Sport "G" & Mastermind's Addictive Vinyl

Vinyl Addicts isn't just a site for dope reviews, interviews and such on dope, rare hip-hop... it's also a kick-ass little record label specializing in digging up unreleased gems and giving them the first class vinyl treatment. They put out Lord Finesse's demos, and more recently a pair of records by the indie NJ duo Sons of Sam. But to me, this is their crowning achievement (to date).

You probably know Sport "G" & Mastermind for their pair of highly sought-after 12"'s "Live" and "Louder." If you're not familiar, I'll summarize: Long Island, stupid fresh, late 80's, Paul C.-related, big bucks on EBay. Dig? Well, VA has put out a 6-song EP of vintage, unreleased tracks by them, called Let the Rhythm Roll. It's all produced between 1985 and 1988, songs that got shelved when their label, Streetwalk Records, went under.

And did I mention "First class" vinyl treatment? Yes sir. This here is a hand-numbered, limited release (mine is #205 out of a total 250 pressed). As you can see in the pic above, it comes in a nice sticker cover, with a 2-sided press sheet - including notes on each song by Sport "G," a glossy 8x10 press photo, and another glossy full-color photo of the group (if you're wondering who the third guy is in pictures, that's Dramatic A), in a plastic sleeve. Oh, and 50 copies of these were signed by Sport "G" himself! And my photo doesn't really do it justice, but VA has some of the best looking labels in the limited game, hands down. Like I said, first class.

So ok, the presentation's nice, but how's the actual music? More good news! Shit is super fresh, and definitely one of those releases you'll want to revisit over and over again. Sport "G" has a dope, somewhat deep voice, clear delivery and a penchant for fast-paced battle rhymes (though he switches up the subject matter for "I Used To Be a Hustler" and "Don't Do It To Yourself"). And Mastermind keeps dropping classic breaks. Now, it's a common misconception that Paul C produced the duo's classic 12"s, but actually he just mixed them. Mastermind produced those tracks, and the same is true of all six songs here. But once you know he produced their earlier singles, then you already realize he's a master behind the boards (and has some nice cuts as well). All six tracks are instant head-nodders; but the last two especially, the title track (my personal favorite) and "Don't Do It To Yourself" (which flips a classic KMD sample years before they got to it) are a little denser and more impressive.

If you haven't already gotten this, I think a few copies may still be available ...if you're lucky, so head on over to vinyladdicts.net and ask nice; you definitely won't regret it. Seriously, I'm lovin' it. And of course this just leaves one final question: what will they come out with in 2010?

Murder Fam "Exclusive"

You know, I've given J-Love some (well deserved) shit on this blog for his mix-CDs, but I do have to give him his due. He's not a bad producer who's worked with some of the best MCs and facilitated a lot of music from them. He's got his fair share of criticisms coming to him, but the hip-hop scene would not have been better off without him.

Case in point: this little under-the-radar white label, titled "Murder Fam." It's one of a series of split 12"s he did with production partner Ric Nice. It's got no year on it, but other entries in the series came out in 2001, so it's safe to say this came then, give or take a year. It's just two mixes of one song (albeit with Dirty, Clean and Instrumental versions of each), one produced by J and one by Ric.

It's not "Greatest Hits" material or anything, but it's a a rugged little gem by Kool G. Rap, Jinx da Juvy (not Sir Jinx, as discogs would have us believe) and an underground MC by Ike Infa Diamond. Jinx had done a couple collaborations with G Rap around that time for his Giancana Stories album... in fact, I wouldn't be at all surprised if this is another one of the many outtakes from that album.

It's a simple drum and bass line with a couple hot samples on it, a pure example of the New York crime rap genre. G Rap easily spits it sickest verse (and no, I'm pretty sure it hasn't been recycled anywhere), but the other two MCs try hard enough to copy his violent-mafioso-raps-twisted-into-mindbending-exercises-of-ill-wordplay style to hold up the rest of the record. The hook's just a simple vocal sample repeated a few times ("a man's gotta live up to his word") and a short, chanted refrain.

