The Zone Of Zero Funkitivity

When hip-hop started sampling P-funk, it was awesome. Listening to X-Clan's first album, for instance, was mind blowing (though P-funk admittedly wasn't the only mind-blowing element to their debut).  When Digital Underground came out, damn they were cool. Then everybody started sampling P-funk like crazy, gangsta rap completely transformed into G-funk, MC Breed started sporting a giant afro and bell bottoms, and the original P-Funk all stars from back in the day were popping up in every corner of music media, collaborating with rappers of all types and quality, and the same samples were being used again and again and again until you just wanted to rock back and forth in your closet, covering your ears and wishing it would all go away..The mothership had dropped the bomb and damn near killed hip-hop dead.

Somewhere in middle of all that was Ground Zero. I don't mean metaphorically, in the middle of the devastation of P-funk's shock and awe... I mean, there was a short-lived group literally named Ground Zero. They came out in '90/'91 on west coast label Lethal Beat Records, home of MC Twist, and their big single was "Lettin' Ya Know" featuring Bootsy Collins. Yup, this was the beginning of those guys turning up everywhere. It wasn't Bootsy's first comeback appearance, mind you - he'd already made his super huge, attention getting cameo on Deee-Lite's "Groove Is In the Heart" by then - but for a rap record, this was still a big deal. Especially since Ground Zero seemed to be nobodies who'd come out of nowhere.

Ground Zero was made up of two guys: E-Smooth and 1/2 PINT (Discogs thinks it's the same 1/2 Pint who later put out a bunch of bass records on On Top Records, but I really don't think so - they sure don't sound alike), and their whole deal was using P-funk samples (hooked up by their producer $ Makin' Mike). "Lettin' Ya Know" had a video which got huge rotation and media attention, and they wound up releasing it as a 12" single, a second 12" with a bunch of remixes, and including it on their EP, Future Of the Funk.

So, yeah, this is the main 12" pictured. It comes in a sticker cover and just features two versions: Radio (simply a shorter edit), and the Extended P-Mix, which is really just the full-length version of the song, and not a remix like its name suggests. These are the same two mixes on the EP, too - the "Radio" is naturally the same as the "Radio Mix;" and the "P-Mix" and "Extended P-Mix" are exactly the same, despite the extra extension implied in the name.

And there's not too much more to be found on Future of the Funk... it's really a stretch to call it an EP. The cover lists six tracks, but there's really only five (that's because a tiny intro, "Grim Reaper's Prelude," is actually blended into one of the songs, not separated into its own track like the cover says), and remember, they've put "Lettin' Ya Know" on here twice. One of the other tracks is just shout-outs, so there's really only two additional songs besides "Lettin' Ya Know." Three songs = a single, not an EP, in my book.  :P

Anyway, for all my complaining, I like this joint. The instrumental is made out of a commonly used loop from "Disco To Go" by Collins' band Brides of Funkenstein (and I think "Atomic Dog" drums).  In fact, I doubt Bootsy had anything to do with the music on this Ground Zero record at all, apart from being the sample source. But he does add some vocal ad-libs to the track, and it does add some extra charm to have him shouting "boooombs away" and stuff during the breaks; but really, for all the stickers and labels throwing his name on the cover of the single and EP, him starring prominently in the video and CD artwork; this record is basically complete without him. And, no, he didn't participate at all on the other EP tracks (except, again, as a sample source). It's all just a glorified co-sign. But, while neither rapper are particularly impressive, they at least have voices strong enough to carry a really bumping track. It bumps.

I remember being really excited to pick up this EP based on the video. But the rest was a let-down. The only song worth repeating was "Lettin' Ya Know." But still, it was enough to keep me eager for their upcoming full length, Zero Tolerance, and their promised future collaborations with Bootsy. But they never happened. There was going to be a second single ("Nuthin' 2 It," which is actually also on the EP, and... meh), but that never came, and neither did anything else. Check out this interview on Video Soul, where they talk about how they're going to do a bunch more songs together - see?

So, where did these guys go? Bootsy declared them "the P Masters of the Universe" and seemed pretty locked into a long-term working relationship with them. I mean... I guess the death of Lethal Beat Records is what happened, but really,m this single was big in the back of the day, and Bootsy and the gang weren't so over-saturated and played-out in 1991; his co-sign was a big deal then. I'm surprised no other label picked them up, at least for another single. I mean, okay, looking back it's probably not such a big loss as I thought of it back in the day, always waiting and expecting them to turn up again. But I bet there's a story there... just what happened after that Donnie Simpson chat? I've been wondering that for over twenty years now. But at least I got a pretty cool P-funk rap record out of it all. You know, one of the good ones before it all went to pot.

I'm No Fool; I Want My Record Played

There's a Doctor Ice record where he spends like, the last minute and a half or more doing shout-outs, including all the major DJs: Red Alert, Marley Marl, Chuck Chillout, and ends by explaining, "I'm no fool; I want my record played!"  Well the Def Con Crew had the same idea and they even took it one step further, by making the entire record a shout-out to all the DJs.

Def Con Crew only produced one record, and this is it. In 1988, this was put out on Ray Ray Records, the New York label that also dropped Sirocalot's killer single, but they get to DJs from all over, Greg Mack on the west coast, Ralph McDaniels on BET, and tons of presumably local DJs across the country from Philly to Texas. It's not all shout-outs, though. While they do a healthy dose of DJ naming shout-outs at the end, the bulk of the song consists of full rap verses praising the DJs - some famous, some generic. Conceptually, it's like a cross between "Hey DJ" and "Magic's Wand."

And it's funky, using a chunky sample of "Strawberry Letter 23" for the bulk of the instrumental, every so often bringing in that wonderful keyboard riff. The hook is a sung sample of the phrase "last night a DJ saved my life" from the Indeep record of the same name (famously copied covered by Mariah Carey). And the production's all by the Def Con Crew themselves... though it's worth noting that this is an early credit for Keyboard Money Mike, who engineered this record and is better known today playing on records by Ultramagnetics, Lord Finesse, BDP, etc.

So, this record's just known as the DJ praising joint, but there's actually a B-side as well, noteworthy for being the only other Def Con Crew song. It's called "We Came Here To Rock," and it's got a fun, throw-back rap style even for the time. They almost rhyme like The Crash Crew without the harmonizing parts, and a hard drum track instead of a disco band. It's probably more enjoyable now that its old school nature is nostalgic... at the time heads probably dismissed it as having a kinda cool beat but that's it. But now the super simplistic rhyme patterns have an extra "aww, remember when?" appeal.

Still, the A-side's the one you'll be buying this record for.  It comes with Vocal, Instrumental and Bonus Beat versions of each song.  And while it may not have you pining for a full Def Con Crew album or anything, but it's definitely a nice little 12" on its own terms. 'Cause "there's Mr. Magic, without no doubt, and the cool, cool brother called Chuck Chillout. I can't forget about the trooper, Red Alert. Yeah boy, you know the score, he goes berserk."  :)

The Return of Black, Rock & Ron

(Youtube version is here.  And the blog post I mention is here. And an important update/correction is posted here.)

Where The Hell Did Hi-Tech Go?

Hi-Tech was that dude. He was a master of that Queensbridge criminology style (even though I think he was actually from the Bronx) at its peak in the mid 90s, but was equal part backpack rapper; very few rappers could please audiences on both sides of fence at the same time. Even Nas has to visibly shift gears to reach both camps. Hi-Tech was a star artist on the indie label Mass Vinyl, and so he had killer production. His third single, "All Time Einstein," started a craze by sampling the theme to Hill Street Blues, and soon everybody was looking for television themes to sample. No, this wasn't the first record to sample a TV show - let us forget the days of Fresh Gordon - but his was an underground smash, and everybody from Lord Digga revitalizing his career with The Price Is Right theme to Timbaland and Magoo making a hit out of Knightrider. Everybody had to have a TV show theme, and underground rapper Hi-Tech was why.

This is his second record, though, and probably my favorite. "24/7" dropped on Mass Vinyl in 1996 in a pretty ill picture cover. The lead track is produced by the seriously underrated DJ Shok. Shok did a bunch of hot material for Mass Vinyl, and eventually went on to the Ruff Ryders camp where he kinda drifted off my radar. But his 90's stuff was terrific. Just listen to this track: it's got a perfect piano loop over a sparse beat and some nice cuts for a hook, and most producers would stop right there and declare victory. But Shok keeps breaking up the track, to add this dark, Wu-style distorted sound, giving the whole thing a really robust, dramatic life. This became one of those instrumentals, like "Tried By 12," where every MC had to freestyle over it at least a dozen times on mix-tapes, radio, etc.

