Werner Is Rockin' On the Radiooo

Update: listen to the show here, in mp3; and check out the playlist here.

Well, I will be in a few hours from now. From midnight to 3am, I'll be on the Coffee Break for Heroes and Villains show on WFMU, 91.1 FM. If you don't get the station in your area, you can listen to the show online at coffeebreakradio.com.

But if starting at midnight runs a little too late for you, there'll be an archived recording of the whole show, plus a playlist, which you should check because I'm bringing something a little special for them to play tonight. ;)

The 12" Reader

(Youtube version is here.)

A Dangerous Diss

Rally Ral's debut single first came out on In-A-Minute and No Limit Records in 1993. But it was later picked up by Priority for their Street Fighter soundtrack; and so it was released again as a single in 1994, remixed and smoothed out. The original's better, and it's got three additional songs on it, which all bump harder than this smoothed out remix, so it's generally considered the one to own. Plus, it's just usually a good rule of thumb in hip-hop: when in doubt, get the original, indie version.

But this second version has a couple exclusives itself - specifically 2 songs featuring E-A-Ski. Now, Ski's appearance kinda goes without saying... he also appeared on one of the songs from the original "Something Kinda Funky" single, and E-A-Ski & CMT were Rally Ral's regular producers who featured him on a couple of their other projects as well. He was pretty officially down with Infared.

So, one of those exclusive songs - "I Thought You Knew" - is just okay. The bassline has been used often, and it usually sounds better than this, plus the sung hook is lame. Still, Ski and Rally come pretty hard, and the scratching, which is kept pretty low in the mix, is kinda nice. But you should watch out, because there's one version of this single that only features "Something Kinda Funky" and "I Thought You Knew." Completionists might want it, too, because it's the only version with the "I Thought You Knew" instrumental; but then you wouldn't just be missing out on the picture cover, but a killer Dangerous Dame diss!

Yeah, flip this one over and there's the song "Lost a Few Screws" where E-A-Ski goes hard on Dame. That's a little surprising, considering they were label-mates on No Limit at the time, and it's unclear exactly what the beef's about. They do start out by saying, "what's up with the disrespect," so I guess he said something to start it, intentionally or inadvertently, but who knows? Whatever the reason for it, though, no punches are pulled. While they never quite say his name, if you pay close attention to key lines in the lyrics ("'I Call Your Name' like your wack-ass song, bitch!" or "Make Room 4 Daddy? Nah, nigga, we don't want it!"), there's no possible way they're talking about anybody else:

"Always a has-been nigga on my back 'cause he's wack.
Starvin' for some Ski & CMT tracks. (Nigga, you can't have that!)
So back the fuck up, nigga, 'cause I know,
You lost a few screws from that mickey about a year ago."

That last line, besides justifying the song's title, is a reference to the crazy, but apparently true story Dame told on his Escape From the Mental Ward EP, where somebody slipped him a mickey which literally drove him insane. In fact, this song works just as well as an answer record to that song as a straight-up diss. I blogged about it back in January, including my transcription of the lyrics. It's pretty wild, so if you missed it, check it out here.

"Motherfuckers ain't shit.
Got dropped from Atlantic, now you're lookin' like a bee-itch.
Nigga, you can cup my nuts until they bust;
Lookin' for the Ski and CMT to bring your wack-ass up? (Never!)
I kinda figured you were jealous to the head, hoe,
When we rocked your wack-ass show. (That's right!)
Took niggas off guard with my presence;
An OG fuckin' with these young adolescents."

The whole song is just hard, hostile and personal: "Everyone knows the real scoop; You been rappin' for years, ain't got nothin' to show for it!" They even go on to challenge his authenticity as a ghost-writer. Everyone knows he wrote "Short But Funky" for Too $hort, but nothing else can really be verified, since he's not actually credited as a writer. Or, as they put it, "It ain't a rumor, it's a fact: this nigga's walkin' around sayin' he wrote Ice Cube and D.O.C.'s raps. How the fuck you figure this? A mental block to your skull makes you a walkin' lunatic."

The beat's okay, but pretty subtle. The only thing you're meant to be paying attention to are the vicious rhymes, and that's how it plays out. By the time the song's over, you barely even realize that there was no hook, or that Ski didn't even pass the mic. That's right, Ral doesn't even get on his own song. Ski just grabs the mic, murders Dangerous Dame, and before you know it, the song's over.

