More Thawed Out Saafir

Years after Unreleased Boxcar Sessions, Saafir cooked up another self-released collection of unreleased material that had been left in the freezer. This material was more modern though, so less exciting; but Saafir's always been a compelling talent, so I jumped in with enthusiasm. And this release is notable because, unlike Unreleased Boxcar Sessions, this one came out on two formats: CD and vinyl. That might not sound terribly noteworthy at first, but the thing is: both versions feature completely different track-listings, with actually only two songs in common. ...So, of course I had to get both.

So let's start with the CD, since that was actually released first. The title for this EP (both versions) is One of the Hardest and the cardboard sleeve helpfully explains that this is "Limited Edition Archived Material 1997-2002."  Right off the bat, this doesn't have the jazzy feel of the UBS, but still has the rugged, bass heavy style of production The Junction's been rocking since the beginning. It does feel trendier, rocking elements of west coast production of its time... but I guess you could say Boxcar Sessions only had the jazzier elements because that was the style of its time. Fair enough, but that style was better - more sample based and less studio sounds.

There's still some good stuff on here, though. "Bad Bitch" might not grab you off the bat, since it's a concept song rather than a battle rap; but it's a pretty well-written twist on both pimpin' and relationship songs.  "Touch Somebody" is harder, with an effective appearance by Xzibit. And since the sleeve promises in big text that this EP features Golden State, yeah there's another track with X and Ras Kass. It's no "Plastic Surgery" or "3 Card Molly" (hell, Xzibit's verse is about Brittney Spears!), but it's still a respectable outing.

The stand out track is "King Sizzle," though. This is one of those songs that, still to this day, I'll put on repeat and listen to multiple times in a row. In some ways, it's the Hobo Junction version of "The Ruler's Back." It's even got a silly voice member of court talking about "Sire" at the beginning.  But this song's version of royal instrumentation is deep, west coast thumping sounds as opposed to Casio horns. It's not quite a masterpiece; Saafir doesn't kill it lyrically like he does on his greatest hits, but he still spits thoroughly enjoyable braggadocio rhymes over a really fun track with a super catchy hook.

So now let's look at the vinyl. One weird thing you'll notice right off the bad is that the first three songs - "Crispy" "Cash Me Out" and the title track of this set, "One Of the Hardest" - are also the first three songs on Saafir's 2007 album, Good Game: The Transition. I mean, let's just count the ways that this is weird. One, I'm guessing this means all the tracks - on the vinyl at least - aren't strictly from 1997-2002. Two, "Crispy" was even the single... and "Cash Me Out" was the B-side! Yeah, given the concept of the Good Game album, it's possible that we were meant to see some of the songs on that album as old material, but did his label realize they were previously-available-on-wax material when they pressed it up as their 12" single? Also, the title track of this EP isn't even on the CD version, which is a little weird, too.

But it gets deeper than that. The version of "Cash Me Out" on here is actually different than the version released in 2007. The instrumental's exactly the same, but this earlier version features an nncredited (most of the MCs on this set of dual EPs are uncredited, so that's no surprise) female MC. To be honest, though, her verse was corny (you might think lines like "I'm not a hater but a congratulater," haven't aged well, but I for one always thought that shit was terrible), and I believe Saafir did the right think getting rid of it. Especially since he replaced it with a new verse of his own.

So the OG "Cash Me Out" might me worth having for the die-hard completists. But basically, they're three tracks taken off the already unremarkable Good Game album. Also, I mentioned at the beginning that two songs here were also on the CD version. "Left Work" on the vinyl and "Less Work" on the CD are actually the same song... and I think they're both actually supposed to be titled "Let's Work," given the context of the song. Also the Golden State posse cut, which was probably considered the big deal selling point even though it's pretty meh, is on both.  So that doesn't leave a whole lot exclusive to the vinyl version.  The final track, "The Day," about judgement day, is pretty cool, though.