The Ric Nice mix is essentially the same but with a different sample or two. It's got a cool barrel drum sound, but otherwise the doesn't really hit as hard, especially the hook that just uses a high-pitched violin loop behind the chorus. It's good, though, and I'd be perfectly content with it if the A-side didn't exist.

Of course, J-Love recently threw this on one of his hacky mix-CDs, if you feel like hearing it in terrible sound quality with lazy radio blends at each end and J's "exclusive" name droppings all over it. Personally, I hope to never ever hear another song in that excruciating manner again in my life though; so I was happy to pick up this 12". I suggest you do the same. 8)

WARNING: UNAUTHORIZED ULTRAMAGNETIC BOOTLEG RELEASES

In 1994, Tuff City released The Basement Tapes 1984-1990 by The Ultramagnetic MC's (which Ced Gee refers to as volume 1 on the CD), a pretty self-explanatory compilation of some dope unreleased material. And in 1996, they released they released a second volume, New York What Is Funky. It was then that Kool Keith felt compelled to speak out, issuing a statement on the label of his Big Willie Smith 12" "Prepare" on his own Funky Ass Records. In fact, he did it twice, following up the message with a similar one on his "Don't Crush It" single (from Sex Style).

"WARNING: DO NOT BUY ANY ULTRAMAGNETIC RELEASES ON TUFF CITY RECORDS THEY ARE UNAUTHORIZED BOOTLEGS." And, yes, those are some interesting labels.

Tuff City kept on anyway, releasing albums until 1998, totaling four (and a fifth announced, but it was just a live album, so it would've been nice, but probably not such a great loss). Now, I mentioned "On the CD" above, because the CD version of each album is different than the vinyl versions. Sometimes the sequencing is different, but the key difference is that each CD has at least two bonus tracks not included on the LP. Here's a proper breakdown of those:

*The Basement Tapes 1984-1990: "Ced-G, Tim Dog (Lab Free Style)" and "Ya Not That Large"

*New York What Is Funky: "Tim Dog Live On Capital Radio" and "I Like Your Style" (an alternate mix of the song that was featured on Funk Your Head Up)

*Mo Love's Basement Tapes: "Kool Keith Wild," "Wack MC's," "Freestyle" and "D To the N"

*Smack My Bitch Up: "Nervous" and "Talkin' Out Your Ass (Remix)" (the original of which was on Mo Love's Basement Tapes)

There were also two 12" singles on Tuff City with songs from these releases, one of which included the otherwise CD-only bonus track, "Ya Not That Large." (Remember, you can get the full track-listings for both 12"s and both versions of each album on my UltraMagnetic discography page).

Another key difference is that the first two volumes featured intermittent narration by Ced Gee, telling you (briefly) the history of some of the songs. If you're a vinyl purist, but want to get a sense of what that was like, check out that aforementioned "I'm Fuckin' Flippin'" 12" with "Ya Not That Large On" on the B-side... they include Ced's explanation narration for that song there, where he explains why the song cuts out in the middle (because the engineer was "gettin' weeded").

And the last difference is that, on the back cover of the 1998 Smack By Bitch Up CD (it's not anywhere on the LP), Tuff City finally responded to Keith's label shots with one of their own:
"Don't Believe the Gripe: Kool Keith Cashes Tuff City Checks." From what I recall, there was never any question that they might actually be straight up bootlegs, but that Ced Gee perhaps sold the material to Tuff City without including the other members. Davey D paraphrased a radio interview, where Keith explained, "producer Ced Gee had fallen onto some hard times [he's hooked on crack] and had done some very hurtful things to the group in an attempt to satisfy his habit. One of the things he did was sell the groups old studio out takes and practice songs to Tuff City Records. Tim Dog explained that the label owner Aaron Fuchs then put out a 'fake' Ultramagnetic MCs album. Not only was he issuing old studio out takes as songs, but he also scanned some pictures and with the aid of adobe photoshop had created an album cover which depicted the group alongside a guy they didn't even know. Kool Keith explained he had no idea when the photos were taken... and what's ironic the 'unknown' member of the group was just as shocked as Kool Keith to see himself on the cover. Entitled 'New York What Is Funky'.. Tim Dog explained as he shook his head that the lp with it's sub par recording made the group look bad and it's sad that folks will go so far to make a buck..."