The B-side is "Book Of Life, Page 2," a sequel to his first single. At first it sounds like it's just a remix, because the first verse is the same on both songs. But then the hook and subsequent two verses are all new. This version's produced by Jaybiz, and as great as the original was, this one's even better. It's deep and moody - the original was tight, a formula executed perfectly; but this one's creative. It's deceptively simple and brooding.

Meanwhile, the rhymes here bounce back and forth between personal reflection and throwback B-boyisms ("while taking my first fresh breath, the first words out my mouth was 'one, two, mic check'") and robust sincerity (when he talks about his father's drug addiction and says, "the more I think about it, I don't wanna talk about it," it's so damn genuine it doesn't sound like it can be a song lyric*). Some of the lines haven't aged so well and may sound a bit corny today; but you have to remember this was cutting edge lyric writing in the mid 90's, artists didn't really have a template of when a line got too jokey or contrived like they do today. Still, though, the majority of this is as strong today as it ever was, and puts your average Youtube rapper to shame.

So, really, what did happen to Hi-Tech? Well, I'm sure Hi-Tek's come up didn't help at all. Just as Hi-Tech was starting to solidify his name, here comes this other guy from Ohio and becomes an indie darling, hooking up with Rawkus. Sure, their names are spelled differently, but when you're standing around Fat Beats and you hear the phrase "hi tech," you know they're probably talking about a Black Star record. And when Mass Vinyl predictably went the way of all those awesome little NY indie vinyl labels, Hi-Tech seemed to vanish right with it. Dude put out a bunch of records, both his own and appearing with his crew, but never on another label ("Continuously" doesn't count, because it was an old track that was sitting on a shelf until Creative dusted it off and put it on his record years later); I guess he went down with his ship. Hi-Tech is one of those artists that represents the 90's so thoroughly he's practically an abstract symbol of it. And I could see some people then arguing that he's such an iconic 90's guy that it's just as well we haven't had to watch him fumble and chase terrible fads throughout the 2000s. But I don't know... I can't believe it's really a good thing to never again hear from any artist who was once so compelling.


*Okay, that quote's from the first "Book Of Life," but as far as the points I'm making go, it's the same difference.

The Biz Goes Schizo!

So Don Byron is kind of a big time, contemporary jazz guy, I guess. He's on (or been on) Blue Note, which is like the Def Jam of jazz labels, and he's been putting out albums for decades. I think his main instrument is the clarinet. I know hip-hop, not jazz, so that's all I got for ya on him.  Except for this: he released an album in 1998 called Nu Blaxploitation (on Blue Note/Capitol Records). I don't think it got much of a release here in the US (you can only get it from Amazon as in import) like it did overseas, but a promo copy found its way to The Source magazine, where it lived unwanted  But I saw it and asked if I could have it because look who's featured on it - the diabolical Biz Markie!

So, skipping right over the rest of the album (that's not a criticism or saying that it's bad or anything, that's just what I do when presented with non-hip-hop albums), we go right to track #6. It's called "Schizo Jam," and it's over fourteen minutes long, so this is a little more than your typical, negligible "he's only on one song" single verse cameo. It's a fucking jam, a... schizo jam?

To be honest, even being familiar with the long and having listened to it a bunch of times, I can't really figure out why it's called "Schizo Jam." The word is never used, the concept of schizophrenia is never brought up, and Biz isn't acting particularly erratic.  At least, no more than he usually does. At the beginning of the song, the Biz is introduced by saying, "in the whole history of African American entertainment, there is nobody like this cat," which is both absolutely true, and I guess the closest to an explanation for the song title as we're gonna get.

Like the title does suggest, though, the song isn't about anything... Biz just kicks freestyle verse after freestyle verse the way only he can:

"I'm the original,
Eatin' peanut butter and jelly.
Everybody,
Look at my big belly!"

And the audience reacts with perfect enthusiasm. Yeah, there's an audience. Usually, I'd be disappointed to receive a live track as opposed to a proper studio song; but for this jam, it's actually perfect. The live, free-form instrumentation, Biz's equally free-form personality, and the way the audience screams when he rhymes, "on my t-shirt is SCOOBY DOOBY DOO!" just couldn't be recreated in a recording booth.

Oh, and Don Byron raps, too.  Biz does most of the rhyming on this song, but Don gets on at more than one point, and one of his verses is actually really nice. He doesn't have the flow or naturalism of Biz, though, and he sounds like "somebody who shouldn't be rapping," but I actually really dug the lyrics to his second verse. The band is kickin', there's lots of nice horns and shit throughout the full fourteen minute jam, never getting redundant or repetitive. It's really a cool song, and you'll definitely want to track this CD (pretty sure there's no vinyl) if you're a serious Biz Markie fan.

Heck, I'm almost tempted to listen to the rest of this album.

What Krs Knows

(Youtube version is here.)

The Untold Tale of E-Marvelous

When Latee's lost demos were given the crisp vinyl treatment this Spring, one of the songs on that EP - the best - featured two guest rappers, including a guy named E-Marvelous. Well, on the label's forums, Smoov pointed out that it could be a guy named E-Marvelous that was down with D-Nice. I said it probably was, because D-Nice was one of those already established artists who joined the second generation Flavor Unit when Latifah and co. changed the line-up and dynamic of the original crew. And Latee hadn't quite been phased out of it at that point.  ...So here's the whole E-Marvelous story.

Remember D-Nice's crew, The Rescue Squad?  What's that? No? Nobody does? Well, The Rescue Squad was the name of his posse at the time of his second album (1991), which is why it was called To tha Rescue, and why he had a big red cross symbol on the back cover.  The Rescue Squad consisted of: McBooo (a producer who was also down with BDP), Tone, Robo-Cop, J-Boss, L'il Lowe, our man E-Marvelous and of course D-Nice.  I don't know who most of those cats are, or what they've done, if anything... except that a lot of songs on "To tha Rescue" mention "backgrounds" by the Squad as a whole, so they must've just been the generic voices on some chanted hooks.

But E-Marvelous actually did something noteworthy on that record - he performed a duet with Nice at the end of the album. The track-listing only credits the big-name guests (Krs One, Naughty By Nature and Too $hort. who must've gotten lost while wandering around the offices of Jive Records that day), but there's one more MC who spits on this album, one who doesn't get his name listed on the back-cover. "And There You Have It" is co-written and co-performed by E, with D sharing the mic with "my man from Uptown," E-Marvelous.

E went on to appear on D-Nice's final single, the independently released B-side to "Nice, Let Me Know It," that Nice put out on his own label (Nice Records, natch) called "All Out" in 1994. And that same year, he appeared on a single by R&B singer Roz, who D-Nice was also producing. Don't remember her? Roz sang back-up vocals on the token love song off To tha Rescue called "Get In Touch With Me."* Roz's solo career lasted for two singles - one featuring D-Nice, and the other, called "U Can Be My Lover," which is more of a clubby drum 'n' bass kinda thing, featuring E-Marvelous.

And that's the whole story of this mysterious Harlem MC until those Latee demos were unearthed earlier this year. He just had verses on those three songs, but - oh no, wait!  E-Marvelous came out with his own, super rare record. It's not on discogs and no place else online seems to even make an off-hand reference to it. But I'm sitting here looking at it, so it exists.

It's a 12" single called "Let 'Em Know" on Grand Sounds Entertainment (who only seem to have done this one release, but from the credits, I gather it's run by McBooo) in 2002. That's a good chunk of time passed since the other music I've been talking about, but just in case you're doubting it's the same guy, read the label credits: "Mixed by D-Nice and McBooo." This is our man, no question.

So "Let 'Em Know" comes in three flavors: Street, Radio and Instrumental, and it's produced by some guy named Mike Wrecka. Flip it over, and there's a B-side called "Move To This," which comes in Radio, Main and Instrumental, and is produced by McBooo.

