(Werner Necro'd) Luke Sick IM Interview

You guys remember Rebirthmag? It was a dope, indie hip-hop site run out of Chicago... I wrote for them for a while towards the end. This is an unedited (the way I like 'em) interview I did with Luke Sick of Sacred Hoop for 'em 6/8/01 at 4 in the morning. Some people I talk to, by the way, remember Sacred Hoop's classic material from the mid to late 90's, but seem surprised when I tell them that they're still killing it and just put out a great, new album this year. But yeah, anyway. Without further ado, here's my Luke Sick IM interview - enjoy:

Luke: this is luke
I would like to join hassan I sabbah's hash assassin force
Luke: how do i prove it
Luke: oh I know I have a five foot cock
Werner: Well, I generally prove my sincerity through song, but that's just me
Luke: I should have killed you I wanted to then and I still do
Werner: So, tell the folks at home something introductory about Sacred Hoop
Werner: (You'd be surprised how many people IM me to tell me that, actually)
Luke: that's one of my songs but I'm not really on the murder tip these days though. Sacred Hoop is me (luke Sick)--DJ MarZ (the Drug addict) and Vrse Murphy who doesn't want to be located right now--other crews are jealous of us cuz we have the best players at all the crucial positions and because we have orgies on week nights not just after shows-- and we know how to cook crank and they don't.
Werner: So speaking of Marz, how did you hook up with him, and what did y'all do with Fundouglas?
Luke: Fon quit. that song 'I quit' on the new album is dedicated to him. Can you believe he quit the Beatles of this underground whiteboy garage hip-hop shit? He quit the week after we found out that Elektra was interested in signing the Hoop. He isn't into that 'show yer ass on TV shit' so He quit. so we got Quest and Marz from space trav but then Quest quit to do Live Human so now we got Marz--I met him at a High Noon party (Some backyard Mission district, sf shit at that graff writer SPIE's house --he smoked all my weed so I asked him to be in the gang. he breaks records over my head if I don't get him beers during the show. he thinks I'm his bitch, but that's not really how I see it. Marz joined like 5 years ago--we did acid and chopped down a tree at Vrse cabin together while vrse was making the beat for When I'm Broke
Werner: So, was that connection with Elektra in any way related to Brougham's Elektra stint, or is that pure coincidence?
Luke: Yeah but Brougham stole our thunder. it was fucked up! they didn't even know--and this was before limp biscuit before eminem before whitey ford before moby before at the drive in before Rimbaud before Jack Kerouac before Henry MIller before James Joyce before Mix master mike joined beastie boys before buckethead was in guns 'n roses before before before and Quest was in the group when they showcased us--but they were on Brougham's dick so I was like "gotta make some scrill off this so I don't have to get a job and can keep getting drunk--then elektra dumped brougham and warner bros. picked it up and sat on it for like two years so when it came out is was all blase.I got chumped but I used the money to record and put out the new Hoop album. it's called 'Sleepover' --Oak d's sittin over my shoulder makin me prostitute that shit, but the album is the illest I must admit.
Werner: ok, so tell us about the new album... why the title "Sleepover?"
Luke: we were gonna call it "a teenage sleepover" or 'a teen sleepover' and it was supposed have a little girl on the cover, laying our 45 on her plastic fischer-price, in her room at her parent's house with roses from prom night hanging on her wall drying out--but vrse pussed out cauz he ain't down with gettin busted for kiddie-tricks, and besides the guy who did the cover, world reknown painter Aaron Horkey, had a different idea of what a teenage sleep over meant. so for those two reasons it became just 'sleepover'--but I just thinkit's an awful nice thing to say to a girl "Hey! you. no not you! you. sleepover." and she's Like, "okay." And I'm like, "I'm fuckin'."
Werner: is there really a Sacred Hoop 45?
Luke: No
Luke: really no
Werner: heh; ok. i understood at one point, there was going to be a SH release on Oxygen Music, though... is that still happening?
Luke: no and so was Kinetic and so was Dog Day and so was sick wid it so was get low so was stones throw so was mo'wax so was sole sides so was epic so was grand royal so was rap -a-lot so was ruthless so was rawkus so was rhyme sayers so was uncle howie's so was hollywood so was funky ass but they all fell threw no just kidding only the first seven ever actually approached us
Luke: okay none accept the first one approached us and that's why oxygen didn't work out. but nothing ever works out. you just get fucked gently with a chainsaw
Werner: ha - i was gonna say... i was counting seven, going "solesides? really?" so, we shouldn't hold our breaths for a "matronik vs. the hoop" techno remix of "frrrnt."
Luke: naw that shits comin' out in zero-six. did you know I did songs with Brain from Primus and Buckethead from Praxis who are both in Guns 'n roses now. wow! I'm gettin drunk now --when I get drunk I get on my own dick.
Werner: well, i knew you did a couple songs with the dwarves, though it's actually kind of hard to pick you (or anyone/ thing) out on that album...
Luke: Let's talk about music what you feel these days potna
Werner: well, contemporary music-wise (i still listen to a LOT of old school records, generally); i'd say pretty exclusively underground, "artsy" rap, like anticon, braille, aesoprock, ani difranco... looking for stuff with substance
Luke: I know if you blink you miss me--I'm on track 7 it's called "deadly eye" I say "Hewhocannotbenamed bring on the young girls and the free cocaine!" and some other shit-- Marz scratches on song "Over you"--'tis dope...that was the only thing cool about Brougham we got to meet the Dwarves--I've been a huge fan since birth. Kurt Cobain used to bow to them. we were recording in the same place and I got to Know Blag the lead singer and now me him and Marz are doing a project called "get the hater" our first single is 'fuck you style' b/w 'what m.c.in' is all about"
Luke: I Like M.O.P. Salute! I don't like substance I expect it.
Werner: i imagine expecting substance could be pretty disappointing business on a general scale...?
Werner: is "get the hater" gonna be a miasmatic project?
Luke: uhhhhhh? I dunno what--I kinda want it to come out on Man's Ruin but Marz thinks he owns the rights to it--and Oak D. is calling his lawyer--I dunno --I stay out of that side of it--I'm a retard
Werner: so, vrse's not gonna be involved in that... he wasn't with brougham, and only tangently on disturbers... is he more "strictly hip-hop," then, i take it?
Luke: no he's doing his instru-fag-mental dj shadow-esque/moby/fat boy slim solo project right now. does that answer your question? no seriously I'm just fucking with him because he just got out of rehab and he doesn't want to be located right now and he doesn't want any body to find him. I called my boy Thug-e-fresh (Check for our live collabo 'Killin' mutha fuckas in Vacaville') to see if he was in Chico. but he ain't seen him neever... so vrse as usual is missing and yes he is 'strictly hip-HOP" emphasis on HOP.
Luke: of course he's hip hop have you heard The Bachelors?
Luke: That's a b-boy classic Z-man is my favorite mc.
Werner: no, actually, i haven't... here on the east coast, folks've gotta wait for atak to stock it
Luke: my title is "the only whiteboy to bring a gold plaque back to ATAK
Luke: gee aren't I racial today?
Werner: gold plaque? was that "i walked in?"
Werner: ha - you're aboutthis close to offending my delicate sensibilities...
Luke: Fuck yeah. I was on the same album as run-dmc. I stood on my head and shit on myself. MY mom has the plaque up in her kitchen it was like my ticket back into thanksgiving dinners. seriously though I like the coked up run-dmc--tougher than leather era--in fact all my favorite music is from the crack era '85-'92 hip hop's golden years like '79 was for brit punk
Werner: yeah, it all kind of rose and fell with the fat boys...
Luke: when crack was cool.. oh, when crack was cool
Luke: crushin' is the album right there
Luke: fat boys that is
Luke: i'm not being facetious
Werner: nah, i agree... though i kind of missed the sutra sound... though, it didn't occur to me to miss the sutra/ k. blow style until coming back hard again
Luke: did I spell facetious right
Werner: yeah, that looks right to me
Werner: let me ask you this: who's the film buff in SH? 'cause, you know, while most hip-hop are quoting and sampling every nanosecond of scarface, y'all've been referencing and/or sampling peckinpah, say anything, russ meyer, fellini, etc
Luke: we played the fillmore in SF. I love to brag about this, and I might as well kepp braggin cuz that's all I been doin' --at the Fillmore this girl said we sounded like "suburban ametuer karoke" and I'm like finally somebody got it right. Can you believe the Hoop played on the same stage as Janis Joplin? Grateful Dead? Jimi Hendrix? Cream? after that girl made that comment I said, "what do think about dildos? oh did I say dildos? no I didn't mean--oh yes I did--what do you think about dildos?" and she walked the fuck away. that's right
Luke: ok about film. Fon was the original with the peckinpah shit--but I know more than him did you catch the Fletch in No Category?
Werner: nah - i'm gonna have to go back, now, and check it after this
Luke: I'll have a steak sandwich and a steak sandwich the bassline from the end of service and maintainence is from the movie Kalifornia vrse is gonna be pissed that I'm snitchin
Luke: Fellini? where?
Werner: on "panhandling" - the driving loop of the girl singing is the girl who sang on the beach in 8 1/2
Werner: that "lah, da da da dah" ish
Luke: oh la dah dah oh yeah that's vrse tryin' to fuck an arsty bitch and blowin' her off to make beats cuz the movie had some tight shit in it
Werner: yeah, i remember thinking that had to be a hip-hop first...
Luke: fellini or kalifornia or fellini or a producer who actually blew off a bitch to make beats for once?
Luke: I menat fletch not the second fellini
Werner: well, i meant fellini, but they all probably apply
Luke: I meant meant not menat
Luke: ha
Luke: a whole new kind of drunk interview
Luke: good thing I'm like Bukowski on these keys bitch
Werner: it'll give the whole thing more of an "genuine" feel... maybe
Luke: maybe i'll shove the dead rat in the cat's ass
Luke: stupid
Luke: so ask me about drugs and women
Werner: moving on? who's the band on "moe's interlude" (moe's trange hobby) and the intro to the second disturbers' cd?
Werner: for that matter, who's moe?
Luke: The Donnas an all chick punk group from palo alto california
Luke: moe is a graffiti writer who lived at my house who never bombed and never got up he didn't even tag he was a toy I think he did half a piece once and show it off to me no less
Luke: that was in Mountain view (dirttown) like 4 years ago
Luke: The donnas are hot I have a crush
Werner: so, alright... drugs and women... ha, we'll do it Tiger Beat interview style: what kind of girls do you like, and where's your favorite place to take a girl on a date?
Luke: when I say 'i'm that rocknroll boy who don't wash his hair' it's because they have a song called rocknroll boy about a guy who doesn't you guessed it wash his hair.
Luke: cool that kinda answers that last question
Luke: I like all the donnas even the scary bassplayer
Luke: but my favorite is the guitar player
Luke: but she's out of my league
Luke: this is easier to do type writer style
Luke: I'm down for the lead singer most she's kinda christina ricci
Luke: the drummer is like animal from the muppet show with long hair
Luke: but hot
Werner: well, that follows... animal was kinda hot
Luke: oh shit
Luke: so tell every body to cop the old albums and remember who they bit
Luke: rappers are so mad
Luke: going to frig for beer one sec.
Luke: word I'm back. have you heard the bullet proof space travelers album
Luke: let's talk about who I bit
Werner: i got the space travelers breakbeat set and a dub of an old bullet proof tape
Luke: well the rapper on the new album 'Built to Last" out on Stray records is one of the main people I bite his name is Eddie K. he is the 1000 proof mc he is from Lake view, sf and has been down with Eddie Def the last creep from jump.
Luke: I just did a song with him called --we might be drunk
Werner: is that going to be for their next album, or the next hoop album, or...?
Luke: no on an album that Marz is doing cause he's in that crew too. the project is called the Rehab clinic in honor of vrse not having anything to do with it. the rehab clinic is live outtakes of our shows from sf to santa cruz to az to chico, ca and drunk ass songs recorded by marz it should be chainless get it?--that is so honky!
Luke: chainless how stupid
Luke: do you want to hear about the next two miasmatic releases?
Werner: yeah, definitely
Luke: first is --The Bachelors--featuring Z-man from 99th Demention and Vrse"go ahead ask him if he's thirsty" Murphy from yours truly--like I said before it's a b-boy classic-- and sorry I mean the EPMD b-boy not as in breakdancing--secondly we have a Vrse Murphy presents type thing coming out that'll be just like a Hoop record but me and Z won't be the only emcees--Eddie K.'s gonna be on there so is Jihad from third sight and Brandon B from gAME tIGHT eLECTRO and some other lucky bitches
Luke: have you heard the disturbers kefu qan
Werner: yeah... although i haven't really played the newer disturber tapes as much as anasi spider
Luke: My boys from the disturbers most namely Unbreakable Combz and Curator are floating beautiful on some fuck the world shit --honestly though can you even listen to kefu qan I know it's hard
Werner: yeah... i mean, it's not something i've ever really sat and gotten that familiar with, though
Werner: oh, hey - lemme ask you about that neila ep (that vrse produced) before i forget
Luke: good you are too scared to talk about kefu qan that's how I like it. Neila got Marz so fucked up on brown weed blunts one night that he could join me a Z-man jumping into the pool with gold ropes on at a vrse's house house party in phoenix--he passed out off weed--and i'm not talkin bout gittin the spins i'm talkin bout drinkin til ya brain cave in
Werner: well, i can't really speak too intelligently on kefa qan (it may also be debatable on whether i can speak intelligently on other matters), as i've only actually listened to it a couple times
Luke: i mean he couldn't join me and z-man
Luke: dude I should skidattle I got go collect me virgins and cold beer and go to gourmet food with my girlfriend Tina hi tina don't try an bust me out when you read this on the internet cause yer a nerd get offa there don't you know that is why our rent is so high don't support these fucks, I don't mean you john, ofcourse.
Werner: ha, cool; alright. good talking to you for... actually, quite a while
Luke: I know a pint later and we're still here I typing slower now though and I didn't write I'm
Luke: how do you hang up? oh I have to say what's up to Cocks Of Satan new rap crew comin out of San Jose and Shadow People from Redwood City and Joe Dubbs and Sub contents and megabusive and FTA and rase and shane and p-minus and smash adams and little pussy every where. when I get my shit together I'll send you my shit did you know the Hoop (me vrse, z, and marz where in a majorly released movie
Luke: doing a Brougham song in a bar scene
Werner: no; what movie is that?
Luke: it is call Playing Mona Lisa it was adapted from a play called two golsteins on acid
Luke: put that in the interview I want these bitches to know
Luke: if you blink you'll miss us we beat out Rasco for the role and that is not a lie
Luke: I really have to go my girl is gonna kill me
ok one more beer

