Young Zee's Musical Meltdown Pt 3, Finale!

(Youtube version is here.)

Young Zee and Lady Luck, Representing... Brooklyn?

This is kind of a random, little 12". It's a duet between Young Zee and Lady Luck that came out in 2003 featuring a Smack Entertainment. The song may've been intended for an unreleased Lady Luck album, since it wasn't her first 12" for Smack (she had a not even on discogs little rarity called "No Matter What"), and, well, Lady Luck has a legendary history with unreleased albums. It's produced by someone I've never heard of before or since named Jae 1; and it kind of came and went rather quickly with no fanfare. It only showed up on my radar at all, because of course I never let any Outsidaz material get by me.

Anyway, this Jae guy didn't do a whole lot besides lay a little piano/ xylophone loop over the top of the instrumental. Because, except for that, they're just rhyming over "Top Billin'." You might say, well Werner, that just means they've used the "Impeach the President" break; it's not like Audio Two invented those drums. Everybody's sampled that break. But no, they're using the whole "Top Billin'" beat, even the repeating Stetsasonic vocal sample. So two quintessential Jersey artists are rhyming over a track that's repeating "go Brooklyn, go Brooklyn!" the whole time, which is a little odd.

But I guess they just wanted to make another in the genre's long line of "Top Billin'" updates, because in addition to using the same track, the song is full of lyrical references to Milk Dee's old bars. Luck starts things off with the lines, "MC delight, people call me Luck," which is of course a variation of "MC am I, people call me Milk." And Zee starts out his verse, "I get money, money I got," which is an exact quote of Milk's famous line. There's also, "clap your hands, your hands ya clap. If your girl's out of line, it's your girl I'll smack," which is another "Top Billin'" line. Curiously, they also make references to multiple Special Ed lines, including "in the hood, I'm a super-duper star; every other month I get a brand new car," which is just a small variation of Ed's line from "I Got It Made," "My name is Special Ed, and I'm a super-duper star; every other month I get a brand new car." And later, they share another Ed line with Luck saying, "we got the cash 'cause money ain't nothin'," and Zee following up with "make a million dollars all the haters we be pumpin'," which is of course a play on Ed's "I got the cash, but money ain't nothin'. Make a million dollars every record that I cut."

I mean, the "I Got It Made" connections make thematic sense considering the concept of the song is simply fun boasts about the cash they've got. There's an uncredited lady singing the hook, "y'all have whips, but you'll never have whips like this. Furs and shit, but you'll never have jewels like this. Had some dough before, but you never had chips like this. Haddd sommme money, but y'all never had chips like this." Now I'm not one for the perfunctory R&B choruses, but whoever she is, she sounds really good on this track; and it's a good contrast to Zee's grating style. And when they're not quoting old school hip-hop, both MCs are coming with some nice, much more modern, back-and-forth wordplay, like, "I spit it out like Listerine, get y'all hooked like nicotine, then I come blow niggas to smithereens. Shrimp cocktails, this pimp's got mail. You get locked up, we gone come and pay y'all bail."

I could hear this getting play on New York radio; but I'm not sure it quite made it. It definitely has that sound, like part of a classic Hot 97 mix. You know, those moments where Flex would let a little Mobb Deep slip in between the R&B divas. Zee and Luck really pair well together, especially the third verse, where they go back and forth, trading off lines. This is much more of a collaboration than the modern "you record your verse and I'll record mine; and we'll both email them to this producer I talked to online" style we tend to get today. They must've recorded together and written together, and that pays off. The little loop Jae added doesn't sound as hot as the one added for Mary J's "Real Love" or anything, but it sounds alright. Anyway, you can't go wrong with the root "Top Billin'" instrumental.

There's just the one song on here, presented in four versions: the main dirty version, a clean version which would've suited the radio stations who missed their opportunity with this one, plus an accapella which is cool to have. But then they include a TV track instead of the clean instrumental, which is an odd choice but whatever.

All in all, it's just a nice, little underground 12" that can usually be found pretty cheap and is worth a pick up.  Especially for 2003, when you usually think of that well as having run pretty dry. It's never gonna make anybody's greatest hits or top ten lists, especially since rehashing classics just makes you look weaker by comparison. They probably would've done better leaving Ed and Milk's records alone and just doing 100% their own thing (and maybe representing their actual home state). But everybody comes off nice here, so it's worth a spot in your collection.

Young Zee's Musical Meltdown Pt 2 Surprise!

(Youtube version is here.)

A Long Time Coming, Young Zee Interview

Regular readers may have noticed - I mean, I should hope! - that I've been involved with a very exciting upcoming release on Dope Folks Records: Young Zee's long-shelved Musical Meltdown album, originally scheduled to be released in 1996 on Perspective Records. To help celebrate, I interviewed the artist himself, Young Zee.

(Disclaimer: unfortunately, as wonderful as modern technology is, it's still wonky & unreliable, and consequently, much of the audio of this interview was fucked.  The conversation is fresh in my mind, and I took notes, so I've written his answers to those questions as closely as I remember them, but a good deal of paraphrasing was required.  The important thing to me, though, is that I've finally gotten the answers to many of our long held questions, and I can still share that with you guys. So here goes!)

So, with Musical Meltdown finally dropping, like, seventeen years after it was meant to, I wonder if you could talk about that... why it didn't come out in the first place. There was that infamous Source review, but then of course, Perspective also seemed to be closing its doors around that time.

Yeah, it was like a year after. They had the money to keep it open if they wanted, though.  That label was owned by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis; they could've done whatever. But the thing was, they had a lot of acts; they just weren't successful with rap. Do you remember Pudgee?

Yeah, he had "On the Regular" and all.

Yeah. they put out his records and others but it just wasn't doing what they wanted. They had a whole rap department, and when the head of that went elsewhere, the guy who brought me in, when he left, that was basically it. My singles didn't do well... "Problems."  They didn't really sell that big.  They had a lot of R&B, like Mint Condition. They didn't really know what to do with us.

Of course you stayed in the game and went on with The Outsidaz and all... Pudgee went on, Rufus Blaq did. One guy who didn't, though, was Arrogant. Do you know what happened to him? He was tight, and he seemed to totally disappear after Perspective.

Yeah!  Arrogant was nice, real lyrical. I don't know what happened to him. We were like good friends. Perspective would throw parties, they had all this money, and they would take us places, and i'd always get together with Arrogant. I don't know what happened to him.

So after Perspective...

After Perspective, we were shopping deals. We were driving and we just saw Chris Schwartz in the street. We ran up to him like, sign us! He heard a tape and like the next day he signed us. We signed with Ruffhouse because they had all the artists we were fans of: Cypress Hill, The Fugees...