So, how is this single? Well, even all the way back on "And There U Have It" and the Latee demo, E came off nice enough, but he wasn't exactly a mind-blowing MC. He was pretty neck and neck with D-Nice. He has a solid voice and fine, basic flow which sounds good over super hot, 90's jazzy production. But this is a 2002 single, to its detriment. E sounds good, but none of his lyrics stand out as especially above average. Over a better track he has the potential to be a compelling MC, but the beats are, well, at least kinda underground style for the time, and New Yorkish.  They'll get your head nodding when you listen to this, but once it's over you're not going to be in a hurry to hear it again.  "Let 'Em Know" is dark and tough, but it's all sample-free studio sounds. And "Move To This" is more of a club track, with an uncredited male singer half-crooning in the background - interesting, but again compiled entirely from out-of-the-box studio sounds. At the end of the day, it's a good, respectable indie 12"; but nothing to get excited over.

 And now, finally, that's really the end of the E-Marvelous story.  An interesting, extended footnote in the history of - wait a minute! What's this? The one in the white suit who raps second. That's gotta be a different E-Marvelous... right?


*...which, amazingly, they chose to be his second single.

Unreleased Eric B & Rakim Classics!

(Youtube version is here.)

Ego Trippin' Part Zero

A lot of De La Soul fans were probably confused in 1993 when they dropped their single "Ego Trippin' (Part 2)." Where was Part 1? Did I miss it? You could pretty much separate the real heads from the mainstream by who actually knew that Part was actually the Ultramagnetic MC's classic single on Next Plateau Records in 1987. And since then, other artists have made their own sequels and homages... Tech N9ne did a song called "Ego Trippin," MCJ and Cool G did, Waka Flakka Flame did, Steady B did... Snoop Dogg titled one of his latest albums Ego Trippin', and there's some electronic band called Ego Trippin' that's been putting out records for years and years.  I've never heard 'em, but I keep seeing their records all over the place.  Kool Keith made his own sequel (and that's not counting that silly "Ego Trippin' 2000 (Rmx)" from Bootlegs and B-Sides), called "Ego Trippin' '99" on a Sway and Tech project.  The title first appeared as a 70s funk record with a little break in it called "Ego Trippin'" by a group called Please, though I think it's more likely Ultra got it from Marvin Gaye's later record "Ego Tripping Out" Ultra just made an incredible record, that turned out to be powerfully influential on the genre, something they surely never anticipated when they were recording it.

But it's not rap's first "Ego Trippin'" record.

Two years before Ultramagnetics or anybody else touched the title (1985), Super-Wolf and Company released "Ego Tripping" on Big Bad Wolf Records.  If you've ever heard of Super Wold, it was probably on one of Sugar Hill Records' bajillion rap compilations, because they'd released his debut single "Super Wolf Can Do It" back in 1980.  That record's great, I love it.  Very funky and pure disco era, with Super Wolf rapping in that pure old school, Frankie Crocker radio DJ style with the bass-y voice and everything. After that one single is when he drops off the radar for the most part, but he actually continued to relaease records for years on his own label, Big Bad Wolf (which also released the original "Super Wolf Can Do It" before Sugarhill picked it up and gave it major distribution), and this was one of his later ones.

Super Wolf seemed to find himself caught in that weird phase a lot of disco-era rappers were in 1985. Whodini, Run DMC and drum programs changed hip-hop forever, and no one was checking for guys who rapped like The Sugarhill Gang anymore. It produced final records like Jimmy Spicer's "This Is It" or anything Kurtis Blow did after America... stuff that completely fails compared to their classic work, and yet fails to fit in with the new style of the day either.  But, actually, Super Wolf pulls through alright.

The new sound is definitely here musically. Simple cuts, big beats, fake horns, ringing telephones, fake handclaps and silly human beat-boxing right out of The Fat Boys' "All You Can Eat." And, meanwhile, Super Wolf is still rapping like it's 1980.  It's really goofy and should be a huge embarrassing disaster on paper, but... it kinda all works somehow. The beat is as silly as anything was in that period, but it's still funky; the bassline is actually fresh, and there's some funky guitar tucked away in this track. And Super Wolf is smart not to leave his comfort zone as a rapper, sticking to what he's good at, which is what most rappers who try to change with the passing fads generally fail to do.  The beat throws you off at first, but when you hear the familiar wolf howl comes in, it's a relief to know that the Super Wolf I'd been hoping to hear again is back, being himself. He's basically just here to kick some simple cautionary tales about letting your ego trip and encourage the break dancers in the audience, but he sounds as good as ever.

Despite the record being billed with "and Company," the rapping is all Super Wolf.  The Company presumably refers to the girls who sing on the chorus ans scratch mixer Terry Alexander (KX-96 - he's really not at all impressive, but having the cuts still adds to the energy of the song). And whoever the human beat box is.

In a way, this is as rare you'd expect an obscure 80's rap record from Tennessee (that's right, Memphis was putting out rap records as far back as 1980) to be. But Super Wolf must've been big enough to press up more than just a super tiny run; because I see these around online, relatively inexpensive.  If you're a fan of "Super Wolf Can Do It," this one is pretty different, but I recommend it anyway; I still don't think you'll be disappointed. And, hey, it's rap's original "Ego Tripping" - that's gotta count for something, right? Ultra did the classic, and De La did part 2, so that must make this... part 0. The rare first chapter in what's become a long, surprisingly enduring legacy.  ;)

Celebrating Finsta's 20th On Wax!

In 1992, Finsta released his debut single, "Finsta Baby" on a little label called Cracd Records. Most of Finsta's singles are pretty rare, and all of them are highly respected and sought after by heads in the know. And this debut is perhaps the most of all of them. You can expect to pay a couple hundred for a copy nowadays. But it's become available again now, for the 20th anniversary of his vinyl debut, on the new label, Sergent Records.

The original 12" featured three versions of "Finsta Baby"  - Dirty, Clean and Instrumental, plus a B-side track called "Payday Is Bliss." Perfect, but who cares about the Clean version, right? Sergent knows we don't, so they replaced it... with a previously unreleased vintage Finsta track from the 90's: "Activate." We heard a good, tantalizing chunk of it on Finsta's Never Say Never mixtape from back in the late 90's, but now we're hearing it complete and unmixed for the first time, on this vinyl debut. This is gonna excite a lot of people.

What's that? You say you're not necessarily completely entirely familiar with Finsta's music history? Oh dear, what are we going to do with you? Quick, read the rest of this post before anybody cool hears you don't know who Finsta is!

Finsta is a Brooklyn MC, down with those Black Moon cats before they blew up.  He came out with his earliest material produced by Evil Dee and da Beatminerz, and then hooked up with his rhyming partner Bundy,. Finsta became his own producer, making tracks that can stand 100% alongside the best of Da Beatminerz, and released a series of 12" singles throughout the 90's, right in the heyday of the indie vinyl days, but always just slightly off the radar.  I don't think think anyone could say Black Moon was ever pop, but compared to Finsta, they were the mainstream to his underground realness. "Feel the High," "Who I Be," "Sunnyside," "Don't Stress Tomorrow"... If you see a Finsta Bundy record, pick it up; you will never go wrong.

So yeah, this is all pre-Bundy material, and produced by Evil Dee, not Finsta himself (including the unreleased "Activate."). Just real nice, underground flow, with a hyper, fast rap steez on "Payday Is Bliss." A terrific single that belongs in the crates of anyone who can get their hands on a copy, made all the better with the inclusion of the very worthy "Activate."

So, about the release. It comes in a fresh sticker cover, and is limited to 150 copies, never to be repressed. Unfortunately, it's also priced like one of those limiteds, which is to say many times higher the price of a standard, new 12" single. And the sound quality? Yeah, I can't close the books without touching on that.

Unfortunately, I don't have an OG copy of  "Finsta Baby" on Cracd to do a proper side-by-side comparison (have I mentioned how rare and expensive those can be? I'm lucky to have the Finsta Bundy 12"s I do have). So just based on hearing this 20th anniversary 12" alone, I'll say it ain't bad. I've heard that the original sounds better, but this sounds alright. The two B-side tracks fare a little worse than the A, it sounds like the levels are breaking over their peak or... some kinda distortion seems to have sneaked its way into the final mix.  It's... okay; you can certainly still listen to it and enjoy it (and obviously "Activate" here is a leap year ahead of its prior mixtape incarnation), but it's not really up to the exceptional, top quality, first class all-around level you expect when you pay the big money for these special, limited releases.

