“I need the poohnah the poohnah the poohnah the poohnani!” - MC Brains

Left: MC Lyte’s 5th solo album “Bad As I Wanna B” courtesy of Elektra/Asylum Records
Right: The very best of MC Lyte courtesy of Rhino Entertainment

My favorite female MC? The number one spot without a doubt goes to MC Lyte (with Lauryn Hill, Queen Latifa, Lady Bug Mecca, and Jean Grae to name a few below that list) I actually picked up these 2 releases at the same time and wanted to shed some light into Lyte’s incredible career.
(more after the jump…)

I really hate saying this but I never really appreciated “The Miseducation of Laryn Hill.” With all of the success and accomplishments Ms. Hill achieved with her debut back in 1998, her multi-award winning album was completely ignored on my part. Around that time I was in full swing with the whole Hip-Hop underground movement ignoring great commercial releases from Lauryn Hill and even Jay-Z for underground acts like Company Flow, Planet Asia and The Living Legends Crew. It was a different phase in music I am grateful for. At that time I was attracted to homemade beats with above average street knowledge on a higher level. I completely gave up on the radio and attended live shows buying underground tapes and burned CD-R’s with local acts. That was the scene back than and this was done before the internets use in MP3’s went into full swing. Maybe 1998 wasn’t the right time for me to listen to “The Miseducation of…” Fast forward to 2008 and I’ll shamelessly say this was the first time I really gave the album a chance… and I loved every moment of it. This is one album that shouldn’t have gotten lost in the shuffle.
(more after the jump…)

Damn son! I’m sayin’… what’s wrong with ya’ hand!?!

I know that there are far more entertaining Yo! MTV Raps collections out there to cop but I just had to shine the light on this one for a second. (especially since I found it in the bargain bin section for ¢50 cents!) Compilations in the past have been overlooked by myself since I already own many of the tracks. These days, when the price is nice I collect these compilations for sound quality purposes or the simple fact some of these comps have exclusive remixes or tracks usually available on wax. The 1997 Yo! Mtv Raps compilation collects the bright spots of the mid 1990’s from 93-97. I love the mixture of tracks collected in this comp because its a great blend of dope Hip-Hop and commercial tracks I never really thought twice about as to today. I couldn’t be happier with a blend like this that brings back highschool memories of just chillin’ by the porch singing the chorus to the Wu’s “Cash rules everything around me… C.R.E.A.M.! get the money! Dollar! Dollar! Bill ya’ll! or getting tongue twisted over Bone’’s verses on “Tha Crossroads.”

It’s good to see A Tribe called quest’s “1nce again” and Outkast’s “Elevator’s” featured on the comp as well. They were always considered heavy hitters that were above average. I can’t really be mad by the Blackstreet featured “Get me home” starring Foxy Brown. It’s probably one of the only Foxy tracks I really like. They even threw in Method Man’s “The Riddler” track from the Batman Forever soundtrack. (a forgotten gem) It felt good hearing 2pac’s “I get around” get some rotation here as well- it’s always a good vibe to hear this particular 2pac track, he always sounded chill in that cut. The prized tracks in this compilation go to the J.Dilla remixed “Runnin’” track starring The Pharcyde. Hands down one of my favorite cuts ever. (it gets no chiller than this!) Who ever said “hey lets add this to the comp!” is a genius. Lastly, call me a sucker for summer jams, but I had a soft spot for LL Cool J’s “Loungin’” remix featuring Total. I think it was the beats and chorus that stuck to me, because Uncle L’s lyrics were somewhat forgettable!

Compilations and soundtracks have always been a recipe for disaster… while there are also a handful of Yo! MTV Rap cd’s out there, the series always comes correct. Who ever makes the track selections to these albums is doing a bang up job making it work.

1990-something…when soundtracks actually mattered.

