Stacy Ferguson, former cast member of Kids Incorporated, former member of girl group Wild Orchid (whatever happened to the other two girls in the group?), former crystal meth addict, current member of the Black Eyed Peas, and the only reason that the Black Eyed Peas receive any sort of publicity whatsoever, released her debut solo album, The Dutchess (incorrect spelling and all) almost immediately after using the last two Black Eyed Peas albums to catapult her into stardom, while leaving the other three guys in the group in the fucking dust. (I realize I just came off as bitter, but I'm the rare blogger that actually never gave a fuck about the Black Eyed Peas, even before they added the girl to the crew: all of their songs just sounded boring to me, from "Joints & Jam" to "Weekends", which featured Esthero).
Anyway, Fergie parlayed her new found fame into a successful solo career, taking over pop radio one song at a time, alternating between rapping and singing whenever it was convenient for her. The Dutchess has sold millions of copies and still continues to be one of the best-selling CDs today, even though its original release date was almost two years ago. I was not one of those suckers that picked this album up, though: I found it at the library, which has been the savior to my wallet for a while now, except for when I turn in shit late.
Everyone always gives Fergie shit for that picture that popped up online where she appeared to have pissed herself while performing live, and while that story is fucking hilarious, my favorite memory of Stacy has to be when she's killed near the beginning of Planet Terror (part of Grindhouse, a flick which I loved: hey Weinstein Company, where the fuck is the full version of Grindhouse on DVD?), although she fronted in the press as if she was one of the goddamn stars of the movie.
I have a feeling that I already know how this review is going to end.
1. FERGALICIOUS (FEAT WILL.I.AM)
Not entirely terrible. Although the rapping is completely blah, Fergie at least stays on beat, a beat which is pretty engaging. I also like the way she turns the word "loco", but that's just me. However, I'd be willing to bet that none of the teenage girls that bought The Dutchess are even cognizant as to the existence of J.J. Fad's "Supersonic". I'd also like to see Nelly Furtado kick the shit out of Fergie for twisting the word "promiscuous" as if she were trying to start a rap beef with a non-rapper.
2. CLUMSY
I fucking hate this song. Several songs are stitched together into some sort of Franken-pop monster, and it fails on all counts: the worst offense would have to be the lift from Little Richard's "The Girl Can't Help It". So, of course, this shit was a huge hit.
3. ALL THAT I GOT (THE MAKE UP SONG) (FEAT WILL.I.AM)
Not my cup of tea. You won't like it either.
4. LONDON BRIDGE
I just realized that I have never heard the dirty version of this song until today. (It is possible that I was drunk in the club when it was played, but I can't confirm this.) It's kind of off-putting, to be honest, but it's still really funny that a lot of teenage girls bought an album with their daddy's money, in which the instrumental actually incorporates a sound bite of a guy shouting "Oh shit!". Polow Da Don's beat is kind of a monster, though, and I've witnessed firsthand how the women act in the club when this song comes on, including my wife, so I can't really hate it completely. A lot has been said about how a "London bridge" is actually some sort of deviant sex act: personally, I don't believe that Fergie is deep enough to have purposely named a song after that.
5. PEDESTAL
Sounds like a beat from some fake ass "collaborator" of Dr. Dre's. At least, it does for a while, until the beginning of Fergie Ferg's second verse. I can't remember anything overly objectionable about this song, but that's because I can't fucking remember it.
6. VOODOO DOLL
Meh.
7. GLAMOROUS (FEAT LUDACRIS)
Fergie took this track after Gwen Stefani passed on it, and left the Ludacris lyrics intact, even though he had originally recorded them for Stefani. Anything to make a buck, right? This was another of those "hit" singles whose appeal mystifies me, although I have to admit that it does sound better than "Clumsy". God, I hate that fucking song.
8. HERE I COME (FEAT WILL.I.AM)
This level of beat-jacking hasn't been seen since the heyday of Puff Daddy's Bad Boy empire. The Temptations must be rolling over in their collective grave.
9. VELVET
Sounds like a fake-ass Zero 7/Sia song. I'm almost positive that this song is probably a favorite of most of the teenage girls that picked up The Dutchess. Sorry, but this kind of song has been done better many times before. Nice try, though: I appreciate the attempt to branch out.
10. BIG GIRLS DON'T CRY
We're all doomed to hear this pumped into retail store radio stations for the rest of our goddamn lives.
11. MARY JANE SHOES (FEAT RITA MARLEY & THE I-THREES)
Leave it to a former crystal meth addict to write a song about her fucking shoes. (Is that comment too mean? Because I can do a lot worse.)
12. LOSING MY GROUND
In the history of pop music, this song will be seen as having no consequence whatsoever. But, in truth, it isn't bad.
13. FINALLY
This sounds like the type of plaintive ballad that the female lead would sing in a bad movie musical, possibly while staring at the moon, while a montage plays out a sequence featuring Fergie and Josh Duhamel acting playful and meeting cute. For what it is, it's alright, and John Legend does a decent job co-producing. The bonus song at the end of the track, allegedly called "Maybe We Can Take A Ride", is terrible, though.
THE LAST WORD: The Dutchess is a pop record all the way, and no amount of criticism I lay upon it will make one iota of difference in Fergie's record sales. I'll give it my best shot, though: it's not a very good album. Musically, it's all over the place, but the blatant use of samples make this sound oftentimes like a paint-by-numbers R&B record. There isn't much to recommend here: as a rapper, Fergie is serviceable (even though she sounds an awful lot like fellow Black Eyed Peas member will.i.am on more than a few bars), and as a singer, she's kind of annoying, although a couple of her songs do contain a positive message. All in all, I will never actually listen to this shit again, although I probably won't have a choice, since her songs are on the radio all the time. Oh, the things I suffer through just for the blog.
-Max
Cheryl James and Sandra Denton, better known as the female rap duo Salt 'N Pepa, have won multiple Grammy awards, sold millions of records, and have created a song or two that are still played the fuck out on radio to this day. Not bad for two rappers from Queens.
Probably because I've heard "Push It" on a steady subliminal loop for the past twenty-odd years, I suppose I never felt the need to pick up the duo's debut, Hot, Cool, & Vicious, which featured wall-to-wall production by Hurby Azor and deejay work by Latoya Hanson, who performed under the name "Spinderella" and appears on the far right of the album cover, even though she never appeared in any of the duo's videos and soon left the crew, only to be replaced with the current Spinderella, Deidra Roper.
Salt and Pepa earned a record deal with Next Plateau Records off of the strength of their first single, "The Showstopper", which was allegedly created by Hurby Azor as a school project. Their debut album was quickly recorded, garnering some radio airplay throughout the country, but the duo didn't really take off until their biggest hit to date, "Push It", was released, which started riots in seventeen counties, sold billions of 12-inch singles, and elbowed its place into the musical selections of advertising firms the world over.
Here, for your reading pleasure, is Hot, Cool, & Vicious.
1. PUSH IT (REMIX)
You already know this song: no point in pretending otherwise. (I never knew the version that I'm most familiar with was a remix, though: I guess I've never actually heard the original 12-inch track.) I noticed after hearing the entire disc that this track doesn't fit on Hot, Cool, & Vicious, but for good reason: it wasn't included on original pressings of the album, but was added once the "Push It (Remix)" because a dance floor staple. It's not that hard to recall this track in its proper context (it was played on the radio all the fucking time in the late 1980s), but it's since become seeped into the public subconscious, so it isn't even a "rap" song anymore: it's simply a song, one that will still get your girl to dance, almost as if on command.
2. BEAUTY AND THE BEAT
This song was boring as shit.
3. TRAMP
This is probably what "Beauty and the Beat" was striving for, except this song actually works. The beat is simple (and I mean simple), but it's effective, and the rhymes will remind you of Salt 'N Pepa's later lyrical work.
4. I'LL TAKE YOUR MAN
These rhymes are both hilarious and dope as shit: "I'll Take Your Man" proves that female emcees can brag just as effectively as their male counterparts.
5. IT'S ALRIGHT
Have you ever wanted to hear Salt and Pepa rhyme in a reggae fashion? You haven't? Neither have I, but I still made it past the first thirty seconds of this song, which is essentially two emcees straight spittin'. Not great, but also not bad.
6. CHICK ON THE SIDE (REMIX)
This isn't bad either, but the whole point of the song is rendered moot when you realize that the women are chastising their men for having another woman on the side, while participating in similar behavior themselves. Sorry, but the "well, I figured he was going to cheat anyway..." excuse doesn't quite work. Aaah, double standards!
7. I DESIRE
Pretty fucking awesome. Hurby Azor does some beautiful things with the beat, slowing down the drum break from the Winstons's "Amen Brother" with fantastic results, and both Salt and Pepa don't waste the opportunity.
8. THE SHOWSTOPPER
This is the answer record for the question that Doug E. Fresh's "The Show" failed to ask. Salt 'N Pepa released this first single under a different name, Supernature, although they refer to themselves as Salt and Pepa within the song itself. It's alright, but it's simply a gimmicky record and shouldn't be seen as anything other than the emcees fucking around. The use of the word "uncouth" is pretty funny, though.
9. MY MIC SOUNDS NICE
Not impressed at all.
