there's also a ton of spacey sound effects that come and go throughout the song, and vocal samples involving dog-fighting spaceships (hey, don't look at me) during the hook, which are a little less fitting.

Interestingly, the 12" credits mention additional vocals by Latryx. They must just be doing the back-ups where they double-up one or two keywords in Kool's verses, 'cause otherwise I don't hear them anywhere. It's just a G Rap solo record... which is preferable anyway. Also, am I crazy, or does he say you'll be "surrounded by pedoforks" in the second verse?

Well, anyway, yeah. You get the LP version, a shortened version called Vocal Street (which I prefer because it shaves off a lot of Shadow's doodling and cuts right to the G Rap action), the aforementioned acapella and an instrumental (dramatically titled "Drums of Death") of the shorter version. This is no "Road To the Riches" or even "It's a Shame," but as with basically every G Rap record, the lyrics and delivery are must-haves, and it's better than Click of Respect.

InstaRapFlix 22: Mac Dre: Ghetto Celebrities vol. 2

Dang, it's been a while since I've done one of these... But it's 'bout time I stopped slacking, and bring you InstaRapFlix #22.

Today's movie is: Mac Dre: Ghetto Celebrities vol. 2 (Netflix Rating: 2.5 stars). You may remember I had some generally positive things to say about Ghetto Celebrities vol. 1, on Brotha Lynch Hung,when I reviewed it this time last year, so let's see how vol. 2 holds up.

Well, today's Ghetto Celebrities is about Mac Dre (RIP), and fortunately, pretty much everything that was good about vol. 1 is back in vol. 2. Specifically, I mean, there's no cheesy computer graphics, MTV-style editing, or any of the general BS padding we're used to seeing in the InstaRapFlix ...consequently, the running time is a rather short 44 minutes... but you'd be hard pressed to find 44 minutes worth of quality material in most full-length rap DVDs, so don't dismiss it based on the running time. Instead, what we get is just Mac Dre candidly talking to the camera for the entire film.

There is a downside however. This entire interview was conducted outside, and so the sound quality sucks. Sometimes you can barely (if at all) make out what he's saying, and even when you can, it's a very unpleasant listening experience. It's not so much that there's background noise (although there certainly is), it's that his mic sounds like it was set way too high so everything he's saying is coming in way too loud and breaking up. The interviewer has redubbed his questions (those must have sounded extra terrible on the original tapes! haha), but that voice sounds so unnaturally not present, that it's almost comical. But that little part we can overlook. Unfortunately, the Dre's crap sound quality we just can't.

Several Netflix commentors refer to this as a "home movie," and that's exactly what it feels like. So the technical quality has definitely dropped since vol. 1 (which wasn't that great to start with). BUT it's a 44 minute straight, uncut, unfiltered interview with Mac Dre, and we'll never have a chance to see another one. So why wouldn't you watch this one as a free Instaview? Bottom line: recommended despite serious technical flaws.

Dead Wrong Dubplate

Remember dubplates? They were all over the place in the 90's. Cheap, vinyl compilation EPs that were definitely bootlegs, but instead of duplicating an actual, rare release or putting out some unreleased music like most bootlegs, they were just compilations of previously available stuff. They would include rare, indie 12" tracks, harder to find old school tracks, or just whatever was big at the time. They were often just really random, putting The Fugees, Biz Markie and The B-Boys all on one EP or something. They were cheap, full of typos, had goofy titles and all the underground vinyl spots had a bunch of 'em.

So this is one of those.

There's no date (it's not like they could print a copyright... though they did have the nerve to write "all rights of the manufacturer and of the owner of the recorded work reserved" on the label's small print), but this would've come out in about 1999, the same time as the music they're jacking. It's called The Killah Kuts, and I kinda like this one, because it's more like a proper 12" than a random EP assortment of songs.

