Wack Attack #5! Louie Louie 4 with a Special, Surprise Guest!

(Youtube version is here.)

Outsidaz Restored, Au Naturale

Here's a bit of good news for Outsidaz fans. In 2001, they put out an album called All Natural almost none of y'all have. I mean, you probably have mp3s you downloaded from one of a million shady sources, but you probably don't have a real copy of it. That's because you could only order it direct from the label Slang Doe Record's website, which was only up for short time (at least in that incarnation). And this was years ago before everybody Paypal accounts and bandcamp pages. You had to mail them a check or money order. I don't even have an original CD of it, and I've put in some effort.

But the good news is it's back. It's in print. I mean, it's actually been starting to pop up digitally here and there for a while now... You could buy the mp3s from Amazon if you're into that; and I think now it's on ITunes. But I just stumbled across new, official CDs out in the wild. These are legit, properly pressed (not CD-Rs) CDs direct from Slang Doe.

Now, All Natural is often billed as an Az Izz solo album. Even the old covers[pictured right] had his name and photo right on the front. And for good reason; he produced the whole thing. He's been both an MC (with some sick lines on here) and a producer for the Outz, doing some of their better known songs like "Rush Ya Clique" and "Do It Wit a Passion." And there were actually two singles off the album, under Az Izz's name, which are easier to find, since they were pressed on vinyl and managed to circulate around the vinyl community. But the full-length CDs are much more scarce. And whether you consider it a proper Outsidaz album, or an Az Izz producer's album that just so happens to be 100% of Outsidaz appearances, it's a hot little album that any Outz fan will want.

It's definitely got a more low budget sound to it, raw and unpolished, which is either a pro or a con depending on your tastes. Either way, it makes a cool alternative to the more official studio album, The Bricks. The song "So Low" sounds like you're right in the studio with the guys while they take turns kicking verses. Hence the title All Natural, I suppose. And there are songs you'll recognize, since all four songs (the A- and B-sides) from both those aforementioned Az Izz 12"s are one here, and so is "Do It Wit a Passion," which originally came out on vinyl in 1999, and was included on the pre-release version of The Bricks, but ultimately got left off the retail version.

And, except for the Detroit guys, every Outsida you know is on here: Young Zee, Pace Won, D.U., Axe, Yah Yah, Loon One, Nawshis, Denz One, S.A.S.S.... Yes, Slang Ton is on here; he's on four songs(!). Even Rah Digga comes through. There's one or two Az Izz solo songs (although even those have background vocals by other members), but it's definitely an Outsidaz family affair. Most songs are posse cuts with multiple members spitting bars. And there's also a couple outsider (see what I did there? That's why I make the big bucks) appearances by some guy with a bugged style from Newark named Nom, and Artifacts' OG Tame One.

A pleasant surprise, too: this new pressing features an all-new bonus track. Now, don't get too excited. It's not an unheard, vintage Outsidaz posse cut. It might be vintage, I guess; but it sounds new. And it's not a big Outsidaz posse cut. It's just a short freestyle by BSkills.

Wait, who's BSkills? I'm glad you asked. He's an Outsidaz affiliate from Brazil (hence the B in his name), who linked up with the crew when he was living in New Jersey. I used to think Az Izz ran Slang Doe Records, since all they put out back in the day was his stuff. In more recent years, they put out a couple other guys, but strictly online stuff, no CDs or vinyl. But, yeah, apparently it's actually Skills not Az Izz. And he's the one making the new CDs happen now... which explains why they're shipping from Brazil.

Whoops. Yeah. But if you're not in Brazil, you can get them normally priced on EBay. He's selling them direct on there, and thankfully you don't have to pay crazy overseas shipping that way. I think you can get it from some Brazillian stores if you're actually over there; but for most of us, that's the way to go. Just search for "All Natural Outsidaz" or "Slangdoe" and you'll find it. Maybe it's not quite as exciting as the big Musical Meltdown revival, but I was pretty happy when I found this.

