Rather Be "Tried By 12"?

East Flatbush Project feat. Payday
-Madman's Dream

1994 10/30 Uproar Records

Soon to be overshadowed by East Flatbush Project's subsequent release, Tried By 12 (arguably the most well-known mid-90's "underground" hip-hop 12"), Payday gave us this one to enjoy in late 1994, and enjoy it we did.

The beat, while not technically astounding, makes good use of horns and some kind of chanting sounds that add up to a nice total package that's worth more than a few head nods.

Solid mic skills are on display throughout, and the standard Brooklyn street-rap is even a notch above average here, but somebody pleeease tell me how nobody caught the misspelling of the home borough in the last verse... or else why nobody spoke up about it. Craziness.

Boostin' On The Mic

Boostin' Kev
-That Be Boostin'
-Smoke You On The Mic
-Dunt Da Dunt Dunt

1995 Black Market & Parker Records

So, since bandwidth problems and such are so decidedly not enjoyable, I thought I'd have a little fun with this post. And if anything's gonna be said about Boostin' Kev, the man does make me laugh.

Though probably most notable for his uncanny similarity to Biz Markie (by ear, anyway), especially on Smoke You On The Mic, Kev is plenty entertaining himself. And, for a 12", this disc is loaded... with three songs, remixes for each of them, and a couple of instrumentals to boot.

As far as the content, well, it's probably not for everybody. Takes a discerning ear, I'd say. Way back in the radio days, most of the requests were for That Be Boostin', but today, for this post anyway, the real substance is with Dunt Da Dunt Dunt. I mean, it's clearly hard to ignore lyrical gems like "hip-hop a-chop chop choppity chop chop" or any Roto-Rooter references alike, let alone the broken jack-in-the-box beat. And I'm not sure where the Old McDonald fits in, but remember, I'm just a lowly blogger.

To my man L-Flava that be boostin'

Bandwidth Blues

Due to bandwidth issues (thanks O-Dub), the next post will be a little later than it should be. But stay tuned, I'm not going anywhere...

The Rookie...for Three!!!

Cash aka Vigilante-Chillin'
1995 Treetop Productions

Fierce-Crab
1996 Wreck House Records

Mental Illness-Amazin's Not Playin'
1996 Stepsun Records

Yes, a funky trifecta of A-sides that loomed large in their day, but sadly slid into obscurity due to a lack of follow-up releases. I do see them pop up now and again on playlists or mixtapes and in bargain bins, especially Chillin', but for the most part they've all but disappeared. That's why I'm here, I guess.

Relatively rugged, dark, and moody all, with solid production and workable flows, but Mental Illness seemed poised to make the most noise, thanks in no small part to the affiliation with Stepsun Records, the pet project of former Def Jam President and Public Enemy co-founder Bill Stephney.

Enjoy.

Northern Roots

Da Grass Roots
-Drama
-Living Underwater

1996(?) Black Employed Records

One of the beautiful things about this time, and hip-hop in general, can be stated in a very simple and very familiar way: It ain't where ya from it's where ya at. Besides the fools (read: media) who fell for the whole East Coast vs. West Coast nonsense and a handful of Bronx-based "purists," this has been a truism for hip-hop fans from the jump. Case in point, Da Grass Roots from Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

The raw, organic jazzy sound was more popular down in Philly at the time, but these guys pull it off nicely with a solid combo of programmed and breakbeat drums, thick basslines, and ultra-vibey keys. It's an all-too-rare example of hip-hop music that's smooth and mellow enough to just have on in the background when you're on lounge mode, but funky enough to toss into the mix as well. Fat noise.