Werner's R&B Cassingle Quiz Show Challenge Spectacular!! (part 3)

(Youtube version is here.)

Hen-Gee, Evil-E & Krs-One

"Lil Trig" is the lead single (followed only by a forgettable love song - what were these labels thinking?) from Hen-Gee & Evil-E's sole album, Brothers, on Pendulum Records in 1991. You could be forgiven for thinking of them as just one of many forgettable, failed hip-hop acts that came and went with the quickness as labels signed them, released an album, and then dropped them when audiences didn't embrace them. But these guys actually have some history to them. Evil-E was Ice-T's DJ for a long time; and the pair of them were active members of The Rhyme Syndicate. They were putting out records back in the 80's, too; only then they were known as The Spin Masters. They were better back then - their take on "Bustin' Loose" was hot - 'cause along with the name change they adopted pretty much all the big fads of the time, creating a weird new jack swing/ gangsta rap hybrid style.

A quick perusal of their album and it's easy to see why audiences didn't embrace them. There's lots of synth production (all by Carlos Alomar, a regular collaborator of David Bowie's, and Hen himself) and sappy love songs, heavy-handed messages... they even included their old 1985 single, "Brothers" (yes, Hen and Evil are brothers, by the way) and made it the title track of their '91 album. Yeah, they remixed it to update it, but... that just ruined what was originally a fun song.

But, damn it, I liked "Lil Trig" as a kid and looked forward to this video popping up in regular rotation on Yo! MTV Raps. And even today, it's really not that bad. Yeah, the production is all drawn out keyboard notes and an R&B chorus; but this is the song on the album where that formula pays off the best. The notes sound cool over a deep, funky bassline, and the hook's actually damn catchy, yet still soulful. You can see why they picked it as the single.

Lyric-wise, it's a narrative of an inner city youth (Lil Trig) who gets caught up in a life of crime, culminating in his own death. But while many of the messages on this album miss their mark, here he avoids getting preachy and just lays down the tragic story and asks us, "what made Lil Trig that way?" Maybe a little simplistic, but by and large it holds up as a serious song tackling real issues in a meaningful way.

So I bet heads were pleasantly surprised to see the 12", where the commercial production was stripped away in favor of a brand new remix by Krs-One, ey?

But wait. Before we get to that, we have Hen and Carlos's own remix on the A-side, the Funk-U-Up Mix. Well... it is funkier. The bassline and percussion are really funky, and it's got a bunch of hard horns and other tough samples. Instrumental versus instrumental, it's easily superior - in fact, it's quite dope. But it doesn't totally jive with the narrative-style of the vocals, and it especially clashes with the chorus, which the instrumental almost seems intentionally trying to drown out.

Then we come to Krs One's Fat Mix. You sure don't have to read the label to know that this is a BDP remix - it uses the same signature horn stabs as "South Bronx" and then rolls into a bassy reggae groove. The beat keeps changing, which is cool, though that means some of the beats are decidedly better than others. A couple are a little weak, and they all sound like they were stolen from Just-Ice. If the Funk-U-Up Mix clashed with the original song, this one speeds full throttle into a head-on collision with it. There are some nice cuts, beats and horn samples that sound really fresh on on here, but the song as a whole... is wack.

It's like if you're a DJ going up to the decks, picking out two songs you know everyone in the room loves - let's say Gangstarr's "Just To Get a Rep" and Wu-Tang's "Protect Ya Neck" - and decide, "these songs are so good... the only thing that could be better is to play them both at the same time!" I know hip-hop can be tough and abrasive compared to light jazz and shit, but music just doesn't work like that. It just overlaps into obnoxious noise.

Remember last week, in my Jibri Wise One review, where I actually recommended the crossover-attempting new jack swing version by Ear Candy Record's in-house producers rather than The 45 King remix? Well, writing that is what brought this record to mind, because it's really the only other example I can think of where the same principle applies. The remix instrumentals are cool, and thankfully their both presented here as well, albeit with the hook awkwardly left in; but the one to stick with is the original, which remains the best and definitive version despite being the corniest. Because it's the only one that fits the song.

