The new misogynist anthem for the 97. I'd like to dismiss this for its sheer ridiculous riffs on sex, but with a catchy hook and cool little beat, it's a guilty pleasure. Admit it fellas...you know you've been walking down the streets, rhyming to yourself, "I'm not a player, I just f--- a lot." Produced by: Minnesota
Straight out of the UK it's Rasco's British cousin. Well, not ready, but you might make the comparison, particularly on the B-side "The Way It Has To Be" which uses the same drum pattern that Fanatic hooked up on "The Un-A.S.S.I.S.S.T.E.D." That being said, this is still a decent braggadocio single. Production is a touch dirty and underdone, but still effective enough for Blade's cutting edge (sorry, couldn't help it). I particularly like "Born to Rule" which takes it back to the days when it was ok for a rapper to clock over 100 BPM - I mean, really doe...you thought Kane warmed it up over downbeat sh*t? Produced by: Never Seen and 2000 Adee.
Well...it's not actually, "Drop the Bomb", but I found it more accessible than their last single, "A Child Is Born". In all candidness...if these two soundtrack songs are any indication of what the next Brand Nube LP is going to sound like, act like LL and don't call it a comeback. Produced by: Grand Puba and Lord Jamar
Flipping the same beat that Biggie and Tracey Lee used on their song, Canibus puts it down, pistol-whipping the competition. After john blazing the Lost Boyz LP, plus cameoing for Common on their song together, Canibus rolls solo on this...smacking out punchlines and choice tidbits of braggadocio. Ruff, rugged and raw, suckas. Produced by: N/A
A subtle yet earnest single that features four different songs by two different artists. Production is the ace in the hole that holds up the well-intentioned, but not always well-rhymed lyrics. However, whatever lack of polish the single may have is made up by what, to me, was a convincing attempt to take lyricism off its high horse and bring it down to pure stream of consciousness expression. Check for this one. Produced by: Darp Malone
Nowhere near as dope as "Day One", but it still packs a bit of a punch. A bit of one. Maybe I'd like "The Enemy" better if it was...well...better. Primo is getting mad lazy with his beats nowadays, just listen to "The Enemy" and his sh*t on O.C.'s LP. And let's just be honest...out of the DITC squad, who's REALLY checking for a Big L/Fat Joe duet? The Lord Finesse/Show beat on "Internationally Known" gets props for the electrofunkfuzz, but it's hardly the beat of the year. Or month. Sound like I'm expecting more? Hell yeah. This is DITC muthasuckas...not the Flip Squad. Produced by: DJ Premier, Lord Finesse and Showbiz
From Wim Wender's latest piece of artistic confusion, "The End of Violence", "High Noon" is not bound to win over any new Shadow fans from the hip hop head contingent who just aren't feeling him. Hard-edged and fast-paced, both mixes of "High Noon" seem more at home with an indie rock aesthetic than with the type of insipid pop melodies of commercial rap music, hence it's inaccessibility. "The Organ Donor" remix is tight...check the new industrial strength keys that smack you up close and personal on the intro. Produced by: DJ Shadow
Decent A-side, but the B-side is a disappointment. Any artist that has to jack themselves is definitely in some creative duldrums. Back in business? Umhhh... Produced by: EPMD
For all those thought Guru was so far down and out, no comeback was possible, it's time to rethink your assumptions. "You Know My Steez" is some mega-hot sh*t. Not the most eloquent way to put it, but after being denied classic GangStarr butter since 1994, I'd rather listen to this sh*t than wax on about it. Primo comes through with a wicked track and Guru sounds...well...good on the mic. Very, very hot. The B-side has a more down-beat, ill piano track done by Premier, but I'm not really feeling it as much...the slower pace doesn't sit well with me and Guru's limitations comes all too clearly through. Produced by: DJ Premier
