Eric B. & Rakim - Follow The Leader (July 25, 1988)

Rounding out the month of stunt-blogging is Eric B. and Rakim's Follow The Leader, long considered to be the gold standard of one-two punch combinations (when partnered with their debut, Paid In Full, which is a fucking classic disc). It is generally considered to be one of the best hip hop albums of all time, even though nobody paid attention to it back in 1988 except for the families of the artists involved and a small legion of backpack-wearing fanatics.

Follow The Leader doesn't really expand on the formula created for Paid In Full: master lyricist Rakim Allah spits fire over beats compiled by Eric B., which are comprised of multiple samples mashed together into a cohesive beat (for the most part). This time around, though, Eric B. seems to have made a point of utilizing different types of samples in an effort to create a slightly different sound that what listeners fell in love with during Paid In Full.

I suppose I should be impressed that Rage Against The Machine covered "Microphone Fiend", one of the tracks Rakim is best known for today, for their covers album Renegades, but I just can't drum up the enthusiasm. I mean, fucking Limp Bizkit swiped some parts of Eric B. and Rakim's earlier track "My Melody" for their "My Way", and that doesn't make Fred Durst suddenly cool.

1. FOLLOW THE LEADER
Wow. This song is the fucking balls, based on the beat alone. Don't get me wrong, Rakim sounds as good as ever, but Eric B.'s creation has a dramatic flair that most artists can't be bothered with.

2. MICROPHONE FIEND
Rakim Allah spits a long verse over a relatively pleasant beat, and although "orientated" still isn't a word (see: AZ on Nas's "Life's A Bitch", from Illmatic), the rhymes are good. The beat does some stupid shit toward the end that I didn't care for, though.

3. LYRICS OF FURY
The sense of urgency presented here is courtesy of the awesome drum loop. Also, there's never been a question as to whether Rakim would be capable of rhyming to a track such as this: there's a reason he's who I consider to be the best rapper alive, folks.

4. ERIC B. NEVER SCARED
The deejay cut. However, this one is really fucking boring. And long.

5. JUST A BEAT
This is, literally, "just a beat". It's not a very interesting one, wither, but unlike the previous track, this one is short.

6. PUT YOUR HANDS TOGETHER
I could have done without the odd interlude that precedes the track. Actually, I could have done without the entire track, now that I think about it.

7. TO THE LISTENER
I fucking hated the beat for this shit.

8. NO COMPETITION
While it's a step in the right direction, and will go a long way toward bringing back listeners, this still isn't a very memorable track. What the fuck happened, guys?

9. THE R
For a Rakim song, this is kind of stupid. The lyrics are mostly good, up until the long-ass hook, and I'm not one hundred percent on what he was trying to accomplish with that.

10. MUSICAL MASSACRE
Finally, a song that is pretty damn good. It's not one of Eric B.'s or Rakim's classic tracks, but it's deserving of your attention, especially after four songs that weren't so hot. Finding unheralded gems such as this is one of the reasons I wanted to start this blog to begin with.

11. BEATS FOR THE LISTENERS
Essentially a tweaked instrumental for "To The Listener", which is fucking fantastic, since, if you'll recall, I fucking hated that song. Honestly, you'll probably take the disc out before you even get to this track, so I suppose it doesn't truly matter.

FINAL THOUGHTS: What the hell? Follow The Leader was actually really really disappointing. While there are a few classic tracks that deserve to be in the hall of fame, the album falters due to Eric B.'s experimentation with the samples used for the beats, which more often than not fail to engage anybody. In contrast, Paid In Full contained instrumentals that grabbed the attention of the listeners, and probably inspired the majority of the rappers that debuted in the mid-1990's to first pick up the microphone. Lyrically, Rakim Allah hasn't lost a step, but the extent to which a rapper can get his message across is directly proportional to the beats the artist is provided. I repeat: what the hell?

BUY OR BURN? Sorry, you two, this is just a burn. (You can curse me out in the comments all you want, but I have a feeling that this post will elicit less of a response that the previous 2Pac write-up.) Paid In Full is simply the better album. Fans of hip hop in general should definitely be sure to pick up the tracks listed below, though.

BEST TRACKS: "Lyrics Of Fury"; "Follow The Leader"; "Musical Massacre"

-Max

RELATED POSTS:
Eric B. & Rakim - Paid In Full

2Pac - Strictly 4 My N.*.*.*.*.Z (February 16, 1993)

Tupac Shakur released Strictly 4 My N.*.*.*.*.Z., a sophomore album which became so popular on cable television that MTV actually ran out of asterisks, about two years after his debut, 2Pacalypse Now, proved that he was more than Digital Underground's roadie/dancer/flunkie. Many of his loyal stans consider this to be his most overtly political album, and I've actually seen some comparisons to Public Enemy, but in truth, all 2Pac was trying to do was to get his voice heard.

Big L - The Big Picture (August 1, 2000)

When the hip hop world lost Lamont Coleman in 1999, he was in a state of transition. After releasing his first album, Lifestylez Ov Da Poor & Dangerous, on Columbia Records in 1995, Big L switched over to Rawkus Records, the former home of acts such as Company Flow, Mos Def, and Talib Kweli, for his sophomore disc, The Big Picture. During the recording process, rumor has it that he was all set to switch sides once again, this time signing with his friend Shawn Carter's Roc-A-Fella Records, a move that might have brought him some mainstream attention (but would have probably resulted in him being quietly dropped from the label, as Jay-Z is good at promoting Jay-Z, after all), but he was murdered one week prior to the deal being set.

Sadly, The Big Picture ended up being the most successful of his two albums. Released posthumously a year and a half after his death, it was completed with the assistance of such time-honored figures in hip hop as DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Kool G. Rap, and Big Daddy Kane, along with various members of his second crew, Diggin' In The Crates (curiously, members of Big L's first group, Children Of The Corn, are nowhere to be seen: you would think that Cam'Ron would want to pay tribute to his fallen comrade, and what the fuck was Ma$e doing that was more important?). The Big Picture went on to move over half a million units in less than a month, which is pretty fucking amazing for an underground artist that should have been so much more.

It's just fucking sad.

1. THE BIG PICTURE (INTRO)
What starts off as a touching intro (Freddie Foxxx and others remembering Lamont live during a concert) turns quickly into a freestyle over your standard-issue DJ Prtemier instrumental. He sounds good, though: have to give him credit.

2. EBONICS
This is the original version of the track, over a Ron Browz beat, and not the Primo remix that appeared on the first D.I.T.C. album. There's hardly anything to the music on here, and Big L isn't really saying anything, to be honest, so some folks may be compelled to skip past it. However, Lamont's explanation of slang terms is revolutionary in that it can double as a thesaurus for those two readers that occasionally need help deciphering what their favorite artists are mumbling.

3. SIZE 'EM UP
This is actually pretty fucking good. Ron Browz created a beat that has a pressing immediacy that draws you in, and luckily enough, Big L has one of those flows that captivates you for the almost four minutes this song lasts.

4. DEADLY COMBINATION (FEAT 2PAC)
This comes off as a mixtape track, on which a deejay gathered together unused freestyled from Big L and Tupac Shakur and combined them to give off the illusion of the two men working together in the same studio. I've always wondered why the full version of this song, which also featured a verse by the late Notorious B.I.G., was not included: perhaps the label thought it would be fucking creepy to have three deceased artists on a single song? Oh well.

5. '98 FREESTYLE
If you've followed Big L's career even a little bit, you'll probably recognize most, if not all, of his lines on here, but that's not the point. The fact that Lamont could string these words together in such a compelling fashion is the fucking point.

6. HOLDIN' IT DOWN (FEAT AG, MISS JONES, & STAN SPIT)
Pete Rock's beat is unusually distracting, and Stan Spit should never be allowed in the same musical genre that also houses Big L. Also, the hook is pretty fucking stupid, as its sole function is to repeat the name of the song over and over again (yes, like most hooks tend to do, but still). Big L's D.I.T.C. teammate Andre the Giant (or AG) comes off well, though.

7. THE HEIST
I always appreciate a good storytelling rap. This isn't the most complex heist tale ever, but simplicity can be a virtue.