So, at the end of the day, I still recommend this one for sure. Music-wise, it's A+ all the way. And presentation-wise? Okay, the sound quality pulls the GPA down a bit; but the quality isn't so problematic that you should miss out. I'm still happy to have mine, and if this were a budget 12" sitting on a record store shelf somewhere, everyone would scoop this up and dance away in joy; but at the price it's selling for, I'm seeing some grumbling online and it's not entirely unwarranted. It's not stellar, but it's still dope.

One Crazy, Brilliant Album

(Youtube version is here.)

How Lord Finesse Pissed Me Off

[Disclaimer, right up front: this has nothing to do with Mac Miller. Not that I'm no longer interested in that case, but you know the court systems... it'll probably be ages before we hear any updates, and even then, there's a very good chance they might just quietly settle.]

So, I've had Lord Finesse & DJ Mike Smooth's album on cassette since it dropped; but growing up, I didn't really have access to vinyl, so I never got his 12" singles. It wasn't until like a decade later that I was looking online to see what there was, and I saw this - his second single from his debut album. The first single was just two album tracks with instrumentals, but look at this one - it's got a Premiere Remix of "Strictly for the Ladies," and a Vocal Remix of "Back To Back Rhyming" with AG! Awesome - ordered that shit (which, as you can maybe tell from my scan, was a repress) soon as I saw it.

I get the record in the mail, lay it on the tables, and... it's the same beat.  And the same scratches on the hook. And all the way through it's the same shit as on the album. I mean, not that the album version is shit; it's a fantastic track, produced by... Premier. Right. Still, though, he must've done something different for this 12", right? I mean, you see it right there in the pic I've uploaded, don't you? I'm not crazy. It says "Radio Remix," and in tinier letters, "remixed by DJ Premier."

Well, maybe it's just slightly mislabeled, and the next Full Version is really the remix. No, well, maybe it's majorly mislabeled, and the Full Version is actually the remix? Okay, maybe the label is totally fucked and the Instrumental...? Nope. But now I get it. The first version is just your standard, shorter radio edit of the album version, it's called "Radio Remix" as opposed to "Radio Version" or "Radio Edit" because... Wild Pitch enjoys playing cruel mind games on the fans, presumably.

Oh well, disappointing, but we still have our exciting Vocal Remix of "Back To Back Rhyming." No "Radio" nonsense on that side of the label.  It's probably gonna be the same beat, but all new lyrics. I wonder if both of them will have new rhymes, or just one of... what... the... Hell? It's the exact same thing as the album! Same beat and both verses are the same, with the same hook, same everything. And yeah, the Instrumental's just the instrumental. It took me ages to figure out what technically's different.  The 12" version is a a few seconds longer. At the end, when Finesse says "see ya," the beat loops a couple more times on the 12". That's it. I don't even prefer it to the LP mix, because I think it sounds better when it ends when he says "see ya." The album version could even end 3-4 seconds earlier, in my opinion.

So, yeah, it's still a fine 12". It's got two great album tracks, plus instrumentals... kinda like the first single.  It's just... just not the super kick-ass 12" the label would have us believe. Oh well.

Keepin' Up the Funky Beat is the Holland Crew

Hey, you guys remember Bivak Records? I did a video about them a year and a half ago, they were the guys that put out that nice unreleased Chain 3 and Great Peso 12" from '84, and then they had that mixCD I talked about. Well, they're back in 2012, unfortunately not with killer unreleased old school on wax, but with a second mixCD, which is still good.  I mean, honestly, mix tapes/CDs don't generally get me too terribly enthused. Even when the DJ's really talented (which, sadly, most aren't), I'd just generally rather hear the original records being spun.

But this mixCD I'm actually really enthused about and am recommending. It probably helps substantially that I don't own a single one of the records involved, and also just because it's coming from a really compelling angle. Bivak refers to it as "a non-commercial slice of pure edutainment.," and it's essentially a chronological history of Holland hip-hop from 1983-1992. Now, my knowledge of Holland hip-hop basically extends from MC Miker G to DJ Sven...  meaning, just those guys (actually, Urban Dance Squad, too; but I forgot they were from Holland until I saw them on this). But it's a scene I was already curious about... I subscribed to their blog, dutcholdschoolhiphop.blogspot.nl, ages ago, but you only get so much out of it when you don't know any of the players involved. So, this was perfect for me, as it's a as thorough as you can possibly get on a single disc (since it's a mix, they can cover a lot more records than a straight compilation). And even if you're thinking, "you know, I'm not sure I actually give a flying fuck about the Holland hip-hop scene, Werner, to be honest," I'm telling you, stick with me on this.

First of all, starting all the way back in 1983 means they've got a pretty extensive, classically old school period. If you've ever started to feel like you've heard all the best old school rap records out there, this is like a fresh start. Hip-hop records from all the great stages in old school hip-hop, disco style, electro, hardcore drum programs to the early sampling... and you've never heard any of it before! And, granted, there's not really any Melle Mels or Rakims about; but there is some really good stuff here.

I think the earlier stuff is the most exciting. It's really fun, and even the flaws or weaker MCing work in that "charming super old school" way, where any silliness on-hand just makes it all the more endearing. One song, "Papa Joe," is bordering on flat-out novelty rap (it's about a man with an unhealthy obsession for Italian food), but damned if it isn't catchy and entertaining as Hell. And as the mix progresses, you hear the music slowly evolve, and get more serious. There's some solid production and DJs with some serious turntable skills.

There's a big variety on here, from rap/hair band hybrids to a freestyle session where some guys are really, shamelessly imitating Run DMC, but the mix manages to make it all sound very cohesive and natural. And I should point out (as this was a concern of mine when I first heard about this disc), that it's pretty much all in English.  Out of thirty-something songs, only one is in Dutch, and some of the interludes (which are basically all interview clips from the period). It's a little disappointing we can't understand those skits - this CD would be even better without the language barrier, I think we'd get even more out of it; but seriously, 97-98% of this is in English, so nobody who can read this should feel too left out.

Like their last disc, this is credited to Chris the Wiz and another DJ (DJ Foxx); so I"m assuming it's situation as the last one, where the DJ is mixing records from Chris's collection.  Also like their last disc, it's limited (which seems a little off, considering the nature of this project... it's educational, no one interested should miss out) to 100 copies, so don't hold off if you think this might be up your alley. Really, it's better than just about any other album coming out in hip-hop right now, mixed or not. And definitely keep an eye on Bivak... hopefully they have another vinyl treat in store for us next.

Ultramagnetics' Greatest Hits - Ruined!

By 1997, Next Plateau had issued and reissued Critical Beatdown many times. And they did so with good reason - it's a terrific and important hip-hop album that's really held up over the decades.  But, still, how many times can you keep repackaging and reselling the same product to the same audience? Sometimes you've gotta do something different. And Tuff City was making a lot of noise with their multiple compilations of unreleased Ultramagnetic MCs material around that time. Dr. Octagon was beginning  to cross over to mainstream, non-hip-hop audiences... the time was right to cash in. But, unfortunately for the label, Ultra only ever released one album on their label.  So Next Plateau came up with The B-Sides Companion.

From the title, this doesn't seem like a bad idea at all. Ultra may've only recorded the one full-length for Next Plateau, but they released a slew of classic singles for them, almost all of which include remixes and exclusive B-sides as good or better than anything on the album. Compiling them all onto one album that all the new, younger Ultra fans who couldn't get their hands on all the original 12" singles could get and appreciate sounds like a safe and solid idea.  How could you mess that up?

Well, I guess the label decided the new fans weren't a big enough market, so they had to reach the die hard fans, too. But if the die-hard fans have all those B-sides already, what could Next Plateau do?  They made new, 1997 remixes of every single one of them. Unfortunately, remixing a classic ten years later is generally like painting a new expression on the Mona Lisa. Even if you're talented, you're fucking around with something that's pretty much perfect and spoiling it.

So, now we have what is probably the worst Ultramagnetics album short of Best Kept Secret. Ced Gee and William "Spaceman" Patterson (a studio musician who's played guitar on gajillions of hip-hop tracks over the years) take all of Ultramagnetics' rare 12" B-sides (well, mostly just the ones that came out on Next Plateau, of course) and make new, modern versions. "Break North" (not a B-side, by the way, but I guess we'll let that go) becomes "Break North '97 (Rmx)," etc.

