Natural Elements, Just In Time for the Holidays!

Natural Elements are now set to drop on December 1st. Remember that project on Traffic I was talking about a few months ago? Well, there's now a date, album cover and an official track-listing. It looks like we're a go!

So, this is gonna be rewarding. The track-listing is 20 tracks deep; which is 6 songs longer than the leaked Tommy Boy album. So we already know we're in for something extra. In fact, it's only sort of Tommy Boy's shelved album... Actually, it seems to be a random assortment of NE tracks, including a large chunk of the Tommy Boy stuff. Once again it gets confusing and brings up almost as many questions as answers, so let's break it down song by song and see what we can work out:

1) "NE Season" - This was track #12 on the leaked version, so already we're out of sequence with the Tommy Boy LP, but that's the least of the differences we're going to see moving forward.

2) "2 Tons" - The big Tommy Boy single, of course, and one of their best ever.

3) "Bust Mine" - The old Dolo single? Yup. It seems like we're going into a bit of a 'Natural Elements' Greatest Hits' run here.

4) "Tri-Boro" - 'Greatest Hits...'

5) "Paper Chase" - More 'Greatest Hits.' I wish they would've left these off to make room for more unreleased material; but there's plenty of that still to come, so can't complain too much.

6) "Supreme Domination" - Whoa. An unreleased Fortress-era track (that I wrote about in HHC, here)? NOW we're talkin'!

7) "Livin It Up" - Second single from Tommy Boy, though surprisingly it wasn't on the album as leaked. But Traffic threw it on here.

8) "Shine" - Back to 'Greatest Hits' steez. ::shrug::

9) "Off Beat Bop" - Whoa! Never heard this before... A "new" song that wasn't on the Tommy Boy leak - sweet!!

10) "By Nature" - This was on the album, and has been floating around the 'net, often titled "Take a Trip Into the Mind."

11) "Intricate Plot" - This was on the album. Remember, though; this is the first time these "album" tracks are getting a legit release, so even though I say "this was on the album," it's still completely, previously unreleased.

12) "Survive" - Traffic's taking it back again. This is an old song from the early NE days that'd only seen release on the bootleg EP from Word of Mouth (which I detail here).

13) "Second Hand Smoke" - This was on the album.

14) "Tell Me Something Good" - This was on the album.

15) "NE Thing" - This was on the album.

16) "Paper Chase Pt. 2" - This was on the album, and also the Word of Mouth boot, where it was titled "Paper Chase 2005."

17) "Livin It Up Pt. 2" - Again, this was released on single from Tommy Boy, but wasn't featured on their version of the album. But it's on this one. Nothing new, but the more the merrier, right?

18) "NE Definitely" - This was on the album and the Word of Mouth EP.

19) "More Than Vocals (MTV)" - A track that NE recorded after being dropped from Tommy Boy that's been floating around the 'net, and another one I covered in my HHC piece.

20) "First Of All" - Odd that the album's intro is stuck on as the last track, but what the hey? This seems to be slightly shorter than the version included on the leak AND the EP (I refer you to my EP review, again, for the differences between the two). Is this possibly a third edit? Or maybe it's just mixed a little faster.

So, Traffic (who seemed to be partnered up with a label called Kings Link Recordz for this release) has definitely gone gonzo in including plenty of extras along with the proper album track-listing... but unfortunately to extreme of excluding a bunch of songs from the LP! Yeah, you read that right. Five or six album cuts were left off of this release, which is all the more frustrating when you look at those damn "Greatest Hits" songs they've got on there, taking up room. What Natural Elements fan doesn't already have "Shine" and "Bust Mine?" "I Don't Care Anymore" and their ill phone sex song would've been much more welcome than some generic reissue songs thrown in the mix.

I guess maybe some of those songs are considered unfinished? L-Swift said the album was never properly mixed down and that the leaked version we heard were "skeleton songs" (see this post for more on that, including Swift's full quote). He even said "I Don't Care Anymore" was supposed to feature SuperCat, and I guess if they didn't record his part back in 1999, it's unlikely they would've called him into the studio in 2009. So I guess they made some "executive decisions" (though the tracks they left off don't sound particularly unfinished for the most part to me). I guess I can sorta accept that. They promise us that these are "the original masters secured and remastered," and the soundclips they've put out there (like here) do sound nice and clean.

