Frenchy’s Fracas

• # - I’m wondering if the Pakistan Shituation gonna get better/worse: well, at least itll be more democratic, I guess, so that’s all right then.. #
• # - music: racking my brains trying to find the original bass line that’s been sampled on “The Return Of The B-Boy” by The Pharcyde, riddle me.. #
• # - web: enjoying http://claytoncubitt.tumblr.com/ - great pictures and interesting articles #

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General Description
Artist/Band: Visioneers ||
Album Title: Dirty Old Hip Hop
Year: 2006

Excellent grooviness..

How I Got Into This Music
I’ve been enjoying 4hero and Marc Mac’s Chess Cadet All Stars for about a year now. This album’s another of Marc Mac’s projects and I just had to listen to it..

Google Search for reviews of this album || Album details at Artistdirect.com || || Discogs ||

Tracks that got my attention:
Replay ft. Voice
Mellowness taking the listener on a flashback trip through the history of quality rap musicians and producers like A Tribe Called Quest, Jazzy Jeff, Gangstarr and The Pharcyde. Love the smooth vocals by Voice.

Runnin’
Never thought people would be so smitten with the original version by The Pharcyde, but I ain’t complaining! I remember hearing the intro of this version with Hieronymus Fox and we were both jumping like happy kids; when we noticed it was an instrumental version, we stopped acting silly.. for about thirty seconds

The World Is Yours
Laidback bass and keyboards, catchy loops. Love the bass solo, but not that much else happening.

Funk Box ft. Capitol A
Familiar vocals by Capitol A, who also worked with Jazzanova. Basic quality, groove and funkiness.

It’s Simple
A very relaxed version of Simple Folk, a track from Marc Mac’s project from yesteryears, The Chess Cadet All Stars.
More jazzy influences, the flute working some nice magic in the background with the guitar, and that bass? Love it.

Dirty Old Bossa Nova
Damn, got me scanning all my CD’s from A Tribe Called Quest, grmbl.. Hold on.. Nope, I give up, can’t find it, argh!
Back to the track itself: lovely bossa groove!

Run For Cover
Yep, pure gold. Great way of using a central theme in the track, and then the sudden double tempo variant at the end? Great stuff!

55 Dollars
Oooooh.. Flashback to all those TV series from the seventies. Love the horns..

Paul’s Guitar Story
Hmmm, jazz guitar track, sounds nice, just a bit too bland for my taste.

Days Gone By (Egyptology)
Much better guitar work on this track. The track sounds a bit like Jill Scott’s Slowly Surely, I’m sure that’s intentional since they’ve worked with eachother in the past on Jill’s Experience album.

Conclusion
I think my love for previous work by Marc Mac and 4hero has kinda spoilt me a bit. Dirty Old Hip Hop is a great album and very tightly produced too. But… For me, there’s not a lot of new things happening. That’s why this album’s not one of my Favorites. Still very curious to hear the remix version called Dirty Old Remixes!

Rating:

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General Description
Artist/Band: The Pharcyde
Album Title: Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde
Year: 1992

The title says it all!!
 
How I Got Into This Music
Hmmm.. 1992, do you know how phar back that is?!? Come on, give me a break.. Okayokay.. Round that time I guess I was into De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest and a very faithful viewer of the YO! MTV Raps program. I’m almost sure it was there that I first heard and saw these guys. It’s been almost 15 years (ouch!) but still I got some of those songs in my head. Just the different approach and style was so unbelievably refreshing! It still is fresh if you listen to it in ten years, trust me..

Review at Answers.com || Google Search: Reviews of Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde || Album credits at Artistdirect.com

Tracks that got my attention:
Oh Shit
West Coast mixed with The Bomb Squad? Can’t really describe the sound.. But the vocals and the lyrics - funny and sharp. Wicked sample of either Richard Pryor or Eddie Murphy

It’s Jigaboo Time (Skit)
Jigaboo - excellent skit!

4 Better or 4 Worse
Damn! I remember listening to the lyrics of this track - hilarious, and the phone call.. scary too! Obsessive stalker humor?

I’m That Type of Nigga
Great intro, after that it’s a very typical 90’s chant-along type of song

If I Were President (Skit)
I guess these guys were one of the first to put a piano sound at the foreground, listen to the skits on this album

Soul Flower (Remix)
Still prefer the version they had on the Heavy Rhyme Experience, Volume 1 album of The Brand New Heavies - ohwell, a great groove is a great groove..

On the DL
Wow.. The lyrics.. just the lyrics.. I mean, The Lyrics!! All about stuff you don’t tell to others easily, on the downlow.. It’s been done before, you know? Being bad-ass and all that, but here? It’s different, more intense and with a very different take on Confessional Rap..
His story’s soundin’ sad like the movie Ben
But um, anyway I’m just protectin’ my shit
‘Cause if it wasn’t me he’s killin’ then my moms mighta got it
It’s on the downlow don’t tell nobody I killed him all right?