We're not given much by way of production credits here. There's nothing on the vinyl, and the CD slip case credits the producers: J-Z, Jelly, Protest, Saafir himself, and Khalil; but doesn't say who did what. And like I said, the guest MCs aren't credited either, except to tell us that Golden State appear somewhere on the CD and the vinyl credits their appearance on "Back Up." So it's all left pretty muddy.

Overall, I'd say the wax is for the hardcore collector. However, even if you're a vinyl head, or already have the other version, you should try and track down the CD. It's not his best work, but it's solid Saafir. And you're missing out if you haven't heard "King Sizzle."

Unreleased Boxcar Sessions

We're living in a bit of a golden era (hopefully just the beginnings of even greater things to come) thanks to labels Freestyle Records, Chopped Herring and DWG... but even before, we have occasionally seen otherwise lost hip-hop from a bygone era get thankfully released many years later. Today's case in point: Unreleased Boxcar Sessions, by Saafir.

Now Saafir's been in the game for a minute, and released a bunch of albums and projects both on his own and collaboratively. But he did kinda peak with his legendary full-length debut, Boxcar Sessions, on Qwest Records in 1994. Even when he releases something hot, you have to add the disappointing caveat, "but it's no Boxcar Sessions." Just like Nas with Illmatic, he'a great MC; but he can just never escape that looming shadow of his first album. So when you see "Unreleased Boxcar Sessions" pop up for sale on your favorite little indie hip-hop retailer site, you do a spit take on your keyboard, spin around in your chair a few times, and then quickly paypal them before they sell out.

This is a completely self-released LP from Saafir, a CD-R with black and white paper artwork, though at least a professional sticker label. 2002, Hobo Records. "For promotional use only," it says; but I doubt many copies exist that weren't sold commercially. Eight full-length songs from 1993-1994, produced by his usual Junction crew who made Boxcar Sessions, plus a bonus new song to show you that Saafir still had it.

I guess let's talk about that bonus track first.  It's called It's called "Whomp 2000." Like several other tracks here, it's produced by J-Groove, but it sounds nothing like the Boxcar Sessions material. That's okay, though, because it's dope. The production is rugged but funky, with a big "whomping" bass sound, and Saafir spitting crazy, freestyle battle rhymes:

"I love rappin'; it's just like scrappin', and when you burn a nigga, it sounds like fire when it's crackelin'... in the millennium I'm a get 'em like a pit with rabies on my tongue and sores from eating my dung, I'm spitting bacteria, I'm sic'ing for you niggas in the cafeteria. That's it, give me your lunch money, quarterback. I'm about to intercept and have these fag rappers dressed in drag strippin' on the internet. Is it winter yet? Nah." 

...If only Good Game was like this!

Okay, so now the actual Boxcar sessions. We have three tracks that are earlier mixes of songs from the main album: "Light Sleeper," "No Return:" and "Joint Custody." Of course the original "Light Sleeper" is better... or I should say, the version we've all come to know, as this is actually the original, strictly speaking. There's a reason they picked that one as the lead single. But this is still a tight alternate version, also produced by Jay Zee, that would've been a very welcome B-side in '94 - moody and tough.\

J Groove handled both versions of "Joint Custody," which use the same basic samples. The drums sound different though, and the vocal samples on the hook are completely different. You'll hear instantly why it's referred to as the "Spliff Mix" in the track-listing.  It's hard to one better than the other, and this version isn't a huge revelation; but it's cool to have this as a point of interest.

The instrumental to Jay Zee's "No Return," on the other hand, is completely different. I liked how the album version used the atmospheric photograph sounds from the opening of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre to open that version; but I like this (very dusty) piano sample even better than the final mix's, and in the end probably prefer this mix.