Tags: Luke Sick, Sacred Hoop

aoljpictureUpload, aoljpictureUpload_1

Great Album Ideas (Partially) Ruined By a REALLY BAD Decision!

Ok... so if you haven't already seen them, be prepared for some good news. A new label called No Sleep Recordings, with some big-time distribution through Traffic Entertainment, have released two compilations of vintage, unreleased material from Godfather Don and Kwest tha Madd Ladd! Woot! And from what I hear, the sound quality is top notch. So, go get them. You want them.

Ok, now here's the REALLY BAD decision of the title that has be so incredibly frustrated with the guys at No Sleep who put this together - Both of these albums are chock full of previously released cuts. And both artists have way more than enough great unreleased tracks to take their place and fill the albums. The official write up for the Kwest tha Madd Ladd's These Are My Unreleased Tracks says, "he recorded over 50 songs, many of which were not present on his debut." Over fifty. So why have they filled the CD with stuff like the old "What's the Reaction?" remix and the tracks from his Gub-Ment Cheese 12" instead? "What's the Reaction" remix? That's not even rare!

I could see if he only had, like, 5 or 6 unreleased tracks, and so they decide to fill the album with "bonus" 12" remixes and such... But this way we'll still probably never hear most of those 50 genuinely unreleased tracks!

It's the same with Godfather Don's The Ninties Sessions. It's FULL of tracks from his old Hydra 12"'s that all us fans already have. They've even included 5 of the 6 tracks from his recent Slave of New York EP. Meanwhile, we know there are a grip of other Don cuts that have never seen the light of day. For instance, there's about 10 really great Cenubites songs I've got radio dubs of - at least as good as on the original, classic Cenubites EP - and they have never been released! Those would have been wonderful to have included on this album.

Anyway, both albums do have some quality recordings of some actual unreleased tracks... so they're worth picking up. And a little extra good news: according to their myspace page, "for all you fellow vinyl junkies, we will be releasing several limited 12" samplers of music previously unavailable on wax." So that's promising. But, man, No Sleep's decision to keep us from hearing those genuinely unreleased tracks in favor of "What's the Reaction" remix? FUCKING WACK!!