Officer
Heheh.. This one’s so inside joke material.. The song is a parody of an epic track by Public Enemy called Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos. A very, very intense song (check out the link for more).
And these guys? They use it for their slaphappy song about getting caught by the cops for driving without a license. Now, in those times, that was almost blasphemy! Very funny blasphemy

Ya Mama
Read the lyrics, heheh.. Just do it!
Ya moma is so fat (how fat is she?)
Ya mama is so big and fat that she can get busy
with twenty-two burritos, but times are rough
I seen her in the back of Taco Bell with handcuffs

and also:
We drove into the drive-in and she didn’t have to pay
because we dressed her up to look just like a Chevrolet

So, maybe it ain’t your type of humor, but here’s some more info on the dozens (your mama jokes)

Passin’ Me By
Oh, wow.. One of my all-time favorite tracks, seriously.
I like the theme: choosing to let the girl to pass you by or not being able to prevent her from passing you by. Love versus Wisdom. Heart versus Brains. Protecting Yourself From Harm versus Naked Vulnerability. Topics include:

• Puppy love for some teacher
• Semi-fatal attraction
  I’m shootin for her heart, got my finger on the trigger
  She could be my broad, and I could be her (nigga)
• Waiting for her to dump her man
  She was kind of like a star, thinking I was like a fan
• Unrequited love letter
  Now there she goes again, the dopest Ethiopian
  And now the world around me be gets movin in slow motion
  when-ever she happens to walk by - why does the apple of my eye
  overlook and disregard my feelings no matter how much I try?
  
  And if I was your man then I would be true
  The only lying I would do is in the bed with you
  Then I signed sincerely the one who loves you dearly, PS love me tender
  The letter came back three days later: Return to Sender
  Damn!
  

And that’s just the lyrics.. The vocals? The first part seems like almost 15 seconds of rap without a pause to breathe.. The last part by rapper Fatlip is like a scat-singing combo when he starts to write his letter. Un-fucking-believable! Nobody ever used that style in a rap before.. Damn!
Not done yet! HellNo! There’s the music: like I said earlier in my review of Nightmares On Wax, I was totally, mega-crazed about those soft keyboards on the background. Later, much later I found out that it was a sample of Quincy Jones’ rendition of Summer In The City (screw Joe Cocker, Q’s version is almost as good as The Lovin’ Spoonful’s original). Okay.. I’m done.. Where’s my tea?

Otha Fish
Nice band-aid for the heartbreaks of the previous track. Again, that style of rapping was different, a kind of scat-singing.

Quinten’s On His Way
Weird and funny..

Pack The Pipe
A crude yet effective way of discussing one of the biggest social problems of that time: crack cocaine.

Return Of The B-Boy
Heheheh! Delicious!! Great samples (from a track of Prince’s Madhouse Project), loops and hooks. Just love the little tributes to LL Cool J and Kurtis Blow

Conclusion
I knew I would get carried away reviewing this album..
Still one of the most innovative and intelligent (rap) albums of all time: it’s party music, it’s serious music, it’s funny music, some tracks are still fresh. And.. I kinda remembered where I got this album from: thanks Hieronymus Fox!

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General Description
Artist/Band: Nightmares On Wax
Album Title: In A Space Outta Sound
Year: 2006

Catchy dance grooves!
 
How I Got Into This Music
Well, if you stroll around stuff by people like Zero 7, Jazzanova and Groove Armada, you kinda get this group in your sights very quickly. First time I really connected with their music was when I heard ‘Night Interlude’ (or remix, can’t remember), a very mellow track that triggered quite some memories. I knew the keyboard sample from The Pharcyde’s ‘Passing Me By’ and that made me go nuts coz I was happy with the discovery but I still didn’t know the original track, dammit! So, one nice Sunday morning, enjoying my brunch over at Dizzy’s Jazz Cafe I was pleasantly surprised coz they were playing the original track: Quincy Jones’ excellent version of ‘Summer In The City’.. Weird, huh?
Anyways, this album came out and I just had to gave it a listen..

Tracks that got my attention:
Passion
Uhm.. I don’t get it.. This is probably one of the most simple songs ever made in this galaxy.. So why do I get this incredible feeling of joy everytime I hear it? ARGH! Perfect moment to listen to this track: driving your car along the Maasboulevard in Rotterdam at sunset on a lazy and hazy day, oooooooooh..

The Sweetest
Weird track, the ragga-ska guitar and dub are unbelievably catchy, but the bass didn’t thump the hell out of my speakers. Still loving it though.