Now that leaves us three, four... five more songs. These were all recorded for Boxcar Sessions, but left off the album. In other words, they're entirely unheard, vintage material - the most exciting stuff. Production is divided by J Groove, Jay Zee and fellow Junctioneer Big Nous. The tracks all feature that chunky, broken jazz 90's style that also feature Saafir kicking his crazy , staccato, unpredictable flow and abstract battle rhymes: "Another flick of the wrist, I'm pissed, gotta look at the statistics. Ballistics have... no report of a body because watch tower just watched me pass a flower bath. I don't bathe. I'm narrariater[sic.] by trade, I pave... graves."

The track "In the Future..." is a rhyme we've actually heard on one of the first Wake Up Show Free Style LPs, and it was one of the stand-out moments there. Now we get to finally hear it as a fully produced song with a sick, bass-heavy Big Nous beat - it's a killer. These songs aren't just cuts that didn't quite make the roster on Boxcar Sessions... these would have been some of the best moments! Granted, this disc errs on the inclusion side... some of the remixes are just sorta interesting rather than mind blowing. But I always prefer extra over less. And the mind blowing is in here.

This disc is pretty rare... the kind of thing, as soon as you see it, you know you'd better snatch it up quick because you might never get another chance. Well, that goes double now that it's a decade old; so if you come across a copy snatch it up and bark like DMX at anybody how tries to wrest it away from you. Because we may've had to resign ourselves to the fact that we'll never see another Illmatic; but we did get additional Boxcar Sessions.

(Werner Necro'd) Top Ten Top Tens

Ok, for a couple years I was asking various MC's for some top ten lists... Some were fun; some were lame... i.e. eight of DJ Rhettmatic's top ten mix-tapes were Beat Junkies tapes and The Wu-Tang Clan's top ten music videos were all their own videos... or some, like asking T-La Rock his Top Ten Oscar picks of the year, just don't quite stand the test of time... and others were kinda lame because they weren't my question, like Fat Joe's top ten holiday gifts, and he just lists various brand name products. So I've gone through them all (well most - a few are missing) and am giving you the best. My Top Ten Top Tens:

Kuttin' Kandi's Top Ten Albums of the Century (in no particular order)
1. BlackStar - Mos Def & Talib Kweli
2. The MisEducation of Lauryn Hill - Lauryn Hill
3. The Moment of Truth - Gangstarr
4. Ready To Die - Biggie Smalls
5. 36 Chambers - WuTang
6. Step Into The Arena - Gangstarr
7. People's Instinctive Travels & The Paths of Rhythm - De La Soul [sic. - dude, I know]
8. Bizarre Ride to the Pharcyde - Pharcyde
9. Criminal Minded - KRS One
10. Raising Hell - Run DMC

Album Of All Time: Future Shock - Herbie Hancock (contains "Rock IT" which was the first non hiphop song to feature a hiphop artist - DJ GrandMaster DST now known as DXT)

Thirstin Howl III's Top Ten Polo Spots in NY
1. Atrium's
2. Albert's on 36th between 5th & 6th
3. The Polo Mansion on 72nd
4. S+D's
5. the Bloomingdale's on 59th and Lexington
6. any Macy's in New York
7. any Filenes' Basement you see on the highways around the suburbs have the best selections; they don't focus on the flashier stuff like we do in the city
8. any T.J. Max's
9. Transit for Polo Sport shoes and accessories
10. that's really all of them; there is no 10th

The Outsidaz' Top Ten Things To Do In Jersey
1. Get the money
2. Do drugs
3. Freestyle
4. Fuck the girls
5. Basketball
6. Video games
7. Wax the stolen cars
8. Fight dogs
9. Hike on each other
10. Battle each other