Do you have any of the demo material from back then? Because some of that stuff, there's just these low quality versions floating around, but it's like classic material.

I don't have any of that stuff. My house burnt down in '97, so I don't have any of that Outsidaz archives anymore.

Damn! At least you can keep making new material, though. A lot of artists, you're fans of them in the 90s, but hearing them today and it's just not the same. Even some of the other Outsidaz, they're not on the same level or just different. Pace's stuff kinda changed, or like Azz Izz. His new stuff is like totally different from the MC he was in the Outz.

Well, Azz Izz was a DJ.  A lot of those guys weren't rappers, they were just the guy with the car or whatever, down with the group and we let them rap.  Sometimes you've got to have filler, guys who rap while you're waiting for Meth to come back. They can't all be Method Man. Azz Izz wasn't a rapper, he was a DJ. We had like three DJs.

And he was a producer. I know he did some tracks on the Outsidaz album before doing his own album.

Yeah, he was a producer. And he was a DJ; he was never a rapper.

You've stayed 100%, though. Like stuff you're dropping know, like your album with Mr. Green, you're still on par with your best material. Even a lot of the stronger MCs from the Outz, since you split, it seems like they're not quite as strong as when you were all a group. Is that because you were all writing together, or...?

It was competitive. That's why when the Outz went our separate ways, everybody didn't keep it. When I laid a verse, or Pace, everyone said was sick. So when they did one, they wouldn't pay attention. Or they would cut it off the song. So they knew they had to spit something really ill to keep up. So didn't want to get taken off the album. Now when they're on their own, they just think whatever they're saying is enough.

I'm not saying I was the nicest. You know who I was worried about was Slang.  I used to go hard because he would show me up. I thought he was the illest, so I had to spit my best because he was on the same track.

One thing that separated The Outz was you had the hardness and the edge but also the humor. Another who really held up is Yah. I always felt like he was the most under appreciated in the group.

Yah's my brother.

Yeah, and he had a style similar to yours. I was wondering if...

Yah used to be in the house, listening to me rap. I'd be spitting verses, he'd be like, "yeah, that was tight!"  He was like me in the way he brought all the syllables.

I think also in his writing style, too; the way he'd pull in these references... but not like jokey or typical 90s punchliney.

Yeah, Yah was dead serious when he spit. That was the difference, he spit the kind of shit I liked, but dead serious.

There's only like 500,000 people in the world that are in this for the lyrics. When you hear songs on the radio you don't even like it but you know all the words because you be hearing it. That's a manager or somebody who could put them there. Most people aren't in it for the lyrics; they're in it for the money. And that's what ruins it. That's how I feel.

You know who I'm feeling right now? What's that dude from The Clipse, you know who I mean? With the braids, signed with GOOD Music... It shows how much I partied last night that I don't remember his name now. [I realized afterwards he's talking about Pusha T] That's who I'm into right now.

I got a son who rhymes. He's got a little group, the NJ Rebels. I go to radio stations and when I get in I get asked about him now. He knows he's gotta bring it with me being his father, he can't just be like these guys, only talking about what they're wearing. These guys always want to bring us to these expensive shopping malls and shit we can't afford. We don't want to hear that! Or you can talk about it, but then at least bring the syllables, say it with some skills. But they're not in it for the lyrics. There's only 500,000 of us.

So, speaking of former Outz, what happened with Eminem? I know he didn't get the Outz on his first album, but he was definitely shouting out the group like crazy on there. It was the hook to one of his songs even. Kids who didn't even know who The Outsidaz were knew he was one of them.

Yeah, we were supposed to be "Amityville." Me, Pace, Bizarre, we were all on there. We left, it was done, and Em called, there was one small part of his verse he didn't like. He asked Pace to change that part. Pace said no, he wouldn't do it. He spit it and he should use it, that's just what it was. I was like man, just change it. It was just that one thing.

Pace knows. If somebody had spit a verse on his album and he wasn't feeling, he wouldn't use it. He would take him  off the song. Or ask them to change it... if he likes you.

Yeah, I've met Em, and I definitely got the impression he was like a loyal guy. When he was just coming off the Slim Shady EP, he brought Royce with him, just to promote him. This was before Em was established himself. He always kept D12, he kept shouting the Outz. Like, even if he didn't get you on his first album, I always felt like he would've gotten you on his second through sixth.

Exactly.

But Pace kept dissing Em. He made like three different records going at him.

That's why Em fell back. He wouldn't answer him.  I told Pace just change your verse!

And what about Bizarre? I interviewed him twice in those days, and he was a hardcore Outsida. He was repping it hard. I remember him saying he'd be all over the Outz album. It kind of went the other way, too. Em was supposed to be on an Outsidaz song called "Mama I Said" that got taken off. He thought he and Em would be all over The Bricks album.

Bizarre's my man. I'm still down with him. i just laid a verse for Bizarre four days ago for his next project.

Oh, nice. Yeah, because when the Outz and Shady separated, you were still on that D12 album... and the 8 Mile soundtrack.

I still fuck with Em. When me and Em talk, we talk big money. And I've always been like just his friend. We would just hang. When they called me in to be on that, they called me and Digga. She drove and I was sleeping in the car. When we got there, she went in, and I was still asleep. I woke up like half an hour later, got out the car to smoke, and I saw Em's bodyguards. I was like what's up? And they said Em was upstairs, go on. So I went up in there. They said it was my track so I spit once through and they said that's it, it was done. I thought I'd come back to redo it, but everyone said that was it. Some people said I had the nicest track on that album. But I don't know about that.

I would say so.

I don't call myself the nicest; I'm just a lyricist.

Some people didn't want me on there. Em came to me saying these guys at the label or managers didn't want me on it. I said man, they work for you. If you want me on it, I'm on it. They work for you. And he was like, you right. So I'm on it. But some people didn't like that.

But at some point you signed with Shady. You had another album that was supposed to come out, which I heard at least most of...

Actually, I signed with Denyne. I thought I was signing with Em. Denyne called me, was like you're gonna be on Shady. He came with his manager, I signed the papers, got the money. Then I see Em and I told him I signed and I'm coming out on Shady, and he didn't know anything about it! It was done without his involvement. But he said okay, do it. Let's see what you do. And I recorded, but it wasn't with Em.

I'm just in it for the music now; I just want to work with whoever's about the music. The money can come, but if it doesn't, it doesn't have to. I'm in it for the lyrics. I already have a nice life.

This interview was a crazy struggle. From the audio dying, to Zee's phone dying on us mid-interview. It turned out to be way harder than it should have been. So big thanks to Zee for his patience. Be sure to follow him on twitter. He told me he's got a new album done, can't wait to hear that. And of course Musical Meltdown Part 1, with Part 2 soon to follow.