8. THE ENEMY (FEAT FAT JOE)
I found it weird that this song also appeared on the first D.I.T.C. album in the exact same form. (Maybe Rawkus Records needed to add an extra three minutes to the album's running time?) Regardless, it's always good to hear Big L over some DJ Premier freshness. I could have done without Fat Joe's meandering, though, since all he seems capable of doing on here is making Big L sound like the greatest rapper ever by turning in an awfully terrible performance. Still, good song.

9. FALL BACK (FEAT KOOL G. RAP)
G. Rap's hook is a hot tranny mess: it's much too wordy and it's fucking looped, which is always annoying. I suppose the verses on here are alright, but the negative bits cast a dark shadow over anything redeemable about this song.

10. FLAMBOYANT
I always found it interesting that Big L could use words such as "flamboyant" in his songs, and nobody else questioned his choice of words. I suppose that if he were a weaker rapper, the homophobia that is rampant in our chosen genre would be out in full force, but I guess that talent offsets any possible criticism. Oh, the song? I didn't like it at all.

11. CASUALTIES OF A DICE GAME
The title is pretty classic: it's almost like a Gabriel Garcia Marquez novella. (Speaking of which, Chronicle Of A Death Foretold is a good read, and it's short, which helps.) The song itself is a bit disturbing, considering the circumstances around Big L's passing, but if you take everything at face value as simply another tall tale, it clicks on all levels.

12. PLATINUM PLUS (FEAT BIG DADDY KANE)
Primo kind of tricks us on this song: the beat sounds like some generic Gang Starr B-side material at first, but then switches completely into something much more majestic. Lamont is pretty awesome, as usual, and Big Daddy Kane seemingly makes up for the fact that I didn't like It's A Big Daddy Thing by making the strong argument that not all of the old-school rappers are outdated, so that was nice.

13. WHO YOU SLIDIN' WIT (FEAT STAN SPIT)
What the fuck is this shit?

14. GAMES (FEAT GURU & SADAT X)
This song is incredibly weak, but I appreciated Sadat X's implication that celebrities cross paths with other celebrities on a regular basis, almost as if once you become semi-famous (we're talking Kim Kardashian famous here, not fucking Tom Hanks), you're granted entry into another state of being in which you notice both famous people and the regular folk, but somehow the regular folk seem inaccessible, thereby building up the myth. Yeah, I realize that statement had nothing to do with the song.

15. THE HEIST REVISITED
Lord Finesse presents a bland remix of "The Heist". Pass.

16. THE TRIBORO (FEAT FAT JOE, O.C., & REMY MARTIN)
The four players of this posse cut, which is fifty percent good, twenty-five percent amusing, and twenty-five percent meh, can be easily compared to the four main (male) characters in Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgundy. Big L is obviously the star, so he would need to play the Will Ferrell role, and O.C. is his Paul Rudd, the other seasoned vet that can easily hold his own. Remy Martin, who was admittedly still a rookie at this point, can be compared to Steve Carell's character, in that a lot of her lines are really fucking stupid and are spit by someone that sounds like she can barely string words together, but at the same time, she manages to tie everything together into a funny package (although she wasn't trying to make you laugh). That would make Fat Joe, by process of elimination, one of the bears at the San Diego Zoo near the end of the flick that terrorizes the rest of the day players.

FINAL THOUGHTS: You can't really judge The Big Picture as an actual album, as it was mostly compiled after Big L's passing, so the complaints regarding a heavy reliance on guests and a general lack of cohesion between songs are rendered moot. While a lot of these tracks are awfully lackluster, the best ones prove that Big L was going to be a strong voice in the genre, and was taken from the game well before his time. Sigh.

BUY OR BURN? I recommend you buy this album, not because it's consistently great or anything (far from it) but because Big L deserves your money and your respect. Also, the best songs on here fucking rock.

BEST TRACKS: "Platinum Plus"; "Size 'Em Up"; "The Heist"; "The Enemy"; "Casualties Of A Dice Game"

-Max

RELATED POSTS:
Big L - Lifestylez Ov Da Poor & Dangerous

Heltah Skeltah - Magnum Force (October 13, 1998)

At this point you may be damn near comatose from all of the turkey and trimmings, but you should at least try to finish reading this extra post before passing out on your keyboard. Enjoy!

Ruck and Rock of Heltah Skeltah sold about a quarter of a million copies of their debut, Nocturnal, which is an amazing number for East Coast underground rap (and is probably an inaccurate figure anyway, but you never know). These two soldiers from the Boot Camp Clik were praised for their skills, wordplay, and dark-as-shit production (provided mostly by Da Beatminerz), so after hooking up with the rest of their brethren for the collaborative effort For The People, Heltah Skeltah released their second effort, Magnum Force, in 1998.

Surprisingly, Magnum Force failed miserably with the critics, and music fans voted by using their money on coke and whores instead. Even with a first single, "I Ain't Havin' That", which was a moderate hit, Magnum Force topped out at about twelve copies sold, eleven of them purchased by the duo's parents, and internal pressures caused Ruck and Rock to break up the band: Da Rockness Monsta would eventually leave the Boot Camp Clik altogether in an attempt to go solo, but after catching a (still pending) charge for attempted murder (while allegedly moonlighting as a pimp (!)), he ended up rejoining the crew, while Ruck, also known as Sean Price, would establish himself as a much-beloved solo artist that may or may not have been offered a deal with Roc-A-Fella Records at one point.

So, what went wrong?

1. WORLDWIDE (ROCK THE WORLD)
Even when you sidestep the fact that this isn't a rap album intro, this shit worked for me, mainly because of the strings. This ended up being the best possible reintroduction to Ruck and Rock, although, for the first time, it's blatantly obvious that Sean Price is the better rapper of the two. Rock isn't a slouch on the mic, but there's something a bit...different about Ruck now.

2. CALL OF THE WILD (FEAT SUPREME, LIDU ROCK, STARANG WONDAH, HARDCORE, & DOC HOLIDAY)
For being only the second song on the motherfucking album, there are waaaay too many weed carriers present. Surprisingly, Starang Wondah also kind of sounds like shit, and Ruck isn't even on this fucking song, but Rock rocking over Self's beat still, well, rocked. And yes, I realize that I just used the same word in three different ways in a single sentence.

3. GUNZ 'N ONEZ (IZ U WIT ME) (FEAT METHOD MAN)
Considering the fact that Raekwon had a guest spot on the Cocoa Brovaz's album The Rude Awakening (on the far superior "Black Trump"), I suppose that a collaboration between the the supergroups that are the Wu-Tang Clan and the Boot Camp Clik shouldn't be surprising. (In fact, why haven't they released a full album together? They could aim for a world record: Most Rappers Ever To Appear On A Single Song Not Related To Charity Work Or A Mixtape Remix Of An Album Track. Or something.) Meth and his gracious hosts sound great, but Smoke's beat sounds like warmed-over ass, which never sounds good: as a result, this song also smells all kinds of terrible.

4. PERFECT JAB (FEAT SUPREME)
I assume Sean Price was in the john when Rock decided to collaborate with Supreme (from The Representativz). It's alright, but it's not real.

5. CALL TYRONE (SKIT)
...

6. CHICKA WOO (FEAT MIKE STWEART)
I can't speak for you, of course, but I know for a fact that I never requested for Sean Price to record a solo breakup anthem, complete with radio-friendly beat and an R&B singer on the hook. At least he alternates between pissed off and depressed, which is semi-realistic, and the title is relevant to nothing, which is just funny.

7. I AIN'T HAVIN' THAT (FEAT DOC HOLIDAY & STARANG WONDAH)
The lead-off single, which beat-jacks A Tribe Called Quest's "Hot Sex" to great effect, still manages to sound good today. Starang Wondah and a very prominent Redman vocal sample complete the package (although the other guest on the song, Doc Holiday, sounds decent as well). This was a different sound than what was expected from Heltah Skeltah, and the initial impressions of this single probably led to folks revolting on the Boot Camp Clik en masse, but I still like this song. I also always appreciated that the duo brought in Reggie Noble to actually appear in the song's clip.

8. 2 KEYS (SKIT)
...

9. BROWNSVILLE II LONG BEACH (FEAT THA DOGG POUND)
Can't say that I saw this collaboration coming in 1998. (Sure, Buckshot recorded a ton of shit with 2Pac, but still.) It doesn't take long for the listener to determine that this was a poorly-conceived concept, though. (Dat N---a) Daz Dillinger and Kurupt sound awkward over Daz's own fucking instrumental, which fails to invoke a West Coast-ish feel. However, Ruck and Rock manage to not sound completely horrible.