THE LAST WORD: Hot, Cool, & Vicious is a Polaroid snapshot of a time in hip hop when lyrics were important, but not a prerequisite: all that mattered was that the music made you feel good, and this disc attempts to accomplish that with varying results. Sure, the disc sounds dated as hell, but some of the songs flat-out rock, including "Push It (Remix)", a track that I'm sure everybody is really sick of. However, some of the other songs fail to garner much of an impression. Hurby Azor does some good work behind the boards, for the most part, but Hot, Cool, & Vicious is truly for completists only.
-Max
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Here's what I know about Bahamadia, which isn't much. She's a female rapper from Philadelphia, home of The Roots, Beanie Sigel, and Rocky Balboa. Her real name is Antonia Reed. She is (or was: I'm not sure of the status now) a part of the Gangstarr Foundation, a loose collective of rappers who are known for their work with Guru and DJ Premier of Gang Starr, but thanks to her underground roots, she may also be known to a certain faction of my two readers as a sometime collaborator with the Army Of The Pharaohs, another loosely-knit rap collective of less-mainstream rappers. And her solo debut, Kollage, was released in 1996 to critical acclaim and no real sales to speak of.
Bahamadia's monotone delivery differs from most of her counterparts in the genre, as she sounds essentially the same regardless of the backing track or collaborator, but this distinctive flow also makes her very easy to understand. Kollage is supported by grade-A backing from DJ Premier and Da Beatminerz, and Bahamadia doesn't waste the opportunity: she utilizes the majority of the tracks on Kollage to prove her worth to the hip hop audience, with mostly success.
Although Kollage didn't sell very well, I highly doubt that her label, Chrysalis, really expected it to move units: I assume that they signed her more to earn some street cred than to make any money. Nevertheless, her subsequent projects have found homes at other, more in-tune underground labels.
1. INTRO
A Primo instrumental, with a vocal sample scratched in. Mostly useless and boring.
2. WORDPLAY
This song is as boring as what you would expect the exact opposite of the song's title to sound like. This Guru-produced song fucking sucks. This can't be a good sign.
3. SPONTANEITY
Now that's more like it. The hook, or what passes for one, is pretentious as fuck, but the rest of the song sounds great, especially the calm, relaxed Beatminerz instrumental that will still get you as amped as some of their other work with Black Moon has in the past.
4. RUGGED RUFF
Nice! Unorthodox DJ Premier production work that still manages to feel familiar, and Bahamadia rips shit as an underground rapper without anything to lose should. She also manages to toss in a reference to Technotronic for good measure. Come on, move this!
5. INTERLUDE
Keithy E the Gury speaks over a dope Primo piano-laced instrumental. Still, though, music is meant to entertain, and Guru talks it up as if Kollage will change the way you perceive the world and solve the mortgage crisis in America. Groan...
6. I CONFESS
I never liked this song, but I still bought the CD maxi-single back in the day anyway. Why, you may ask? The other track showcased on the single was "3 The Hard Way", and it included the instrumental for that Primo-produced pistol-whipping of a track: I've always been kind of an instrumental fiend. In regard to "I Confess", though, I always thought that Bahamadia's attempts at love songs were weak, possibly because I'd rather hear her rhyme about almost anything else, but mainly because the track sucked.
7. UKNOWHOWEDU
The first single, I believe: I may be wrong. Bahamadia sounds good over this beat, which was co-produced by DJ Red Handed and Ski, of Camp Lo and Jay-Z fame. However, it still comes off as if it's lacking the contributions of at least two other rappers.
8. INTERLUDE Pretty dull Beatminerz-provided 'lude.
9. TOTAL WRECK
This isn't bad at all, but one wishes the beat was a bit more engaging. Still, Bahamadia does her best with what she's presented with.
10. INNOVATION
Meh.
11. DA JAWN (FEAT THE ROOTS)
Longer than it truly needs to be, but this collaboration between Bahamadia and her Philadelphia brethren The Roots is pretty sweet. However, it's nowhere near the level of "Push Up Ya Lighter", the track from their third album, illadelph halflife, that features Bahamadia. Still, though, not bad.
12. INTERLUDE
Kind of plain. I miss the Primo interludes already.
13. TRUE HONEY BUNS (DAT FREAK SHIT)
A simple Primo beat sets up Bahamadia's tale in a fantastic fashion. There isn't much of a differentiation between the verse and the chorus (in the vocals or the instrumental), but that's a minor quibble for a song that has the ability to make you feel as if you're riding around downtown late on a Saturday night looking for the next club to hit. The obsession with the Wu-Tang Clan on the track is also pretty funny.
14. 3 THE HARD WAY (FEAT K-SWIFT & MECCA STAR)
This shit just rocks. Proof positive that women are absolutely capable of handling the pressures of a posse cut just as well as the men can. As an added bonus, none of the women outshine one another on here: they all sound great over Primo's instrumental. Almost makes you wish that they recorded as a trio, but that's probably going a bit too far. A while back, Ivan over at Hip Hop Is Read posted the video for this joint as part of his Insomniacs Club series: you should go have a look-see.
15. BIGGEST PART OF ME
N.O. Joe has two songs on Kollage, and they're both the shittiest songs on the record. It's probably no coincidence that the subject matter on both tracks are similar, in that they're not about talking shit on wax. ("I Confess" is the other N.O. Joe-produced bomb.) Bahamadia just simply sounds awful over these beats, and this is not a good way to end your debut.
FINAL THOUGHTS: Kollage isn't bad at all. Bahamadia's voice isn't for everyone: if you find yourself getting annoyed at Guru's monotone, you should probably run for the hills, since Bahamadia's voice won't make you feel any better about your situation, but if you can get past that, you'll be rewarded with some pretty damn good tracks (with some shitty ones mixed in, but you can't win them all). The interludes, while mostly plain in nature, help break up the pace effectively, making Kollage a lot easier to digest in one sitting.
BUY OR BURN? If you come across a used copy of this CD, you should pick it up. There are some flat-out bangers on here, and you'll also be rewarded with good karma for supporting female artists that aren't all about an obsession with sex and money.
BEST TRACKS: "3 The Hard Way"; "True Honey Buns (Dat Freak Shit)"; "Rugged Ruff"; "Spontaneity"; "Uknowhowedu"; "Total Wreck"
-Max
Rapper Jean Grae, whose real name is Tsidi Ibrahim, is from New York by way of Cape Town, South Africa. She is best known as an underground emcee who, essentially, rips the shit out of whatever verse she happens to be contributing to on any given day. She has recorded tracks under various aliases with some of hip hop's heavyweights, and when I say "heavyweights", I mean "actual good artists" and not the highest-selling motherfuckers out there.
My favorite random fact about Jean Grae, whose rap name is taken from the character from the X-Men comic book series, is that one of her former rap aliases was What? What?, which is one of the best rap names ever.
I don't know a lot about her, and I'm not going to fill up space writing a bunch of nonsense. What I will say is that, ever since I started receiving e-mail and comments about the (lack of) female artists on HHID, Jean's name has popped up consistently, and truth be told, she's an artist I had always wanted to look into, since, besides dusting off classic discs to see if they still have relevance, I'm trying to help others discover newer, more obscure artists that you may enjoy, but the problem was that I never actually had a copy of her debut disc, Attack Of The Attacking Things (The Dirty Mixes). Thanks to the local library, I can at least see what I have been missing out on.
Here we go.
1. INTRO
Weak rap album intro. Sure, Jean Grae doesn't waste our time explaining to the listener why Attack Of The Attacking Things (The Dirty Mixes) is the best album since sliced bread, but it's still pretty weak.
2. WHAT WOULD I DO
Mr. Len's instrumental crawls underneath a bed of (surprise!) actual lyricism. From the few guest spots I remember the former What? What? from, Jean's always been pretty good, and now I'm wondering what took me so damn long to get this CD. The Mindy Cohn reference also made me chuckle.
3. GOD'S GIFT
Masta Ace's beat comes off as something that Busta Rhymes would have rejected in a rare moment of clarity. It also overpowers the lyrics, which is never a good thing, unless you're deliberately aiming to create a song for the clubs.
4. BLOCK PARTY
Wow, that title is misleading. It's kind of like finding a song called "America Is The Greatest Country In The World", popping it into your CD player, and realizing that it's a six-minute rant about how much the rest of the world hates us. The points that Jean makes are valid, though.
5. NO DOUBT
The beat is a tad bit too slow for most listeners to get in to. I didn't find the lyrics on here to be that memorable anyway, though, so I suppose it doesn't matter.
6. BUBBLIN' (SKIT)
Completely unnecessary.
7. THANK YA!
This is an interesting listen. The singing on the hook sound as if it belongs on a different song completely, but Jean hits all of her boasts out of the park.
8. LOVE SONG
This Beatminerz-produced joint is very damn good, but it is melancholy as shit. Still, this is probably the most realistic depiction of what runs through the mind of a young woman (Jean Grae herself, possibly) who suffers through multiple failed relationships. I can't stress enough that this song is really good.
9. GET IT
Writing a hook for a hip hop song has got to be the hardest job in the world. I can't believe that there aren't college-level courses for that shit that rappers are forced to enroll themselves in, since it seems that a lot of hip hop hooks are terribly written. Jean Grae is no different: the chorus is pretty blah, but the song is decent otherwise.
10. KNOCK
This song does not, in fact, knock, but that's mainly because Jean Grae doesn't make those types of songs anyway. But this shit is still really fucking good.
11. LIVE 4 U
Not bad, but at this point, you're wither already in love with Jean Grae's work and are willing to strap on a backpack to support her full-time, or you're wondering if this type of serious, meandering, sentimental rap song is the only type of song Jean knows how to create, and if she deliberately chooses her beats based on how likely they can be mistaken for ambient noises for insomniacs to listen to.