Smooth Connection

Thanks go out to Jamille Records for hooking me up for this review. I've come across Smooth Connection plenty on EBay and been curious, but never took the plunge. They're a local rap and R&B duo from Arizona, consisting of Ako Mack and KaPenda Anderson. For the most part, the girl sings and the boy raps, but sometimes the girl raps, too. I don't think the boy ever sings, though I'm not sure... they occasionally have sung male background vocals; but they also use multiple background vocalists, so I'm pretty sure they account for 100% of that. They feature big, programmed drums and a fair amount of live instrumentation. And over the course of 1990, they put out three singles on Gemini Records.

The first (judging the sequence from the catalog numbers) is "Cry of Freedom," their message song, featuring Lost European, a techno-rt rock band of aerospace engineers (their bio says they worked on "the B-2 Stealth Bomber, the all-composite Starship, the Space Shuttle, the Concorde, the Apache Helicopter, and other top-secret aircraft") also from Arizona. This collaboration yields is actually what we get on all of Smooth Connection's singles: hip-hop that sounds like it was created by non-hip-hoppers. There's a very British, 80's Euro MTV vibe going on here... even in 1990, this would've sounded dated. There's a big sax solo by Gemini staffer Jimmie McElroy, and the rest of the production, including plenty of keyboards of course, are handled by Gary Strausbagh, the man behind all of Smooth Connection's releases.

KaPenda really gets her new agey-groove on singing for this one. And when the background vocalists join in, it has a real "We Are the World" feel, but still with a post-modern bent, like the pop stuff Bambaataa drifted into when he wasn't with The Soulsonic Force. But Ako is here to sort of fill the Soulsonic role... or maybe more like MC Tee to the group's Mantronix, but with less dexterous wordplay, kicking the straight-forward rap verses about how, "never will the struggle for peace be done, until I reach freedom."

There's your basic Radio Mix main version, and then a 7+ minute Long Version, which draws out the chorus and instrumental bits. But for this song, that tactic actually kinda works. And when I first listened to it, I thought hey, this version gives us an extra rap verse; but then I realized they're just repeating one of his verses from earlier in the song, which is kinda weak.

Second, we have "Oh How I Love You," which, like the title suggests, is their schmaltzier love song. Jimmie McElroy is back with some major sax, and Strausbagh provides most of the rest of the music, though there's also a guitarist and several more background vocalists. The best part is hearing KaPenda trade rap verses with Ako, in sort of the love version of a Kid N Play back-and-forth exchange. The hook and music is nice if you go for that early 80's "modern" romantic R&B sound. I mean, all this Smooth Connection stuff is cheesy as can be - it's amazing how dependably picture covers can accurately tell the whole story of a record before you hear it - but it's well done if you're up for that kinda thing.

Finally, we have their best single, "Diamonds Aren't Forever." This is their more upbeat dance song... KaPenda here seems to be channeling 80's freestyle singers like Debbie Deb or Connie, and when she raps, she sounds like Samantha Fox minus the accent. The back-up vocalists even do Full Force-style back-ups. Akon gets on the mic, too; and it spices things up to add his voice into the mix (and it's pretty funny when he tells the girl who cheated on him that "the mink coat I bought you? Yeah, that was dog skin"), but this is really KaPenda's show. She could make this a solo song if she wanted to, and it'd still work.

There are a couple versions of this song, mostly just edits of slightly different lengths, plus a Dance Mix which adds more traditional club percussion. But the one that stands out the most is the Spanish Mix, where all the rap verses are in Spanish.

So, I believe these three singles are the sum total of Smooth Connection. These singles feel more like demos than commercial singles, but I guess that's local music for you. The back of the "Oh How I Love You" single mentions a Smooth Connection LP, but I'm pretty sure that never surfaced.

