Artifacts - That's Them (April 15, 1997)

When El Da Sensei and Tame One dropped their debut disc, Between a Rock and a Hard Place, as the rap duo the Artifacts, they were received with middling sales (from a major label's viewpoint, anyway), and mild critical acclaim. While the duo from Newark, New Jersey, went unheralded in their time, a funny thing happened: these former graf writers managed to create music that held up to close scrutiny, sounding a lot better than many of their contemporaries, resulting in a debut becoming a diamond in the rough that is worthy of rediscovery today (at least, according to my original post).

The two men brought a lot of the same concepts to the table when it came time to creating their second effort, That's Them, for Big Beat/Atlantic Records. Although their first disc was primarily produced by T-Ray (best known for his inclusion in the Soul Assassins crew, if not for his actual work), for the sophomore album they opted to switch to Shawn J. Period, V.I.C. (best known for his work with The Beatnuts) and Baby Paul and Mr. Walt from Da Beatminerz. The crew's mentor (and the man that discovered the duo) Reggie Noble is nowhere to be found, but his influence is all over That's Them's DNA: indeed, it's probably impossible for a rapper to come straight outta Jersey and not be influenced by a hip hop giant such as Redman. However, the tales of El and Tame One are exclusively their own.

Shortly after releasing That's Them, El Da Sensei and Tame One amicably broke up the band. Both artists moved on to other projects, so it's relatively easy to locate them on the Interweb, but in listening to That's Them, there are no true signs that a breakup was imminent, which makes that particular outcome even more intriguing.

1. ART OF SCRATCH (INTRO)
Short and sweet, so it's tolerable.

2. ART OF FACTS
Lyrically, Tame and El haven't lost a step, but I did not like this wack-ass Shawn J. Period beat at all. It's never a good idea to put your listeners to sleep right at the beginning of your album, unless you're selling one of those ambient noise discs at Target.

3. 31 BUMRUSH
Now that's more like it. I wish the hook were a bit more engaging, but I found it funny when the duo gives up on finishing the chorus toward the end of the track, so I'll let it slide.

4. TO YA CHEST
I dug this darker instrumental. Shawn J. Period provides a beat that is in sharp contrast to everything that's been used up until this point, and considering the fact that he produced the previous two songs himself, that's quite a feat.

5. WHERE YO SKILLZ AT?
I know this was just playing, because I read the title on the screen, and can vaguely remember the phrase in the title being used in some sort of a hook, but I can't remember anything about this track.

6. COLLABORATION OF MICS (FEAT LORD FINESSE & LORD JAMAR)
However, this song will probably be stuck in my head for quite a while. Lord Finesse and Lord Jamar (no relation) mesh well with Tame One and El Da Sensei (in fact, Lord Jamar sounds just as comfortable with this randomly-created crew as he does with his actual group, Brand Nubian), and Finesse provides a beat that sounds just freaking awesome. (I know that I could be a tad more eloquent here, but the beat is, in fact, freaking awesome, so I'm going with my original statement.)

7. THE ULTIMATE
This was the first Artifacts song I had ever heard on the radio (or, rather, the first one where I was cognizant of the group's identity). I liked it back then, but in hearing it today, it merely sounds alright. Baby Paul does an effective job of taking your ears back to the late 1990s, though, and I'm always a fan of a nostalgic throwback.

8. IT'S GETTIN' HOT
This Beatminerz track (by way of Mr. Walt) is awfully dull. Tame and El can barely keep the song above water with their lyrics. Maybe next time, guys.

9. THIS IS DA WAY
I thought the song itself was pretty good, but the ad libs, describing the artists wreaking havoc in a competitor's record label's offices, were hilarious: they describe taking all of the paper out of the fax machines! Come on, that's funny! Alas, a line regarding swiping your Swingline stapler and requiring you to work on Saturday was edited for time.

10. THE INTERVIEW
A title such as "The Interview" lends itself to a skit, an interlude, or an Australian film starring Hugo Weaving, from The Matrix and V For Vendetta (which is actually not bad: if you're a fan of lower-budget indie flicks, you should put it in your queue). Thankfully, the Artifacts buck the trend and give their listeners an actual song. It's not a bad one, either.

