A-Rrested Development On the Wax!

(Youtube version is here.)

Milwaukee's Old School Hip-Hop Scene Excavated on Wax

If you'll recaall, in my recent write-up of Run DMC's "Black History" 12", I promised a look at the label's subsequent releases. Well, since "Black History" (JMR-001), they've released a series of five, limited 7" singles. They're all very rare, sometimes outright previously unreleased tracks, by early artists from Milwaukee's early hip-hop scene. If you've heard of any of them before (and don't feel bad if you haven't), you're either from the area or have gleaned onto an old 12" or two as "random rap." But now they've been made much more accessible with this dope, affordable (no high priced limiteds here; they're all less than $10, and I found two for as cheap as $2 direct from the label).

I'm really not sure just how legit these are, however. "Black History" was clearly a boot, but some of these (especially the ones featuring unreleased tracks) may've had the artist's involvement... maybe? I don't know. The best I could label these is "undetermined," so bear that in mind and on with the show! :)

First up is "Kool is Chillen" by MIDI. It's pressed on red vinyl and limited to 300 hand-numbered copies (mine is #161). It's a repress of a 12" single (on regular, black wax), which actually had a smaller run of 200 copies back in 1987. It's sort of like early Stetsasonic, with Run DMC-styled deliveries, a spacey sample from "Planet Rock" and a lot of energy. The B-side, "Bru City" is interesting... it's slower, with hard deliveries, big drums and hand claps, but atmospheric keytones, like an early West coast record, and even some human beatboxing. Really, this could almost have been a single off of On Fire.

Next up is "Lamont Is the Baddest" by Kid Crab and G.F.C. (that's the Get Flesh Crew to you). Kid Crab was actually the DJ for MIDI (and he's still around today); and he went on to release the original 12" version of this record a couple years after "Kool Is Chllen" with three new guys. This one is limited to 100 copies (mine is #61) and is on plain, black wax. The original 12" was actually three songs; but this repress leaves off a song called "Settin' Him Straight." Despite the two-year difference, this doesn't really sound any more modern, and was surely considered old school-sounding even in 1989. It's got really big synths playing a constant riff over everything, and ultra-deep bass. The rhymes are simple, but the constant cutting (this time by DJ Supreme; Crab is just the MC in this line-up) is fresh, and the hook is great: "Who is the baddest? Lamont is, Lamont is!" ...while the DJ cuts up the LL Cool J vocal sample, "the baddest around!" The B-side, "That's Why I'm Screamin'" is probably better, though the mastering is pretty muddy... The ridiculous synths are replaced with an electric guitar riff, and again the scratches are the best part.

Third we've got, "We Are Two Tone" by, yes, Two Tone, a duo whose schtick is that one is black and the other is white. In keeping with the theme, their are two differently colored pressings, blue and green, limited to 100 (mine is a green #92). Unlike the previous two 7" singles, the music on this one has never before been released. It comes in a "picture cover," which amounts to a single sheet of paper print-out in a plastic sleeve; but hey, it's better than nothing. The A-side is ok, with some more old school beats, more Run DMC-styled shouting and back & forth deliveries, all wrapped up with a corny chorus . But this one's all about the B-side. "Mike T Is Dope" is a super-fresh ode to their DJ Mike T... yes, the same DJ Mike T from Compton's Most Wanted! The MCs come pretty nice, but it's the killer cuts and funky collage of old school samples making up the production that make this one such a killer.

Fourth is "Here's a Little Story" by MC Richie Rich & Scratch, repressing what was previously a cassette-only release. This one of the many "La Di Da Di" clones that have been poured into hip-hop by a million artists who were immediately inspired by the style and flow of MC Ricky D. Or, in this case, Richie Rich may've been even more directly inspired by Dana Dane - a female character even asks him, "where's your kangol and slick silk suit?" It's limited to 100 black copies (mine is #90). Richie's Rich voise is so soft, and the style and lyrics so blatantly derivative (he raps about jumping out of the shower and everything just like "La Di Da Di"), that this song is hard to take seriously. But the B-side is a completely different story. It's a more modern sounding, harder posse cut called "Pull the Trigger." Rich still sounds like he did on the A-side, so that's a little odd, but the others kill it over a dope track. And included on this posse cut? None other than Rock La Flow, who you should remember from Dope Folks' recent EP I covered in my video, The Milwaukee Illmatic!