10. 2 KEYS II (SKIT)
...

11. MAGNUM FORCE (FEAT RUSTEE JUXX, LIDU ROCK, & SUPREME)
Already there are waaay too many guest stars on Magnum Force (both the song and the album). The hook is pretty goddamn ridiculous on this boring-ass track, and you could throw in twenty more rappers if you wanted to: it won't sound any better, guys.

12. 2 KEYS III (SKIT)
...

13. SEAN WIGGINZ
This short Sean Price solo cut is ruined by an act of self-sabotage midway through, but up until that point, Ruck rips Nod's beat to shreds. Too bad it had to end the way it did.

14. FORGET ME KNOTS
So, Rock, you plan on staying exactly the same until you go triple platinum, eh? Given the weak economy, combined with the way the record industry works today, I guess we'll be expecting you to stay exactly the same.

15. BLACK FONZIRELLIZ
The title itself is pretty funny. Unfortunately, it also calls to mind an image of Ruck and Rock jumping the shark. Given the fact that this song features the two rappers speaking directly to the ladies that wouldn't buy a fucking Heltah Skeltah album if you paid them, that image is probably not that far off.

16. DO THE KNOWLEDGE (SKIT)
...

17. MFC LAWS (FEAT YOUNG NOBLE, STORM, NAPOLEON, & DOC HOLIDAY)
The M.F.C. (which stands for either Magnum Force Crew or Magnum Force Clik, but won't really matter to you, since all of the weed carriers within suck anyway) team up with two members of 2Pac's weed carrier crew Tha Outlawz for a pretty boring song. I wonder if there was a global shortage of potholders for the rest of the rappers in the industry while Magnum Force was being recorded.

18. HOLD YOUR HEAD UP (FEAT ANTHONY HAMILTON)
Originally, I found it hilarious that the guest crooner Anthony Hamilton was stuck in the background, even on his hook, but he gets his time to shine toward the end. I actually thought this shit was pretty good, although nobody buys Heltah Skeltah albums for their serious work.

19. GANG'S ALL HERE (FEAT BOOT CAMP CLIK & M.F.C.)
A 9-minute-plus posse cut featuring every single artist from both the BCC and the M.F.C. (which means you'll be listening to roughly forty-seven shortened verses). With this many collaborators, there is no fucking way that this song can be any good, but there are a few outstanding contributions: unsurprisingly, they come from the Boot Camp Clik members and not from the younger guns.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Magnum Force starts off promisingly, but then the album takes a turn for the bizarre, with ill-conceived radio-friendly attempts for no fucking reason, and collaborations that are completely uncalled for (not to mention the number of weed carriers on some of these tracks - seriously, somebody should have turned off the faucet). As a result, this album isn't as consistent as Nocturnal, and in turn, really really really sucks. When the stars align, this shit rocks, but more often than not, the sky is overcast.

BUY OR BURN? I would only recommend a burn, and even then, only to folks that are interested in tracking Sean Price's progression as a rapper. All others need not apply.

BEST TRACKS: "I Ain't Havin' That"; "Worldwide (Rock The World)"

-Max

RELATED POSTS:
Heltah Skeltah - Nocturnal

My Gut Reaction: Kidz In The Hall - The In Crowd (May 13, 2008)

When Naledge and Double-O released School Was My Hustle onto the unsuspecting masses, the Kidz In The Hall were lavished with critical and blogger acclaim, if not with the blockbuster sales to match. Double-O's production work was reminiscent of the soulful work prevalent during the Golden Age of hip hop, and Naledge didn't completely suck as a rapper.

Even with the critical acclaim, though, I still found it surprising that the Kidz In The Hall signed a deal with Duck Down Records, which meant the duo was leaving the once-prominent underground label Rawkus Records for the home that the Boot Camp Clik built. Even stranger was the fact that their sophomore album, The In Crowd, featured a first single that apparently made it into the top ten on MTV's now-defunct TRL. Hearing teenage girls cheer for an underground rap act must have certainly been a surreal experience: I'm sure Carson Daly would have approved, since he's a huge hip hop freak and all. (Seriously.)

The In Crowd still boasts wall-to-wall production from Double-O (with a couple of assists from Black Milk, also known in Blogland (twelve miles east of Legoland) as the Next. Big. Thing), but this time around Naledge rhymes alongside guests for almost every single fucking song. Either he's worked on his craft and relished every opportunity to outshine his peers, or he's trying to deflect attention from himself onto everyone else on The In Crowd.

Which one is it?

1. BLACK OUT (FEAT DJ G.I. JOE)
This shit is nice. Double-O's beat grabs your attention immediately, making a valid case against rap album intros ever being considered as even a remote possibility again.

2. PAPER TRAIL (FEAT PHONTE)
I kind of liked this track. The beat flows along nicely, and Naledge manages to spit his verse without seeming to exert any effort whatsoever, which sort of works for this song. Phonte (of Little Brother) also pulls his weight nicely.

3. DRIVIN' DOWN THE BLOCK (LOW END THEORY)
I'm not one hundred percent on why the "Low End Theory" subtitle was tacked on, as this sounds absolutely nothing like A Tribe Called Quest, but whatever. I tend to find tracks where a prominent vocal sample (usually the source for the song's title) is as much a part of the beat as the drums (in this case, Masta Ace Incorporated's "Born To Roll" is utilized to such effect), but thanks to Double-O's creativity, this track works in spite of itself.

4. LUCIFER'S JOYRIDE (FEAT TRAVIS MCCOY OF GYM CLASS HEROES)
What the fuck is this shit?

5. SNOB HOP (FEAT CAMP LO)
I mentioned in the write-up for School Was My Hustle that producer Double-O is an accomplished mimic. This song proves it: the rolling drums, along with the horns straight out of the 1970s, create a sound that is exactly like something Ski might produce for a Camp Lo album. Other than the fact that it sounds as if Geechie Suede and Sonny Cheeba recorded their verses on a different planet, this song sounds good.

6. MR. ALLADATSHIT (FEAT DONNIS & CHIP THA RIPPER)
This shit just sounded lame.

7. LOVE HANGOVER (FEAT ESTELLE)
Well, kudos for trying something different. This song sounds like a track Kanye West would record on an off day. Lyrics-wise, Naledge is borderline ridiculous, as he comes off as not very sincere, a trait that usually makes songs such as this one work. Double-O's beat is good, though, and Estelle sounds alright on the hook, although she isn't given much to do, so as a whole, I can dig it.

8. LET YOUR HAIR DOWN (FEAT SKYZOO & LIL' EDDIE)
Well, this sounded okay while it was playing, but it's not very memorable, so I can't recall how this sounded okay.

9. MIDDLE OF THE MAP PT. 1 (FEAT FOOCH)
This shit is pretty good. Fooch sounds pretty good, and Naledge impresses over the production, which seems to be provided by both Double-O and special guest Black Milk. Given the way this sounds, I can't imagine that Double-O contributed much to this: maybe he was the guy who took the food orders that day.

10. MIDDLE OF THE MAP PT. 2 (FEAT BLACK MILK & GUILTY SIMPSON)
Oh, wow. While Naledge graciously hands over the reigns of The In Crowd, Black Milk and Guilty Simpson completely dominate this shit with fantastic results. Easily the best song on here thus far.

11. THE IN CROWD (FEAT TIM WILLIAM)
I actually liked this song (although it kind of sounds like Pharrell-lite). It comes off as the perfect bridge between "pop" rap and actual hip hop that MTV viewers could easily follow. That is, if MTV even bothered to show anything besides reruns of The Hills. Raise your hands if you believe MTV should change their name from Music Television to something else entirely.

12. THE PLEDGE (FEAT BUCKSHOT & SEAN PRICE)
Naledge stands alongside his label's boss and arguably the most popular guy in the Boot Camp Clik right now. As the beat sounds more like something Naledge would feel right at home with, he comes off as the best of the three. Sean Price does alright for himself, but Buckshot, stepping out from behind his desk, sounds a bit forced, as if he's trying to prove that he's still got it. It's okay, Buck: you don't have to prove shit to anybody. You released Enta Da Stage. You're good.

13. INNER ME
Meh.

The following is listed as a bonus track.