If you're looking for the next obscure random rap jewel for your crates, this stuff definitely ain't it. In fact, you could easily dismiss this as some incredibly wack, corny shit and get no arguments from anyone. But if you're open to some light-hearted, dusty rap history that's probably more connected to 80's pop music than anything hip-hop was doing at the time, then get 'em cheap and these singles will keep you genuinely entertained. Especially "Diamonds Aren't Forever" - that one's really pretty fresh.

Slick Rick Kills

(Youtube version is here.)

The South Central Cartel Does Vanilla Ice Liberace Style!

You know how die-hard hip-hop fans had been screaming for someone to make a sequel to Vanilla Ice's hit, "Ice, Ice Baby," since it dropped in 1990? Yeah, me either. Actually, something like that would probably go over much better today, in hip-hop's current hipsterish, irony-drenched scene, where it's understood that every public move any musician makes is a marketing gimmick. Now, heads are pretty far removed from the the genuine animosity Ice's antics inspired; and nobody's surprised to find out Rick Ross is really a prison guard, etc. But back in those days, associating somebody's name with Ice's was a grave insult. In 2002, Charli Baltimore leaked an update of "Ice, Ice Baby" and it turned out to be a big fiasco. People couldn't stop talking about whether it was a bold, brazen move or insanely stupid - time proved it to be the latter: a final nail in the coffin, burying her chances to ever get an album out.* So, it was definitely a surprise to me in 2000, two years earlier, when a promo copy of Self Made Legend: It's My Time To Shine!, the solo debut of South Central Cartel's own Hava Rochie featured a sequel called "Millenium Ice."

Just to be clear... there are two rappers who's names are based on the word "havoc" in the South Central Cartel. There's Havikk the Rhime Son, who put out two solo albums in 2008. And there's Havoc da Mouthpiece, who put out three albums with fellow SCC member Prodeje throughout the 90's. And no, Havoc and Prodeje are no relation to Havoc and Prodigy, the duo that makes up Mobb Deep. And, while we're at it, Prodeje and Young Prodeje are two different people... both members of the SCC, but not the same guy. It's all a bit ridiculous.

So Hava Rochie is Havoc da Mouthpiece. And to add to the ridiculousness, the name Hava Rochie was crafted to rhyme with Liberace, because this is Havoc's new identity, created in homage to Liberace, the famously flamboyant pianist. This was his new image for 2000, where he hung up the street gangbanger image for the rich, flossin' bling style that was popping at the time. As he explained it in his press sheet, "Hava’Rochie’ is Havoc Da Mouthpiece reincarnated for the new millenium. It’s a new approach and new style for the new era. Hava’ Rochie bites from Liberace, giving you flash and entertainment on a grand scale... The gangsta grit of SCC is gone, bling blinging the way for tracks like the single release." So... I guess it all adds up that he'd wind up making a sequel to "Ice, Ice Baby" on this album, and it even makes since that he's doing what Puffy's camp (Charli and Mase) would wind up doing two years later.

His press sheet also explains that, "Self Made Legend is 18 tracks strong with Hava’Rochie doing what Havoc Da Mouthpiece never did. That is rap." That's right, you knew Havoc didn't rap, right? And no, he's not one of the DJs or producers either. Prodeje produced a lot, but Havoc... well, he got the occasional co-production credit. But basically, he never did much of anything. If SCC were Public Enemy, Havoc would be Griff, just getting on the occasional track to say a few words. Think back to their big single, "Gang Stories," when Havoc got on mid-song and said, "South Central LA is the gang capital of the world where brothers walk around strapped daily and won't hesitate to smoke yo' ass in a minute. Take it from da Mouthpiece, this is just another gang story." And then another MC gets on to spit a real verse. Yeah. That's pretty much all he does.

So this album is the group's hype man rapping for the first time and channeling Liberace to embrace the east coast crossover fad of the day. You may not believe me when I tell you this, but most of this album's not very good. The raps are lame and the production is often surprisingly amateurish. He does pack in a bunch of the usual guest appearances by his crew and friends (including The Jungle Crooks, who have an album advertised as coming soon on the back of this disc that never materialized), which gives the album some salvageable moments providing some better verses and beats. But, just listening to the opening, title track, I was stunned that his SCC crew allowed him to come this bad.