So yeah, it's a single worth picking up. I have the cassingle and 12", and both track-listings are the same: the three songs, plus the "Something Kinda Funky" Instrumental. But of course, like I already covered, there's also the earlier No Limit version with different songs and the promo version that's missing "Lost a Few Screws." Plus, there's another 12" which pairs "Something Kinda Funky" with the Hammer and Deion Sanders song from Street Fighter. So you've gotta pay attention to which version you're getting. If you just order "Something Kinda Funky" from some seller on Amazon, there's no telling what'll show up at your door.

Rally Ral might not've been the greatest rapper, or even one of the best gangsta rappers of his style and era, but he was cool because he came harder than most. Unfortunately, most heads were introduced to him by the A-side, this commercially soft "Something Kinda Funky" remix, the least representative of his work or what he was capable of bringing. The back cover says this is from his forthcoming album, Tighter Than a Virgin, but that never dropped. And while Ral put in another guest appearance or two, he never came out with another record after this. So, in the end, I guess Dame got the last laugh.

The First Name In Milwaukee Hip-Hop Returns

When I covered the catalog of Jamille Records, I honestly wasn't sure if they had already run their course in 2010, but I'm happy to report that they have not. They have returned in 2011 with two new 7" singles, definitely on par with their past releases, and even a documentary DVD.

The 7"s are one of each - one's a repress of an obscure, hard to find indie release, and in the case of the other, this music is being released for the first time ever. The repress is by The Ill Chief Rockers, taking two, and presumably the best, songs from their only 1986 single (that 12" also had two other songs, not present here). The Chief Rockers are two guys you'll remember from past Jamille releases: MC Kid Crab, and Strickey Luv, who was one of the guests on the MC Richie Rich & Scratch single, along with Rock La Flow. By 1986 standards, this is as hard as hip-hop got. It's pressed on clear, yellow (yellow) vinyl; and is limited to 100 copies (mine is #74).

Then the next single is two more unreleased joints by Two-Tone. It's my understanding that they'd never put any recordings out back in the day, so these singles singles from Jamille are the first time any of us are getting to hear their stuff. Both songs here are fun, but the B-side wins with its liberal use of The Average White Band's "Pick Up the Pieces" as its instrumental bed. And once again, their wicked DJ Mike T steals the show - his cuts are so clean! This one's produced on clear (clear) vinyl - my scanner makes it look a lot grayer than it really is - and is also limited to 100 copies (mine is #73).

And now the DVD. Red Beans and Rice is a cool little documentary, clocking in at about an hour long, looking at record digging from the collector's perspective. This isn't about the big-name producers like Diamond or Large Professor, like in Beat Diggin' or Deep Crates 1 and 2. This is more just about the regular heads, from places like Milwaukee, Arizona, Chicago... There are some names you might recognize if you're really plugged in, like DJentrification; but essentially this is just a documentary looking at the "you and me"s of the scene.

You probably have to be a major vinyl lover to appreciate this - I could see your average viewer taking the stance, "what do I care what this guy's favorite record is when I don't even know who he is?" But you know what this is? It's record porn. This is an excuse to ogle peoples' huge private collections and get glimpses into record stores that, unless you there, you'd probably never otherwise get to check out. There are some fun stories: one guy who pulled records especially made for a news network's broadcast out of the rubble of a demolished TV station, and another guy who has two copies of the WaxPoetics poster - one kept nice in a frame, and one with covered in X's as he marks off each record he gets from it like a hit list. One guy has his house so full of records that he's got crate shelves in his bathroom now, because he's run out of room.

It's not strictly about hip-hop digging - heads here are just as happy to talk about The Beach Boys or The Beatles - but there's definitely a lot of hip-hop love throughout. This is obviously targetted at a small market, but I think from my description you can probably decide if this is for you. I'm not sure what the plans are for this film - I was just hooked up with a DVD -maybe it'll start popping up for sale soon... But keep an eye out for Red Beans and Rice if it sounds like your thing. It's a nice little doc, and like everything put out by Jamille Records, made with an earnest sincerity.

More Rarities

I wasn't kidding when I said these Buck 65 tour CDs are addicting... so here's another one. This one is called Pole-Axed: More Rarities, released back in 2006, and according to Buck's website, compiled (he says "recorded") in Paris. Since it's labeled "rarities" not "unreleased" or "exclusives," it's not surprising that most of these have been released before. This is mostly a collection of guest spots he did on releases by artists like Stigg of the Dump, the Molemen, Governor Bolts... stuff like that. The compilation's a little uneven, but by and large, all pretty good stuff.

