The Bronx & Queens Unite On Freestyle Records

Da Gritty & da Grimey EP by Branesparker and Nut-Rageous is limited, but it's been released in a much larger run than the Freestyle Professors 7" I just reviewed yesterday - 750 copies, as opposed to 200. 750's probably a lot for an independent artist these days (which is a sad commentary on the state of things), so the pressure to act quickly on this EP isn't as strong. But it's no less dope for that fact.

This EP's entirely produced by Branesparker, and he and Nutso share lead vocal responsibilities, though Professors' extended family member Giff and Stanley Grimes each put in an appearance here. Grimes has also done an appearance or two with Lord Finesse, which follows since thhe FPs are essentially DITC associated artists...

In fact, here's the thing that's so good about the FPs in general and this EP in particular. While the artists of DITC have struggled to maintain the quality the quality they first brought to the table in spades (seriously, I'm nto sayi8ng they're all crap now or anything, but like OC or Diamond D's Huge Heffner Chronicles anyone? And let's not even think about Fat Joe), it's like the FPs were kept locked in a time capsule since their original EP in 1994. So their new music is following right where they left off fifteen years ago, uninfluenced by all the trends and crappy newer artists who've influenced the rest of the crew for the worse. ...Not that every song here is 100% on par with Runaway Slave or the very best DITC ever did; it's just this particular affiliate group has apparently been preserved and spared from the otherwise seemingly inevitable decline all their other satellite groups faced. I love it. =)

This EP has some nice, surprisingly upbeat moments. For example, "Haze" sounds like it uses the same break and bassline from Sir Menelik's underrated "Physical Jewels," but marries it with a cheery, old school vocal sample. Several of these songs, in fact the overall feel of this EP, come off as more light and feel-good than you'd think, considering the title of this EP. But that's okay, because it's good; and "good" trumps any expectation of style or theme.

Overall, you get six songs, plus two instrumentals in a sticker cover (shown). And despite being limited, it's only beiong sold for $18, which is pretty much the price of a standard new release. I mean, maybe it's a dollar or two more expensive, considering it's an EP rather than an LP; but we'd really splitting hairs at that point. Between the two, I have to say I slightly prefer the Freestyle Professors 7" over this one, but this one gets props for breaking formula a little (successfully); and I can't really say a bad word about either of them.

You can check out the video they shot for one of the EP tracks, "It's a Shame," here.

The New, Raw Gospel

The Freestyle Professors are back! Not that they ever went anyplace. Well... I mean, of course they did. After 1994. All the way up until their comeback in 2006 they were away. That's a long time. But... since then, they haven't gone anyplace. They've stayed busy, putting in work releasing a grip of great vintage and new material on Freestyle Records. And this is their latest single, which just arrived this weekend.

This latest single, "Ghetto Gospel," was originally intended to be a B-side bonus to a Gryme Tyme single, but it never wound up happening. So they've rescued it from oblivion and released it as its own single on 7". And I'm glad they did, 'cause it's one of their better tracks, even by the Professors' high standards.

The production's pretty simple... a sick percussion sample and some gritty bass that reminds me of vintage Hobo Junction. It's raw. And lyrically, The Professors come just as raw.

"Who the fuck am I?
The voice to fill the void.
Since Griff and Chuck split,
The movement's been destroyed.
Now niggas sell they soul
To the devil for a dollar.
A million kids follow
These faggots with the power,
Who have an impact
On the youth of tomorrow."

It's a "kicking knowledge"-type of song, but definitely on the edgier hardcore tip. Besides the rhymes, the vocal samples played on the hook will make sure this song will never get radio airplay in a million years. Good shit.

Then the B-side is "Stanley Grimes" by... Stanley Grimes. Who's Stanley Grimes? He's a.k.a. Page the Hand Grenade, kind of one of the Freestyle Professors' extended family, and has been on a couple of their projects over the years. This song, like the A-side, is produced by Freestyle Professors member Branesparker. The beat's another banger, and Grimes has more of a light-hearted, witty delivery than the grimier style the Professors kick on the A-side - in fact, he reminds me a lot of Mr. Voodoo - and he comes nice over this track. This song has been included as an introduction to his debut EP, which Freestyle Records is set to drop in 2011.