Young Zee's 'Musical Meltdown' Album Finally Dropping!!

(The Youtube version is here, my original blog post is here, and the link to the record is here.)

So, This Exists

Young Zee (No Brain Class) Musical Meltdown, Perspective Records, 1996. The unreleased album. The masterpiece that famously and ridiculously only "got a two in The Source."  Obviously a happy day for me: proper sound quality, which naturally blows away everything I've heard online or on the old dub I got from tape trading way back in the 90's (and still have). Not to mention a Hell of a collector's item.

But now the bigger question is which label's gonna step up to the plate and get it out to the people (and on vinyl, of course)? Unfortunately, while I'm sure Zee himself would be down, since Perspective was kind of a major label - tied to A&M/ Polygram, which ultimately leads up the beanstalk to the ugly Universal monster - I suspect this would probably be out of the reach of our beloved limited labels like DWG and Dope Folks. It'd probably take a bigger player, like a Traffic or a Get On Down Records to license this from the people who don't even know they own it.

How about it, guys? Maybe take a break from reissuing album after album that all of us already own because they've been widely distributed on all formats since the get-go, and have never been rare or difficult to obtain. I mean, those giant CD cases, posters, carry cases and slip mats are nice and all. But there's so many great albums that have never been released, albums that us heads have waited most of our lives for, just staring everybody in the face, asking: when are you gonna get to us?

This is art, guys; we have an obligation.


Update: The call has been answered!

How Young Zee Could Just Kill a Man

(Youtube version is here.)

One Crazy, Brilliant Album

(Youtube version is here.)

A Missing Piece from Several Puzzles

The internet is awesome for finding things. Things like great music that's been lost for a decade and a half. And that's what I've just found on the internet. Five pieces (plus five more snippets) of great, unreleased music that tragically sank on the same ship: Perspective Records.

Janet Jackson left Perspective Records, and the label was done. Despite having signed a killer line-up of hip-hop acts who all recorded complete, excellent albums, which to this day remain unreleased. And this promo tape, the '96 College Rap Sampler, features nothing but unreleased gems from that line-up, one complete song and one snippet per artist.

The first artist is probably the least interesting, only because his shelved album was at least released in a mediocre-quality dub that's spread well through the tape-trading and internet circles over the years. So let's start there. Young Zee. Most of you have heard it already, so I'll just briefly state that the full unreleased song on here is "Tonsil Check," featuring Yah Lovah... and I have to say, hearing it in proper quality has increased my appreciation of this slick sex rap. The snippet is one of my favorites from the album, "Electric Chair."

Next up are The Black Spooks. These guys made a name for themselves as Digital Underground affiliates (a good legacy there!), and a couple of them went solo after their album was swallowed up by Perspective. I have an underground 12" or two by these guys, but I have to say, the tracks here feature some solid production but also really display some ill lyricism I hadn't properly credited these guys for in the past. The song is "Mad Black Spooks" and the snippet is "Make Up Your Mind," neither of which seem to've been included on any of their subsequent post-Perspective releases. Until I heard these, I can't say I was too disappointed their album never dropped, but now I am.

Now we get to the really exciting stuff. How about some lost material from Pudgee's King of New York album? If you read my 'The Lost King of New York' post on the subject, you know I had found an old catalog title of a song called "Say Goodbye." When I asked Pudgee about it, he said he never released it. Well, I just found out it was a song intended for the Perspective album, 'cause here's a snippet of it on the sampler. The full length song is also mentioned briefly in that past blog entry, where I list some song titles mentioned in a King Of New York album review in The Source. The tape has no production credits unfortunately, but from a line in the intro, I gather this one was produced by The Beatminerz. It has a very similar feel to his single, "On the Regular."

Next is the highly under-rated artist The Almighty Arrogant. It doesn't help that his absolute weakest joint, "Lay Tight," was the only song Perspective ever put out by him. The tracks here are much better... he's like a west coast Young Zee, with a bugged out song called "Toxic Urb," which is about just that. The snippet is called "Arrogant Wayz (Remix)" and is pretty hot, too. Man, I just want to shake the Perspective tree and have all his material fall out already!

Finally comes Rufus Blaq. Now, if you're clever, you might point out that unlike the other four artists you've covered, Perspective did put Blaq's album out. And that's true, but for whatever reason, these two songs aren't on it. The full song is called "NRG" and the snippet is "Make It Last," and both show Blaq as a more rugged yet punch-liney MC than I remember him being. I like these tracks... I may have to go pick up his album which I never copped. If it's as good as these songs, I'll be happy.

It's great to have these songs, but it just makes me wish even harder that someone would give these albums their proper releases already. That way everybody can hear these tracks, and all the other ones still unheard; and the artists can finally get their due. So, I gotta thank the internet for a nice treat, but that's what really needs to happen. Sigh. ...If only hip-hop fans still bought music.

Outsidaz, Come Rain Or Shine

This is the debut of the Outsidaz right here. I mean, granted, Young Zee had come out a few years earlier, and through his singles and (unreleased but leaked) album, we'd been introduced to his Ouz crew already. And they cameo'd on The Fugees' second album... But this is their first collective single as The Outsidaz, the penultimate in New Jersey hip-hop. "Rain Or Shine" on Proceed Entertainment/ Out House Productions, 1998.

The track is simple, but a killer, produced by Kobie Brown. Proceed Entertainment was his label, and I think he was also acting as a sort of co-manager for The Outz at that time. He's the same Kobie who speaks up once or twice in my 1998 Outsidaz interview. and had been down with the Outz at least since Young Zee's earliest Perspective singles, which he also worked produced and collaborated on. He seemed to drift more towards the R&B side of the industry after this, but "Rain Or Shine" shows he was certainly adept at producing hip-hop. It's basically all about one ill, pounding piano loop and a crisp, slow and hard drum track. It's immediately compelling, you could just listen and focus on that loop the whole five minutes. But it's also simple enough to play the background for the Outsidaz sick and varied flows.