It would kick ass if this came out on double LP, but it'll probably just be CD. But despite my qualms and the ways this could've been better (less stuff everybody's got and more previously unreleased material, this is still one hell of an awesome release. Heck, if this sells enough, maybe they could be talked into releasing a Volume 2 with all the rest of the songs.

Update 12/11/09 - Now that this disc is shipping and I've gotten my copy, I compared "First of All" to see if this is the version on the Word of Mouth EP or the Tommy Boy leak. Interestingly, it's the Tommy Boy leak, but they fade it out about a minute before the song's actually over. So if you've got the EP, at least you'll be getting the different version when you purchase this album... but yeah, it's missing the final third. Weird.

Rap Fan Clubs

So, I found this inside my 2 Kings In a Cipher cassette single of "Definition of a King." It was kind of a big, fuckin' rip-off, because the back cover, and the tape itself, lists all the remixes (like on the 12") as being featured on there... but when you actually play it, all there is is the album version on side 1, and a couple album snippets on side 2. Surely, there's nothing more universally hated in the music industry than fucking snippets.

Notice it says, "this would also qualify you to be a charter member of the Two Kings In a Cipher Fan Club." Now, I've never seen a slip like this in a cassette single - at least not the regular kind in the cardboard slips - but practically every rap artist or group in the history of hip-hop as advertised a fan club in their album's liner notes.

It's a pretty big disappointment of mine that I never signed up for any of these - at least the free ones - as a kid. Most of you guys probably didn't either. But this is the internet! Surely one or two of y'all out there must've signed up for a few of these. So, what did you get? Any funny newsletters? Autographed photos of Doug E. Fresh? A laminated S1W membership card? Promo singles of unreleased music?? Imagine all the fun, neat stuff rappers (or their managers, labels, etc) must've sent out to some lucky fans over the years.

So come on, people; if you've ever gotten anything, cheesy or awesome, share with the group! :)

Ed O. G & da Bulldogs Week, Day 7 - Demos and Rarities

So, Ed O. G kept busy in the 2000's, releasing several indie albums (The Truth Hurts, Wishful Thinking, My Own Worst Enemy and the collaborative album Stereotypez with his crew Special Teamz) and singles. Finally in 2008, Direct Records released one of the best and most under-rated albums: a double LP by Ed O. G & da Bulldogs (we even hear them rap on this!) entitled Life Of a Kid In the Ghetto: Demos and Rarities. Despite the use of the term "rarities," this is all 100% previously unreleased material. It's a high quality, loud pressing in a nice picture cover and all the tracks have been "taken off the demo tapes, reels and master DATS from Joe Mansfield's original demo recording sessions." So, while the sound quality does vary a bit from track to track (especially the last couple songs on here), I think it's safe to assume that this is the best they'll ever sound.

Side A of Record 1 consists entirely of "original demo versions" of tracks that originally appeared on Ed's first album: "I Got To Have It," "I'm Different," "Feel Like a Nut," "She Said It Was Great" and an Interlude version of "Be a Father To Your Child" (basically an alternate instrumental). These are cool to have for serious fans, and there are some interesting differences ("I Got To Have It" uses the same basic samples, but places a lot more emphasis on some banging drums, and ends with some shout-outs where Ed O tells us he's down with "Stop the Violence"). They're a treat for serious fans, but not really different enough from the released versions to appeal to casual fans.

Sides B-D got those peoples' backs. Nothing but all "new" songs by Ed O. G over Joe Mansfield (Vinyl Reanimators) production. Fuckin' A. Most of these could easily have been featured on the album... in fact, I'd've preferred some of these songs. Like "Brand New Style," where he flexes freestyle rhymes over a track that's constantly switching between incredible beat changes? That's pretty much second only to "I Got To Have It." A few of the songs do feel a bit more like freestyle raps over familiar samples that were probably never really intended for commercial release, but they're still dope. There's even a track featuring Krs-One. Why on Earth they would've left a Krs-One feature off of their album if they had one back in '93 is beyond me. But we finally get to hear it now.

And as if that wasn't enough, Direct also released two 12" singles off of this album (which include instrumentals), and Acting that same year. Acting is the Dedicated EP I covered on Day 3, but with a crap load of remixes, skits, acapellas and bonus tracks. In fact, let's break down the totals:
6 songs taken off the EP (that's 100%)
3 remixes
2 acapellas
4 skits (which are basically 1 short bonus beat apiece)
3 bonus tracks, including 1 featuring Big Shug and Scientifik
The only down side? Acting is CD only (boo! hiss! You could've at least put the three new tracks and three remixes on a 12" single).

