Werner von Wallenrod's Humble, Little Hip-Hop Blog

(Video Post) Cancelled Delivery

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 08:23:43 GMT

^Video blog!!
(More all-original content! ZOMG!!)

Update 8/28/08: Turns out Carlos Bess produced this O.G. version of the track; he sent me this message: "Wow! I produced that song Deliver by Chino Xl. Quincy did not clear the sample because of what chino said about Woopie Goldberg. Thats crazy... good find." And that Whoopie Goldberg line in the song ("Did I do that? Not Whoopie Goldberg or Steve Urkel but I'll leave ya grill the color purple"), isn't even a diss to her, just a play on words with the title of her film.

Tags: Chino XL

The Real Crazy Like a Foxxx

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 07:28:23 GMT

Ok, this post is about the recently released, long awaited Crazy Like a Foxxx album by Freddie Foxxx. And before I go any further, let me just ask: where is the vinyl LP of this? Seriously, Fat Beats, what the fuck?

Ok, that just had to be said. Now onto the real point of this post: the Crazy Like a Foxxx double CD that Fat Beats just released is not the same as the old Crazy Like a Foxxx album that's been in circulation since it was sent out to the press for review back in '94 (3 mics in The Source if you're interested)... not the Jailhouse version on disc 1 or the DITC demo on disc 2.

The differences start right at the intro. In fact, "Intro" on the original version is essentially two intros in a row, neither of which are on the CD set. The first is a brief welcome to the album by Foxxx, where he tells us every song has a hidden message. Then there's a second one where he and his partner Shorty Dog talk shit for a while over a beat. And midway through the original, there's another "Intro #2," where he talks about the concepts of the album and gives his message to all MCs, which was also left off this release. Now, none of these are great losses, but I can't help feeling like it would've been nice to be completist on a project like this.

Anyway, playing a little further into the album we find another skit that's not on the Fat Beats release, of a violent highway shoot-out. Then, just one song later comes another unused skit, where Shorty Dog brings two Chinese gangsters to meet Freddie, who demands to be cut into their operation. And leading up to "Step" is yet another skit absent from the Fat Beats set. Here a narrator asks us about dreams over the signature Twilight Zone theme, followed by a look into one of Freddie's gangster dreams, where Italian mobsters threaten to drop him out of a window. It's kinda odd. All in all, the original version of the album was definitely going for more of a "cinematic" skit-heavy vibe that I can't really say I'm so sad to see go.

But there's more absent here that I actually do miss, including "Raw Skill:" a pure, acapella rap. And it's no quick freestyle verse, but a full, political and angry track that just happens to not have a beat or hook. Dope stuff.

And the unreleased album also included the superior "Mellow Mix" of "So Tough" (in addition to, not instead of, the "Video Version" present on the CD). This isn't as big of a loss though, since it was already featured on the 12" single, which was properly released back in the day. And that single also features an exclusive, third mix of "So Tough," so you'll be wanting to pick that up if you haven't already got it, regardless.

Finally, the O.G. version concluded with a full-length shout-out track over a hot beat called, "Mr. Microphone," with his DJ getting busy cutting up some vocal samples at the end. That's been removed as well.

But the changes here aren't all subtractions. Besides, of course, the delightful inclusion of the DITC Demo version on the second disc, Fat Beats also sneaks a couple of extra tracks into the Jailhouse version. In fact, that was the first thing that occurred to me when I saw the track-listing for this release: "I don't remember a track with Tupac on it...!"

Track 8 on the Jailhouse disc, "Killa," sure wasn't on the album any of us heard before. And in addition to 2Pac, it also features an uncredited Ray Benzino. It's not hard to imagine why Fat Beats might've decided to leave his name off of their CD and press-kits. But of course it's only natural he's present, as The RSO was part of Latifah's reinvented/defiled Flavor Unit at the time. Now, this is really a reworking of an unreleased track that's been floating around the internet for a while called "Tryna Get Through This." The beat is different (it's better, and doesn't feature the sappy R&Bish hook), and Foxxx and Benzino kick different lyrics, but it's definitely the same 'Pac verse. ...I'd love to hear the full story behind this song.