These records may sound low-budget, or even amateurish; but they're also some enthusasiticly raw hip-hop that's a lot more compelling than their cleaner-sounding major label counterparts. I could see a lot of this material getting dismissed back in the day, but today, it's all fresh and very welcome. The highlights, like "Mike T Is Fresh," are incontrovertibly great and I'd recommend them to any hip-hop head at anytime; but others do require you to be in 80's Rap Appreciation Mode. If you are, though, you're gonna love the whole set to death. So look for 'em on discogs or the Bay, and let's hope we hear more from Jamille Records in 2011.

Oh, and if you're thinking, "Werner, I see four records written up here, but you distinctly mentioned five." Well, stay tuned, the last one's coming in my next video review.

Rebels With a 20-Year Pause

(Youtube version is here.)

Keep On Keepin' On (Test Pressing Hotness)

Now, you may remember me talking about how the demo version of The Outsidaz' single "Keep On" was infinitely greater than the album version. If not, have a refresher. :) But, still, the album version wasn't bad... a fun duet between Pace Won and Young Zee. Yeah, the beat and the rhymes were both superior on the original, but it was still a solid, Rockwilder-produced track. After all, it was chosen to be the lead single in 2000 for their Bricks album, and it features their signature sick wordplay like, "punk, ya gonna make me use the steel and blast ya Coup de Ville - hit the right side up, make ya lose the wheel."

And that single was pretty nice. It came in a sticker cover[upper left], and broke the song down to its various components: Clean, Album, Instrumental and A Capella versions. Plus, it was backed with another decent album track, "Done In the Game," which was also broken down all four versions. And if you happened to live in the UK (where, for some reason, the Outz continued to get a lot of support and promotion from their label, who'd veritably dropped them in the US), they had a fancy picture cover version with an exclusive, Mozart Remix. Produced by some guy named Marcus Saunders, it's, um, okay... It's got sort of a lighter, smoother sound and samples some strings which I presume are sampled from a Mozart piece. Die-hard Outz collectors have it, and the rest of you can sleep easily at nights without it.

But that's not the end of the story...


A test-press only release of "Keep On" remixes! The A-side[as you can see, above] starts out with the Mozart Mix, which is the same as on the UK 12", plus the Instrumental, which is also on the UK one. But the B-side features two more exclusive versions: The Rude Bwoy Mix and the Rugged Mix, both seemingly credited (it's a little hard to be certain with the handwritten label) to DJ Kemo of the Canadian indie rap crew The Rascalz (remember "Northern Touch?").

Both of these mixes keep the raw, noncommercial edges to The Outsidaz sound that the Mozart foolishly smoothed off. The bassline is deep and grabs your attention first, but it's the low-fi reggae-style percussion that really makes the Rude Bwoy Mix click. Meanwhile, the moody, street-themed Rugged Mix sounds like something Kool G Rap would rhyme over in his most criminal mindset, combined with a, well... a Rascalz record. Of all the variant mixes out there, this is the best one... except for the demo mix, which as I said before, was really an entirely different song with different vocals by different Outz members. But for this version, if you're going to listen to this set of verses by Pace and Zee, then the Rugged Mix is the definitive version, topping the album version and the rest.

Unfortunately, I have no idea how many copies of this exist. But if you're an Outsidaz fan and you come across it, you owe it to yourself to pick it up.

InstaRapFlix #34: I'm Still Here

I wasn't going to bother with this film... It was evident the "Joaquin Phoenix is a rapper schtick" was a hoax - and not a very interesting one - even before people knew there was a movie attached to it. But hey, it's streaming for free, so what the heck, just watch I'm Still Here (Netflix rating: 2 1/2 stars) and get it over with.