A couple of tracks are confusingly listed in the track-listing, but nothing actually new, so let's just clear those up real quick. "Styles of Smiles" (helpfully credited "from Granelli album"), is actually the song "Richie's Secret World" from the Jerry Granelli album, Music Has Its Way With Me, which Buck collaborated on as DJ Stinkin' Rich. And while I thought "Centaur (Gordski Rmx)" might actually by an unheard take on the song, it's actually the remix from the Anticon 12" B-side. Gordski's name appears nowhere on that record's label or cover, so I never realized it wasn't by Buck himself... but regardless, it's not version.

So, blah blah blah, that's enough about the previously released songs that us fans all already have. Let's talk exclusives. Now, even if you didn't pay attention to the dates, it's obvious this album closely followed Secret House Against the World, because all the exclusive remixes are from that album.

First up is "Rough House Blues (Masculine Fantasy Rmx)." "Rough House Blues" was always one of the better tracks on the original album, and this remix does a nice job of making it fresh again without taking away what worked about the first version. It features the same (or similar) guitar riff for the body of the instrumental, and the cuts are the same. But the piano has been changed up, and the whole thing sounds down-pitched and darker. And where the short, original mix (it's less than two and a half minutes) ends, this new mix builds into a crescendo with new instruments and non-verbal vocals.

Unlike "Rough House Blues," "Drawing Curtains" really wasn't so appealing. It was interesting, and the production (except maybe for the drums) was effective. But the fact that he shared the vocal duties with Claire Benes (who, to the album's detriment, was all over Secret House Against the World), where they constantly go back and forth, alternating words or phrases in a single sentence, is really abrasive and annoying. It was just the sort of thing that plagued Secret House - it's like he thought, "I'll put a woman speaking with a French accent all over this album and it'll sound really avant-garde, regardless of the fact that her cadence is dull and her delivery's sleepy, lifeless and sucks all the energy out of the songs like a vacuum cleaner." ...Okay, he probably didn't think that second part.

Anyway, Pole-Axed introduces us to the "Crude Version" of "Drawing Curtains." But if you were hoping for an early, temp track Buck recorded all by himself before he laid in Claire's vocals or anything, forget it. In fact, there's barely any perceivable difference at all. This version was just mastered slightly different, maybe? I dunno, every vocal and instrumental bit from this version seems to be on that version, and vice versa. Oh well.

The third and final Secret House exclusive is "The Suffering Machine (Raw Demo Instrumental)." The titling here is a bit odd, since this sounds 100% nothing like "The Suffering Machine" from Secret House... instead, it seems to be the "Raw Demo Instrumental" to another song off that album: "Drunk Without Drinking." I don't know if it's a stupid mistake, or maybe an indication that he was originally planning to record the "Suffering Machine" lyrics to this beat, or what. Anyway, unlike the two versions of "Drawing Curtains," the differences here are easy to identify; there's whole instrumental riffs and elements that are unique to this "Raw Demo" version. It's exclusive just by way of it being an instrumental for a song that was only released as a full, vocal version, anyway; but here we also get to hear a different take on the music and how "Drunk Without Drinking" might've otherwise sounded.

And then the last song on this album is probably it's biggest selling point, because it's a song that is entirely exclusive to this album, and hasn't been otherwise released in any mix or capacity. It's called "Be Careful" and features a big rolling piano loop that could almost have been taken from "Drag Rap/ Trigger Man." The lyrics are a bit lazy, but fun, starting out "be careful, werewolf, the smiling snake still slithers. Pennies in the well, I wanna sing like Bill Withers. Card carrying member: Neighborhood Task Watch, keepin' our children safe from the Sasquatch. Any last thoughts? Some spare change? A little bit? If I live to be a hundred, I will always be illiterate." It's not one of his best, but still good and enjoyable. You definitely get the sense of how this is something he recorded and couldn't find a home for, so a tour CD was a fitting place to make it a little exclusive.

At the end of the day, this is about what you'd expect from a tour CD. Not worthy of being a proper album or suitable for wide release, but as a little scrappy little bonus for the more devoted fans, it's a nice little score. Though, for the fans who have everything (i.e. when all those non-exclusives are already in our collections), it doesn't have all that much to offer... The "Drawing Curtains (Crude Mix)" is pointless, and while "The Suffering Machine (Raw Demo Instrumental)" is interesting, it's not something you'll be going back to for repeat listens. So you have to figure: you'd basically just be tracking this down for one cool remix and one new song which is good but not great. And since only 200 were made, that won't be too easy. So, more of a collector's thing, I guess.