So yeah, I like this song. So sue me. It sounds good...Q Tip's presence, while some what Puffy-esque, is nice and the Joni Mitchell sample works for me. The main problem is that you hear the chorus so many damn times, you forget that Janet Jackson is actually singing on this cut. C'mon Janet, keep it real like Penny. Produced by: The Ummah
Proclaimed to be the world's greatest rapper by XXL, Jay Z is already set to drop another album. Hello? You just did a year ago? All that said, "Sunshine" is the type of crossover fluff that we've come to anticipate on our A-sides and "Streets is Watching" is that butter sh*t that sucka MCs can't trifle with. Bangin' like Max Roach coked up. Produced by: N/A
I candidly wasn't feeling their first single, but this new one has me taking a closer listen. These are ambitious MCs, which I think is what limits them at times - they sacrifice rhyme skills for complexity, but "Say Word's" main liability is its boring beats. No such problem on "Cold World" which benefits immensely from a nice drum pattern and familar bassline (can't place it though). It's conventional, but effective. Good rhymes too, including a cameo by Has Gee from the UMCs. "The Omen" features the same kind of South Asian (or is it Middle Eastern?) singing that was featured on the last Khromozome 12". And I'm still not feeling that attempt at cross-cultural fusion. Production by: N/A
They're out. Go get 'em. Look in the Groove Yard for the older review (or this month's URB). Produced by: Lyrics Born and DJ Shadow.
Both promos, I'm not sure why Def Jam didn't save some $ and put both on the same 12" instead of two separate ones, but maybe it's just as well. "Candy" is LL at his crossover worst. Sappy beats, presumably produced by Puffy are sure-fire motivators to station surf when this one hits the airwaves. Now, "Phenomenon" has some good things going for it: dope bassline, smooth but slick rhymes...the hook is rather dumb, but hey, LL's never been known for Mobb Deep-esque cleverness, you know? If you had to keep either of these, "Phenom" is it. Leave "Candy" for the sugar shorties. Produced by: N/A
Mobb Deep clones - or at least in their extended family, but despite a lack of original concept (I mean, "Organized Crime"? Whateva man), they at least pull it off well. Good production on Side A in particular. Good for a spin or two. Produced by: Eric "Time Bomb Jordan", Charles "4/4" Billups and Tony "The Incredible Cae Gotcha" Thrope.
Ruffhouse is white labelling this single why MBs future strategies are still being worked out in the corporate war room. "5 Elements" isn't a new song lyrically - it graced their 1995 demo - but the beats by Chops are new and nice. I'm still not a big fan of the MBs colleagues, Drama Club, who are two of the five elements on this one. The B-side has the MBs popular indie cut, "Paperchase" from last year. Produced by: Chops
Straight up, "Placebo", featuring Tony Bones is my shiznit right now. Fly ass piano loop just sets it off for the cockneyed accent of Tony Bones to flex over, joined by Mr. Supa Dupa. The EP features five other songs, most of them good, though "Placebo" has monopolized the lion share of my attention right now. Well worth the investment...beef or not beef with J-Live over the name, Mr. Live is coming with much rigor and no mortis. Produced by: BigVes and El Blaize
Coming out of the LA underground, the Ill Brothers have yet to breach the surface in a big way, but that hasn't stopped them from putting out some fairly dope singles. This latest "promolicious" rips it on "Funknek" with some ill bassline flexations, but "Olestra" is cool too and "Summalummateena" is some ol' skool beat, braggadocio sh*t. The Ill Bros. rhyme steelo is strictly to bruise and batter....their main MC reminds me of Milk D from Audio Two having a bad day. Look for this one. Produced by: N/A
Boogie Down Bronx/BK Connection (Streetlife)
I can't say this for a fact, but I've always gotten the feeling that Nice & Smooth have always carried a certain nostalgic flavor even when they started. In other words, even when their old material was new, it still sounded old. And it stands to reason that their new material still sounds old. It's not a bad quality per se, but one wonders if Nice & Smooth will ever establish themselves past such classics as "Funky For You" which is damn near 10 years old now.