I believe Kool Keith has since recanted the "crack" comment. Certainly, Tim Dog told Vinyl Addicts that, "to my knowledge Ced Gee was never on crack. But I once made a reference to the way he sold the music to Aaron Fuchs like a crack head. Basically a crack head would sell your moms TV which costs 500 euro and sell it for 50 because they’re desperate. So I made that reference to Ced Gee," which I think explains that rumor away.

But it's worth noting that while Tuff City responded that Keith had indeed gotten paid, they didn't say that 'till 1998 (remember, Keith called them out in 1996), so it's possible they only finally squared it away with Keith and them after two years. Anyway, TR Love gave a less sensationalistic account of what happened years later in an interview with Unkut, which I'm inclined to believe is a little more accurate, "Actually, those tapes had gotten stolen and got in to the wrong hands, and when Ced found out he immediately thought he needed to get it out there, so he started doing The Basement Tapes. There was rumour goin’ around that Ced was on drugs, this, that and the third, that’s why he was sellin’ the tapes – but it wasn’t that. It was just the fact that we wanted to get those songs out, but we were gonna do something like a compilation of our greatest hits, but when the first couple of songs started leaking, everything just snowballed. So we just let it go. Aaron Fuchs was just a lucky person to buy into the situation and be able to do what he had to do to produce it."

At any rate, if you've allowed Keith's remarks to make you write off and dismiss these albums, you've really missed something here - there's a lot of nice material on all of these. Granted, the sound quality was varied, and one song ("Smack My Bitch Up" which was also made the title of one of the compilations) was doubled up and included on two volumes - did they think heads were really that excited that some punk/dance band sampled that same "Give the Drummer Some" phrase that it would be some kind of goldmine? Oh well. There's still a crapload of great material here, from a sick demo track to radio promos to a superior alternate O.G. version of "Message From the Boss" from their second album. Some songs are better than others and you could nitpick all day, but there albums blow anything the group put out themselves at the time.

But even across all these volumes, this doesn't encompass all the ill, unreleased UltraMagnetic tracks... Unkut has posted some smoking hot radio rips of alternate mixes of "MC Champion" and "Message From the Boss" (different than the one I mentioned from Mo Love's Basement Tapes) that I'd love to hear cleaned up and properly released. Kool Keith's own website also lists some unreleased UltraMagnetic songs on his discography page, but you can't tell from the titles if these are vintage songs or stuff from one of their many reunions in the 2000's. I know it's been over ten years since their last volume, but maybe we could convince Tuff City to take one more look into their vaults for a fifth Basement Tapes album? And if there's not enough material for a full album, I think we'd be exceedingly happy with a 12" of the remaining songs.

It's a(n Alternate) Force Thing

Ok, I have to start by saying that I'm surprised JVC Force released "Intro 2 Dance" (or "Introduction 2 Dance," as it's written on the album) as their first and only single off of their second LP, Force Field. It's the literal introduction to the album, and though it's the proper length, it feels more like an intro/skit kind of thing than a "full" song. They start of talking on it, while the DJ spins their classic instrumental, Strong Island." They reference some of their old lyrics ("Listen to the situation, my son. Ah yeah! You remember that, A? Remember back in them days?") and then freestyle over the beat, and then have a long shout-outs sequence. It's very cool on the album, but this was their choice for the single?

Well, regardless; that's how it went down, with Radio and Instrumental versions. But of far more interest, I believe, is the B-side.

We're given "It's a Force Thing," which, yes, is one of their two house songs. "An Intro and a house song... great," I can hear you say, but wait. First of all, I think the JVC Force did some of the very best house songs in hip-hop... their voices and styles sound funky over any type of beat, and so lend themselves much more to being laced over dance beats then most MCs (see their "Strong Island" remix single review). So, while it's house, it's still pretty dope, and comes in Radio, Club (which is really a dub, with just the back-up vocals on the track) and Instrumental mixes.