So, that's a lot of killer old (but new to us) material. But fans will be happy to know that Ed O.'s still doing it, too. His latest full-length, a collaboration with Master Ace entitled Arts & Entertainment, just dropped a couple weeks ago (10/23). Dude stays recording.

Ed O. G & da Bulldogs Week, Day 6 - Rich Get Rich

(Youtube version is here.)

Errata: As pointed out in the comments (thanks!), that is actually not Scientifik featured on that Pyro track... while it IS him on the No More Prisons album like I said, it's actually the group Self Scientific (or more specifically MC Chace Infinite) featured on the song "California Mind State."

Ed O. G & da Bulldogs Week, Day 5 - Da Bulldogs

Ed O. G's compelling solo comeback did beg one question: what happened to da Bulldogs? And for that matter, who were da Bulldogs? Well, both answers are pretty interesting. According to his liner notes and album cover photos, Ed O. G & da Bulldogs were a 4-man team when they were signed to Mercury/Polygram/ Chemistry Records: Ed O. G (duh), T-Nyne, Gee Man and DJ Cruz. Though in the dedication notes of his first album, he gets a bit more inclusive, saying, "Special thanks to the Bulldogs, who are: T-Nyne, Smooth Ice Gee, DJ Cruz, Black, Bulletproof Brett, Slim Dog, Shawn Booker, Lorenzo, Bruzer, Mo, Tyrone, Money 1, Muff K. Diamond, Dream Nefra, etc." "Etc?" Isn't that enough? Well, I suppose this possibly draws a distinction between two "versions" of da Bulldogs: the smaller group being the guys he went on tour with, that got checks from the label and actually somehow contributed musically (though they don't seem to have done much), and the other being just an inclusive list of everyone down with his clique of friends. Or something. What's more, apparently, da Bulldogs are pretty much just a later iteration of Ed O.'s old Dorchester group, The FTI Crew (DJ Cruz was one, and I believe T-Nyne is the artist formerly known as Spoony T).

And as for question #2, what happened to them? Well, they started putting out their own records! They put out a couple 12"s on different labels in 1999, and finally settled on Needlepoint Entertainment (their own label, I believe... they certainly never put out anybody else), where they put out a full-length entitled Almost Famous. So let's look at one of their records and see what's going on there.

This is "Bounce" b/w "Livin It Up," which dropped on Needlepoint in 2001... neither song on this 12" is on their 2003 album. The credits on the label aren't terribly telling, just informing us that both songs are produced by a guy named Flipside. But a quick listen tells us that there's two MCs and one DJ at work here, so I'm guessing this is the basic line-up of T-Nyne, Gee Man and DJ Cruz. One of the MCs does refer to himself as Terry... I suppose that's what the T in T-Nyne is short for?

The production is simple - essentially just one endless loop per song - but dope, with a cool, slow drum track and some calm, head-nodding samples. They really feel like the sort of beats you'd expect Ed O. to rhyme over (minus any change-ups), so the territory's nice and familiar. Lyrically, "Bounce It" is pretty empty (as if you couldn't tell from the title) and can be summed up in the line, "my favorite thing's fat booties with the thong between." But they impress more on "Livin It Up," where they take turns rapping to a hypothetical girlfriend who's only interested in expensive things. Each song features a little bit of scratching which is nothing show-stopping, but adds to the atmosphere. So "Bounce It" is ok, you won't be mad at it; but B-side definitely wins, and deserves a home on anybody's mixtape.

The 12" comes in a plain sleeve, but it's bright red, so that's gotta count for something, right? "Bounce It" includes Radio, Street, Inst. and Accap. versions; and "Livin It Up" has the same, minus the accapella.

So, what it boils down to, I guess, is that if Ed O. G is Gangstarr, then Da Bulldogs are Group Home. You could do worse. And if nothing else, after all these years, it's nice to finally hear these guys rap for themselves.

Ed O. G & da Bulldogs Week, Day 4 - Laster

Ok. So Ed O. G made a dope comeback EP in '96 (and a cameo on a Big Shug single), but was that it? Was it a last hurrah? Would Ed O. be interested in staying in the game with no major label support, or like so many artists, would he give up when his indie record didn't make him a superstar?