The line-up for this record is spelled out on the label, albeit in the wrong order. In order of appearance, it goes: Pace Won, Axe, Yah Yah and Young Zee. There's also a short, fifth verse which is uncredited... I think that's Azizz, but I'm not certain. The hook is a catchy example of The Outz' interplay, with each MC taking turns saying different lines each time, sometimes in unison. Each MC really gets a chance to play to their strengths, with Pace Won dropping some playfully slick wordplay, "The lethalest, I'm evil as Kneival is; I drop the bomb and leave your city people-less." Axe kicks a lot of quick, short syllable rhymes, "Swift to smack a lady actin' shady, that's the way the Axe amaze thee. Blastin' crazy, get the cash, then Axe be Swayze." Zee kicks his entirely unique brand of drug slanging raps, "I used to make a grand a day out in Santa Fe. Cops came, I ran away; moved to Tampa Bay. Now they say my tape promotes drugs when I bust, like I be out sellin' dust in front of Kids 'R Us." But it's Yah Lover, Zee's younger brother who sometimes manages to be more Zee than Zee, who possibly manages to steal the show with some of the sickest, craziest rhymes:

"We sever the ligaments of army confederates
For leverage. I smoke a blunt and dump two sedatives.
Still flowin' looser than the bitches I seduce;
After a noose, crews get disposed like a douche
From the grittiest, shittiest, climax climidiest[?],
Whose affiliates be on some old Willy shit!
Keep an open eye, you think of scopin' Yah?
Ya better apply for life with Mutual of Omaha.
All you biters'll die from malnutrition,
Or Yah Yah'll stomp out your endocrine system!"

The b-side isn't by The Outz at all, but by R&B singer Tonya Von featuring A.L. (short for All Lyrics). I don't think being paired up with the Outsidaz wound up doing her any favors, because the song got completely overshadowed by all the buzz "Rain Or Shine" was getting. And the Proceed family must've felt the same way, because they later re-released "Tonite" as its own single, but it still didn't catch on. Tonya Von, though, was also an artist who Kobie was working with back in mid 90's, who was also signed to Perspective Records, and who also got dropped before dropping her album (she had a single called "Bounce"). Anyway, it's not a bad track... the beat (co-produced by Kobie and somebody named Ibo) is a smooth head-nodder, Tonya's a talented vocalist, and A.L.'s guest raps are decent, if unexceptional... he was one of those Lyricist Lounge-type 90's MCs who was heavy on the punchlines ("lyrics so deep I wrote 'em in submarines"). But he's got a nice, swift flow and multi-syllable that definitely keep things interesting.

"Tonite" comes in two versions (not counting the Instrumental), the Main Mix and the Queens Mix. The instrumental and everything is exactly the same in both cases, but the difference is that the Queens Mix has an extra verse from A.L. right at the beginning. So for hip-hop heads like us, the preferred version is obvious.

So, pictured above is the classic vinyl, but I have something else I think you'll enjoy for today's show and tell: pictured right is the promo-only cassette singles Proceed was giving out to labels and rap journalists like myself. It does away with the instrumentals, clean edits and stuff from the vinyl, and just features the main, vocal mix of each song. They've got some slightly different credits (and different spellings: "Pacewon appears courtesy of Roka Block"), and they've also got stickers on the back covering up a 212 number with a 973 phone number.

Unfortunately, Proceed closed its doors after this (and the other 12" pressing of "Tonite"). Kobie and The Outsidaz were a good pairing, and I would've liked to see them continue to do more work together. But, hey. Maybe it's not too late. The Outsidaz have been doing more and more collaberations lately, and Kobie doesn't seem to have been doing much in the public eye, lately. Surely he has the time to link up and provide those guys with some beats again. Everybody would win.

Young Zee, Arrogant, Pudgee & Mr. Blaq

(Youtube version is here.)

(Werner Necro'd) All Day Outsidaz: The Interview part 3

...continued from part 2.

So what's up with you guys and The Dirty Dozen? Is Em still down with them?

Pace Won: Oh, the Dirty Dozen? Well, I don't really know about The Dirty D... The last time I talked to them, they said they were havin' a little trouble. But they're probably still together. It's probably cool. They're just slow recordin' 'cause Em went out west, and they live in Detroit, so it's a little hard recordin'; so they had cooled it for a minute. But I think, as of now, it's back in service.

Who do you think is gonna do solo projects after Em and the projects people know about now? Who've you got lined up next?

Pace Won: Uhmm... I'd say Slang Ton, Dee You gonna do his project, and Azzizz. And the No Brain Class. They're not solo, but that's a group in the Outz: Young Zee, Yah Lova, DJ Muhammed.

And now when's your first single coming out? What's your first single gonna be again?

Pace Won: "I Declare War", and the b-side "Step Up." It's coming in like a week, for the end of the month. A week, ten days... Do me, do me good. Do me right, know I mean? Don't make me come in here blazin' nothin'. I'll blaze this bitch, believe me. Don't play with me.

Well, before anybody sneaks outta here, is there anything anybody wants to say to people who maybe don't know y'all yet?

Slang Ton: Look for our subsidiary group, the Outslangaz.

Pace Won: Ahhh! (laughs) The Outslangaz, yes. I'd just like to say, I know it's been a long time. You've probably been hearin' about us for a while. I'd just like to say the politics is a bitch you know what I mean? But we're still comin', we still do our hip-hop every day, it's still true to us. We're not sellin' out. Let's keep it real. The politics still holdin' us back. Thank you.

Young Zee: Yeah, this is Young Zee. I wanna say, you know, we work out of our studio in Newark. It's called Outhouse Productions. You know, we got 22-tracks, whatever. Y'all can call, if you want to. Book a session. It's all g. It's Young Zee. I'm on Pace Won's project, The Pace Won Effect...

Pace Won:"Nobody" & "Keep On."

Young Zee: ...I'm on Krs-One's new album, so you can check that comin' out. I'm on Busta's new solo album, so you can check that out. Rah Digga, my wife, you know, I'm on her joint. It's all g.

And Digga was on that "Temple of Hip-Hop", right?

Young Zee: Yeah, most definitely. So, y'all can check for me. And all y'all ladies, who want a date or something, you know I'm saying? I can't do it. I got my girl. It's all g, though.

Pace Won: You know what I mean?

Young Zee: But Pace don't got no girl!

Pace Won: Don't say that, don't say that... I got a wonderful woman at home. (Laughs) Gave my girl a plug.

And how would y'all describe the Outsidaz to those who haven't heard y'all yet?

Young Zee: Playful. Jokey. Everybody joke too much. Everybody laugh. It's all a game to us. It's real, but, as a personality. We don't let nothin' stop us from having fun, you know what I'm sayin'? It's all g.

Pace Won: I'd just like to say that the clique is innovative, you know what I'm sayin'? Freestyle type rappers... Story-tellers, some of us.

Slang Ton: Battle rappers, punch lines...

Pace Won: Battle rappers... talkin' about versatile rappers, you know I'm sayin'?

Young Zee: We don't let nothin' hold us back! We don't really care, you know I'm saying?

Pace Won: Original hip-hop type shit. We just kept doin' it. A little tricky lyrics and hardcore beats.

Young Zee: I don't care if my album don't never drop, I'ma still be waxin' mc's asses.

Pace Won: Basically.

Young Zee: That's just how it goes.