The rapping and music is terrible, of course (that's half the gag, after all ...I guess). The characters are unlikeable. The conflict is uninteresting. The depiction of reality is unconvincing (perhaps most damning, the acting is bad). The humor is trite. The message is heavy-handed, but... well, okay, the message is sort of interesting at least.

So, okay, you've got two self indulgent celebs (Joaquin Phoenix and Casey Affleck) roping in a bunch of other dopey celebs (Mos Def, Ben Stiller, P Diddy etc) to make a stupid, shallow indictment of how self indulgent celebrity culture is stupid and shallow, and everyone who gets roped into it is a dope. So, they're essentially saying you're wasting your time by watching crap like this... and I have to admit, they have a point.

You know how they say that if you're being trolled on the internet, no matter how you respond, they're winning... because all they're looking for is to get a reaction out of you? So the only way to win is not to play? Well, this movie is a case of celebrities trolling the general public. If you watch it, talk about it, blog about it[d'oh!], or spend time out of your day thinking about it, then you've been trolled.

But what's the rap nerd perspective? That's what we're all here for... Are there any great cameos or clips of interesting hip-hop artists tucked away in here? Not really. Because it's all about celebrity status, the only artist we see performing (besides "JP") is Jamie Foxx leading an audience into a call and response with his and Joaquin's names. Otherwise, all the cameos and appearances are actor buddies, not MCs. So yeah, nothing worthwhile here, even streamed for free.

They Can't Control Their... Split Personality

Last summer, UK hip-hop trio Rhyme Asylum dropped their second album, Solitary Confinement, to some positive reception. Unfortunately, like most albums these days, it was released on CD and mp3 only. So vinylism (sort of a German Sandbox or HipHopSite, except they didn't bail out on vinyl) got together with the group, picked their favorite eight (out of eighteen) tracks, and pressed up this EP, The Overdose.

It's labeled a limited edition, but I find any reference to just how many copies it's limited to; and it's also priced like a standard modern release; not one of those high-priced collectors editions we've been seeing. it comes in a very cool picture cover and features a couple guests (Crooked I, Reain, DarkStar and Ill Bill) who do a good job of blending into their aural surroundings. But you're probably thinking, "yeah, but Werner; I've never heard of these guys. What's this like; is it any good?"

Alright, well, in general they've got a really nice underground but lush sound. Lyrically, Rhyme Asylum seem to come in two modes (albeit in varying degrees). They're either spitting creative, hardcore backpacker-type rhymes - just dancing on the line of falling into "horrorcore" - which is where they excel. They mix clever hip-hop wordplay with vivid imagery... that kind of shit groups like Atoms Family or Virtuoso kicked in their best, early days:

"I keep my eyes peeled with hunting knives;
My voice alone provokes stone gargoyles to come to life.
Gave nightmares spittin' Lucifer lullabies;
Tried it a hundred times but can't seem to fucking die.
Run and hide when disaster strikes."

...Or they're kicking these kind of sappy, motivational, "yay, America [or England, I suppose, in this case], we can do it!" pep rally lyrics:

"Let 'em know you've got no reason to fail;
No one's gonna believe in you until you believe in yourself.
(Believe that!) We all hope for a little bit of luck.
People told me I suck but I didn't give a fuck."

And musically, they've got the same dichotomy going. On the one hand, they've got some fresh scratch hooks (their DJ comes nice with his when they utilize him, but that isn't nearly enough). And on the other, they go for that shouting Rah Rah kind of upbeat anthem vibe. And the samples switch from dark and moody to pop rock guitars and smashing cymbals. One step farther and they might've had ICP's "Homies" on their hands!

