Recently in Rap Music Category

It appears that, at the tender age of twenty-seven, I am getting old. My neighbor, who is a recent college graduate, (so that makes him--what?--no more than 4, 5 years younger than me) seems to believe there's an age gap in our music taste. I lent him my iPod today, while he was braving the flooded and delayed subway system, and he returned it with the following comment: "I wonder, exactly how much Geto Boys does one need on an iPod?"

I mean, really. Making fun of the Geto Boys when the three Jane's Addiction albums on there prove so ripe for ridicule? I didn't know what to say. At my last count, I have 15 songs on there from Horrorcore's ambassador--it's not like I sleep under an autographed photo of Bushwick Bill or anything. Whatever.

But that made me start thinking about the Geto Boys. They're hated by all the right people: Bob Dole cited the Geto Boy's self-titled debut as reason for stockholders to divest from Time Warner and Tipper Gore loathed them as well. Sure, maybe they did have lyrics about necrophilia (which made their label, Geffen, drop them when they refused to change them), but they also rapped about using condoms.

And this is where I begin to lose steam. Zac, I feel your pain from the Ol' Dirty Bastard entry. It's hard for me to write about rap. It's not for lack of interest, I'm just much more adep--or at least comfortable--singing the praises of the pasty, angsty denizens of Glasgow, Arlington, wherever. But while Scarface, Bushwick Bill, and Willie D. could not be described as pasty, they are angst-filled residents of a somewhat overlooked metropolis, Houston.

I never really went that deep with the whole goth thing, I think one of the reasons why I like the Geto Boys (and Gravegiddaz, et al.) so much is that they are the gothest of rap groups. Songs about satan worshipping, Halloween, and slasher movie villains really speak to the frustrated adolescent within, you know? I totally wish everyone rapped about Halloween! The sample of creepy serial killer doll, Chuckie, from their song of the same title, is something that has made even my mother (who, it should be noted, has an unhealthy fixation on the movie Child's Play and its protagonist) laugh out loud. An added bonus: extra layers of '90s nostalgia. Then there's the brilliant, laconic "My Mind Playin' Tricks On Me" whose slow delivery you could almost say paved the way for another one of Houston's break out stars, DJ Screw.

And even though the Geto Boys are no longer, and horrorcore fell off the national radar in about 1994, I leave you with these words from Willie D.: "Even though the membership changes, there will always be Geto Boys." And to my neighbor, I say: Greatest Band of All Time, dude, Greatest Band of All Time.

Since the very inception of this whole GBoAT thing, our man Steve Schroeder has been hassling me. Just last week he sez to me, he sez, "Zac, pretty soon I'm gonna have to demand you write about something other than white dudes in a rock bands. You're looking like a chump. A racist chump. And I don't wanna see you writing about some kinda Japanese girl group, neither." So I sez to him, I sez, "Listen Schroeder, I fear what I do not understand. And i do not understand 'minority music.'" bad joke.

No, but seriously: I know I have a very narrow scope of "expertise." English dudes. That's pretty much all I got. I've never been much for Jazz, and (god forgive me for admitting this) traditional Raggae/Dancehall/Dub has never really done much for me either. It's not that I don't listen to other kinds of music--in fact, I pretty much exclusively listen to hip hop any time I'm in a car doing anything. But that addresses the root of the problem, I guess: I am primarily a fan of Commercial hip hop. And it's hardly worth it to spend GBoAT time on widely acknowledged artists like Jay-Z or J Kwon, or Ludacris, or whoever, as I don't think I could possibly illuminate anything everyone doesn't already know about these artists.

I do have a sort of guilt (colorless guilt, thank you) at the notion that my record collection is primarily composed of examples of cultural appropriation, with considerable fewer examples of their sources. When it comes to Hip Hop, however, I'm surprisingly comfortable with the lack of volume in my CD racks. Over the years I've owned a fair number of Hip Hop albums, the majority of them I have invariably sold after a few years. While this might suggest an extremely narrow appreciation for the art form, I would hope that a brief (if less than informed) explanation might clarify a little bit.

I have long viewed Hip Hop as an art form of disposability. Which, though perhaps wrapped in a negative connotations, is not meant to dismiss or malign it in any way. It's just that, more so than any other music medium, Hip Hop (commercial Hip Hop, anyway) is designed for the Now, the New, and the Fresh, with little regard for sonic longevity. Now, I know what you're saying: All commercial music is designed for the now. Granted. but it seems to me that the bulk of the disposable pop music just borrows it's cues from Hip Hop, fusing it's freshness with more tradition pop structures.