This 7" is limited to 200 copies, so if you're interested, you might wanna act quickly. It's selling for $20, but those of us who pre-ordered got it for just $5 in a package deal with Branesparker's new EP with Nut-Rageous that's just been released at the same time. What's that? A Branesparker/Nut-Rageous collaborative EP? Yup! It's too much to get into now, though, so look out for tomorrow's update; I'll have a complete write-up. =)

Once Again Back Is the Invincible

Invincible stays putting in work, and putting out vinyl in 2010. Her latest single, "Detroit Summer" with producer Waajeed, just arrived at my door today. It's a 7" single that's available through her own label/site emergencemedia.org.

"Detroit Summer" is a sequel to "Detroit Winter" from Waajeed's production duo The Platinum Pied Pipers' album Triple P, which she featured on - as the chorus goes, "summer in the city, wonder how he made it through the winter." Both songs are time capsules, describing the experience of life in Detroit, scenically and introspectively.

A taste from "Detroit Winter:"

"Ruins of a metropolis not a populous shrinkin',
Inkin' deals to build as if the town's vacant.
Every empty lot remainin' a profound statement;
Every empty bottle claimin' all the drowned pain and sorrow."

But while "Summer" is still set in the bleakest of landscapes, it has more of an eye towards a productive future:

"Politicians make a fortune by thievin';
The air quality since the Model T could shorten ya breathin'.
Follow me to a city where empty lots turn to garden plots,
Got alternatives in place so we can disregard the cops."

Like its predecessor, the music of "Detroit Summer" does an effective job of evoking the season. Where "Winter" had darker beats and a somber tone, this one is livelier, brighter and features more change-ups throughout. On a more superficial level, "Summer" - with its sampled (I assume) children singing in the background and strident piano in the fore - is also just plain catchier, and something you'd probably be more inclined to turn to when you're just in the mood for some casual listening.

The B-side is "Emergence," a straight-up anthem for its label. With huge, old school drums and rockin' electric guitar riffs, sonically it comes off as an underground "Eye Of the Tiger" and vocally, it's a manifesto. "The type of feeling you can't codify, won't turn into a franchise, gotta customize and localize, deepenin' relationships, buildin' from the bottom -up."

So, it's a little disappointing this is just a 7", as opposed to a nice big ol' 12" full of bonus beats and remixes and stuff. But for a 7", you're probably not gonna find one presented better than this. It comes in a nice color-stamped picture sleeve (above), with a fun little manila envelope full of stickers, and best of all: a download card! I've said it before and I'll say it again: this is the way all vinyl releases should be packaged today, but unfortunately only a handful of labels have gotten around to picking up on this. Even cooler, in addition to the two songs, you're also able to download both instrumentals that didn't fit on the 7".

It's limited to 1000 copies, but let's face it - that's a full run in 2010. And it's not over-priced like those collectors' item limiteds; just a cool $5. There's not too many labels that consistently handle every single aspect of their releases right, but Emergence is one of them. And musically, Invincible and Waajeed are some of the best doing it today. So support; it's a great deal.

P.s. - you can check out the video, which blends the A- and B-side songs together, here.

Who Needs Premier Anyway?

It's easy, and not entirely unwarranted, to put this 12" down for what it's not. One thing it's not, for instance, is produced at all by DJ Premier. Of course, a lot of 12"s aren't produced by DJ Premiere. But the difference is, when this particular 12" was first announced, they said it would be.

See, this is one of the earlier examples of the recent "limited" game... a 12" of "Wut's Poppin'" by Nut-Rageous on Poor Pocket Music that dropped in 2008. The song is taken off of one of Nut's CDs (Raw Nuts), but the big selling point of this limited (to 200 copies) 12" was the new DJ Premier remix, with an additional verse by Blaq Poet of Screwball, signed by Nutso and pressed on red vinyl. Sounds pretty awesome, right?

Well, unfortunately, it was later announced that, "Also as for the Wat's Poppin 12" Dj Premier & Blaq Poet love the original so much!! that they wanna leave it the same except for the added Blaq Poet verse and Premier on the intro introducing the record." So, no more DJ Premier track; now he's just going to introduce an alternate version of the original track with the Blaq Poet verse. That's disappointing. - BUT!! - But, to make up for that, The Mighty V.I.C. of The Beatnuts will instead be providing a new remix. So... a let down for Premier enthusiasts, but still a pretty compelling 12". And hey, even though there's no Premo remix, "Primo will be recording blaq Poet vocals and doing an intro talking in the begining of the record as well." So that's pretty sweet. So orders were taken at $30, which at least compared to the other early limiteds by DWG and Freestyle Records, was pretty reasonable.