Also new to the Jailhouse version is "Do What You Gotta Do," a song originally released on a rare 12" single I blogged about some time ago [Update 8/25/08 - the version on the CD is a bit different. The basic beat, hook and bassline are the same, but the piano and some of the change-ups you hear on the CD are new... it sounds like the 12" is the original, and they did some tinkering for the version on the CD.], and the "Crazy Like a Foxxx (Alternate Mix)." The Jailhouse version also adds a new "Interlude" skit of a guy picking up a prostitute... it would've really fit in perfectly with the ones from the old version, but it's actually being released here for the first time.

So, all in all, what would have been better? The real O.G. version with its crapton of skits and a few exclusive bits, or this remade version with all its odds and ends thrown in. Ideally, of course, it would have been nice to have it ALL included... but there's no denying that this is a must have 2-disc set of never-before released material no matter how you look at it. Even if it's not on vinyl.

Tags: Freddie Foxxx

InstaRapFlix 11: Beef

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 10:14:18 GMT

It's been a minute since I've done one of these (at least compared to how fast I expected to churn these out), but here I am with another one. Tonight I watched Beef (Netflix rating: 1 & 1/2 stars) a roughly 90 minute doc about... beef. As in contention, not the cow meat. :P

As the annoyingly long opening sequence rolled on (I recommend skipping ahead about five minutes), I had a bad feeling about this one... we were gonna lots of footage of rappers at their most embarrassingly ignorant and hammy coverage of pop rap star he said/she said-type junk. And the narration from Ving Rhames is pretty cheesy; but apart from that, this film came a lot deeper and smarter than I was expecting.

First of all, it takes it all the way back. They cover Kool Moe Dee versus Busy Bee, and both Dee and Bee are on hand to tell the story in their own words. And Krs, Kane, and all these other rappers are talk about it in a knowledgeable, historical perspective. They've got footage of the event... everything.

Then they cover Krs versus MC Shan, again all in their own words, with Marley and others there, too. It covers the basics for new school head s who have no idea who's who, but also gets detailed enough to keep the fans who already know all about it interested.

They go into Ice Cube splitting from NWA, and everything that lead to (Dre moving to Death Row, etc)... they've got archival interview footage from back when it was happening, everything. I was impressed.

And the film, which goes in chronological order, also successfully illustrates how beef transformed from the friendly competition of MC battles to stupid, violent fights like Tru Life's issues with Mobb Deep, and of course 'Pac and Biggie, etc. They even include the press's role in building the east vs west beef into the ridiculousness it became, interviewing Vibe editors, etc.

Towards the end, it does slip down some, becoming partially what I feared at the beginning... more stories of rappers glorifying fights (stay tuned after the credits to hear one photographer go on and on about some stupid fight for like fifteen minutes or some equally crazy length of time). And another problem is that the second half suddenly becomes the 50 Cent show. Now, don't get me wrong... he belongs in this film. Nothing against the guy, and he's certainly been involved in enough beef to warrant inclusion... but it's obvious the film dwells on every little thing he's ever been involved with and gives him heaps of interview time purely because he was the biggest star when the DVD came out. I mean, heck... just look at the cover. It starts out interesting; he has a fun anecdote about Jay-Z taking it to him after he released "How To Rob" (with footage from the event as well). But after a while it just got damn sick of hearing this dude, and his stories got pettier and pettier

So, yeah. Not an amazing film as a whole... but there's a lot of quality coverage, with a lot of interesting artists (I couldn't even count everybody they got on camera) from all time periods telling their stories in their own words. Definitely worth the view for any hip-hop fan.

Now, there's three sequels (or maybe there's even more, but Netflix just has the three)... My first instinct is that this is just going to be more of the worst of part 1. But hey, I was pleasantly surprised by this entry, so I'll definitely be giving those sequels a shot (each and every one of 'em), and report back. Watch this space.

Tags: Beef

Unique and Dashan In the House

Sat, 21 Jun 2008 09:14:37 GMT

Unique and Dashan are probably the most overlooked members of the X-Clan-centered collective known as The Blackwatch Movement. And they weren't just "down" with them, like YZ or Daddy-O... these were some serious X-Clan affiliates, with their songs hosted by Professor X ("Vanglorious. This is protected by the red, the black, and the green... with a key... SISSY!"), and produced by Paradise. They dropped their album, Black To the Future on Warlock Records in 1989, and this, their only single, the same year.