I rarely buy soundtracks these days. I think the last few soundtracks I actually picked up were Tarantino’s Death Proof and The Juno soundtrack inspiring music from the original film. I never really understood the rhyme and reasons towards a Hip-Hop soundtrack but guessed it was just another way to cash in on urban related films. During the 90’s we were treated to a handful of soundtracks that broke new ground in introducing various rap acts and boost an established groups popularity. (The Show, Low down dirt shame and Ghost Dog to name a few) Before there were any mix-tapes or free downloads to hype up an artist, I’d like to think Hip-hop soundtracks were groups extra’s push.The New Jersey Drive soundtracks volume 1 and 2 are perfect examples of vintage 90’s Hip-hop. It wasn’t the movie I was interested in seeing, it was the music that got me to cash out 12-13 bucks to peep the cd. (NJD was actually a great movie, by the way…)
(more after the jump…)

What’s this?! The Wu-Chronicles compilation has been out for more than 10 years and I finally flipped the backside to see the track listing!? (bargain bin banger for $2.95! Couldn’t pass up!) I gotta say that between 1998 and now, I stopped looking at Wu-Tang compiled albums which have been let downs during the last decade. Too many half talented MC’s were using the Wu-trademark delivering uninspiring releases to the masses. Wu-Chronicles on the other hand caught me by surprise. The compilation compiles 14 tracks of previously released material from various Wu-Tang related projects… yes, the good stuff and I love it! It collects a lot of the good tracks that complimented numerous hit singles in various albums. Everything from Wu-Gambino’s (after the Ice Cream Track on Rae’s debut album) to The What featuring Biggie Smalls and Method Man are featured in this comp.

There’s a number of must haves on this comp I am absolutely honored to finally own. The Gza’s Cold World (RZA remix) featuring a young D’Angelo is a must have. It’s the same great cut but features D’Angelo on the soft Spoken hook and also boasts Inspectah Deck and Streetlife along for the ride. The track is incredible. For those who weren’t happy with The Cocoa B’s “Rude Awakening” release, Black Trump featuring Raekwon is featured as well. (The beat is infectious!) The Alkaholiks “Hip-Hop Drunkies” featuring a bugged out ODB is also featured in the comp along with the classic and almost forgotten Right Back at you feat. Mobb Deep, Raekwon and ghost Face. The closing track “96′ recreation,” which serves as a demo cut features Rza, Capadonna and ODB is vintage Wu-Tang material. It’s got some of the best verses from all 3 individuals. (yes! including Cappa!)

Let the lesson be learned… never take a Wu compilation for granted!

This should have been an instant 5 star classic but why am I to hate on this lassic collection? There’s no question, all of The Fugees greatest hits are in this specially priced collection courtesy of Columbia Records. Vocab, The Nappy Heads remix, Killing me softly and No woman no cry are all in there… Why hate on a classic? Well… why dish out $10 bucks for an album that has a parental advisory - explicit lyrics sticker on the cover and sell me a cd with radio edits in the album?!? I even returned it asking for a new one and found the material on that copy full of edits. Ugh… I just hate radio friendly albums. Bleeping out curse words off of L-Boogie’s verses is a violation! It just ruins the song. With that said and done the collection lives up to the Fugee’s hype. All of the bangers are in here and than some.

The classic Refugee remix of Vocab is the opening track to the collection. Radio friendly or not, the song’s always been a favorite of mine. Top it off with the infectious The Nappy Heads remix produced by Salaam Remi, I couldn’t be any more satified. (Did they have to bleep out “Cheeba Cheeba ya’ll?!?”) Other classic bangers from The Score album include Cowboys, The Score, How many Mics and Fu-Gee-La. The flip side to my rant is that they also included Lauryn’s solo cut “The sweetest thing” taken from Love Jones soundtrack. Unfortunately it’s the remix version lifting an up-tempo beat taken from the Swat TV show. Ready or not is also featured on the comp but features the Saalam Remi remix taken from their b-sides comp that dropped a year later.

For what it’s worth… cop their sophomore debut The Score. It’s a classic all by itself. I don’t know what they were thinking about this compilation. 10 tracks deep, all radio edited and 3 of the important tracks feature less popular remixes vs. the original cut. I knew I should have boughten Busta Rhymes greatest hits!

Who were the other 2 dude from Lost Boyz?!?