Now, to be fair, they don't completely make all these great songs terrible.  Let's take "Break North." It's still basically the same rhymes over the same beat with the same samples. They just add some extra instrumentation noodling around on top of it.  And they replay some samples, so they're essentially the same, but just a bit off (the horns on "Watch Me Now ('97 Rmx)" are downright funny if you've heard the original). It doesn't fit, and it makes it worse than the original one; but for the most part you're still able to listen to and enjoy "Break North." Imagine you're listening to a fantastic album, and then your kid sister comes into the room and starts talking to her Barbies on the floor behind you.  You can still listen to the album, appreciate it, and enjoy it. It would just be nicer if she shut the Hell up. That's pretty much the experience you paid for if you bought this album.

But wait, there's more.  Next Plateau must've figured kids wouldn't be too thrilled with just a collection of old songs, remixed or not. So there's a new song: "Ultra Reunion" (spoiler: only Keith and Ced showed up) and a brief clip of Keith rapping live at Tramp's. It's nothing special... pretty bland, in fact.

But there are two songs on this album that are actually quite exciting. "Kool Keith Android Model #406" ("yo, man, I want you to bust this beat out like a rappin' android, you know what I'm saying?") and "I'm On" sound like genuinely vintage, never-before released song from the late 80's. They're dope, and they don't even have the cheesy, replayed production sound of the remixes here - I don't think Ced and the Spaceman fucked with 'em. They're really great Ultra tracks!

For the most part, this project is a waste. It feels like, as Ultra fans in the 90s, we were almost tricked into buying this. An actual compilation of the original B-sides would've been redundant for the hardcore fans, but a lot more desirable than the collection of inferior remixes we have here. The time Ced and Patterson spent remixing all this stuff would've been better spent reading magazines; and the "Reunion" is just a half-assed cash grab.  But in the end, two un-highlighted songs tucked away on the B-side manage to turn this lifeless dud into a must-have gem. It's too bad they didn't make a 12" single for just those two tracks, but hey, whatever. We susceptible fans may've gotten snookered by Next Plateau, but we got something great out of it in the end.

Farewell, Ms. Melodie

(Youtube version is here.)

Ice-O-Tek-A-Mix

So blogging about Ice-T the other week has got me revisiting all his old albums. Lots of fresh production on Rhyme Pays, and Power still has me wanting to skip right to "High Rollers." But what about the stuff even further back than that? Before he was a gangsta rapper on Warner Bros/Sire Records?  Well, fortunately, I have a compilation of a bunch of that stuff I could rock in the car, and... it's more interesting than I remember it.

The compilation I'm talking about is called The Classic Collection, released on Rhino and Excello Records in 1993. It's pretty cool. It compiles the early singles Ice-T released on Saturn, Electrobeat and Techno Hop Records before he signed with Warner Bros and became the icon he is today.  These records are a lot of fun, because he's on some really old school breakin' stuff, which at first seems pretty far removed from his more famous Iceberg Slim-inspired styles (though, listening to all his early material, you can hear him bridge that gap pretty naturally). This is the Ice-T who dressed in crazy outfits, rapped about graffiti and performed elaborate break dance routines in early hip-hop movies. It's really good times, and would probably surprise the heck out of people who only know him for songs like "Colors." "Body Rock," in fact, is probably my favorite Ice-T song ever.

But for some reason - maybe rights issues, or maybe Rhino just wasn't up on Ice's history well enough to know about them - they leave out all the stuff Ice did as a member of The Radio Crew and the records where his producer, Chris "The Glove" Taylor got top billing. So, it's not a terribly complete collection. In fact, it winds up being pretty short.

So, what is Rhino to do? Fill! Now, they don't go quite as far as Macola Records and steal an entire other group's songs and pass it off as the main artist; but they still manage to come up with some pretty quirky padding. First off they include some extra 12" stuff, which is what you'd expect a compilation to do when it's short on material (or, like Traffic, just looking to be as completist as possible)... So, not only is his 1983 track "The Coldest Rap" on here, but so is "Cold Wind Madness (The Coldest Rap Pt 2)," even though "Pt 2" is really just the dub mix of the original, and not a new song with new lyrics, etc. We get "Dog'n the Wax (Ya Don't Quit Pt 2)" which actually is a proper, new song that follows "Ya Don't Quit" (also present), but then we get "Iceapella" as well, which is just the acapella mix of "Dog'n the Wax" from the original vinyl (even though the rather extensive liner notes write about it as if it's a proper song on its own).

But there's nothing unusual or unwelcome about that.  I mean, I'd rather have the Radio Crew songs than dub and acapella mixes; but still, you expect that stuff.  Now, here's what you don't expect.

The album starts off with "Ice-A-Mix." This is an original mix recorded for this compilation, produced by Al Eaton (who's produced a bunch of west coast stuff), with cuts by DJ Rob-Scene (whoever that is). They basically make a little mega-mix of the Ice-T records you're going to hear later on this compilation, something Rhino Records did a lot of on compilations they put out in the 90's. Did I say Al Eaton produced it? Well, that's what the liner notes say. But, interestingly, this mix was actually released as a 12" single (okay...), and there the credit is given to DJ Flash. This makes more sense, because he did a bunch of this stuff for these compilations around this time (including those Rock On Crew ones). It's not bad, but not too exciting, as it mostly just features beats and verses we're about to hear in a few seconds anyway. The most noteworthy thing about it is the very dramatic trumpet solo that jumps in about midway through by a guy named Tim Larkin. I can't exactly say it blends in seamlessly - it sticks out like a sore thumb against these simple, old school programmed drum patterns; but it's not bad. Just odd.

But that's not as weird as what we get on the B-side, "Ice-O-Tek." This one's an original dance track that throws in a couple of random Ice-T vocal snippets "my name is Ice-T" and sporadically drops them over a very unrelated, poppy techno track. Seriously, even Technotronic would be like, "this isn't street enough to be on our album." It's not bad, though, in a very upbeat, bubbly sort of way; but man has it ended up on the wrong side of the streets amid Ice-T tracks like "Killers" and "6 In the Mornin'."

What? "6 In the Mornin'" is on here? Yup. Even though it's on Rhyme Pays on Warner Bros, it's here, too. That actually fits, because before it appeared on Rhyme Pays, it was released as the B-side to "Dog'n the Wax" on Techno Hop. And it's one of his greatest hits, so I'm not complaining that it's here, although it's a little redundant having it on both albums. I'm just surprised they could put it on here, since it's now the property of Warner Bros.

Plus, redundant or not, like I said, Rhino needed to pad. Honestly, if you took all the random shit like that and "Ice-O-Tek" off of here, you'd have a one-sided tape. It's that short - five songs. The fact of the matter is that, if you don't include the stuff Ice did with Chris Taylor/ Radio Crew, Ice just didn't release enough unsigned material to fill an album. In fact, if not a one-sided tape, I wish they would've at least put those five songs all on one side, and the odds and ends on the flip. That way you could listen to all that stuff through in a quick listen like an EP (and visit the other stuff on those rare days you're feeling adventurous). But instead, they mix it all together, so you're constantly having to fast-forward or skip ahead on your CD player. But still, unless you're going to collect all the original 12"s, this is worth picking up.

Now, interestingly, Blue Dolphin released an alternate version of this in 1996 with a different track-listing called Cold As Ice. I call this an alternate version, as opposed to just another compilation of early Ice-T tracks, because not only are many of the songs the same on both albums, but it even includes the "Ice-A-Mix" recorded specifically for Rhino's album. Cold As Ice includes those Chris Taylor/ Ice-T tracks from the the Breakin' and Breakin' 2 soundtracks like "Reckless" and "Go Off" (titled "Party People" here), which is a big plus. In fact, I'd say forget about The Classics Collection and rock this, except, frustratingly, they don't include "Ya Don't Quit" or "Dog'n the Wax," which are great, essential Ice-T classics. Why on Earth did they include shit like "Ice-O-Mix" and the dub version of "Coldest Rap" and leave those off? It could've been the definitive version, but instead it's just a weird, alternate version that's less desirable than the first Rhino comp, because it's missing two of the five most important songs. Bad, dolphin, bad!

Oh well, like I said, this is still a pretty handy, definitely enjoyable, collection if you aren't quite prepared to go digging for all the original 12"s. There's still room for a really definitive collection, though, that would include all this stuff, the Breakin' stuff, and the Radio Crew songs into one really solid album. And those crazy, original mixes do add to the fun, even if they're cheesy as Hell. And I don't think anybody's going to dig for that 12"!

Rime Force Most Illiln'!