Update: No Sleep has addressed the issue of the other Kwest tracks, saying "we don't have them and sadly they may never be obtained. Unfortunately, Kwest did not keep good copies from back then. We were EXTREMELY fortunate to get DAT copies of what is on the CD from Dan Charnas himself. He does not have everything either but shared everything he did keep. Kwest constantly tells us about additional songs and concepts that he worked on, but are now lost to the ages...The album currently consists of material recorded and left off his debut album, as well as songs that were recorded soon after his album for the EP he was working on. He opted out of his deal before the release of this EP. A fan can tell which songs are from the EP by the noticed change in his style and wordplay (i.e. "Bust 'Em Off" and "Why Me?"). In short, what was found is what was released on this CD....To make the purchase stronger we added the 12" only stuff to please long time fans.."

They also addressed the similar topic of Don's other unreleased material: "as a huge fan of Stretch and Bobbito, I know (as most other fans do) about the deluge of material that was out there...Again, Don doesn't have copies of a lot of things anymore. He does have unreleased Cenobites material but that could not be included without involving Kool Keith. We are currently working on getting that stuff out to you too, so stay tuned! Hopefully through other sources, we can get you more of the solo material as well. Again, sound quality is key with these releases and our goal is hopefully share as many songs as we can in proper CD format."

I have to say, these are pretty satisfactory answers, and the fact that they're working on releasing more of Don's stuff is certainly promising. Apparently there are still issues of them breaking an exclusivity deal that Don had with DWG for material from their Slave of New York EP, but I guess I'll leave that between them. So good looking, No Sleep, for speaking on these issues and I'll certainly be keeping an eye out for your next Don release.

Tags: Godfather Don, Kwest tha Madd Ladd

Lyrics? Somebody Want Lyrics?

Every so often I transcribe and submit lyrics to the Online Hip-Hop Lyrics Database... Here's a compilation of all the lyrics I can remember submitting (there are probably one or two others I forgot):

Artist: Man Parrish f/ Freeze Force
Album:  Boogie Down Bronx 12"
Song:   Boogie Down Bronx
Typed by: WVWalenrod@AOL.com

Cool Johnski from the Freeze Force Crew
I came here to say a def rhyme for you
About the Boogie Down Bronx, it's a one of a kind
It's the place to be; it's a state of mind
But the guys out here, they really are crookin'
They snatch gold chains when the cops ain't lookin'
But what can I say? It's the place to be
It's where I stay in reality
So listen close and you all will here
About the devestatin' body rocker of the year

Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie
Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie
Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie Boogie
Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie Boogie, Boogie Boogie

One young man born to be an MC
The only one that rocks ya with a guarantee
Because I dress to impress, guaranteed to be a hit
I walk down the street, the girls are jumpin' on it
I got the ladies on my left, the beats on my right
The ladies follow me all through the night
'Cause I'm the one with the action, the king of satisfaction
You listen to my rhythm, there is a chain reaction
It goes on your back, it goes down your spine
And when it hits your head, it's gonna blow your mind
And if you're from the Bronx and you hear the sound
Come on, everybody, boogie down, boogie down

Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie
Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie
Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie Boogie
Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie Boogie, Boogie Boogie

My man Man Parrish and Cool Raul
Cooler than the water in a swimming pool
Like a R to the A, the U and the L
Pushing more power than a Duracell
And like the L to the A, the F and the Y
The hip-hop master that you can't deny
So check out the beat and listen to the sound
And if you're from the Bronx just boogie down

Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie
Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie
Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie Boogie
Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie Boogie, Boogie Boogie

People all around walk around in the streets
They got the funky box with the Johnski beats
You here the sound, become a believer
Then go to the Bronx, hang out at The Fever
You take the D to 205th
Then go see me 'cause I got the gift
And I'm the cool MC with the vicious sounds
I'm not from the Bronx, but I still Boogie Down
F to the R, double E, Z, E
F to the O, the R, C, E
Yes, the Freeze Force and we never lost
At any cost 'cause I'm the boss
I'm the cash back, money keeper
Never broke, never cheaper
If you ask me for a dime
Give it to you any time
Keep cash money, but I'm no jerk
I can use it, don't abuse it, I can put it to work
Just to buy my clothes, all designer names
And if you wanna bite, you'll never look the same
Bill Blass, Calvin Klein, are some of mine
You'll never catch me on the welfare line

Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie
Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie
Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie Boogie
Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie Boogie, Boogie Boogie

You've got the perfect beat, I hear you say
But you better listen close 'cause I'm here to state
That I rock so good, I rock so strong
I rock so well 'cause I last so long
I rock the mic with the greatest of ease
To all the all fine and the sweet and the young ladies
And when I say my rhymes, I know ya want to bite
That's not right or polite, so we have to fight
But I don't want to fight; I'd rather rhyme instead
'Cause my rhyme style's fresher than Wonder Bread
And all my brothers in the Bronx we got to rhyme
Catch all the ladies and blow their minds
And all the brothers and the sisters in the US of A
This hip-hop music is here to stay

Johnski boogies down to the Boogie Down Bronx
Freeze Force boogies down to the Boogie Down Bronx
Raul boogies down to the Boogie Down Bronx
Zulu Nation boogies down to the Boogie Down Bronx
Mayor Koch boogies down to the Boogie Down Bronx
? boogies down to the Boogie Down Bronx
Captain Mike boogies down to the Boogie Down Bronx
Two Sisters boogies down to the Boogie Down Bronx
? boogies down to the Boogie Down Bronx
Haunted House boogies down to the Boogie Down Bronx
? boogies down to the Boogie Down Bronx
? boogies down to the Boogie Down Bronx
Brooklyn boogies down to the Boogie Down Bronx
Queens boogies down to the Boogie Down Bronx
Staten Island boogies down to the Boogie Down Bronx
Manhattan boogies down to the Boogie Down Bronx

Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie
Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie
Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie Boogie
Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie Boogie, Boogie Boogie

Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie
Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie
Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie Boogie
Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie Boogie, Boogie Boogie

Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie
Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie
Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie Boogie
Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie Boogie, Boogie Boogie

Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie
Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie
Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie Boogie
Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie Boogie, Boogie Boogie

Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie
Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie
Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie Boogie
Boogie Down Bronx, Boogie Boogie, Boogie Boogie

Artist: Surf MC's
Album:  Surf or Die
Song:   Surf or Die
Typed by: WVWalenrod@AOL.com

Oh, Surf!
Or die!
Surf!
Or die!
Surf!
Or die!
You've got to surf!
Or diiieee!
We were born in the year of our lord
With nothing on our backs but our funky surf boards
Miles at sea - that's where you'll find us
Hundred foot waves, not far behind us
Sharks on my right, sharks on my left
One false move, we knew it was death
That's when we heard a terrifying cry
"Hug wood, homeboy - you better surf or die!"
Surf!
Or die!
Surf!
Or die!
Radical!
You've got to surf!
Or die!
Homeboy!
Surf or die!
Surf or die!
We surfed as Magellan; we surfed as Columbus
We surf around the world, and we don't need a compass
We have no beginning
We have no end
If you're reincarnated, you'll surf with us again!
Surf!
Forget the other shit
The other shit's bunk!
We want the beach town surf
We walk on the beach, in the sand
with our boards in our hand
And If you don't know by now
Then you'll never understand!
Surf!
Surf!
R-r-radical!
Surf!
Radical!
Surf or die!
Or die!
Or die!
Now on the beach, Californ-I-A
Where another surfers born every single day
Zuma Jay board, the one I use to surf
We put on our wheels when we're rollin' on the dirt
We roll through the streets, we roll through the valleys
We roll through the hills, and we roll through the alleys
Once on water, now on land
If it can be ridden than the funky surfers can!
Surf!
Surf!
Or die!
Radical!
Surf!
Homeboy!
Or die!
You've got to surf!
Or die!
Or die!
Surf!
Or die!
Radical!
Surf!
Or die!
Radical!
Surf!
Or die!
Radical!
You've got to surf!
Or die!
Or die!
Surf!
Or die!
Surf or die!
Radical!
 
