I Got To Tell Ya

"You see, pimpin's big business. And it's been goin' on since the beginning of time. And it's gonna continue straight ahead, 'till somebody out there turns out the lights on this small planet."

You can't really be sure what record you're on when it opens with the frequently-sampled line from 1973's The Mack; it's been used so often. But once Big Daddy Kane's (yeah, he produced the track) unforgettable funk guitar loop kicks in on top of the funky drums, you're instantly pulled into Positive K's most beloved classic, "Night Shift." I mean, sure, "I Got a Man" was a bigger commercial hit, and "Step Up Front"'s the banger; but any head will tell you: when it comes to Pos K, it's all about the "Night Shift."

The track instantly pulls you in and won't let go. You could restart this single every time it ended 20 times in a row and not be tired of it. Jazzy Jay provides some ill scratches on the hook (the same "I Got To Tell Ya" sample younger heads will remember being cut up on Dr. Octagon). And while he never actually kicks a verse, Kane drops in before every hook to kick a little pimping advice like, "Man, you got to work your women by the scale. I mean, if she skinny, make her bring you home a good penny; and if she fat, make her pay like she weight."

Now, don't be confused by the two versions present on this 12". Neither one is the Silver D remix from the album. The Radio Version is just an edited version of the Pimp Version, which is the classic version we all know and love. But if you're looking for 12" exclusives, look no further than the B-side.

Yeah, "One 2 the Head" was on the album. But the version on the O.G. 12" (the one on +K Records, as opposed to the later Island/ 4th & Broadway releases) is completely different. The instrumental is 100% different, and so are the rhymes. The only thing they have in common is the title... and even that's slightly different, since they spell it "To the Head" on the 12".

Now, the album version wasn't bad... It's produced by Jazzy Jay and sounds very dated (which might be a plus or minus for you, depending how nostalgic you are), and Pos's rhymes are fun as always. But trust me, you haven't heard shit 'till you've heard the 12" version (also produced by Jay). It's got a crazy ill harmonica loop and a super funky bassline, and the way Pos rides the rhythm sounds super slick. There's also a hot beat change-up during the third verse, with some old mack flick sounds. And Jazzy Jay again gets busy on the hook, doing some quick rhythm rubs over the "Got To Be Real" break. Again, the album version was a cool tune, but the 12" version is definitely one for the greatest hits packages.

Now, this 12" was never particularly hard to find, but it's been made a lot easier with a semi-recent repress. You can get a copy still shrink-wrapped at a regular 12" price from places like ughh.com.

Snowed In With Lyte Week, Day 5: A Tisket, A Tasket, Yo, Fuck a Yellow Basket

"Stop, Look, Listen" was already one of the best track's on MC Lyte's second album, Eyes On This. A slow beat and atmospheric bassline provided an unusual but compelling backdrop for Lyte to kick some battle rhymes over: "I'm rhymin' and designin', also creatin'/ The dope, def rhyme that is always being taken/ By a sucker MC that wants to be like me/ No trait of originality" (note: the other half of the hook to "God Said Lyte;" also see my "Cha Cha Cha" write-up).

So they really didn't need to hit us with a new remix of such a stand-out track. But they did anyway. Wisely, the Audio Two's remix kept all the elements that made the original so strong: the slow beat and bassline, the subtle keyboard tones... they just add a bit more to funk it up and extend it. Some new drum-rolls, keyboards, vocal samples, a new breakdown. They also let the beat roll for a good minute or so at the end, and most notably, Lyte adds a fresh, new fourth verse:

"Staggering
Anyone who tries to stop me
From fulfillin' the ultimate, the ultimate goal.
Suckers takin' up room on the microphone.
I do not favor crowds; move over, stop starvin'(?) me;
I feel like I'm drowning in fans, and it's stompin' me.
Bigfoot, shield me from the uncivilized
And not-so-sane. I don't mean to criticize,
But Lyte and sweat? We don't go together,
Especially in the muggy and the rainy kinda weather."

But if you prefer the simpler, original version, that's on here too. Along with the original instrumental.

Finally, there's a hidden (it's not even mentioned on the back cover) bonus track, "Start It Up, Y'all." Like "Shut the Eff Up (Hoe)," this was at one time an amazing exclusive track that made the single a must-have, but later found its way onto an album... in this case Audio Two's I Don't Care: The Album. It's a really catchy up-tempo posse cut, with Milk Dee, Lyte and Positive K each spitting fun, freestyle verses over a pumping track that perfectly combines an ill horn sample with a dope bassline. This song would fit in a top ten list of any of the involved MC's works. But, yeah, it's no longer the special exclusive it first was in '89.