But what really makes this 12" worth having is the "A Force Thing" track. It's written as if it were a whole new song that just happens to be very similarly titled to the other song on this record, but really it's a remix. A not-at-all-house remix (which is always the best kind). In fact, they're rhyming over "Rapper's Delight" (not, not just the "Good Times" groove - there's even samples of Wonder Mike's voice, so they're definitely using "Rapper's Delight"). They do mix a few other records into the music, including some funky vintage horns; but basically it's JVC's ill flow over a super old school rhythm.

Now, I must point out that this 12" was released before the album (1989 and 1990, respectively). So there's that and the fact that some of the vocals that are repeated or otherwise played with on "It's a Force Thing" ("guys they beef with us, 'cause girls they rock for us... 'cause girls they rock for us... 'cause girls they rock for us.") are spit just normally on "A Force Thing." Both of these things make me think that "A Force Thing" is actually the original song they recorded, and "It's a Force Thing" is just a house remix that wound up being included on the album probably at the behest of the label.

But whether "A Force Thing" is the official, proper, original version of the song (as I believe it to be) or not, it's certainly the superior one. And that makes this 12" a must-have. Plus, hey, the other songs are still good, after all.

Kweli Demos

I've liked Talib Kweli since I first heard him. Mos Def I could do without, but Reflections Eternal and all were killing it. So I don't know why I never blogged about him yet - I guess there's a bunch of artists I'm a fan of I still haven't gotten to, really - but I'm about to rectify that situation now.

Before Rawkus and all that, I first heard Kweli when he was down with a crew called Mood, out of Ohio. If you haven't heard their 1997 album Doom, I suggest you go a little out of your way and cop it. They dropped some nice 12"s and stuff, too. And during those early years (though not their earliest; they dropped some stuff as far back as '94), I copped these two demo/promo tapes of theirs.

So let's start out with the less exciting of the two. This promo tape of Mood's album Doom is largely the same as the commercial release. The sequencing is completely different, but almost all of the songs are exactly the same, and this tape is missing a couple tracks that appeared on the final product (though, interestingly, it features the bonus track, "Insights," that was only included on the 1998 UK press on Cup Of Tea Records).

But here are the highlights. First, an alternate mix of "The Vision" featuring a completely different beat (a little funkier and less ethereal) and someone making a wind "woosh"ing noise on the hook. Then a final song that wasn't included on the album, titled "Infantry." Unfortunately, as the last song on the tape, it's cut off before it ends. But that's ok; the next tape's got our back... its appearance here at least tells us that track was originally meant for the Doom album.

The more exciting tape is labeled Mood Sampler, and is essentially a 10-track demo of Mood and its associates (including a lot of Kweli). Now, a couple of the tracks aren't a big deal: "Cincinatti" and "Karma" are exactly the same as you hear on the Doom album, and "Millionaire," by Kweli featuring Rubik, wound up being released on 12" in 1999. So that leaves seven exclusive songs.

First we get "Intro," produced by DJ Hi-Tek. This is pretty short, and I wouldn't be surprised to learn if it was just one sample from one record being played.

But now we get into the real meat of the matter. Track number 2 is "Overstand," an unreleased demo track by Talib Kweli. He starts out, "from where I'm standing/ I got a nice view of Venus/ Fly traps inside my raps catch the wack/ You might've seen us/ perhaps/ in premonitions of lyrical genius." Over a nice smooth track featuring a deep cello line, sparse piano keys, rugged bass notes, snapping drums and a little rhythm scratching throughout. He does a little sing-songy thing for the hook, which isn't amazing, but gets a pass for keeping the groove.

Next we have another unreleased demo track; a song called "Treasures In Heaven" by Mood affiliate HolmSkillit. It opens with a biblical quote from Jesus, advising us, "Do not store up for yourselves treasure on earth, where it grows rusty and moth-eaten, and thieves break in to steal it. Store up treasure in heaven, where there is no moth and no rust to spoil it, no thieves to break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Holm flows a lot like Kweli but with a softer voice, and the beat's a smooth head-nodder with slow drums and what sounds like a a xylophone riff with a few harpsichord stabs (who knew harps stabbed?).