Ah, the Halcyon Days Of Anticon

Man, remember the great days of Anticon Records? When they were hip-hop and ingenious and releasing great records and CDs as fast as you could collect them? It seemed like you never had to worry about them running out of material, and even if some of their hand-made, limited CDRs were sub-par, you could be confident it would still be full of compelling moments and great samples. But man, I just had to check anticon.com right now to make sure they were still in existence. I don't even know who's on the label anymore - just a bunch of folk singers and Alias making techno beats I guess. But all you guys who spent the early 2000s hating on them missed a Hell of little thunderstorm in Hip-Hop, at a time when the rest of the genre was going through a slow drought.

What about the time they all came together to do a track for DJ Krush's album called "Song for John Walker?" That was his 2002 album, The Message At the Depth; but you can just do what I did and get this sweet little 12" single of it. There are a couple other non-rap album tracks on the 12", too, but who cares? I sure don't. I only listen to "Song for John Walker."

In case you've forgotten, or just aren't a big news follower in the first place, John Walker Lindh is the white kid from California who got shot and captured while fighting against the United States during our invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. What was he doing there? Well, some kids join the school marching band and some kids lean towards something a little edgier, like the taliban. He shot some Red Cross workers while he was over there, plead guilty when he was brought back, and President Bush (the first one) got in trouble for calling him "some misguided Marin County hot-tubber."

The song surely shares inspiration with the piece Black Like Me that The Pedestrian had published in the East Bay Express a little while after the song was released. That article uncovers the surprising and under-reported fact that John Walker was, prior to leaving the country, a huge hip-hop fan who wrote battle raps on newsgroups and pretended to be a black man named Mr. Mujahid, calling out rappers who didn't live up to his ideals of blackness, i.e. calling Dr. Dre a "sellout house nigga living honkey dory," and "a disgrace selling out to the talcum. He'll be left dead and naked in the outcome; word to brother Malcolm." Yeah, you won't learn about all that in many other sources; you should totally go read the whole article.

Ironically, the song focuses less on Walker as a hip-hop figure, though; and more as a political icon. Like all of their best work, it's both directly sardonic and perplexing abstract at the same time. At one point, Dose One is chiding, "he wanted Hammer pants. He joined the tali-hey-ban. He sought an absolute truth, the alpha cliché; But he got the omega and fucked," at another you'll be struggling to decipher what he means as he repeatedly sings, "again we use the magnets poorly; again we use the magnets poorly." While Why? comes in, getting at least close to rap (longtime Why? listeners will know what I mean) to represent the non-voting, slacker generation:

"Well, I heard the two parties split platforms at the turn of the century;
But. I. Know. I'm. A. Mer. I. Can. By the coins I carry.
And that's fuckin' scary.
Bla-bla-bla-bla-blah blah blah.
And even the worn-wigged hard news anchors are un-affected;
And every psychic and small-time prophet is aloof.
We've been injected to the point of immunity;
It takes an F load of S to stimulate the desensitized taste buds of the sugar expecting community,
'Till we can barely detect... the weather man's insincerity."

Passage and Sole team up, reminiscent of their classic duet, "Isn't It Sad How Sad We Are?" ("Become a smart happy healthy pet rock if you can eat like us; you'll make great soup and hot new imports for domesticated devils. Don't worry, in thirty years we'll all be Johns and Sarahs"), while Alias provides a more omniscient perspective a la his great "Divine Inspiration." The Pedestrian only really chimes in for the song's opening lines, but I'm sure he was deeply involved with the writing of the whole thing, which has often been his role. The whole gang really pulls together, often with quite divergent styles, into a cohesive whole, thanks in no small part to DJ Krush. At the time, I know Krush's production for the Anticon collective received a lukewarm welcome by fans; but I actually think he does an excellent job capturing the dark, bitter joke; and subtly shifts the music to fit the different segments of the song, rapped or sung in styles you'd otherwise think could never be parts of the same song.