Well, for almost two years, it looked like the latter was true. Ed O. came back, made a flash in the pan, and was out. But finally, at the tail end of '97, a new artist appeared. An artist named Laster, who nobody knew crap about... but his debut, indie 12" on his own starter label, Dark Records, featured a prominent guest appearance by none other than Ed O. G, so everybody checked it out.

And oh shit, it was a KILLER! "Off Balance" featured one of those ominous, atmospheric, banging indie tracks that really served to define the decade. Produced by Madsol-Desar; it features a familiar boom-bap drum track, but is dominated by this sort of science-fictiony industrial sounding sample that serves serves as both a bassline and a string section as it shifts pitch. There's also a fresh horn sample that sounds like it was taken from some Marvel superhero cartoon show when the DJ starts cutting up the phrase "knock-knock-knock you off balance" on the hook. In fact, it sounds an awful lot like the early God Complex stuff that was getting a lot of buzz at the time, which Madsol also just so happened to produce.

What-the-fuck ever, it certainly worked. It helped that Ed O. and Laster both brought their A-game, spitting a pair of nice verses (Laster coming in a little mellower, and as a consequence, less dynamic; but both come off admirably). And soon this record was everywhere in the indie-rap scene. It was even included on DJ Premiere's classic New York Reality Check major label mixtape, which pretty much solidified every song on there as a 90's staple.

There's two more cuts from Laster on the B-side, which are also not to be slept on. Laster does alright on the solo tip with a serious song about hard times on "Misery," but he's eclipsed by another killer instrumental (this time produced by Dialek). Finally, he enlisted another MC named Deplus to spit with him on "Da Outro," where they take turns freestyling over another Madsol beat, with a gripping piano sample.

So, Laster had a genuinely great 12" on his hands, but were audiences truly interested in Laster, or just the return of Ed O. G? Would his next record take off like his first with the partnership of one of Boston's biggest names? Well, Laster answered that question by playing it smart, and heeded all the demand for a remix of his hit. In 1998, Laster was back with two brand new tracks and his ace in the hole: "Off Balance (RMX)." And, to play it extra safe, the original "Off Balance" is included on the cassette version of this single (pictured - unlike the 12", it comes in a PC so you can actually see what he looks like).

To Laster's credit, it may've been a smart commercial move; but from a head's perspective, he didn't need to play it so cautious. His new tracks are dope. Laster sounds a little more confident on the mic this time around, and thankfully producers Dialek and Madsol each return for a track. And the "RMX" is pretty good - it's by Madsol again - with a similar (the same) drum pattern, but a new sample that sounds like it's taken off a classic Hollywood soundtrack. Most notably, though, is that it's a vocal remix. Laster kicks several all-new (and more dynamic) verses, this time on the solo tip. That's right, Ed O. G's not featured on this single... except the cassingle, which as I said, includes the original "Off Balance."

Well, I'm not sure how much credit goes to the break out success of this single (some at least, I'm sure) and how much was already in the works behind the scenes. But, while Laster never came back with another single (boo! Why?), "Off Balance" turned out to be just the tip of the iceberg for Ed O. G, who began a string of guest appearances and compilation tracks after '98. His return wasn't just a cheap one-off, he was back.

We Interrupt Ed O. G Week To Bring You This Breaking DWG Review

My latest review over at Diggers With Gratitude just went live today; so check that out and enjoy. A recent test-press-only discovery... gotta love the internet!

We now return you to Ed O. G week... next update coming shortly.

Ed O. G & da Bulldogs Week, Day 3 - Dedicated

So, Ed O. G & da Bulldogs followed up their debut album with another, Roxbury 02119, on the same label(s) in 1993. The main difference between this and the last one is that it featured a lot of Diamond D production (certainly nothing to complain about) and it's decidedly less commercial (no kid friendly song, no love song, etc). That fact, and the poor choice of a lead single ("Skinny Dip (Got It Goin' On)?" Really?), seemed to seal another short but dope hip-hop artist's career.

But then came the 90's independent boom, a gratifying time to be a hip-hop fan; and everybody was pressing up their debut 12" or making a comeback. Rumors circulated that Ed O. G was to be no exception and sure enough, he returned in 1996 on his own, one-off label called Solid Recordings. He dropped a six-song EP with a nice, understated soulful feel, thanks to his continued collaboration with The Vinyl Reanimators, who produced the whole thing (goodbye, Awesome 2!).