Except, uh... well, to cut right to the chase: the 12" doesn't have a version with an additional Blaq Poet verse. It doesn't have Premier introducing the track. It doesn't have a Mighty V.I.C. remix. It's not pressed on red vinyl. And a lot of the copies weren't signed. Oh, and also more than 200 copies wound up being pressed, so it wasn't as limited as they claimed. So yeah. Some people were understandably disappointed.

Okay, we just bagged on this 12" because it had it coming, and I think we can all sympathize with people who pre-ordered a 12" with a whole set of unmet expectations. - BUT!! - But, now that we've finished doing that, let's talk about what a dope 12" it is and why it should be in everybody's collection!

"Wut's Poppin'" is a pretty nice, mellow track (produced by Ron Mills) featuring KL (RIP) of Screwball. It's a cool, steady head-nodder with a surprisingly broad appeal. This definitely has that radio summer jam vibe, but the MCs (especially KL) keep a nice street edge to it that you won't find on most other summer joints. KL and Nut have a nice chemistry together, and KL's slightly scratchy voice sounds especially cool over the track. It comes in Main, Clean, Instrumental and Acapella versions.

Then, you've got an exclusive B-side, "Nuts & Screws" on the B-side. As the title suggests, this is another Nut-Rageous and Screwball collaboration, this time featuring Blaq Poet and KL. Where the last track was smooth, this one's a banger, with old school blaxploitation style samples, Premier-style scratching for the hook and harder drums. This could easily fit in on a Screwball 'Greatest Hits' collection... which, if you're familiar with their full catalog, is really saying something. It's produced by 12 Finger Dan, but if you told me it was by Alchemist, I'd not only believe it, I'd say it was one of his strongest tracks. This track also comes with Instrumental (yay!) and Acapella versions.

Then, finally, we do get a "Wut's Poppin'" remix. It's not by Premier, V.I.C. or anybody else I've ever heard of, though. It's by DJ Brans France. Or maybe his name is DJ Brans and he's from France; the credits on the back cover are a little confusing. But, anyway, it's pretty nice. It switches up the atmosphere to a faster, harder track driven by pounding piano notes; the kind of beat you'd expect Kool G Rap to spit on. It's surprisingly effective in giving the song a whole new feel without falling to pieces like most remixes that get that ambitious tend to do.

So, if you can get over the fact that this isn't the killer 12" you were expecting (and maybe you were taken for a bit of a ride by the label); I think you'll find it's still pretty damn nice and definitely worth a spot in your crates. And since this was later sold at a standard 12" price - that is to say, about $6, as opposed to the original $30 people who got in early paid (ouch again!) - you should still find this one nice and affordable. Plus, as you see, it comes in a cool picture cover, and apparently some of the proceeds went to help KL's family, which takes a little bit of the sting out of the whole debacle.

Battle Rhymes Unearthed

If hip-hop had a preservation society (and it should), this is the kind of release they could bring us: LIB003 1/2. This is the third and apparently final release from Solid 'N' Mind, who you may remember I covered last year with their limited "Centre Stage" 12". That one was a limited release of two of their unreleased tracks from 1991. We thought that was going to be their last release at the time, since that 12" included both of their only unreleased recordings. But a recent find has given us one last entry into their saga.

Whirlwind D, the MC of the duo, recently discovered an old tape of an instrumental their DJ/producer, Johnny F, created for another song they often performed but never recorded, along with a scrap of paper containing all the lyrics. So, all these years later, they finally constructed the song from its long-lost elements and just dropped their "Battle Tipped Rhyme" 12", of course once again on their Liberty Grooves label.

"Battle Tipped Rhyme" has the same quality I raved about on their last release: a mix of originality and the tried and true, by brilliantly combining several known break-beats and samples but turning them into something new, fresh and exciting. As the title suggests, this is a fast-paced battle rap (just like we like 'em), taking the killer drums and rolling bassline from Joeski Love's "Rock Wit Joeski." Well, that's where I recognize it from, anyway. What, you didn't know Joeski had some nice material in his catalog? Quick stabs of the horns used in Phase & Rhythm's "Hyperactive" and then another familiar horn sample (I think the ones Kool Moe Dee used on "Death Blow?") but sped up to almost double time. Anyway, all that plus some furious scratching on the hook makes for a hype, kinetic 90's battle record:

"Chained to the wall as you ponder your fate;
Step to the mic, you're lost in the quake.
Buildings crash and ground swallows whole;
Thought you were ready but D's on a roll.
Johnny F cuts with blaze of fury;
Your fate is sealed by the glare of the jewelery.
Uzis, AKs, what shall I choose?
Maybe just a rhyme that's guaranteed to bruise."