11. BREAK IT DOWN
Meh.

12. SKWAD TRAINING
The duo make the mistake of referring their listeners to Redman's "How To Roll A Blunt" as a reference point: directing folks to a much better song than your own is always a risk, and it doesn't pay off here.

13. INGREDIENTS TO TIME TRAVEL
The goofy title seems more in line with a Kool Keith science fiction epic than a couple of guys from Jersey, but they make it work.

14. RETURN TO DA WRONGSIDE
This was a pleasant journey into some darker territory, sound-wise. Although I can't remember anything about the lyrics (I'm pretty sure one of the guys used the word "the" at some point), Shawn J. Period's beat was excellent.

15. WHO'S THIS?
I didn't care for this song.

16. THE ULTIMATE (SHOWBIZ REMIX)
I liked the Showbiz instrumental, but as a total package, the original song works a lot better. It was nice of the duo to actually change up their lyrics for the second time around, though.

FINAL THOUGHTS: That's Them is an upgrade from Between a Rock and a Hard Place, but only slightly. The beats have been elevated to a much higher degree, and although Tame One and El Da Sensei sound exactly the same as they always have, it seems as if they've stepped their game up, which is an added bonus. That's Them isn't as consistent as their debut disc, but it works much better as a cohesive project. I'm left wondering what the Artifacts would sound like today if they were to reunite.

BUY OR BURN? If you liked the first album, you probably already own this one, but for the rest of you two, the Artifacts were always unheralded in the hip hop game, and you should do everything you can to correct that mistake by picking this one up.

BEST TRACKS: "Collaboration Of Mics"; "To Ya Chest"; "31 Bumrush"; "Return To Da Wrongside"

-Max

RELATED POSTS:
Artifacts - Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Artifacts - Between A Rock And A Hard Place (October 25, 1994)

Former graf artists Tame One and El Da Sensei, who perform under the group alias Artifacts (and at least once under the name Jersey Boys), made a mid-size spalsh into the hip hop world with their debut disc, Between A Rock And A Hard Place. The album, which was released on the now-defunct Big Beat subsidiary of Atlantic Records, was both an ode to graffiti and a hardcore hip hop disc, filled with dark, sparse beats and lyricism that referenced the days of yore while updating rap stereotypes.

I'm not going to pretend that I know a lot about the duo, except for the fact that after two albums, they disbanded (on amicable terms) and are pursuing solo careers: Tame One is currently signed to Amalgam Digital and has a spot in underground hip hop supercrew The Weathermen, while El scored a distribution deal with Fat Beats after traveling the world in his journey toward lyrical mastery (that's actually the best line from his surely-written-by-a-publicist biography on his MySpace page) and rhyming with approximately half of Europe.

Between A Rock And A Hard Place was never destined to move millions of units, but those that picked it up appreciated the production, mostly provided by T-Ray, who is also known for his work with Cypress Hill and their affiliates, and the rhymes fit the themes nicely. Another positive sign is the crew's friendship with Reggie Noble (who may or may not be Tame One's cousin, depending on where you look online): since Redman tends to only associate himself with artists of a certain caliber when he's grooming them (you'll notice I'm not referencing all of those cameos in which Reggie was just trying to make a quick buck), Tame and El must have had some special spark that caused a major label to trip all over themselves in signing the crew.

Those introductory paragraphs aren't my best, I know, but in my defense, I'm very tired.

1. DRAMA (MORTAL KOMBAT FATALITY)
This is really just a rap album intro, but it's an instrumental with some scratched-in vocals, not anything hyper-self-absorbed, so it gets a pass. (I'm just as surprised as you.)

2. C'MON WIT DA GET DOWN
Ah, the way rap singles used to sound: dark, ominous beats (provided by Buckwild) with lyrics that kept it as real as the artists involved possibly could, with the very great possibility that radio would bend to the song's will, as opposed to the songs today that are specifically recorded for the radio. This shit just sounds good. That's also the same thought I had back in 1994 when I first heard this on the radio.