Yo, this tape is frrresh!  Rime Force Most Illin' (hereafter RFMI) is the newest group of Luke Sick (Sacred Hoop); and it's got a great sound.  This is definitely one of his first tier projects, like The Hoop and Grand Invincible, as opposed to second tier stuff like Motel Crew and Brougham that's still worth checkin' if you're a fan, but otherwise nothing essential.  This is essential.

Like the name suggests, RFMI is a throw-back/homage to classic B-boy hip-hop. But, of course, with Luke and those Gurp City cats, it's through a slightly twisted, demented lens.  The crew consists of Luke and partner Rob Rush spitting over some really impressive production by G-Pek and some slick cuts by DJ Raw B. Some of it's really old school - 80's drum tracks with cowbell and the whole nine - but other tracks are more contemporary, boom bap mixed with lush original samples, more in the vein of the Hoop or the last Grand Invincible project. All of it sounds really good, and just works. I mean, honestly, it's one of the most compelling releases of 2012. I've been playing it over and over since it arrived, it'll be your loss if you sleep.

Then, flip it over, and the B-side is a live set featuring all new RFMI tracks. The sound quality is good (you hear the music, not drunken people in the audience), so it does a good job of capturing the live, old school energy RFMI is going for without ruining the songs by a poor presentation. This set features the underrated DJ Quest on the wheels, and production by Vrse Murphy (yay!), Fatees and of course G-Pek.

This tape, sometimes referred to as The Supalove Tape, is a prelude to their upcoming EP, The Force Is Slammin', and is sorta presented as a mixtape - at least the A-side is - but all the songs are pretty separate and distinct as opposed to mixed together. It's limited to just 100 copies (though their bandcamp says 250 copies confirmed, definitely 100 - see comments), so move quick (rimeforcemostillin.com). As a prelude, the tape's a little short (about 25 minutes, with the live set playing longer than the A-side); but it's all great material and there are enough unique songs on here to leave you feeling full.  The tape also comes with a download card (props! Still too few physical releases are doing this these days)*, so if rocking a cassette isn't always convenient for you, you can throw it on your ipod, burn it to CD or whatever.  I still have a tape deck in my car, though, so I'm all set.  8)


*You could also just buy the digital release; but the tape is so cheap (literally, the same price either way: $5; except the tape requires $3 shipping), and comes with the digital download anyway, so there's really no reason to pass on it unless you've waited too long and the 100 are sold out.

Why 'Lord Finesse Vs. Mac Miller' May Be More Important Than You Think

(Youtube version is here.)

Marisco Fever

Another release from DWG? Didn't I just review four releases from them, like, last week? Well, considering they've been pretty much setting the standard for hip-hop releases in the last couple years (a standard very few labels have managed to live up to, even), I'm happy.

This one's being heralded as their first "new" release... that is to say, a release of brand new music, as opposed to their usual vintage gems. Sure, past releases like the Damu or Sputnik Brown records were contemporary hip-hop; but this is the first time the music's been specifically commissioned by DWG for release on the label.

It's an upbeat, perfect-for-summer party jam by a couple artists who could be said to be DWG regulars There's DJ Format, the DJ for their Lungbutters mixtape, who also produced for one or two of their past releases. And he's partnering up with The Good People, the duo of Saint and Emskee. Emskee, of course, released two records on DWG already, and they've already announced their next record to be a Good People EP.

The song's called "Marisco," named after a London Woolacombe nightclub, and it's a fun, ocean-crossing collaboration between a UK hip-hop producer and US (east coast) MCs. The lyrics are smart without being clever; it's not about flexing skills here; it's just a song about going out for a night of good times. Format kills it, not so much on the turntables this time - there is a bit of cutting, but just barely - but as producer. It's got some cracking drums and a funky bassline, but it really comes alive when the horns come in. Remember when people used to describe a record as being "live?" Not literally, like a concert recording, but just as a way of describing that energy captured in a hip-hop track? Well, this record is live.

Flip it over, and The Good People's own Saint takes a stab at a remix. What's cool about it is that it's totally different, using these funky xylophone kinda riffs to capture a totally different vibe. It's gives the proceedings more of a second era Tribe Called Quest feel. For me the original Format mix still wins, but this is a nice alternative when you've started to play the A-side out a little too much.

You might be inclined to pass on this because you've never heard of Marisco's nightclub and therefore this release doesn't "apply" to you, like "oh, it's a local thing." But hey, how many of us Biz fans have been to Albee Square Mall? Most NWA fans have probably never stepped foot anywhere in the city of Compton. And how many of us Egyptian Lover fans have been to The Alezby Inn? Well, I have; and let me tell you. It's weird... but I like it. Wait. What was I talking about again? Oh yeah, I'm just saying you don't have to have been to a location to feel the song. Yeah, it's a local thing, and the fun is in letting the song take you there. That's how these things become iconic.

So, am I saying it's another essential must-have DWG event release? Well, no, not compared to The Juice Crew EP or something. But it's good; that's what I'm saying. And it works just as well whether you're from the UK or not.

"Marisco" is a 7", but it comes in a really nice picture cover. It also comes with a poster of Marisco's flyer for their 45th anniversary, when Format and The Good People performed (and where this record debuted). It's limited to 500 copies, which is actually a pretty big run; and as you can see in the photo, it's pressed on cool, blue wax.

"Speaking of what we see in the photo," you might now be thinking to yourself, "what's that other record back there?" Well, you're being silly. There is no other other record; this is a single vinyl release. "Yes there is. See that 12" hiding behind all the other stuff on the right-hand side." Alright, you got me. That's the show vinyl. If you don't know what "show vinyl" is, it's the very limited wax that is pressed up specifically for the artists themselves to tour with. A lot of times, artists will have show vinyl pressed up with exclusive instrumental mixes and stuff, just for their own use... as is the case here. This 12" features vocal and instrumental mixes for both versions of the song, and as you can see DWG even made it a sticker cover (the first sticker cover show vinyl ever?). If you were quick, you could order the extra copies of this direct from the DWG site, but it's too late for that now, so it's really just a bit of a collector's item.  But the 7" is still readily available all over, and it'll be a nice companion piece for that Good People EP they're about to drop any minute now.

Hoodlum II Soul

Soul II Soul was one of those UK groups that managed to cross over into the US with a really big single or two, and then essentially disappeared back to their own country. You saw this phenomena in pop music mostly; but really it's happened in all genres. Soul II Soul's particular genre was, uh... funk/ R&B/ dance/ soul, and their big single was "Back To Reality" (and to a lesser degree, "Jazzie's Groove") in 1989. I'm sure serious fans could tell you about albums and albums worth of material and singles; but for most of us in the US, it was basically just "Back To Reality" playing on the radio and BET day in and day out.

So, of course, somebody had to make the rap version. And, surprisingly, that somebody was Tragedy. This was his debut on A&M Records as The Intelligent Hoodlum (of course, not his actual debut on wax by any means), and to this day it remains his most pop, mainstream record. The fact that it's pretty serious, lyrically substantive, and not really what you'd consider a pop hip-hop record, then, is to his credit. So, in 1990 we saw the debut single off of his first full-length album, also titled "Back To Reality."

Produced by Marley Marl, you know him and Trag aren't just going to add an extra drum beat to Soul II Soul's instrumental and call it a day. In fact, while this song copies Soul II Soul's keyboards, and of course their unforgettable hook (I say "copies" rather than "uses" or "samples," because they actually have their own keyboardist and singer replay the material), this track is almost more dominated by George McCrae's classic breakbeat "I Get Lifted." I say almost, because while heads may be able to focus their attention on the snapping drums, you really can't get past the fresh but borrowed hook and the chintzy keyboard riffs that sound like they might be more at home on a hip-house record.

I'm sure Marley and Trag knew this - the main mix was surely a concession for the label looking for their MTV track.  And so Marley takes another stab at redeeming himself with the B-side only Marley's Mix. It's definitely funkier, using only a short keyboard riff that works and ditching the rest in favor of other snares and horn samples that come straight out of Marley's bag. By that I mean, he's used 'em all before, multiple times. They're his staple, go-to sounds, and so they sound good, but none too fresh. And the whole thing sounds busier than really cohesive. It's kind of a better version for the heads, but really neither version are all that exciting and can be considered some of their weakest catalog material. Essentially, in a land where "Arrest the President" exists, why would you bother listening to either mix of "Back To Reality?"