12. FADE OUT
A very touching outro.
THE LAST WORD: Remember the write-up that I did for Lil' Kim's Hard Core a couple days ago? Attack Of The Attacking Things (The Dirty Mixes) should be the polar opposite of that disc, since lyrically Jean Grae towers over most other female rappers (and quite a few of the guys), but after listening to it for the first time in its entirety, I found the beats to be mostly bland. There are a handful of good songs (and one great track in "Love Song", which is not a cover of the Cure's classic, sadly), and the fact that the album is really short is a plus, but Jean Grae deserves better beats, instead of sounding like she's sleepwalking approximately half of the time. As such, I will probably keep "Love Song" on my iPod, but, like Chino XL and Ras Kass before her, I can't condone recommending an album based on lyrics alone. Sorry, kids. But her lyrics are impressive enough that I will try to locate the rest of her catalog.
-Max
After The Score, the massive sophomore effort by rap music stalwarts the Fugees, sold a gazillion copies, primarily off of the strength of a cover of Roberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly" sang by group member Lauryn Hill, music fans the world over waited with bated breath for her solo album, which was promised shortly thereafter. So when the first Fugees member to release a solo album dropped The Carnival, fans were somewhat satisfied but mystified: why in the fuck would Ruffhouse/Columbia release an album by Wyclef Jean before Lauryn Hill, the obvious "star"?
The answer may simply be due to the fact that Wyclef finished his album first. Lauryn Hill (allegedly) wrote, produced, arranged, catered, financed, sculpted, and scolded The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill all by herself, without any Fugees influence: that must have been time consuming. And while the Fugees were still an entity during The Carnival, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill's first song "Lost Ones" shifts that perspective right away: Lauryn was apparently upset with Wyclef's songs being played on the radio every day, feeling that he sold out his artistic style in exchange for spins, and with that, the final nail in the coffin was struck. Every attempt to reunite the Fugees (even the well-publicized shot Dave Chappelle took in his documentary Dave Chappelle's Block Party) has resulted in a fallout, and today even Wyclef Jean, who used to be the crew's most vocal supporter of a reunion, has given up the ghost, choosing instead to move the fuck on.
With The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, the former L-Boogie doesn't even bother to try to fit in with the R&B landscape of the moment: she creates her own niche, anachronistic soulful music with a hip hop vibe, unlike, say, Sharon Jones. A lot of people praised this approach, to the tune of gazillions of copies sold (blowing sales of The Carnival out of the water), critical acclaim almost universally, and multiple Grammy awards, including Best New Artist (which didn't make any sense, but whatever) and Album Of The Year. Of course, thanks to the Grammy curse, Lauryn Hill immediately lost her shit, became a recluse (and a punchline), and has yet to actually release a proper second album. (She released a companion disc to her appearance on MTV Unplugged in 2002, which was all original material and sharply divided her fans, but no actual studio albums have ever seen the light of day.)
The fact that she (and her label) were sued by record producers who claimed to have actually produced the majority of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill didn't help matters (or the fact that the label settled out of court: um, doesn't that imply that they were at least partially correct?)
1. INTRO
Groan...
2. LOST ONES
I've always liked this song, ever since I heard my local radio station accidentally play it on air. L-Boogie (allegedly) calls out Wyclef for selling out before getting into the business at hand: proving her worth behind the mic. It was rumored at the time of the album's release that DJ Premier himself may have had something to do with the creation of this song, but I'm not sure how true that actually is. Primo does get a shout-out in the liner notes, though. Hmmm....
3. EX-FACTOR
It's been nearly ten years since I last listened to this song, a track which I avoided when it hit the airwaves, so I had completely forgotten about the Wu-Tang influence (and sample) that is all over the beat. Hearing it today, I have to admit that it is actually a good song, but material like this seems more of a fit with the likes of a Keyshia Cole than a Lauryn Hill. Of course, ten years and one day ago there was no Keyshia Cole on the scene, but you understand my point.
4. TO ZION
In case anybody was ever curious as to the origins of the ridiculous (and catchy) chorus to MC Paul Barman's "The Joy Of Your World", here you go. (I don't think many of you really cared to know that bit of trivia, though.) The song has a good beat, and it is an undeniably sweet ode to her son, but some of these lyrics are cheesy as shit. Although, if family is involved, can lyrics really be criticized? Yes. Yes they can.
5. DOO WOP (THAT THING)
Remember when this song blew the fuck up on radio and MTV? It's kind of corny, but it still sounds good today, even in its edited form. (Has anybody ever heard an uncensored version of this track?) Its video was pretty good, too, from what I can recall: the split-screen gimmick actually worked for Lauryn.
6. SUPERSTAR
I didn't like the song, but I appreciated the message, and when Lauryn stopped singing and started spitting, the track became increasingly better. After hearing the first (sung) verse, though, it makes me wonder how far along Lauryn Hill was in becoming a musical recluse at the time of this recording.
7. FINAL HOUR
The rhymes are impressive (she was always nice with hers, so much more so that her old bandmates Wyclef Jean and, especially, Pras), but this song isn't very engaging at all. As a result, it's boring as shit.
8. WHEN IT HURTS SO BAD
I liked this song. There really isn't a whole lot to it (drums, guitar, vocals), but it works.
9. I USED TO LOVE HIM (FEAT MARY J. BLIGE)
I had also forgotten about the sample from Raekwon's "Ice Cream" that is woven throughout the instrumental, even though it sounds forced and awkward, as if Lauryn was blatantly striving for some street cred by sampling some more Wu-Tang. Who would have ever pegged Lauryn Hill as a huge fan of the Clan? Everybody, that's who: other than the fact that she frequently referenced them in her rhymes, the Wu-Tang Clan is simply the greatest group in hip hop history. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to adjust my collar, because my bias is showing.
10. FORGIVE THEM FATHER
I didn't like the beat, but the rhymes are pretty good. I found her singing to be relatively plain, though.
11. EVERY GHETTO, EVERY CITY
This song, which features Carlos Santana on the guitar, sounds like something that Lauryn Hill would have sang at the end of Sister Act 2: Back In The Habit, in order to win a singing nun talent show or something, and, even though she doesn't win, she would ultimately gain self esteem. (I've never seen either Sister Act flick, so I'm just assuming shit here.) Her sing-rap style on here is only mildly annoying, and the song also recalls the theme from Welcome Back, Kotter for no good reason.
12. NOTHING EVEN MATTERS (FEAT D'ANGELO)
D'Angelo's contribution notwithstanding, this song put me to fucking sleep. It's now taken me officially six hours to finish this write-up because of this setback.
13. EVERYTHING IS EVERYTHING
I never cared for this song. It sounds okay, but I always felt that the song wasn't really about anything, which isn't usually a bother, but in this instance I couldn't shake that impression. I always thought the video was brilliant, though. Newer hip hop heads may be interested to know that John Legend plays the keyboards on this track, years before his own solo career would begin: older hip hop fans may not really give a damn.
14. MISEDUCATION OF LAURYN HILL
The "pops" that attempt to give the song the sound of a record being played on a fucking Victrola are unnecessary. I wasn't feeling this song regardless: no need to dress it up like a pretty pony.
The following songs are considered to be bonus tracks:
15. CAN'T TAKE MY EYES OFF OF YOU
This bonus track (which was featured in the Mel Gibson film Conspiracy Theory) is a cover of the Frankie Valli classic, and Lauryn does a great fucking job with the material. It doesn't surpass the original, but it sounds good enough to stand side by side with it.
16. TELL HIM
I was really hoping for a cover of the Exciters's "Tell Him", but no such luck. Actually, that song is much better than this one, which was relegated to "bonus track" status for a pretty good reason.
FINAL THOUGHTS: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill was not what I was expecting after her work with the Fugees. She sings more often than she raps, but that's not a big deal, since she's always had a great voice. The main issue I had with the disc, and one that I still have after hearing it today, is the music itself, which, save for a handful of tracks, is uniformly dull. Lauryn (or whoever the hell actually did the production, if you can recall the lawsuits that were settled out of court) tried to shoot for a soulful mood, and, more often than not, misses the mark. I bought this album when it dropped, but after spinning it for a bit, I gave it to my then-girlfriend, now-wife, which, yes, means I still technically own it, but it's clearly hers. That pretty much sums up my feelings on the matter.
BUY OR BURN? Chances are that a lot of you already own this one, but to the few of my two readers that don't, you should burn it if you're curious, but that's all I would do. A handful of great songs does not make this an automatic purchase, regardless of the Grammy awards and critical acclaim: the songs just don't hold up.
BEST TRACKS: "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You"; "When It Hurts So Bad"; "Lost Ones"; "Ex-Factor"
B-SIDE TO TRACK DOWN: "The Sweetest Thing" featuring John Forte: this track, from the love jones soundtrack, I believe, should have been added as a bonus track, since that song is the shit, and the inclusion of John Forte on this album may have given Fugees fans some additional reasons to keep hope alive.
-Max
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Kimberly Jones, a (now former) member of the Junior M.A.F.I.A., a rap crew consisting entirely of weed carriers for the Notorious B.I.G., found success in hip hop by rhyming mostly about sex, a feat that guys in the genre do all the time, but in 1996, Lil' Kim was seen as both a breath of fresh air and a blasphemous heathen. She played up the sex-kitten role as much as possible, posing for several semi-nude shots (including those for her album's cover and liner notes), and embraced the persona of a tough-talking gangster's moll, all to the tune of several million albums being sold.