14. DRIVIN' DOWN THE BLOCK (REMIX) (FEAT PUSHA T, BUN B, & THE COOL KIDS)
I believe this line-up was created by flipping through pages of a phone book while blindfolded. The beat sounds like a perfect fit for Pusha T from the Clipse, who, predictably, sounds really good. Everyone else does alright, as well, although I'm not one hundred percent on the appeal of The Cool Kids. I suppose I should listen to some of their work before passing judgment, but if I were to work based off of this, I would have to pass. There's also a second remix of this track produced by (and featuring) underground stalwart El-P, which is probably the most commercial thing the guy has ever done, and based on that fact alone it's worth tracking down on the Interweb.

THE LAST WORD: The In Crowd is surprisingly good. Naledge still sounds like a work in progress on the mic, but he rests on the "better" end of the spectrum, and he can only get better (unless he doesn't). Double-O's instrumentals also prove that there is some actual talent there, and when united, the Kidz In The Hall can make some good shit. A few of these songs are outright terrible, but that's alright: I just won't upload those onto the iPod. But I can easily picture myself listening to a good number of these tracks in the future. Nice work.

-Max

RELATED POSTS:
Kidz In The Hall - School Was My Hustle

M.O.P. - Firing Squad (October 22, 1996)

The Mash Out Posse (M.O.P. for those that love acronyms), the rap duo who were most likely to have teenagers severely injure themselves in mosh pits of their own creation, took about three years between their debut album, To The Death, and their sophomore effort, Firing Squad. During that time, Lil' Fame and Billy Danze adapted the best way they could to a musical genre that had seen many changes since "How About Some Hardcore?" hit the streets.

In an attempt to secure better marketing, M.O.P. switched record labels, moving from Select Records to Relativity. They also opted for some different production: instead of D.R. Period, who produced the vast majority of To The Death, they went with DJ Premier (who produced seven songs) and self-produced the rest (with help from frequent collaborator Laze E. Laze), leaving a couple of scraps for some outside artists. However, they kept their aggressively entertaining flow intact. This time around, they even accepted some guest help. M.O.P. even went the traditional "guest spot on someone else's album" route to promote themselves, appearing on Heather B.'s well-received "My Kinda N---a".

Although Firing Squad was also well-received and sold enough copies to justify the label holding on to them for a bit, the artists involved didn't have the opportunity to enjoy their success, as both Lil' Fame and Billy Danze lost their respective mothers during the recording process. A skit and its following song toward the end of Firing Squad are both dedicated to their memory.

1. INTRO
No new ground is broken here, but at least it's short.

2. FIRING SQUAD (SKIT)
A skit immediately following a rap album intro? The boys in M.O.P. are trying my fucking patience already, and none of the actual music has kicked in yet.

3. FIRING SQUAD (FEAT TEFLON)
What M.O.P. normally does well is their patent-pending shout-rapping over very subdued instrumentals, offering the listener a sharp contrast in sounds. In this case, the experiment doesn't really work, even with the Primo production, but this song marks the first appearance of M.O.P. associate/weed carrier Teflon, which should count for something.

4. NEW JACK CITY (FEAT TEFLON)
This isn't bad. Primo's beat is much more melodic than anything from To The Death, and its short length is perfect for my attention span and, I'd bet, the attention span of some of the younger readers out there.

5. STICK TO YA GUNZ (FEAT KOOL G. RAP)
DJ Premier swoops in and changes up the sound of Firing Squad thus far (even though he's been the only producer to appear up until this point, but whatever), with a simple loop that sounds fantastic in his hands. Billy Danze and Lil' Fame sound downright thrilled to spit alongside Kool G. Rap, who rightfully outshines them both.

6. ANTICIPATION
This is actually really boring.

7. BORN 2 KILL
Big Jaz, Shawn Carter's old mentor, provides a beat that creeps along a bit too slowly for my liking, but otherwise, this song isn't bad. I especially liked Lil' Fame's verse. The outro was overkill, though: it's just a song, guys.

8. BROWNSVILLE
Primo's beat doesn't work as well as it should. The looped "melody" grates on the eardrums, and it intimidates the vocals, making this a song that everybody should skip.

9. SALUTE
However, on this track, I'm loving Primo's instrumental. If you can look past the drums, there is the faintest of melodies that elevates this shit to greatness. I'd always felt that Billy and Fame tend to step their game up whenever Primo is around, and although a few songs above disprove my theory, tracks such as this still make me wish for an all-Primo produced affair.

10. WORLD FAMOUS
Scarface would later utilize the same sample (Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway's "Be Real Black For Me") for his "On My Block", which basically sounds exactly the same as "World Famous". Anyway, this song is downright pleasant to listen to, although M.O.P. refuse to switch up their content to fit the slower groove.

11. DOWNTOWN SWINGA '96
M.O.P.'s relationship with DJ Premier seems to have started when Primo was commissioned to remix their "Rugged Neva Smoove" (from To The Death) for the 12-inch single. Primo also produced an original track for M.O.P., "Downtown Swinga", which was the B-side: this is the remix to that song. And although this is another Primo beat, and although the duo sound dialed down (in a good way), I wasn't feeling this song at all.

12. LIFESTYLES OF A GHETTO CHILD
From the Nicolas Cage film of the same name.

13. REVOLUTION
This is five-plus minutes of your life that you will never get back, and it isn't even a real song!

14. ILLSIDE OF TOWN
M.O.P. and Laze E. Laze's inclusion of a female vocalist was a nice touch. This one isn't bad at all.

15. NOTHIN' 2 LOSE
Meh.

16. DEDICATION
This interlude leads nicely into the next song, but the sound effects are pretty damn annoying.

17. DEAD & GONE (FEAT BATTLE)
The duo dedicate an entire song to the very serious topic of death. It's unnerving at first to hear Billy Danze and Lil' Fame not shouting, but they wax eloquently on the subject, proving that there is some actual lyricism underneath those shells.

18. BORN 2 KILL (JAZZ MIX)
Essentially the exact same song as the one that appeared earlier, with most of the hook deleted and a couple of newer (and allegedly "jazzier") elements replacing what's missing. The beat is still too slow, but otherwise, my opinion of this track is exactly the same as it was before.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Firing Squad (barely) expands upon the theme first introduced on To The Death, and as a result, M.O.P. sound about the same as before, although that's not a bad thing. The beats have made a gigantic leap forward, especially the DJ Premier tracks, which gives the project an aura of class that it may not have achieved on its own. Listening to Firing Squad can be exhausting at times, and not every moment works as it should, but the high points greatly outweigh the questionable ones. And besides, there are no collaborations with fucking L.F.O. on this album.

BUY OR BURN? You should probably burn this one, as M.O.P. is an acquired taste, but for those that are interested, the tracks listed below are a must-hear. The great Primo songs inadvertently make the rest of the disc sound empty and incomplete in comparison.

BEST TRACKS: "Stick To Ya Gunz"; "World Famous"; "Illside Of Town"; "Salute"

-Max

RELATED POSTS:
M.O.P. - To The Death

Jedi Mind Tricks - Violent By Design (October 3, 2000)

After their full-length debut, Words Strung Together In An Attempt To Be Clever, found an audience, Jedi Mind Tricks, which is made up of rapper Ikon the Verbal Hologram and producer Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind, set about creating the follow-up, entitled Violent By Design. (Well, at first it was allegedly called Polymatrix: Reincarnation of the Hologramic Christ, and while I would never put it past the group to use that title on something else, I truly hope that they actually sat down, read that fucking title, and thought better of it.) During the two-year recording process, they adopted a second rapper, Jus Allah, who would leave the crew shortly after the release of Violent By Design (and would rejoin seven years later). Ikon the Verbal Hologram also took on a different rap name, Vinnie Paz, which is what most underground rap fans are familiar with (although he still refers to himself as the Verbal Hologram on several songs). But the biggest change for the Jedi Mind Tricks was their co-opting of a newer, hyperagressive style, alternating between the quasi-religious psychobabble that pervaded the first disc and ultraviolence, the latter of which would make the group virtually indistinguishable from every other rapper in the fucking universe, aside from the fact that they utilized the word "Jedi" in their crew name. But the changes to the original recipe seem to have been universally accepted: Violent By Design is generally considered to be the group's shining moment.