The A-side is a complete rip of Biggie Smalls' "Dead Wrong" 12" A-side. Club Mix (which they call the Main Mix), Radio Mix and even the Instrumental. The label's slightly incorrect, in that they switch the order of the Main and Radio Mixes around; but, hey, it's a dubplate. But the B-side ditches the original B-side (Club, Radio and Instrumentals of "Real Niggas") in favor of compiling the two, rare "Dead Wrong" remixes. Remix #1 is the one with Busta Rhymes and Eminem from the Unreleased Joints EP, and Remix #2 is the one with just Eminem from the Unreleased and Unleashed double LP, both of which were promo-only releases that are typically pretty hard to come by (Remix #2 later found its way onto the Born Again album, making it considerably less rare).

So if you've somehow forgotten, "Dead Wrong" is Biggie's where he raps about hitting underage girls, beating women, robbing them, stabbing a gay guy with an ice pick, etc. Essentially it's him kicking raps that are "dead wrong:"

"Biggie Smalls for mayor, the rap slayer,
The hooker layer. Motherfucker, say your prayers:
'Hail Mary, full of grace.' Smack the bitch in the face,
Take her Gucci bag and her North Face
Off her back, jab her if she act
Funny with the money. Oh you got me mistaken, honey.
I don't wanna rape ya, I just want the paper,
The Visa, capiche-a? I'm out like 'The Vapors.'
Who's the one you call Mr. Macho, the head honcho?
Swift fist like Camacho. I got so
Much style I should be down with the Stylistics.
'Make up to break up,' niggas need to wake up,
Smell the Indonesia. Beat you to a seizure
Then fuck your moms, hit the skins 'till amnesia.
She don't remember shit; Just the two hits:
Her hittin' the floor and me hittin' the clit."

...and it's the ideal track to bring Slim Shady in for an extra verse:

"There's several different levels to devil worshippin'.
Horse's heads, human sacrifices, cannibalism, candles and exorcism,
Animals: havin' sex with 'em: camels, mammals and rabbits;
But I don't get into that; I kicked the habit. I just
Beat you to death with weapons and eat through the flesh;
And I never eat you unless the fuckin' meat looks fresh.
I got a line in my pocket. I'm lyin'. I got a nine in my pocket,
And, baby, I'm just dyin' to cock 'im.
He's ready for war, I'm ready for war;
I got machetes and swords for any faggot that said he was raw.
My uzi's heavy as yours. Yeah, you met me before;
I just didn't have this large an arsenal of weapons before.
Marshall'll step in the door, I'll lay your head on the floor,
With your body spread on the bedspread: red on the wall,
Red on the ceiling, red on the floor. Get a new whore;
Met on the second, wed on the third,
Then she's dead on the fourth. I'm dead wrong."

And while Busta Rhymes does come with lyrics on par with the first two, he proves surprisingly willing to play along for his guest verse:

"Watch him die slow and his skin start to change color.
My goons made a flood, leavin' you layin', droppin' blood,
Then ended up finger-fuckin' your mother at a strip club!
We dead wrong for how we gutter like Howard and Stutterin'
Fascinatin' how all of this street shit be straight butter.
Fuck it. We thug rugged to the tenth power,
Like we was listenin' to 'Gimme the Loot' for the past ten hours!"

Now to make room for both Emzy's and Busta's verses on Remix 1, they removed Biggie's second verse from that version. And since Biggie > Busta, that's a real step down. Remix 2 with just Eminem & B.I.G. keeps both of Biggie's verses and just adds the third. So to me, that's the ideal/definitive version. But it's fun to spin Remix 1 once in a while, just as an alternative.

Anyway, the beat's essentially the classic Al Green drum break that's been used a bajillion times in hip-hop ("Lyte As a Rock," etc) paired with a slow, thumping horn/bass loop dominating the whole track. Because it was Bad Boy, though, three producers wound up sharing credit (Chucky Thompson, Mario Winans and, of course, Sean "Diddy" Combs). And the instrumental is the same for all of the remixes.

So the sound quality's pretty good, and it makes for a handy little, completist "Dead Wrong" 12". Too bad it's a bootleg, 'cause otherwise it's a better release than the official 12".

Poor Righteous Tape Repairs

And remember, if the B-girls don't find ya handsome, they should at least find ya handy.