That bear on the album cover looks so happy, doesn't he?
Hard Core is Lil' Kim's first solo disc, released in 1996 after the surprise success of Junior M.A.F.I.A.'s album Conspiracy, from which all of the hit singles featured Kim. The record label, Big Beat/Atlantic, put two and two together, came up with nine, and decided to market the hell out of Kimberly's penchant for garnering media attention, either with or without clothes on. Her personal relationship with mentor Biggie Smalls, which continued long after Biggie was married to his wife (he got hitched at some point after Ready To Die was released), helped her mold her thoughts into tangible sentences that could possibly rhyme when placed in tandem with other like-minded thoughts. As a result, Hard Core can be seen as an aborted Biggie Smalls album, albeit with a short female taking his place the majority of the time.
Hard Core sold millions of copies and won rave reviews from many music critics, primarily for her skill behind the mic and her confident, over-the-top persona (she has compared herself to Pamela Anderson frequently, although I'm not sure what that has to do with hip hop). This direction earned her a flock of fans and a place as a media darling, which even scored her a Grammy award and an opportunity to rhyme on a remake of Labelle's "Lady Marmalade" (alongside Christina Aguilera, Pink, and Mya) for the Moulin Rouge soundtrack. (My favorite part of that video is a toss up between Mya just being Mya and Dee Snider-sorry, Christina Aguilera completely blowing all of the other singers out of the frame with her vocals.) However, that still wasn't enough for me to keep the album: at one point, I bought this disc for about four bucks at a used CD store, but I sold it about a week later without listening to any of the songs, save for "Queen Bitch". The copy I'm reviewing now is from the ever-so-fantastic library.
Does Kimberly hold her own in the gentleman's club that is hip hop? Let's find out.1. INTRO IN A-MINOR
Kim takes the porn-star ideal that she was cursed with and runs with that shit. This rap album intro is so tasteless and arid that it wouldn't even be aired on Cinemax late at night.2. BIG MOMMA THANG (FEAT JAY-Z & LIL' CEASE)
Have you ever found yourself jonesing to hear the Notorious B.I.G. rhyme, with a barely feminine lilt, about wanting to cum multiple times? You haven't? What the hell's wrong with you? Because that's all this song is essentially about, save for Shawn Carter's lame-ass contribution. In its original incarnation, Kim actually had the balls to diss 2Pac (and possibly Faith Evans, Biggie's wife), and I remember that version sounding pretty decent, but this album track is pretty poor.3. NO TIME (FEAT PUFF DADDY)
In the video for this, Hard Core's first single, Puffy and Kimberly direct their rhymes toward a conveniently placed camera while riding up and down some escalators. (At least, that's what I recall: I'm doing this from memory, because I really don't want to look for the clip of "No Time".) Is it weird that I actually prefer the radio edit's chorus to the album version, if only because Puffy is forced to alter the last word in each sentence so that it doesn't rhyme with "n----z"? Overall, I neither like nor dislike this song.4. SPEND A LITTLE DOE
Kim tries her hand at some storytelling on wax, with mixed results. Ski's beat is pretty decent, but Kim sounds like she's forcing the issue at points, and that technique never actually sounds good in any medium.5. TAKE IT
I lost several brain cells allowing this skit to play all the way through.6. CRUSH ON YOU (FEAT LIL' CEASE & THE NOTORIOUS B.I.G.)
Kim isn't even on this song? The fuck? (At least this explains why the video for this song always referred to the "Crush On You" remix.) If I wanted to hear Lil' Cease rock a solo song, I would have bought his solo album, and as we all know, nobody was foolish or desperate enough to do that shit. The video, which does actually feature Kim contributing vocals to her own goddamn song, showcases Kim and her collection of colorful wigs (the green one makes her look the best, in my opinion) rhyming about who knows what, but the part that interested me was her reference to Labelle's "Lady Marmalade". This was years before Moulin Rouge, folks. 7. DRUGS (FEAT THE NOTORIOUS B.I.G.)
Biggie only pops up on the mumbled, barely-coherent hook, while Kim handles all of the rhyming herself. She isn't bad at all, but the song itself is so far from memorable that I can't even remember what the fuck this blog was supposed to be about.8. SCHEAMIN' A female counterpoint to the "Take It" skit from earlier, although this interlude sets the women up as gold-digging con artists, while the guys were introduced in the earlier skit as just plain horny. I'm pretty sure this sketch sets back the feminist movement several decades, although to be fair, the guys also come off as fucking idiots. Also coming off as a fucking idiot: whoever decided that was the correct spelling of the word "scheming".
9. QUEEN BITCH
I actually really like this song. I first heard it on the soundtrack to High School High, which was an awful movie, but it begat a terrific soundtrack, so it's all good. Kim's boasts over the beat by co-producers Carlos "Six July" Brody (from La the Darkman and Royce Da 5'9" fame) and Nashiem Myrick (Biggie's "Who Shot Ya?", Capone-N-Noreaga's "T.O.N.Y.") sound basically like Biggie digitally adjusted his voice, but that didn't bother me this go round. What did bother me, though, is Kim's reference to her "bomb ass cock": I'm going to laugh out loud and point fingers when it's finally revealed that using the slang word "cock" when you're talking about "pussy" was just a practical joke played on rappers on the West Coast by some bored gang members-turned-label executives.10. DREAMS
Kim retools Biggie's mixtape joint "Dreams" (also known as "Dreams Of Fucking An R&B Bitch"), switching the subject matter up to focus on male R&B singers that she would like to hook up with. Honestly, my first exposure to the existence of this song was on one of the Chris Rock comedy albums (I think maybe Bigger & Blacker), where producer Prince Paul chopped up some Lil' Kim lines from this track to answer for Monica Lewinsky in a bizarre interview skit. If you've ever heard Biggie's original, then you probably owe it to yourself to listen to the opposite sex spit similar sentiments, simply so you can believe yourself to be an equal-opportunity hip hop head. For what it is, this isn't terrible.11. M.A.F.I.A. LAND
Kim actually sounds pretty damn good on here, but I don't understand the relevance of the sound of thunder, which is woven into the instrumental. It's not like Kim recorded this song while standing in the rain. Come on, artists and producers: the listeners aren't stupid.12. WE DON'T NEED IT (FEAT TRIFE & LIL' CEASE)
Sadly, not the same Trife that now works alongside Ghostface Killah. This is the umpteenth sex rap to appear on Hard Core, but, ultimately, this one is the best the disc has to offer. (That isn't saying much, though.) The militant drums make for a fantastic contrast to the cheeky melody that floats throughout, and Kim's rhymes are actually kind of funny, especially when she somehow, against all odds, manages to make a reference to Jeru the Damaja. Cease is also decent, but the aforementioned Trife sounds fucking terrible.13. NOT TONIGHT (FEAT JERMAINE DUPRI)
We get it, Kim! You love it when guys go down on you! Alright already! Although, technically, I can't really be upset, considering hip hop's obsession with the quest for the perfect blowjob: if Kim wants to get hers, more power to her.14. PLAYER HATERS
Skit...15. FUCK YOU (FEAT LARCENY, TRIFE, & THE NOTORIOUS B.I.G.)
Seriously, I'm left wondering why Biggie didn't have a much more obvious vocal presence on the debut album of an artist that he was sleeping with. Instead, all we get are some half-ass hooks and a brief four bars on this track, with which we are somehow reminded that he actually co-signed every single last member of the rap collective Junior M.A.F.I.A. He may have done so without ever hearing any of them rap, considering their lifeless verses. Kim does alright for herself over this dark instrumental, though. THE LAST WORD: You probably think that I'm going to find Hard Core appalling, and it is, to a point, but the thing is, Lil' Kim has the right to rap about anything she wants, including the various sexual positions she wants to alternate through on a nightly basis. Maybe it's because we're desensitized to the dudes in hip hop rhyming about this shit for seemingly decades, that it's considered shocking when a female does the same thing. Lil' Kim is not without skill, but most of the beats and guest spots on Hard Core are weak, and she has the flow of a female Biggie (I mentioned this above) that kind of takes you out of the moment on a frequent basis. While a couple of the songs click, the majority of Hard Core isn't much of a contribution to our chosen genre, and I can't honestly see myself ever listening to this disc again.-Max
Melissa Elliott's career had an inauspicious beginning: she was part of a female R&B group, Sista, who secured a record deal through Jodeci member DeVante Swing's imprint, Swing Mob, but never saw an actual album released. Nobody knows what happened to the other members of Sista (although I once asked one of them for more Splenda for the table, and she obliged begrudgingly), but this story isn't about them.
Missy Elliott, as she would be called later, utilized her clout with DeVante Swing to set up some of her friends with the Mob, among them gifted superproducer Tim Mosely, or Timbaland, as he is better known today. After the whole deal (and possibly friendship) with Jodeci fell apart, Timmy blazed the trail as the producer of R&B singer Ginuwine's debut album, and Missy made her abilities known as a singer/songwriter, although the majority of her actual singing was in the backup department, for other, more established female singers. Occasionally Missy would score an actual guest appearance slot, but this was more for her rapping than her singing, although she can actually sing, unlike some of these folks out here.