By the way, this is the first (I'm pretty sure) pressing, with the more dramatic red labels. There's another pressing, which is exactly the same, except with white labels. Solid Recordings also issued a 12" single featuring two of the songs on here ("Dedication" and "Acting"), which is worthwhile if you're interested in the instrumentals. Apart from these, Solid Recordings has put out no other releases.

As "Streets Of the Ghetto" (off Roxbury 02119) played like a sequel to "Life Of a Kid In the Ghetto," "Dedicated" could be the third installment. Ed O. tells us anecdotes of the Boston ghettos dedicated "to all the killers and the hundred dollar billers," we're told by the Mobb Deep sample cut up on the hook. "What U Got," "Showing Skills" and "Actin'" are just about kicking some freestyle rhymes, and "304's" takes the typical shots against the women he perceives to be after his money. It ends gracefully with "Nights Like This," a mellow mood piece.

The production is simple but perfect... basically every song features a slow, fat drum track, a couple head-nodding samples, and a vocal sample nicely cut up as the hook (except "Nights Like This," which has an uncredited female vocalist; but she plays it smooth and relaxed, too). That, combined with Ed O. G's calmer delivery, makes for a smoother, more "adult-sounding" record. I want to say "mature," but I just can't with a song called "304's" on here. Ed has also absorbed some of the 90's obsession with "punchline" similes, giving us lines like:

"I get open like doormen,"
"So dark where George couldn't see Scott" (get it? Actor George C. Scott? 'Oy vey),
"Don't get yourself scarred like Seal,"
"Fuckin' around with more dangerous minds than Michelle Pfeifer,"
"My shit be bangin' more than Little Rock" (Bangin' In Little Rock was a popular documentary on HBO at the time),
"I got Faith in myself like Evans,"
"They get no wins like the caliber of teams that's expansion"
or
"Ed O get ya jumpin' like Tourettes."

...To pull out a few at random. And yes, he even has one about Christopher Reeves' being paralyzed (smh). But he plays them down and they never really stand out as being too out of place.

Basically, Ed's never been exceptional on the mic, but he shows on this EP that he's still able to get nice with his. And he has a good voice that meshes perfectly with Reanimators' flavorful production. He came with exactly the right tone and vibes that heads were hoping he would at the time (strictly underground), and even to this day, I just get a warm feeling of gratitude that this EP dropped and we hadn't heard the last of him in '93. Yeah, there's valid criticisms to be made (mainly lyrically), but Ed O and the Reanimators (notice? no Bulldogs) managed to create a nice, inconspicuous little gem for our crates.

Ed O. G & da Bulldogs Week, Day 2 - Bug-A-Boo

"This is the meaning of a bug-a-boo: it's a person that's constantly buggin' you."

Now that you've got a handle on the concept, we're ready to begin our discussion of "Bug-A-Boo," Ed O. G & da Bulldog's third single (following "Be a Father To Your Child" - wanna talk cringe-worthy lines? How about that "ladies, can I hear it?" "Thank you!") off their debut album.

As the new guy on the scene, you could see Ed O. was trying to cover all his bases. He had his freestyle song, his ghetto stories song, his serious message song, and now his kid-friendly song; and as such, this could just as well be performed by Kid 'N' Play or Young MC. So, it's easy to see why many of his fans would just as soon have it that this song never existed. But for what it is, it's rather excellently crafted. It's got a simple, and instantly relate-able premise that's always bemusing without straining to be funny; and the hook just invites you to rap along.

More than that, though, it's just got "one of those" beats. One of those beats that's instantly addictive on the first listen and that you could still hear playing in your head even if you haven't heard the record in twenty years. It's produced by the same trio again, of Special K, Teddy Ted and Joe Mansfield of the Vinyl Reanimators. The beat is hot, with slick drums and really effective use of handclaps (how often can you say that?), but if you've ever heard the song, you know what crucial element I'm leaving out, the funky, "bump, bump-a, ba-bump-a, bump-a, bump!" bass. It's also got a nice, underplayed "Mr. Welfare" scratch on the hook. But you, me and our future grand kids will basically just remember the bass.