Now, anyone who's listened to X-Clan and fam knows they're fond of their house music. Heck, Isis's album was filled with house cuts. Unique and Dashan managed to limit it to only one song on their album, but unfortunately (but predictably), it wound up being their lead single. ...Really, their masterpiece was "Protected By the Red, Black and Green," and "Three the Hard Way" would've been another hot single (except the line, "I'm like a jew; my job is to gyp you" could've been a sticking point). But I'm sure Warlock made the call here.

Still, if you have to listen to a house song (and sometimes you do), nobody did it better than X-Clan. Unique is the fun, fast-rapping slick talker of the Clan, and it's a shame he wasn't utilized a little more on the Clan and Professor X albums... but on his own album, he definitely showed his skills in spades. And he proved that he could even handle the dancey, poppier track, "House Is Taking Over" with expertise.

Looking at the track-listing, you might think you've got a couple exclusive remixes on hand here... the "Rare Groove Mix" and "City Beat Mix." But really "Rare Groove Mix" is the album version, and the "City Beat Mix" is just a shortened instrumental (the song is 3:42, the instrumental is 2:00). Oh, and the "Bassapella" version is exactly what it sounds like: the acapella vocals over nothing but the bassline.

The b-side is the album track, "Lumumba." In case you don't already know, Lumumba is Professor X's real name (Lumumba Carson, son of Sonny Carson, the... let's say "politically divisive" author and activist). In addition to being the front man of The X-Clan (sorry for the rhyme), he was also a manager for various hip-hop arttists including Pete Nice and Positive K, and this song is a fun, semi-throw-away ode to his management, done in a jokey reggae style - in fact, it's not even by Unique and Dashan. He's not credited on this 12", but the full-length album credits tell us it's performed by M.C. Buggs. Anyway, it's essentially decent album filler.

So, the single is a poor, probably label-driven choice - but still dope - released off of an even doper album. And for a long time, I'd always wondered what happened to Unique, who showed the raw talent and knack to be doing underground X-Clan records or be on MTV doing pop singles, but seemed to fall off the Earth after this album (he wasn't even featured on "Close the Crackhouse" for chrissakes!).

Tragically, DJ Dashan has passed on... and while I still can't really account for Unique's absence, I've found where he is now. Yes, he has a myspace page, with new music up. Apparently, he was starting his own label (Verbal Khemistry Records) and crew (Grimey All-Starz), but his "new single" is dated 2006 so I don't know if he's still pushing that anymore. To be honest, I hate the production, but if you watch his videos and pay close attention to his lyrics, you can see he's still got it as an MC. Hopefully someone in a position to do something about it will recognize the opportunities in putting this guy on with some quality beats... there's still a really nice album waiting to be made there, I believe.

Tags: Unique and Dashan

(Video Post) Opening Your Records

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 20:50:50 GMT

^Video blog!!
(Just a little original content I think some people need to see.)

Tags: records

(Video Post) Don't Interrupt Me When I'm Whippin’ On My Bitch’s Ass

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 08:48:57 GMT

^Video blog!!
(It's been a long time, but once again, here's some original content created for this blog; not just linking something by somebody else.)

Tags: Kool G. Rap

Arrest the President, 14 Years Later

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 08:11:57 GMT

Now that we're under the administration of Bush #2, The Arrest the President All-Stars dropped a sequel to Intelligent Hoodlum's original "Arrest the President" in 2004 on Anticon, with a pic cover (enlarge the image and find Rev Rhyme!) riffing on the old We're All In the Same Gang album cover. The All Stars were made up of Pedestrian, Sole and Jel, who rhymes as well as produces on this one.

The whispered hook is the same; and the instrumental echoes the original... you hear hints of the signature sirens, but Jel fades them out quickly as he's actually crafted an all new instrumental for us, though roughly in the same energetically angry vein. It's a bit closer to the remix, I suppose, in that it has a proper bassline and is generally a bit more "musical," though it forgoes the scratching that Marley did in favor of a variety of vocal samples of everybody from Bobby Seale ("the long arm of fascist surveillance, reaching from the '60s into the present") to LL Cool J ("guilty, face down on the pavement!"). For the most time they alternate kicking four bars, but for the second "verse," they rhyme in unison, which kicks the energy up another notch. Then they split back up again for the final segment:

"Sole:
Blood against blood, he threatens neighbors with nukes
When he's reading his cue cards and punching the camera.
Don't look at the forest, he's burning it down for
The royal family and the prison landlords.