But like I said, it's in varying degrees... most songs sit somewhere between the two poles I just described, with more generic, middle-ground hip-hop rhymes where they're mixing the dark images ("Valkyries clean up after my dogs of war... Lucifer's rejects; shoulders are stumps where I used to have three heads") and the self esteem boosters ("don't let anyone tell you you're chasing an impossible dream") into more traditional hip-hop braggadocio ("this is hip-hop music's inner vision, bringing you back to pure facts fused with super lyricism"). And instrumentally, too, you're left with mixed results like "Event Horizon," where there's some tight rhymes over a great, atmospheric beat (think Sunz of Man before they let their label try to push them into the mainstream), but spoiled by a cheesy chorus.

So, at the end of the day, they're hot when they're at their best. You're definitely missing out if you don't check for songs like "Open Mic Surgery." But most are mixed bags, where just as one element starts drawing you in, another comes along to turn you off again. And one or two songs, while still displaying some quality production, could really have been left out all together. Ultimately, I recommend picking up this EP; there's a lot of talent and earnest craftsmanship on display... and best of all, some sick rhymes. But I don't imagine anyone needs to go so far as to pick up Solitary Confinement for the extra songs on CD or anything so overboard as that.

Spoonie Gee vs. Busy Bee

(Youtube version is here.)

Hey-Ya, Hey-Ya, Can I Get Some?

On its twentieth anniversary, collectors are finally able to cross one of random rap's most elusive, sough-after records off their wants list. ...That is, if they're willing to settle for a repress. The legendary Warpath EP by Courageous Chief has just been repressed - and remastered - by Dope Folks Records.

Originally released on Tirade Records in 1991, Warpath is a bit of a "grower." Initially, certainly, you'll dig and respect it, but you'll probably think, "Eh, unless I stumble upon it for cheap; I can probably live without it." It's only until you've had a chance to sleep on it a while and reflect that you'll realize, "damn, I've got to add this to my wants list, too!" That's because the moments that immediately jump out at you - the pre-Wu-Tang use of some old, dubbed kung-fu movie for the hook of "Russian Roulette" or the sheer audacity of turning the "hey-ya, hey-ya"s from Slick Rick's crabs with spears and Indian drums ("An Adult Story") into a chorus - tend to overshadow the EP's actual best moments. Songs like "No Feedback" with Chief just spitting hard over a tough mix of "Nautilus" and "UFO," or the hyper percussion underlying his non-stop flow on "Verbal Surgery."

But unless you were prepared to spend, oh, $500-800 bucks for it on that rare occasion it popped up on the 'Bay, Warpath was going to be a permanent resident on your list. Until now. Dope Folks has issued a limited (300 copies) run of this, which, as always, is available through their website, dopefolksrecords.com. They upgraded it to a nice sticker cover (the original just came in a generic sleeve), and they've remastered it. Now, I can't compare this to the original, because like most everybody else, I've only ever had a rip of this; but I can say this pressing sounds excellent.

My only disappointment is that, after discovering that Chief has tons of vintage, unreleased tracks and that those DATs are well-preserved and freely available, this EP contains no exclusive bonus songs. This is the first time Dope Folks has issued a record without at least one previously unreleased song on it. So when this was first announced, I was really hoping we'd get a couple bonus treats tacked onto the end, but no; this release only represses the original EP tracks. Dope Folks has said, though, that they're aware of Chief's unreleased vaulted music, and that it's a possibility for a future release.

So yeah, this is a traditional "holy grail" of random rap, a real standard. But actually, Chief isn't quite so "random" as you may think. Most know him as a NJ (hold it down!) one-hit wonder with this rare but highly praised, sole release... but he's actually stayed in the game pretty consistently. And besides recording albums worth of unreleased DATs, Chief has also worked steadily as a Wu-affiliate under the name Popa Chief. Down with Brooklyn Zu (he's on multiple tracks off their Chamber #9 album), the Zu Ninjaz and producing for guys like Popa Wu and ODB. He's also out out a couple indie CDs in the 2000s, and he's got a bunch of recent mp3s and youtube videos on his website, popachief.com. So check it. He's even talked of recording a Warpath II.