Marley Marl Meets Kurtis Blow

In 1988, Marley Marl made history with by assembling one of the greatest collective of hip-hop artists ever, The Juice Crew, and releasing perhaps the most legendary posse cut of all time, "The Symphony" off his debut album. And on practically the complete opposite end of the hip-hop spectrum, that same year, Kurtis Blow put out his eighth and final album, Back By Popular Demand. But for a brief moment, those diverse paths crossed, as the lead single and title cut of Blow's album featured none other than Marley Marl.

To be clear, Marley didn't produce this "Back By Popular Demand;" it was co-produced by Blow and Van Gibbs and Eddison Electrik, with "Music By" credit going to Kurtis himself. Also, interestingly, big-shot producer Salaam Remi gets "Concept By" credit ...which is odd because "hey, I'm back" isn't really the sort of clever or complicated concept you'd think you'd need to bring in another guy to come up with. I'm sure it has more to do with the fact that Salaam is Van Gibbs' son.

Now, let's talk about the production for a minute. Like many, many hip-hop records, this one is based on a slamming James Brown sample, specifically "Give It Up Or Turn It Loose." But where a lot of hip-hop tracks will base their entire on instrumental on that record ("Give It Up" is a cornucopia of fantastic samples), Blow and co. (heh) just take their drums from the breakdown at the end of the song. And making that loop seems to be the majority of the work Electrik, Gibbs and Blow really did here.

The bulk of the rest of the music, certainly the stuff that really stands out here, is the "Scratch Production," done by none other than our man Marley Marl. The hook is all vocal samples being cut up: "Kuh-Kuh-Kuh-Kurtis Bluh-Bluh-Bluh-Blow!" mixed with a little "Al-Naaflysh" and a few brief distorted samples taken right out of the Marley catalog. It's certainly possible that any of the other producers added the "Back! By popular demand!" vocal sample or something, but it's sure got that classic Marley Marl sound. One really cool element is that the song has looped crowd cheers throughout... you know, like those early Run-DMC records where they're faking like the song was recorded live? But then at the end, the crowd sounds get cut up, and it sounds fresh!

Unfortunately, Blow the MC isn't up to the track. Gibbs and Blow share credit for the lyrics (the album just says "Written by: K. Blow/V. Gibbs/E. Sainsbury," but the 12" specifies credit to those two for the lyrics. It's a bit mind boggling that it took two men to come up with such simplistic, corny stuff as, "I know you missed me, so don't diss me; be down with the history... of rap! So let your fingers snap. Or whatever makes you move... to the groove," or one-liners like, "I'm sure to deliver... like US mail!" And before you say, "oh, it was the 80's, all raps were corny," bear in mind, not only was Marley bringing Kane, Tragedy, Master Ace and G Rap at the same time as this; but this was cornball even for the oldest of old school. Caz, Kool Moe Dee and Melle Mel wouldn't ever have spit silliness like that; and even Blow himself was capable of much smoother rhymes on earlier stuff like "Rappin' Blow." I really don't know what Blow was thinking putting those bars over this track; it's like he wanted to be written off as hopelessly old school. And that wish that came true with this album's reception.

So, this 12" has the 12" Version, which seems to be exactly the same as the album version, and the 7" version, which is just a shorter edit. But there are some more interesting mixes on the B-side.

If you read the credits of the album, you'll see a "Trumpet Solo" credited to Marc Leford on this song. I was quite baffled by this as a kid, because there is no trumpet or anything resembling a trumpet anywhere to be heard. But they must be crediting the work recorded exclusively for this 12", because here there are two instrumental mixes called "Black[as opposed to Back] By Popular Demand," the first of which is the Trumpet Mix. While there is absolutely zero trumpet on the 12"/album version, there is a ton here. Blow's entire vocal track has been replaced by a trumpet. Then there's also an Organ Version, where his vocals are replaced by a plectrum banjo. ...I'm just kidding, it was replaced by an organ, of course. Nobody is given credit for an "Organ Solo," so I'm guessing it was played by Blow or Electrik, who share that "Music By" credit.