Timbaland and Missy became the songwriter/production team of the moment in the late 1990's, creating hits for artists that would have otherwise disappeared off of the musical map, including 702, SWV, and, eventually, the late Aaliyah, with whom Tim and Missy's career would fucking explode. Timbaland's unusual, yet club-ready beats, combined with Missy's songwriting talents, resulted in so many hits that the duo would become highly sought after. Timbo, of course, later became one of the most popular producers on the fucking planet, retooling the sound of popular music whenever he felt like it, and Missy would become one of, if not the, most influential female in hip hop history (based on sheer creativity alone), but none of that could have happened without Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott's solo debut album, Supa Dupa Fly.
Funny, I had completely forgotten about that nickname of hers.
Although she was presented with multiple record deals, the most notable being from Puff Daddy's Bad Boy Records, a label with which she did a lot of hired help, Missy opted instead to take the label deal Eastwest put on the table. She recruited Timbo to man the boards exclusively, called in some favors from some of her previous collaborative efforts, and crafted a debut album that many critics claimed to be incredibly far ahead of its time. Indeed, none of it sounded anything close to what was on the radio at the time (unless you compared it to the other Timbaland/Missy songs that were slowly working their way into rotation), and its videos were also met with unanimous praise, proving that, even though music videos are ostensibly five-minute-long commercials for albums, they didn't all have to have the same look: video director Hype Williams also deserves some of the credit for that, as he was never really able to do the ridiculous bullshit he's so well known for now until he started working with Missy Elliott and Busta Rhymes, another pioneering artist who, coincidentally, appears on Supa Dupa Fly.
Supa Dupa Fly sold tons of copies and made media darlings out of Missy and Timbaland, who would release his own album later in 1997 with his steroid carrier Magoo. Her career was just getting started: after the release of this disc, she would go on to release many more albums, write with a lot more artists, win multiple Grammy awards, and live a charmed life.
Too bad her solo debut sounds so goddamn terrible. (Damn it, I did it again!)
1. BUSTA'S INTRO (FEAT BUSTA RHYMES)
Busta doesn't prove himself to be very useful on this rap album intro, but it at least makes one wonder why it took so goddamn long for Busta to get a Timbaland track for his own solo work. The beat sounds like a retread of SWV's "Can We", a Timbo-produced song that I happen to still like.
2. HIT 'EM WIT DA HEE (FEAT LIL KIM)
Does anybody else find it odd that you have to push your way past two rappers (the aforementioned Busta Rhymes and, on here, Lil Kim) before you can even hear Missy's voice? This song is pretty weak, and is not a good sequencing decision: there's no reason this should be the first actual song on here. However, I do like elements of Timbaland's beat, and I also recall liking the song's remix more, with its strangely dark video, bizarre metal horse, and floating objects. Missy also fails to actually explain what a "hee" is, which is incredibly frustrating.
3. SOCK IT 2 ME (FEAT DA BRAT)
Light years beyond what the first single "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" could properly prepare us for, and not just because the video clip for this track takes place on another planet (at least, I think it does: honestly, I don't remember anything about the video except for the color orange). The Delfonics's "Ready Or Not, Here I Come (Can't Hide From Love)" is put to pretty creative use, in my opinion: even Da Brat, a female rapper of no real consequence otherwise, sounds really good over this beat. Nice work, everybody.
4. THE RAIN (SUPA DUPA FLY)
Missy Elliott's first solo single, which sounds decent enough (Missy sounds awkward as shit, and her rhymes are far too simple for most hip hop freaks (I mean, seriously, "Beep beep, who got the keys to my Jeep? Vrooom....."? What the fuck is that shit?), but the beat is good), but the song's real contribution to the cause was its Hype Williams-directed video, which set expectations a bit too high for the artist involved (I'm sure Missy wakes up in the morning wishing she could just shoot a regular, run-of-the-mill music video in front of an abandoned project building at this point). The use of the chorus from the Ann Peebles hit "I Can't Stand The Rain" comes off as a bit lazy, though.
5. BEEP ME 911 (FEAT 702 & MAGOO)
This song doesn't get nearly as much attention as the rest of the album, but it was released as the third single. My guess is that its video wasn't as visually compelling as the others (having a video set in a dollhouse can do that to a song's chances at popularity). I've always liked this song, as it contains one of the most minimalist, unorthodox Timbaland electronica-tinged beats he's ever made (for Missy, anyway), and even Magoo's appearance can't ruin this awesome track.
6. THEY DON'T WANNA FUCK WIT ME (FEAT TIMBALAND)
Oddly, Supa Dupa Fly was front-loaded with its first four singles, which means a lot of listeners probably never made it past "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" (unless they were brave enough to sit through "Beep Me 911"). Tracks such as this one illustrate why those listeners may have had the right idea.
7. PASS DA BLUNT (FEAT TIMBALAND)
I'm pretty sure that Missy just called herself a golddigger on this song. Considering her persona and how she handles herself in the media, I wasn't expecting that type of shit from her. Oh well. This song isn't altogether bad, even though ripping off Musical Youth's "Pass The Dutchie" is hardly original.
8. BITE OUR STYLE (INTERLUDE)
This skit is similar in concept to whatever guest rapper on the Clipse's aborted debut Exclusive Audio Footage mentioned that "everyone" wanted to jump on to a Neptunes beat, and that was before the Neptunes even became popular. What is it with Virginia producers and rappers that causes them to snatch up all of the door prizes before the announcer even walks up to the podium and tells the contestants what kind of game they'll be playing? And the weird thing is, none of the artist I'm talking about (Missy, Timbaland, the Neptunes, the Clipse) were wrong: they would all become successful, and their early words would become profoundly prophetic. Huh.
9. FRIENDLY SKIES (FEAT GINUWINE)
Would have sounded better had Timbo felt confident enough that the listeners would recognize Ginuwine, his first artist and the reason Timbaland became a name-brand producer in the first place, without having to beat us over the head with a sound effect from their breakthrough hit "Pony" (a song which I still think sounds fucking terrible, like a frog burping into a microphone while some guy tries his best to sing around it).
10. BEST FRIENDS (FEAT AALIYAH)
A bland R&B track, save for the late Aaliyah's contribution, but then again, I've been a fan ever since the "Back & Forth"/marriage to R. Kelly days, so the song is upgraded to "alright". May she rest in peace.
11. DON'T BE COMMIN' (IN MY FACE)
Honestly, spellcheck should be a rapper's best friend, but it's hardly ever used. Anyway, years before Beyonce released her annoying hit "Irreplaceable", Missy crafted her own diatribe against men who take their significant others for granted. This song by itself is not great, but it's not terrible: it's certainly more vulgar (and, as such, more realistic) than "Irreplaceable", at least.
12. IZZY IZZY AAH
The hook on here is proof positive that Missy truly believed in the fact that, as long as the beat is good, she could spit whatever bullshit she wanted, and nobody would be the wiser, because it would sound good. The problem with this theory is that Missy was actually right: this isn't bad at all. Mind-numbingly stupid, yeah, but not bad.
13. WHY YOU HURT ME
Meh.
14. I'M TALKIN'
Yeah, but I'm not listenin'.
15. GETTAWAY (FEAT SPACE & NICOLE WRAY)
Timbaland does some interesting things with the beat, and the rhymes (provided by Space, apparently, although I could swear Missy's artist Mocha appeared on here, but she's not listed in the liner notes or online anywhere) actually sound like a rapper tried to write something hot, but the hook is pretty awful. Otherwise, this isn't bad, although the monologue Missy has toward the end of the track is boring, when she sings a slightly altered version of the hook she wrote for Aaliyah's "One In A Million" after rationalizing why she was going to sing it.
16. BUSTA'S OUTRO (FEAT BUSTA RHYMES)
No rapping here, but you can hear the distinct sound of a rap album outro sucking if you listen closely.
17. MISSY'S FINALE
Missy takes a crack at her own album outro, and sounds much more sincere and thankful than Busta Rhymes ever will.
FINAL THOUGHTS: Supa Dupa Fly is a mixed bag, with the needle pointing toward "avoid" more often than not. This freshman outing for Missy (and for Timbaland, who is just as much the star here as Missy is) was almost universally praised for the sound that it brought to hip hop and R&B, a sound that everybody else is just now starting to replicate (if you listen to the radio today, which I don't recommend, you'll hear songs by producers who were obviously inspired by this super duo), and for that alone, Missy and Timbo should feel honored. However, realistically, Supa Dupa Fly was the audio equivalent of the two masterminds working out their professional relationship, feeling each other out, and testing the general boundaries on both hip hop and music in general. And, as such, it comes up empty more often than not, especially when it comes to the lyrics, which are either generic-sounding (as it comes off on almost every R&B track) or terribly delivered (almost every single one of her rapped verses). Ultimately, a misfire (even in 1997, when I first bought it: I was one of those listeners that could never get past "Beep Me 911"), but one that shows giant fucking sparks of creativity.
BUY OR BURN? If you even consider yourself a minor fan of Timbaland's body of work, you may want to consider burning this one. Everyone else need not apply. You're not missing much of anything, regardless of what the magazine critics may tell you.
BEST TRACKS: "Beep Me 911"; "Sock It 2 Me"; "Izzy Izzy Ahh"
-Max
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Sorry this post took so goddamn long, but it's due to circumstances beyond my control: this disc was supposed to hit shelves on Tuesday, August 19, and yet, due to some unknown shipping error or something, Best Buy didn't have it the day it dropped: I wasn't able to finally pick it up until last night. (I did find it at a Target on Tuesday, not unlike how I found the last Rza album, but it was for full retail, and there is no way in hell I'm paying eighteen dollars for a fucking CD unless it came with four discs, an autographed poster, three ringtones, earth-friendly packaging, and multiple blowjobs from Victoria's Secret models.)