And "Millennium Ice?" Well, it's definitely all about Vanilla Ice's original. They even use the whispered "ice, ice baby" for the hook. I suspect instead of using the same sample, they've replayed it (so they wouldn't have to clear it), but it's the same or very similar drums and of course the super famous bassline riff. But the music goes back and forth, alternately bringing in a bunch of new elements, church bells and stuff, which do liven up the proceedings. Havoc is joined by an uncredited guest rapper (sounds like they're saying "JM"), who definitely comes nicer that his host; but his verse is still pretty unexceptional. Havoc does an awkward kind of shout-rap style, spitting bars like,

"I'm a Rockerfeller,
In it for the cheddar.
It makes me feel better.
That's when I jet-ah
Get me to the jewelry store,
Buy me some more
Of the stuff that I adore!
There's something about it;
I can't live without it.
Ever since I laid my eyes on it,
I've been on the hustle,
Like Russell Simmons,
To leave my mark in rap history."

It's quite upbeat and the new musical elements are interesting. I think it could make for an enjoyable listen (unlike a lot of the album) if you're specifically in the mood to listen to something stupid, and nobody's around to hear the music you're playing. But it's pretty terrible. And neither Havoc nor his guest come anywhere close to performing on the level Vanilla Ice did on the original in 1990. Now that's an April Fool's!


*I get what she was going for, but she was just the wrong MC to attempt that. If someone with more unquestionable integrity had reclaimed that beat, like I dunno... Sadat X, it would've gotten a big, positive buzz. After all, it is a tight loop. But since Charli was already seen both as 1) Biggie's ex shamelessly cashing in on his media attention and 2) a model trying to parlay her looks and image into an undeserved music career, her critics just took it as further proof of what they already felt about her: she was as corny as Vanilla Ice.

Catch the Vibes

Last summer, I blogged about a cool vinyl diggin' documentary called Red Beans and Rice, from Jamille Records. Unlike most diggin' docs, it didn't focus on the great producers or celebrity DJs, but the average (read: super hardcore) record collector. There were DJs, but they weren't selected for their star power, but their love and connection to records.

Well, they're back with a sequel. Red Beans and Rice vol 2: Audio Vibes sticks to the ethos of the original: no celebrity gossip, no cheeseball narration, the content is dressed up in flashy editing and distracting CGI... As such, its appeal is probably pretty limited. But if you are in its demographic, meaning you're a lover of shameless vinyl porn, then you're gonna love it.

Audio Vibes finds a whole new collection of people. It's mostly interviews with vinyl lovers: DJs, collectors, and shop owners, just sharing stories of their mutual love. How they got into records, rare finds, digging stories. It's not hip-hop specific - a lot of people are more interested reggae, R&B, rock, etc -- but there is a lot of hip-hop on hand... probably even a little bit more than last time. We also get to explore different record stores and sales - I want to go to some of those places!

Like the last one, this one also clocks in at about an hour. Interestingly, this time more of the diggers are female than male. And one of the subjects interviewed pretty heavily is DJ Frane, who put out a really underrated instrumental album on Goodvibes in the 90's. And once again, they're all over the map. A lot of the spots they look at are in California, but also Arizona, Chicago, Washington, Michigan... even the UK.

I found this to be a really easy, engrossing watch. But this probably isn't one of those documentaries where, no matter what the subject is on the surface, the film-making will draw you in. If you're not a serious vinyl lover, you just might be bored to tears. So I give this a cautious recommendation: if you know this is for you from the description, then go for it, you'll definitely be pleased. If not, try something by Errol Morris.


P.s. - Two movies in, and I've still no idea why these are titled Red Beans and Rice.

2XL 8-Track Rap 2

(The Youtube version is here.)

Who Remembers Jibri Wise One?