By the way, this isn't the only work Marley did for Blow. Also on the Back By Popular Demand album, Marley is credited with "Keyboard/Horn Arrangements" on the light-hearted tune, "Love Don't Love Nobody." It's also the only other song on the album also produced by Gibbs and Electrik (Blow produced most of the LP by himself). But unlike "Back By Popular Demand," you would never recognize "Love" as Marley's work if you didn't read the liner notes. In fact, the soft keyboard tones sound a lot like the stuff Blow put on a ton of records he produced back in the early 80s.

So, to wrap things up, this single is like the whole album. Sure, on one level it's wack and easy to dismiss. But it's all strangely endearing and catchy. And it's certainly got a unique mixture of musical sounds that nobody else was brave or goofy enough to match. This is a time capsule not only of the wild, unrepeatable 80s, but a brief period when rap albums were starting to get big budgets and no idea what to do with them. I mean, seriously, where was the Organ Mix of "Back By Popular Demand" supposed to play, exactly? And some of the stuff on the album ("Blue Iguana," anybody?) is even weirder. And, hey, it comes in an awesome picture cover! What's not to like?

Infinity and Grandmixer D.St.

(Youtube version is here.)

This Is By the Convicts

There's a couple reasons you might know of The Convicts. You might've read Unkut's king-making post some years back, dubbing the Rap-A-Lot duo "a testament to the genius of ignorant rap." Or you might know Convicts member Big Money Mike for going on to become an official Geto Boy when Willie Dee dropped out. But if you don't actually know them for their music, you're missing out.

The Convicts, who have an odd habit of contradictorily referring to themselves as The Ex-Convicts in their songs, consists of just Big Mike and 3-2 (later of The Blac Monks). They only dropped one album on Rap-A-Lot Records in 1991 before going their separate ways. And this is the one single off of that album.

Depending on your attitude, you might be pleasantly surprised or heartily disappointed that there's nothing particularly ignorant about "This Is For the Convicts" at all. Big Mike and 3-2 are both really just flexing their spitting skills, kicking your basic, "we're the toughest on the block" rhymes. Mike impresses more, coming off as a seasoned vet even though he wasn't yet one at that stage, but 3-2 comes nice as well. It certainly helps that they're blowing over the dark bassline Paris used for "The Devil Made Me Do It," but laid over a cracking, classic break that really ups the energy of the groove, but keeps it nice and hard. None of that later-year keyboard sound of later Rap-A-Lot releases, this is pure hip-hop.

The one drawback to the song is the minute long intro, where they sign a humorous song about life in prison. What you might find amusing the first time is a torturous minute to get through after you've heard it a few times. Fortunately, the music changes drastically enough that you can see on the vinyl where the song changes and you can needle drop right to the good stuff.

The B-side is another dope beat, slower and chunkier. It runs a bit dangerously close to the intro of the last song, however, in that, while it's not badly sung, it's still a jokey song that can wear out its novelty value with regular rotations. It's called "Wash Your Ass" and it's a collection of amusing anecdotes and complaints about people with poor hygiene.

Both songs are straight off the album, but the 12" does also include both instrumentals. That's nice for "This Is for the Convicts" just because it's a dope track, but even better for "Wash Your Ass," because at this point, it's the preferable way for me to listen to this song. If any of the less original producers out there would like to jack this beat and repurpose it for a more straight-forward acappella, I wouldn't be adverse. Either way, though, this is a nice, underrated 12" that deserves a little appreciation.

Better Late Than Never, Right?

There's only one reason I wasn't right on top of this album with a blog post the minute it dropped - I wasn't blogging back than. But really, this is the kind of album this blog was made for. Mikey D and the LA Posse released several kick-ass singles in the late 80's. They're highly regarded now for their production by the late, great Paul C; but Mikey himself was killing it, too. But label politics saw them switching labels even between 12" releases; and the full-length album they recorded for Sleeping Bag Records never got to see the light of day. Until, finally, in 2006, MicSic Recordings finally gave it a new title, Better Late Than Never (In Memory of Paul C), and a proper CD release; and man, the wait was sure worth it.

[A quick aside: the LA Posse is not actually named for Los Angeles, but Laurelton, where Mikey is from in Queens, NY. There's no relation to the LA Posse from Cali, though interestingly, both had strong ties to LL Cool J in the late 80's - Mikey dissed him as a rival, and Big Dad and Muffla, the west coast LA Posse, produced LL's second album.]