 
 
Artist: Special Ed
Album:  Top Shelf 8/8/88 (Compilation)
Song:   This Mic
Typed by: WVWalenrod@AOL.com

I'm about to open up this mic and fix it
Simplistic
Linguistic
Technician
Fusion
With fision in a vision
Like I'm in a television
Via satellite
You wanna battle, right?
Yeah, press the channel
Refer to your manual
You rhyme semi-annual
I make fresh rhymes... daily
Never did my school work
So they tried to fail me
Never told me nothing about Hailey
Selassie
Call me Special Ed
'Cause they don't see what I see
Ultra-
Violet
Flight pilot
Keep your wallet
Give me your dedication
Druggy with your medication
Have ya waitin'
Out in the rain
For a train and a bus
I was made from dust
Lazarus
Style: hazardous
Church Ave., straight from Erasmus

I'm deep like the sea floor
I'll make you see four
When there's one
You be stunned
Didn't see me come, but yeah, I'm right here
Up in your ear like q-tips or wax
Either which one, relax
And keep still
Peep skill
As I get deep like a drill
In a molar
I roll like a stroller
Sold a
Whole lotta records in my life
I hop flights to rock mics
While you frontin' for the cars
Or maybe for the chicks
I walk right through
And I'm steppin' on ya kicks
Right to the mic
Front and center
Don't nothin' enter
This area is restricted
Too much heat, you need liquid
Caution:
It's scorchin'
You don't wanna go there
I got it locked down... I did a show there

You don't wanna get me mad
I'll put you in a bag
And tie it
Like Wyatt
Earp
You'll get hurt
I'm much worse
I touch first
I don't scream and curse
I just breath deep
And I put you to sleep
Like hypnosis
Givin' you fatal doses
Rap ulcers
I rhyme aggressive
Get the message?
I bring forces
You can't stop
Like a pack of wild horses
Comin' back
To they extensions
I'm the kid everybody mentions
When you say: classic
When you say: lyric
Originality, performance and spirit
I don't wanna hear it
Bring it and I'll put it on you
And make you wear it
Where the stage?
Clear it
Anybody come near it
Let 'em come
And leave you shinin'
Red rum
And then some
 
 
 
Artist: Buck 65
Album:  Vertex
Song:   The Centaur
Typed by: WVWalenrod@AOL.com

Most people are curious
Some wanna get dirt on
The Centaur; I'm famous
I walk around with no shirt on
The easiest way would be for you to lie face down
I'm a man
But I'm built like a horse from the waist down
People are afraid of me but act like they love me
Feast your eyes upon my nudity
I am Beauty AND the Beast
I have plenty to say
But nobody listens because my cockis so big
And the end of it glistens; so I'm famous for it
"Freaky" is what everyone's name is for it
Sure, it's larger than yours
I'm a CENTAUR for Chrissakes!
I like to eat rice cakes and listen to classical music
I'm told passion is my specialty
But really I'm old-fashioned
I'm quite well-built
As fas as physiques go
So people seem to think that I belong in a freak show
They wanna have pictures taken
Constantly assumin' that my sex drive
is three times that of a normal human
Askin' silly questions like I'm their personal mentor
All they care about is my big dick because I'm the centaur
The porno industry
Wants to pay me lots of money to appear in books and movie
'Cause they think I look funny
But I'm lookin' for true love
Not groupies and freaks
More than a huge cock - I have a complicated mind
I'm not the favorite kind of companion
For the average person
Sometimes things start well
But eventually worsen when sex becomes a problem
Or else they're unimpressed with the attention that you get
Bein' a centaur's love interest
You don't care about my next life
Just my ex-wife and the intimate details of our sex life
Most people are curious
Some wanna get dirt on
The Centaur; I'm famous
I walk around with no shirt on
The easiest way would be for you to lie face down
I'm a man
But I'm built like a horse from the waist down
 
 
 
Artist: Kurtis Blow
Album:  Deuce
Song:   Starlife
Typed by: WVWalenrod@AOL.com_

If you party hearty
If you make the scene
If you've got the jones
For a limousine
Forget your worries
And the wya things are
Spend a day in the life
Of a superstar!

Star life
Staarraarraarr life
Star life
Staarraarraarr life

On Monday morning, he checks the news
He's number one in rhythm and blues
From record to record he tops the sheet
And the other stars cannot compete
He hits the notes that are so high
The men just stare and the women cry
They come to see him from near and far
The man they made a superstar

The genuine owner of twenty cars
Spends all his days among the stars
And when he's got to cool out and chill
Got a brand new house at the top of the hill
One of a kind, not even two
Push button down with an open view
And every room's got a new TV
And every dog's got a pedigree

Livin' every day in the life of a star
Star life!
Livin' every day in the life of a star
Star life!
Huh!

He's got a mansion up in Beverly Hills
With a great big swimming pool
Got a townhouse back in old New York
Where he used to go to school
And some folks say
He's got his own chalet
If he wants to go and ski
And a house in France
For a little romance
Outside of gay Pari!
Ha ha, ha ha!

Star life
Staarraarraarr life
Star life
Staarraarraarr life

Star life
Staarraarraarr life
Star life
Staarraarraarr life

Wherever he goes, he sets the mood
With the fly, fly clothes and the fancy food
All over the town with the pretty girl
He makes the scene and he rocks the world
He's makin' money, maybe even the most
With the bass that's known from coast to coast
He gets the best; he gets it all
He's got fifty gold records up on the wall!

Tags: Surf MCs, Buck 65, Kurtis Blow, Man Parrish, Freeze Force Crew, Special Ed

(Werner Necro'd) Big Daddy Kane Interview

Hey guys, it's Werner. It's 1999 and we're in here with Big Daddy Kane. He's got an album that's just come out recently on The Label records. It's called Veteranz Day. You wanna tell us a little something about that?

Well, that's it. It's out... It's called Veteranz Day... I like it. I think anyone who purchases it will enjoy it.

Well, how'd you hook up with The Label Records, 'cause you were on MCA last.

Yeah, after my agreement with MCA terminated, I wanted to do something independent. But, unfortunately, that was...I should've stayed with MCA.

But you did get some independent stuff out, right? Like you had that 12" with 2Pac out, "Untouchable?"

Oh, but, uh... That's bootleg.

But how'd you hook that up with 2Pac?

I hooked up with him after a Tyson fight... I think it was the Tyson/Frank Bruno fight, out in Vegas. We were talkin' about doing something, and Suge thought it would be a hot idea. So he had me and Pac fly from Vegas back to LA, back to the studio, knock it out. So, you know, we're in there. We never got finished, because, actually, Snoop was supposed to be on the chorus.

Alright, on your web-site, The Label web-site, you had tracks like, "I Get the Job Done part Deux" which, obviously wasn't on your album. What's up with that?

Well, to be honest with you, I never really saw that web-site. I mean, them dudes at The Label are idiots. Those are songs that were supposed to be on the album that we've taken off. We had "Get the Job Done" part two, another song called, "Three's Company," and something else. But those dudes up there are real confused, so, ain't no tellin' what you might see. I never saw the web-site.

Think there's any chance of those tracks getting released as a b-side?

Like "Get the Job Done part Deux?" I doubt it. I would doubt it.

Alright, so maybe go back and give us a little more of the history... How you came up with Biz Markie and all that...

Oh, Biz was my man. We met in Brooklyn. He was tryin' to get on as an artist. Establish himself as an artist. I used to travel around to parties andperform with him. And when he did get a record deal, he came and got me, and brought me out. I wrote the majority of the songs on his first album and a couple of songs down the line. And, I wrote a few songs for Shante.

Right. So, think there's any chance of you doin' anymore Juice Crew reunion projects? Like, I know you did "The Cypha pt. 3" with Frankie Cutlass.

Well, it's been mentioned to me. Matter of fact, Sway and Tech in LA, they wanted to do like a "Symphony '99." I said I was willin'. And I know G. Rap said he was willin'. They're tryin' to get Ace. I don't know the exact status on that. But I would love to. I would love to. Especially where my skills, G. Rap's skills, Master Ace's and, Craig G's skills are. I think that we're really at our peeks, lyrically. Like Craig G, he won the seminar with SuperNat, and I know he's really feelin' himself and would love the opportunity to redo what we did. G. Rap, of course, is G. Rap. And Ace. I heard him on a tape that Mister Cee had, and Ace sounded real, real good. So, I'm pretty sure that we could do something probably even hotter than before. And you know, with Marley, he's around a lot of the new, younger talents, so I'm pretty sure, production-wise, he would even step it up. We could probably make something very good.

How would you say your style has changed?

I believe that my vocabulary has broadened. I believe that I know how to deliver metaphors in ways that's not as typical as I used to. And, plus, I believe that I really tightened up my flow. I think when I was younger, my flow wasn't as tight as it could have been. I think I really tightened it up a lot.

And, also, one big difference is now you're producing a lot of your own stuff, right?

I was producin' then. It's just that it wasn't, you know, recognized.

Now, you've worked with a whole lot of people, not just the Juice Crew... but from "HEAL," to the "Close the Crack House" project... R&B like Barry White, Patti Labelle... What's it like being able to work with all these people most rappers don't get to work with?

Well, these are projects that I thought were very interesting. You know, the "HEAL" project and the "Close the Crack House" project, were things I thought were educational projects. Real good message to the youth. And then, a lot of the other songs, were just a lot of my personal favorites. Even though there was a message in "Burn, Hollywood, Burn," I was just a fan of Chuck D, Flavor Flav, you know. But, you know, Patti LaBelle, Barry White, those are artists I've always admired. To have the opportunity to record with them I thought was great.

