Whose Turn Is It Now?

Ok, now this is a rare one. The Rhyme Poets, as mentioned in my last post, had a release in between their 1989 album (itself reasonably rare) and their J.G. appearance: this maxi-single/EP (it's sorta borderline between the two). It's titled It's Our Turn, though that's not the name of any of the four songs on here; and was put out on cassette only by Cristone Records in 1992 (CR1001 - I believe the label's only release).

This is ok - certainly not great. I picked it up off the strength of "Put Down the Guns," and it's certainly an interesting piece... probably worth picking up if you see it cheap, if only for the novelty of the one song (which I'll get to in a bit).

It's produced by Ezra L Buckner, who I've certainly never heard of; with co-production credit going to William Patterson (possibly William "Spaceman" Patterson?) and The Rhyme Poets themselves. The production is fairly limp as a whole, with additional keyboards and strings by Willie Beck (possibly of the Ohio Players?) adding very little. I mean, you could listen to it without being bothered by it; but they're sure not beats that'll grab you.

The main song on here is "Roadblock" (or "Road Block;" it's spelled both ways). The Poets don't do much back and forth here (or on any of the songs on this EP)... each MC just takes a verse, kicking a rap about how they won't let any roadblock (obstacle) stand in their way of success: "I'm comin' like a road warrior, knockin' down ya roadblocks. Stoppin' suckers who's afraid of me, cold gettin' docked. You see I'm comin' from the cold-blooded gangster city. Like Frank Nitty, I'm never showin' any pity." A singer named Darlene Morris provides the chorus ("roadblocks... straight through your ROADblocks!"). She has a nice voice; but with her taking long pauses between lines and not much instrumentation there to fill in the blanks, it feels rather sparse. There's also an instrumental for "Roadblock" here, which is the only instrumental on the tape.

Then there's the song, "Talkin' Dat Bull." The is where that novelty value I mentioned earlier comes in. It's exactly the same instrumental and chorus as "Roadblock," but the lyrics have been altered, making the song about The Chicago Bulls (who will run right through your roadblocks). Check how the lines I quoted in the paragraph above become: "We're coming like a raging bull, pushing the rest of the pack back; because the Bulls are comin' in the red and black, and representin' a cold-blooded gangster city. Because Scotty P. and Michael J. will never show pity." They've also added ad-libs by Disco Dave - who was a sidekick on The Rap Down program on WGCI radio* - and a brief intro, meant to sound like they're in a sports arena.

Then you've got their slow, positive song, "Prince of Peace," referring to Jesus. I wouldn't categorize The Rhyme Poets as Christian rap, but they do quote a biblical passage in their liner notes: "Yea though I have walked through the valley of the shadow of death I have not feared no evil for thou has always been with me. O lord I am grateful for your life giving promise." It only features two of the three Rhyme Poets, Deva-D and Triple S. And while most of the production on the EP sounds studio-made, this tune is based heavily on a well-worn sample. I wouldn't even call it "familiar;" I'd call it "tired." They give examples of hard times: greed, lonliness, poverty, corruption and babies being born addicted to crack... and how these wouldn't be a problem if we all followed the example of "the prince of peace."

Pancho is back with his fellows on the last song, "Mis-understandin'," which is sort of their manifesto on everything, from their music to their lifestyle. It's a livlier track, and their lyrics are defintiely the most interesting on this song:

"Misunderstandin' the gangster,
Comin' from the segregated city of America
Try to take my hit? Yo, I dare ya.
Because the Poets are organized rhymers:
Kinda violent, yo, but you'll never find a
Gangbanger rolling with us,
'Cause we're not gang bangers,
But the slangers of some real danger.
The gang-bangers bang about the wrong thing;
It's not ya turf, it's about the money you bring.
'Cause on the midcoast, it's all about that green
Piece of paper; so I might have to take yours.
We built and built, and now we're on the top,
Paying off the cops, we can't be stopped.
Because we don't need the police;
We've got our own police.
'Cause they've got a black piece
And we've got a black piece.
So the only difference is who pulls the gun"

So, yeah, this is a neat, little rarity; but certainly nothing incredible, musically. Unless you're specifically collecting Chicago rap history, you shouldn't lose any sleep over this hole in your collection. But hopefully it made for an interesting read. 8)

*I hate to bring you guys down, but sadly Disco Dave died in his sleep the following year, 1993, at age 40. R.I.P.

Tags: The Rhyme Poets, Disco Dave

Put Down the Guns

In 1993, a a first-time Chicago rapper called J.G. came out with a single featuring a grip of independent Chicago artists making a call for peace entitled, "Put Down the Guns." Remember that? The video got mad airplay back in the day, though despite its success his label, Gasoline Alley, never put anything else out by him. Guess they just considered it a one-off.