I have a great deal of respect for any media that eschews the future for the present, as I think that most media is far too often self-important and self-revelatory. But it seems to me (much to the embarrassment of my co-editor) that Hip Hop is designed to have a quick shelf-life.

Again, this coming from someone who gets his Hip Hop primarily from commercial radio. Anyway. Long story short, I really like Hip Hop (a phrase that, as i type it, sounds shockingly like "I have a lot of black friends"), I just have no business writing about it.

But that said, this entry is supposedly about Ol' Dirty Bastard, so here goes: though I think the Ol' Dirty saga (far overshadowing his actual music, the bulk of which i enjoy immensely) is now the subject of a VH1 Special or something, let me recount some of the highlights.

So, first there was Wu-Tang--the most important rap group of the 90s and beyond. Russell Jones and his cousins Robert Diggs (the RZA) and Gary Grice (GZA the Genius) began with a brilliant premise, even better production, and a plan: drop a bomb as a vast collective, and in the wake of the explosion, start as many solo careers as possible. The plan worked brilliantly, as the group's debut, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) was an out and out smash, and a certified classic. The Clan was also smart enough to manage an unprecedented contract that only allowed for the release of Wu-Tang records proper, which opened the door for ever member (and later, sub-member) to negotiate solo record deals individually.

Dirty was the second member of the Clan (after Method Man) to release a solo record, the wildly popular Return to the 36 Chambers--with its infamous welfare i.d. card cover--was released in 1995. RZA's production is on par with his best records of the period, allowing ODB a beautiful canvas on which to shit. The ODB's Wu persona is expanded herein to a shockingly manic degree--an early solidification of the mad clown that would soon take over his life. It sort of just sounds like they set him in front of a mic, recorded hours of random, ranting material, and taped all together into some semblance of a record. For example: "Shimmy Shimmy Ya," his biggest solo hit, is like a lot of the record, just the same verse repeated twice over RZA's masterfully minimal production. The subject matter--much like that of most of his work--is largely shockingly crass, scatological, nonsensical, and often self-depricating (typified in the single "Raw Hide" with lyrics like: "I came out my momma pussy/I'm on welfare/Twenty-six years old still on welfare!.../I don't give a fuck/I wanna see blood, whether it's period blood/Or bustin' your fuckin face/some blood!.../I'm dope like fuckin' heroin/Wu-Tang Bloodkin/a goblin/who come tough like lambskin/Imagine/gettin' shot up with Ol Dirty insulin/You bound to catch AIDS or somethin'/Not sayin I got it/but nigga if I got it you got it!!") Though not the greatest record in the Wu-Tang cannon, it was enough to create one of the most charismatic, memorable characters in hip hop's long line of crazies.

Then everything started to go famously wrong. in 1997, Dirty is arrest for not paying child support on three of his then-13 children. the next year, he became a (abbreviated) household name after bum-rushing the Grammy stage during Shawn Colvin's expectance speech to protest Wu-Tang's loss to Puff Daddy ("...Wu Tang is for he children. We teach the children. Puffy is good, but Wu-Tang is the best. I want you to know that this is ODB, and I love you all. PEACE."). Then his rap-sheet started to expand: an attempted assault charge from his ex-wife, a warrant for his arrest after missing court dates about child support, and an arrest for shoplifting (after trying to walk out of a shoe store with $50 dollar shoes on) that came one week after he walked out of a hospital, against doctor's orders, with a gun shot wound. He missed the court dates for this arrest, and another warrant was placed out for him. Later that year he was arrested twice for threatening to shoot people on two different occasions.

The next year, he was arrested for attempted murder after a routine traffic stop, in which they alleged Dirty fired shots at them, though no evidence of a weapon was ever produced, and the case was dismissed. over the next few months he was pulled over four additional times, all of which resulting in criminal charges: the first was possession of a bulletproof vest (which is illegal for a felon in LA, where he was at the time), the second was possession of Crack, and the third was driving without plates and a suspended license, and finally, for possession of marijuana and additional crack. like, a lot of crack. Dude kept avoiding court dates, and kept getting warrants out for his arrest.

During this time, he completed his sophomore record, 1999s uneven Nigga Please, with a wide cast of producers including the Neptunes and RZA. The record was financially successful, though nowhere near that of its predecessor, and spawn the CLASSIC single "Got Your Money," featuring Kelis.