Track six on this tape is the aforementioned "Infantry" from the Doom promo tape. It's presented here in it's entirety; and we learn now it's unreleased solo cut by Sikko of Mood. It's the hardest track on here, with a dope track that sounds like it could've come from an old Sunz of Man record (before they signed to a major and tried to crossover), and Sikko flows like early Canibus. Pretty sick.

Main Flo is up next with a solo song of his own. Another unreleased song, this one's called "Roman Empire." This has one of the nicest beats on here, and Flo's lyrics are on point, "ancient Aztec, I rise like the NASDAQ, think from a killer aspect 'till it's fast respect. Narcs and cases, deaths over parking spaces, I stopped going to Smitty's 'cause their parts were basic. How could I waste it? My own time, surrounded by signs and evil minds." If you're thinking this is a case of Kweli and his weed carriers, think again. The whole crew's on this par.

Still, if you're only interested in Kweli, he comes back with another song of his own now. It's called "Black Love," a subtle, low-key track (but with a thudding bassline) that features a slightly irritating hook; but Kweli's delivery on his verses is in top form.

Finally, the Mood Sampler rounds itself out with a DJ track. It's called "Man," produced by Mood's DJ Jahson, and features the scratching of DJ Rampage.

Now, I know it's frustrating to read about demos when you can't hear them for yourself... So I'll do something I don't normally do - because this is a demo and not a proper release - and point you to a GrandGood article linking to a rip of a 13-song Mood/Kweli demo tape. That download is marked as being from 1995, but I personally suspect that is wrong and should read 1997. Interestingly, while a bunch of our songs overlap, he's definitely got some tracks on his tape that aren't on either of mine, and some tracks on mine aren't on his. So, if we exclude songs like "Millionaire" that later got a proper release, I'd say there's 15 unreleased songs or alternate mixes that we now know of between us. That sounds like it'd make a sweet official release to me, if somebody involved with the Mood guys were up for putting this out.

And the 'Album Of the Year' Goes To...

Times are getting tight when it comes to good, new rap albums - this may go down as the year of the unearthed treasures, what with so many labels digging up great unreleased music from the 80's and 90's - but don't sleep on the contemporary output of 2009. I mean, sure, some artists dropped duds this year (Eminem... again), and a lot of over-hyped new jacks proved themselves to be as bland (Wale, Gucci Mane, etc) or even worse (Asher Roth) than we assumed they were gonna be. But the genre still managed to turn out a nice variety of quality albums.

I wrote about many of these over the year, like Neila's aptly titled Better Late Than Never, Busdriver's impressive Jhelli Beam, Pace Won's under-the-radar Team Won album (all three of which were covered in Werner's 2009 New Music Seminar post). The Custodian of Records put out a nice album called The Burton Music, despite what looks like a criminal case of record label neglect (see my column in HHC here). And Sole put out a grip of stuff including a new LP with The Skyrider Band, a superior limited EP (which I covered here), and now his new mixCD, Nuclear Winter, where he revamps pop gangsta rap tunes.

Still other worthwhile albums didn't get a post from me, but that doesn't mean they were or should be slept on. Themselves' Crownsdown didn't quite live up to its preceding mixCD, but it was still good listening, Cormega came nice with Born and Raised earlier in the year, and of course Raekwon's OB4CL2... well, the vinyl doesn't drop 'till 2010, so we'll come back to that next year.

But only one album can be album of the year. I was tempted to give it to Buck 65's surprisingly good collaborative album More Heart Than Brains. You'd think any album with beats by someone named Greetings From Tuskan would be one to skip; but no, it's really tight. Even the superfluous "MC Space" remake has been growing on me.

But, no... Buck 65 has to settle for being Runner Up. The winner this year is an album that defied the painful message board axiom that, "well you can't expect them to sound like they did back then." And no, I'm not talking about Blaq Poet's The Blaqprint album, though it certainly made a lot of headway in that direction and certainly deserves a place in your collection. But the album of 2009, as far as I'm concerned, is Gryme Time by The Freestyle Professors.