I remember trying to listen to Violent By Design in my back office at work after having left to pick it up at a mom-and-pop record shop, and let me tell you, this music is not conducive to any sort of productivity whatsoever. Not because Stoupe's production had me geeking out and throwing chairs and shit (although, once again, Stoupe remains, as the bloggers and blog readers call him, a beast behind the boards), but because, not unlike an album from Killah Priest, Hell Razah, or some other Wu-affiliate familiar with theology, Vinnie Paz and Jus Allah kind of demand that you listen to the lyrics, and their many guests pretty much have the same expectations.

Maybe it'll be easier for me to work while listening to this today.

(A note about the release: Violent By Design was originally released on Superegular Records, the group's own label, but was rereleased by Babygrande in 2004. The newer version includes a couple of additional tracks which were unearthed for hardcore fans, but I don't have the rerelease, so I can't comment on those tracks.)

1. INTRO
Sigh...

2. RETALIATION
Wu-Tang fans may dig this, and not just because of the Killah Priest vocal sample that frequently appears. Stoupe's beat goes the extra mile to engage the listeners, but Vinnie's rhymes become almost too comically violent to take this song for more than what it is.

3. CONTRA (FEAT KILLA SHA)
Killa Sha, the rapper whose name sounds as if he should be a Wu-Tang affiliate, but really isn't, provides a really short middle verse over another great Stoupe beat. Killarmy should seriously consider ditching 4th Disciple for one album and hire the Enemy of Mankind. Alas, this is not the homage to Konami's classic video game that I had anticipated.

4. SPEECH COBRAS (FEAT MR. LIF)
The film geek in me has to applaud the use of dialogue samples from Darren Aronofsky's Pi, but the music geek in me dismisses this track as outright fucking boring.

5. BREATH OF GOD INTERLUDE
Leaves you with a bad, pretentious taste in your mouth.

6. DEATH MARCH (FEAT VIRTUOSO & ESOTERIC)
It's been a long while since I've watched WWE Wrestling (I think it was still called the WWF when I last saw it), so hearing a sound bite from The Undertaker was an interesting flashback. This track is actually really good, and it flies by, thanks to the chemistry between everybody involved (Virtuoso and Esoteric were also a part of the Jedi Mind Tricks supergroup side project, Army Of The Pharaohs). The reference to M. Bison was also unexpected, so kudos.

7. WORDS FROM MR. LEN (PART ONE) (FEAT MR. LEN)
Interlude...

8. I AGAINST I (FEAT PLANETARY)
The beat was so pleasant that this song floated right out of by consciousness while it was still playing.

9. EXERTIONS REMIX (FEAT VIRTUOSO, ESOTERIC, & BAHAMADIA)
Just as she does on most songs, Bahamadia (also a one-time member of the Army Of The Pharaohs) sounds completely out of place, but her verse still sounds good, so the song still manages to work. This is representative of the traditional "underground rap song that tries to fit as many syllables in as possible but ultimately truly says nothing" that rappers release in an effort to prove how intelligent they are, so in that respect, it's not bad. Esoteric's verse happens to be the standout: it's reminding me that I have the 7L and Esoteric debut album in the pile and that I really should get over myself and write about them already. (Side note: the original version of this track was an Army song called "The Five Percent Exertions", and it also featured Chief Kamachi, who was deleted from this remix but appears elsewhere on Violent By Design. Curious.)

10. THE PROPHECY INTERLUDE
...

11. HEAVENLY DIVINE
I found this to be awfully dull.

12. SACRIFIEC
Other than the random Big Pun vocal sample, this kind of blended together with "Heavenly Divine" for six to seven minutes of sheer boredom.

13. PERMANENT MIDNIGHT INTERLUDE
...

14. THE DEER HUNTER (FEAT CHIEF KAMACHI)
Sadly, Christopher Walken fails to make an impression on this track. In fact, I barely remember his contribution to this weak-ass song, and I just heard it. What do you mean, Christopher Walken wasn't actually on the song?

15. BLOOD REIGN (FEAT DIAMONDBACK, LOUIS LOGIC, & B.A. BARAKUS)
I appreciated everyone's attempt to create a different sound for Violent By Design, but lyrically, this sounds like every other fucking song on the album. Even diehard Killarmy fans will have tuned out by this point. B.A. Barakus is a fantastic rap name, though.

16. WORDS FROM MR. LEN (PART TWO) (FEAT MR. LEN)
Interlude...

17. GENGHIS KHAN (FEAT TRAGEDY KHADAFI)
I can't imagine that anybody saw this collaboration coming back in the late 1990's. (If you did, then why haven't you won the lottery yet?) Tragedy, who was late of Capone-N-Noreaga collaborations and infighting at this point, doesn't truly fit in, but at least Vinnie and Jus Allah do their best to make him feel welcome by referencing shit that Tragedy has repeated in his own rhymes ever since his career rebirth (shedding his Intelligent Hoodlum image).

18. TRINITY (FEAT L-FUDGE & LOUIS LOGIC)
Graciously, Vinnie Paz opts to perform his worst verse on a collaborative track that appears on his own album. The hook is a bit much: was it truly necessary?

19. THE EXECUTIONERS DREAM (FEAT J-TREDS)
While I love the title, it feels artificial, as it seems to have only been chosen because it sounded cool, and not so much because it had anything to do with the fucking song. (See also: every other song on Violent By Design.) That said, Stoupe's dark-as-hell instrumental is very moving, and none of the rappers manage to fuck it up, so that was nice.

20. MUERTE
Meh.

The following two tracks are only found on the CD version of Violent By Design.

21. HEAVENLY DESIGN (REMIX)
I'd put this at the same level as the original. Sampling Alanis Morrissette was an interesting touch, though.

22. WAR ENSEMBLE (FEAT VIRTUOSO & ESTOERIC)
Tagged as an Army Of The Pharaohs track and not a Jedi Mind Tricks song, this isn't that bad, but it's a bit too late. All it truly accomplishes is making me upset that Violent By Design didn't sound mostly like this track.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Violent By Design's hyperaggressive rhymes and borderline pretentious execution turns this album into a literal chore to listen to. Music shouldn't force the listener to earn their entertainment or enlightenment, and it definitely shouldn't feel like work to hear it (although I suppose it is actual work for me, since I'm writing about it and all). While technically proficient, Vinnie Paz/Ikon and Jus Allah fail to engage the listener with their rhymes, and since this isn't an instrumental album, that makes Violent By Design a failure in my eyes. Maybe it's simply because I'm completely over this type of hip hop, but I'm of the mindset that rappers shouldn't take on a holier-than-thou persona (at least, not without the chops to back such a persona up). Stoupe remains a monster on the boards, though. All in all, I'm disappointed that this album failed to hold up.

BUY OR BURN? If one were to somehow locate an instrumental version of this disc, I would recommend that you purchase that. As is, this only deserves a burn. The fans of this blog that are fans of Jedi Mind Tricks will already own this anyway, and anyone who hasn't yet heard of them won't be turned by this disc.

BEST TRACKS: "Death March"; "Retaliation"; "The Executioners Dream"

-Max

RELATED POSTS:
Jedi Mind Tricks - The Psycho-Social, Chemical, Biological & Electro-Magnetic Manipulation of Human Consciousness

Little Brother - The Minstrel Show (September 13, 2005)

The North Carolina rap group Little Brother, which consists of rappers Big Pooh and Phonte, along with producer 9th Wonder, built up a cult following with their debut disc, The Listening, thanks to their song styles, which was a throwback to early A Tribe Called Quest and Pete Rock & CL Smooth. I also hold HipHopSite.com partially responsible for the group's rise, since they pimped the shit out of Little Brother after being tipped off by ?uestlove (from The Roots). At least, that was where I first heard of the trio.

Little Brother parlayed their success into a major label deal with Atlantic Records, a move that would become a huge fucking mistake, but hey, hindsight and whatever. As they set about creating their second album, The Minstrel Show, they kept their fanbase interested by releasing a mixtape and some side projects from themselves and their immediate posse, the Justus League. (The mixtape in question, The Chitlin Circuit, became so popular that Little Brother reconfigured it and officially pressed up retail copies, a move that would become a regular occurrence in their career.)

Now, with a title like The Minstrel Show, it should be obvious the direction Little Brother was going in. Although musically, nothing had changed with the group, the skits and prevalent theme on the disc held a subtle attack on how the music industry packages rappers and rap music (and, to a point, R&B), not unlike how Spike Lee attacked the entertainment industry with his Bamboozled (except Spike Lee is about as subtle as a sock full of rolled quarters striking you against the back of your head).