Jibri Wise One dropped his self-titled album in 1991 on Ear Candy Records, a label that traditionally had very little to do with hip-hop. Honestly, when I saw it in stores I just bought it because of his name. I guess I was expecting a Lakim Shabazz/ YZ-type rapper? That's not quite what we got... he has as much in common with Young MC as he does either of those two. I mean, he does have positive message songs, like "Time To Get Black Up." But most of the production, all handled by the duo of Angelo Ray and Chip Allen, who give away the kind of corny pop production they're going to provide just with their names, was clearly going for the "let's appeal to kids" route. And Jibri's delivery went right along with that.

But hey, I was pretty much a kid myself in 1991, and I dig this album. The poppy production didn't bug me, I liked the variety, and I didn't really notice the lyrical short-comings. It was all good to me. But even at that age, I could see this guy wasn't going to blow up. I was happy to see his video on Yo!, but of course they chose his house song for the lead single. It was a pretty cool mix of "Atomic Dog" and "Rapper's Delight" (or "Good Times," I guess, strictly speaking), but you don't debut with a house song if you want a career that lasts more than two records. Craig G just barely got away with it because of his Juice Crew status, and even now it's his record heads politely don't talk about.

And his second single, this one, I don't think they even bothered to make a video for. They chose his token love song... it's like Ear Candy wanted him to fail. The song is "I'll Be There for You," which at least forgoes the ultra-sappy, bland whispering non-flow over soft R&B crooning* in favor of a very upbeat, new jack swing style. At the end, even kicks a little Keith Sweat style singing. It's as corny and commercial as any rap song ever got in 1991, but it's fun if you dig records like Heavy D's "Somebody for Me," and clearly objectively better than a lot of the really corny stuff from the album, like his rock hybrid song "Livin' In the Life" or the silly "Life Ain't No Movie."

But there's a reason heads give this particular single a second look when they come across it in bins: it's got a 45 King remix! For the first and only time, they reached out in the realm of real hip-hop producers for Jibri and... they couldn't've picked a worse time.

They didn't give him a dope, street B-side to produce... they asked him to remix a pop, new jack swing love song. Say what you want about the original, but it works for what it is. The production is slick and and has a consistent groove that persists through a bunch of different song elements, from the keyboards to the chorus.

So here, we get some of the original new jack swing pieces, including the girls singing the chorus, and some signature 45 King-style jazz samples in tight loops. The King's pieces would sound great on their own, but merged with "I'll Be There For You," it just doesn't work. Jibri is clearly rapping for a pop tune, not these funky, dusty horns. And the original isn't even on here, so unless you have the album, you can't hear how the song is supposed to go.

What you do get is 4 versions of the 45 King mix [I've got the CD version,a s you can see... but the vinyl has the exact same track-listing]... The full Vocal, a shorter Vocal Edit, the Instrumental and shorter Instrumental Edit that matches the Vocal Edit. And, finally, there's one bonus remix: the 7" Nati Mix, where Ray and Allen take their own stab at remixing the song. And, well... The 45 King can at least take it as a consolation that these guys didn't fare any better than he did. Well, actually, their mix is a little more consistent, but they're trying to make it into like a Euro club track or something, and shit just always sucks.

So, it's interesting. I still find myself enjoying Jibri's album, despite a strong dose of corniness. And "I'll Be There For You" is one of his better cuts. But, ironically, the album version is much better than the remixes and the 45 King mix is to be avoided (except for 45 King completists). So, if you're interested, you're better off just investigating the album and skipping this single, despite what every instinct is surely telling you. heh


*He has one of those on his album, too, of course.

Free Alias!

So yesterday we had a HipHopSite freebie, now let's look at some competing Sandbox freebies. By the early 2000's, Anticon's Alias had pretty much turned his focus completely to production. He still did guest verses and stuff, but he was really devoting his energies towards a prolific, and still ongoing, run of instrumental albums.

Now, just speaking for myself, strictly instrumental hip-hop barely holds my interest; if it doesn't have a lot of cuts, change-ups or... some fucking thing happening, I get bored pretty quick: Once the same drum pattern and sample loops for the fifth time with absolutely nothing different from the last four, I'm ready to go home. And, producers, that little drum roll every seventy seconds doesn't cut it. Now, granted, Alias's instrumentals are a little more alive than that sort of worst-case scenario I'm describing (more on that in a bit), but it's the same principle - instrumental hip-hop just doesn't compare to the stuff with proper vocals.