So, yes, pretty much all the songs from the three well-known 12"s are here, B-sides included... The one exception is "Out Of Control." The B-side, "Comin' In the House," is here, but not the main track. I believe that's because "Out Of Control" is the one Mikey D and the LA Posse track not produced by Paul C. Remember, after all, Paul C wasn't just a producer on this like he was for many of hip-hop's strongest albums, this was actually his group. The LA Posse is Paul C and their DJ, Johnny Quest. Still though, that means six of the album's thirteen tracks have been released before; and the last one is more of a "shout outs" joint, though it's still pretty fresh musically. So only half the album will be "new" to listeners. But that's to be expected, because after all, this is the long-lost album those singles were meant to be from... and anyway, those songs are classics - can you ever really be mad at "My Telephone?"

This is a great album - heads would've loved it if it came out at the time, and they should love it just as much now. The production is banging, and Mikey D walks an amazingly thin line of being hard and fun at the same time ("AIDS is in effect; you ain't on my jock, you're on my rubber"). The only possible concern for this album is that maybe, with all the singles, we'd heard the all the best and the rest would just be filler. But that's definitely not the case; the "new" songs live up tot he impossible standards of the 12"s. In fact, the opening track, "Taking No Shorts," might just replace all previously released material as your favorite song from the crew.

I wonder, though, how different this album would've been had it been released when it was supposed to've come out. I mean, it obviously would've had a different title and cover, but more importantly... I'm not so sure if those singles put out on Public Records would've made it onto a Sleeping Bag album. Would it possibly have had a few more non-Paul C produced cuts instead? Was it ever fully completed, and could there be more songs recorded for this album that still haven't come out, left out for the same reason "Out Of Control" was? Sure Paul C tracks > non-Paul C tracks, but I dog "Out Of Control" and would love to find out if there was anything else left that could be released in 2011.

Regardless, did ya notice back in the first paragraph how I called this a "proper CD release?" Yeah, that's because, tragically, this was never put out on wax. But MicSic did at least meet us halfway, by putting out a 12" vinyl single of two of the exclusive album tracks, "Taking No Shorts" and "Party Time," which includes the instrumentals. So, vinyl heads had to just suck it up and buy the CD... but I bet it's one of their favorite CDs they got. And if didn't pick it up at the time, hey, better late than never. :)

Buck 65, Live and In Private

These Buck 65 tour CDs are downright addictive. This one, 2008's I Dream of Love: Live and In Private, is, as its name already makes pretty clear, a live album. It's one of several tour-only CDs he sold on the road promoting his Situation album, including two I've already written about here and here*. It wasn't recorded on the road, though; it's a set played in a recording studio (hence the "in private") specifically for this disc.

So, it features a nice selection of tracks, like "Bandits," "Heather Nights" and "Roses & Bluejays." No, this is not the same live version of "Roses and Bluejays" that was on his Boy/Girl Fight! CD I wrote about earlier in the week... but you'd have to be a hardcore fan with your ear to the speaker to notice the difference. The most noticeable distinction is he ad-libs a bit at the end, singing, "Johnny, why don't you come on home;" but apart from that, they're both pretty similar and neither really stray from the original album version.

And that note there pretty much summarizes the whole album... live recordings of songs he's released before that sound very similar to - but just not quite as good as - the original album versions. When I popped this in for the first time, I was beginning to think I'd wasted my money - only the most die-hard fan, the collector who has to have every bit of memorabilia with Buck's name attached to it, would have much use for this. At least Porch featured Buck's songs filtered through another artist's style, giving us something new. This, while entirely listenable taken out of context of the rest of his catalog - they are good songs performed by a talented artist, after all - is just like a weak knock-off of the originals; a collection you'd buy from some shady street vendor if you couldn't afford the proper albums.

You might point out, hey, a few of these mixes sound pretty different from the originals - like "Pants On Fire." Sure, but fans more intimately familiar with his catalog will recognize that this is different from the version he made the video for, but it's essentially just a replay of the "countrier" version he put on This Right Here Is Buck 65. The "Phil Remix" is just a live replay of the "Philevator" remix on Boy/Girl Fight!

The only real addition is a few spoken ad-libs between songs ("alright, lovers, I got one more and I'm going to bed"). These are very brief, though, so you're really not missing anything. What's more, on one song he warns us, "I gotta be careful; this one makes me cry sometimes." As a die-hard, life-long dedicated hip-hop lover, I hate to downplay the potential emotional impact of a really good rap song, but bullshit! What phony, ostentatious drivel. It's not even the one he wrote for his mother or anything; it's just "Out of Focus." So he's saying "I go under the blouse and grope for the breast" (that's the hook) makes him cry? Honestly, these exclusive, little soundbites don't do anything for the album.