Production-wise it came out at just the right time, using that shamelessly Dre-inspired Ron Isley slide whistle sound before it got hopelessly played out. But even putting that aside, it had a hard, thumping bassline, good drums and just a simple loop to hold it all together. A simple beat to let the variety of MCs carry the weight.

And every MC did carry their weight... and the fact that they were pretty much all unknown made it that much more exciting when the single came out of nowhere, like "H.E.A.L." with the celebrity fluff ripped off. And the label sure didn't help the MCs become less unknown. Not the actual 12" label, or the cassingle insert, which had a full page of credits and thanks, actually tell you who any of the MCs are (though one or two are named in the specual thanks... but not all!). Without actually hearing the song, you'd assume it was a J.G. solo cut.

Thankfully, the video gave little subtitles everytime another MC got on the mic. So we know the line-up.

It starts out with J.G. (naturally), kicking a laid-back flow, "funny feelin' when you're starin' at the ceilin', locked in the pen and pretend you don't grin. And when it's time for parole, you're a pro. You know just where to go to make yourself some dough... say what's up, ain't seen him since we were shorties. Used to be homies and now ya don't even know me because you're rough adn you're tough; I say man, you've grown up. ...He said, 'what happened to that brother I shot?' I said, 'Joe? he's still alive,' thinking: damn, he forgot?"

Next up is Ten-Tray, with a gruff and angry flow. Or more specifically, Crunch, the lead MC of the group Ten-Tray, which also included Blood, Sweat, Tears and DJ X-Ray. They had come out with an album (Realm of Darkness) and single ("I Convey") in 1992 on Smash Records. Smash was a division of Polygram, apparently making them the first Chiacgo rap group with a major label deal. Confusingly, he starts his verse by saying he's "from the Bricks, so you know I'm down;" when he's definitely from Chicago like everybody else on this record. The crew split up after this. X-Ray (who has a myspace here) once made wrote an online post saying, "hey whats up i was the dj in the group ten tray i dont no what happiend all i now i got fucked in the hole deal." Crunch later changed his name to Jitu tha Jugganot (check out his site, jituthajugganot.com or his myspace), and came out with an indie album in 2007 called Necessary Ingredients (which X-Ray also worked on).

Next up is Stevo. I really have no idea who he is. He holds his own, though, with a slower and simple flow, stressing individual words. Sort of like a toned-down, non-growling Tim Dog.

Fourth, "it's time for the Poets." The Rhyme Poets, that is. Their specialty here is the back and forth wordplay, which helps liven things up. The Rhyme Poets were a three-man crew consisting of Deva-D, Triple-S and Pancho, who had an album in 1989 called Nation Within a Nation. The group later split up, and Pancho hooked up with a new group called The Illiniez in the mid-90's, who are apparently still together. Leastways, they still have a myspace page.

Fifth is either Madd Skillz (as it's spelled in the video) or Mad Skillz (as it's spelled in the cassingle's special thanks). In either case, he's definitely not that Mad Skillz. Actually, both his voice and flow sound a lot like some early Fat Joe. As far as I can tell, this song is his only appearance on wax.

Sixth, J.G. comes back for a second verse. That's only fair, I reckon, since it's his record; and after all, Gasoline never showed him the love and let him release an album.

Seventh is Prince Akeem, best known for being the godbrother of the great Chuck D: "Put down my gat? I say never! 'Cause another brother's got a gat without a lever. So I say 'never leave home without one' around my way; I shoot a punk in his goddamn face... Got a glock in ya sock, and a nine in the spine of ya back; and ya target is always black." Akeem has always sounded and flowed like Professor Griff, and this song is definitely no exception; but that's ok, because Griff was always a little underrated as an MC. Akeem started making a name for himself with a couple singles and a hard to find album on Chicago Tip Records in '91. But even with guest appearances by Chuck and Flavor, he never seemed to really take off; and this was pretty much the last song he'd ever do.

Finally, Crunch of Ten-Tray comes back for a final hardcore verse, definitely taking the preachiness edge off of this record, "don't you see we have a universal enemy? Yet and still, you point your goddamn gat at me! How much heart does it take to smoke your own? Raise your fist, black, 'cause the war is on!"

So, the video version was cool... but there's a far superior remix on the single. They ditch that "let's appeal to all coasts, guys" vibe on the "Street Mix," which brings a grimier beat, rolling bassline and a DITC-style horn sample. It's straight up ninties New York, b-side wins again style.

There's also the "Stepper's Mix," which goes in the opposite direction, taking the west coast elements and replacing the vocals with a bunch of extra, live instrumentation (piano, funk guitar, keys and a few more samples), like an old "Quik's Groove." It works pretty well as a reprise, though you wouldn't spin it without listening to the original version, too.

This is a quintessential time capsule of 90's hip-hop if ever there was one. If that's what you're into, pick it up; you're sure to get a kick out of this.

Tags: J.G., Rhyme Poets, Madd Skillz, Stevo, Prince Akeem, Ten Tray