Pace Won: That's just how we feel about it.

Dee You: Chris Tucker, mother fucker.

Young Zee: Chris Tucker, mother fucker!

(Everybody laughs.)

On the flip side, what kind of hip-hop... what's the worst thing you think is going on in hip-hop right now? What kinda styles...

Slang Ton: The worst thing right now is the remakin'. Because, to me, the audience in hip-hop, the fans... Whatever's popular is what they jump on to. It's not necessarily who's fresher no more. Like whatever's popular. If you hear a song a million times on Hot 97, you're gonna start liking that shit, and that's wrong. And it kinda makes the audience lean towards garbage.

Pace Won: And, also, the bad flip side to me is the politics. Behind the scenes, how much publishing these companies is trying to get you for. The little weak-ass advances they're trying to give people, you know I'm sayin'? This is our livin'! I expect to make at least minimum wage, God dammit. More than that! So alla that bad politics needs to stop. They need to stop that right there. I don't know who controls it, or whatever they're thinking up there, but they need to stop that. The contracts is too in-depth right now. I'll tell you, right now, I signed November 3rd 1997. I looked at my contract goin' "What the fuck is this?" A whole bunch of "forth"'s and "thou shalt"'s. I thought it was the bible out this motherfucker. They should be like, "You record. You make such and such. Ass blank. Sign it." Leave that shit out! It be too much motherfucking politics.

And you've got a video coming out for your new joint?

Pace Won: Yup. My white label joint. I be shootin' it next month. I don't got the date for it, yet, but October. "I Declare War" and "Step Up". I'll probably do a conjunction video, you know? Two videos in one. That's what we gonna talk about. Just get the little effect ready! Dee You's album called, The Brown Hornet.

Dee You: The World is Flat!

Pace Won: The World is Flat. My bad. He updates it like every other day. Now the world is flat and shit. Nah, The World is Flat, know what I mean? Slang Ton?

Slang Ton: Pork.

(Everybody laughs)

Pace Won: Young Zee, what you doin'? NBC album, what's the name?

Young Zee: What's the name of it? No Brain Class.

Pace Won: ...Self-titled debut album. Mine'll be The Pace Won Effect.

Young Zee: Young Zee album: Paranoia! Coming soon...

Pace Won: I-ight. Zee comin' with a solo, AND a group AND another group! He just can't stop. It won't stop...

Slang Ton: The Big Slang Theory.

Pace Won: All the Slangs got together... BOW!!

Slang Ton: Made the Slang universe.

Pace Won: The Big Slang Theory instead of the big bang theory.

Yo, if you could work with somebody now, who you haven't worked with before...

Pace Won: Yo, my man asked me this yesterday. And, totell the truth, Nas. I'm not kiddin'. I would work with Nas... Either Nas, or... if I could pick somebody else... maybe Meth. Nas or Meth. I met 'em both, they're real cool brothers. I ain't never stepped to 'em on that tip, but if I could, I would. ...I did, like, three songs with Meth - excuse me - with Red, before, you know I'm sayin'? With the Outsidaz.

Is that gonna be on one of y'all's albums?

Pace Won: Not on his album, but on our album... He's got, like, two joints on there. ...Ok, let's bust it. (knockin' beat on table) Ok, ok... I can't rap and do it at the same time, sorry fellas.

Dee You: I hate niggas that can do that!

Young Zee: (Knockin'.) One for the money/ two for the time/ I know Slang Ton/ I know Busta Rhymes. Come on. That's the easiest thing in the world.

Slang Ton: (Knockin'.) Yo/ I kill you/

(Everybody laughs)

Slang Ton: Drill you/ spill through... I don't know.

How do you feel about off-the-head rhyming? Do you think you really gotta freestyle off the head to be a good MC?

Young Zee: Well, yeah. It'll help.

Pace Won: It'll help. 'Cause, like, from my personal experience, sometimes I'll be on stage, and I might mess up. And that's when freestylin' kicks in like, "Hit that, split that, get back before I kick raps!"

Dee You: Some of the rhymes we come up with, just freestylin'. You don't even know it.

Pace Won: And, plus, when you just got a hot beat, and then your crew comes together, and you start cypherin' a little freestyle, the hook, everything..

Dee You: The concept of the song.

Young Zee: All the time you talkin', Zee's still readin' about this drug shit goin' on, ya know?

Pace Won: I-ight. ...That drug life's got his interest, you see? He started readin' it.

Young Zee: Shit's crazy, yo.

Slang Ton: He love that drug game.

Dee You: If you write rhymes, you should be able to freestyle, yo. It should come natural.

Slang Ton: If they can think of it...

Pace Won: They don't, but they probably can, though. Even though... they might not be good at it.

Dee You: If they can't freestyle, don't do it!

Pace Won: Everybody can freestyle. I know people that don't rap that be freestylin'.

DeeYou: If you're not a good freestyler, don't freestyle then. I'd rather just hear your writtens.

Pace Won: Niggas just come out like, "Yo! Yo/ Joe/ Schmoe... Yo!"

Dee You: Yo, we 'bout to bounce, boy. We ain't got all day with these internet people.

Pace Won: For real, I do gotta run to the label. 'Cause "I Declare War" might be comin' back today. Gotta go check, boy! I feel giddy like a little kid 'cause I've been waitin' for a long time to just put out a song, you know? I've been rapping since I was like 12. I started rapping after I heard, "La Di Da Di." I always liked rap before that, but "La Di Da Di" got me like, "Yo, I can bust this... That shit he talkin' about right there, I can sing slicker! Slicker than the Ricker," know what I mean? So, I started busting rhymes. Me and Dee You was in our basement. "Yo, yo, yo, yo, yo!" You know how that goes. Just tappin' and recordin'. I always waited to drop this single.... Just a single, an album, you know, just see how the public responds to it. Yeah, I'm excited. And for my Outsidaz clique, too, 'cause now it's like contracts are on the table for us, so I'm real excited to see what could turn out of this event, this experience I've been going through.

The Outsidaz have of course since broken up, but most of them are still doing music, sometimes even other. Hopefully maybe they can reform some day soon. Here're the links to their myspaces: Young Zee, Pace Won, Rah Digga, Az Izz, Eminem, Muhammad, Yah Yah, Bizarre and D.U.

Tags: Outsidaz, Pace Won, Young Zee, Eminem, Rah Digga, Slang Ton, Dee You, Azzizz, DJ Muhammad

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(Werner Necro'd) All Day Outsidaz: The Interview part 2

...continued from part 1.

So what's up with Musical Meltdown now? Is that never coming out?

Young Zee: It's, like, you know. Out with the old, in with the new.

Pace Won: BUT, we might put out the bootleg version.

Slang Ton: Word up.