Future Soon To Be Left Behind

Future Left Behind is the upcoming album from Shawn Lov. It's on NuffSaid Recordings, the Australian label that put out his last two albums; but make no mistake -Shawn Lov's an OG New Jersey MC. He's been quietly putting out albums since 1994, but he really started appearing on peoples' radars when he teamed up with Tony D (R.I.P.) and dropped a couple records on Cha-Ching. Hell, if nothing else, you should remember him from the interviews I did with him back in November. And so this is his new album... it's not out yet, but he hit me up with a finished copy, including artwork and everything, so it should be just around the corner.

And how is it? It's dope; I dig it. It's produced by a roster of international heads who manage to give Shawn a surprisingly consistent backdrop... boom bap but with a clean, almost lush vibe. 100% headnodders. The majority are handled by Prowla, a resident NuffSaid producer, but you've also got producers from Germany, Holland... and yes, New Jersey. Custodian of Records provides three songs with a slightly rawer edge, including the album's two stand out bangers: "The Problems" and "Rare Grooves," a high energy duet with Sadat X.

This is a Shawn Lov album, so clever punch-lines and battle raps are a given; but the overall tone here is "battle rapper grown up." Whether remembering conversations with Tony D on "Future Left Behind," or just the fading of the culture on "[1-14] Be True:"

"Now I'm watching college boys grab the mic and try to handle it;
They culture-fuck hip-hop, 'cause they don't understand this shit.
You ain't the first geek with a win-streak;
When that track ends, it's still too hard for you to make black friends.
'Cause he ain't really in like, say, a Mike D or Eminem;
So it's impossible to see the music through that lens.
And I grew up with Brand Nubian, Wise and Brother J in my ear;
Took the time to learn the way we got here.
And you grew up to P Diddy and all that shit,
And threw a frat parry, 'cause to you that's all rap is.
A far cry from the soul of an '88 cipher."

Shawn even manages to sneak in an ode to his love of vintage video games without making it sound jokey or gimmicky. Yeah, if you didn't know, Shawn Lov runs a classic arcade in Burlington, NJ called High Scores. In fact, I've got a fun bonus video, never-before-seen 'till now, I did talking to Shawn a bit about gaming. And if you're interested in Future Left Behind snippets, the intros to each of my video interviews with Shawn (one, two, three plus the one below) features music from a different album cut. :) So now, without further adieu:

(And I got a Youtube version here, too, if you prefer.)

Make This One Count

This one is really flying under the radar, but you don't want to miss out. Apparently with zero fanfare at all, Neila has released her latest album, Only This One Counts. It's a full-length album, on vinyl only, pressed on marbled red and hot pink vinyl, and as you see, comes in a picture cover with her own artwork. Neila's been selling them herself through her facebook account for $12, and now a couple online stores (like accesshiphop) have been getting some copies in stock.

So how is it? I'm happy to say it's dope, and definitely better than her last album, which was still good. There, for me at least, the production just didn't quite click with Neila's voice and flow. Here, it definitely does. It's entirely handled by one guy named Rezult, who I don't think I've ever heard of before, and he has no credits on discogs. But whoever he is, he does a great job providing a consistent, vibrant sound, and one that meshes perfectly with Neila. It's moody and dramatic and sets up Neila's personal, heartfelt lyrics (all handwritten on the back cover, by the way) perfectly.

There aren't any guests on this album, except for DJs Handprints and Skid, who provide some nice cuts on a few of the songs. Otherwise, it's all just Neila and Rezult doing their thing, giving this album a much more personal vibe than her others. And it's made all the more personal, when you know the story behind it. Like I said, Neila's putting this one out herself, and in this message to her fans, she explains the situation, ""PLEASE SUPPORT MY ALBUM TO HELP PAY FOR HOSPITAL BILLS AND RENT! I have vocal chord cancer, things are looking good, this is the LAST ALBUM with my real voice..."

So it's kind of a special release, though hopefully "last album with my real voice" doesn't equal "last album ever." But she sounds good here, coming with a really cool album in all aspects, and the presentation is first class. So while you may have to do a little work to secure a copy, I think this is no Neila fan will want to have passed up.