First, to clear up any possible misconceptions about this album, this is not some of their previous releases on the same label, in that they're releasing music recorded in the 90's (which is ineligible for Album of the Year), and it's not limited (it's widely available on CD or double vinyl) or priced like a limited release. It's brand new material by The Professors, who have made hot, new music without abandoning the style that made their early 90's EP, Your Pocket's Been P;cked, such a collector's item. And considering the disappointing modern releases by some of their guest producers, it's all the more rewarding to hear guys like Diamond D, Showbiz, Lord Finesse (who also gets on the mic) and Buckwild dropping beats like they did in their prime. Most of the production, however, is handled by the Professors' own Branesparker, whose work is right on par with the contributions by those legends (credit also has to go to the excellent scratching by DJ Grand Wizard Shake). Hip-hop's most elusive mythological beast - the comeback album that lives up to the earlier releases - has finally been found.

Oh, and if you get the package deal when ordering Gryme Time direct from their own site, freestyleprofessors.com, you get a bonus 7" single with two more exclusive tracks (one totally new and one remix). Schweet!

So, this is Werner signing off for 2009. Catch you guys next year!


P.s. - Did anybody out there manage to find a hard-copy of that Chubb Rock and Wordsmith album anywhere at all?

G.L.O.B.E. 2000

If you've gotten to know anything about me at all by now from reading my blog, it's probably that I like obscure independent comebacks by old and true school artists. And I also have a bit of an affinity for the underrated Echo International Records. So when Echo puts out an obscure independent record by an old school artist... oh yeah, it's on!

You all should know G.L.O.B.E. as one of the three MCs from Afrika Bambaataa's SoulSonic Force, responsible for such classics as "Planet Rock" and "Looking for the Perfect Beat." But G.L.O.B.E. has also had some successful solo (or semi-solo) outings, including the classic "Play That Beat Mr. DJ" with Whiz Kid, "Get Ridiculous" and "Celebrate" with Pow Wow (also of SoulSonic). But that was all back in the 80's... In the 90's, he did keep working every so often on projects with Bambaataa, but he didn't come out with any other records of his own.

That is until 2000, when he dropped "The Millions" on Echo/ Breakthru Records, produced by Steven "Boogie" Brown, an old school producer who did "Smurf for What It's Worth" back in '82.

The beat's nothing special, and sounds very studio-made (as opposed to rich samples or live instrumentation), but it's got a cool hardcore bounce with a few layers and change-ups to it. You might not be impressed, but you'll still find yourself nodding along. And it does work effectively as a foundation for G.L.O.B.E.'s rhymes. And G.L.O.B.E. comes pretty nice, with some hardcore freestylings, taking out haters, racists and funk fakers. His wordplay and delivery are solid, though a few lines ("drunk off the Hater-Ade") are a bit cringe-worthy. The hook is simple and effective, too, with a nice little "Zulu!" declaration.

The B-side, "He Can Feel," is an unfortunate attempt to show that he's diverse by following the latest (for 2000) trends in pop rap, with a hot 97, semi-Southern style with a female giving a sexy hook. It's not that G.L.O.B.E.'s terrible at the style, so much as it's just a bad decision in the first place, plus it sounds low budget. Both tracks come in Radio Edit, Street Mix and Inst. versions.

So, this is no must-have (big surprise), but you definitely won't be mad at it ...especially if you avoid the B-side. G.L.O.B.E. proves he's a pro who could still earn a spot on your mixtape decades after his hit records. Respect due.

No Face, the Twilight Years

(Youtube version is here.)

My 'Origins of No Face' post is here.

Have an Insane Clown X Mas

A Carnival Christmas is an Insane Clown Posse single released in 1994 (and reissued in 1997) on Island/ Polygram and Psychopathic Records, featuring two songs: "Santa's a Fat Bitch" and "Red Christmas."

"Santa's a Fat Bitch" has a very west coast sounding, hardcore track, replete with a lot of sleigh bells for that holiday feel, and features a strangely sung, high-pitched hook... I guess it's meant to be a parody of Christmas carols; but I don't know any carols that're song like that. LOL It's about ICP's beef with Santa, that he never goes to the ghetto on Christmas to bring them any toy, so they sing about how much they hate him:

"Santa Claus, Santa Claus, where ya been?
I see ya got cookies and milk on your chin.
I guess you had time to collect your ends;
You always been down for your rich friends.
But Rudolph he don't bring the sleigh my way,
Nothing but coal and dirt for little J.
I guess ya couldn't fit down my chimney shaft;
You need to lose some of that fat ass.
All the little rich boys, they get paid;
Counting their toys and ducats they made.
Me, I got a little half little chunk of dog shit.
I'ma kill that fat bitch!"