Jel:
We ain't the band for no campaign tour;
We rap to distract in these times of war.
We're not righteous, but might just make you want to listen...
Yo, I'm Elvis with the words of wisdom.[<--3rd Bass quote, kids]"

This single was actually one of those "double A-sides," and the flip is a Pedestrian solo cut called "The Toss and Turn"(both this and "Arrest the President" appear on his debut album, Unindian Songs vol. 1). Pedestrian describes the tune better than I surely could, "[f]ormally, 'The Toss & Turn' is all about appropriation: jel's music is essentially modeled after raw, early '60s novelty dance tunes (like 'The Funky Penguin') and the rapping is in the late-'80s, New York vein. Thematically, the lyrics modify and in some cases invert the associations of those two genres, so that it becomes a swingy, up-tempo song about loss, a conscientiously clubby song about solitude, and a clearly, coldly rapped song about anxiety." Maybe that'll strike you as a bit pretentious, but I gotta say it all works for me... Ped's staccato flow over Jel's funky beat is perfect; the theme is substantive enough to relate to, but simple and catchy enough to just enjoy as fun, too.

This record also comes with a formal, written apology [I can't be bothered to scan it; it's double-sided. Just buy the record.] for his past discography, which is pretty silly. I mean,. if he wants to apologize for something, he'd be better off apologizing for the vinyl exclusives that also appear on this 12".

There's three (not including the instrumental for "A.T.P."). There's "Resurrection Morning Sermon," a five minute literal sermon in his preacher character (continuing a series of skits from off the album). It's actually set to a dope beat by Jel, and there's occasionally some nice scratching during the breaks. But essentially the sermon is one long, self indulgent drag.

Then there's this weird thing where some guy named Adrian Bayless (I've no idea who he is, but apparently he owns a computer!) takes the "Toss and Turn" acappella and distorts it unto an indistinguishable series of noises for about a minute and a half. Then some sound effects fade in, and this continues on for a total of roughly four minutes. If you make it that long, god bless ya.

Finally, producer Odd Nosdam takes another stab at distorting "The Toss & Turn." He basically takes the chorus and one verse, turns the drums into some kind of awful, piercing mess, and lays it over an actually kinda funky organ loop. This one would be pretty catchy if it wasn't literally painful to listen to.

Anyway, you can't really complain since they're just "bonus tracks" on a 12" with two great songs on it. So cop that shit... right after you've copped the Tragedy, of course. Do it for yourself... Do it to support good music... Do it for your country. 8)

Unfortunately, I've no idea what Pedestrian is up to nowadays. I know he left the country for a while, and that he has a very uninformative myspace for his preacher character (Evangelist J.B. Best); but that's about it, and that's seriously old news. I think he did a little writing for one or a couple Anticon-affiliated projects recently ("cbf" as the kids say), so if you find him, remind him he owes us an Unindian Songs vol. 2 soon. He takes way too long between projects, and should be chastised at every opportunity.

Tags: Pedestrian, Arrest the President All Stars

Arrest the President

Sat, 09 Aug 2008 08:50:29 GMT

This was the third and final single off of Intelligent Hoodlum's debut album - after the understated "Black & Proud" and the commercial bid, "Back To Reality" with that whole Soul II Soul vibe - and undoubtedly the best. It seemed like the album had run its course, not unsuccessfully, when Trag and Marley snuck in this one final blow, which was easily the best track off the entire album (and his entire career, I'd say, despite my special soft spot for "Live and Direct from the House of Hits").

The production was like "Marley does The Bomb Squad." High pitched sirens, fast, banging drums and the occasional, gritty horn stab. And Trag just spits hard, fast and angry, only briefing stopping to repeat the line "arrest the president" a few times before kicking the next verse. It was the last song on the album, too; the perfect way to end was a little bit of a mixed bag... on one hand his most progressive track, on the other, a sort of a throwback to the sound of the raw, underground collaborations of Marley and the man then known as MC Percy.