Krush remixed this song on an album called Stepping Stones years later, but it really doesn't retain the energy or effect of the original at all. It's kinda cool once or twice as a variant - he adds some slick scratching during one of the breakdowns. But the newer, earnest instrumentation takes things too seriously, losing the feeling that these are courtroom jesters singing a coded message of our extinction. Stick with the original, which is conveniently available on 12" already. The idea that Anticon has been moving on without Sole for years feels like some kind of a morbid joke. But that's the great thing about records, they last even as the times change. We can plop 'em on the turntable and go back whenever we want.

Who Is the Queen of Ghetto Madness?

The Queen of Ghetto Madness has to be one of the best rapper names in Hip-Hop history. And fortunately, she lives up to it. Plus, she's from Jersey, so bonus. And If you're just causally searching, it may seem like she only had the one 12", but there's actually more to her story. But let's start with the obvious 12".

Released in 1990 on Scorpio Music with a great picture cover, The Queen's single (also released on cassette without the alternate mixes) is a two-song 12" produced by I.Q. You probably don't realize who that is, especially since there are a number of people who use some variant of "I.Q." as their rap name, but once I tell you... You know how Tony D produced the Poor Righteous Teachers' early albums? Well, he produced most of them. Actually a couple of their early tracks, right down to their debut "Time To Say Peace" 12", are produced and/or co-produced by I.Q. He was also a member of Northside Productions and did their tracks, and has stayed in the industry as a producer and artist over the years. So seeing his name on a record, especially a 1990 Jersey street rap record, is a good thing.

So the first song is "Run the Rhythm," which is pretty decent, our Queen certainly comes off nicely; but it's her prerequisite hip-house song, so probably not the song that's going to get anybody excited today. Her flow here reminds me of Queen Latifah's first album, though, and that's definitely not a bad thing, and I.Q. lays in some funky, danceable samples. There's a Dance Mix here, too; but that turns out to just be a fancy/ misleading name for the instrumental. She's got an acappella, too, which is always nice.

It's the B-side that will draw most heads, though. If "Run the Rhythm" was her "Come Into My House," this is her "Ladies First" (she's even got a higher pitched friend who jumps in on the hook), but with a darker, tougher beat. Hard drums, tortured horns and a funky bassline. It's classic hip-hop and the Queen kills it. There's also an Acappella and Instrumental for this one. But what isn't on here, is this mix. Where did this come from? It's hot! It's nowhere on the vinyl, and I can't find any alternate, promo or remix 12" out there. Of course, the 12" had an acapella on there, and all the mix I just linked to, dope as it is, does just use familiar elements we've heard on other hip-hop tracks. So maybe it's just something a DJ put together for a mixtape? But if it is, it's well done, because it sounds pretty legit. Maybe there is a remix single out there somewhere? I don't know, but like I said, there was more to this story. And that's just the tip.

The credits on this single aren't too detailed - they don't even say who that other girl on "Time For Me To Ruin" is - but there is one interesting detail: "Lyrics by Gladys Graham - A.K.A. MC DRASTIC." Well, hey, I bought a single by an MC Drastic once... I didn't know who it was, just saw they were from New Jersey so I picked it up on a whim for cheap. She turned out to be a female MC, could it be... Yup. 1990, also on Scorpio Music, so there's no question of it just being a coincidence. This is the same person.

It's another two-song 12", and checking the catalog numbers, this one came out after "Run the Rhythm." "Men Will Say Anything To Get Over" is the a-side, a fun relationship song; and "Grab a Hold Of Yourself" is the b-side, another hip-house song. Again, it's another better than average house joint. It starts out sounding super club-oriented, with a "Pump Up the Jam" sample. But once she starts rapping she comes off real hard over a darker, ominous sound. Both tracks are produced by Troy Wonder, and if that name sounds familiar, he was Tony D's DJ back when he was signed as a rapper to 4th & Broadway. It's another pretty nice single. And the Tony D connections don't end there, because the year before these two records, Tony produced one called by "Competition Is None" by A-O-K Productions featuring MC Drastic.