...with apologies to Paul E. Lopez.

(Youtube version is here.)

'Cause He's the Overweight Lover, Heavy D

This for me is one of those absolutely essential remixes that just completely ruined the original album version for me. And the album version was fresh. In fact, the album version is almost the same as the remix. But that "almost" is a real deal breaker.

After making a respectable name for themselves with their first album, including a plethora of singles, Heavy D & the Boyz returned with Big Tyme. They made a huge smash in the clubs with their Teddy Riley produced single, "We Got Our Own Thang," and followed that up with a poppy, pure New Jack Swing love song with Al B. Sure called, "Somebody for Me." Finally it was time for a "real" song, to keep from alienating the purist heads completely, and so they came dropped the Marley Marl produced "Gyrlz, They Love Me."

The raps are simple but catchy stories of Heavy coolin' in the club and getting the girls. There's an amusing hook of girls praising "the overweight lover Heavy D!" The beat is pure, old school Marley with funky horn sample in the background, dwarfed by light, snappy drums and a funky bassline. DJ Eddie F cuts up the vocal sample "funky" on the hook and just randomly during Heavy's raps. It might not stand out as a banger, but it's an undeniably appealing number for any hip-hop lover.

So, that's the album version (which is also included on this 12"). But like I said, I'm done with that version forever now. It's all about the "12" Version" (which is the one they used in for the video, too). The beat is the same, the vocals are the same, the hook is the same, and Eddie F's cuts are the same. So, what's the difference?

Well, first of all there's a new intro, of a guy flabbergasted that someone who's "big, big! That boy is big!" can get all the ladies. When the song kicks in, there girls' singing is layered echoed (as if more girls were singing). The drums are the same but mixed louder, and so is the bass. And that's also echoed; making the whole record feel much deeper and just plain louder. Really, play them back to back and you won't be able to not notice - you sound like you're in the club with Heavy himself.

But that's not the crux of it for me. They added keyboard horns, like really fake sounding ones. Think Slick Rick's "The Ruler's Back" (in fact, it's a similar riff). Yeah, they're corny I guess, but fuck they make the record a million times funkier! It's a sound that pretty much only existed in 1989, and I love it. They mostly play on the hook and then at the end, whoever's playing (the label doesn't say, but Marley Marl is credited with the remix) goes all out for a solo. I can hear you thinking to yourself, "I can live without some chintzy keyboards playing over the top of my records. In fact, I prefer it." But no; it's great! It's magical. And after having grown up with the music, it's an integral part of the song. Twenty years after this song came out, you could still stop me on the street and ask me to hum the "horn" solo for you.

Younger fans may know this only as the record that includes the line "Pete Rock & CL Smooth were on the stage drinkin' Sisco," but as far as I'm concerned this is signature 12" of the period. The B-side features the Instrumental and a Dub version as well, plus you get a glossy picture cover. And because it's a big, major label, underrated release, you can find plenty of copies for cheap. Gotta love that.

The Unclean Flip

(If you've been following me on Twitter, you know I've just finished re-organizing all of my cassette singles... which pretty well explains why the cassingle update posts yesterday and today. But I think I've selected good ones to hold your interest. :) )

The Tainted Mindz were a tight little crew from Philly at the height of the indie hip-hop movement. They only actually released two singles (as far as I know... I sure wouldn't mind being hipped to another release I haven't heard of), but they were pretty plugged into the scene, putting in production and appearances on Lux's classic The Man They Call Lux EP, and Steady B's last single, "Bogardin'." Who knows? Maybe if Steady and Cool had left their nines at home and stuck to making records, all these guys could've blown up and made some noise outside of PA.

But it is what it is, and we've got what we got, which in today's case is "All In the Flip," Tainted Mindz' second single on Aphillyated Records, following up their underground hit "Killidelphia." You'll notice it makes a point of proclaiming the "Killidelphia Remix" on the cover, there. There's no date on this one, but "Killidelphia" dropped in 1995, so that would make this '95 or '96.