Remember The Lost Boyz debut album “Legal Drug Money?” It seems like that was a long time ago but how could I forget?!? That album was all hype! It was a consistent party-like album with catchy beats and sharp lyrics. The tempo of the albums cuts had mixed boom back with commercial funk with lyrics courtesy of Mr. Cheeks that were on point. Think of commercial friendly (and safe) beats with a message. I can’t call it, Cheeks was a talented wordsmith who could tell stories that held the album together.(bless Freaky Tah’s soul, he was a one of a kind hype man!) While the album tried to break out to commercial appeal there was a great sense of pride towards New York Hip-Hop. It was one of the last great albums in the mid 90’s that didn’t depend on hot producers or chart topping guest stars.

Top choice tracks… reminisce on the club banging sounds of “Music makes me high.” Peep LB’s take on “Jeeps, Lex, Coups & Benz” or go beyond the music and see what “Lifestyles of the rich and shameless” is all about. Don’t sleep on Cheek’s message on “Renee…” (originally from the don’t be a menace… soundtrack) The name of LB’s game is consistency within the album… which is what “Legal drug money” represented. Sure I’m sure this album will be over looked, but just think of it as a piece of great underated 90’s Hip-Hop along with great acts like The Artifacts, Boogie Monsters, Das Efx and even Mic Geronimo.

If it wasn’t for a small ad on The Source Magazine, repping the future of New York MC’s I would have never discovered this guy. Before the internet, the buzz on Mic G was literally word on the street! Mic Geronimo was suppose to make it big! What happened?!? Was it his ghetto name? (personally, I woulda’ been happy with Mic G!) Was it his shady record label? (Blunt Records?!?) He had the beats (he was backed up by Da’ Beatminerz and Buckwild to name a few) Was it the lack of press? (a 3×5 ad on the last page of the Source Magazine) BAck in the 90’s, Mic Geronimo was discovered to than small time producer/DJ Irv Gotti (DJ Irv back than) who realized this kids skills and help put him out… lyrically, think of him as the poor man’s NaS… not NaS Escobar but Nasty NaS! He came correct and only a few of my friend really liked his style. Others thought he was a straight up knock off of NaS and Rakim! But I gave him a chance.

When “The Natural” dropped in 95, I gave it a thumbs up and left it in my cd decks for about 2 weeks. It was NYC Hip-Hop for the streets. At the time, I was getting tired of the shiny suit raps and the remix singles over an 80’s beat… Mic G’s debut album represented some real hustle, I wanted to see develop through his out spoken word. I really thought he was gonna blow up. When his second album “The Vendetta” dropped it was a miss to the masses. Geronimo was in the big leagues but couldn’t play with the big boys… err Badboys?!? (heads like DMX, Ja Rule, The Lox even Puff Daddy!) I revisited that album a few months back and thought it was alright. I think it just came out at the wrong time. “The Natural” brought back some memories when you had to flip through a magazine to see what was hot. Nowadays you can find the next big emcee on a blogspot or have it e-mailed from a friend.

My favorite Jurassic 5 album (out of the 4 dropped) is J5’s debut LP that dropped in 1998. An EP had dropped a year earlier but I had upgraded my collection for a few dollars more (The LP had included bonus material. ) How refreshing was it to here this album for the first time in 1997? It felt real good. J5 had abandoned the industry bullshit of rap mainstream and delivered old-school vibes , excellent rhythmatic raps, (always on cue) and the production stylings of crate prevailers Cut Chemist and DJ Nu-Mark. Tracks like “Jayou” and “Concrete School Yard” were just a few of the tracks that were responsible for the appreciation I had even more towards the Golden Age of Hip-Hop. Their style which was a tribute to everything that was old school and mattered was a bit tough for me to catagorize when I was mixing songs. Is it new school? Is it old school? At the time I had started calling J5’s material… True School as in true to it’s form of Hip-Hop. Bridging the gap between old school happenings and the New school surroundings of today. (to put it in mellow) The industry ushered their new found style as “The 1990’s alternative hip hop movement” (ah, same shit different toilet)
(more after the jump…)