Anyway, one of my favorite memories of the old Ultimate Wu site (while it lasted) was when one of the moderators tried to rip me a new one when I dismissed Gza/Genius's Beneath The Surface: he actually stated that Beneath The Surface was a better album than Liquid Swords. No, seriously, he did. You can stop laughing now. While everyone is entitled to their opinion (even if it's completely fucking erroneous), it's a fact that the Gza has been attempting to recreate his seminal classic disc with each subsequent visit to the recording studio. He even went so far as to title one of his solo albums Legend Of The Liquid Sword. So it's no secret that even the Genius realizes that his Wu-Tang solo debut (note that I'm not counting Words From The Genius) is one of the best albums ever made, regardless of musical genre.
Pro Tools, Gza's sixth solo album (okay, now I'm counting Words From The Genius) and his first since 2005, goes so far as to have artwork on the back of the CD case that will hopefully recall the album cover from Liquid Swords. According to the (incredibly cheap-looking) liner notes (seriously, it looks like all of Gza's budget was spent on the cover, as the credits within look like a copy of a copy of a copy, and speaking of the credits, they're so fucking cheap that it appears that none of the artists were cleared by their labels, and none of the sample sources are named - you'll understand what I mean in a bit), Pro Tools is almost exclusively an in-house Wu-Tang production, with all of the Wu-Elements contributing in some form, and with a couple of exceptions, the guests are all Wu-Tang related.
My understanding is that Pro Tools has gotten some surprisingly rave reviews on the Interweb. Let's see if the critics are right.
1. INTROMENTAL
Very dull, but at least it's short.
2. PENCIL (FEAT MASTA KILLA & THE RZA)
Masta Killa sounds completely out of place, but his appearance is the equivalent of someone interrupting your train of thought to ask you where the restroom is and then leaving you to your own devices, anyway. This is really the Gza and the Rza show, and how: The Rza, with his long-ass "Winter Warz"-esque verse, impresses in a way that just didn't happen on Digi Snacks.
3. ALPHABETS
Sounds like a Beneath The Surface leftover, but not necessarily in a bad way. I was halfway expecting Gza to rhyme about his adventures in Alphabet Land, a la "Labels" or "Fame", but thankfully the Genius decided to just spit.
4. GROUNDBREAKING (FEAT JUSTICE KAREEM)
Gza and his son pass the mic back and forth, sometimes in the middle of fucking sentences, which is a bit frustrating. Bronze Nazareth's beat is pretty nice, though.
5. 7 POUNDS
Surprisingly for a Wu-Tang album (but not surprisingly for hip hop in general), Black Milk produced this track. The hook is too wordy, but otherwise, this isn't bad at all.
6. 0% FINANCE
Maybe I skipped the day when all of the bloggers noted that "0% Finance" uses the exact same beat as "Stay In Line" from Legend Of The Liquid Sword, but I don't remember reading that anywhere. Oh well, I suppose as long as "Stay In Line"'s original producer, Arabian Knight, gets a publishing credit, it's all good. (Still not sure why a different producer needed to be credited for "0% Finance", though, since I can't imagine Choco did even half of the work that Arabian Knight did.) I ended up liking this song more that "Stay In Line", since it features the Gza in storyteller mode, but the true reason for my positive reaction may be due to the fact that, unlike the original track, Santogold doesn't appear on this.
7. SHORT RACE (FEAT ROCK MARCY)
There isn't much to this song, but it's decent. Rock Marcy is definitely a much better rapper than his first crew, Busta Rhymes's Flipmode Squad, ever deserved. Is his other crew, the U.N., even still recording?
8. INTERLUDE
Only exists to lead straight into...
9. PAPER PLATE
Gza throws some darts at the Curtis Jackson camp, ostensibly because Curtis was stupid enough to take shots at him after some concertgoers at a Gza live show decided to chant "Fuck 50" and Gza essentially agreed with them without saying as much. Gza's certainly not the first Wu-Tang member to diss that jackass (Raekwon also did so on that "Clyde Smith" interlude on Ghostface Killah's Supreme Clientele), but he is the first to do so on an officially released song. (Hell, it was the first fucking single.) Rza's rather elementary production serves its purpose well, staying out of the way of Gza's bars, for the most part, which are delivered in such a clean (literally, there's no cursing) and fluid manner that you wouldn't mind hearing the Genius disrespect your grandmother as long as it was to a Rza beat. It's pretty funny that, while Gza took the time to record this song, he apparently has no intention of even acknowledging Soulja Boy's existence.
10. COLUMBIAN TIES (FEAT TRUE MASTER)
Sounds like Gza rhyming with his twin on the hook, because I've always felt that True Master, who actually didn't produce this song, sounds like an older Genius when he rhymes. That said, this shit is really good.
11. FIREHOUSE (FEAT KA)
Gza only appears on the hook? The fuck? I'm hoping that Ka is only included on Pro Tools as a favor to Rock Marcy (who produced), and not because he's under the wing of the Gza, because he's not so good a rapper that he deserves his own song. His delivery sounds like a more polished Nine, and part of that guy's appeal was that his vocals weren't that polished to begin with. It was pretty funny when Ka illustrates that he had to grow up fast by mentioning that he "never used a potty", though.
12. PATH OF DESTRUCTION
That title begs for some hardcore Wu-Tang production, perhaps something with a confrontational vibe, with kung-fu flick samples and swinging swords incorporated into the background. However, what we actually get is pretty boring.
13. CINEMA (FEAT JUSTICE KAREEM)
It's hard to decipher what Gza's son is saying on the hook, but the Genius himself adopts a creepy whisper-like flow that ends up sounding pretty effective over Arabian Knight's beat.
14. INTERMISSION (DRIVE IN MOVIE)
Nice throwback to early Wu-Tang! Much appreciated, guys.
15. LIFE IS A MOVIE (FEAT THE RZA & IRFANE KHAN-ACITO OF OUTLINES)
Rza and Gza spit over the barely altered track to Gary Numan's "Films". The Rza and the Gza over some New Wave shit: bet you didn't see that coming. And longtime readers of the blog may expect me to be in heaven with that combination: they would be right. Rza's direct theft of the Numan track comes off as a bit lazy for production work, but the mere fact that he went with New Wave to begin with (and that he didn't go with the more obvious Gary Numan song, "Cars"), makes this one of the most interesting beats he's done in fucking years. (Too bad Gary Numan doesn't receive a writing credit in the liner notes.) It's almost like if DJ Premier were to chop up some Joy Division into his beats (or even mix it into his coffee). In regard to Irfane Khan-Acito's hook, though, it's lifted straight from "Films": if you were going to take the song wholesale, why didn't you also just take Numan's vocals?
The following is listed as a bonus track:
16. ELASTIC AUDIO (FEAT DREDDY KRUEGER & FYRE DEPARTMENT)
Gza performs live in Austin, Texas, with his hypeman (and Think Differently A&R) Dreddy Krueger. The Genius spits his verses from his "1112" and "General Principles" (acapella), and, to his credit, sounds almost exactly the same as he does on his albums. Although the censoring is very frustrating, this still makes for a good way to end your album.
THE LAST WORD: While the only person that will probably bump Pro Tools in the whip is Gza's own mother, this album is actually enjoyable. It's nowhere near the level of Liquid Swords, but at this point, I'll take what I can get, and Gza's lyricism hasn't faded with age. (You should be forewarned that the album is, for the most part, clean, and the few bad words that do pop up are censored: there is no dirty version of Pro Tools available.) Not every song clicks (and Ka's guest spot is still a mystery to me), but this is certainly the most entertaining Wu-Tang project that I've heard since 8 Diagrams. To my two readers, thanks for your patience.
-Max
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In 1996, Smoothe Da Hustler unleashed his solo debut, Once Upon A Time In America, onto the hip hop masses, allegedly selling enough copies to earn a golden plaque (a fact which I still dispute, by the way). He clicked with audiences with two major hit singles, "Broken Language" and "My Brother My Ace", and the common link between the two (other than the producer, D.R. Period) was Smoothe's brother, Trigger Tha Gambler, sharing mic duties.
While out at the corner bakery looking for a coffee and a nosh, Def Jam Records signed young Trigger to an album deal. His first single, "My Crew Can't Go For That", which featured his brother (naturally) and the Nexx Level clique's hook crooner DV Alias Khrist, became a minor radio hit, and rightfully so, since it was entertaining as shit. An album was quickly lined up for release, and Trigger complied with his debut, Life's A 50/50 Gamble, which was...promptly shelved by Def Jam (even after a few singles and a video clip were shipped off) and, to date, it still hasn't seen a release.
Not that anybody's holding their breath, of course: Def Jam certainly has a history with fucking over its artists. Keep in mind, though, that this was during the era in which Shawn Carter was simply an employee and not the president of the label.