So how'd you hook up with that new Dionne Warwick project?

That was something arranged through Double XXposure. You know, we share the same publicity company: the people who made this interview possible. And they told me what Dionne was doing, and I thought that it was a great idea. Especially due to the reason of Dionne having a problem with gangsta rap. To see that she could now accept rap, and want to work with rappers to try to deliver a message to the youth through rap, is something I thought was real positive, to make certain people think.

And also, speaking of working with people, you're on the new Prince Paul project comin' out, right? Prince of Thieves?

Yeah, I play a character named Count Macula. The video for it, too, is pretty cool. You know, Paul is a long time friend. He always came through, musically. Talented producer. He's the only person on the planet I know who still uses synthonic drums. He's a talented dude.

Is there anybody out there, now, who you haven't worked with, who you'd like to?

I'd love to work with Lauryn Hill. I'd love to work with Big Pun. And I'd love to work with Ronald Isley.

Alright, and, now, to get back to your new album... You've got a couple people on there. You've got Shaqueen, who people may remember from Baby J and all. You've got Rappin' Is Fundamental.

Yeah. AB, from Rappin' Is Fundamental, is a very unique artist. The way he combines rappin' and singin', you know, he has a real melodic style, and I thought it was something totally different. And Shaqueen... Shaqueen's style sounds like she's mad at the world. I just love the way, you know... She just has a real pretty, young face... pretty, model-type of face. And then she gets on the mic and her whole expression just changes like she's angry with everybody. She sounds so hungry, like, "Yo, if I don't get a deal from this whole verse, I'ma stick up the whole building." I love her style. I thought that was something different. And I thought the collaboration of the three of us, made three different characters come together.

What would you say is the message behind the title, Veteranz Day?

Well, what I mean by that is: Right now, a lot of people categorize artists as "old school." And, I will admit, "Ain't No Half Steppin'," "Raw," "Smooth Operator," you know, those are definitely old school songs. I just don't feel old school 'cause, a majority of the new cats, I'll bust their ass on the mic. So I really don't feel old school, you know? I think that if I sounded like, if I said, "A lemon to a lime, a lime to a lemon, I am the man with all the women," if I was rappin' like that, then, yeah, I guess you could consider me old school. But if you're gonna put me against some cat who just came out in '98, and he can't hold his own against me, then I can't be too old. So, with a lot of people referring to artists as old school, I feel like... I mean don't get me wrong, there are old school artists. But I feel if you're an artist who came up ten years ago, twelve years ago, or whatever the case may be, and you're still holding your own now, you can't really call that person "old school." If you want a title for them, then use veteran. And I feel like today is the day of the veteran, you know, when you see artists like Rakim, who came back after a period of time, and still went gold. EPMD. You know, Slick Rick has a new album comin' out. I hear Public Enemy's in the studio. MC Lyte just dropped an album. LL Cool J, he's still doin' his thing, continuously. And, I feel like, if I were workin' with better people, I'd have made a better impact with this album, you know. But that's why I say Veteranz Day, because I feel it's the day of the veteran. You can prove yourself if you can still go the distance and got the skill, you know.

So, are you still gonna be doing any battles, now? Are you down for that stuff?

Sure, why not? I mean, I be out, sometimes, and certain people approach me think that they can mess around...

You got any more... a next project planned yet?

Yeah, I have some R&B acts that I'll be releasing. They're form North Carolina, a group called Flush and a group called his and hers. They've got the John Blaze material, too. I dig those cats. It's something different. It's not your typical R&B.

Alright, and I always wanted to ask you this, but, naturally, I never thought I'd get the chance. But what happened to Scoob's voice, man, from like "Non Stop" and all that... And, then, right when you signed to MCA, and you came out with Daddy's Home, he sounds totally different. What did y'all do to him?

I didn't do nothin' to Scoob. I guess that was a new style that he wanted to try. I mean, if I didn't like it, I wouldn't've let him do it on my songs. So, obviously, I dug it, but I guess that's really a question for Scoob.

And you're still down with Mister Cee and them?

Oh, yeah, yeah. Matter of fact, I need to go by Mister Cee's house tonight and pick up this Wild Style album. But you know, he's got so much solo stuff that he does, that he doesn't really have the opportunity to travel like we used to, but he still DJ's over in New York and the local shows. That's my man. And Scoob just had a birthday. I gotta say, "Happy birthday," to him. We were just at his party, and we all got bent.

So, you got anything you wanna say to the people reading this now?

Yeah, I'll say something to all The Source fans. I'll tell them: now, don't believe everything that you read. 'Cause I see a lot of bad press about me, here and there, in the magazines. I guess everybody's entitled to their opinion, but that's their's, you know.

Well, I liked that album, personally. Daddy's Home.

Well, yeah, I thought that Daddy's Home was a good album that just didn't receive the proper promotion. But I thought that Veteranz Day was an even better album, which is receiving no promotion. I mean, it's number ten on the rap charts. And, I mean, the way Snoop's album is sellin'... my album is only two slots behind him on the R&B charts. So, obviously, somebody must like it. Like I said, the album is hot. Just because, if I was the label, and no disrespect to Polygram, don't get me wrong. And no disrespect to Blackheart, because I feel that Polygram and Blackheart both extended their services past the limit. They did what they're not even supposed to do, to try and help this project. The whole blame is really on The Label Records. But what do you expect from somebody even with the name, "The Label Records?" That tells you how no frills they are right there.

So, are you sticking with them? I mean, you've got the acts comin' out now...

Well, that's why I got acts comin' out now. Because I'm retired. I'm not gonna make another record. But I have acts comin' out...

Are you gonna drop some rhymes on their projects, you figure, for the fans and all?

Well, I mean, if somebody asked me to be on a soundtrack, I'd do it. I'd do something like that. It's just that I don't really have the patience to sit around and do something like that. Not unless somebody was ready to come around with a sure-shot guaranteed deal, where they're getting ready to say on paper, guaranteeing this amount of money to do this, and guaranteeing these amount of videos. Something where I just felt like there's no way anything could go wrong. If you're not talking something like that, then I'd rather just live off the memory of classic Kane material and just leave it at that. Because I right now, I just feel that I'm giving too much time and effort into giving Big Daddy Kane fans what I think is right, and everyone else involved is not being supportive. And, once again, that's with no disrespect to Polygram or Blackheart 'cause I feel like they really tried with this.

Any parting words?

I'd like to thank you for havin' me and giving me this opportunity to speak. And if you do respect what I do, then in different forms, you will see it again. Even if it's not directly from me, in different forms, you will see it again.

Tags: Big Daddy Kane

Three Eyes, Four Tracks

Evil Cow Burger to me is the flagship of the 4-track tape movement of the late 90's. It wasn't the first, and what the best was is endlessly debatable; but this album, to me, really signaled that the primarily west coast driven, underground movement of self-manufactured cassettes was the scene to watch. This gritty and eccentric sister release to the more mainstream compilation Beneath the Surface showed that 4-track tapes were no longer just the stuff of demos or music not worthy of being pressed onto vinyl, but was really where some of the best and most innovative hip-hop music would be coming from in the late 90's.

The group Three Eyed Cowz was essentially just Project Blowed alumni Awol One as a solo artist recording with all of his friends. Awol's on pretty much every song, and some are solo, but it's packed with guest verses from his fellow Shape Shifters and Ex2 (pronounced: "Ee Times Two"), a crew he's not technically a member of, but who were featured each other on their releases. The Visionaries, who were coming up as the crew to watch at that time, make a guest appearance, as does Rashinel of The Hobo Junction... Abstract Rude does a drop. It's really an ideal snapshot of a great, often overlooked, period in rap's diverse history.

The production is solid... using very traditional hip-hop production techniques (he also DJs and graf writes... don't think these west coast underground cats aren't more hip-hop than you - heh), but using samples and loops you'd never heard before (at a time when a lot of east coast beat-making was cannibalizing itself) with slow, growling basslines, accepting and making the most out of the fact that final output wouldn't be "CD quality" clarity. It made for a steadfast nest for Awol's deep voice and off-kilter flow, while still accommodating the varied styles of his guests. A few DJs (ESP, Roach and Awol himself as "Awol Crumb") add some cuts to the mix.

