A Nightmare On Elm Street rap. part 7

(The Youtube version is here.)

Unboxing Larry Larr, Interview

(I made an unboxing video! But of course, since it's me, it winds up being a video where I share a rare interview with Larry Larr and Three Times Dope.  Youtube version is here.)

Venture Into...

Parts Unknown are a very obscure Palo Alto group with a hot, underground album. I first heard of it the same way many of you readers probably did: when it was touring the rapidshare blogs and selling for big bucks on EBay. Time for Turmoil was a cassette only release, and heads have been asking for a proper release since it first started burning up the internet. And just like they answered my call for Young Zee's lost album, Dope Folks Records swooped in and provided.

The full ten-song (well... eight songs and two skits) album is now here, remastered on vinyl, with a cool sticker cover preserving the original J-card image. You might notice the track-listing is different, but everything's here, the order has just been reshuffled into a new sequence.

Never heard these guys before? Well, they're a nine man crew, but could basically be boiled down to MC Kilo G, who's the main vocalist on almost every track, and producer Studio B, plus their extended crew (C-Dub, Code Z, Top Dog, Shawn T, Paco, Young Mack & K-9). And when I first heard them, I thought they really sounded like early Paris. Kilo's voice and flow, the dark production. I thought that even before getting to "Radio Version Of the Underground," which jacks the instrumental for "The Devil Made Me Do It." So the similarity is more than coincidental, but that's okay, because who wouldn't want to hear a hardcore crew that sounds like early Paris with a rawer street edge?

Granted, they trade away a little of Paris's compelling social and political commentary, but in return they get a rougher, old school sound, plus a livelier variety thanks to the other MCs. For instance, Young Mack lives up to his name by sounding like a kid on "Another Day In EPA," and Shawn T & Top Dog bring a more traditional gangster rap influence to the table on "Trademark." "911 Funk" disses Rated X over EPMD's "You're a Customer" beat, with an anonymous female guest MC on the last verse. "NewTack Remix" is a remix of their earlier single "Classified NewJack" (amusingly, Dope Folks carries over the typo from the original cassette sleeve). Whether it's preferable or not is debatable... this version probably sounds objectively better, but relies more on familiar/ overly used breakbeats, whereas the original was fresher and had (appropriately) a slightly more new jack feel to it. Vinyl heads will probably prefer the one they're getting here, so that works out.

As always with Dope Folks, this is limited to 300 copies. Sound quality-wise, you can kinda tell that this was taken from the cassette or a rip as opposed to original master reels, but they've done a nice job beefing up the music in the remastering, giving it a rich, warm quality with some deep bass. Plus, who knows if pristine sounded reels ever existed in the first place, considering what a low budget album this seems to have been? Basically, it's a dope album that sounds better here than you've ever heard it. And it's very cool to see one of our limited vinyl labels venture into some grittier gangster hip-hop, which is just as hot as anything despite being outside of the NY-sounding boom-bap comfort zone. Who knows what awesomeness this could be opening the doors for?

Hip-Hop United Behind Mandela

(Youtube version is here.)

A Long Time Coming, Young Zee Interview

Regular readers may have noticed - I mean, I should hope! - that I've been involved with a very exciting upcoming release on Dope Folks Records: Young Zee's long-shelved Musical Meltdown album, originally scheduled to be released in 1996 on Perspective Records. To help celebrate, I interviewed the artist himself, Young Zee.

(Disclaimer: unfortunately, as wonderful as modern technology is, it's still wonky & unreliable, and consequently, much of the audio of this interview was fucked.  The conversation is fresh in my mind, and I took notes, so I've written his answers to those questions as closely as I remember them, but a good deal of paraphrasing was required.  The important thing to me, though, is that I've finally gotten the answers to many of our long held questions, and I can still share that with you guys. So here goes!)

So, with Musical Meltdown finally dropping, like, seventeen years after it was meant to, I wonder if you could talk about that... why it didn't come out in the first place. There was that infamous Source review, but then of course, Perspective also seemed to be closing its doors around that time.

Yeah, it was like a year after. They had the money to keep it open if they wanted, though.  That label was owned by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis; they could've done whatever. But the thing was, they had a lot of acts; they just weren't successful with rap. Do you remember Pudgee?

Yeah, he had "On the Regular" and all.

Yeah. they put out his records and others but it just wasn't doing what they wanted. They had a whole rap department, and when the head of that went elsewhere, the guy who brought me in, when he left, that was basically it. My singles didn't do well... "Problems."  They didn't really sell that big.  They had a lot of R&B, like Mint Condition. They didn't really know what to do with us.