Anyway, as with LL, I'm not sure why Street Life put out two separate singles when one would have sufficed. But, as with LL, I'm not mad at them since "Boogie Down..." is crap and "Burning Hot" is kind of...burning hot. Well...it's warm to the touch at least. Kid Capri cops the bassline from the Artifacts' "Lower Da Boom" (fat as f---), throws in some old Nice & Smooth samples and voila! your typical Nice & Smooth single. Mind blowing lyrics? Sucka, puhleaze. However, Smooth B kicks a new rhyme style...unfortunately, it sounds like he joined up with Killarmy.
"Boogie Down..." is simply wack. Easy Mo Bee turns in a beat worthy to have been on his work with Miles Davis - in other words, lethally banal. Produced by: Kid Capri and Easy Mo Bee
"Motherfu*keres better punch up the flex code"...again. Lord Finesse and the 45 King slap both songs silly and Rasco (at least) drops a new verbal assault for the 45 King remix of "Run the Line". The "Undercover" remix is a little harder to get into, which has been a challenge since the original version...however, "Run the Line" encounters no such problems. You know what time it is - time for Rasco to get stupid to the wack MCs. Whether it's Lord Finesse doing it DITC style or Mark getting sparked, the result is a fat pair of remixes. Produced by: Lord Finesse and Mark, the 45 King.
Even though I don't think they're the best in their vein, I find it hard to dismiss Raw Breed as yet another attempt to capitalize on the QBC-style of beats, rhymes and trife life. For one thing, their production is often solid...much better than the other Mobb Deep clones that litter the record racks. And their lyrics too reflect some experienced MCs instead of some kid who figured enough puffs off the Thai stick could turn them into a rhyme slanger. Worth checking out. Production by: T.R. Love Da Funk Ignitor and Slef the Ruffedge
Sadat X: indie artist? He is now with his German-produced single on what appears to be his own indie label. A nice little single...beats are kept simple but bouncy - unfortunately, the rappin' bullsh*t chorus was underwhelming and seemed like a poor choice. Worth getting for Brand Nube fans - and everyone else. Produced by: N/A
Arguably featuring the best two songs from the Brick Records sampler, this new 12" always drops a new song and a Vinyl Reanimator's remix of "Protocol". Surprisingly, I wasn't digging on that remix...the original is where the vibe's at - no need to mess with something that ain't busted to begin with. "Be Alert" is the so-called "transformer" song since they lift a lot of sonic effects from our childhood cartoon memories...hot sh*t. "Touch the Mic" is a tad too minimalistic for my tastes, but it's far from wack. Produced by: Beyonder, Papa D, Jase, Prowla and the Vinyl Reanimators.
Half of Siah and Yeshua dapo ED, Siah's new single wasn't as strong as I might have liked it. It's not so much the loss of Ed, though I thought the two of 'em sounded good together...and Siah definitely has the mic skills to hold up his end of the bargain. But the rich, sample-heavy production on their EP gives way to not-so-rich sample-heavy music on this 12". "Pyrite" is a'ight but neither it nor "Repitition" is that type of sh*t to get you out the seat. It's a bit surprising especially given that this is on Fondle 'Em and I had yet to be disappointed by the beats on any of their releases. Production by: Siah, Mudfoot and the Assimilator.