So there's more to the Queen of Ghetto Madness than meets the eye. And what met the eye was already an ill, slept on female MC who's tighter than a lot of those who got deals in her era. I'm definitely a fan.

Blowing the Dust Off Mr. Voodoo's Long-Lost Demos

Woohoo! Chopped Herring is back with their, umm... fourth?  Wait, let me count. One, two, three and now four. Yup, their fourth Natural Elements EP release! This time around, though, it's focused on just one member. They've uncovered, cleaned up and pressed Mr. Voodoo's 1994-1995 demos on wax.

Now, any NE fans how've been in this for the long haul probably thought to themselves, well, I'm familiar with some great, unreleased Mr. Voodoo demo songs - are these them? And the answer is yep, pretty much!  =)  As the emoticon there suggests, though, that's a very good thing. This is some seriously long-awaited material that's been floating around the tape trading fringes for a long time. Most of these songs are online in terrible, low quality and have been for years. And I mean really low quality, where the hiss is actually louder than the song itself, the kind of Xth generation dub of a radio broadcast of a cheap cassette that literally hurts you to listen to it, but you did anyway, because Mr. Voo was blowing your mind as a lyricist.

So do we want to get into this song by individual song? Well, I don't know if we really need to get into every tiny little detail of - are you kidding? Of course we're going to break this down song by song! Let's go!

"New York Straight Talk" - I don't really remember this one, but it has been around in those junky rips. The track has a really cool, interesting sound that's a little richer and more musically layered than you'd expect from an old Voodoo track, and a nice EPMD vocal sample for a hook. It's a great foundation for a calmer, more introspective flow than we're used to from this man. The drums are pure traditional NE-style, though; and the old sleigh bells are in full effect.

"G.L.O.C.K." - This is the one I really remember. This is the one, when I first heard Chopped Herring was releasing Mr. Voodoo's demos, I immediately checked if this was on there. Spoilers: it is. He kicks a tight "Lyrical Tactics"-style flow over a dark, grumbling bassline. There's a g-funk inspired whistle sound over the hook; but otherwise this is very gritty NY-style that couldn't be further from Warren G or those kinda guys. Heavy sleigh bells again, too. Ha ha

"Runnin From My Magic" - This is the obvious chorus, sampled from the classic Brother J vocal sample you know nobody named Voodoo could resist using. I definitely remember this one, too, and I'm really happy to see it restored here. It's got an almost eerie, ominous vibe, not even any sleigh bells.

"New York Straight Talk (Remix)" - An alternate version of the A-side opener, also produced by Charlemagne. This is a more smoothed out version, with very early 90s vibes that a ton of artists were using for a very brief period of time. I prefer the original, but this is a nice alternative, and 90s heads will probably get an extra nostalgic kick from the sample selection.

"Pen Hits the Paper" - Yeah, I remember this one, too. It's got the slightly jazzy vibes of the last track, but couples it with a more boom bap sound and Voodoo just spitting freestyle rhymes. Listening to this pressing for the first time, I just thought yeah, this is exactly what us fans are here for. This EP is 100% delivering. ...Or maybe 90% in this case, because this version is only two verses long, and past versions have had three. But 90 is still great!

"I Come With Skills" - This is the only one not produced by Charlemagne. DJ LDR provides a good backing for Voodoo, too; but it does stand out from the rest, lacking that signature NE sound the rest of this EP has; so it's good that they saved it for the end. Last but not left off, because it's still a dope Wu or "Tried By 12" inspired track with Mr Voodoo killing it.

"Betta Duck" - Okay, technically THIS is last; and it's back to Charlemagne production again. But this is labeled as a bonus track, and that's because it's not a '94-'95 demo track like everything else on here. It's a 2001 recording, and isn't as good as the rest; but it's still a nice little cut with some cool scratching on the chorus.