Of course you stayed in the game and went on with The Outsidaz and all... Pudgee went on, Rufus Blaq did. One guy who didn't, though, was Arrogant. Do you know what happened to him? He was tight, and he seemed to totally disappear after Perspective.

Yeah!  Arrogant was nice, real lyrical. I don't know what happened to him. We were like good friends. Perspective would throw parties, they had all this money, and they would take us places, and i'd always get together with Arrogant. I don't know what happened to him.

So after Perspective...

After Perspective, we were shopping deals. We were driving and we just saw Chris Schwartz in the street. We ran up to him like, sign us! He heard a tape and like the next day he signed us. We signed with Ruffhouse because they had all the artists we were fans of: Cypress Hill, The Fugees...

Do you have any of the demo material from back then? Because some of that stuff, there's just these low quality versions floating around, but it's like classic material.

I don't have any of that stuff. My house burnt down in '97, so I don't have any of that Outsidaz archives anymore.

Damn! At least you can keep making new material, though. A lot of artists, you're fans of them in the 90s, but hearing them today and it's just not the same. Even some of the other Outsidaz, they're not on the same level or just different. Pace's stuff kinda changed, or like Azz Izz. His new stuff is like totally different from the MC he was in the Outz.

Well, Azz Izz was a DJ.  A lot of those guys weren't rappers, they were just the guy with the car or whatever, down with the group and we let them rap.  Sometimes you've got to have filler, guys who rap while you're waiting for Meth to come back. They can't all be Method Man. Azz Izz wasn't a rapper, he was a DJ. We had like three DJs.

And he was a producer. I know he did some tracks on the Outsidaz album before doing his own album.

Yeah, he was a producer. And he was a DJ; he was never a rapper.

You've stayed 100%, though. Like stuff you're dropping know, like your album with Mr. Green, you're still on par with your best material. Even a lot of the stronger MCs from the Outz, since you split, it seems like they're not quite as strong as when you were all a group. Is that because you were all writing together, or...?

It was competitive. That's why when the Outz went our separate ways, everybody didn't keep it. When I laid a verse, or Pace, everyone said was sick. So when they did one, they wouldn't pay attention. Or they would cut it off the song. So they knew they had to spit something really ill to keep up. So didn't want to get taken off the album. Now when they're on their own, they just think whatever they're saying is enough.

I'm not saying I was the nicest. You know who I was worried about was Slang.  I used to go hard because he would show me up. I thought he was the illest, so I had to spit my best because he was on the same track.

One thing that separated The Outz was you had the hardness and the edge but also the humor. Another who really held up is Yah. I always felt like he was the most under appreciated in the group.

Yah's my brother.

Yeah, and he had a style similar to yours. I was wondering if...

Yah used to be in the house, listening to me rap. I'd be spitting verses, he'd be like, "yeah, that was tight!"  He was like me in the way he brought all the syllables.

I think also in his writing style, too; the way he'd pull in these references... but not like jokey or typical 90s punchliney.

Yeah, Yah was dead serious when he spit. That was the difference, he spit the kind of shit I liked, but dead serious.

There's only like 500,000 people in the world that are in this for the lyrics. When you hear songs on the radio you don't even like it but you know all the words because you be hearing it. That's a manager or somebody who could put them there. Most people aren't in it for the lyrics; they're in it for the money. And that's what ruins it. That's how I feel.

You know who I'm feeling right now? What's that dude from The Clipse, you know who I mean? With the braids, signed with GOOD Music... It shows how much I partied last night that I don't remember his name now. [I realized afterwards he's talking about Pusha T] That's who I'm into right now.

I got a son who rhymes. He's got a little group, the NJ Rebels. I go to radio stations and when I get in I get asked about him now. He knows he's gotta bring it with me being his father, he can't just be like these guys, only talking about what they're wearing. These guys always want to bring us to these expensive shopping malls and shit we can't afford. We don't want to hear that! Or you can talk about it, but then at least bring the syllables, say it with some skills. But they're not in it for the lyrics. There's only 500,000 of us.

So, speaking of former Outz, what happened with Eminem? I know he didn't get the Outz on his first album, but he was definitely shouting out the group like crazy on there. It was the hook to one of his songs even. Kids who didn't even know who The Outsidaz were knew he was one of them.