So of course, this 12" contains just the one song. But it comes fully loaded with the Vocal, Instrumental and Acapella versions. As an added bonus, they even include the OG, un-remastered instrumental from that original tape. This 12" is limited to 250 hand-numbered copies, and as you can see in the photo above, comes in a cool picture cover, along with a glossy 12" insert on the history of the Liberty Grooves label, and a press sheet. Pre-orders of this sold out just a couple of days after they were announced, but apparently a few copies will be available at vinylism and one or two other places. So you may need to do a little hunting, but if you're a fan of UK hip-hop at all, it's well worth it.

The First Rap Record Ever!

(Youtube version is here.)

'Cause We Comin' From Queens and Gets Down

Today's entry isn't an InstaRapFlix entry, 'cause this movie isn't available on Netflix, for stream or otherwise. In fact, the DVD never saw a proper release in the US. But where does all the good US hip-hop go when you it doesn't even come out in the US? You guess it - Japan! Tragedy: The Story of Queensbridge has a proper DVD release out there and can be easily secured by any fan able to negotiate Amazon.jp. 8)

This is a great, raw documentary of Tragedy and the whole QB scene. There's long and deep interviews with Tragedy, much of which were filmed while he's in prison. There are also interviews with practically everybody relevant in the QB scene: Havoc, Capone, Marley Marl, Blaq Poet, Killa Sha (RIP), NORE, plus a lot of the lesser known heads as well. Trag's step-parents are given a lot of time, too; and this was clearly shot over a lot of time and locations, giving us a tour of all QB and some great, candid moments that unfold in front of the camera. At 74 minutes, it's a little short (a little more time spent on The Super Kids records, his time at A&M and some other periods would have been nice), but it does keep things moving at a brisk, content-packed pace. The scene is really laid bare with one open, honest and often gun-toting moment after another.

There are a few flaws... the narration is melodramatic and corny. But thankfully, that's relegated to the slightly embarrassing precredits sequence and the conclusion; so the bulk of the film is narration-free. And the other issue is the cheesy reenactments. Having Trag's voice laid over some real childhood photos would have been a lot more effective than some questionable actors playing his heroin-shooting mother and childhood friends. But fortunately, those are kept to very short clips (the filmmakers must've seen how dubious these were in the editing stage)... but again, a few, real photos would have gone a long way.

But really, these complaints are small compared to everything that's good about this film. This is a must-see for fans of Trag and the Queensbridge scene, and a worthwhile watch even for those who aren't. The DVD has some nice but brief extras, including an excellent segment on Trag's best friend and inspiration, Killa Black (RIP), a great interview Trag on the making of "T.O.N.Y.," an amusing segment on the origin of the term "dunn," plus music videos for "LA, LA" and "T.O.N.Y." So if you want something a little more legit (and better, what with the extras) than a stream or torrent to watch, know that there is a proper DVD option. And, yes, the Japanese subtitles are optional (removable). :)

InstaRapFlix #28: Pick Up the Mic: The Evolution of Homohop

It's been a while since I've done an InstaRapFlix (since April, in fact); and since I have a lofty goal of building a database that refers, like, every obscure "random" hip-hop doc ever, I'd really better get on the ball. So here I am; and this one seems interesting: Pick Up the Mic: The Evolution of Homohop (Netflix rating: 3 stars). I mean, I'm disappointed that "Homohop" is even a word, let alone one somebody took seriously enough to use for the title of their DVD, but still... the premise seems interesting. And like the Nerdcore documentary I did before (which really turned out to be a glorified tour DVD for one guy), it's fun to learn about hip-hop scenes I really know next to nothing about.

So it's a full-length doc (regular readers will know a lot of these turn out to be ridiculously short) and opens up with a live performance of a song called "No Fags Allowed." Then we cut to rapper Deadlee, who wrote and performed that stage, explaining that he wrote that song - to I guess show that they're not offended by comments like "no fags allowed" because they'll proudly say it themselves. Or something. His logic didn't really seem that clear. But anyway, if you're thinking, "I've never heard of Deadlee," then you've already found the film's weak point. It's full of rappers who you've never heard of (and most of whom, frankly, you wouldn't be adding their records to your crates even if they had one). There ARE known homosexual rappers out there, like Afrika from the Jungle Brothers, Invincible, Madee... not to mention all of the rappers who are rumored to be or presumed to be gay, like Queen Latifah or Erick Sermon*. It would've been great, but you won't hear from any of them in this doc.