Professor Griff's Top Ten Under-Addressed Topics in Hip-Hop
1. How drug dealers become record execs and CEOs of labels.
2. How money buys your career. For example, radio and video play or how people straight-up buy DJ's and street promotional teams
3. Positive rappers, especially overseas. I travel a lot, and I meet and see all these positive rappers, but I never read about them.
4. Women in hip-hop, especially behind the scenes.
5. Good records that never get play or press because they aren't the "in thing."
6. Different forms of hip-hop music. For example Chuck D and I put together a group called Confrontation Camp (coming out in a couple of months), that's a combination of rock, hip-hop and spoken word...
7. All of the artists that got jerked and the labels that jerked them. People want to know what happened when an album didn't come out, or when an artist gets dropped.
8. Failures of major producers. For example, when a big-time producer like Premiere or Jermaine Dupri produces a record that isn't a hit.
9. Who really, REALLY, truly writes and produces these hit songs... and what exactly IS a real producer? For example, is Puffy a real producer?
10. What's really happening behind the glitz and the glamour? You read about the cars and the iced gold chains, but never about who got liposuction or breast implants... Not that I really care about it at all, but that's the kind of things people approach me about. For example, people ask me what was the real story behind why I wasn't in the "He Got Game" video, even though I'm officially back in the group.

Biohazard's Top Ten Hip-Hop Albums
1. Eric B and Rakim - Paid in Full
2. Run DMC - King of Rock
3. Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions...
4. NWA - Straight Outta Compton
5. Dr. Dre - The Chronic
6. Snoop Doggy Dogg - Doggystyle
7. Wu-Tang Clan - Enter the 36 Chambers
8. Old Dirty Bastard - Return to the 36 Chambers
9. Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five - The Message
10. Ice-T - Power

See you in the pit.

Dose One's Top Ten MCs
1. Why
2. Sole
3. Mikah 9
4. Buck 65
5. Nick Feelgoodpill
6. Circus
7. Lyrix Born
8. Pedestrian
9. Sluggo
10. Radio Inactive

Ras Kass' Top Ten Books
1. Mind Control in the US - Steve Jacobson
2. The Art of Persuasion - Wayne C. Minnick
3. Webster's Dictionary
4. The International Jew - Henry Ford Sr.
5. Peoples' History of the United States - Howard Zinn
6. The Holy Bible (King James' version)
7. Stolen Legacy - George G.M. James
8. The autobiography of Malcolm X - Alex Halley
9. The Forty-Eight Laws of Power - Robert Green
10. The Isis Paper - Francis Crest Welsing

[note: The Scribe actually came up with this question]

Tash's Top Ten Albums from High School
1. EPMD's first two albums
2. Ice-T 'Rhyme Pays'
3. Roger Troutman 'Many Faces of Roger'
4. Parliment and all the p-funk
5. Boogie Down Productions 'Criminal Minded'
6. Ice Cube 'Amerikkka's Most Wanted'
7. Tash demo tapes
8. LL Cool J 'Radio'
9. De La Soul '3 Ft. High and Rising'
10. Stezo 'Crazy Noize'

Saafir's Top Ten Annoying Hip-Hop Songs
1. Vanilla Ice - "Ice, Ice Baby"
2. MC Hammer - "Can't Touch This"
3. Will Smith - "Men In Black" or "Getting' Jiggy With It"
4. Puff Daddy - "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down"
5. Arrested Development - "Tennessee"
6. Wrecks N Effect - "Rump Shaker"
7. MC Hammer - "Pumps and the Bumps"
8. Lord Tariq & Peter Gunz - "Deja Vu"
9. Mase - (Anything he does)
10. Skee-Lo - "I Wish I Was a Little Taller"

Shock G's Top Ten Most Memorable Moments In Hip-Hop (to date 10/5/98)
Chronologically:
1. First Time I ever heard "Super-Sperm" scratched and backspinned in 1978 on an underground tape by DJ Prince, a hardly-known basement dj from Queens Village.
2. Hearing about the huge line at Downstairs Records in 42nd St. Station the day "King Tim the Third" came out.

3. Six-months after moving to Florida, and not hearing hip-hop since N.Y., hearing "Rapper's Delight" for the first time on a major Tampa Bay F.M. radio station.

4. The moment the cassette door opened and L.L. appeared out of a giant 20ft. radio at one of the huge hip-hop tour/extravaganzas of the 80's.