Liver than Allen Iverson? Or shooting bricks like Shaq at the line? The soundtrack is somewhere in between...lot of big names, but as usual, don't let the labels fool you. Better songs on here include the Wu All Stars' title track, Common's "Great Expectations" (though I know many didn't like it), the Sauce Money/Primo pairing, Xzibit's "Los Angeles Times" and a couple more. All in all, it's strong in terms of having enough good songs to justify the purchase, but very few songs really come out and slap you across the face, unlike "Men In Black" which I thought had fewer hits, but stronger ones at that. "Soul" has flatter material by Wu Tang, MOP, Big Punisher, The Dwellas and Mobb Deep, not to mention Organized, O.C. and the Cocoa Brovaz (oops, I guess I did mentin them). A mixed bag overall, but with enough goodies to take home. Produced by: Various
Though Source of Labor doesn't typify any kind of uniform "Seattle sound", they, at least, have been consistent in their own aesthetic vision for the last three years. Jazz largely influeces their production, but instead of reptitive two bars loops, they allow their samples to fluidly coast over the song. If it ain't live, it comes close to sounding like it. Paired with their unorthodox lyrical styles and rhyme patterns, it's not hard to understand why SOL have been largely ignored outside of their local vicinity. It's not because their wack, but it's because they're different and in a way that many fools just can't get with. If this concerns SOL, it hasn't impacted a shift away from their artistic vision towards a more nationalized, commercial sound. None of this suggests that the new single is the bomb - frankly, I wasn't that wowed over by it - however, unlike groups that try too hard - or not enough - SOL neither sounds pretentious or lazy. Their's an acquired vibe though. Try a sample. Produced by: Samson S and Negus I
Already working on their third album, most folks don't even remember the first two from Trends of Culture. I gotta give these kids 'nuff respect for the perseverance - plus, a dope new song. While "I Wish" just a'ight to me, "Do U Hear" is a nice razing of the wackness in today's hip hop without sounding too much like yet another bitch session. Beats aren't ground-breaking, but are effective enough to let the Trends kick their rhymlistics. Produced by: MOL
The lead-off single from Priority's new "In the Beginning..." compilation of re-sung hip hop joints. The B-side has Too Short doing, "I Need a Freak" (what? he doesn't have enough?) but most fans will probably want to hear Meth and the Wu swarm kicking, "Four years ago, a friend of mine, asked me to write some MC rhymes..." End result? It's not bad, but it's surprisingly not that hot either. The beat isn't messed with the the Wu's flow just doesn't seem to match up when you recall Run DMC's original. Mostly, they sound off-beat and not in that "intentional" way. Still, for retro flav it beats platform kicks. Produced by: Rza
Picking away, again, at the best of yesteryear collection, Wyclef throws "Roxanne/Roxanne" back into the mix for this likeable reworking of "Guantanmera". Like most of Wy's work, it shows that his musical swords are kept sharp, but am I the only person who thought his adaption of an Afro-Cuban revolutionary anthem into a player's joint was just a little ironic? Produced by: Wyclef Jean
Bass lines so thick you can spread 'em on toast help make this new Xzibit cut (from the "Soul in the Hole" soundtrack) a nice little listen. I've never been on of his biggest fans, but I admit that "LA Times" is making me reevaulate my opinion about this dysfunctional Alkie. Quality cut with enough low end to bust your speakers. Produced by:Melman
STS and Mr. Dibbs both produced. I'm luke-warm on this whole LP...they're not the most stunning beats I've heard, but at least they focus heavily on drum patterns, vs. recycling "Substitution" for the umpteenth time. On the flip side...I guess I need something more than just dusty drum loops. I want actual production in terms of melodies, grooves, etc...and while there are one or two of 'em, it's not as thorough as one might like. Produced by: S.T.S. and Mr. Dibbs.
Like caffeine in 7-Up, when it comes to dopeness, Fat Joe's never had it, never will. Produced by: Marley Marl
Brain Dead aka Solar Power: A Soldier's Story/Homicide (Solar Vibes)
Tri-state indie hip hop at its most typical and banal. Production is weak as hell - if folks aren't jacking the Infamous, it's Rza then. Whichever way you want to cut it, few people will ever hear this, fewer still will care to remember. Production by: Various
"Broken Language P1" is the only reason why half you heads heard of Trigga or Smooth to begin with. And this pitiful attempt at capitalizing on their past glory is all the more reason to forget both of 'em.