3. WRONG SIDE OF DA TRACKS
I'm not loving the hook: it comes off as too elementary for a rap song, but when compared to some of the choruses today, it's passable. This ode to graf writing sounds great over this understated jazzy beat, and the subject matter is something that is hardly ever touched upon in music, so it is most welcome.

4. HEAVY AMMUNITION
Nice touch with the Erick Sermon vocal sample: his lazy drawl makes for a nice contrast to T-Ray's beat, which provides such a sense of urgency that I almost dropped this blog in order to do...well, something else, but I'm glad I stuck to my guns. This is entertaining as hell, folks.

5. ATTACK OF NEW JERUZALUM (FEAT JAY BURNS JAYA)
I'm not feeling this song at all. But after the last three songs, it was inevitable that something would trip us up. You can't win them all, my two readers.

6. NOTTY HEADED N----HZ
The fact that both Barbara Walters and Saturday Night Live are referenced within the span of two words is freakin' hysterical. That's the only thing I can recall about this track, though.

7. WHAYBACK
The autobiographical, flashback-y lyrics are appreciated. Considering the entire album will make you feel like it's 1994 again, maybe this type of track can be considered overkill, but it still sounds good. When Tame and El focus on their chosen subject matter, as opposed to talking random shit, the results are impressive.

8. FLEXI WIT DA TECH(NIQUE)
Wow, a Married, With Children reference. Almost because of that alone, this song doesn't hold up to 14 years of scrutiny. Well, that, and T-Ray's beat is a bit plain this go-round. But the lyrics are energetic, so that counts for something.

9. CUMMUN' THRU YA F--KIN' BLOCK (FEAT REDMAN)
Don't get too excited: Reggie is only (barely) on the goddamn hook. (He also co-produced the track with the guy that lives in his pool house, Rockwilder.) I can respect the fact that Redman wanted his boys to shine, so he took a back seat, but I would have loved to have heard Reggie spitting a verse alongside Tame and El, and I know that all of my other two readers feel the same way. Still, not bad, but for what it could have been, I have to say that this track is not living up to my unreasonably high expectations.

10. LOWER DA BOOM
The obligatory stoner song, made popular by seemingly every rapper ever. The lyrics are nothing new, especially if you've listened to any Cypress Hill song, but the beat makes a perfect companion to zoning out. The track runs too long, though.

11. WHAT GOES ON?
I liked the overall message in the song, but that doesn't mean I thought it was any good.

12. DYNAMITE SOUL
A perfect song to listen to when you and your friends feel like hanging out in front of an abandoned apartment building, with a fire shooting out of a trash can, while your crew passes around various weapons of increasing absurdity, finally ending with you carrying a board with a nail in it. Also, you're in black and white. Yeah, I remember those days.

13. WHASSUP NOW MUTHAF--KA?
I've included the dashes in the titles because that's how the songs are actually referred to within the liner notes, where things don't have to be censored, but whatever, this is a major label we're talking about here. Anyway, this uses the same sample that Raekwon would later use for his "The Missing Watch". Honestly, the instrumental isn't confrontational enough for a song with such a cool title, but it's still a good way to end your debut album.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Between A Rock And A Hard Place doubles as an inexpensive time capsule that is set to take you back to 1994, when hip hop music was created for the love and not so much for the money, since I can't imagine Tame One and El Da Sensai thinking that they would become millionaires based on this album's sales. This is the perfect type of album to throw onto your iPod whenever you're sick of what is on the radio, even though the Artifacts's outlook could have been just a tad bit happier and shinier (and their lyrical content could have switched up just a tad as well).

BUY OR BURN? I think you would enjoy this more if you bought it, instead of burning it, since you'll have that warm and fuzzy feeling that you're putting a dollar or two into the pockets of a couple of artists that are deserving of your attention. No, really. Go buy it.

BEST TRACKS: "Dynamite Soul"; "Heavy Ammunition"; "Whayback"; "C'mon Wit Da Get Down"; "Wrong Side Of The Tracks"

-Max