Like all the previous EPs, this record is limited to 350 copies. 75 copies were pressed on white (white) vinyl, 75 on gold, and the remaining 250 on standard black. They all come in the sticker cover, pictured above, and sound great. I mean, there is a little bit of a limited range, muffled feel to the audio which suggests these tracks were taken from a cassette. I noticed it most on "G.L.O.C.K." It's not a perfect, crystal high fidelity sound, but it's clearly been mastered to sound the best it possibly can and is a huuuuge, huge, huge improvement on the terrible recordings we've heard before. We're talking about the difference between a little imperfect vs. awful; fans will be very pleased with this vinyl.

Now this EP doesn't represent ALL of Mr. Voodoo's vintage demos. I've heard stuff like "Magic," an alternate version of "Hemlock" with different lyrics, and "Chryme Life" comes to mind. [Oh, and if you're thinking, waitaminute, didn't he release that in 2000, Werner? That's right, but there's an older demo version that's even better.] And there's like a whole unofficial Mr. Voodoo album that's been floating around that's a little bit newer (end of the 90s, early 2000s) that never got an official release. One thing I've learned about following these guys is they recorded an incredible amount of killer material, even though they didn't release so much back in the days. So Chopped Herring's work isn't done; there's still more for them to track down, polish off and get out into the world. And I'm here rooting for them to pull it off. But this was just a great big step forward, that's for sure.

Young Zee's Musical Meltdown Pt 3, Finale!

(Youtube version is here.)

Poison Armageddon

(Youtube version is here. Solid Ground's site is here.)

Back On the Battle Tip

Whirlwind D is back once again, with a new vinyl single (his last one was just a few months ago) of contemporary Classic Hip-Hop. And yes, once again he's got some fantastic scratching and strong production along with him. It's another 7", but it comes in a high quality picture cover; and it's always great to see the b-boy vinyl game marching on.

This one's called "B-Line Business," referring to his label, B-Line Records, even though Tru-Tone Records is the name printed in giant text on the actual record. It's pretty much an anthem for the roster, where everybody's name-checked and mission statements are codified. It's the style that really brings you in, though: quick and high energy with tough cracking beats and rhymes mixed with a instrumental produced by Specifik. Specifik's been making records in the UK for a while now, but you guys will probably remember him mostly from having contributed to Whirlwind D's last couple records. It's got a bumping, head-nodding bassline; but once again it's the ill, dynamic turntable choruses that really steal the show, this time vigorously provided by JabbaThaKut, who uses at least a dozen different records for a single hook. Those scratch breaks just make you want to listen to the song over and over again, but it wouldn't work if all the elements weren't coming together and firing on all cylinders as they are here.

The B-side is "Battle Tip 2015," a follow-up to his killer Solid 'N' Mind single that was pretty much lost in 1991 and remastered and re-released in 2010. When I first heard it, I assumed it was a sequel song, with with D spitting similarly themed rhymes over a new but reminiscent track. But as it played on, some of the more creative, colorful imagery started sounding awfully familiar, and I realized it's all the same lyrics as the original. So this is basically just a remix, produced by Waxer this time instead of Johnny F (interestingly, the back cover specifically adds "based on an original Liberty Grooves production" to his production credit).

I feel a bit funny dismissing it as "just a remix," though; 'cause it's pretty great. It naturally retains the rapid-fire drum style of the original, since that's key to the song; but it's otherwise quite different, giving it a dark and freshly atmospheric tone with dark, ominous bass notes straight out of a horror movie. And Waxer's name is dubbed in over Johnny's name during the line that originally went, "Johnny F cuts with blaze of fury," but not, curiously, the line "Johnny F drops an original break." I wonder what the motivation was to redo this in 2015? On the one hand, I feel like the original knocks just a little bit harder, and if I had to choose which one to take on the lifeboat with me, that's the one I'd choose. But on the other hand, this is really fresh. Where the original was comprised of samples we'd heard on other rap classics already, this is unique and unfamiliar, made with sounds I've never heard before. After his impressive work on Whirlwind's previous projects, I'm always up for another Waxer original, and when it's for a fast, hardcore rap track like this, all's the better. But why "Battle Tip" instead of an all new song? Oh well, both versions are different and good enough to be worth owning anyway, and since Whirlwind D's records are always so reasonably priced, there's no reason to make a Sophie's Choice scenario out of it.