The problems started early on for The Minstrel Show. The title itself, upon its announcement, sparked an uproar in the hip hop community, especially among bloggers that apparently failed to comprehend what the word subtext meant. (This sort of reaction would reappear when Nas attempted to name his latest album N----r.) The nail in the coffin for The Minstrel Show, though, was when BET refused to air the video for the group's first single, "Lovin' It", because they considered it to be "too intelligent" for their audience. (First of all, that's insulting as shit, and I'm surprised BET still exists as a fucking channel after that bad PR, although since nobody outside of the blogging world has ever heard of Little Brother, that may be why they got away with it. Secondly, from what I understand, the video itself (which I've admittedly never seen, as I'm not the biggest Little Brother fan in the world) allegedly spoofs rap video cliches. Didn't The Roots do something similar with their "What They Do" clip? That video received a ton of airplay on Rap City!) After that debacle, Atlantic Records withdrew all of their promotional support for the disc, even opting against releasing a second single, leaving the project dead in the water.

Not surprisingly, nobody bought The Minstrel Show, and some internal conflicts within the group all but guaranteed that this would be the final time (for now) that Big Pooh, Phonte, and 9th Wonder would all work together for the span of an entire album. (It should be noted that 9th Wonder left the group amicably, and Pooh and Phonte still keep the Little Brother name alive.)

Let's see what went wrong.

1. WELCOME TO THE MINSTREL SHOW (FEAT YAHZARAH)
Well, at least this rap album intro sets the mood properly.

2. BEAUTIFUL MORNING
A fantastic reintroduction to the rhyme styles of Big Pooh and Phonte. 9th Wonder even sounds damn near inspired behind the boards, after the eighty-minute nap that was essentially The Listening.

3. THE BECOMING
I liked how Phonte ended the previous track prematurely just so he could spit solo over this beat instead. Sadly, this instrumental is only halfway decent, but lyrically, Phonte is engaging as shit.

4. NOT ENOUGH (FEAT DARIEN BROCKINGTON)
Uh oh. 9th's beat is reminiscent of the sleeping aids which dominated the debut album. As such, I couldn't care for this song if you put a gun to my head, a knife in my back, and crazy straws in my eyes.

5. CHEATIN'
Phonte brings out his Percy Miracles alias (along with a newer one, Mr. Diggs, a goof on Ron Isley's Mr. Biggs) for a ridiculous R&B track that's hilarious at first (with its emphasis on the overly dramatic), but grows less and less funny with each subsequent listen. If you treat this as an interlude, though, it's tolerable.

6. HIDING PLACE (FROM ELZHI)
I wasn't too impressed with Elzhi (from Slum Village) and his contribution, but otherwise, the music on here is pleasant enough.

7. SLOW IT DOWN (FEAT DARIEN BROCKINGTON)
This song is okay (although the vocals from Darien Brockington sound more generic on here than on "Not Enough"), but for Litte Brother, it's a giant step in the wrong direction.

8. SAY IT AGAIN
The lyrics on here are pretty fucking funny, but 9th Wonder is starting to run a cheese grater on my fucking nerves.

9. 5TH AND FASHION (SKIT)
...

10. LOVIN' IT (FEAT JOE SCUDDA)
The first single. I didn't care much for it back in 2005, but today, I'm willing to admit that I was wrong, since this track is smooth as hell. Kind of a weird choice for a first single, in my opinion, since The Minstrel Show was released on a major label, but whatever. BET should be fucking ashamed of themselves. But I have a feeling that I'm preaching to the choir, as none of my readers watch BET anyway, right?

11. DIARY OF A MAD BLACK DADDY (SKIT)
...

12. ALL FOR YOU
Although I have to comment on Little Brother's reliance on R&B hooks for The Minstrel Show and how it's bordering on co-dependence, I love this song. The reason why? 9th fucking Wonder's instrumental. You see, the guy clearly has talent, but I guess his stubborn nature often gets in the way. Kudos to Pooh and Phonte for knocking some sense into him, no matter how briefly.

13. WATCH ME
In contrast, I didn't care much for this shit at all, even with DJ Jazzy Jeff guest-scratching. However, 9th didn't actually produce this one (this song was handled by Justus Leaguer Khrysis), so I have to give him a pass.

14. SINCERELY YOURS
Rapper Big Pooh doesn't get as much exposure as Phonte, but that's because of Phonte's frequent blogging and his incessant need to release goofy-ass online side projects (see the Percy Miracles EP and Zo and Tigallo Love The 80s!), so it's nice that he gets his own time to shine, and he doesn't disappoint.

15. STILL LIVES THROUGH
Ostensibly a sequel to A Tribe Called Quest's "God Lives Through", right down to the fake-sounding-but-really-Busta Rhymes-vocal-sample on the hook. Easily the most energetic track on the entire fucking album, and my life is a little better for it.

16. MINSTREL SHOW CLOSING THEME (FEAT YAHZARAH)
Typical rap album outro, although most rap albums don't have their own theme music, so that was nice.

17. WE GOT NOW (FEAT CHAUNDON)
I was nonplussed with this "encore" song of sorts, although the almost-rant at the end is both funny and telling.

FINAL THOUGHTS: As stated before, my main problem with The Listening was with the production, not the rhymes: Big Pooh and Phonte are infinitely listenable as rappers. Producer 9th Wonder captivates for about half of The Minstrel Show, and falls back on old habits for the remainder, leaving the rappers to pick up the slack unfairly. While it's still not surprising that 9th Wonder was dropped from the crew, at least he proves that he is, in fact, capable of crafting a non-boring beat for his boys. The Minstrel Show is light years ahead of The Listening in sheer entertainment value.

BUY OR BURN? You should go pick this shit up. I had forgotten how good it sounded, bu there's no need for my two readers to make the same mistake. Go ahead and get it, I'll wait.

BEST TRACKS: "Still Lives Through" "Lovin' It"; "Say It Again"; "Beautiful Morning"; "All For You"; "Sincerely Yours"

-Max

RELATED POSTS:
Little Brother - The Listening

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

O.C. - Jewelz (August 19, 1997)

Three years after releasing his debut, Word...Life, to critical acclaim and poor sales, Omar Credle (who portrays the rapper O.C. at parties) switched labels (from Wild Pitch to Payday) and released Jewelz, his sophomore affair. This disc was also met with critical acclaim and poor sales, but this time he managed to inadvertently get one of his singles to chart on the Billboard Top 100, which surely was a cause for celebration in the Payday offices. I believe they may have even purchased O.C. an ice cream cake to mark the occasion.

A lot has been written about O.C.'s bad timing, or rather, his bad luck with the release of Word...Life. Had his debut disc dropped in a different year than Illmatic, the magnum opus by Nas, his career would have been a lot different, guaranteed. Omar's way around a story ranks right up there with the best of them, and unlike Nas later in his career, O.C. actually had an ear for beats. Instead, O.C. is forced to live with his street cred and his highly praised affiliations with the Diggin' In The Crates crew, Organized Konfusion, and the Hieroglyphics. Yeah, poor guy, I know.

Jewelz was a slight departure from O.C.'s debut in that it employed more producers and guests. While this could be seen as the kiss of death for many sophomore projects, this actually worked in O.C.'s favor, especially since he was riding a career high as one-third of the trio that appeared on the DJ Premier-produced "Return Of The Crooklyn Dodgers"; appropriately, one of the special guest producers was DJ Premier himself, the king of the New York hip hop sound. One of those special guests was the unflappable Freddie Foxxx, who was in the midst of a career resurgence himself, thanks to his aggressive delivery and memorable cameos in the late 1990s. As such, Jewelz is undeniably New York, so much so that I probably already lost a couple of readers, but hey, that's the risk you take.

Let's begin.

1. INTRO
Although it's short, this instrumental intro is pretty useless. I could have skipped right to the next track and saved thirty seconds of my life for more important things, such as coke, whores, and Guitar Hero.

2. MY WORLD
Omar rips the shit out of one of the most peaceful and melodic Primo beats in history. This shit is so fucking good that I'm left wondering why it's taken me so long to finally get back to Jewelz.

3. WAR GAMES (FEAT ORGANIZED KONFUSION)
Omar reunites with his old running buddies Prince Po and Pharoahe Monch over a dark Primo instrumental that sounds three steps removed from Jeru The Damaja's "Me, Not The Paper". Oddly, for all of the fanfare, Organized Konfusion barely appear on the song itself, so for the two of you who were wondering how good Pharoahe Monch would sound over some Primo boom bap, keep those dreams alive.