"Have I None," a duet with Jizzm, is an excellent, instantly absorbing use of sung vocals as a background loop... sort of along the lines of, say, Ras Kass's "Understandable Smooth." "Demo Killa" is just a banging, hardcore posse cut, while "Mountains-More Mountains" takes the posse cut to all new heights of... strangeness. With an acappella hook and a catchy mix of humming and piano for the beat, Awol starts the song off in one direction:

"She was only a baby... ten brothers and sisters,
Wishing she was an only child for a while.
Waiting for countdown 'till next time she eats;
Got a fat uncle, who likes to grab her ass.
Hates school,
'Cause her clothes are out of style,
And she hates life,
'Cause her pops travels miles.
Mom gets around the apartment building...
Uses television... as a shielding.
Tired of the habits... shared by her sisters;
Takes a vow
To never be like her siblings.
Finds her great escape... staring at the ceiling;
Takes a shower
Four times a day,
But still hates to brush her teeth... with her finger.
Radiowave dreams of becoming a singer."

...But then Gasia (of Acid Reign) takes it takes it to a whole 'nother planet with his verse:

"The polymorphic swordfish
Is planting seeds and granting wishes,
Damaging the past malicious
mannequins of sacrilegious
Nature.
Make sure your glaciers of ice suffice,
'Cause when the polar ice caps collapse,
Your rough neck raps could mean your life."

...And that's not even getting into Circus's verse (you can imagine)!

"Working for Peanuts" uses one of the only recognizable samples on the tape, and very intentionally. It starts with Vince Guaraldi's super famous Peanuts theme song as a backdrop to a vocal sample of a hooker talking about her financial issues, then when the beat and Awol's verse kick in, the same Peanuts sample is chopped, using the deepest notes as a crazy bassline. Then it plays at a slightly higher tempo for the hook, while Awol sings "She Works Hard for the Money" off-key - I mean, if you're not familiar with Awol One's style... imagine Biz Markie if he was dead serious all the time, with just sparks of an alternately angry or melancholy sense of irony.

Even the lesser material on the album, like Ex2's "Computervirus," which is really just about literal computer viruses, is fun and more compelling than what the major labels were dishing out at the time.

The word classic might be thrown around too often in hip-hop - as we get older, it's tempting to throw it at every record we liked as teens - but this one really is a classic of it's era.

Today, Awol is as prolific as ever. He put out three collaborative albums out in 2007 so far (one with Josh Martinez, one with Mascaria and one with Factor), and probably has at least one more project due to be out before the new year. ;) Oh and, yeah, here's his myspace.

Tags: Awol One, Three Eyed Cowz

It's Kinda Hard for Me Not To Do It Slow...

This is one of many, many, many R&B singles that came out in the 90's, which people only bought because of the guest rapper featured on them. I could fill a room with all the cassingles I own in this category, and I took a pass on a lot. But unlike most of the ones I've got all over my bedroom and down in my basement, this is an independent release on a small label, 4x4 Records (the same label that put out Ice Dog, of the Tuff Crew,'s solo record) that same year. The R&B grop is called The Justice League (as far as I know, this is the only release they ever put out), and the rapper is the man we all know and love, Kwamé (who also produced this).

This came out in '93, putting it after his run on Atlantic Records, but before his Wrap Records "comeback" release, Incognito. Consequently, this record sounds constrained by the budget of being on such a small label, and feels underproduced. The instrumental basically consists of a simple beat, a cool bassline, and a little live piano & sax. The singing is fine, the hook is pleasant; but overall it's lacking in energy... If this record came in a sticker cover, I think it would say, "Smooth R&B You Can Serenely Nod Off To."

But who cares? We all bought this to skip to the end for Kwamé's part anyway, right? And, thankfully, he does breathe some much needed life into the track. Still, he doesn't steal the scene and transform the whole record into something crazy and unique like he did on "Dave and Kwamé" or "Joe Cool" (where he only does back-up vocals to Joeski Love's raps and still manages to transform it into a total Kwamé experience). Even on the B-side's preferable "Hip-Hop Mix," where Kwamé does adlibs through-out the entire song over a more stripped-down beat with a harder bassline... he's a lot more subdued. I guess, unfortunately for us, he didn't want tto steal too much of the spotlight from his new, boring act.

But that's not to say that the lyrics aren't still uniquely Kwamé:

"Whassup, whassup? Tell me how's it going, darling?
I bet you didn't know, you didn't know, that I was falling.
Uh! Uh! Uh! And then I do it like thisss...
So ya body don't miss.
Miss, I ain't playing, but I bet that you'll find,
That I'll hump you so hard I'm blowing thoughts out your mind.
I'm more freaky than the freakiest thought you ever had;
Wrap your legs around my neck, and then (slurp) I catch wreck.
No disrespect, but the heck with them nuts;
Got to give it, give it up, and then I'll tell ya, tell ya what:
I give the pa-pow - uh! How ya like me now? Uh!
Let me get wild - uh! And then I'm out... Uh!"

Bottom line: it's worthwhile if you're an earnest Kwamé fan, but he doesn't do enough to make this worth the average hip-hop head's purchase.

Today, does he have a myspace? Yep, he sure does (here). As you've probably heard, he's made a new name for himself as a producer, scoring some pretty big hits with artists like Lloyd Banks, LL Cool J, Will Smith, Tweet and The Pussy Cat Dolls, plus album tracks for Talib Kweli, Young Joc, Christina Aguilera and Method Man. So he's doing alright for himself. He's also made a second myspace page as a retrospective for his career with A New Beginning, here. Check 'em both out and have fun; but if you can't be bothered, here are the two most important things he mentions for us fans: an unreleased 1996 album(!! Something must be done to get this out!) and a comeback as a solo artist, or as he puts it, "THE RETURN OF THE KID!!!!"

Tags: Kwamé, Justice League

(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

(Werner Necro'd) Pretty Slick, Kingpin

This is part 1 in a series of "Werner Necro'd" posts I'll just be dropping into the mix sporadically, of old interviews I've done in the past. Enjoy!

In 1989, The Redhead Kingpin and the FBI were on top of the game with their debut LP, A Shade of Red, the Spike Lee theme song, "Do the Right Thing," and their hot dance record, "Pump It Hottie," was getting heavy rotation on Yo! Redhead stole the show with his dynamically playful rhymes on Wreck-N-Effects' "Friends to the End." He returned in 1990, with the lead single to his second album, The Album with No Name, entitled, "We Don't Have a Plan B." After several other singles, Redhead seemed to have left the scene, but he and his crew resurfaced under a new moniker, The Private Investigators, with their Re-Act Like Ya Knew LP. Now, it's 1999, and it might seem as though Redhead has left the music scene for good. But if you pay close attention to your album credits, you'll see Redhead's still in the game, behind the scenes.

So tell us about what you're doing now.

Well, right now, it's like... I would use the analogy, it's like Keyser Soze in The Usual Suspects. I'm not really sticking my head up until ... It's like, you see so many on the "Where are they now" list, you know? They come up prematurely. They get hungry, like, "I gotta get back out there. I gotta get back out there." It's more important to regroup. And when you come out, it's real, almost like the first time. It's not just a hunger to be doin' something. So, basically, we?re working with a lot of acts; got a studio out in Jersey. We've got two R&B acts and one hip-hop act and we're makin' moves real soon ... very soon.

You worked on that Mona Lisa record last year, right? How'd you hook up with that?

Well, Mona Lisa's project was with Tim Dawg ... My man Tim Dawg was handlin' the project, so basically, they came to our studio and heard a lot of tracks. We had done work before, when he was at Uptown Records, so we ended up hookin' up. Mona was real good to work with. A lot of people don't know that my main thing is producing R&B. Playing keys, playing guitars; not like somebody talkin' about, "Play this. Play that," and the next thing you know, it's produced by Redhead. It's real.

Would you say there's any chance of you coming out and rapping again? Maybe doing an album?

The funniest part about that is: you might be a person that wants to come out and everything, but, by the time you come out with your record and everything, you realize that you're not the kind of person who likes the people to know who you are and you don't know who they are. So, really, I keep rhymes no matter. I kick rhymes, you know, for cats on the street. So, it ain't like it ain't there, lyrically. But as far as a record: I doubt if I ever wanna do records anymore, I just do it for the love. Producin' records is where I'm at. Give me the check, and I'll stay behind the scenes.

And what's up with Wildstyle and the FBI?

Wildstyle and them guys ... Everybody's basically livin' life, as far as families... I mean, we're all family men right now. Wildstyle, he's like one of those cats that... and I can say he's happy doing it, too... he's one of those cats that catches people doin' insurance fraud. Like, when you 're claiming that your back hurts, but you're working on your house, carrying mad hundred, two hundred-pound boxes, out your house. He's the cat with the camera bustin' you. One of my brothers, Poochie, is the road manager for a group, The Black Eyed Peas, which is comin' up right about now. My other dancer, Boroc, owns a barbershop down in DC. So, everybody's basically happy with their lives. There's no ... no one's lying in the gutter kinds of stories.

Okay, take us back. How'd you get started with Virgin Records?