Well, this 12" has just the one song, but it's still pretty loaded. First we've got the basic, O.G. version you remember from the album. Next we've got the Shout-Out Version. This is exactly the same as the original until we get to the end. Now, I'm not one to get all excited about some shout-outs tagged onto the end of a song, but in this case, they really enhance the tune, because they feature a lot of extra scratching. Basically, the DJ constantly stuttering the phrase "bug-a-boo" as Ed O. G shouts out people one by one, "DJ Doc is not a" and the DJ finishes "b-b-b-bug-a-boo!" Granted, hearing it for the first time isn't an "oh my god" revelation, but it's a genuine improvement. It's just fresh (in the old school sense of the word), and once you get this mix, you won't wanna go back to the album version.

Then the A-side rounds itself out with the Instrumental.

Now flip it over, and we start out with The Awesome Remix, which is presumably named after The Awesome 2 ...who maybe did more of the production rather than Joe this time around? Mind you, I'm just guessing here. Anyway, it's a pretty solid beat, but I think they'd've been better off saving it to remix a different song. It removes the signature sound of the original version (i.e. that bass, though they do bring it in for a few moments towards the end of the song); and while it's a solid track in its own right, it's just never going to be the version you want to hear when you decide you want to listen to "Bug-A-Boo."

Also, this is clearly not the beat Ed O. was rapping over; it just feels like they sloppily threw a beat under an acapella and said, "done!" Not that it's off-beat or anything, but all of the fun interplay between Ed and the beat, where he changes his delivery to match when it cuts out or switches up... all of that is lost here. But again, it is pretty good if you're looking for an alternate version (maybe, especially back in 1991, you'd heard the OG version so often it'd played itself out for you and you were getting sick of it). And to its credit, this remix does at least use the shout-outs version with the extra cuts. Also included is the Awesome Instrumental.

Finally, there's Bass Dub Vocal 1 and Bass Dub Vocal 2. These might sound like some short, throw-away dubs with the hook left on them or something, but they're really full-out remixes, which use elements of both versions of the song, and also add in some new samples (less so, #2 is more stripped-down). They're pretty cool, and certainly make you feel like you're getting some extra value for your 12", but they of course run into exactly the same problem the Awesome Remix does: the original instrumental is already inherently definitive.

"Bump, bump-a, ba-bump-a, bump-a, bump!"

Ed O. G & da Bulldogs Week, Day 1 - I Got To Have It

This is where it all began. Actually, it isn't. Ed O. G, or Edo Rock as he was known at the time, actually made his debut on wax back in 1986 with the song "Suzi Q" on the Boston Goes Def compilation. He was part of a group called the FTI (that's Fresh To Impress) Crew. Heck, I even owned the 1988 follow-up, Def Row, which also included two of their songs, back in the days. But let's face it, if you weren't living in Boston (and possibly not even then), the name Ed O. G didn't really mean anything to you until 1991.

That's when Ed O. G & da Bulldogs released their stunning debut single on PWL/ Polydor/ Mercury Records, "I Got To Have It." When that video turned up on the regular shows, it was a given: a new crew was on the scene and everybody was going to pay attention. How could you not, with that fantastic, ahead of its time, pure crate digger's beat (and that incredible sax breakdown!)? The track was co-produced by the well-known pair of Special K and Teddy Ted, The Awesome 2; so pretty much all credit was given to them at the time. But looking back on it with 2000's eyes, the other co-producer's name stands out, Joe Mansfield. Don't know who that is? Well, if I told you he was now better known as Rhythm Nigga Joe of The Vinyl Reanimators, making his major label debut (he did produce an indie 12" or two prior to this), I think you'd suddenly see where most of the credit for finding and blending these incredible samples probably belongs.

Of course, Ed O. was noticeable on the mic, too. He had a somewhat deep, smooth voice, easy enunciation and a fun, freestyle-type of flow that effortlessly dipped in and out of non-sequitors and serious topics. He goes from making anti-violence statements to battle rhyme disses in the same sentence and it sounds like one coherent thought. Still, he did contrive a few awkward rhymes and clumsy phrasings ("When you're in like food in your stomach they wanna stick with you").