Extra Odd Years

Guess what arrived in the mail today... Buck 65's new album 20 Odd Years! ...Wait a minute, didn't I already receive and review 20 Odd Years back in October? Yes, well, this, I guess, is 20 Odd Years 1.2... 20 Odd Years was released as a series of three EPs (originally there was meant to be four, but one fell through), on 7" vinyl, mp3 and CD/DVD. That must've done pretty well, because now there's this new release (also available through buck65.com) on LP and CD. It's got a nice picture cover and a slightly different track-listing. So, let's break it down:

First, the missing songs:

1) Red-Eyed Son (w/ Coral Osborne) from EP #1 - This was a good song; I'm sorry to see it go.

2) The Niceness (w/ Colin Linden) from EP #2 - Frankly, I'm happy to see this one go. I mean, while the collector in me would like to see every song ever included, the whole album feels more mature with this silly number axed.

3) Tears In Space (w/ Meaghan Smith) also from EP #2 -This was okay, but no great loss.

And that's it for the missing songs (you can read more about them in my original review of the EP releases). If you've noticed, that means EPs 1 and 2 have exclusive songs, but #3 does not. So if you're considering picking up the EPs (they're still available as of this writing) in conjunction with the LP, #3 is the least essential, as it has nothing that isn't already on the album.

Now the new songs:

1) Whispers Of the Waves (w/ Gord Downie) - I could do without the guy (I guess that's Gord) singing the hook; but it's not terrible. Buck's flow over the rhythm bass is cool, though, and the scratches are a nice touch. Definitely a winner.

2) Stop (w/ Hannah Georgas) - The upbeat instrumentation is a nice change, but it feels more like a Hannah Georgas record featuring Buck than the other way around. Buck only has two short, unimpressive verses (over a lame beat) shoehorned into what's otherwise some kind of indie rock song. Feels like watching MTV, which I'd rather not do if I can avoid it.

3) Tears Of Your Heart (w/ Olivia Rulz) - Like the past EPs, forcing practically every song into a collaboration hurts this project. The girl sings something in French on the chorus, and, except for the breakdown, she doesn't sound like she belongs on the song. Buck comes with it, though, and I like the instrumental manages to have a live garage band feel while still maintaining a hip-hop nature. I like it, but a shorter version without the long, self-indulgent instrumental stretches and the excessive hook would've worked even better.

4) She Said Yes - Kind of boring and lifeless... I kept thinking, "when is this extended intro going to end and the song proper going to kick in?" But it just goes on until it ends, sort of a slow spoken-word bit over subdued keyboards and weak percussion.

So, overall, it's a nice package and a decent, if still uneven album. At first I felt a but like we'd been duped - we weren't told all these songs would be released as a proper LP back when the EPs were being sold, so we couldn't make the informed decision to hold out for this album. And it's frustrating that the absolute worst song from the EPs ("Who By Fire") was carried over, while one of the best ones ("Red-Eyed Son") was not. I wish it wasn't too late to trade them, but oh well. Forced to call it, I think the LP is slightly better than the EPs, but it's pretty close (the bulk of the songs are the same, after all), and my fellow completists will need both anyway. So, yeah, it's a good album - not Buck's best; but has some really strong moments. It's just unfortunate that we've bought most of them before.

But now, with the LP in my hot little hands, I'm a little feeling better about the whole thing. After all, getting four new songs... in a way, it's almost like getting the fourth EP that never materialized. And this one's on 12" with a nice picture cover. It just so happens to also include a bunch of the older songs from the past EP over again. It's hard to get too excited about an album I pretty much bought already four months ago; but it's nice to finally score that last EP. But, like the other EPs, it's just okay, and brought down by all these misfit guests. If you heard the last few EPs, this is more of the same. Hopefully Buck has worked all the cross-genre collaborations out of his system, and the next Buck 65 album will feature Buck 65 on at least 75% of the vocals and production.