Eaze Back

Dear ChatGPT, please tell me all about the last record released by a member of C.E.B.

As of my last knowledge update in September 2021, C.E.B. (which stands for Cognitive Epicenter of Boom) is a hip-hop group formed in the early 1990s. The group was primarily known for its affiliation with Ice-T, with the members including hip-hop artists Cool Chuck, Evil E, and MC Overlord.

At that time, the last record released by a member of C.E.B. was likely to be "Countin' Endless Bank" (also known as "C.E.B."), which was the group's debut album. It was released in 1993 under the label Atomic Pop. The album received some attention and featured guest appearances by prominent artists like Ice-T and Everlast.

However, it's important to note that the information might be outdated, and I do not have access to real-time data to provide updates beyond my knowledge cutoff date. To find the latest information on C.E.B. or any of its members' recent releases, I recommend checking music streaming platforms, official websites, or music news outlets for the most up-to-date information.

Nope!  AI's not ready to replace me yet.

So, I don't think readers of this blog will need me to recap how Countin' Endless Bank turned out to be the last bank Cool C and Steady B would ever count.  But there's actually one last chapter to the C.E.B. story on wax.  C and B went away, but E was uninvolved with that awful incident, and so free to come back.

DJ Eaze started out as Steady B's DJ after Tat Money left the Hilltop Hustlers for Kwamé and a New Beginning, billed then as DJ Ultimate Squeeze Eaze.  He'd shortened it to Ultimate Eaze by the time he started MCing with C.E.B., and in 2003 he got it down to just DJ Eaze, for his final record (to date) on Sabre Records, "I'm a Come Through."  I gather Sabre Productions was Eaze's own venture.  And we can be confident it came out in 2003, despite not having dates on the label, because some copies came with a helpful press sheet ("This particular single... is one of exception to our planned repertoire for Sabre Entourage"). 

It's kind of a clubby beat that shows some versatility, but is basically the kind of style that had me checking out from a lot of early 2000s pop Hip-Hop, though it has an admittedly funky bassline.  The Sabre Entourage is not actually on "I'm a Come Through;" it's just Eaze going solo with a very Puff and Mase kind of flow, which he's perfectly open about: he shouts P Diddy out in his second verse and has girls singing, "bad, bad boys" for the hook.  Anyway, it's a good opener for fans, because he catches us up from where he last heard him, "no time to kill, now it's the time to build.  Didn't even have to sign a deal.  Didn't even want to let me in; had me standin' outside of the labels like 'let me in.'  Now I'm knockin' down they doors, lockin' down they tours, now this sound is gonna cost 'em more."  Did I mention how clubby it sounds?  It's well made, but not really the kind of sound I think most of us C.E.B. fans were hoping he'd come back with.

The B-side, which does feature the Sabre Entourage, fills that role.  "Got My Gloc Cocked" is exactly the kind of rough street song it sounds like.  It actually starts out by declaring, "this here is the remix," but I daresay it's the first and only version to ever be released.  Spoiler alert: this is the first and last record released by Eaze or Sabre.  And that's a bit of a shame, because I suspect I'd prefer the original version.  The beat sounds very software-based.  But it has a catchy keyboard loop, deep dark bass notes that compliment the subject matter, and the sound of an actual glock cocking as part of the percussion.

Anyway, these three Sabre guys (and one woman) have an appealing, unpolished hardcore flow.  Eaze doesn't rap at all on this one, just laying down a few lines for the hook and leaving it to his team to set it off with lyrics like, "I gotta keep this thing cocked; niggas wanna try my chin.  They think it's all fine they in 'till they find they men.  Rib cage exposed all through the bottom, Mossberg.  They tongue kissin' curbs for shootin' the wrong words."  With a better instrumental, this could be a killer cut.

But that's it; there's just those two songs.  You also get the "Come Through" instrumental; and it technically comes in a sticker cover, with that little "Sabre Records" address label on the sleeve.  It's not an amazing 12", probably mostly just of interest to us old Hilltop Hustler fans who need the whole story.  "Gloc Cocked" is the better song, but "Come Through" is more interesting, given the history.