It's only when you get to the very end of the album that you get anything worth the trouble of scoring this disc. One is a medley, titled simply "Medley," of a bunch of Buck songs (including, of course, "Centaur") blended into something you at least haven't heard before. It's short (three and a half minutes), and basically takes verses and hooks from several of his hits and plays them to one, new instrumental. Unfortunately, it's not one of his better instrumentals, and the various bits and pieces don't really fit together into anything too cohesive, or match will with the new beat. It's interesting, though, and hey - at least it's new.

Finally, there's a remix of "'65 Buick," which I don't think has been released before in any capacity. It's a fun, autobiographical tune, and it sounds very different than the original version from Synesthia. Not just different, but better. Now, this is more like it! But unfortunately, it's also the last song on the album.

Now, this CD has been restocked in some online shops recently (Strange Famous, Fifth Element), so it's available if you want it. The thing you have to decide for yourself is whether you're a big enough fan to order it for just one song (and possibly the curiosity value of "Medley"). At least you're going in with more information now than I had when I paid a bit more for a second-hand copy. :/

*The fourth one is Cretin Hip-Hop, which I probably won't be bothering with, since it's just a mixCD (by Skratch Bastid). Apparently it does feature a few exclusive bits, however.

Green ReDefined

Back in February, Kaimbr and Kev Brown released their digital full-length debut, The Alexander Green Project. A few months later, ReDef Records (Damu's label, and now also the home of none other than K-Def) picked it up to give it a proper physical release. And being ReDef, they've made that physical release as awesome as possible.

First of all, they've released it in whatever format you could want. There's your basic CD, there's limited green vinyl, and even a limited green cassette! And, all three versions include an additional bonus track, "Go Green." Well... strictly speaking, "Go Green" isn't on the LP. but that's because they've gone one better, and included it on a free bonus 7" (also green) that comes with the LP; and that 7" has an exclusive B-side remix of the album track "Army Fatigue Rap," produced by Damu himself.

But let's move past the formatting, because an album could be pressed up on quintuple, extra thick colored vinyl with an autographed bonus boxed set of 12" singles in fancy picture covers, but it doesn't mean jack unless the actual music measures up to its presentation. Happily, it does.

This album is entirely produced by Kev Brown... although, I bet if I told you it was produced by Damu, most of you would buy it, because they have a similar aesthetic. You could see why ReDef picked this up as opposed to, say, Anticon Records. Like Damu, Kev comes with a serious, sample-based sound using rich soul grooves. In fact, in this case, the album is made up entirely of Al Green samples.

See, the concept is that, apparently, Kaimbr's real name is Alexander Green... and so they Kev produced this album using nothing but Al Green records. Gimmicky? Who cares; it sounds great. You'll recognize some samples from past hip-hop records, and others you won't. But even in the case of the familiar loops, they've matched them with samples you haven't heard into unique combinations and all new sound-beds. So you won't be like, "oh, that's the instrumental for so & so." It's all fresh and dope.

Lyrically, the MCs are capable. Think of that EP by K-Def and Da Capo (by the way, ReDef - another one for you to consider putting out on wax!). Nobody on the mic here is going to frighten Big Daddy Kane into finding a new day job, but they both MCs (Kev Brown also raps on this) acquit themselves respectably. Kev Brown seems to lean more towards wordplay, but his delivery is a little stiffer, whereas Kaimbr is simpler lyrically, his delivery is more smooth and natural. The important thing is that neither of them make the typical, indie mistakes of being too punchliney or anything. This is "grown man rap," as they say, you can cool out and enjoy in mixed company.

There are also a number of guest appearances. For the most part, they're not big names, but they do a good job of keeping things variant and energetic. I say "for the most part" because, surprisingly, Asher Roth of all people turns up towards the end. Thankfully, he sticks to flipping a lot of short multi-syllable rhymes as opposed to anything too corny, so he's actually fine on here.

So, to recap: the presentation is excellent. The MCing's good and the production's great. Don't let Asher Roth's name in the credits put you off. This is one of those albums you'll want to flip over and listen to again as soon as it's over. How many 2011 releases can you say that about?