4. CAN'T GO WRONG
This track was downright pleasant. That's all I got.

5. THE CHOSEN ONE
Ahh, the humble O.C. The song itself is alright, but Buckwild's beat is much more beneficial as a sleeping aid than as a vehicle for Omar to prove how much better a rapper he is than you are.

6. DANGEROUS (FEAT BIG L)

O.C. and Big Lamont attempt to rip shit over an uncharacteristically goofy Beatminerz track, one that sounds absolutely nothing like anything either rapper should ever consider being in the same room with, let alone rhyming to it. The hook is also very weak. Oh well.

7. WIN THE G (FEAT BUMPY KNUCKLES)
Although you have to contend with an awkward hook that culminates with Omar and Freddie Foxxx (also known as Bumpy Knuckles) harmonizing together, this simple Primo track allows O.C. and (especially) his guest to rip out the throats of random motherfuckers on the streets, and then throws their own throats back at them in a most hostile manner. You're left wishing there was a bit more to the instrumental, but the punchlines still manage to reel you in: when Bumpy states "Just because I hate your punk ass, don't make you no player", I laughed out loud, and really embarassed myself in front of my wife, so thanks for that, guys.

8. FAR FROM YOURS (FEAT YVETTE MICHELE)
This was the aforementioned single that hit the Billboard charts. It makes sense, given it's radio-friendliness, but I swear to you that I had completely forgotten what this song sounded like until right now, that's how memorable it was back in 1997. In fact, I've already forgotten what it sounded like, and I'm pretty sure it's still playing.

9. STRONJAY
O.C.'s storytelling abilities haven't been diluted, and even though his theme (an encounter with a female) has been done to death, his descriptions make the track come to life. Well, that, and the Beatminerz instrumental.

10. M.U.G. (FEAT BUMPY KNUCKLES)
I find it hilarious that Freddie Foxxx's alter ego is credited on "Win The G", but he opts to go with his standard rap name on here, even though he calls himself Bumpy Knuckles on the song itself and spits similar content. Regardless, the song is really good, but, then again, it's rare when Bumpy sounds weak over a Primo beat (although it has happened), and O.C. also proves himself worthy. Who's up for an all-O.C. and DJ Premier disc? Because it'll never happen, but you can start lighting those candles anyway.

11. THE CROW
I didn't care for this song at all.

12. YOU AND YOURS
I loved DJ Ogee's haunting piano loop, and O.C.'s lyrics are as tight as ever. The hook is pushing it, though. Interestingly enough, Omar makes it a point to give Jay-Z a shout-out: I wonder why these two never connected for a track. (Besides the obvious reasons, of course.)

13. HYPOCRITE
Short and sweet, but I can't remember any of it.

14. IT'S ONLY RIGHT
Omar sounds alright, but this Beatminerz track sounds like reference noise for an instrumental to be inserted at a later date. I can't believe that Da Beatminerz have managed to only make one of three songs actually hit.

15. JEWELZ
This was a pretty boring way to end your second album, even with Lord FInesse behind the boards.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Jewelz isn't as consistent as Word...Life, but O.C. has given us a solid sophomore effort. Lyrically, Omar is as good as ever, and the beats he is presented with are also at an advanced level, especially the DJ Premier tracks, which prove him to be one of the finest producers in musical history, not just in hip hop. There are missteps, sure, but most albums aren't perfect. Jewelz is entertaining as hell, though: it's so good, in fact, that you're left wondering what went wrong with O.C.'s career after this disc hit the shelves.

BUY OR BURN? Snatch this one up if you ever come across it at the store. When you support good hip hop, you'll feel better about life in general. As an added bonus, you'll receive a nice and sturdy plastic CD case, which you can use as a flat surface to separate the seeds and the stems on the fly, which will inevitably make you feel even better about life in general.

BEST TRACKS: "My World"; "M.U.G."; "Win The G"; "Stronjay"; "War Games"; "You and Yours"

-Max

RELATED POSTS:
O.C. - Word...Life

My Gut Reaction: Big Daddy Kane - It's A Big Daddy Thing (1989)

Back when I first wrote about Big Daddy Kane's debut, Long Live The Kane, I had mentioned that I never listened to any of Kane's work up until that point, and was pleasantly surprised by what I found. So, of course, the next logical step is to follow the discography, and that's where My Gut Reaction to It's A Big Daddy Thing, Kane's sophomore effort, comes in.

Released one year after his debut, It's A Big Daddy Thing is apparently Kane's best-selling album in his entire catalog. It features a couple of songs that hit the Top 40 charts, and the disc's success helped him ease into the new decade. Big Daddy Kane's verse on Marley Marl's "The Symphony" (alongside other fellow Juice Crew members Master Ace, Craig G., and Kool G. Rap), released after Long Live The Kane hit shelves, probably did the most to stir up interest in the project, though, being that "The Symphony" is generally considered to be the best hip hop posse cut in history.

Let's hope this is worth my time.

1. IT'S A BIG DADDY THING
The beat sounded like it was going to rock, until Kane started rapping: after that, the instrumental switched itself up to a lame-ass club-ready track. And this is a fucking Prince Paul beat! (I'm as shocked as you are right now.) On the upside, the beat sounds as if Paul specifically created it for Kane to use, but that's not much of a positive. This does not bode well.

2. ANOTHER VICTORY
Easy Mo Bee's beat kind of sounds like a De La Soul reject, but Kane flows over it like water. Although it still isn't as catchy as the best songs from Long Live The Kane, this is still not half bad.

3. MORTAL COMBAT
Kane sounds as if he's about to trip over his words, and his own instrumental (Kane actually produced the majority of the album himself) manages to be both derivative and too busy, an interesting combination, but not nearly intriguing enough for me to give a damn.

4. CHILDREN R THE FUTURE
I liked the sentiment, but Whitney Houston did it better, and I hate nearly every single Whitney Houston song there is. (There's a song she did with Wyclef a bit more recently, "My Love Is Your Love", which is good, but I'm veering off topic.) I'm not saying that all rappers have to rhyme about killing people and having promiscuous sex all the fucking time, but I'm pretty sure that Kane doesn't perform this at his live shows. (Maybe I'm wrong, though.) Also, was it really necessary to misspell the word "are"? If children r the future, maybe they should be taught how to spell.

5. YOUNG, GIFTED, AND BLACK
I have to be honest. Kane sounds great over this Marley Marl beat, but I feel that Jay-Z sounded better when he jacked the instrumental, an opinion I attribute to the fact that I had heard this song last. However, the best use of this instrumental has to be Breezly Brewin' and Big Sha's "What U Got (The Demo)" from Prince Paul's A Prince Among Thieves. I'm fairly certain I'm in the minority, though.

6. SMOOTH OPERATOR
I couldn't get into this at all.

7. CALLING MR. WELFARE
Social commentary in a rap song is usually something that I appreciate and support, but this song doesn't sound sincere: all Kane does is criticize without offering any constructive feedback. The introduction also sounds pretty fucking insipid. Oh well.

8. WRATH OF KANE (LIVE)
Kane sounds pretty good live. I bet it was pretty fucking amazing to see all of these artists live in concert back in the day, as opposed to watching what passed for a hip hop show today. As for why there isn't simply a studio version of this song on here, I'll never know.

9. I GET THE JOB DONE
Meh.

10. AIN'T NO STOPPIN' US NOW
Nothing on here is grabbing me like his debut did. I don't expect greatness, but it would be nice if the music were interesting. The sad thing is, this is the other Prince Paul-produced track on It's A Big Daddy Thing, and I don't like it at all. This shit is just depressing.

11. PIMPIN' AIN'T EASY (FEAT ANT LIVE, NICE & SMOOTH, & SCOOB LOVER)
It certainly isn't. It's fucking hilarious that this song appears on the same album as "Children R The Future", especially with Kane's ridiculously and unnecessarily homophobic verse. Not like you'll ever hear his anti-gay comments anyway, since this song is so awful, but whatever.

12. BIG DADDY'S THEME
Not the best instrumental in the world, but I've heard worse, so kudos to Kane. His joke at the end isn't really very funny, though.