Life's A 50/50 Gamble eventually found new life online. Produced (allegedly) in its entirety by D.R. Period, the album was designed to sound like Trigger's version of his brother's solo album, except with more guest appearances: aside from the usual Smoothe and DV cameos, Life's A 50/50 Gamble also features Nexx Level weed carrier/Wu-Tang affiliate (I know, I'm just as shocked as you are) Rhyme Recka and the Def Squad's violence-prone Keith Murray, along with Def Jam stalwart Case, who was forced upon Trigger as a condition of his contract. (Apparently, according to the Interweb lore, Foxy Brown also appears on this disc, but for the life of me I couldn't find her, so I didn't list her in the credits. She probably does actually appear, since Smoothe was instrumental in the beginning of her career, but my guess is that my eyes glazed over and my mind wandered when she started rapping or talking or whatever it is that she does, and I completely missed it.)
Trigger Tha Gambler, for his part, has yet to release another album. In a move that is virtually unheard of in the hip hop world today, the artist who saw severe label issues with his first album did not, I repeat, did not release multiple mixtapes and appear on everyone else's albums until scoring a deal elsewhere. I'm actually not sure what Trigger did in the meantime: I know that he and his brother formed a short-lived rap duo that also never saw an album see the light of day, and I also read somewhere that the brothers were doing a lot of work with Ice-T, but personally, I didn't see Trigger's name pop up in a hip hop capacity again until I read the credits for Smoothe Da Hustler's second album, the title of which I've forgotten at the moment.
Read on, you two.
1. INTRO
Average rap album intro. Nothing to see here, kids.
2. HITMAN (FEAT DV ALIAS KHRIST)
Sounds like a leftover from Once Upon A Time In America, except, obviously, by a different sibling. The inclusion of DV Alias Khrist's ad libs (as opposed to only having him appear on the chorus) is a plus. This isn't bad, but then again, there isn't much to it.
3. MY CREW CAN'T GO FOR THAT (FEAT DV ALIAS KHRIST & SMOOTHE DA HUSTLER)
Also featured on The Nutty Professor soundtrack, this song essentially justified the existence of a solo Trigger Tha Gambler album (so to speak). I think it still sounds good today, even if it is incredibly dated (Trigger makes a reference to Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure that was actually incredibly dated when the fucking song was recorded). Using "I Can't Go For That" by Hall & Oates is also relatively inspired.
4. BROKEN LANGUAGE PART 2 (FEAT SMOOTHE DA HUSTLER)
Unlike "My Brother My Ace" from Once Upon A Time In America, this is the true sequel to the mixtape classic "Broken Language". While this is nowhere near as good as the original song (it just comes off as a retread of the first version), I respect the fact that the beat is only slightly switched up, as opposed to a complete reimagination.
5. NICKEL PLATED NINE
This isn't really saying anything new.
6. NOTHING CAN STOP ME! (FEAT RHYME RECKA & CASE)
Meh.
7. 50/50 GAMBLE (FEAT SMOOTHE DA HUSTLER)
Almost a title track, but not really interesting to listen to. I'm starting to understand why this disc never saw the light of day, but that doesn't truly explain why some of the bullshit that actually gets released today gets to see daylight. Is this a case of a record label showing restraint? Bite your goddamn tongue!
8. SMOOTHE DA HUSTLER INTERLUDE (FEAT SMOOTHE DA HUSTLER)
...
9. WELCOME TO THE WORLD
Pass!
10. BUST (FEAT SMOOTHE DA HUSTLER & DV ALIAS KHRIST)
There's a video for this floating around somewhere. I remember watching it one day on Rap City. The hook is incredibly lame, which will make sense after I tell you that it was inspired by "Shout!" by the Isley Brothers (no, seriously, they originally released the song). Otherwise, this song is alright.
11. RUGGED
The hook is fucking terrible, but if you're able to look past that, the beat is fantastic, and Trigger's rhymes mesh well with the proceedings.
12. CAN U FEEL ME (FEAT SMOOTHE DA HUSTLER)
This sounds like an attempt by Def Jam to get radio airplay for Trigger Tha Gambler, possibly without his direct input. Smoothe and Trigger still sound great together, but the song comes off as way too conventional, as it plays like almost any other "popular" rap song from the same era.
13. MEETCHA MAKER (FEAT KEITH MURRAY)
Keith Murray was certainly an unexpected surprise. He actually sounds good over D.R. Period's beat, so of course it would make perfect sense that he would never enlist D.R. Period's help for his own solo albums. (Not that it would have helped: I feel it's pretty obvious that Keith Murray's glory days ended with Enigma.) This isn't a bad collaboration, although, as with most rap songs, the hook sucks.
14. SCANDALOUS (FEAT DV ALIAS KHRIST & RHYME RECKA)
One of the weakest DV Alias Khrist hooks in history, but it's not enough to destroy the vibe that Trigger and Wu-Tang affiliate Rhyme Recka have on this dark track. This shit just sounds good.
15. MAKE A MOVE (FEAT DV ALIAS KHRIST)
This just comes off as a dull and uninspired way to end your album.
SHOULD YOU DIG IT UP? Life's A 50/50 Gamble sounds like a natural extension of his brother Smoothe's debut, but doesn't work quite as well, thanks to his refusal to deviate from certain subject matter and a rhyme style that is at once familiar and overworked. Basically, you feel like you already heard an album full of this shit, and you may not be in the mood for a rerun. Because of that, it makes sense why Def Jam shelved this fucker, but with that being said, there are some songs on here that are definitely worth the hunt if you're a fan of Once Upon A Time In America (but maybe not so much if you didn't care for that album). It's not an unreleased gem, and I don't feel you should go out of your way, but I don't regret listening to it, and chances are, you won't either.
-Max
RELATED POSTS:
Smoothe Da Hustler - Once Upon A Time In America
Daily Operation, Guru and DJ Premier's third attempt to take over the hip hop landscape, was released in 1992. With it, Gangstarr made a valiant effort to implement a newer sound onto the masses (well, at least the masses who picked up their first two albums), one that sounded a bit more like the hip hop beats and melodies folks were used to, but with the jazzy influences tucked away, hidden nicely within the tracks, so that listeners wouldn't know what hit them until they realized that they already liked the goddamn song.
Guru, a rapper whose lyrical skill has never really been questioned, continued to evolve, working concepts such as conspiracy theories, love, moving on, violence, and flat-out fucking anger into his rhymes, with the monotone that we all know so well still firmly in place. On Daily Operation, though, he does something unprecedented (for the Gangstarr catalog, at least): he allows other rappers to spit with him. Lil Dap (who would later be half of the reason a lot of hip hop critics consider all of DJ Premier's instrumentals to be fucking wasted on Livin' Proof, the debut disc from his duo, Group Home) and Jeru the Damaja (who would later release some bonafide classics of his own) were essentially the Gangstarr Foundation's weed carriers at the time, but their verses on Daily Operation garnered them an instant fanbase.
While Daily Operation didn't move enough units for Guru and Primo to give up their day jobs and purchase private islands and elephant butlers, it sold more than their last effort, Step In The Arena (which had actually sold more than their debut, No More Mr. Nice Guy), so their career was maturing nicely, and the critical acclaim for their hit singles helped convince the duo that they had more to prove, which would lead into even more hit singles, but we'll get to those when we get to those.
Let's begin.
1. DAILY OPERATION (INTRO)
A very short musical interlude that leads nicely into...
2. THE PLACE WHERE WE DWELL
The beat is relatively simple, if a bit dull, but Guru's ode to Brooklyn is otherwise pretty damn sweet.
3. FLIP THE SCRIPT
This track is pretty boring. Primo still has his jazz influences in his back pocket, and he tries his best to create hip hop compositions with jazzy concepts instead of jazz beats invented for a rapper to spit to, like some of his previous work, but this song is one of those efforts that just doesn't hit.
4. EX GIRL TO THE NEXT GIRL
I'm relatively certain I'm in the minority here, but while I love Guru's lyrics on here, I've always hated hated hated Primo's instrumental. I don't believe that I've ever written that about a Primo beat before, and trust me, I'm just as surprised as you.
5. SOLILOQUY OF CHAOS
Now this is more like it. This song is simply fucking awesome. Almost theatrical in its execution , and Guru's attention to detail in his storytelling (a tale that decries random acts of violence at hip hop live shows) is brilliant. I don't need to say any more, but I will: how cool is it that a rap song uses the word "soliloquy" in its title?
6. I'M THE MAN (FEAT LIL DAP & JERU THE DAMAJA)
Guru brings in some guests for the first time on a Gangstarr disc, and humbly allows Lil Dap and Jeru the Damaja (especially Jeru the Damaja) to steal the show. Primo switches up the beat for each contributor, with only Guru's choice sounding weak. (Maybe that's why Guru comes off as the worst of the three?)
7. 92 INTERLUDE
It was nice of Primo to include an intermission before getting back into the nitty gritty.
8. TAKE IT PERSONAL
It's kind of cool that Primo worked the sound of a phone ringing (the sound that you hear when you call somebody, anyway) into the instrumental. This is one of those songs in the Gangstarr catalog that is a classic (for good reason), but is always overshadowed by their other work. You two should give it another shot.
9. 2 DEEP
Meh.
10. 24-7/365
A quick interlude. Nothing really special here.
11. NO SHAME IN MY GAME (FEAT JERU THE DAMAJA)
Jeru only appears in the introduction to this song, but to be honest, he wouldn't have sounded good over this beat anyway. However, Guru sounds quite capable of ripping shit nicely, indeed.
12. CONSPIRACY
This song is okay, but I tend to stay away from conspiracy theories set to hip hop beats, as I'm paranoid enough as it is.
13. THE ILLEST BROTHER
Sounds like an outtake from Step In The Arena. It's on you if you feel that's a good thing.