Yeah, we were supposed to be "Amityville." Me, Pace, Bizarre, we were all on there. We left, it was done, and Em called, there was one small part of his verse he didn't like. He asked Pace to change that part. Pace said no, he wouldn't do it. He spit it and he should use it, that's just what it was. I was like man, just change it. It was just that one thing.

Pace knows. If somebody had spit a verse on his album and he wasn't feeling, he wouldn't use it. He would take him  off the song. Or ask them to change it... if he likes you.

Yeah, I've met Em, and I definitely got the impression he was like a loyal guy. When he was just coming off the Slim Shady EP, he brought Royce with him, just to promote him. This was before Em was established himself. He always kept D12, he kept shouting the Outz. Like, even if he didn't get you on his first album, I always felt like he would've gotten you on his second through sixth.

Exactly.

But Pace kept dissing Em. He made like three different records going at him.

That's why Em fell back. He wouldn't answer him.  I told Pace just change your verse!

And what about Bizarre? I interviewed him twice in those days, and he was a hardcore Outsida. He was repping it hard. I remember him saying he'd be all over the Outz album. It kind of went the other way, too. Em was supposed to be on an Outsidaz song called "Mama I Said" that got taken off. He thought he and Em would be all over The Bricks album.

Bizarre's my man. I'm still down with him. i just laid a verse for Bizarre four days ago for his next project.

Oh, nice. Yeah, because when the Outz and Shady separated, you were still on that D12 album... and the 8 Mile soundtrack.

I still fuck with Em. When me and Em talk, we talk big money. And I've always been like just his friend. We would just hang. When they called me in to be on that, they called me and Digga. She drove and I was sleeping in the car. When we got there, she went in, and I was still asleep. I woke up like half an hour later, got out the car to smoke, and I saw Em's bodyguards. I was like what's up? And they said Em was upstairs, go on. So I went up in there. They said it was my track so I spit once through and they said that's it, it was done. I thought I'd come back to redo it, but everyone said that was it. Some people said I had the nicest track on that album. But I don't know about that.

I would say so.

I don't call myself the nicest; I'm just a lyricist.

Some people didn't want me on there. Em came to me saying these guys at the label or managers didn't want me on it. I said man, they work for you. If you want me on it, I'm on it. They work for you. And he was like, you right. So I'm on it. But some people didn't like that.

But at some point you signed with Shady. You had another album that was supposed to come out, which I heard at least most of...

Actually, I signed with Denyne. I thought I was signing with Em. Denyne called me, was like you're gonna be on Shady. He came with his manager, I signed the papers, got the money. Then I see Em and I told him I signed and I'm coming out on Shady, and he didn't know anything about it! It was done without his involvement. But he said okay, do it. Let's see what you do. And I recorded, but it wasn't with Em.

I'm just in it for the music now; I just want to work with whoever's about the music. The money can come, but if it doesn't, it doesn't have to. I'm in it for the lyrics. I already have a nice life.

This interview was a crazy struggle. From the audio dying, to Zee's phone dying on us mid-interview. It turned out to be way harder than it should have been. So big thanks to Zee for his patience. Be sure to follow him on twitter. He told me he's got a new album done, can't wait to hear that. And of course Musical Meltdown Part 1, with Part 2 soon to follow.

The Lone Ranger On the Mic

Did you guys know that the real Long Ranger, like the actual legendarily historical figure, was black? Well, he was. People gave Disney a lot of (not necessarily unwarranted) flack for casting a white celebrity as Tonto, the Ranger's Native American sidekick. But how about how, even after all of the Ranger's incarnations on radio, television and film; Disney still felt the need to cast one of the most white-bread actors they could find to portray the Ranger? Hell, pretty much the only time in mass media we've had the Ranger portrayed properly as a black man is when Q-Tip took on the mantle in 1998.

Yeah, if you missed that little moment in history, it was after Tribe had released their final album, and before any of them had gone solo. Tip was the first to venture onto the market with a little white label 12" and a pseudonym. He probably chose it precisely because the Ranger was a famous secret identity, the masked man... even the real guy was considered a master of disguise. He then went on to release material as Kamaal the Abstract before finally re embracing his popular identity as Q-Tip.

So, there's actually two versions of this 12". One has a credited label: Walis Records, but it's their only release, so it's practically a white label, though they did have a mailing address. I believe the name is a reference to the teachings of Meher Baba, a spiritualist I gather Tip was/ is into. But anyway, then there's this version, which is better because it has both the one song and instrumental from the Walis version, plus a bunch more material unique to this pressing. So this is the one with everything and the one to own. Plus, I believe it came out first. And none of this material ever wound up on Tip's subsequent albums or projects.