After serving 10 months in court-ordered rehab for a million different violations, ODB (who was now also mysteriously known as Big Baby Jesus, Joe Bananas, Osiris, and later, Dirt McGirt) went on the lamb with only two months of rehab left--becoming a fugitive. in this time, he famously made an on-stage appearance at the crowded record release party for the W, the third Wu Tang Clan record, and escaped without arrest. a few days later he was caught, and was sentenced to only two-to-four years for the amassment of all of his charges.

In his two year jail term he gained a ton of weight, was largely on suicide watch, and spent a healthy chunk of time in a mental hospital. He's convinced that the FBI is monitoring him. His record company releases a "Best Of" record, despite only having released two proper full-lengths. a tiny record company releases a record called The Trials and Tribulations of Russell Jones, featuring vocals he recorded on the lamb, without his knowledge.

ODB--now Dirt McGirt--was release from prison in may of last year, and now has what appears to be a largely exploitative contract with the esteemed Roc-A-Fella records (no release date in sight that I could muster), a VH1 special, and has a 9 pm curfew. GBoAT gettin' EMO.

Since I've done absolutely nothing to establish Ol' Dirty Bastard's unique brilliance with this lengthy historical tirade (getting more and more like that, aren't I?), it's hard to aptly support my assessment of "Greatest Band of All Time." Blew that. Well, it is the name of the blog, after all. The first, and hopefully last, Hip Hop post I will ever write. Thank you for your patience.

[holy shit--this is like 1600 words! GBoAT was never supposed to be like this! We'll work this out.]

I think it is obvious that it it unnecessary to write a lot about this band. The pictures speak for themselves in this occassion. These dudes totally rocked it VICTORIAN FUTURISTIC SPACEDUDE style. What more is there to say?? Seriously, these guys were on some whole other thing. They took part of their inspiration from the whole Parliament/Funkadelic spaceship thing, but no one could even come close to the one and only Jonzun Crew.

They were pioneers in the electro funk hip hop world that would be the biggest thing around in 84, 85, 86. They gave the breakers something to keep getting wild too while their culture was being totally over exposed. They had the hottest style of all time. Three brothers originally from the home of all things truly surreal, Florida, moved to Boston and formed The Jonzun Crew in 1981. Two years later they had the first ever album released on the hip hop label that would put out some of the greatest records ever and a giant in the industry, Tommy Boy. The historic LP, Lost in Space, featured three of the greatest electro jams of all time ("We Are The Jonzun Crew," "Space Is The Place," and "Pack Jam"). Long songs allowing for a dark groove to develop featuring minimal wicked robot voices talking mostly about space. Let's just be honest: it may seem goofy and silly in 2004, as it has been copied by dance music for 20 plus years now, but it still feels amazingly cool to listen to The Jonzun Crew.
Michael Johnson (nee Jonzun) continued on in the music industry after The Jonzun Crew stopped putting out hot records. He was behind the careers of New Edition(he wrote and produced their amazing hit single "Candy Girl"), New Kids On The Block, and more. An expert on The Jonzun Crew (with the last name Johnson as well) was telling me that he produced a group (whose name he could not recall) that was like electro with Temptation style vocals. The idea of that freaks me out. Michael Johnson and The Jonzun Crew influenced the direction of music (popular and underground) for years and of course anybody who wears those hot threads are certainly The Greatest Band Of All Time.

Boo Yo! Sorta cliched call, right?? Like avant free hip hop right, very palatable for the white rock'n'roller right? Cool points?? This is totally one of the digs on Antipop Consortium. Whatever. I'm so over it. I'm so over knocking a group for being distinct. These dudes brought everything I loved: super weird beats of their own production, crazy wild vocal styles, super smart lyrics, interesting subject matter. Four distinct dudes bringing their own style to make the raddest rap collective of the early 21st century.

Always more of a consortium of dudes than a true rap group, the Antipop Consortium found each other in 1997 at monthly event called "Rap Meets Poetry." M Sayyid, (High) Priest, Beans, and producer/engineer Earl Blaize were all doing their own thing, but all came together and soon after put out a couple underground singles. Their first LP, Tragic Epilogue, came out in 2000 on Ark 75 (the label responsible for Deltron, other Dan the Automator, and some Prince Paul). The album was a minor key bonanza, and fit in with the Ark 75 vibe as it was reminiscent of Dr. Octagon.

The big shocker hit when the band signed to electronic/idm super label Warp Records (home to Aphex, Squarepusher, Autechre) in 2001. It was was Warp's first move into the Hip Hop World and a bold move for Antipop to break from the underground hip hop mold. They released an EP on Warp in 2001 called The Ends Against The Middle and it definitely brought more of an electronic edge to their sound.