Yeah, it's only £6.00, which I guess is still standard for a 7", but it feels like a bargain now that we've gotten used to paying "limited" prices for our wax in recent years. It's a small-hole 45 (the preferable option, unless you're that dude with a jukebox in his man-cave), and like I said it comes in an impressive picture cover. Fans of D's previous work will definitely be pleased with this release, and probably already had it on pre-order since it was first announced on forums anyway. But even if you haven't been following his work, this wouldn't be a bad one to cut your teeth on: maybe not his ultimate masterpiece, but an engaging, slick little record.

Before There Was Raw Produce, There Was... Eddie Bone

Raw Produce released their debut 12", "Cycles," in 1995. And we've already looked at the very first record they worked on, 1993's New England Massive EP which they produced on. But there's a record in between those two, and it's actually on a fairly major record label: Tommy Boy Records. Pitch, on his own, produced the first and last single by Eddie Bone in 1994, the self-titled "Eddie Bone."

Now, looking at the name, picture cover and title, you might expect this to be a pretty terrible pop rap song best left forgotten. That's probably why, even though he came out on Tommy Boy, pretty much nobody's ever heard of him. But it's actually pretty interesting.

Eddie Bone is actually from Texas, and he's on some smooth shit, sort of a cross between Q-Tip and the Penthouse Players Clique. This is a two-song 12", and Pitch only produced the first song. The B-side, "Check the Game," is a more traditional gangsta rap track. The girl singing the hook on the A-side is credited, but the Nate Dogg-lite guy who sings this chorus is uncredited. Could it be Eddie Bone himself? I don't think so; but I'm not ruling it out. It's not brilliant, but it's got a pretty cool, light gangsta rap vibe; that'll at least having you nodding along to it.

But of course, we're all here for the A-side, "Eddie Bone." Eddie doesn't come off as well here as he did on the B-side, but Pitch has cooked up a really interesting instrumental for him. It's jazzy and pretty unusual, not exactly like the stuff Raw Produce would later make for themselves, but it hints at it for sure. And I get the logic behind naming an early record after yourself to market yourself. If all the kids are singing "Eddie Bonnne" after having listened to the radio, they know what CD to buy. Makes sense. Ultramagnetic did it, Stetsasonic did it, Public Enemy did it... The problem is it just comes off so silly and corny. Eddie sounds like an executive-crafted rap act (which he probably was) when he says lines like, "this is something for you G's to ride to," but it's the chorus that really kills it. Ramona DeBreaux is the girl unfortunately taxed with the duty to sing "Eddie Bone, ya loves ta' bone" over and over on the chorus. And she freestyles it a bit at the end, but her singing on the main chorus is really flat, like she's just saying it rather than singing it. There's no way heads were going to take this seriously in '94 and give Bone a career.

So, sorry Eddie Bone, that's the breaks. That hook was a real shot to his own foot. But again, the instrumental is pretty lush and groovy. It's got kind of a g-funk slide whistle thing in it, which is a little heavy-handed and I could live without; but it's a pretty great track. And fortunately both instrumentals are provided on this 12", so you can buy this just for Pitch's quality work, sort of like how all the Large Professor collectors still buy that Kid 'N Play 12" about not doing drugs. Pitch's production is really on that level. And if you're in the mood for a light-hearted guilty pleasure, you can play the vocal versions.

That Dynamic Emcee PH

(Youtube version is here.)

When Mantronix Connected Queens and Brooklyn

(Youtube version is here.)