The other flaw is that, because it's so PC, half the things they say wind up being so obvious, you know what you're going to hear long before it comes out of their mouths. "Hip-hop wasn't made to exclude anyone," "we're here to challenge stereotypes," "sexual preference doesn't have anything to do with skills," etc. Surely you knew you'd be hearing all these sentiments as soon as you saw the title of the film... so spending the next forty minutes hearing them paraded out before you one by one just feels redundant and boring. And, perhaps more to the point, it's a big circle jerk. It's a group of 10 or 15 rappers you've never heard of - this doc happily plops down and spends all its focus on just a small scene based in San Francisco - all saying how great each other are.

But getting past the negatives, there are good aspects, too. One thing, because this is full-length and not padded with music video clips and other junk like so many hip-hop docs are; you get actually spend enough time with the subjects to delve into subjects and who they are. I'd certainly never heard of Tim'M before, but he gets a lot of time to talk, and the crew travels around with him, to the point where you actually feel like they're building. And if you ARE a fan of the artists presented here, you get to hear a lot from them so you won't feel ripped off (as opposed to Slip 'N' Slide docs I was covering, where artists dropped one sentence sound-bites saying nothing and were never heard from again). Several of the segments even include interviews with the artists' parents.

Towards the end, it finally breaks out of that San Francisco scene, and gets into an interesting look at gay hip-hop websites and all. So it basically starts out as a pretty bland, tiresome puff piece, but slowly builds into an interesting documentary. At the last 5 or so minutes, it gets into a pretty interesting talk on "homohop" penetrating the mainstream; just too bad it took so long to get there. So, it's not a great film; Errol Morris isn't gonna have to find a new line of work... but it's worth watching once, especially since it can be streamed for free on Netflix.

* Ok, that Erick Sermon rumor is old... but it would've been fun to just see an exasperated Erick grabbing the camera and exclaiming, "for the last time: I am NOT gay," right? lol

It Ain't His!

This is a really fun, slept-on record. Cli-N-Tel is the first member of The World Class Wreckin' Cru to step out and start making a name for himself outside of the Cru. Long before Dre and Yella became megastars, it looked for a minute like Cli-N-Tel was gonna be their break-out star. His first release was the better-known "2030" with DJ Unknown on TechnoHop, but later in 1988 he moved to Sutra Records (a label perhaps best known for being the home of The Fat Boys for many years) to release a couple of 12"s, including this one.

The label for "It Ain't Mine" specifies that this is by Cli-N-Tel featuring Marquette Hawkins, Joe Cooley and The Amazing Artis. That's an odd way to put it, since Marquette Hawkins is Cli-N-Tel's real name. Anyway, along with writing and performing the song, apparently he also produced this with a guy named Cliff Zellman, who for some reason doesn't get to share above-title credit - I guess because he isn't a "name." Joe Cooley is of course the great world champion DJ and long-term partner of Rodney O. And I really don't know who the heck The Amazing Artis is, nor can I figure out what he contributed to the record.

Anyway, this is can be considered at least halfway as a response record to T-La Rock's classic, "It's Yours." It's a fun song about denying paternity to a girl's baby. Joe Cooley cuts up Rock's hook ("It's Yours!") to which Cli-N-Tel protests, "it's not mine!" Joe Cooley provides a lot of nice scratching here, and is definitely one of the key selling points for the song. The fact that this is a "topic" song (as opposed to a freestyle rap) doesn't seem to stop Cooley from displaying his top-notch abilities throughout the song. He cuts up the hook, behind the verses, he scratches in a few fun key words into the raps in the style of "Say It Loud," and gets extra busy on the breakdown.

Besides all the scratching, the track is upbeat and engaging, with a very catchy bassline and some funky percussion (a la Grandmaster Flash's and Kool Moe Dee's "Do U Know What Time It Is" records). The rhymes are fun and clever, too... he sounds influenced by The Fresh Prince, but remains himself enough not to come off as a cheap imitation. He starts by telling off his girl ("you ain't pregnant, and even if you was, I'd still deny it!") but things get pretty zany as he starts daydreaming about getting plastic surgery to change his identity or talking about how it infiltrates his dreams:

"Later on that night,
When I went to bed,
Boxes of pampers
danced in my head.
I said to myself,
'Aw, this is wack!'
Then I started being chased
By cans of Similac!
All at once,
I knew I was doomed!
I looked up and saw her mother
Flyin' on a broom!
You know I tried to get away
But I couldn't do that,
'Cause at the corner was her father
With a baseball bat!"