So the first track is called "It's Yours" and yes, it's a(nother) remake of T-La Rock's classic.  Now you might be thinking, Q-Tip's a lot of things: a great producer, a smooth rhymer, a multi-talented artist... but he doesn't really have the hardcore punch of a T-La Rock when it comes to his flow. So how Tip hope to touch it? But it's actually because he has such a different vibe that it works. Typically, "It's Yours" remakes come off as close but not quite as compelling as the original, which leaves you ultimately wondering =: well, what was the point of that? But Tip gives it a whole new energy. Although he starts out with the famous opening lines, "commentating, illustrating..." and cuts in the famous horn stab of the original, after that it's completely different. Vocally and lyrically, it's pure Q-Tip. Calm, head bopping, addictive. But it still has tight turntable cuts. It keeps coming back to the original, with its famous moments like, "do you like? (Yeah.) Do you want it? (Yeah!)" or "I don't know... if it's true..." But they're totally transformed. I daresay, it may actually be one of the most successful hip-hop remakes in the genre.

Now comparing the labels, it would appear that only the Walis 12" has the instrumental. But actually, that's not true. Even though it's not printed on the label, this white label version actually has the instrumental, too. Again, this is the definitive of the two.

Next we have a track called "Moneymaker." It's similar in tone to "It's Yours" minus the T-La Rock elements. It's got a strong piano riff and some really bassy drums. It doesn't quite have the energy of the first song without the old school hardcore connections, and the "shake your moneymaker" hook isn't exactly inspired conceptually; but it's definitely another smooth head nodder for any Tip fan. And it's not at all sloppy, sing-songy and discordant like his subsequently shelved Abstract album turned out to be. No, this is what that album should've been.

Then on the back, we get an early Consequence solo track. Younger readers may not realize, but long before he was writing for G.O.O.D. Music and dissing Kanye West, Consequence was Tip's protege, having debuted on Midnight Marauders and becoming a much bigger part of Beats, Rhymes and Life, to the point where he was essentially the fifth Tribe member. Or, as one of my fellow bloggers would put it, before he was Kanye's weed carrier, he was Q-Tip's.  Here, I guess he's our Tonto.

In fact, I believe he's Tip's cousin. And so it's thanks to this connection that he gets to share this comeback 12", And yes, his song here is produced by Tip as well. He even provides the hook. It's called "The Consequences," and it's pretty good. The beat is simple and mostly effective, though the lead sample is weak and a little bit annoying. But it's all played low-key to showcase Consequence's rhymes, where he flexes a rawer, more punchline-y flow. Very 90s. The unspoken message is that he's the more lyrical, younger cat of the next generation. But he never really says anything that impressive (and like Necro, falls back on including a Dolly Parton bust size reference straight out of a 1970s kindergarten schoolyard). He's got a nice flow, though, and I wouldn't have minded hearing this remixed on a subsequent album. But as it is, it's mostly just serves as a collector's piece for Q-Tip completists. Oh, and there's an uncredited instrumental version of this song hidden away on the vinyl here, too.

So there you have it, folks. Pretty much the one time in our American, cultural history that the Long Ranger was done right. If anything, it might've set the bar a little too high for Tip's solo career. So it definitely belongs in your crates. Lasso one up and have a happy Thanksgiving.

Hi-Yo Silver, and away!

Nick Wiz Interview

(Fifth in the video interview series conducted by The Custodian of Records and edited by yours truly. Youtube version is here.)

Young Zee's 'Musical Meltdown' Album Finally Dropping!!

(The Youtube version is here, my original blog post is here, and the link to the record is here.)

Kool G Rap and Necro Have Arrived

It's out now: Kool G Rap and Necro's collaborative album, The Godfathers: Once Upon a Crime. I've joked a few times that the only prospect I'd look forward to more than a Kool G Rap album with Necro is a Kool G Rap album without Necro. But let's be real - how is this album, really?

Actually, Necro does a pretty decent job of living up to G Rap. I haven't spent the years following his output too closely. I enjoyed his debut 12", "Underground (Rules4Ghouls)," albeit as almost more of a novelty record than a serious hip-hop piece of art. And once he got even jokier, with his parody of LL Cool J's "I Need Love," "I Need Drugs," I was pretty much done with him. I'd catch a video here or there; but it wasn't until I got a mixCD compilation of his stuff (Origins) free a ughh record order that I thought he might even have the lyrical abilities to be taken seriously. And even then, that didn't have be running out to purchase all his albums I'd missed over the years.

