Fly Hard, Fly Long

Sparrow
-Physics
-Physics (remix)
-Rhyme Impotence

1995 Unruly Records

Hardly a step shy of infamous at this point, so I don't need to say too much. Solid production value, memorable hooks. One, especially.

If you must have the wax, you might be able to find it on eBay, where one of the Unruly guys who put the record out has been hawking some.

Lost Poetz

Dead Poetz Society
-Klockuz
-Lick A Shot
-Lick A Shot (remix)

1996 Challys Records

That's right, the other DPS. A classic mid-90's "demo on wax" that flew under many a radar but still got plenty of burn on college radio hip-hop shows, then faded into oblivion. Not sure if they did anything else. I do know that Slomo, who produced the remix, had a 12" out the same year called "Ghetto Jedi" b/w "Hip-Hop Can't Stop" and "I Represent" on his own Demo Ya Dome imprint, but I'm clueless beyond that. Doesn't mean I can't enjoy the sounds, right?

note: shout to Ed Catto, who informs me that there was indeed another DPS release, Lick A Shot Pt. II. Be on scope.

Alter-Ego We Go

Dead Poets Society
-Don't Quit
-Seize The Day

1999 EYA Recordings



Jemini the Gifted One
-Funk Soul Sensation
-Brooklyn Kids

1995 Mercury/Polygram Records

It's not really a themed post, but this is about as close as I'll get, so I guess I should be proud of it. These two guys decided that it wasn't enough fun to just make records as themselves, so they enlisted the help of a sprinkle or two of that studio magic to transform themselves into two rappers each.

The Dead Poets Society joint was dropped by a man known most of the time as Yeshua Da PoED of Fondle 'Em (w/ Siah) and Wee Bee Foolish fame. Ask me, I'd say he didn't need the gimmicks, but nevertheless he went the Quasimoto-like route of speeding up/slowing down the music during the recording process, or so it seems to my ear. He also handled the beats/production on this one, making it sort of a pet project, I guess. Despite the silliness, the end result is indeed some funky noise.

And these days, most people probably know Jemini the Gifted One from his affiliation with new Gorillaz (oh, and Grey Album) producer Danger Mouse. Back in 1995, he was signed to a major, was all up on Rap City, and apparently couldn't decide whether to be "wild" or "smooth". On Funk Soul Sensation, unlike Yesh, he opts for the more traditional and time-tested method of character creation, which is, um... to just rap different. While not as impressive as Black Thought's renderings of Kane and G Rap on last year's criminally underapreciated Boom!, if I didn't know better, I would've been fooled into thinking there were in fact two emcee's on the track instead of just one bipolar rapper.

He's just rapping as himself on Brooklyn Kids, but it's the b-side, and it's pretty funky fresh, too.

From the Undergrounds of Jersey

Down N Dirty Tribe
-Inna Cipher (Dirty Landcruiser Mix)
-Mindtrix

1995 Jungle Sounds Records

Don't really know too much about this crew, except that their music is pretty darn fresh. Many of you might recognize the Little Lunatic from an appearance alongside the Beatnuts, but other than that, it's all a mystery to me. A couple of them sound slightly familiar, but I just can't put my finger on it. Any clues are more than welcome.

Inna Cipher, with its classic breakbeat drums and "ill-murderous, ostentatious lyrics," hits you like a jab-jab-right cross combo... You know what's coming but it breaks down the defense anyway. And Mindtrix is a solid, gritty, slow-rolling funkfest in its own right, with good, reserved use of sax stabs and creepy pianos that're sure to be the technique of choice for scrappers and southpaws worldwide.