"Red Christmas" sounds a little more Detroity, but still has plenty of sleigh bells as well. The beat stops regularly for the Posse to sing dirty versions of famous Christmas jingles, and then resumes for the next verse. The lyrics are appropriately weird... Violent J raps about dressing as Santa Claus and climbing down chimneys to kill people, only to tangle with the real Saint Nick; while Shaggy 2 Dope tells a story about building a snowman because he has no friends, until a really sunny day comes along:

"He was melting and I was just fine.
He got pissed and pulled out a nine;
'If I'ma die, you should come with me,
'Cause we're boys,' (BANG) and hit me.
Damn, I'm dying,
I'm dead, he got his wish;
And all I got is another red Christmas."

These two songs were also included on the ICP's compilation album Forgotten Freshness vols. 1 & 2; though the version of "Red Christmas" on there is missing the screwy "12 Days of Christmas"-parody at the ending. I don't know how great of a loss that is, really; but it's always nice to have the complete versions of stuff in your collection.

So ok, now A Carnival Christmas is the single; but it's taken off the limited edition A Carnival Christmas E.P., which was released and available only in December of '94 from Psychopathic (but not Island/ Polygram) Records. The EP features both songs from the single, plus two additional: "Santa Killas" and "It's Coming."

"It's Coming" is just a bland, repetitive instrumental tracks with a few repeated vocal samples heralding the coming of the next "Joker's Card" album (The Riddlebox). These promos were common appearances at the end of their EPs, and this track should be of interest to die-hard completists only.

But "Santa Killas" is another full-out Insane Clown Posse Christmas song, in fact it's the best one. It features a guest MC named Fink the Eastside G and producer Mike E. Clark (the strongest element of the ICPosse) even takes the mic. It features the best hook, most rugged beat of the lot, with a different set of samples for each verse, and it holds up much better through repeated listenings, since it doesn't rely on "funny singing" and other gimmicks that get annoying fast. The concept is simple: they kill Santa Clauses... J shoots a Santa Claus in the mall for saying he's been too naughty to receive presents, Shaggy jacks him for his sleigh, Mike has an axe to grind about not getting what he wanted for Christmas that year and Fink shares a graphic moment about burning Santa and his reindeer alive:

"Spark up the matches,
And it catches,
And I burnt that MOTHERFUCKER UP!!
'Ho ho (cough cough) what the fuck?'
Cooked his ass with a crackling sound,
Watched as the ash come flickering down.
I smoked their bones and I get much iller;
Fink, the Eastside G, the Santa Claus killer!"

God knows we don't need any more lame anthems to their "juggalo" fans or self-parodying references to Faygo; but when you're looking for a novel holiday tune, the Insane Clowns know how to deliver the outrageous. The rarity has made the EP a bit pricey, but if you come across it relatively cheap, it could be worthwhile Christmas present to get yourself.

Let's Talk About Jesse

"Jesse" is a 1984 release by Grandmaster Melle Mel on Sugarhill Records. It wound up being included on their 1985 album, Stepping Off. And it's interesting for a couple of reasons.

First of all, it's good. That's always a nice starting point. Melle's at his best, with the Furious Five providing back-up vocals and the hook, including a little singing and harmonizing. Mel may be a little inconsistent, but as some serious song-writing ability in his bag of tricks when he wants to use it, and the always dependable SugarHill Band provide a quality backdrop for it all.

It's interesting because it's a political anthem for Jesse Jackson, who was running for the presidential spot on the Democratic ticket that year (though it wound up going to Walter Mondale who lost the election to Reagan). You don't see a lot of pro-politician songs in the hip-hop canon - at least until last year, when Obama inspired a ton of old and new school artists to record some nice mp3 tributes - and this is as pure as it gets, with Melle rapping his praises and a chorus that commands, "vote! Vote! Everybody get out and vote!"