Antipop Consortium reached their pinnacle in 2002 with the release of Arrythmia. Their final proper LP, Arrythmia, was a focused maturation of their already distinct sound. The beats were strange based on blips and things one would never think of like ping pong balls. The songs were unadorned, allowing the raps about soap scum and aliens to be even more present than on previous releases. The had evolved their skills and the voices became instruments used for melodies, and more distinct choruses as well as the usual knowledge drop. The albums beats challenged the listener to move in new directions and get beyond the traditional sounds and beats and realize that you could totally move this style which was both somehow simpler and more complex. It was a near perfect album, which was both a blessing and a bad thing, because, feeling like they had accomplished what they had set out to do as a group, they broke up shortly thereafter to focus on solo projects.

I was fortunate to see Antipop on their final tour in 2002. They brought the most entertaining and varied rap show that I've ever seen. Full of energy and rapping the crap out of their already brilliant songs. In between the raps the dudes would do electro style jams on drum machines, samplers, and synths all playing live and all extremely adept and making awesome jams. It made the show flow so well and brought a whole new Antipop vibe that wasn't really present on the records.

A collaboration with jazz pianist Matthew Shipp was released in 2003, but that will probably be the last Antipop release as though apparently their is some bad blood between the former Consortium. Beans has put out a solo LP and EP that are both really solid. We are still waiting for solo releases from M. Sayyid and Priest with high hopes because both produced some of the best Antipop tracks and have what it takes on the mic. While solo stuff is great we can't help but miss The Greatest Band Of All Time.

The prince of west coast gangster rap is the best way to describe DJ Quik, I think. He just seems very princely, not in a very regal and dapper way (even though he can look good from time to time) but more in the George W. Bush pre presidency way, like cute and a little goofy and you can't believe he will one day be the king. He's not quite as tight of a producer as Dr. Dre, not as cool with his flow as Snoop, not as intimadating as an Xzibit, not as enigmatic and funny as Eazy E, not as tight as Kurupt, but he's almost all those things and that all makes for one really solid rapper/producer.

I'm starting to see a trend in my rap likes. I like someone who can be serious and tough but can also make fun of themselves and the whole tough-guy thing. DJ Quik comes off much more rounded and human on his albums and photos and interviews than many other rappers, and this is likable. This is not to say that Quik is the most charming chap, because there are still mounds of misogyny on Quik's records, but there are always a few tracks that make you just smile and think "this dude is a nice dude." Of course all good rappers have some sort of beef in their career and Quik had a classic one with MC Eiht, though Quik never focused too much on the gangster killing stuff, he was much more of a gangster partying sorta dudes (his best songs being party jams). He was always loyal to a few people, (AMG, Mauseberg, and Debarge) who he seemed to either be really close with or think they were really talented, and that always put them on his records giving them exposure. Bottom line = DJ Quik solid dude (except for that weird thing with beating up his sister)

Quik hit it big with his single "Tonite" and album Quik Is The Name in 1991. He came across as a more legit Eazy E. He's a skinny dude and he had the curls and he has a voice that is somehwat similar to Eazy, but his rapping was like his name implied quick (the c was omitted from his name because he was a blood and he didn't want to rep the crips by using the letter c). His first two albums sold the most of any in his career and with each album he drew more ire from fans and critics for not expanding his west coast gangster funk that always featured laid back beats, and syrupy keyboards. The knocks were that he was not growing as an artist and he wasn't changing with the industry fads. I wholeheatedly disagree because I thought he grew quite a bit as a lyricist and I found his committment to the west coast funk to be "cute" and "loyal". His albums that are most ripped (98's Rhythm-al-ism and 00's Balance & Options) I find to be his most solid and with some of his finest moments. He got dumped by his label but came back in late 02 with Under Tha Influence which did not sell well, but got a lot of his cred back for it's more varied and current sound. Now, focusing mostly on producing hits for other artists (like the great "Addictive" for Truth Hurts, "Buckbounce" for Eightball & MJG and "Justify My Thug" for Jay Z), I think DJ Quik is mostly retired from rapping, but the cute dude with the afro (nee gheri curl, nee corn rolls) will always be remembered as The Greatest Band Of All Time.