So I was on the fence about buying any of his post-Bits & Pieces releases. The Other Side Of the Looking Glass had a hot song with Dose One, and Muted featured a great song with Pedestrian. But buying entire albums for just one song apiece, even really compelling ones? Granted, I'd done it before, but still. I needed something to push me over the edge. And Sandbox was there for me.

This four-track CD of completely exclusive material came free with an order of The Other Side Of the Looking Glass. Three of these tracks are also instrumentals, which means they're probably more interesting to other Alias fans than they are to me, but hey. They're exclusive, they help make a nice collectors' item, and it's not like the music isn't any good.

"Kill My Television" features slow, abrasive drums, a cool piano loop, and distorted vocal samples that go a long way towards keeping your attention as other elements start to feel monotonous. It also has a nice breakdown.

"Firstsong" doesn't have any helpful voices, but it's constantly changing, introducing new synths or other distorted elements. It picks up around the minute mark once it's got more layers in the mix, though it starts to collapse on it self and repeat before it's over.

And "Waves Hello" features a lot of backwards percussion and wavey drawn-out keyboard notes. It's the mellow, low-key one of the bunch.

But the most interesting track here is "Times Up Remix." I remember seeing that and thinking, "I don't remember Alias having a song called 'Time's Up'." Well, that was right, but of course you know who did have a song called "Time's Up:" O.C. Yup, this is Alias's take on his classic Wild Pitch debut. And, interestingly, this isn't the only time Anticon's taken a stab at releasing their own remix of this song - Sole also remixed it for his Secret History Of Underground Rap compilation.* And like that one, honestly, it doesn't hold a candle to the beloved original (or the phat Eclipse remix on the same 12"). But, wisely - and also like the Sole version - it doesn't try.

While the vocals are of course the same, this version is so different, it plays like an entirely different animal, not a competing alternate. The opening lines come stuttering in, and then they're merged in with a sort of distorted, low-fi electronic sound made up of of belligerent computer noises and drums that sound like they were played (intentionally) way too loud so they broke when the meters went deep into the red levels. He essentially turned it into an El-P joint. It's pretty effective in its own right, though the original "Hey Young World" scratches sound out of place on this mix. He should've replaced them with something new for the hook on this mix, if you ask me.

Two years later, I was really not feeling the idea of buying another entire Alias album for another single song. Even when Sandbox again read my mind and presented another bonus CD, I still wasn't taking the bait. But then, thankfully, Alias released a 12" single off of that album, which featured the Pedestrian song. Perfect, that's what I really wanted! If only he'd done the same for "Opus Ashamed"... But, anyway, somehow I wound up getting a free copy of Muted from them, too - and with it, the bonus disc.

This is a three tracker, and like the other disc, all the songs are exclusive, never having been released anywhere else before or since. And this time it came in a nifty, circular CD case. They're all instrumentals here, too, but I like these better. I'm not sure it's because he's grown so much as a producer, as I like some of his old stuff as much or more as his later material. But I think he's gotten noticeably better at making instrumental hip-hop tracks that stand alone as complete songs, rather than sounding like unfinished song pieces that are missing their vocals.

"Drunken Piano" sounds very DJ Shadowy to me. And I mean the good DJ Shadow era that everybody likes; not his cheesy hyphy stuff or whatever he drifted off into. As you'd expect, there's a lot of piano sample going on here. And though it's mostly a very short six-note riff, there are some nice change-ups, and even more importantly, it all plays on top of a very moody, shifty soundscape. But it still has very fast, distinctly Alias-y drums. And usually that would be a criticism, because I often feel he's replacing soul by trying to distract you with high energy busyness... but here I like his drums. 8)

"Forgotten" is in some ways similar. It has a bunch of slower, moodier samples playing to build a richer atmosphere, which works well. But this time the main samples that drive the song are boring and unengaging. It's like if a label gave a really talented producer a really shitty record and told him he had to use that sample as the body of the song (which I'm sure has happened more than once in this genre). He takes it and pulls out all the tricks, chopping the drums and flipping extra little horns and what-not, which improve it and show off his talents; but at the end of the day, it still doesn't fly with audiences, because it's built around a lousy idea.