That's also because, in addition to the track, Trag's flow sounds more devised for mainstream audiences. It's just kinda simpler and pausing after each line so the mainstream audiences can keep up. It's a nice little story of his youth, with a lot of fun, nostalgic references; but clearly meant to be kept inoffensive and safe. I mean, did you ever expect Tragedy to spit the line, "so I pushed up on a cutie and started to move?" It's like he borrowed a rhyme book from MC Brains or someone.

And, that being the case, it means the UK mix actually winds up working best. Did I just say a CJ Mackintosh mix was better than a Marley Marl one? I know it's crazy, but it's true. It actually kinda bridges the gap between Trag and Soul II Soul by bringing in more of their kind of sound. He uses some really prolonged, steady synth sounds to give it a dramatic vibe, and other riffs from the original record with more of a house vibe, and he stutters the hook in a way that's more interesting and catchy than the previous versions, which just let the stolen hook play.

But, really, most heads have this single for one reason, and it has fuck all to do with Soul II Soul or anybody's mix of the song "Back To Reality." Besides the remixes, there's a whole new exclusive B-side song on here called "Live an Direct From the House of Hits." It features Craig G, and he and Trag just go off, spitting really fun, memorable freestyle rhymes over the same sample that GrandDaddy IU and Hi-C had hit singles with the same year: "Something New" and "I'm Not Your Puppet," respectively. Fans of each artist would probably claim their particular version as the best use, but where ever you fall in that debate, you have to admit all three are pretty great. Trag proves surprisingly capable to forgo his usual, more serious tough style to just get loose and creative with one of hip-hop radio's greatest freestylers of all times. We see that Tragedy could've gone into a totally different direction and been a whole different artist if he wanted. The energy and the fun of both the beats and rhymes hear actually totals up to being one of The Juice Crew's over all greatest hits.

I'm showing my cassingle here, but the only difference between this and the proper 12" is that the latter also includes the UK Dub Mix. And while I did say the UK version actually suits the song the best, there's still no reason to want that Dub. But there's absolutely a reason to want some version of this single, because regardless of how forgiving you are of "Back To Reality" (it is a good song, but you could be perfectly happy just having it on the album and not bothering with it as a single); "House of Hits" is an absolute must-own. So get the 12", get the cassette, heck get a CD single. But you lose if you don't have some version of this in your crates.

My Entire Kid Rock Collection

(Youtube version is here.)

Ice-T Gets Wrecked

Oh, Ice-T. What to say about Ice-T? I really like his early B-boy stuff ("The Coldest Rap," "Dog'n the Wax"), and when he first developed the gangsta style it was sick. "6 N the Mornin'," "High Rollers," "Colors." But that's probably about where his career should have ended.

It didn't, though. In fact, for mainstream audiences, he was just coming onto the scene, with his big-time controversial material. And, to be fair, he still did some decent stuff in those days... I already blogged about one of my favorites from that era, and Melle Mel-did some solid song-writing for him on "The Tower." But as far as I was concerned, Ice may have been the masthead for The Rhyme Syndicate, but he was the least interesting artist on the roster. His almost spoken word style of delivery drifted further from more a traditional (and enjoyable) rap flow, and his schtick always struck me as pretty thin even before he wore it into the ground with album after album. Warner Brothers may've dropped him because of "Cop Killer," but I suspect, if that had never happened, his time would've been short there anyway.

But "Cop Killer" was a huge deal, and so Ice was immediately picked up by Priority, who ate that kinda publicity up, and Ice's career was sustained for years and years, despite never having another hit record. The biggest of those post-Warner Brothers albums was Home Invasion, because it was first - in fact, the first single ("Gotta Lotta Love") actually came out on first on Sire/Warners, and then again on Priority; that's right when the switch happened. So, when this third single dropped in 1993, the writing was already on the wall: he might push out albums for years and years to come (further aided by his later success in television and movies as an actor), but the days of him making "relevant" music was over.

But it's kind of interesting to see what he got up to when he was off the radar. Ice opted to jump into the trend of the time, and that trend was the east coast hardcore backpacker... You know, like Young MC put on the tough image for his What's the Flavor album. Okay, maybe that's a little harsh. Think more EPMD putting on their hoodies to diss crossovers or Run DMC when they hung up their iconic style to dress and act like Naughty By Nature for their practically final album (or, for that matter, The New Style dressing and acting like Naughty By Nature haha). This was that time. Black Moon and co. were jumping off, Tim Dog was getting wreck with Krs One, etc.

Now, "I Ain't New Ta This" is right off the album, and really only partially in that What's the Flavor mode. He actually manages to work the phrase "it's time to get wrecked" into two of his verses (that's not really a good thing, just to be clear), and the production is very much of that time and style, with deep but clearly strummed bass notes, and DITC-like drums (Lord Finesse was in The Rhyme Syndicate, so that kind of instrumental connection to his style makes sense). In fact, the production here is pretty tight, . It's by DJ Aladdin, who also drops in some nice but not too in your face scratching. It really sounds like a New York record, except Ice-T just isn't up to the track. I'd love to have heard Big L or Pun on this. Fortunately the 12" includes the instrumental, so if you're feeling creative, you can play with those possibilities. But on it's own terms, the beat feels like a missed opportunity, and you get the impression that some label executive accidentally released album filler as a single.

What compelled me to pick this single up, though, was the exclusive B-side: "Mixed Up" featuring SLJ of Wrecked Dialect. Now, that's a 90's sounding group name if ever I heard one. So, who are Wrecked Dialect? No clue, as they don't seem to have any records or other appearances. But I sure know who SLJ is. Heck, just look at the credits on this single and you'll get the idea - he's Ice and Aladdin's production partner, who produced the majority of this and their previous album with them. He has a few other west coast production credits from around that time, but he's much better known today as Shafiq Husayn of Sa Ra. Now, he just does R&B neo-soul funk kinda stuff, so it's not really my thing. But here he spitting like a NY hardcore backpacker, credited as a member of Wrecked Dialect. Who knows, maybe that was Sa Ra's original name before they established themselves. Or maybe Ice just made it up to give him some underground rep and compel east coaster heads to get curious and pick up the single. Hell, I fell for it.

And SLJ plays that role to the hilt. He even rhymes "mystical... spiritual... lyrical." They go back and forth trading verses with a lot of enthusiasm, but he's not all that impressive; and he winds up being outshone by Ice-T, who comes even harder on this one. So hard, in fact, it feels a little too over the top ridiculous, like he's fronting, especially since he plays it so straight and earnest:

"One, two, three,
It's time to flip with the O.G.
Gangsta, banga,
Underground slanga
Of the murderous rhymes your moms hates.
Motherfuck the KKK and Daryl Gates.
Give me the microphone now, god damn it,
So I can blow it, throw it,
Rip it, wreck it, pimp it, ho it!
...
I got a bullet with your name on it,
Want it?
Knock your grill out,
Fill it with gold and pawn it.
Oh my god!
This nigga's hard, call the bomb squad.
Too late, I detonate,
Obliterate three states!
Boom!

I got a fucking slow leak in my damn brain
And this shit's drippin' out; I'm damn near insane.
...
What's up? You wanna try to focus your sights on the mic?
This nigga can flip scripts all night.Yeah! I wrecks shit nice!
The microphone smokes like dry ice.
Bang nigga, bang nigga, I'm a known gang figure,
Catch so many bodies, need to my trunk bigger. (Ha!)"

This single actually kinda reminds of when Shaq started rapping (really, can't you just hear him kicking those rhymes above?), and was out to prove he could come as "lyrical" as any real MCs... He wasn't totally off-base, his intent was in the right place, and he got good collaborators and everything. But he just couldn't carry it off like said real MCs, and it wound up sounding just a little too corny to listen to unironically (you can almost make a drinking game out of the times Ice uses the word "wreck").

On the other hand, to its credit, it does feel like Ice is trying to lay claim to his more pure, hip-hop roots after having possibly drifted away with the pop success and heavy metal projects. The A-side in particular feels in some ways like the darker successor to the short "Fried Chicken" track from O.G. But unfortunately it's too clear that he's desperately cycling through all the tropes of what's popular at the time. It's cool if you're open-minded and interested in it as a semi-successful experiment that never quite takes off. But the instrumental's really dope (for the A-side; the B-side's alright but nothing special), so get this 12" for that if you're up to making a remix with somebody else's acapella.