Wait. Let me get even more real. I first heard of Necro when he produced Cage's debut 12". They were never actually a proper group, but they'd done radio appearances and freestyles together before that, and it sort of seemed like they had an ideal pairing going on. When they parted ways after, I always thought Cage - though he'd certainly had an impressive list of producers making tracks for him - had lost his ideal producer. And Necro had lost his ideal MC.  "Underground" was fun, but his corny, forced punchlines ("you'll be blinded like Rosie O'Donnell jumped up ten feet in the air and flashed her tits") and obvious reaches for shock value made him look like a cheap Cage knock-off. They were like two Prince Pos with no Pharaoh Monche; they never should've split.

For Necro, it's like he's finally found his Cage again. Both in being top shelf writers, and also in keeping Necro in on the right path. Not too jokey or too juvenile or too trashy.  Necro, with Kool G Rap, is pretty on point.

And I've never been mad at Necro as a producer. He keeps things simple, with pure, raw hardcore hip-hop tracks that are just perfect for a guy like G Rap. I definitely wouldn't've been mad to have seen his name on Riches, Royalty, Respect. It's a good combination, and again, Necro even shows that he can share a mic with G Rap, too. Yeah, you can still see Kool's the stronger lyricist (Necro still has jokes about Dolly Parton's breast size, if you can believe it); but Necro more than treads water with some slick, angry multis and turns in a better performance than most indie guys who've gotten Kool G Rap on their tracks.

One big thing that separates this from Riches, Royalty and Respect besides the additional rapper is the lack of variety. Where Riches had a variety of topics, styles and tones; this album basically has one speed the entire way through: hard spitting. Whether that's a good or a bad thing is just a matter of preference. On the one hand, the album can a bit endless by the time you're at 10 or 11 (there's 18 total, and none of them are skits). The formula is so locked: one indidivual verse apiece from Necro and G Rap per song. They never go line-for-line or spit multiple, shorter verses or anything. Just one verse apiece, plus a hook.

On the other hand, if you're only going to do one type of the song, this is the best type to do. And it's probably a wise move to keep Necro from attempting sad songs about the loss of a relative or heartfelt material about his love life. It's just a perfect machine-gun like delivery of skill flexing and gangster talk, and you can't go wrong with that. And they don't.

The only mistake I think they make is actually a repeat of a misstep from Riches, Royalty, Respect. It front loads all the weakest material. I appreciate that you don't want your album to run out of steam, but the first song is one of the worst - indeed, it opens with a verse from Necro much weaker than pretty much anything else he does on the album. As the goes forward, the momentum increases and you get to the hotter material but it makes me think people who are on the fence about this album - again, like Riches - won't give it a full and proper chance and wind up passing on what's a stronger album than they realize.

This album features only one guest: regular Necro cohort Mr. Hyde, who drops a quick verse near the end of the album. He holds up his end, too. There's also a female R&B vocalist named Mitch Matlock, who sings hooks and back-up vocals on three songs, and she's used very well. It never feels like a tacky crossover moment; it's subtle and effective, and gives the album a richer feel. One track has a pretty awful "what were they thinking?" hook (not by Mitch), but apart from that the album is pretty solid from beginning to end. Especially once you get a few songs deep.

This album's CD only, but it comes with a nice 25-page booklet including all the lyrics and a bunch of art pieces that clearly had care put into them. If you order it direct from Necro's site, you can get various bonuses from signed copies to t-shirts, hats and posters. Personally, none of it did anything for me apart from the basic CD and possibly the sigs, so that's all I went for. But I'm definitely happy with what I've got. I was a little worried how this project would turn out; but I think it came out the best it possibly could. I mean, I was confident we'd at least get some nice, new verses from Kool G Rap, but it's a very pleasant surprise to learn that the whole project holds up. Sure, it's not for everybody; but if you think this duo might be your speed at all, I definitely recommend it. And I'd love to see a Godfathers Part II. Meanwhile, what's Cage doing now? Dubstep? Oy vey.

Fierce interview

Another in our series of interviews with some of NJ's rawest underground artists by The Custodian of Records, and edited by myself. Fierce talks about his indie 'Unsigned Hype' roots to working with D-Dot and The Hitmen.

Who Is K-Boss?

(Youtube version is here.)