Pos K Report

Hey, guys. Just a quick post on the new Positive K CD (yeah, CD only) that's just dropped. Not to be confused with the mp3 compilation of 12" cuts and stuff from the old First Priority Basement compilation, etc. (misleadingly titled, The Gentleman, The Rapper: The Lost 1988 First Priority Album), Origins of Hip-Hop: Back To the Old School (kind of a clunky title, eh?) is an actual, legit release on Echo Records. It's fourteen tracks long, mostly of old 12" cuts and stuff, like the mp3 comp. I'm gonna go ahead and guess that "Echo Records" (here's their myspace) is actually Echo International, the same label that put most of these tracks out on vinyl in '99.

But, unlike that mp3 comp, which features none, this CD also seems to feature three two genuinely previously unreleased tracks! Here's the track-listing, broken down by me (a "disambiguation" as it were):

1. Talking Positive <---1999 12="" br="" echo="">2. Feel Good Bout Myself <---1999 12="" br="" echo="">3. Listen 2 the Man <---1999 12="" br="" echo="">4. Raggedy Man <--- apparently="" strike="" unreleased=""> actually the song "E&J" featuring Raggedy Man mistitled, from the 1999 Echo 12"
5. Never Too Much <---1999 12="" br="" echo="">6. Black Cinderella <---1996 12="" br="" his="" label="" on="" own="">7. A Good Combination <--- strike="">1988 First Priority 12" "Good Combination '95" 1996 from his own label, see the comments
8. Ain't No Stoppin Me Now <---1987 12="" br="" first="" priority="">9. Better Know About It <--- apparently="" span="" unreleased="">
10. How You Livin'? <---1997 12="" br="" his="" label="" on="" own="">11. It's All Gravy <---1995 12="" br="" his="" label="" on="" own="">12. Mr. Jiglyano <---1995 12="" br="" his="" label="" on="" own="">13. Right About Now <--- apparently="" span="" unreleased="">
14. Sweater Girl <--- 12="" 1987="" first="" from="" gram="" just="" mistitled="" p="" pam="" priority="" the="" uarter="">
Of course, you can always check out my Positive K discography page to see all the stuff on his 12"s and stuff explicitly laid out. So, what the heck. Three Two previously unreleased Pos K songs is still worthwhile, though - I'll be getting this. Wish it would come out on vinyl, though...

Update 8/30/08: Ok, I got suspicious of the song title "Raggedy Man," since it's the name of an artist Pos has worked with in the past, so I went back to my old 12"'s and sure enough - that song turned out to be "E&J." What screwball put this track-listing together?

Positive for the 90's

Here's one I knew nothing about until I stumbled on it used one day... It's Positive K's 1996 "What You Want" 12" on Chilltown Records, featuring Yum Yum. And there's a 45 King remix on the flip. Well... actually, it's on the A-side; and the B-side is the "Polo & Twin's Mix;" but since 45 King's mix is called a remix, I guess the "Polo & Twin's Mix" is the main mix.

So, the Polo & Twin's mix takes the same clubby bassline that The Jungle Brothers used for their single, "What 'U' Waitin' '4'?" though it's a bit more muted and they occasionally beat juggle it. The hook is simple, and the whole exercise is really just an excuse for Pos K to spit game with the touches of class, wit and style he's known for:

"I'm the main feature.
You don't know?
It's costin' me to teach ya.
You need dough?
Feel for you, but can't reach ya.
That's the rules;
That's the way I got to treat ya:
Nasty, baby,
Yeah, every day, all week.
Throw you in the car
Next to the baby carseat.
Damn, a nigga raunchy!
I play the game, baby,
Worse than Jumanji.
We can get dirty;
Hit the laundry."

Yum Yum turns out to be a female MC who takes the second verse (and claims her "pussy stay smokin' like the Fourth of July"). It follows in the tradition of Positive K giving voice to both sides in the battle of the sexes on his records (a la "I'm Not Havin' It," and of course "I Got a Man"), but here Yum Yum's role is smaller, with Pos K doing the bulk of the rapping. Which is a good thing; because she holds her own ok for the short time she's with us, but she's defintiely not the one we paid to hear.

Now, interestingly, you've actually got "Polo & Twin's Raw" and "Street" mixes, which are in fact two completely different versions, with very different instrumentals (as opposed to just being dirty and clean versions like you'd expect). After the "Raw Mix" with the JB's loop, the "Street Mix" is some East New York, gritty tales-of-the-dope-game-type instrumental - something you'd expect Kool G Rap to be rhyming over if he put out an indie 12" in the late 90's and couldn't afford Premiere. So, it's cool... it doesn't really jive with the tone of song like the first mix does, but it's good enough to be an alternate version when you're tired of the "Raw Mix."

The 45 King mix is dope, too. It's a fast beat with some handclaps and a simple bassline, that goes back to the upbeat tone of the first version. It's not as hot as some his classic songs with The Flavor Unit; but you can hear the crackles in the King's samples; and you know... it's pretty much in line with the beats he put out on his many breakbeat records. Good stuff. And they include the instrumental version for this mix, too, which is nice. The only downside is that 45 King used the clean version for his mix... and it's not too bad, because the original doesn't have that many curses on it; but it's still a little annoying.