14. HARDCORE COMPOSER
For a DJ Premier production, oddly plain.
15. B.Y.S.
This song is simply the balls. With his monotone, it takes a special Primo beat for Guru to sound threatening: here's a fine example. The fact that "B.Y.S." stands for "bust yo shit" is also pretty damn amusing.
16. MUCH TOO MUCH
And then we're presented with this shit.
17. TAKE TWO AND PASS
I don't remember ever requesting Guru to sing the praises of pot. Did you? (points accusatory finger)
18. STAY TUNED
This isn't bad, but the part of the track I liked the most was its title, which actually encourages Gangstarr's fans to look for their future work. (It turns out that there was a valid reason to stay tuned: we'll get to that at a later date.)
FINAL THOUGHTS: With Daily Operation, Guru and DJ Premier almost have all of the ingredients needed for a hot hip hop album, but the recipe doesn't quite cook up properly. While the inclusion of guests certainly adds much to the proceedings, as do the infrequent appearances of a confrontational Guru and Primo beats that are more about the boom-bap than what he's supplied previously (prior to 1992, mind you), there are too many songs that blend in together, both subject matter-wise and music-wise. Ultimately, it would take the duo one more album to get everything mixed together right, but Daily Operation is the closest they've gotten thus far to what they are clearly capable of.
BUY OR BURN? As there are only a handful of great songs on here, I would recommend a burn. However, I'm not fucking around: when I say "great songs", I mean great songs, and they are worth tracking down.
BEST TRACKS: "B.Y.S."; "I'm The Man"; "Soliloquy Of Chaos"; "Take It Personal"; "No Shame In My Game"
-Max
RELATED POSTS:
Read all of the other Gangstarr posts by clicking here.
In 2004, Reggie Noble was allegedly scheduled to drop his album Red Gone Wild on Def Jam Records. However, sensing a shift in momentum, Def Jam shelved the release, claiming that Redman wasn't the best outfit for the day. Our chosen genre had evolved, almost overnight, into, essentially, a funhouse mirror image: it was distorted, mutated into a shell of its former self, resulting in people liking the garbage from the South, which had the nerve to call itself fucking rap music. Reggie seized the opportunity to keep his name alive in the industry by releasing Ill At Will Vol. 1, a mixtape designed to market what was slowly becoming a nonexistent album in the vein of Cormega's original version of Testament and Large Professor's The LP.
In an ideal world, that mixtape would have dovetailed nicely in to the marketing of Red Gone Wild. Since we don't live in an ideal world, it's important to note that, while the disc was met with a positive reaction, Def Jam still wasn't convinced that Reggie Noble had fans, choosing instead to keep its head buried in the sand. In 2005, Redman quietly dropped a second volume, Ill At Will Vol. 2: BC4 (Straight Outta Lo-Cash), an awkwardly-titled mixtape that can be seen as more of a showcase for Reggie's Gilla House cronies Icarus, Saukrates, and fellow Jerseyite Gov Mattic.
Ill At Will Vol. 2 was made available for sale online, and if you really wanted to, you can score an import copy on Amazon. However, it wasn't nearly as successful as its companion, and Reggie was forced to shake his head, all while Def Jam quietly laughed behind his back, chuckling about the fan base that didn't actually exist. Reggie scrapped the majority of Red Gone Wild (an album that saw its promotional copies reviewed in magazines such as Blender, who I remember giving it a bad review), abandoned the few singles that had leaked ("I C Dead People", the Eminem-produced song that featured haunting sampled vocals from deceased artists 2Pac, Biggie, Big L, and Big Pun, was one of the many casualties: other tracks, such as "Fuck Da Security" (or "Rush Da Security", depending on where you found it), and "Future Thugs", a collaboration with labelmates Ghostface Killah and Ludacris, still haven't officially seen the light of day) and started from scratch.
None of the following songs were even close to consideration, by the way.
1. LO-CASH INTRO
Well, it is a mixtape, after all, so it would be kind of strange if there wasn't an intro on here.
2. I'M HIGH AS FUCK (FUNK DOC)
I'm not really sure why Reggie was compelled to refer to himself as "Funk Doc" on this mixtape (issues with Def Jam, maybe?), but regardless, Redman's lone verse on here is pretty damn good, and he's always sounded decent over even the most awkward of beats.
3. PARTY PEOPLE (FUNK DOC FREESTYLE) (FUNK DOC)
Reggie obliterates Marley Marl's beat for Big Daddy Kane's "Long Live The Kane". Nice!
4. TURN DAT SHIT UP (FUNK DOC)
And then we're presented with this shit.
5. DEEPER COVER (FUNK DOC FEAT ICARUS & SAUKRATES)
There's something about the beat to Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dogg's "Deep Cover" that makes it almost impossible to sound bad, although Saukrates tries his best to prove me wrong. Reggie sounds pretty good, but the real star is Icarus, who rips his verse to pieces and makes a reference to an older Christina Milian song that will cause your mind to wander elsewhere.
6. ONE ON ONE (SAUKRATES)
This Sauk solo shot is a much better showcase for him. I highly doubt Dr. Dre would go out of his way to promote an artist that isn't one of his own on a random mixtape, but the impostor, who isn't convincing in the least bit, is a nice touch.
7. SAUKRATES SEASON (SAUKRATES)
This isn't objectionable in any way, but it's also not very memorable.
8. GILLA GRIND 4 HOES (FUNK DOC FEAT MELANIE & ICARUS)
Reggie swipes Shawn Carter's "Change The Game" and shares mic duties with his boy Icarus (or Icadon, depending on where you look him up) and female singer/rapper Melanie, who kind of fucks the song up. Reggie and Icarus sound good, though.
9. MADE IT (ICARUS)
The beat for this Icadon solo shot is annoyingly perky, like a hot, vapid cheerleader, but Icky has impressed me so far, and this track keeps those expectations high.
10. STAND UP (FEAT ICARUS)
Bonus points for not simply jacking the beat from that Ludacris song about the life and times of the midget that hangs around his neck. Kanye West's beat for Luda's song is at least engaging, though: the instrumental on here is on the opposite end of the spectrum. Like in the "don't bother" field. Oh well.
11. G.W. BRIDGE (FUNK DOC FEAT GOV MATTIC)
There's too much of a buildup, so much so that you'll probably think this is an interlude and not an actual song. Once it kicks in, Reggie and Gov Mattic (in his first rhyming appearance on an Ill At Will mixtape) dress to impress, and it shows.
12. DA BANGER (FUNK DOC FEAT R. KELLY & JAY-Z) (BEST OF BOTH WORLDS, PART 2)
I'm not sure if anybody really wanted to know what Redman, Kells, and Shawn Carter sounded like when on the same track, but here you go. At least Reggie inserted himself onto one of the better tracks from the second Best Of Both Worlds disc, and not the insipid, uninspired, ridiculously horrible first collaboration, which has been determined to be the root cause of most people giving up hip hop for Scandinavian death metal.
13. TEAR IT UP (FUNK DOC FEAT GOV MATTIC)
Nothing to see here, my two readers.
14. 8 1/2 MILE (FUNK DOC FREESTYLE) (FUNK DOC)
I actually prefer "8 Mile" to "Lose Yourself" when it comes to motivational Eminem songs, so I was pleased to hear about this track. However, this song sucks ass in an almost irresponsible regard.
15. LO-CASH OUTRO
Reggie and Gov Mattic proceed to promise two additional volumes of this series (numbers 2 1/2 and 3: both of them are also advertised on the back of the liner notes, but neither one ever materialized). Pretty run of the mill outro for a pretty run of the mill mixtape.
16. YOUR SO GANGSTA (BONUS CUT BITCH) (FUNK DOC FEAT FATIMAH)
If this were on an actual Redman album, you would skip it. The fact that it appears here on a mixtape and that it jacks the beat from a Twista song doesn't make it any less skippable.
FINAL THOUGHTS: Ill At Will Vol. 2 suffers from a fucked-up subtitle, a reliance on guests artists, and the use of weaker instrumentals than we're used to from our mixtapes. The real problem, though, is that Reggie Noble fails to impress, and I'm a huge Redman fan. His rhymes sound good on some of the songs, but on others he comes off as coasting, an unusual tactic from an artist that was getting fucked over by his label for not meeting expectations. Ultimately, this mixtape didn't set up Red Gone Wild very well at all, which may explain why it took two additional years for that disc to crawl up from under its rock.
SHOULD YOU TRACK IT DOWN? Naah. Don't bother: it's not very good. Fans of Reggie's (probably literal) weed carrier Icarus may find something of merit on here, but your time would be best spent discovering the cure for cancer or tracking down a prostitute with twelve toes.
-Max
RELATED POSTS:
Read all of the other Redman-related posts by clicking here.
Stacy Ferguson, former cast member of Kids Incorporated, former member of girl group Wild Orchid (whatever happened to the other two girls in the group?), former crystal meth addict, current member of the Black Eyed Peas, and the only reason that the Black Eyed Peas receive any sort of publicity whatsoever, released her debut solo album, The Dutchess (incorrect spelling and all) almost immediately after using the last two Black Eyed Peas albums to catapult her into stardom, while leaving the other three guys in the group in the fucking dust. (I realize I just came off as bitter, but I'm the rare blogger that actually never gave a fuck about the Black Eyed Peas, even before they added the girl to the crew: all of their songs just sounded boring to me, from "Joints & Jam" to "Weekends", which featured Esthero).