'Cause I know a lot of people were waitin' for that album... It got reviewed and all that, then it never came out.

Young Zee: We do so much joints, it don't really matter. I did my album in like, what? Two months?

Pace Won: Word up.

Young Zee: Pace did his album in like, what? Two months?

Pace Won: Three months.

Young Zee: It's too easy. There's a million of us. There's like competition in between us. This what we do everyday.

Pace Won: This our 9 to 5; this is what we do. We rap. That's is our career. We take it seriously.

Young Zee: I don't wanna give no other magazine props, but you heard about the battle, like...?

Blaze. Yeah.

Young Zee: We do that everyday.

Pace Won: Schoolin' MC's.

Young Zee: See, you gotta understand, we got a studio in Newark. So that means that everybody in Newark, or around Irvington, East Orange, whatever... All the MC's from Red all the way down come through our studio. And they always tryin' to show they ass. See if they can be fresher than us or whatever. But... It don't never happen. But it always prepare us for when somebody else come. It be like friendly battles in Newark. If you ain't from Newark, it ain't really a friendly battle. But it's all g. ...We got Rah Digga, take all the females. All the Outz is like warriors, when we trying to go out for battle, we out for blood.

Dee You: Plus, the freshest white boy on the planet.

Pace Won: What?

Gino: have you heard of him?

Yeah, I heard the Slim Shady EP & Infinite...

Gino: You liked it?

Yeah, it was ill. Definitely.

Pace Won: The EP's HOT.

Gino: You heard the Bizarre EP?

Nah, I haven't heard that.

Gino: Bizarre's got an EP, too.

Dee You: Somebody stole my Bizarre EP!

Pace Won: Yo, we on it. A song called, "Get the Dick." Bizarre's our solo artist from Detroit.

What'd he put that out on? His own label, or?

Pace Won: Yeah, Web Entertainment. They tryin' to make it hot. The same people that put out the Slim Shady EP.

And are y'all gonna be on Eminem's album, too, on Aftermath? 'Cause that's a prety big deal right there.

Dee You: Yes, sir. Well, I recorded a couple joints for him. Whether Dr. Dre pick 'em or not is something different. But, yeah, we have songs with Emzy. We have mad songs. He's on our first real single. It's called, "Mama, I Said." He on there. Me, Slang, Eminem, and Zee.

And when's that comin' out? What's up with that?

Dee You: Well, that's comin' out after we get our deal. But our first single is "Brick City"/ "Murderah" or something along those lines.

So how did Rah Digga hook up with Flipmode?

Pace Won: Well, Zee, once again... He was on Perspective. He did a remix for one of his singles, "Get High" with Q-Tip. And Tip met Digga and liked her, ya know I'm sayin'. But you Tip was doin' some other stuff with some other rapper... What's his name? Consequence. So he was goin' through all that. So, Busta was getting' ready to do his album, and he was like, "Yo, let me get Diggy," and she went over and did it. She got with them.

Young Zee: So, what's the flava? ...What's up with The Source? When y'all comin' out with the compilation album?

What do you mean? The Source puts out collective hits like, Source album, Source Pioneers... You mean like new material?

Pace Won: That was supposed to have BEEN come out, The Unsigned Hype album, right?

Slang Ton: They used to write it, like, way back. When you win this, they gonna put you in the compilation... They were always talkin' about ten months, and that shit never came out.

Pace Won: Source be frontin'... Source be frontin'.

Dee You: Write us as Unsigned Hype.

Pace Won: Why not? Here go our demo, I mean, here go our bio. There's our demo. Un...signed... Hype...for the month... of... Oc...tober.

But, you're about to be signed.

Pace Won: Sign us before we get the deal, ok? Sign us before we get the deal. Unsigned Hype.

Young Zee: Who hyper than us right now?

Slang Ton: Tell 'em Fugees, "Cowboys." People were lovin' it.

Pace Won: Debuted number 7, BET's Rap City. Thank you.

And, yeah, you also had a single out with Lauryn Hill, right?

Young Zee: Yeah.

Kobie: That was on the album. That was never a single.

Who would y'all say are your favorite rappers?

Pace Won: LL! ...Biggie, Jay-Z, & Nas! (laughs)

Young Zee: Right now, who's tearin' it down? Big Pun. I like Big Pun.

Slang Ton: It depends on my mind state... 'Cause when I feel like tearin' somebody's skull off, I like some DMX.

Pace Won: It's gotta be like, some... maybe Busta, you know what I'm sayin'? KRS, Red, Nas, Biggie, and Meth...

Young Zee: I'm talkin' about who's lyrically killin' it right now.

Pace Won: The niggas I just named!

Slang Ton: I said DMX.

And have y'all got any shows comin' up?

Dee You: Yeah, we're gonna be at the Coliseum on the 15th, then we'll be at the Paramount on the 23rd...

Slang Ton: The Meadowlands!

Pace Won: We're at Union Square on the 18th...

(Everybody laughs)

Pace Won: Nah, right now, we've just been talkin'.

Kobie: Just negotiations. That's stressful.

So Zee, have you got any plans to do another solo project, or are you holdin' off on that right now?

Young Zee: I'm negotiatin' that now... Right now, they've got a contingent upon the Outsida project. So, you know, just tryin' to smooth out all the edges. Then we gonna sign that damn thing, get this money, do this album. You know what I'm sayin'? We're gonna go away to do the album.

DJ Muhammed: Who's your favorite rap performer?

Performer?

Muhammed: Yeah.

(Everybody laughs.)

Dee You: Fuck you think this is? MTV?

DJ Muhammed: Come on. Y'all keep laughin', he's not gonna answer the question.

I don't know... Just before you came, I was watching a video of The X-Men...

DJ Muhammed: The X-Men?

Yeah, the DJ's...

Young Zee: Ay-ight.

DJ Muhammed: The Outz is one of the top performers. A lot of rappers can make songs, but they can't perform. But the Outz got stage presence.

Y'all do a lot of live DJ'ing and shit? 'Cause lately...

Young Zee: That's our live DJ!

Slang Ton: We got like 4 DJ's... DJ Muhammed, 3rd Rail...

And what's this Kid Capri you're coming out on?

Pace Won: I did a song with John Forte, Nature, and Rock from So-So Def, it's called, "Columbians."

That's gonna be on The Soundtrack to the Streets album?

Pace Won: That's gonna be on the b-side to the single.

To be continued immediately...