I don't know much about what's become of Positive K... he did turn up on Nas's "Where Are They Now (90's Remix)" earlier this year, so I guess he's still around. But he doesn't seem to have a site, myspace or anything; and I haven't heard anything about him planning any upcoming music The 45 King, on the other hand, has a dope website at: 45king.com (and he has a myspace, too); so definitely check that out and enjoy. Play with his Virtual Mixer! And if you wanna be a pest, you can point this record out as one he forgot to include in his discography. ;)

Tags: Positive K, 45 King

Snagglepuss Week, Day 5

^Video blog!!
(More original content created for this blog, as opposed to linking some random Youtube vids created by somebody else.)

Tags: Snagglepuss, Red Bandit, Hurricane Holla Mackwell, Raggedy Man, Positive K, Grand Puba, Notorious B.I.G., Grand Daddy I.U., Pudgee the Phat Bastard

Where They Are Now

This Is It, Y'all. Mp3s have been floating around the 'net for a while, but the actual record finally just came out: "Where Are They Now," the remixes. In fact, it's a Japan-only limited edition 12" on Ill Will Records (Nas's sub-label imprint), so snatch it while you can.

So, what's the big deal about a remix 12" of a mediocre (at best) Nas song? After all, Hip-Hop Is Dead is just one more in an increasingly long series of dull and disappointing follow-ups to Illmatic, and "Where Are They Now" was one of the worst songs on there. The beat was dope, but very familiar: James Brown's "Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved," which has been used in about a bajillion previous hip-hop records, from Kool G Rap's "Poison," to the most similar that I can think of, Professor Griff's "Pawns In the Game" (let's face it: essentially, this is the instrumental to "Pawns In the Game"). It's still damn good, though; and this beat would be fine - one of Nas's best even, though that's saying very little - if it wasn't for the rhymes. Yes, "Where Are They Now" is another one of those boring, lifeless name-dropping songs; where an MC does nothing but list the names of other MCs in the hopes that some of their "street cred" rubs off on them. 2Pac did it, Big Daddy Kane did it, Bahamadia did it, Edan did it; everybody's done it. It's not original, engaging, entertaining or thoughtful; it's just... a list. It's like when hip-hop albums had those boring shout-out tracks at the end, only here they're right smack in the middle and the artists think it makes them cool or something. Who the heck wants a remix of that?

Of course, most of you reading this already know the punch-line... As I say, this has been on the internet for months. But now the actual record has been released. Why is this such a must-have? Because of the line-up!

"Where Are They Now (90's Remix)" features Redhead Kingpin, Rob Base, Spinderella, Father MC, Monie Love, Mike G of the Jungle Brothers, EST of Three Times Dope, Positive K, Krazy from Das EFX, Mr. DoItAll from Lords of the Underground, Chip-Fu from the Fu-Shcnickens and Dres from Blacksheep! Nas doesn't even rap on this; he just "hosts" it, saying a few words between every couple of verses. Instead he's just found all (well, not all... but a lot) of the MCs he name-dropped on the album cut and gave them eight bars each to shine on this new, massive posse cut. The instrumental keeps the James Brown track, but blends in the instrumentals form each MC's greatest hit - sometimes more than one, even - during their verse (most of the time it works really well, though a few times they don't gel together as well as the rest... for example, "Monie In the Middle" mixes in hot, but trying to get "I Got a Man" in there feels a little awkward).

So, you've got the 90's remix, plus the instrumental, then you flip the record over and damn! "Where Are They Now (80's Remix)," which is formatted the same way and features MC Shan, Raheem of the Furious Five, Doctor Ice and Kangol of UTFO, Kool Moe Dee, Sha Rock of US Girls and The Funky Four + One, Tito of the Fearless Four, Grandmaster Caz, LinQue, Dana Dane, Pebblee Poo (remember? She did "Fly Guy," the answer record to the Boogie Boys' "Fly Girl") of the Masterdon Committee and Just-Ice!

Then there's "Where Are They Now (West Coast Remix)," which gives up on the decidedly east-coast sounding James Brown foundation in favor of a more mellow track for the West Coast MCs: Breeze, Kam, King Tee, Candyman, Threat, Ice-T, Sir Mix-A-Lot and the Conscious Daughters. It's a definite head-nodder, but they've also forgone the technique of blending in each MC's previous hit(s) to the instrumental, which is a little disappointing. Guess they got a little lazy by remix #3, but it's still cool; you won't really miss it.

Now, I say how can you not need this record just looking at those line-ups? And most of the MCs come off well, too (even the ones that don't instill much faith based on their past output). Stand outs for me would be: Redhead Kingpin, Shan, Doc Ice, Kool Moe Dee and Breeze; but I'm sure everybody will have their own favorites. I made two previous posts (here and here), naming what I feel are the two essential, full-length albums of 2007 to date. Well, this would be one of the two essential 12" singles of 2007 (the other being Master Ace & Marco Polo's "Nostalgia;" except, lamely, it only features the clean/edited version), definitely a necessity.