Me and the crew around the way had some people who invested a few bucks for me to go in the studio and do some songs. And a friend of mine, Teddy... This is before Teddy was like TEDDY RILEY... so, we had a demo and got Ted to listen to it. Ted heard the tape, liked it, and the next thing you know, we're just doin' records. I was originally with Virgin and London, that's the main base company, but you find yourself paying taxes ... If you're signed to a major overseas, you're paying taxes to a country you don't even live in, and you pay taxes here. So, it's like dead. I went to Virgin American and do that ... so, you know, everything is everything.

Then, on the second album, you did a duet with Kwamé ... What's it like working with him?

Yeah. First of all, me and Kwamé went to high school together, and the cat is nuts, straight up. He's crazy. We had little house parties here and there, before either of us came out. We used to get on and do little shows, routines, and stuff together, so that was that. I think, more on the second album, I was finding myself more as far as producin' like some R&B stuff. Kinda wishy-washy, you know. My son, he'd reach for the album, and I'd be like, "Don't listen to that. Listen to the first one. Listen to the Private Investigators. Don't listen to that one. I was finding myself. There was a lot of soul-searchin' there."

I remember in an interview at the time, you were saying you felt you had to come with a harder style... This is when "Plan B" was about to come out.

Yeah, it was like - again, going back to saying that, even right now - I gotta keep lyrics, just for the love of it. Gotta keep lyrics just for walkin' through Washington Square Park. You know, somebody'll be just rhyming, and they'll put you on the spot to rhyme, you just can't be rhymin like '74. You gotta be on some new improved ... ready to flow for the love of it. That's the best way I know as far as keeping a grip on what the people want.

Then you came out almost undercover with the Private Investigators album in '93...

Well, the Private I album was the one album that I was very, very happy with. But Virgin really didn't really understand. It wasn't like I was trying to flip from this clean-cut cat to this grungy whatever. But, it was more that I was bringin' my crew in, like they would see at any party. 'Cause they wouldn't just see the Redhead Kingpin, they'd see the FBI, too. On the Redhead albums, it wasn't really like a visual part. Like, doing an interview, like now, it'd just be me, as opposed to everybody else who has a big input on it creatively. I really tried to bring that, and mesh that together with the Private Investigators. And Virgin couldn't really... I think it was just different from what they were used to seeing. Like the dancing cat, the clean-cut guy. It wasn't like I was singin' any negative songs, but it was just a realer outlook. I wasn't gonna do too many ... let's say candy-ass songs. It's just a realer outlook. It's not like I was trying to switch, it's just that anybody that lives in this country, you know, with eye-balls, can see reality, and I was trying to bring some reality to the spectrum which Virgin wasn't trying to hear.

But they have a major problem, over there, seriously, and I'm not scared to say it. The problem with Virgin is Virgin doesn't know how to use ... Like a lot of other labels will have a big, big star and use that star to help everything else under it happen. So, Virgin, with me, had a falling out over this Skat Cat thing. Here I am with a loop that I'm using, and they're telling me I can't use it ... cause Skat Cat is coming out. They're tellin' me I can't use a song because of a cartoon that can't even go on tour, you know what I'm sayin'? So, now, they play me out for Paula Abdul. They play Paula Abdul out for Janet Jackson. Janet Jackson... Spice Girls. Yadda, yadda, yadda, yadda ... That's just something that's going on, that they do. I don't know if that's their policy, or whatever, but stop me when I'm lyin'.

How'd you hook up with Do the Right Thing and Spike Lee?

Well, originally, it was supposed to be this Spike thing with Teddy doin' some songs on there. And, really, that song was originally supposed to be for Wrecks-N-Effect. But I ended up doing it, and stuff just went the right way. Everything was just timing. I had that single, and it came out at the time of everything that was going on then ... Like, we wouldn't be talking right now. Everything is just timing. And it's so funny, even the video that the world saw for "Do the Right Thing" wasn't the original video. If the original video came out, which was shot on Riverside Drive, for about $7000 with these chicks and these bogus red wigs... it was just ridiculous - nothing would've ever happened. In fact, I'm sure of it. Nothing would've ever happened. So timing is everything.

And, I remember that song came up on the soundtrack to another movie a couple years later, right?

Ummm...

The People Under the Stairs?

Yeah. I didn't understand that, though. I went to the movies and saw that, and I'm like, "Ok. They're chasin' monsters through walls, they're killing monsters, and then they're doing the right thing?" I don't get it. It was a check, though. I just didn't get it, personally. But the real, the kid who starred in that movie, a young brother named Brandon ... Before he starred in that movie, when he was a younger cat, he did the "Moonwalk," the Michael Jackson video. He'd done a lot of acting. He was in our video. We basically taught him some dance steps, and this cat picked it up like that. So, right now, he's in Connecticut, doin' some things...

So, what's up now? You've got that record out with Dana Dane; how did that happen?

That record, originally, wasn't supposed to be for commercial use. It was basically a promotional record. Me and Dana Dane hooked up through a friend of mine. It was just basically gonna be a song we did together; it was like a favor type thing. Dana came out to the studio, and the record just started sounding real hot. Dana basically reinvented himself. I mean, if you didn't know... If somebody didn't tell you, chances are, you wouldn't even know it was Dana. He reinvented himself. So, he loved the record. My partner DJ loved the record. And we decided to just press up a few promotional things. This is before Bentley's actually got closed down, and a few other night clubs. But we took it around New York, you know, street clubs, and it worked out pretty good. The next thing you know, we'd just handed a few records out, and Flex is playin' it... So many brothers is just trying to come out with a record, you know, and it's not even necessary for them to get a deal with someone... or even put out records themselves. You'd be better off, sometimes, just puttin' out a record non-commercially, 'cause you're not sellin' it. That way, you can use that loot, 'cause you're not selling it, press it up, hit the DJ pools and everybody else, and, basically, create a buzz on the street for yourself, and get out that way ... and then spend everybody else's money.

Cool. So what are you working on now?

Well, the next thing you can really look for coming out is a R&B group called Exclusive. These young brothers they go to William Patterson College, and they're killin' it, bottom line. I'm tellin' you. It's Keyser Soze. I'm not stickin' my head out until it's right, ok? Keep it real.

Where the Hell Is My Wise Intelligent?!

"Blackdraft" is an okay track off of Professor Griff's third album, notable for its deep, slow bassline and catchy sax sample over the hook. Like the picture cover suggests, Society and Griff share equal time on the mic here. Society was somewhat involved with the previous album, getting a co-production credit on one or two tracks, but by Disturb N tha Peace, he was as much a part of things as Griff himself, essentially joining the Professor's production crew The Soul Society (Griff, Tone Control and Kavon Shah), appearing on most of the songs, including this and the lead single, "Sista Sista;" and even getting "mix," "illustration" and "album concept" credits in the album's liner notes (and there weren't even any illustrations!). And after this, Society went solo (though Griff and co. were still down and involved with his project). ...But back to this 12". It also includes the instrumental, "blaccapella" and two remix* versions of the title track, both by Griff and Society. For my money, the Blacksteel Pineal Gland Mix is gonna be your "Blackdraft" of choice.

But let's face it, unless you're a hardcore Griff fan (and why not; his albums were all pretty underrated after all), the real reason you're buying this 12" is because the sticker promises, "The Pre-Released Remix of Verbal Intercourse Featuring Brand Nu-Bians [their hyphenation and pluralization, not mine] & Poor Righteous Teachers." Now, the original "Verbal Intercourse" isn't actually on Disturb N tha Peace, but his previous album, Kao's II Wiz *7* Dome; and except for a brief vocal sample of the phrase "Verbal Intercourse" that turns up at the very end of the tune, the two versions are completely unrelated to each other. The original was a subtle and expertly produced track (again by The Soul Society), that followed a fun, back & forth, question and answer flow like, "why does the devil keep callin' our people Africans? To keep the people divided and not knowin' who's your brother man."

On the other hand, this "pre-release remix" (whatever that means... it certainly wasn't released before the original version, like the name would imply) dumps the original lyrics, dumps the instrumental, and dumps the whole concept. Suddenly, it's a posse cut that uses a very familiar, hardcore piano loop [damn, I wish I could remember where it was originally from; I can hear it in my head... it's become a staple for freestyles now, like the "Tried By 12" beat] for the hook, and swaps that out with a toned down, catchy bass and occassional blaring horn sample underneath the verses. Griff takes the mic first, followed by an MC I can't name (the 12"'s credits aren't too helpful here; they just say, "featuring Brand Nubians, Wise Intelligent of Poor Righteous Teachers"), then after the hook, Lord Jamar and Sadat X each take a verse. After the third hook, Society gets on the mic, and then Griff comes back to round out the show. It's tight, but... wait a minute. Where was Wise Intelligent?