Tags: Outsidaz, Pace Won, Young Zee, Eminem, Rah Digga, Slang Ton, Dee You, Azzizz, DJ Muhammad

(Werner Necro'd) All Day Outsidaz: The Interview part 1

I just got Pace Won's new CD in the mail today (more on that next post), so in honor of that, I'm necro'ing my Outsidaz interview from the late 90's. Around this time, Eminem's Slim Shady EP exploded and word had just got out that he was signing with Dr. Dre, Pace Won was coming out on Roc-A-Blok Records, Rah Digga had become a member of Busta Rhymes' Flipmode Squad; and they were all setting to come with their debut family album.

What's up with the Outsidaz right now? What've you got coming out? The last I heard was "Rain or Shine"...

Pace Won: Yup. Our next white label, we've been discussing it.... So far it looks like it's either gonna be "Brick City" or a song called "Murderah," y'know I'm sayin'? Keepin' it hot. Pace Won, Young Zee, Slang Ton, Dee You, Gino from Family Affair Management, Kobie from Proceed Entertainment, and we all in here just... doin' nothin'.

Young Zee: Outsidaz is just, right now we underground, you know. We always been underground. We tryin' to take it over the level, though. We just gotta wait 'till it's our time. Pace Won comin', Zee's comin', Digga's comin', Eminem's comin'. We all comin'. But right now it's just Pace, Digga, & Eminem with their name on the line. We got a couple offers on the line, but you know...

Slang Ton: We still negotiatin'.

Young Zee: We don't like to talk to much until it's happened, though, really. Once we come, then we can start runnin' our mouth.

Pace Won: Our last white label was called, "Rain or Shine." It's on Outhouse/ Proceed. That's the white label we got. Featuring Yah Lova, Axe, Pace Won, and Young Zee.

So, is "Outhouse" your label?

Pace Won: Yup. So far, it's our production company, tryin' to make it become a label, you know what I mean?

Where are y'all producing out of?

Pace Won: We got a little studio, it's called the Outhouse. It's off 20th Street & Springfield Avenue in Irvington. Our management group's down there, too. It's called Family Affairs; one floor below our studio.

Cool; yeah... so if y'all just wanna go down the line with... like, I know Young Zee had that album out on Perspective... Rah Digga...

Young Zee: Actually, I ain't have no album on Perspective. It was only, uh... they put a couple singles out, but they ain't do it the right way, anyway.

Pace Won: He was supposed to have a LP...

Music Meltdown, right?

Young Zee: I recorded it, but they ain't never release it.

Pace Won: Ok, Outsidaz: Young Zee, Pace Won, Yah Lova, Rah Digga, Denzy, Azzizz, Dee You, Loon One, Slang Ton, you know I mean? That's our members. In the Outsidaz we got the No Brain Class. That's Young Zee, his brother Yah Lova, and his DJ, Mudd. I'm a soloist, Pace Won. Rah Digga a soloist. We got another group called The Doepliss: Loon One and Slang Ton, Azzizz - he's a soloist, Slim Shady - he's a soloist on Aftermath: Dr. Dre's label; you know that's hot, We got Dee You, Denzy - Denzy's the youngest, you know, he's upcoming. And we got another group of Outsidaz in Detroit, you know I'm sayin'? Big up Proof, Bizarre, you know I'm sayin'? And Denyne.

So are they recording separately from you guys? Like, out there in Detroit, they have their own studio? That kinda thing?

Pace Won: Yup, yup. But we stay in touch.

Dee You: We send vocals on dats to 'em.

Young Zee: We go out there and record in their studio, too, and then they come over in the Outhouse studio, so it's all g.

Pace Won: And we use mail, and phone... alla that. Keep it tight. (Holds up a photo) This is Rah Digga, she's in Flipmode. She's representing the Outsidaz and Flipmode. And she's on Elektra... On Flipmode/ Elektra, that's Busta's label.

And that album's coming out in September, right?

Pace Won: Yup, yup. We all do something on it. She's currently on the Smokin' Grooves Tour, ya know I mean? She's out there making it HOT for us, hot...

Young Zee: Pace Won album about to come, you know... his white label about to come. Everybody pay attention for that. It's called, "Step Up," and the other joint's called, uhm... What's the joint called?

Pace Won: "I Declare War."

Young Zee: Yeah, "I Declare War." They be changing the white label all the time, you know, but that's the one that's comin' so be prepared.

Pace Won: It's comin' at the end of the month.

Young Zee: Yeah.

Pace Won: Late September...

And that's with Roc-A-Blok, right?

Young Zee: Right.

Pace Won: Uh-huh, yup.

Young Zee: Check me and Pace out when we do shows... we be whylin'. And me an' Digga... And all the Outsidaz, you know I'm sayin'? It's all g. Newark!

So how'd everybody here hook up with the Outsidaz? How'd y'all get together, all that?

Pace Won: Well, at first it was just me and Dee You. We used to rap together, you know I'm sayin'... We wasn't called the Outsidaz yet. We was called PNS - that's Prepared, Never Scared, you know I mean? Then we got Slang and Loon...

Young Zee: No y'all didn't!

Pace Won: In PNS we did.

Young Zee: Ohh...

Pace Won: And then we went out...

Young Zee: There wasn't no Outsidaz before me!

Pace Won: And then, when we went out, we met Zee. And we formed the Outsidaz. After that, Zee brought in Rah Digga. I went out to Detroit and got with Eminem, you know I'm sayin'? We made it tight. We just became a family. Azzizz got down from... He Yah Lova's friend. He was around us, he was real fresh on the rap tip.

Young Zee: Basically, when I came along, you know I'm sayin'... (Laughs)

Slang Ton: (holds up magazine) Yo, there goes Digga right here; she in The Source.

Young Zee: Yeah, Digga up in there... she up in there with the, uhm... Flipmode Tour, and the, uhm, Smokin' Grooves Tour, too.

Pace Won: That's the new one?

Slang Ton: Yeah.

They've got a review of the album in the back, too.

Pace Won: The Flipmode? Their album is hot, though.

Slang Ton: Yeah, word up.

Dee You: That'll be good when the album's out...

Pace Won: My labelmates, The Sporty Thievez just got 3 1/2 in the last Source, you know... They're out there, makin' it hot right now. Roc-A-Blok, ya know I mean? All my peoples is hot. Big up Redman, Roz Noble, The Govna... He was reviewed in Independants Day last month.

Right. Y'all were just on that...

Pace Won: Right. Redman, Roz, Runt Dog, Tame One from the Artifacts, ya know I mean? tryin' to make it hot.

Young Zee: Most definitely... So, you know, Outsidaz comin' with they album, and then we got a spin-off of a whole bunch of solo artists, you know I'm sayin'? Such as myself, we got Slang Ton, Dee You, Azzizz... We got the artists that's out there, now, and then we got some new ones coming. So just be prepared that when we got our feet all the way in, we ain't never stopping. It's coming.