And it's interesting because it's a complete retooling of a previously recorded song, called "D.C. Cab." "Cab" was written for the 1983 film D.C. Cab, although it wasn't featured on the soundtrack album and was never released as a single. The movie was a raunchy, screwball comedy about a crazy taxicab company, starring, among others, Bill Maher and Mr. T. And the song's a beat for beat, note for note rewrite (the aforementioned "vote! Vote! Everybody get out and vote!" was originally, "go! Go! Everybody get out and go!"). Most of the changes really just involving swapping out a few key words. For example:

"Hypocrites and Uncle Toms are talkin' trash
(Let's talk about D.C.)
Liberty and justice are a thing of the past
(Just ride with D.C.)
They want a stronger nation at any cost
(He's riding D.C.)
Even if it means that everything will soon be lost
(Then you'll love D.C.)

He started at the bottom,
Ended on the top.
He proved that he can make it;
They don't never stop.
If you think they won't make it, they gon' let you know:
Every time you get pulled down, you've got to get up and GO!"

...became:

"Hypocrites and Uncle Toms are talkin' trash
(Let's talk about Jesse)
Liberty and justice are a thing of the past
(Let's talk about Jesse)
They want a stronger nation at any cost
(Let's talk about Jesse)
Even if it means that everything will soon be lost
(Let's talk about Jesse)

He started on the bottom;
Now he's on the top.
He proved that he can make it,
So don't never stop.
Brothers stand together and let the whole world see
Our brother Jesse Jackson go down in history."

All of Melle's rap verses 100% identical, too (it helped that he already took a shot at Reagan in "D.C. Cab"). There are even D.C. references still left in "Jesse." About midway through the song, he goes, "But don't think that D.C. just did it first... There's a lotta D.C.'s all over this universe!" That's pretty confusing within the context of this ode to Jesse Jackson. Are we supposed to take that as a reference to Washington D.C. maybe? It doesn't really make sense. Maybe he's talking about how people like the characters in the (otherwise unnamed) movie need us to support Jesse Jackson. Again, it doesn't really translate into sense.

The lyrics to "D.C. Cab" are pretty serious and political, though (surprising, considering the movie itself), a la "The Message." And like I said, it's just damn good song-writing. So except for a few awkward bumps in the change-over, it all feels pretty natural and makes for a damn good song. And best of all, where "D.C. Cab" would be fading out to a finish, "Jesse" comes back with an all new third verse that's completely Jackson-specific:

"The 30th day that's in December
Is a day that everybody's gonna remember.
'Cause on that day a righteous man
Thought about takin' a brand-new stand.
The name of the man is Jesse Jackson,
And his call for peace was louder than action.
'Cause now's the time to change the nation
But not with just another negotiation.
He went to the East for humans' rights,
To free the lieutenant shot down in flight;
Just another statistic, and the government knew it.
They didn't even want the man to go do it.
Before he left, he called the president's home,
And Reagan didn't even answer the phone.
But I'll tell you one thing that's an actual fact:
You can bet he called Jesse when Jesse got back!"

"Jesse" then has an extra chorus and reprisal (including a few new lines, asking us to "join the Rainbow Coalition").

The 12" for "Jesse" follows the standard SugarHill Records layout, with the vocal version on side A and the instrumental on side B. Also like a lot of SugarHill joints, the original 12" version is kinda long (8+ minutes); so you might want to be wary of compilations featuring shorter versions. As for "D.C. Cab," that song went unreleased for ages, until it finally appeared on the 1999 compilation album Adventures On the Wheels Of Steel, released by Sequel Records, which was a nice, exclusive treat from the vaults. Still, in the long run, I've gotta give it up to "Jesse," both for the extra verse and the fact that the subject matter is naturally compelling when it's directed towards genuine hope for a real political candidate rather than a zany ensemble of fictitious Animal House-like cab drivers.

2 Big (new Kane and 'Pac review on DWG)

I'm back up on Diggers With Gratitude with a new review: an unfinished collaberation between Big Daddy Kane and 2Pac that was leaked onto vinyl in '98. Here's the direct link.