A to Zee

Young Zee
-Milk (People Call Me)
-Juice

1995 Perspective Records

Young Zee is (was?) a charter member of the New Jersey collective known as The Outsidaz, who, back in 1995, had yet to turn heads with their appearance on the Fugees single Cowboys from that little multi-platinum album called The Score (you may remember it).

One of the far too many promising MC's from the era who seemed destined for bigger and better things but instead just kinda faded away quietly, Zee never made much noise beyond a couple of singles (including this one), a couple of guest shots (including Cowboys), and a relatively quiet Outsidaz album.

None of that takes anything away from these tracks, though. Both pack enough neck-snapping funk and fearless flow to sound fresh even ten years on. True, Milk "features" KRS-One and Busta Rhymes, but one shouldn't pay too much attention to that. The appearances amount to little more than a recorded endorsement of Zee in the song's intro. Instead, check for a young Rah Digga lending a hand to Juice, then listen to how Zee commands attention on the mic with an effortless charizma over some classic boom-bap chops by KRS himself and the far under-appreciated Ski.