If you like fun 80's rap, this is really an overlooked gem that shines in all departments: smart & humorous song-writing, a quality, enjoyable instrumental and for the more serious-minded heads, scratching that shows some serious skills. You've got the vocal version on the A-side, then the instrumental and a shorter dub/bonus beats-type mix on the B-side. So I'd definitely go out of my way to pick this 12"; it's a rewarding little single.

Pickin' Banjo On Buck's Porch

This is a limited CD I passed on for a long time, 'cause it looked just to be a handful of previously released songs slapped onto a cheap tour CD. But I finally picked this up,and I'm glad I did. Because, though the songs are all pretty much ones you've heard, they're all new versions, and compelling ones at that. It's Buck 65's Porch, which was sort of quietly released in 2007.

First a note about its discogs listing, I guess. I notice they make a point of correcting the track-listing as its written on the CD's liner notes, re-ordering the songs "as they appear on the CD here." This is confusing to me... unless there are actually two pressings of this (which seems unlikely, as it's a very limited run, tour CD)? Because I've got this, and the songs on mine play in the correct order as they're written out. Also, the discogs separates the last track into two songs, when it's clearly a single song mash-up (more on that later) and correctly listed in the notes as one song. So I don't know if whoever's uploading this info is just using some dubious, mislabeled set of mp3s downloaded form the 'net, or if there's actually two versions of this CD; but mine matches the official track-listing.

So, that out of the way, this is a short, five song collaborative EP between Buck 65 and a guy named John Zytaruk, a musician who also worked with Buck on several of his Dirtbike songs. This is essentially Buck 65 unplugged... there's no programmed beats or scratches or any sound by any device that needs to be plugged in. These are acoustic versions of the songs. In fact, I'll write you the credits as they're written in the liner notes:

"John Zytaruk - guitar, banjo, dobro, mandolin, percussion

Buck 65 - vocals, glockenspiel, foot stomps

Produced by John Zytaruk"

Yeah, so banjos, foot stompin' and Buck playing the glockenspiel. This is Buck taking the Talkin' Honky Blues angle to an even further extreme. The credits mention percussion, but there's barely any to be heard... You can hear a bit, keeping rhythm, if you put your ear to speaker, but that's it. And I can see why that may sound like a huge turn-off, but by and large, it's really pretty good.

So, this EP features some unreleased music: "Heather Nights" and a song that Buck only otherwise released on mp3 through his site, "Indestructible Sam" from the mp3-only EP Dirty Work. It features "Blood of a Young Wolf" from Secret House Against the World and "Craftsmanship" from Talkin' Honky Blues. But again, even these previously released songs are new versions, so it's really all-new.

Not every version is an improvement, mind you. "Blood Of a Young Wolf," sounds cool and mellower in this stripped down version, so it's a nice alternative. But at the end of the day, if I had to pick only one, I definitely prefer the original album version and its additional instrumentation. "Indestructible Sam" copies the same banjo rhythm but ditches the driving percussion rhythm, making this sound like an old civil war standard. But the EP has a great consistency that has a merit you can't account for when you just take every song individually. It's an impressive and engaging listen as a whole, almost like one giant song with change-ups.

The last track is "Wicked and Weird/Coo Coo Bird." "Wicked and Weird," of course, was the anthemic first single from Talkin' Honky Blues. And "Coo Coo Bird" is an old American folk song by Clarence Ashley. To be honest, this one doesn't work so well for me. It's the "mash-up" I mentioned earlier, with Buck alternating between the lyrics of his own "Wicked and Weird" and the old "Coo Coo Bird" song. I reckon this is meant to show how effectively he's managed to gel these two seemingly disparate genres, seamlessly blending rap and folk. But the problem is it's not seamless at all. "Wicked and Weird" is a totally different tempo and style and the two just don't mix. As a whole, it's not a bad idea, and probably something Buck could've pulled off if he used another - slower, more laid back - song from his catalog. But "Wicked and Weird" is too pop rockish - it's a great song, but a really bad choice for this medley. So... it's interesting. But after you've checked it out, you'll probably wind up only playing this EP through the first four songs when you go to revisit it.

But it's an EP that's worth revisiting, which frankly, is more than you can say for most albums these days. So if you passed over it like me, I recommend backtracking and seeing if you can find a copy.

Raekwon, Wherever You Want Him

(Youtube version is here.)