13. TO BE YOUR MAN (FEAT BLUE MAGIC & CHUCK STANLEY)
I can't imagine that this song was a good idea back in 1989, as it's clearly terrible today. A message to all aspiring rappers that read this blog: love songs don't have to completely suck.

14. THE HOUSE THAT CEE BUILT
The deejay cut that we don't see as much of anymore, because rappers only seem to use deejays on their mixtapes. Not bad.

15. ON THE MOVE
Fuck, this album is boring. How is it possible that this is the biggest seller in Kane's career?

16. WARM IT UP, KANE
Okay, I finally found something that offsets my last comment. This song is just plain great. Kane effortlessly flows over his own beat, presenting us with the album's pinnacle moment.

17. RAP SUMMARY (LEAN ON ME) (REMIX)
Hearing Kane rhyme from the perspective of Morgan Freeman's Joe Clark from (predictably) Lean On Me. I suppose Freeman is a good choice, since Kane could have easily rhymed as Jim Belushi's Rick Latimer (from The Principal) when it came to choosing the mindset of an annoyed administrator. Regardless, this song is a mess, kind of embarrassing to listen to, and I fucking hate the Bill Withers song anyway, so I'm just through with this shit.

THE LAST WORD: As much as I recommended Long Live The Kane, I can honestly say that I will never listen to It's A Big Daddy Thing again. This album is consistently boring, with only one or two highlights that managed to keep me awake. It seems that Kane got lazy after his early success and felt that putting his name on anything would help it sell, regardless of quality, and to that end, he was right. If this were his debut album, we would have never heard from the man again.

That is all. Comments can be left below.

-Max

RELATED POSTS:
Big Daddy Kane - Long Live The Kane (My Gut Reaction)

Ultramagnetic MC's - Funk Your Head Up (March 17, 1992)

After releasing their debut album, Critical Beatdown, on Next Plateau Records in 1988, the Ultramagnetic MC's, made up of Kool Keith, Ced Gee, Moe Love, and TR Love, were awash in critical acclaim. They quickly started up work on a second album, but then apparently broke up, leaving their work incomplete and unreleased (until much later, anyway). In 1992, they reunited, signed up with a new label (Mercury Records), and set about recording a brand new second album, Funk Your Head Up.

The direction they were given by the label was to make Critical Beatdown 2, essentially. As the crew had already done a Critical Beatdown, they opted to do the exact opposite, recording subliminal disses and street anthems to funkier beats (which were still heavily reliant on multiple layers of samples). Unlike with the crew's experience with their last record label, Mercury Records granted them no creative control: in fact, once the album was complete, the label took the masters and had them remixed by outside producers and engineers, so that the sound would appeal to a more mainstream audience. As a result, Funk Your Head Up is technically an Untramagnetic MC's album, but the version we have is not the one that was intended to be heard.

The release was universally panned: thanks to the label's interference, Funk Your Head Up sounded almost nothing like what people actually wanted to hear Ultra perform. The only hit single spawned from a remix of an album track, "Poppa Large", which was not included on the official release (way to drop the ball there, Mercury). After leaving their fans wanting more for four years, the Ultramagnetic MC's found themselves losing their audience, and although the record has seen a retroactive spike in activity, there's no way to hide the fact that it was a disappointment on every level.

But how bad could it possibly be?

1. INTRODUCTION TO THE FUNK
"The most funkiest album ever made in the galaxy"? I'll be the judge of that.

2. INTRO
A rap album intro immediately following another rap album intro? I think my head just exploded. Kool Keith's brand pimping of the Ultramagnetic name is pretty funny, though.

3. M.C. CHAMPION
Considering that both Keith and Ced Gee rhyme on this track, shouldn't the song title be presented in its plural form? It's not like it's ever really explained that they're supposed to compete with each other, either. Aside from those ridiculous comments, the song itself is alright, but not memorable.

4. GO 4 YOURS
Keith sounds aggressive as hell during the song's intro, but then comes off as if he's on some sort of medication when his verse starts. There's a lot going on with the multi-layered beat, but as I didn't like the music very much, I didn't bother trying to analyze it.

5. BLAST FROM THE PAST
I thought this interlude was interesting, since it plays short clips from a bunch of the Critical Beatdown tracks, but unfortunately, it draws attention to the fact that, so far, the debut disc sounds better. Funk Your Head Up is nowhere near complete, though, so there's plenty of time for me to possibly change my mind.

6. FUNK RADIO
This song is pretty awesome, and TR Love, who did not appear anywhere on Critical Beatdown other than on the album cover, sounds pretty decent himself. But this is ultimately Kool Keith's song: insulting somebody by calling them a "small cauliflower" is pretty inspired.

7. MESSAGE FROM THE BOSS
I didn't care for this song.

8. PLUCKIN' CARDS
This Kool Keith solo offering is notable for dissing pretty much every other rapper in existence, both symbolically and blatantly. A lot of diss tracks seem to have derived from the blueprint Keith laid out, so on that note alone, this song is pretty good. You're prevented from becoming fully engaged, though, by the beat, which is just much too much.

9. INTERMISSION
Plays out exactly as it reads.

10. STOP JOCKIN' ME
"You played yourself like a big time toy from Mattel"? That's a pretty obtuse insult. I actually really liked this track, and the chorus is fucking hilarious to boot.

11. DOLLY AND THE RAT TRAP
More of an incomplete thought than the Kool Keith solo track it's supposed to be, but it sounds okay.

12. THE OLD SCHOOL
Skit...

13. BUST THE FACTS
Not bad, but not great.

14. MURDER AND HOMICIDE
Skit...

15. YOU AIN'T REAL
The lyrics were passable, but I couldn't get past what is supposed to be the "hook".

16. MAKE IT HAPPEN
Sounds the most like a Critical Beatdown leftover than anything presented so far, but I mean that in the best possible way.

17. I LIKE YOUR STYLE
The singing on the hook worked on "Stop Jockin' Me", as that song was already ridiculous to begin with, but this hook sounds like the generic love rap that most artists feel compelled to add to their albums to attract the female demographic. Walk on by, my two readers.

18. BILINGUAL TEACHINGS
Skit...

19. POPPA LARGE
Good, but really really short. Followers of Kool Keith may be more accustomed to the "Poppa Large" remixes (both East and West Coast variations), but if you're intrigued, here's the original. The remixes (specifically the East Coast one by Da Beatminerz) are heavily preferred, though.

20. MOE LOVE ON THE 1 AND 2
An altogether pleasant deejay cut, which serves as a pretty good interlude.

21. PORNO STAR (FEAT TIM DOG)
Keith's contribution sounds like a precursor to essentially every solo album he has ever released, thanks to his well-documented obsession with pornography. TR Love is downright embarrassing, but special guest star Tim Dog somehow manages to sound like a halfway decent rapper. I'm not sure how that happened, but it doesn't matter, as the song still sucks.

22. THE P.R.M.C. ID
Skit...

23. CHORUS LINE PT. 2 (FEAT TIM DOG)
I know that a lot of hip hop fans may consider this to be an Ultra classic, but I didn't care for it at all. And Tim Dog went right back to sucking. So, at least all is right with the world once again.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Funk Your Head Up is much darker than its predecessor, but it definitely didn't need to be, since the themes presented are exactly the same as what was discussed on Critical Beatdown. Kool Keith Thornton is still very much the star of the crew, a fact made that much more apparent with the inclusion of a third rapper, TR Love, whose function seems to be to make sure Keith sounds good on every song (Ced Gee manages to do well for himself, though). Beat-wise, it doesn't really matter, as we'll never get the opportunity to ever hear what the songs were supposed to sound like, but at least a handful of instrumentals take some rewarding chances, making some of the songs entertaining as hell. However, as a whole, this second group effort comes nowhere near the levels that Critical Beatdown reached. At twenty-three tracks deep, it's way too long for a listener from today's audience to invest their time into.

BUY OR BURN? As this title is out of print, you're not going to find it in stores anyway, but I don't think you should bother to burn this album either, unless you're either the world's biggest Kool Keith fan (in which case you'd already own this fucking thing) or just a collector of bad sophomore efforts. The Ultramagnetic MC's crawl too far up their own collective ass for the music to be consistently enjoyable, and the label's interference clearly didn't do them any favors.

BEST TRACKS: "Poppa Large"; "Stop Jockin' Me"; "Make It Happen"; "Funk Radio"

-Max

RELATED POSTS:
Ultramagnetic MC's - Critical Beatdown