Damn
Wow.. Just sit back, relax and enjoy this track! Soundscapes, very minute details and accents and a great vocal setup with Chyna B and the gospel choir thingy. Catchy and groovy!

You Wish
Taking us back to the ‘more familiar’ sound of NoW

Me!
Kinda Appollo 440-ish rock guitar loops with sweet vocals, works for me after listening to it a coupla times.

I Am You
sigh.. wow.. wow (again)..
Who the hell is this guy?!?! I mean, Mozez, yep, that’s his name and try finding anything on him on the net with just that name..
I’ve been enjoying this artist’s vocals on the Zero 7 albums and it’s incredible how much emotion and depth he can give a track: an absolute master!

African Pirates
Now here’s a track waiting to be picked for a commercial. It’s easy to imagine this becoming a dance floor hit this summer!

Conclusion
Yep, a very catchy and groovy album with different hooks for different tastes. Can’t compare it with any previous stuff, but I can imagine a very commercially successful year for Nightmares On Wax.

Rating: (and a big thanks to Mozez’ performance..)

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General Description
Artist/Band: The Brand New Heavies
Album Title: Heavy Rhyme Experience, Volume 1
Year: 1992

The original funksters on a hip-hop tip!
 
How I Got Into This Music
Ahh.. Just recovering from the fact that the album’s already more than 10 years old.. There, that’s better.. Where was I? Oh..
Anyway, The Brand New Heavies (BNH) is a band that reveres the old funk style of yesteryear and they play the funk smooth, groovy and sexaay.. With talented female vocalists like N’Dea Davenport and later on, Siedah Garrett, BNH created their own little niche within the whole British Acid jazz scene from the eighties and nineties (remember the Talking Loud record label?)
BNH’s fan base in the US consisted of a large number of rappers and rap music lovers, the funky music being exactly what performers would love to sample. So then came the idea to make an album which would be a collaboration between rappers and the real music from BNH, instead of sampled stuff.
History was made..

Tracks that got my attention:
(well, all of them actually, but still..)

Bonafied Funk feat. Main Source
Some tracks are like destined to be the ideal opening track for an album. This is one of them. Lazy bass, tight raps from the Main Source crew and a great chant chorus.

It’s Gettin’ Hectic feat. Gangstarr
I’m sure this collaboration inspired Guru to do his Jazzmatazz albums and DJ Premiere (extraordinary talent) started working with Branford Marsalis on the Buckshot LeFonque albums. You know you get quality when Gangstarr’s on the set!

Who Makes the Loot? feat. Grand Puba
Honeys spell “Grand Puba” when they wanna spell “relief”
Modest as ever, Puba hits the vibe perfectly! I know for sure that this track’d still work on a dance floor
Coming like a bull, so you better yell “Ole!”
heheh..

Wake Me When I’m Dead feat. Masta Ace
One of the best rap tracks ever performed and produced!
If this was an opera, I probably sing Figaro
Black kid from Brooklyn, but don’t call me nigger, no..
Never heard anything else from Masta Ace, but the speedy style that remains clear for the ear combined with the great bass loops and drums.. Damn!
According to the Jetsons, there’s no blacks in the future

Jump N’ Move feat. Jamalski
OH YEAH! Speed-ragga rapper Jamalski tearing up the mic on a groovy dancehall-funky hybrid track. You just have to slow down the pitch to get a clear listen to the lyrics as a whole. Man, this one would get a eighty year old granny to swing her new hips to dust..

Death Threat feat. Kool G. Rap
A East Coast/West Coast gangster style funk with the nastiest of macho lyrics ever! When I want to shut down the PC part of my brain, I play this track.
You don’t think you’re going under?
I got a bullet with your name, your address and your phone number
Nuff said!

State of Yo feat. The Black Sheep
Incredible track with great guitar work and of course, the mellow laid back raps of The Black Sheep. Remember Fatman Scoop’s hit “Be Faithful” (2003)? It included a direct sample of Black Sheep’s “This or That”.
Trivia should be my middle name..

Do Whatta I Gotta Do feat. Ed O.G.
Least favorite track, but still works fine..

Whatgabouthat feat. Tiger
Seventies cop TV show funk combined with rough and rugged West Indies style raps from Tiger: excellent!

Soul Flower feat. The Pharcyde
One of the best rap collectives of the nineties together with BNH make a great combo and an perfect track!

Conclusion
All-time favorite album, no doubt! Well, at least one of them, obviously.. There aren’t many albums you put in your player where you already know for sure that you’ll be enjoying at least eight tracks of it..
There never was a follow-up, that’s a shame. BNH are still doing their stuff, you should go and see them live, coz there’s a special magic that occurs when you see these guys on a stage. Perfect album!

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