5. Hearing EPMD and "You're a Customer" for the first time out of a strangers car at a gas station in Oakland.

6. The phone call in 1988 when our manager told us "Your Life's a Cartoon" (d.u.'s first 12 inch single) was no. 1 in Amsterdam.

7. The phone call in '89 when he told us Tommy Boy Music was interested in us. (Shock: "Could you hold on a minute please?," Drops phone… Whole group: "OOHHHH-SHITTTT!!!!"

8. The adrenaline I felt, laughing at myself in a Berkley California joke store while looking in the mirror with the Humpty-Nose on for the first time, instantly realizing the possibilities.

9. My first step on a real stage opening for the D.O.C. with Third Base in St. Louis, 1989.

10. Hearing Pac pronounced dead over the radio in my car.

Tags: Kuttin Kandi, Thirstin Howl III, The Outsidaz, Professor Griff, Biohazard, Dose One, Ras Kass, Tash, Saafir, Shock G

We Went All Around the Planet, Pitchin', and No One Hit It

This is a nice 12" of a nice song that's not too hard to come by and definitely worth snagging. MC Hammer (of all people) put together a surprisingly nice compilation consisting of mostly talented, underground west coast artists like The B.U.M.s, Paris, Nas (back when he was still underground) and this stand-out posse cut featuring Ahmad, Ras Kass & Saafir, and produced by King Tech. It seemed like a slightly odd choice at the time... both Ras Kass and Saafir had both just made huge names for themselves with classic, lyrical debuts, but Ahmad... was that one hit wonder who made the minor crossover hit "Back In the Days" and then disappeared. Who knew he'd be competing for the illest verse with two legends, much less winning (though an equal case could probably be made for Ras's verse)?

"Gave it all that I had,
Just to have what I got.
Brothers tryin' to be bad,
And they mad 'cause they not
Gonna defeat the rapper
Who's who's got three ways to sack a
Quarterback and slaughter wack
MC's with ease.
These nuts:
whatcha get and a busted lip's
What ya have when you come at me
With busta shit.
Get it right
'Cause I get it night in and night out;
I am but a covering of wack MCs like white out.
Don't doubt
That they just be ok rappers: overrated,
Who hated
That a nigga from the West blew up and made it
...
They think they can defeat
The man that can't be beat;
I do the breast stroke, clown,
While you drown in three feet.
'Beep beep!'
Like robots on Buck Rogers,
Plus I bust
twenty-fifth century rhymes,
So you decline
To battle at any time.
Had skills since I was nine;
Dope rhymes
Are the only weapon that I brought.
I'm never caught,
Or cloned, 'cause biting's never condoned.
From the West side, 4th Avenue,
Crew: Jones."

Speaking of odd choices, by the way, here's the ad that ran for the Street Fighter soundtrack when it came out; definitely made me laugh:

Can you read it (again, AOL takes too much of a liberty shrinking these graphics)? The characters at the top are saying:
"Yo! Kid, did you peep that 'Street Fighter' movie?!"
"I'm sayin', though... that sh!t was wack!"
"But yo!!! Did you check for the album?"
"Man! That sh!t was dope!"
Ha ha! That was the official ad, from Universal Pictures, and they straight up said their movie was wack! I mean, it's certainly true enough, but they had home video sales coming up... what were they thinking?

Ahmad would go on to show his surprising, previously hidden skills on tracks for the Pump Ya Fist compilation and Jason's Lyric soundtrack and eventually make a full-fledged comeback with his crew, 4th Avenue Jones, which was good but not quite as lyrically impressive. Around the time of his best stuff, he also had a song out called "Ahmad Is Like," which I remember thinking was really dope. I asked Ahmad about it a few years later and he said he never put it out. He gave the only existing masters to Tech and Sway at The Wake Up Show, so if it's ever going to get released, it would have to be through them. So, yeah. Get to work on that, guys.