There was a video, but it hardly got any play. The label and media had pretty much moved on already after "Back To Reality," which is a shame because it was a good video, too. The unapologetic message probably turned off some higher-ups, but with the proper promotion, I think this could have been a really big record in 1990. It's like this i the record they put out just in case they never got the chance to make another one. And it remains a classic to those Juice Crew fans in the know; but it definitely never became what it should have. In fact, the single never even got released.

The 12" was a promo only, with its hand-written label well-known to hip-hop collectors worldwide. Three tracks: "Assault Mix," "Predicate Felony Mix" & "Convicted Mix," and one crossed off: "Album Justice Mix." Despite throwing the word "Justice" in there, I'm going to assume that was just the album mix, so no big loss... we've all got it on the LP (and if you don't, get it now... I'll wait).

So we've got three mixes here. Two aren't anything to get excited about - despite the fancy monikers, they're just the instrumental and TV tracks ...although, this has to be on everybody's short list of must-have hip-hop instrumentals, so go ahead and get excited about that, too. Now, that leaves us withjust the one, basic (also Marley-produced) remix. You might ask yourself, why would you really want a remix to one of hip-hop's potentially greatest all-time beats?

Because they actually made it better. This isn't some crappy "New Jack Swing" remix, or just a slightly reworked "Blue Mix." It keeps the signature sirens, and even the same drum track. But now Marley is constantly cutting and scratching throughout the whole song (mostly a horn sample, but sometimes a vocal sample or two get cut in for a split second as well), and it's all laid down over a great, rolling bassline. Flat out, it doesn't get any better than this, folks.

As you might imagine, this record doesn't usually go for cheap... the combination of scarcity + greatness will do that. And, strangely, Traffic didn't see to fit this, or the other important 12" single tracks, on their reissue of the album... instead throwing on stuff like "Live Motivator?" So, anyway, definitely grab it when the opportunity presents itself.

I'm afraid I have no myspace links or anything for ya. After releasing his slightly presciently titled eighth album The Death of Tragedy last year, our man got locked up on a drug charge. According to sketchy online sources (hey, what do you want from me?), he's scheduled to be released in 2011. But that doesn't mean they still shouldn't arrest the president, too. :P

Tags: Intelligent Hoodlum, Tragedy, Marley Marl

Unreleased Slick Rick, Chapter Eight

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 21:03:19 GMT

My series that started in April 2007 and was last heard from that September is back! Though this time it's a little different. In all the previous entries we unearthed previously released Slick Rick releases that J-Love used for his barely mixed mix-CDs and called "Unreleased." But this time we're hit with a double LP that came out after the mix-discs (I think I prefer that term better) - it's brand new.

So, yeah, A.K.A Ricky D: The Further Adventures of Slick Rick is a just-released double Slick Rick LP featuring a boatload of rare/unreleased tracks. It comes in a picture cover (see image) and the track-listing is as follows:

A1. A LETTER
A2. CAPTAIN CAVEMAN
A3. CAN’T SHAKE US FEAT. SPECIAL K (KENNY DOPE MIX)
A4. FEELS LIKE

B1. WOMEN LOSE WEIGHT (ALCHEMIST REMIX)
B2. SLEAZY GYNACOLOGIST
B3. GAMBLING

C1. TROUBLE (J-LOVE REMIX)
C2. SAMPSON
C3. WORLD RENOWN (PETE ROCK MIX)
C4. GET A JOB

D1. IT’S A BOY (LARGE PROFESSOR REMIX)
D2. WOMEN LOSE WEIGHT (MORCHEEBA SPARE TYRE MIX)
D3. STAR TREK
D4. PRACTICE OVER AT CHILL WILL’S CRIB (1984)

So the first thing you should notice is that "Captain Caveman," "Trouble (J-Love Remix)" and "Practice Over At Chill Will's Crib (1984)" are first-time vinyl releases. So, that already makes this a must-have. And, yes, these are all the full, unmixed songs... even the J-Love remix is free of J-Love's name tag being shouted all over it.