Things pick up again with the last track, "Rhymeoverthis." Is that a dare? Because this beat really doesn't lend itself to rapping over it. But it's still pretty fresh. It samples a lot of chimes and bells with a smoother, slower track. Again, like the last CD, he ends with the cool out song, like we should all lay down, get high and stare at the stars. And this one goes for over six minutes, but I still don't get bored listening to it, which is a huge compliment from me for instrumental hip-hop.

So, even though I could've done without "Forgotten," this disc actually shows me why there's an audience for this stuff. Still, though... it's not really for me, and after this review I'm sure I'll be putting both discs away to go unplayed for a very long time. In favor of songs with actual vocals on them. I imagine these are more exciting and essential for Alias fans who are into his instrumental albums. But even for the rest of us, they were cool, free bonus discs.


*And he used a line from it for the hook and theme of one of his earliest 12" singles, "Respect." This was obviously a very inspirational song for them back in their early days n Maine.

Mind Tricks the Body, Body Thinks the Mind's Crazy

Sorry it's been a little long since the last post... I've been working hard on the dot com. I'm happy to say that all of the broken images on my discography pages are now finally fixed - many with brand new, better pictures and logos. Also some discographies have been updated, and I'm starting to add cross-links back to matching blog articles... part of my long-term plan to make it all more interconnected and useful. It took a lot longer than you'd think it would, but I was so sick of having broken x's on my site, so I just plowed through and basically did nothing else until it was done. There are still some graphics I'd like to update to higher quality ones (some date as far back as the 90's, after all, when we were all new to the internet and nobody knew WTF we were doing), and I have plenty more updating and cross-linking to go, but it's a crap-ton better than it was. And I'm now back to doing regular stuff like my blog posts and videos. :)

In 2002, Jedi Mind Tricks' debut (and best) album, The Psycho-Social, Chemical, Biological, And Electro-Magnetic Manipulation Of Human Consciousness, was rereleased on CD. Previously, it was a vinyl-only release on JMT's own label, Superegular. But now they were on a comparatively bigger label, and it was time for this rare, underground record to get a wide CD release. To sweeten the deal, they included a bunch of bonus tracks. I already owned the vinyl, but those extra tracks had me on the hook... I might have to get the 2002 version, too.

But if I still had any doubts, I could thank the great Sandbox/HipHopSite war for pushing me over the edge. Since they were in such direct competition, they were constantly trying to one-up each other. And that often meant free posters, t-shirts, and other little bonuses when you pre-ordered the big event (in underground terms) albums from them. Occasionally, that even meant exclusive musical releases, which trumps the Hell out of swag. And in this case, HipHopSite came with the bonus CD, a three-track CDS, now a sweet collectors' item.

Let's cover the less compelling tracks first. See, Amber Probe was their debut EP, and some of the songs from that EP carried over to the subsequent album. But it still had some exclusives. This 2002 rerelease included one more of the Amber Probe's exclusive songs, leaving really just one exclusive (not counting instrumentals) to the EP: the original version of "Neva Antiquated." So, that's on here.

"Neva Antiquated" is, ironically, pretty antiquated. Stoupe's production famously involves really lush, vivid soundscapes. But this is the song that broke JMT: a superficially simple track dominated by a very short, repetitive sample that sounds like it's taken from sone ancient educational program about science. But damn it, it's frustratingly catchy. And the sparseness is perfect for directing attention to the MCs, who the spit crazy, complex rhymes that blew everybody's minds in 1996. Oh, and I said "superficially simple," because there's actually a lot of subtle elements and change-ups through-out the instrumental. If I just played it for you once, and asked you to describe it, you might say, "oh, it's just a little boop boop be boop" loop played over a drum pattern, but actually there's all kinds of sound effects and strange samples mixed in there, not to mention a nice gritty bassline that keeps the whole song moving forward.