Now, this version comes in the standard Hard Version (read: album version) and Clean Version. What's interesting is that, while the Clean Version does use a bleep and sax sound to censor the words "ass" and "rectum," he also re-raps some other lines. "I stay hard like an erection" becomes "Ay yo, brown is my complexion." And "jerkin' ya jimmy but you still can't come off," becomes "step back, relax, 'cause Ed O.G's about to come off." Why, if he's replacing the vocals to get rid of "erection," does he still leave the word "ass" in there, requiring a bleep? It's oddly inconsistent, but oh well. There's also some funky bonus beats and a proper instrumental version on here.

There's a hot B-side, too (produced by all the same guys); the title track to their debut album, Life Of a Kid In the Ghetto. The hook is a nicely scratched line from EPMD's "Big Payback" ("A young kid from the ghetto, kiddie from the city") that leaves in the devastating horn jabs of the original instrumental. And the rest of the instrumental is as expertly assembled: snapping drums, the rugged bassline most famously used in K-Solo's "Fugitive" (in a context that's so different here, it's almost unrecognizable) to a super smooth piano line and whistle. Other elements - a funk guitar loop that sounds like it's straight off an NWA record or a dusty horn sample - fade in and out of the track, too.

Lyrically, it's not quite as catchy, because it's a narrative of his youth in the ghetto rather than freestyles. But on the other hand, that helps him iron out some of the awkward bumps. There's still a few questionable lines ("in the ghetto, there wasn't no horses, no lake and no meadow"), but it's easier to let it all slip under the radar in the service of a consistent story. And, for every line that's slightly cringe-worthy (in either song), there's a fresh line where his delivery and the choice of words makes it sound really dope.

This is a serious contender for 1991's single of the year, and still holds up as one of the all-time greats to this day. As soon as I saw that video for the first time, I knew: this new jack was gonna be one to watch out for and explore whatever catalog he had. Fortunately, over the years, he's had a pretty extensive one. So join us again for Ed O. G Week, Day 2. 8)

Pro-Black Radical Raps Upliftin'

Though he's been relatively consistent over the past 20(!) years he's been recording, Paris's later material is often met with skepticism and disinterest in the hip-hop community... probably due to his going a bit overboard with the P-funk. But you'd be hard pressed to find somebody who'd front on his debut album, The Devil Made Me Do It.

And 1989's "Break the Grip of Shame," the second single on Tommy Boy/Scarface Records (the latter being Paris's own label), is as strong as anything on the album. Hard beats, deep, ominous bass notes, a little rhythm guitar, a fast-paced, angry delivery from Paris with something serious to say, and some tight scratches by Mad Mike? It's hard to improve on that formula.

Not that he's saying anything too complicated or profound. Basically, all three verses boil down to a declaration that he'll say whatever he wants and take no shit:

"With a raised fist I resist;
I don't burn, so don't you dare riff
Or step to me; I'm strong and black and proud,
And for the bullshit I ain't down."

And it's not necessarily expressed positively:

"Life in the city's already rough enough
Without some young sucka runnin' up.
You don't know me, so don't step;
I roll to the right and then bust your lip."

It's just that straight up, hardcore flexing you want from a rough hip-hop record:

"I stomp sixteen solo,
Straight for the jugular. Hope that I don't
Swarm and bust a cap by night, so
You just keep your place, 'cause I won't stop."

So, you can see from my photo that this comes in an ill picture cover (which may've misled you into believing this was going to be a song about police brutality). It features two mixes: the Radio Mix, which we don't care about, and The Final Call, which we certainly do.

The Final Call clocks in at 8:10, which makes it more than double the length of the original version, which is about three and a half minutes. This is an extended mix, alright; way extended.

You'll notice the first difference right at the first second. You know how the album version features a clip from a Malcolm X speech between Paris's second and third verses? Well, this version opens with another speech clip. I miss the days when hip-hop did this semi-regularly. It sounds dope.

Anyway, from there you've got some typical "let the beat ride" moments that you'd expect in an extended mix. But after Paris's last verse is when the bulk of the new material kicks in. The beat keeps on as Mad Mike takes over the rest of the song for the next four minutes. Sometimes he busts some serious, fresh scratches and other times he just drops in various vocal and instrumental samples over the track (including a P-funk breakdown to herald things to come in Paris's career).

The only downside is that The Final Call uses the censored, Radio edit of the song. Now, Paris doesn't curse as much as a lot of his contemporaries, so it's not like it renders the song as unlistenable as many radio edits do. But it's a definite flaw; and it's a frustrating shame we can't get a "proper" version of this. Still, there's no alternative; and this record's definitely worth your time regardless.