The sound quality, like the Ricky D EP, is a bit of a mixed bag. It sounds like a lot of post-production filtery-type work was put into making some of the poorer quality tracks sound clean, which makes the volume levels on stuff sound a little low or distorted. Some of the tracks sound perfectly fine (and they ALL sound better than on those mix CDs), but a couple tracks, like "Feels Like," do suffer.

Some of thetitling is also borderline misleading... calling "Can't Shake Us" the "Kenny Dope Mix," while accurate (it was indeed produced by Kenny Dope), kind of suggests that this is a rare remix by Kenny Dope. But, actually, there's only one version of this song, which was always produced by Kenny Dope, and this is the exact same one that was on the original 2002 12". The same can be said for the "Pete Rock Mix" of "World Renown"... I defy you to find me a non-Pete Rock version. And just to clarify, both of the "Women Lose Weight" remixes on this album were on the original Morcheeba 12".

But the nicest surprise I found is that the "Star Trek" included here is actually the Large Professor remix that was featured on Legends 2.2; and not the original version as heard on the Ricky D EP. So rack up another exclusive for A.K.A Ricky D (and also a reason you'll need to hang onto your Ricky D EP).

Now there's still a few tracks I wish were on here, namely: "He Kills," the Marley Marl remix of "Kit, What's the Scoop?" and the unreleased version of "I Own America." And I'd've happily forgone the perfectly common stuff - like the "It's a Boy" remix, which has already been released and rereleased several times over, and the Morcheeba remixes - in their stead. But I can't pretend that I'm not very happy to finally have "Captain Caveman" and Extra P's "Star Trek" remix on wax... and that Chill Will practice session is a fun, vintage exclusive. Good times.

Tags: Slick Rick

Unreleased Slick Rick, Chapter Five

Mon, 30 Apr 2007 08:54:56 GMT

(Note: Ok, this is kinda the least interesting entry in the series, at least for me; so let's just get through it so we can get to the more interesting stuff again. :)

Like I said in my last entry, it seems J-Love lowered his standards between the first and second version of his Legends vol. 2 CD as far as what can be considered "Unreleased." The second time around he included "The Sun," with Ghostface Killah, Raekwon and RZA as an "Unreleased" track.

"The Sun," along with another song that doesn't feature Slick Rick called "Good Times," was originally slated to appear on Ghostface's 2002 album, Bulletproof Wallets. Both were eventually removed from the final release version of the album, but not before the clean promo copies were pressed and released to the public.

Ok, so that sounds pretty worthy of being labelled "Unreleased," right? After all, it was only put on the clean, radio version of the album that wasn't really made available to the public. That was the thinking, I'm sure, when Archives Inc. rereleased this on vinyl one year later on their Ghostface Killah EP (which also features "Good Times" and one or two "original mixes" of songs that were different on the clean promo than the funal album).

So, now it's been released twice. Once as a promo-only vinyl pressing (though it's not terribly rare... you can still score copies of this online for less than the original sale price), and once as an independent (bootleg? just how legit are Archive Inc.'s releases, anyway?) vinyl EP, which is still easily available... pick it up from ughh.com if you're interested. But that's still pretty "Unreleased" as far as the average consumer is concerned. I mean, it's not like this was put out on a mainstream vinyl and CD release that's still in print and available wherever new music is sold, right?

Oh, wait. Actually, this song was included on Ghostface and Trife da God's double album, Put It On the Line, two years later. Go ahead and order it new or used from Amazon; it comes with a bonus DVD of a Ghostface stage show recorded live. Now, I don't know how much more released a song can get than all that.

The song itself is just OK. The beat and hook are kind of monotonous and most of the lyrics are a bit goofy, with each MC rapping about the sun. Ghostface says, "Yo, the sun can never be pussy; he always come out. He'll sit right there, even if you pull your gun out." Slick Rick steals the show with easily the best delivery; but lyrically, it's still album filler quality. And frankly, they should've removed RZA's bit all together.

And actually, in 2004, Wu-Tang producer/DJ Allah Mathematics released a mixtape called The Next Chamber with his own remix of "The Sunn" (as he spells it), where the instrumental - if not the lyrics, which are naturally unchanged - is far superior. So, really, there are a lot of other buying options for this particular song, all of which are preferable ...if you think it's worth bothering with at all.

Tags: Slick Rick, Ghostface Killah