So we've got that, but that's not so exciting since fans already had it on the Amber Probe EP. It's a little handy to have a CD version of it, I guess; especially since we're getting CD versions of all the other tracks; but that's about it. And next we have the Instrumental version of that song, which was also on the EP. And like the EP version, it's still a scant, seventy-one second truncated version. Fine as a little extra bonus, but really nothing to get excited about.

But the this song (actually the first in sequence) is the interesting one. It's an exclusive, still never otherwise released track called "Judge Wisely." Now, before anyone gets too excited, it's not as compelling as another 1997 JMT track. It's sort of just a freestyle. I mean, it's mastered better than your average over-the-radio freestyle; but it's just a single verse over a stolen instrumental. But it's the perfect instrumental (Gza's "4th Chamber"), and Icon sounds great over it. It's "off the dome," as he specifies before he starts spitting, but he's clearly stringing together a bunch of preconceived rhymes in there. But that's okay by me - it makes the finished track a lot tighter than him fumbling around for awkward words to finish his lines.

So, yeah, it's not like an OMG Epic Lost Masterpiece. But it does make for a genuinely cool little disc worth owning. It's probably awfully hard to find now, but when you do come across it, it'll probably be sitting on a 99 cent bin or something. So scoop it up and relive the days when Jedi Mind Tricks were a really impressive group.

Rare Buck 65 From Edgefest

Here's a little Buck 65 rarity that had been eluding me for some time: the Edgefest Murder EP from 1995. Murder Records was the label he was signed to as Stinkin' Rich, where he put out the "Stolen Bass" 7" and his Game Tight album. SixToo's crew, Hip Club Groove was also signed to them; and he appeared on their album. And that's pretty much it with them... except for this exotic little 7".

This is sort of a sampler EP from Murder Records, given away at Edgefest 3, an annual outdoor concert celebration of Canadian rock music. There's four songs on here by Murder acts; Stinkin' Rich being the only hip-hop artist among them. If you're interested, here are the other tracks on the EP:

1. The Super Friendz' (not to be confused with The Supafriendz) "One Day the Warner," produced by Al Tuck,
2. Jale's "Frightened Of," produced by Andy McDaniel,
3. and Thrush Hermit's "West Island Rockers," produced by Local Rabbits.

I've worked it out, and from left to right on the picture cover, that's The Super Friendz, Stinkin' Rich, Thrush Hermit and Jale. Now that's all I'm going to say about the other bands because they're not hip-hop and I have zero interest. You'll have to find another blog to learn more about their contributions.

Stinkin' Rich's song is called "By Design," and it's exclusive to this EP (actually, all the groups' songs here seem to be exclusive). It's self produced, of course, and kinda short (just over ninety seconds). But that doesn't keep him from letting his creative beat build, kicking a dope verse, or getting busy on the turntables before the music fades. Actually, apart from the unusual and compelling vocal sample that's looped through much of the song, this instrumental has a real 90's (well... appropriately), grimy NY sound. This is the kind of track I could imagine groups like Godfather Don or The Freestyle Professors dropping in those days and getting mad underground love for it. But then he goes the extra mile by unleashing some show-off scratches at the end. And, of course, his verse is... just a little different. It's your typical, braggadocio freestyle, but with his own distinct emphasis on unexpected wordplay, kicking bars like, "I write dope rhymes in copious amounts, and get out when the winner when the trophy is announced," and asking, "so whatcha think, swinger? Can you make the ink linger, or ya fuck around and risk gettin' the stink finger?"

For some reason, the volume's decidedly lower on side B (the side Rich is on), but the sound quality is fine once you crank it up. As you can see, this comes in a picture cover and also includes a small insert promoting the Murder Records albums of all the artists on this EP, plus a couple other 7"s. According to the back cover, 1000 copies were pressed, so I'm surprised this seems to be as rare as it is. Possibly a lot of copies were treated casually and lost by recipients at Edgefest. Their loss.