Now, admittedly, I couldn't identify that first MC after Griff, but there's no way that was Wise Intelligent. Actually, I'm guessing that Wise Intelligent was the voice we sort of hear at the beginning of the song... there's an intro where someone is talking (it sounds like an answering machine message in low, static quality), but we can't hear what's being said because vocal samples of "understand, man" "check this out" and "verbal intercourse" are being repeated over and over at a much higher volume. I have had my ear to the speaker and the volume turned way up and it is IMPOSSIBLE to tell what he's saying, or even if that's Wise Intelligent. I don't particularly recognize his usually distinctive voice; I'm just assuming it must be him because he sure isn't anywhere else on the record. What a frikkin' rip-off.

And there's one more piece to this puzzle that actually just confuses matters more. The liner notes for Disturb N tha Peace, specifically the track "Respect tha Art-Kill-Tech," say, "additional voice by Lord Jamar of 'Verbal Intercourse.'" Now there's absolutely no one saying anything on that track except Professor Griff, but there are two vocal samples being cut up during the hook. One is clearly taken from the opening of Naughty By Nature's "OPP" ("drop a load on 'em"), but the other one COULD be Lord Jamar's voice, saying something like "educate the youth." It's hard to make out just what he's saying or if that's Jamar, but comparing the two back to back I can tell you it's definitely NOT a line from his verse on "Verbal Intercourse." ...Griff's albums are frustrating in that they have extensive, detailed liner notes, but it's still impossible to tell who's contributing what to each song. >:[

Anyway, this 12" also features one more number - the album track, "107. Point Live (At the Slave Theater)," a surprisingly grimy, east coast sounding track, featuring members of his posse Nappy Ness, Buda, Tech "G" and Studdah, again produced by The Soul Society and with constant scratching by DJ Toomp (a DJ who worked with MC Shy D, Poison Clan, and went on to form 2 Nazty with Brother Marquis). It's kinda like a Rumpletilskinz track, but rougher than anything they managed to release. Griff gets on at the end, and doesn't come as ill/ hardcore as his crew before him, but still manages to hold his own.

So, yeah. It's definitely a 12" worth having, even if you're not otherwise a Griff fan. Just don't go into it like I did, expecting to hear Wise Intelligent, and you won't be disappointed. Besides, the awkwardly homoerotic overtones of the picture cover (not just that they both have their shirts off, but the way that Society is positioned just behind Griff like that...) demand a place in any hip-hop lover's collection.

As to where they are now, well... I already posted Griff's myspace in my last entry. Society, meanwhile, signed to Slip-N-Slide records in the late 90's, even appearing on Trick Daddy's album, www.thug.com. Society's album never came out, and he pretty much disappeared from the scene. He did drop one or two verses on Griff's fourth album, but no longer seemed to be involved in the production and as far as I know he hasn't had anything to do with Griff's new stuff.

*Fun fact: according to the notes on this 12", the word "remix" is actually an acronym for "Rule Equality Master Islam X." If you missed it, kids, ridiculous acronyms were all the rage in hip-hop from the late 80's straight into the early 2000's, when Killah Priest finally took it too far and killed the whole thing.

Tags: Professor Griff, Society, Wise Intelligent, Brand Nubian, Lord Jamar, Sadat X, Poor Righteous Teachers

A Record for Halloween

Happy Halloween, everybody! I thought I'd come with a haunted holiday-themed blog entry today (and I hope to see other hip-hop bloggers have done the same when I check my bookmarks later)... the spooktacular "Amityville (The House On the Hill)" by the man who actually coined the term "hip-hop," Lovebug Starski.

If you're too lazy to click enlarge on the image in the top left there, I'll tell you what it says on the front cover, "Record comes with a free >>Black~Hole<< for the time~shift appearances of Horror and Inter-Stellar guest~stars!!!" This came out in '86 on Epic/CBS Records and is actually a 45bpm 12" (not unheard of, but certainly a little less than usual) single off of his album, House Rocker. The song is produced by Kurtis Blow, and it did pretty well for itself... charted on Billboard's Top 100 and was a Top 20 dance hit in the UK. Heck, it oughta if it comes with a free Black Hole. ;)

Anyway, this is a "monster mash"-style record, in the tradition of Whodini's classic "Haunted House of Rock." That's of course the unfuckwithable original Halloween hip-hop record, but this one is really great, too. Granted, it's dated - I mean, even for it's time, it's dated. Kurtis Blow's rock & disco inspired production, and Starski's "radio DJ" style of rapping weren't scoring him any points with the kids fiending for more stripped down and hardcore Run DMC and LL beats. Honestly, by this time, all of the Lovebug's real hits were behind him; and he never put out another record after House Rocker.

But now that it's ALL old school, we're no longer hung up on what's keeping up with the latest trends, and we can simply appreciate all of these records at face value, this is a just a damn good time. The production is really upbeat and very catchy, with a crazy mix of syntheizers and live instrumentation, combining Sugarhill Records style funk guitars with 80's rock guitar solos. And Starski enhances his stories of partying with crazy monsters in the Amityville house by going so far as to do full-on impressions of his characters, from Dracula to Captain Kirk. As the other great Starski would say, "you can't beat that with a stickball bat."

So, yeah. Dig this one out of your crates and give it a spin before you go trick or treating with the kids today. And if you've got a little time, drop by Starski's myspace page (although there's not a lot there right now except for some cool pics) and wish him a Happy Halloween, too.

Tags: Lovebug Starski

Two Shots

"Burnin' for Another Shot" is the only record ever put out by MC Connection*, and not much really seems to be known about them. They name-check themselves, so we know they're MC Lonestar and MC Money, and the writing credits on the label only suggest that their last names are Randolph and Robinson (that's assuming the MCs wrote their own material). The one name in the credits we do know something about (though less than you'd expect) is the third writer and sole producer of this record, John Robie. John Robie was a member of Planet Patrol, and worked on a number of similar style records around this time, usually in collaberation with Arthur Baker. But where Baker continued to make records, do interviews, and develop an online presence (he has his own website as well as a myspace), John Robie seems to has silently disappeared from the music scene.

One notable hit that John Robie wrote and produced is "One More Shot" by C-Bank.

"Burnin' for Another Shot" is... not quite an answer record like we know them today (a la "No Pigeons" or PreC.I.S.E. MC's "So You Think You Got Em Locked"), but simply a rap version of "One More Shot," something that was very in vogue at the time (a la "Planet Rock" being a rap version of "Play At Your Own Risk," "The Erotic City Rapp" as to Prince's "Erotic City," or even MC Boob's "Do the Fila" as to Joeski Love's "Pee Wee Dance"). In fact, the b-side to "Burnin' for Another Shot" is actually "One More Shot (Instrumental)," credited to C-Bank rather than MC Connection. Not that there's really much of a difference, anyway - except for dropping a keyboard solo and posibly a few sound effects, the instrumentals are the same. And, for the record, that keyboard is missing from the instrumental mix of the original C-Bank 12", too.

So, how is this record? Well, as I said, the production is essentially identical, which inthiscase is a good thing,because Robie's work on "One More Shot" was cutting edge. Now, the original version of "One More Shot" featured vocals by Jenny Burton who, largely off the strength of this single, went on to put out a pair of rather tepid solo albums on Atlantic. On this song, her voice sounds a bit weak (possibly partially the fault of being undermixed) and doesn't really take off until the chorus. So replacing her with two boisterous rappers definitely breathes some welcome energy to the track. And me being a lifelong hip-hop head, it's probably a forgone conclusion which version I'll prefer, anyway (although possibly the ideal "Shot" would feature the MCs doing the majority of the vocals, but retaining Jenny Burton on the hook). And if you're reading this blog, I'm guessing the same conclusion can be reached about you. ;)

The lyrics are simple and the delivery is rudimentary - even for '83 - with both MCs mostly shouting their lyrics together in unison, only ocassionally breaking out for a little back and forth exchange or two... not unlike, again, "Planet Rock." I don't know if the MCing is ever so compelling that we should mourn the lack of a follow-up from MCs Lonestar and Money; but certainly anyone looking for an old school good time can't be disappointed by giving this dollar bin classic a spin.

*There were a few releases in the early 90's put out by an "M.C. Connection" ("Work dat Pigtail" and a song called "Ridiculous Bass" on a compilation titled Knowledge Is Power), but judging by the names in the writing credits (Green, Nance, Doland and Powell), the label (one doesn't say, but the other is from Michigan), the year, etc etc... I'm pretty sure these are not the same guys.

Tags: MC Connection, John Robie, C-Bank