Anyway, back to the twelve-inch. This was the indy 12" (the commercial one was Hammer's duet with Dion Sanders *shudder*), and it featured three dope mixes by three hot, underground producers to match the 3 MCs on the track. One, of course, is the album mic by King Tech... Definitely a cool, slow but hardcore beat that gives you just enough to bob your head while keeping the focus on the MCs. Producer Joe Quixx smooths it out a bit, with an addictive, slow bassline you could just sit and listen to for hours, and a horn sample on the hook that sounds like it could be out of Diamond D's catalog. But it's Fredwreck Nassar's remix that's my personal favorite, taking the jazz feel from Quixx's mix several steps further... it's really nice, and to my mind, the definitive version.

Ahmad and 4th Avenue Jones are still together, though they've gone the Christian rap route these days. Here's their myspace, and here's Ras Kass's. Ras also has an official site at: raskass-central.com, with some good content. Also, Joe Quixx's crew has a website called oaklandfaders.com and, of course, he has a myspace. Fredwreck does, too, as well as an official site at: fredwreck.com. I already covered Saafir's in a previous post, so.... 'till next time: cheers!

Junction Funk part 3

Here's another rare, self-produced cassette from The Hobo Junction. This one came out in '95, right around the same time as their original vinyl, Hobo Junction E.P. The two main tracks off this single have been released elsewhere, but it's the "Intro" to this one that's the exclusive treat. Unlike the one on the "Dirt Hustlin'" tape (see: Junction Funk part 1), this "Intro" isn't just a brief instrumental; it's a full (albeit kinda short) song, featuring Eyecue, Saafir and I think the third MC is King San... could be wrong about that one. Courtesy of Junction producer J-Groove, there's a hard drum track, wailing samples and a looped piano riff that sounds like someone just banger their arm down on all the lower scale keys. Eyecue starts it off:

"Straight, direct, and uncut
Out the lab.
I wanna give you a tape,
But then you know I need the cash.
The whole world
Is gettin' strangled by the balls...
Fuck the studio!
Bored out the house, straight breakin' through the walls."

Then Saafir comes in, with his booming voice, "Hobo Junction soldiers fresh out of boot camp; we take coupons and food stamps!" Definitely a banger.

Anyway, then you've got two tracks that are otherwise available. First there's, "Whoridin'" (spelled here as "Who Ridin'") by The Whoridas featuring Saafir and produced by Big Nous (spelled Big Nouse in the liner notes... guess it took him a little while to settle on a spelling), straight off the EP and later their debut album (also called Whoridin') on Delicious Vinyl.

Then you've got Saafir's "Just Ridin'," which is a vocal and instrumental remix that would eventually get released on vinyl as the b-side to "In a Vest" in '97. It came out again in 1998, as one of the bonus tracks on the Wrap/ Ichiban release of Saafir's Trigonometry album.

Tags: Hobo Junction, Saafir, Whoridas, Eyecue

Junction Funk part 2

This is the prerelease version of Saafir's second album, The Hit List, that was sent out promotionally a year before the official release. Now, The Hit List was certainly no Boxcar Sessions, but it still had its moments. And this promo version is notable (and worth tracking down) because it features three songs songs with fellow Hobo Junction members that aren't included on the '99 retail version. The first track is "I've Been Through It" with Eyecue and Mahasin. A slow, addictive piano loop provides the backdrop as each MC puts it down for a verse on their "victories through [their] trials and tribulees" over a smooth track.

Secondly, there's "Ridin' Hot," featuring The D.A. aka Daarina and Poke Martian. It's a bumping, faster track to go with the subject matter: "Ridin' hot, with heat between your thigh and the seat. With choppers in the trunk and the car four-deep. All you coke snortin' hoes and you ghetto freaks; ride hot, then, if you 'bout it... but don't sleep."