So that collective Outsidaz album; is that gonna be like a white label, or are y'all waitin' to get signed?

Young Zee: Nah. We gonna do that on the label. We not gonna do...

Slang Ton: With a budget.

Pace Won: Big budget. Big, big, big budget.

Young Zee: We're negotiating some joints now, but you know... If anything else come along, we're gonna entertain that, too.

So what've you got... Like, I know I heard a song called "Hard Act to Follow"...

Young Zee: Yeah. That's with me, Slang, Yah, Digga, Eminem, and Azzizz... So, that's hot. Eminem's got his joint comin' out called, "Hi, My Name Is."

Kobie: Eminem's single is "Brain Damage" and "Just Don't Give a Fuck." His lawyer called and said that's the one that Interscope is servin'.

Young Zee: I got a tape for you, too. You know what I mean? Some hot Outsidaz stuff... Joints you can listen to, check it out. There's a joint on there called "Brick City," you might wanna throw that on the internet.

Pace Won: That's probably our next white label... that slash "Murderah!" If I ain't already plug it, let me plug it, again.

Do you have a date on for The Pace Won Effect?

Pace Won: Uhmm... early 9-9. January 9-9. 'Cause I got two singles comin' right now. That's "I Declare War"/ "Step Up" then I'll be doing something else... I did a song with Wyclef; that's gonna be next.

You've already worked with the Fugees before, right?

Pace Won: Me, Young Zee, and Rah. Called "Cowboys."

Young Zee: We did a song with Kurupt off Pace album, too.

Pace Won: And John Forte. ...And my group the Outsidaz.

Young Zee: Nowadays, MC's think, in order to win, they gotta have a whole bunch of famous MC's that's already on, on their album. It's not about expressing yourself no more. We got close personal friends in the industry like Busta, Keith... a couple people... Red. If we have a couple people like that on the album... You know, it's gonna be crazy. 'Cause madd people got a million people on the album. And we really wanna just do us and let a couple of our friends come rap.

Pace Won: The lyrical ones, ya know I'm sayin'?

Young Zee: Don't look for a million MC's that's already out to be on our joint.

It's like that with the Outsidaz, anyway, 'cause people already know half your members...

Young Zee: Yeah, you know I'm sayin'... And all our solo joints, too. You're gonna hear a lot of solos.

Dee You: A lot of solo mc's. You know how they do compilation albums, they wanna make sure they sell records now. It becomes like routine.

Pace Won: I got with 'Clef and Kurupt and, uhm, John Forte 'cause I like them. I'm a fan of theirs. So, of course, hookin' up with them was like natural.

Young Zee: We're gonna come with mad shit. You gonna see. Everybody's gonna see. On their solo joints, niggas gonna excel. And then the Outsidaz joint's just gonna take it above the rim.

What's the science behind the title: The Pace Won Effect?

Pace Won: Pace Won, my name, is like the cause. Pace Won represents hip-hop. When you hear my name, i want you to think, like, good hip-hop. And every cause got an effect, so it's The Pace Won Effect. My life, what I witnessed, how I rap, how it is in my hood. Just basic stuff, ya know I mean? With some creamy beats! Like Ski, Govna, Wyclef, Eyewitness, Young Zee, the Outhouse. And I'm gonna try to take it over. Thank you.

Young Zee: Pace Won's joint opened up a lot of doors for everybody. Everybody got a chance.

Pace Won: So did Young Zee's album. I met Ski through Zee, when he was Perspective. You know, Ski did "Problems," "you don't want no problems." After that, Ski was like, "I'm messin' with y'all."

Young Zee: Our only problem is, with signing, with the labels we're negotiating with, is we need to make sure our label can keep up with us, you know I'm saying?

Pace Won: Make sure the label's tryin' to win, you know I'm sayin'? Some labels just be throwing acts out, see what they can do. My label's Columbia. They're winners. So I got complete confidence in them. And we're trying to get the Outsidaz on a label like that. That's really trying to win.

To be continued immediately...

Tags: Outsidaz, Pace Won, Young Zee, Eminem, Rah Digga, Slang Ton, Dee You, Azzizz, DJ Muhammad

The Outz Hooked Up With Fugees Way Back When...

Two updates back I wrote about a record I get asked if it ever actually existed... well, this time I'm writing about a record I was told never existed by the artist himself. When this first came out, I was having kind of a hard time finding it... also around that time I was interviewing the Outsidaz a lot for the Source and what-not... So I asked if they could help me out, and Young Zee told me this record never actually came out. I was pretty happy to report to him the next time I saw him that I'd gotten my hands on a copy.

"Stay Gold" is a track off of Zee's tragically never released Musical Meltdown album (a really bad review in the Source probably was a contributing cause... in fact, this review could be said to be what started the whole Eminem/Source beef that eventually led to the Source's, uh, change in ownership). It features fellow Outsidah and other half of No Brain Class, Yah Yah (he's also Zee's brother, if ya didn't know) and Lauryn Hill (if I have to tell you what crew she's from, you're probably reading the wrong blog), who kicks a brief verse as well as singing the hook:

"These dimensions and extensions will secure my future pension
When I mention corporate lynchin's like the cowboys did to injuns.
The intentions of the Devil is to cause me hypertension,
So stay gold like Stevie Wonder; don't blunder like OJ Simpson."

...Yup, that's it, her whole verse. But any chance to hear Hill in MC rather than diva mode (though her hook on this track is cool, too) is a big plus. Zee kicks his typical (and I mean that in the best sense... Zee's typical is great) Redman-meets-the-Outz style lyrics and delivery:

"Yeah, Zee need to battle with the older guys
'Cause all you little n_ggas get pulverized
Yeah, I get ill on funky beats like Jalil;
Yo posse gonna wind up in Beth Israel.
Bring yo' fleet,
You'll get stabbed and beat
And stomped out in the streets with my football cleats"

He even edges his way into the Fugees/ Jeru beef with a quick diss:

"What is this trash I hear?
Is it Static, like Jeru and Premiere?
Your MC style is way too old,
I unfold pure funk as long as I stay gold."

The track is dominated by a funky banjo looped over a drum track and bassline... it's definitely tight, but can be grating after a lot of repeated listens. Fortunately, there's a remix on the b-side, which replaces the banjo with a smoother piano loop. So the main mix is the preferred, but the remix is a great alternate, which is exactly the role a remix should fill, I think, ideally.

For those who don't know, Young Zee is coming back... he's got a free mixtape of all new material for download on his website, youngzeeonline.com. It's also heartening to see a lot of the Outz involved, including Axe, D.U. and Rah Digga; and he's even got links to Pace Won and Emzy's pages on his myspace page, so maybe there's hope for a proper Outsidaz reunion?