Whodini's Haunted Houses

(Youtube version is here.)

Happy Halloween!

The Origins of No Face

(Youtube version is here.)

What Jazzy D Did

This is a fun one. "That's What I Did (For You Baby)," by Jazzy D on Unknown's Techno Hop label from 1986. This was surely intended to be a reference/answer to Janet Jackson's "What Have You Done for Me Lately?" that was a huge hit in '86. But besides the title and the loose theme, there's not a lot, lyrically or instrumentally, that really ties it to Janet's record, and it stands better now on its own.

At a few points, the beat actually uses the melody from the Green Acres theme song; but wisely, for the most part, it just sticks to some fast, old school west coast style beats, hand-claps and funky bass notes. There's also a funky (live?) guitar breakdown and some keyboard horns. Jazzy kicks light-hearted narrative raps about all the things he does for his girl but still goes unappreciated, like a prototype Fresh Prince. And lyrically he has a fast, high pitched delivery with a voice that sounds similar to Rodney O.

Now, if you notice on the label, it says this record features The Organization, which seemed to be a loose collective of various West coast artists and producers associated with Techno Hop. On this record, it mainly boils down to an appearance by Cli-N-Tel, who comes on to spit a verse of helpful game as a master in "wack womenology." ...In that way, you could say this is as much a follow-up to his own, debut single (1985's "Wack Girl") as it is to Janet's. Towards the end, Vice Lord also comes in and kicks a short human beat-box routine, including some cool, mock scratching.

This 12" isn't gonna appear on anybody's top 10, but it's a heckuva fun record, and it's a nice piece of west coast history. It even includes an acapella (pretty rare back in those days), as well as an instrumental version.

Jazzy made another record or two before seemingly disappearing from the game. He's actually still around, though, now on the management end. He has a myspace here, and one of his acts is Kam.

(Blaq) Poet & Hot Day, Cassette-Only Remix

Before The Blaqprint, before Screwball... way back in 1991, Queensbridge soldier Blaq Poet was part of a 2-man crew known as PHD, signed to Tuff City Records. They had an album (Without Warning), an EP and a bunch of hot 12"'s through the first half of the 90's.

And they also had this cassingle with a killer picture cover. I mean, holy cow! Look at those guns they're holding. Don't ever let anyone tell you size doesn't count for anything.

So this is actually their debut single (1991) off of Without Warning. "Do It Any Way You Wanna Do It" is an album track off of that; but this single also includes an exclusive remix (also produced by Hot Day). The album version was already hot, but this one bumps even harder. It's got some choice, hard, deeper drums and a serious, head-nodding bassline. It's also got a classic, old school echo-y bell loop cut in and out of the track. The Instrumental Remix and Original Mix are also included. The original is fresh, with some cool rolling drums and a nice sample; but this one will definitely make your system thump harder.

The B-side is "I'm Flippin'" in Vocal Remix, Instrumental Remix and Original Mix versions. This remix isn't so exclusive - it later turned up on the 1992 "I'm Flippin'" remix 12" (which you'll still wanna pick up for the other "I'm Flippin'" remixes), labeled as the Video Remix. And curiously, the Original Mix isn't the album version, but Vocal Remix from the 12" (not to be confused with the Vocal Remix on this tape).

So I don't know how rare this was back in the day... probably not very (at least in New York). But today, a Tuff City cassingle? Most people probably don't even know it's worthwhile (though you'd be hard pressed to pass up that cover if you saw it); but now you've been hipped to it, so keep an eye out.

Lady Tigra in 2009

OB4CL2? Not on vinyl. Lady Tigra's new "Switchblade Kitty" remixes? On 12" vinyl. So, hey Raekwon's business manager, guess which one I purchased?

For those of you who slept late, L'Trimm's Lady Tigra is back on the solo tip... And thankfully, she still sounds just like her old self (and if you don't know, check out her "Sorry, Ice Cream" song for Pinkberry to get an idea). You may remember me mentioning in a blog nearly two years ago that she had an mp3-only album? Well, now there's been a proper CD release (it's called Please Mr. Boombox, and it even features MC Lyte), and now she's released her debut single off of that album. It's called "Switchblade Kitty" on Grease Records.

So the first thing I thought when I saw this was, "why 'Switchblade Kitty?'" I mean, it's ok, but definitely not one of the more compelling songs on the album. It's interesting, though. The main sample for the soundtrack seems to be lifted from an 8-bit video game, and like a lot of her songs on her album, she's got a lot of really nice scratching by an uncredited DJ. Maybe it was chosen because, lyrically and stylistically, it kind of exemplifies her style... ultra girly but edgy, a little odd and running over with tongue-in-cheek superficiality. But she adopts a slow, stop & start list-like delivery song that really makes this duller than most of the rest of her album. ...Well, I guess that's why they've remixed it, right? Keep all the best signature elements and replace the parts that didn't really jump off the CD?

Well, let's see. First of all, the 12" starts off with the album version I've just described. Then we come to the Ruckus Roboticus Remix. Well, two seconds into it and you know this is clearly made for the clubs. It's got that cliche thump, thump, thump bassline and a lot of distorted industrial/computer noises that are constantly changing and looping. I'm not sure if this song really lends itself for that... it kinda does, and Lady Tigra's voice is perfect for that kinda thing; but this isn't gonna be any DJ's "drag 'em onto the dancefloor" secret weapon. So, it's a fairly well done mix if you want a song that you can mix into your 1AM strip-club set... but this is hip-hop, so we don't. Let's move on.

There's actually only one other remix (because the other track is just the Ruckus Roboticus dub version), this one by William Russell. It's really just another approach at the same thing, with the same mediocre results. In fact, it's even more far-gone, removing all of Tigra's verse in favor of just sampling and looping some lines from the hook over and over again, while the music stutters and relapses. Fuck. This. Shit.

...I know. What did I expect, right? Oh well. I can actually kinda recommend picking up her album, though. I mean, if you're an old school L'Trimm fan, you won't be disappointed. Nothing on there sounds like it was produced by Large Professor during the 90's or anything, but it's fun times. But as for this 12", I blame Raekwon.

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".