The first rap group* to come out with an album entirely produced by super producers The Neptunes was a gift and a curse for Clipse. Their sorta debut**, Lord Willin', came out during the peak of The Neptunes radio dominance (summer 2002) and because of this there was a lot of Neptunes backlash as well. So, it was like people had already made up their mind about Clipse and Lord Willin' before hearing it ('Tunes haters hated, 'Tunes heads were in...HATERS AND HEADS). Due to this, Lord Willin is one of the more slept on rap albums in recent years. Yes, it has terriffic production but it is also features Malice and Pusha T, two of the cutest funniest rappers around. I recently heard Ed Lover (yes, from Yo! MTV Raps) on the radio dissing Clipse for having no personality, and it made me so steamed. I was seriously yelling at the radio, calling Ed Lover a "big dork" and killer comebacks like "why don't.....YOU....like....get....a...personality," and the now classic "Ed Lover....more like Ed Hater." Mr. Lover was bringing the hater heat to a bunch of other dudes as well and that didn't bother me. For some reason these two brothers from Virginia have tunneled their way into my heart. It's sorta weird they don't stand way out like so many other rappers. They don't have the most distinctive personalities like Nelly, or Ludacris. They don't have the razor sharpness of Dizzee Rascal or Twista. They don't speak beauty and truth like Nas or Kanye. They almost exclusively rap about selling cocaine, which doesn't seem very interesting. Yet, there is something lovable about these brothers. They call themselves "Patty Cake Man," they say funny words, and they were trying since 1994 (presumably this 8 year period of trying to make it is when they learned all they now know about selling cocaine) to become famous before finally hitting it big. Their voices are somehow identical, even though the brothers are not twins, and that is really cute. They have this new song i just found called "Eghck," which is this sound, and how cute is that! On the imaginatively titled "Intro" on Lord Willin' one of the dudes is very cutely describing himself as a young man watching Miami Vice! CUTEST DUDES EVER. Me + Malice + Pusha T = TRU LOVE.
No, but seriously, Lord Willin', is totally a thick album all the way through. Everyone probably knows their big hit singles "Grindin'," "When The Last Time," and "Ma, I Don't Love Her," but the album is great all the way through. From the calypso awesomeness of "I'm Not You," to the funk horn laden "Young Boy" you get to know these cute dark drug dudes. Their follow up album, Hell Hath No Fury is coming out soon, after some delays due to a label shakeup in The Neptunes camp, and it is once again completely produced by The Neptunes, which is likely to garner some criticism that Clipse are not versatile rappers and they are really painting themselves into a corner, but it's more like a this is the perfect situation for artist/producer thing sorta like a Mirah/Phil Elverum. So, yeah, haters, lay off my awesome friends who are cute and sell drugs, because they are The Greatest Band Of All Time.

* Kelis previously released an album of only Neptunes production, but she's more a R&B lady than a rap group, you know.
** Clipse recorded an album with the Neptunes that was to be released in 98 (I believe) called Exclusive Audio Footage, but that was shelved by their label. A single, "The Funeral" was released in 98.

To blatantly rip off the their intro to the bio on their record label's web page:
CAN*NI*BAL (noun): one that eats the flesh of its own kind
OX (noun): a slang term used to describe a sharp blade Cannibal Ox, a pair of MC's that devour their own kind with words as sharp as blades
Vast Aire and Vordul Megilah, who make up Cannibal Ox, are two guys of epic proportions, physically and in presence on record. Their debut, and only, album, 2001's The Cold Vein, is an awesomely distinct record, and one of the best rap albums of all time. The Cold Vein combines the perfect production from Def Jux's man in charge El-P and the distinct rapping of Vast Aire and Vordul Megilah. The production is the noisiest and as "minor" sounding as any rap album, which is so refreshing, and works so well with the brilliantly dark and grimy storytelling. The album sounds like it emerged from a primordial soup, it's messiness and darkness truly give you the feel for the New York that Vast Aire and Vordul are describing. The beats feel slow, the rapping is very strong and deliberate. The lyrics are somewhat violent, but never in an over the top way. The boastful rapper's pride is mixed with real self awareness and self deprecation. In one verse Vast Aire points out that he did a big no no of rapping by rhyming a word with itself, and in the same song repeats an entire verse because it starts with "If you can't succeed, try try again." The record is filled with brilliant rhymes, and strangely awesome production.

The Cold Vein garnered a lot of critical acclaim, and big things were expected from Cannibal Ox, but after Vordul broke his collarbone and they cancelled a few tours for different reasons rumors ran rampant that Vast and Vordul didn't even talk and that Can Ox had broken up. Vast Aire, whose solo debut, Look Ma...No Hands, was released this week is saying those rumors are completely false and that Can Ox will be releasing an EP and a full length within the next year. Cannibal Ox's post The Cold Vein career has been a dissapointment, but maybe they will strike back with the force of their first amazing album, and based on that brilliant record Cannibal Ox is The Greatest Band Of All Time.