Finally, there's a nice duet with Eyecue called "Lost In Space." For all the critics who complained that Saafir was hanging up his creativity in favor of mainstream, gangsta rap cliches in order to appeal to a broader audience; this is exactly the kind of track they were missing. Broken flows, hard beats, sci-fi sound effects and off-the-wall metaphorical lyrics like:

"Dramatizations
Of how niggas is lost in space-
Ships with no stamina
In their retina
Parameter: amateurs who try to reverse
The game,
But can't play in the same direction.
Hoes keepin' their marks limp,
While they're constantly chasin' erections into my jurisdiction:
A NO-NO!
Which leads to instant friction;
Runnin' the diction
To you blind cats stuck with sea sickness.
You think you're running shit,
But you've lost the race.
You think the world is yours,
But you lost in space."

Four skits were also removed from the initial version... be thankful for that, at least. For the record, they're entitled: "Straight Slangin' Them," "Imagine That" (this one's actually kinda funny on the first listen), "Funkin' Wit Yo Broad" and "Socked Up."

On the other hand,Saafir did add a couple songs to the final version as well. There's the Clark Kent produced "A Dog's Master," which has some clever lyrics, "Pokerface," which is pretty decent, and most notably, his duet with Chino XL, "Not Fa' Nuthin'," which even wound up being released as a single. To be honest, all three of the new songs are pretty good, too; so I can't declare the promo copy as the *definitive* Hit List.

Tags: Saafir, Hobo Junction, Eyecue

Junction Funk part 1

This is a pretty rare cassette from the heyday of The Hobo Junction... specifically 1997, and it took me a while to actually track down a copy after I first heard about it. But it was definitely worth the effort, and it remains a nice rare, little jewel in my collection.

It starts off with a brief instrumental "Intro." Right away, you know this is going to be a classic example of the kind of hardcore, low-fi Junction funk you hope for whenever you pick up a Hobo Records release (as opposed to, you know, Saafir's last album): all hard beats, bangin' samples and heavy bass lines. It then rolls right into one of the earliest solo cuts from Eyecue, "Dirt Hustlin'," a phat, autobiographical track produced by Merg One (one of Saafir's aliases), about slanging hip-hop tapes directly to his fans. It's a kind of Hobo Junction anthem, directly relating their approach to the industry; and at one time Dirt Hustlin' was even going to be the title of the first Hobo Junction album (Saafir dropped the name in a few interviews). The song "Dirt Hustlin'" found its way on the Mary Joy Records compilation, Tags of the Times vol. 2, a couple years later... and made it as the b-side to one of the 12"s off of that album, on the reverse of Mr. No-No (another of Saafir's aliases)'s "Scan'dlous." That 12" came with packed with an instrumental version as well, which is not on the tape.

Then, on the flip, you've got "Fatal Thoughts" by Big Nous (it used to be spelled Big Nose, but he changed it early on). Did I say "low-fi" before? 'Cause, yeah. This is the kind of song that could only be released on tape. Definitely not the sort of samples you'd call "crisp" or "clean," this is the kind of bassline that was made to be heard thumping distorted through cheap speakers. Big Nous's distinctive voice fades in and out of the track as he raps about his subconcious; it's kind of a trip, but still straight up hardcore hip-hop, no Divine Styler album #2 pretentious arty crap here. And this time, an instrumental is included.

What are they up to now? Well, Big Nous is finally just about to come out with his debut solo release, called The Illness (and the first single, "The Outcome"). It's already up for sale at: legendaryentertainment.com and should be out already, but I recently contacted them (like, "where's my order?!") and apparently his release has been held up a little in the production stage. The Junction has a myspace page (they've got some nice, new tracks up on their player... definitely worth checking out), and Eyecue also has his own page, with his cousin and fellow Junction MC Rashinel. Saafir has one, too. Besides being Eyecue & Rashinel's label, Daywalka Entertainment now seems to be the official record label for the Hobo Junction as a whole, and their official site can be checked out at: daywalkamusic.com.

Tags: Hobo Junction, Eyecue, Big Nous, Saafir