So, the A side is "All In the Flip," and features 55th Amendment, whoever that is. Now, as you can see, this is the cassette tape version. The 12" has the same track-listing, except (and the label doesn't mention this), it's only the clean edit. Only this cassette seems to have the original, unedited version, which is damn annoying for vinyl heads. It also has a (sort of) picture cover. Interestingly, the liner notes credit a photographer (Antione Stewart), even though there is clearly no photograph used in the artwork here. Oh, anyway, the song... almost forgot. It's dope! It's kind of slow, street level shit but with a super smooth, addictive violin loop and a simple but catchy hook. All their stuff is self-produced, and vocally these guys are definitely influenced by early Wu; and that of course can only be a good thing.

Ok, so now we flip['cause it's all in the flip, get it? huh, huh? "Flip" like the song! Bah ha ha!!] it over to the B-side for "Killidelphia (Remix)." They actually include the original here, too (but if you don't have it, you still need it, 'cause it features two exclusive B-side songs), which is good, because the original "Killidelphia" single only featured the radio edit. So even though it comes up second, let's cover that one first.

The beat is banging, it's a much harder track with more flat-out freestyle rhymes. It's got deep, horror movie style piano chords, snaps and even like a theramin sound. The format of the song is interesting... three or four MCs kick a sick verse before they drop the hook, which uses a Master Ace vocal sample from "Crooklyn Dodgers, "my mentality is gettin' iller, killer." One of the verses is an ill reggae verse that starts out sung, then twists into a flavored rap.

Then the remix takes roughly the same beat, but just alters it, with a deeper, distorted bassline and grittier samples. It's a vocal remix, too, with all new lyrics, though in the same format. The Master Ace line is still there, but now they use a classic Wu vocal sample on the hook too ("from the badlands of the killa" which winds up pulling in the piano chords from the original Wu record with it). Like the A-side, though, the "Killidelphia (Remix)" on the 12" is censored (and kinda heavily, since they go pretty hard on this song). Again, the cassette version has our backs, though, with the original unedited version instead.

So, yeah. Definitely a hot single by any standards. Unfortunately the 12" version kinda screws you over with radio edits, so fans should be happy to learn that unedited versions do exist, if only on cassette. Otherwise, the track-listings are identical (both also include instrumentals for "All In the Flip" and "Killidelphia Remix"... the original "Killidelphia" instrumental was on the first 12"). The only really sad part is that this was apparently the final chapter in the Tainted Mindz' saga.

Getting Off At the Ground Floor

Bandoola Records was a short-lived record label that used to run a whole ton of full and half page ads in The Source, Rap Pages, etc. It was a record label (Bandoola), management company (Ambitious, who had Show & AG and Organized Konfusion) and promotions team (Marquise), which was basically the same guys under one umbrella (BAM). They sponsored shows, they did this and that... but the one thing they never really got around to doing was putting any albums out, and so they folded.

Their first two releases, that they always advertised in every single one of their ads, were meant to be EPs by Lord Finesse and a new act called Ground Floor. Again, those EPs never surfaced (fans are still frustrated about that, 15 years later), but Bandoola did at least manage to press up a little run of promotional records and tapes of Ground Floor's teaser single, "One, Two." And it's pretty fucking terrific, which on the one hand, makes Bandoola's lack of releases all the more frustrating; but on the other hand, hey, at least we have this killer single.

There's not a lot of info to share about Ground Floor. They're three cats from Newport, Rhode Island who unfortunately never resurfaced after Bandoola went bottom up. There was a video shot for "One, Two," so we got a look at 'em, but I don't even know the members' names.

Anyway, "One, Two" is a killer song. It's a perfect example of 90's NY hip-hop at it's finest. Cracking drums, insanely fresh distorted hooks, an old school guitar sample, vocal samples cut up on the hook, and a deep piano loop. It's produced by Ground Floor themselves, so it's crazy that these guys didn't at least go on to make beats for other artists. Lyrically, it's not amazing to pull quotes from; they were just kicking nice, freestyle flows that were all about riding the rhythm and sounding fresh.