The Craziest Show

I'm not sure how many heads are really familiar with UTFO, beyond "Roxanne, Roxanne," these days. But certainly to anyone who was, it's pretty well known that Doctor Ice wound up leaving the group to pursue his solo career, and in 1991, for their final album, the famous four-man crew became three. But it's been well less publicized that, in 1986 for the period of their second album, the four man crew was also reduced to three when EMD, The Educated Rapper rather mysteriously went AWOL. He returned four their third album, Lethal. But for their one EP, Skeezer Pleezer, they were briefly one man short, consisting only of two MCs: Kangol Kid and Doc Ice, and their DJ Mixmaster Ice. But they still managed to produce one hit single, "Split Personality."

"Split Personality," like the rest of Skeezer Pleezer, was produced by their parent group, Full Force; and it's already a damn fun song. Kangol tells light-hearted anecdotes of being afflicted with not only split, but constantly reverting, personalities:

"Help an old lady across the street...
Then trip the crab by sticking out my feet!
But then I'd pick her up before she dirties her dress...
And charge her five dollars for all that mess!"

And Doc Ice in particular uses it as a platform to segue from one silly impression to another. He becomes Miguel, the Chief Rocker MC or his larger than life ragamuffin personality Dread Doc, which he actually maintained throughout the rest of his career.  He not only rocks crazy foreign accents, from Chinese to... Eddie Murphy, but even raps in foreign languages.

But the zany heights soar even higher on this 12" single, where it's been remixed by Howie Tee. It's about a minute longer, and most notably features the infamous organ refrain from Bach's "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor," known throughout the world for being the theme of The Phantom of the Opera. Again, this dropped in 1986, and evidenced by the big programmed beats and crazy voices and free-for-all nature of the songwriting, this is clearly their entry in a long line of "The Show" knock-offs.  But the fact that they tie everything together with the concept of multiple personalities - there is a coherence to what the MCs are rapping, if not a lot of actual sense - plus some of the darker themes, lyrically and instrumentally with the Phantom theme, give this almost as much in common with songs like "Haunted House of Rock" and "Amityville (House On the Hill)." This makes it just as much of a Halloween party record as another record in "The Show" mini-genre.

So either version of the song is a good time, and most of the elements of the song are featured in both versions. But the 12" version just goes that extra but further, making it easily the definitive version.  I can still clearly remember back in the 80's when I bought Skeezer Pleezer, and being disappointed that the Phantom theme never played, "this isn't the right version!"

There's only the remix on 12". The B-side is the The Remix Dub. Fans should also know that Doctor Ice also wrote a bit of a sequel to "Split Personality," somewhat darker (but not without its own sense of silliness) for his second solo album in 1994. It's called "Possessed," and while it doesn't fully recapture the magic of this near classic, it's pretty enjoyable in its own right - especially if you're familiar enough with the history to appreciate it. But of course, nothing beats the original.

Where the Sidewalk Ends

There's been a hip-hop documentary floating around online for years now. I'm not sure I watched it all the way through, but there are pieces and snippets on Youtube and all over, and it had some nice freestyles and clips of unreleased music.  Released in 2003, the uncreatively titled Hip-Hop: A Tale From the Hood* followed indie favorite IG Off, and after his recent passing (if you haven't already, check out this piece by DJ Eclipse), I decided it was time to finally seek it out and watch it properly.

Unfortunately, that proved rather difficult. There is no DVD or official release of this film. It's actually a German film - filmmaker Harald Rumpf came to America to film this, and it aired on German TV, plus had various screenings throughout the world. And DVDs were definitely planned... Off the Block Entertainment, the indie label IG Off was associated with, still has a rough looking DVD cover on their myspace page. And I even found a photo showing the plans for the DVD's menu [right]... but no DVD ever appeared, here or in any other country.

IG Off and his partner Hazadous put a few nice tracks and a lot of freestyle appearances during the late 90's and the heyday of the DIY vinyl scene; but never really seemed to make much noise after that.  Well, this documentary details that "after that"period first-hand, capturing the creation of their labor of love, the essentially unreleased IG Off and Hazadous album, Where the Sidewalk Ends. Every element is here, from IG Off's home life and day job (working with the mentally handicapped), to late night studio sessions, radio appearances, securing guest verses (look for multiple cameos, including Killa Sha and Kool G Rap, who nearly becomes this film's Godot) and discussing the real specifics behind the budget of the album.

The filmmakers follow him and his crew for some time, as opposed to single interviews, so they capture a lot of insight and depth. Personal stories are shared, it manages to get very close. One disappointment is that, while IG occasionally speaks on the history of hip-hop, they never really talk about his own musical history, like his old school production work and writing for Antoinette. I'm sure there's a ton of great stories there, but while his mother briefly mentions that he had disappointments in the industry, that's it. I suspect the filmmakers really didn't know enough to ask, which is a bit of a sad missed opportunity.  But what they do get is certainly compelling enough and overall makes for a successful and rewarding film. It's touching. And one of those rare films that works just as well if you're a hardcore hip-hop head who knows all the players involved, or a film lover who never listens to rap.

Now, granted, the film is in German. Meaning, not just of German origin, but made in the German language. If you don't speak it, good luck understanding what the heck the narrator's talking about at any point in the film. But fortunately, 98% of this film is just off-the-cuff footage of IG and co speaking their native language in Queens. So you can just ignore the subtitles and follow the film with ease. ...Or, you could, if this film was ever actually released.

Maybe the slim silver lining to IG's tragic passing could be that renewed interest in his work leading to both a proper DVD release of this film and IG Off and Hazadous's Where the Sidewalk Ends album. Granted, some of the tracks found their way onto a compilation album called Burnin' tha Block, but I'm sure we'd all like one of those CDs (if not vinyl) of their whole album like we see in the movie. I know a lot of heads still hold down their early 12" singles and appearances on projects like the Lyricist Lounge album and Eddie Ill & DL tapes, so if the rights-holders could make it happen, I'm sure there would be fan interest to support the projects. Here's hoping.


*I believe the original title was going to be Where the Sidewalk Ends like the album, as implied by this trailer for the film on Youtube; but it was probably changed to avoid confusion with the famous Otto Preminger film.

The Burger Bounce

Who knew Milwaukee had such a vibrant hip-hop scene back in the 80's, with such a deep well of smashing records to continuously draw from?  It turns out Jamille Records is the answer. They know, and they're back with another impressive repress of another funky dope group you've probably never heard of: the 20/20 Boys.

"Burger Bounce" was originally released on VU Records, the same label A-Tak debuted on. And indeed, their entire record was produced by Speech (in fact, I think he either owned or co-owned that label).  But these guys are nowhere near the Arrested Development lane; they have much more in common with groups like The Showboys or Worse 'Em. They're a four-man crew consisting of Jimmy "C," "D" Griff, Will Kill and D.J. Mad Dog, and they pack a lot of energy into pair of short songs.

Interestingly, Jamille has decided to make the original 12"s B-side their A-side.  Probably because it's the best song.  "My Position" is hard, LL-inspired, yelling over big echoey drums, rhythm scratches and catchy keyboard riffs. It's a lot of fun; one of them even starts singing "Why Have I Lost You" on the break. It has more of a low budget sound than its more professionally mastered Def Jam contemporaries, but in some ways that works in its favor, feeling even rawer and edgier. This is the kind of songs heads who spend big money on "random rap" are hoping to find.

Then we come to the eponymous dance theme, the "Burger Bounce." It's lighter, sloppily cuts up a healthy dose of "Atomic Dog" and features much more relaxed, bemused flows from the MCs explaining the graphic nature of their three-person dance. It's enjoyable, and it's easy to imagine this was the song that they would've gotten all the attention for on the local scene back in 1987.  It's still a good time if you're an aficionado of rap music's bygone eras; but "My Position" is the track that holds up (despite sounding equally, or even more, old school) and will impress heads to this day.

This is Jamille's tenth record, and the ninth in their series of colorful Milwaukee old school 7"s, making some practically impossible to find material available to own on wax. This one's pressed on white (white) vinyl and limited to 100 hand-numbered copies (mine's #36). And it doesn't intrude on the original VU 12"s collectability, since that features a third song, not included here, titled "Killer Will." Jamille is like the underdog in this limited game. Everything they put out is more than worth your time, so don't sleep. And unlike many limited labels, their releases are quite reasonably priced  If you think you don't care about Milwaukee rap, you probably just don't know what you're missing.