This is the debut album from the Originoo Gunn Clappaz, a trio that is an offshoot of the highly-regarded Boot Camp Clik rap collective, which also spawned Black Moon, Smif-N-Wessun, and Heltah Skeltah. I'm not the biggest fan of the Clik, but that's just because I got into them a bit late in the game, so there isn't really much I can say about the history of the group. In my CD collection, I started out with the O.G.C. stuff, so, accordingly, this is where the B.C.C. reviews will begin.
I will say this, though: Starang Wondah is on my list of the top underrated emcees ever. And the other two guys (Louieville Sluggah and Top Dog) are...have I mention Starang Wondah yet?
1. INTRO
(insert blogger sighing here)
2. CALM BEFORE DA STORM
Sounds like a title for an interlude for a song called "Da Storm", huh? Gotcha!
3. NO FEAR
The video had the balls to trash The Notorious B.I.G., which was bizarre, as both acts were from New York. The beat is minimalist, which allows the rhymes to demand your full attention.
4. BOOM...BOOM...FUCKING PRICK
An awkward title for (you guessed it) a hip hop skit.
5. GUNN CLAPP
A pretty ignorant title for a song with an underlying "record company people are shady" message.
6. EMERGENCY BROADCAST SYSTEM (FEAT. BIG TIGGER)
Big Tigger from Rap City appears, for some unnecessary reason. (Sorry, I got nothing.)
7. HURRICANE STARANG
A solo shot from the Wondah. His first line grabs you by the throat and doesn't let go: "Hang that ass up like a poster". This song is why I feel he's underrated.
8. DANJER
And in turn, Starang doesn't appear on this song. That doesn't mean you shouldn't listen to it, though, as the other two pull off a surprisingly strong duet.
9. ELEMENTS OF DA STORM
Sounds like a title for an interlude for a song called "Da Storm", huh? Gotcha!
10. DA STORM
Oh, wait...
11. WILD COWBOYS IN BUCKTOWN (FEAT. SADAT X and SEAN BLACK)
Sadat X from Brand Nubian proves that...well, that he sounded better in Brand Nubian.
12. GOD DON'T LIKE UGLY
Lord Jamar from Brand Nubian proves that...well, that he can produce a good soundscape when needed.
13. X-UNKNOWN
Not a mutant sci-fi hybrid, like Linkin Park, but instead a strangely-titled song with a playful back-and-forth between the three emcees.
14. ELITE FLEET (FEAT. M.S., THE REPRESENTATIVZ, and BAD VYBES)
Featuring the c-list Boot Camp-ers. Good beat, though.
15. FLAPPIN
Oddly, this song was co-produced by E-Swift (of Tha Alkaholiks) and Madlib, and yet this song doesn't sound very West-Coast-ish. Dope way to end an album.
FINAL THOUGHTS: Da Storm was another album that I bought based on the strength of one single, the aforementioned "No Fear". Starang Wondah (no relation to Stevie) and the beats (mostly handled by Da Beatminerz) place this project on a different musical level than other New York rap albums with similar topics (violence, sexual content, pervasive drug use, and opinions on the North American Free Trade Agreement).
BUY OR BURN? If you can find it, buy this shit. It's well worth the listen, and the Boot Camp deserve more support than they're getting these days.
BEST TRACKS: "Hurricane Starang"; "No Fear"; "Danjer"; "Flappin"
-Max
How is it that Starang Wondah has never dropped a solo album? That dude entertains me.
ReplyDeleteI agree. And thank you for heeding the call!
ReplyDeleteyour still missing the Sminf n Wessun album, dah shinin
ReplyDeleteits funny how bitch niggas in the industry pretend to be a friend of me but in the long run becomin enemies
ReplyDeleteOnce again, max is right on this one, Starang is one of the best Underground Emcees ever, i wonder who would win a rap battle between Sean p and Starang, both are fucking sick!!!
ReplyDeleteBoth OGC albums were the shit! Sean would probably destroy Starang in a battle. The beef OGC had with Biggie/Puff was during the time when rap videos were filled with Versace and Gucci and that mentality was bullshit. Coming out of New York that shit wasn't cool.
ReplyDeleteyo max your reviews are normally good, but you aint even review half of these songs yo ?
ReplyDeleteThis is by far my favorite Boot Camp release.
ReplyDeleteJust a nice album. The beats are, for lack of a better description (I'm tired), very strong in a darkly aloof kind of way. The record company exec skits reminded me of 3rd Bass skits from back in the day.
ReplyDeleteTons of respect for the makers of this album. Proof that the Beatminerz were the true architects of the BCC sound, and that on their debut album, the BCC made a huge mistake by discarding the Beatminerz.
ReplyDeleteThe beats on this are the shit!! Especially god don't like ugly, x unknown, elite fleet, flappin, hurricane, and no fear of course. Another album with decent beats I stumbled across a few years ago (at a flea market, for free!) Is Sadat X Wild Cowboys. Check out 'the Hashout', top beat and a mystery rapper who sounds like U God has a great verse.
ReplyDeleteBlake