The B-side features, and is produced by, Lord Finesse. So you know it's a winner. It's somewhat darker and grittier than the A-side, with a super low bassline and sparse horn samples, plus a smoother one for the hook. They're kicking the same kind of fun, simile-heavy freestyle rhymes, "I see a mic and I'm a hungry man like Swanson. When I rap it's like magic, 'cause niggas be on my Johnson." And you can rest assured that those aren't the only two uses of the word "like" in the song. ;) These guys were a perfect match for Finesse in every way... one can't help wondering what other collaborations they would've come up with had their albums dropped.

So, this is the cassette version you're looking at, with Dirty and Radio versions of both songs. The vinyl doesn't have a picture cover with the cool Ground Floor logo, but it does have both instrumentals. This one's a favorite among collector's, but it's not too rare, so you should be able to find it for a reasonable price if you poke around a little.

Further Whoridin'

Have you ever looked at your copy of The Whoridas' debut album and wondered: how is there a "True Playas (Remix)" on here, when there never was an original? For that matter, there seems to be only one version of "Talkin' 'Bout Bank," the "Funk Mode Mix." But why do they specify the mix title if it's the only version? Well the answer, my friend, lies in this release, 1997's Whoridin' Advance Cassette.

Ok, the full track-listings for both versions are on my Hobo Junction page. But the long and short of it is, besides the fact that the songs are in a different order, the Advance has five songs not on the official release, and the official release has three songs not on the Advance. So, even if you have the Advance, you'll want to scoop up a retail copy for the songs, "Never Heard," "Keep It Goin'" (although this one was released as a single anyway) and "World Wide Whoride." Ok, so now let's get to the much more interesting stuff: the songs only on the Advance.

Well, two of the five aren't such a big deal. "Town Shit" and the "Shot Callin' & Big Ballin' (Remix)" (the track-listing doesn't specify, but it's the "Merg 1 Remix" included here) were both previously released on singles. So, while it's always nice to have more songs than fewer, especially two dope ones like these, they're not hard to find elsewhere. The same can't be said for the next three, though.

First up, "Talkin' Bout Bank." Now the "Funk Mode Remix" is featured on both versions of the album (it was also released on 12"), but only the Advance also includes the original. The original doesn't have the familiar P-Funk samples or the ultra thick bass. It's more upbeat, with a very catchy, almost bouncing bassline, distorted samples and clapping drums. There are even some nice DJ cuts at the end. The remix is one of the few tracks on the album not produced by a regular Junction producer... Unfortunately, this Advance cassette doesn't have production credits, but I bet it's one of their own.

Next up is "True Playas," or as it's titled on the Advance tape, "True Playaz-N-the-Game." It's the same deal here as with the last one... both album versions feature the Remix, but only the Advance also includes the original version. The familiar (Remix) version really stands out on the album... it's the only track produced by Shock G, who's on a different, more smoothed out vibe than the Junction members, and it features a female R&B singer (Kinece Senegal - look, I found her on myspace!) on the hook. This version sounds very sample driven... I don't actually recognize the sample, but I wouldn't be surprised to learn this one was shelved for clearance issues. It still sounds pretty unlike the typical Whorida, twisted bass-heavy funk sound; but it's not so smoothed out, doesn't feel as radio/MTV friendly and there's no singing on the hook. Not that I'm knocking Shock's work... it sounded pretty cool here, and meshed well with the Ridas' deliveries. But the Advance tape clearly had it right in including both.

Last up is "High Cappin'," a completely original, separate, never-been-released-in-any-other-capacity song. It's got a Pete Rock-style sleigh-bell line and some slow, banging bass drums. The down beat sounds like someone's just smashing a metal garbage can with a baseball bat. Saan and Chop take turns setting it off on anyone who talks shit, while the hook features a tortured horn sound and Saafir ominously intoning, "What's up, nigga? You be lyin'!" It ends with Saafir shouting, "J-Groove!" So I'll take a wild guess and say that's who produced this one.

So I don't know how rare this is... I don't know if there's a vinyl edition (that'd be nice)... I don't even remember where I got this. But it's definitely worth keeping an eye out for.