Memoirs Of Redefinition Radio #8
I wasn't sure what to write about this week. Then I looked at this week's playlist and this is one of the weeks where I played all sorts of songs or artists that I have some story about. With that in mind, I figured I'll take some of the tracks from the show and give some in depth info ranging from the informative to the trivial. Please make note that any any story when I'm "quoting" someone it is definitely not verbatim! It's just off the top of the dome from what I remember from what were just casual conversations, interviews I did, or interviews I read before. This is written more for entertainment and not for official data. If you find anything intriguing please research the details on our own....that's my easy way out..ha! Enjoy!
Crash Crew is one of my favorite Old School crews. They released most of their records on Sugarhill along with a good amount of the greats of that time. I don't know if they used the same session musicians but I'm convinced their music sounds better and more raw and fitting to the Hip Hop edge. Combine that with the fact that all the MCs (Force of the 5 MCs as they were also known) were impressive and had their own style. They had great harmonizing and when it was time to go solo they all held their own. My personal favorite was E.K. Mike C. He seemed to be ahead of the game in using punchlines. In this song, "Breaking Bells" it's his flow that gets me…it's so swift and fluid with a slight roll of the tongue technique. Plus his verse describing how to be an MC is classic to me. All that considered I still can't mention this song with giving props to Barry B-stro who wins the award of one my favorite lines of all time! I find myself quoting it all the time and I smile every time he says it. As he directs his rhyme to a woman who he is treating to expensive vacation and he expresses, "When we land I'll spend Ten Grand so don't be embarrassed cause I'm your man". I don't know exactly what it is about it but I know I love it!
In 1986 TLA Rock gave his own version of "Breaking Bells". Already recognized as a legend from his instant classic debut "It's Yours". This 12" was b/w "Bass Machine" and blew me away with the hi tech production approach of Mantronix and the sheer intelligence yet hardcore essence of TLA Rock.
TLA Rock once shared with me his first encounter with LL Cool J. He says he was at some club and some younger kid came up to him and says, "Your song 'He's Incredible' is amazing!". TLA Rock at the time was more shocked then flattered because he just recorded the song and it hadn't been released from the studio. He asked him how the hell he heard it already. The kid told him that he was rolling with Rick Rubin and was about to sign a deal with him. At the time TLA Rock was also working with Rick Rubin, who produced "It's Yours", but things weren't working out and TLA Rock didn't release his follow up single "Breakdown" (b/w "He's Incredible) thru Def Jam with Rick Rubin. Rumor has it that Rick Rubin found LL as a replacement for TLA Rock and supposedly the first song he recorded with him was "He's Dangerous" which is not only similar in title to "He's Incredible" but also used the same concept of rhyming about the DJ. Anyway, that's the connection between the two artists ( beyond the "bells"). This version of LL's "Rock The Bells" is slowed down from the album version allowing LL to go all out lyrically. He definitely does not hold back. He rhymes the whole song with a "growl" in his voice. I love the idea that back then being hardcore didn't mean guns and gangsterism...instead it meant a hard beat, a arsenal of vocabulary, and a forcefully projected voice…that's it. I've heard this song in particular listed as key influences on many MCs; Chino XL and Saafir both come to mind.
I've always been a Latee fan. I was just talking to my man Plain Ole Bill about his debut single "This Cut's Got Flavor" and how impressive that 45 King beat was. Not to slight Latee because he also comes thru lovely. He has to be considered one of the key pioneers of the multi- syllabic movement that has long been adopted by nearly every MC. Beyond that debut he released one other single then disappeared. He popped up two other times over the years. Once for the incredible and incredibly rare "Brainstorm" and on the '93 Roll With The Flavor Compilation which had pretty much moved on from all the originally members. I can't help but feel he had so much more to offer. That's why it was such a surprise and a treat when I ran across this track. On "Latee Rocks The Bells" he shows he hasn't lost his touch in any way. The flow is impeccable and the rhyme schemes are as sharp as ever.
I wanted to fit this Mikey D song in the "bells" set but couldn't figure how to make it work. It doesn't have "bells" in the title but it definitely has a healthy amount of 808 cowbell and it connected with my LL theme nicely but I decided to set it apart. Regardless, Mikey D is a Queens legend. Known for his park jam performances and battles from the mid thru the late 80s. He was the "world champ mc" in 1988 by winning the New Music Seminar MC Battle. I've heard it said that Mikey D is also where LL got his style and image from (sorry LL don't mean to point the finger too much..don't worry I'm still a big fan either way…ha!). Apparently when Mikey D was starting to build his underground legend status in Queens LL, who was younger, would come around and try to be down. Finally Mikey let him run with his crew. Mikey D already was rocking the Kangol hat and projecting the sex symbol image and he says that LL patterned that after what he learned from running with him. To add insult to injury, Mikey D called his crew the L.A. Posse for their section of town, Laurelton Queens which led to a law suit from the West Coast production unit also called the L.A. Posse. The ironic thing is that this was going on while the L.A. Posse were in New York from Cali producing LL's"Bigger and Deffer" album. Coincidence? Who knows, what I do know is that Mikey D lost the suit and his album that was slated to drop around that same time, produced by the legendary Paul C, never dropped. "Go For It" is definitely one of all time favorite Mikey D tracks. Paul C is really working, what I assume is, the SP-1200 on this one. Plus Johnny Quest is working the wheels beautifully including a nicely scratched bassline thru out the song. I just heard word that that unreleased Mikey D album has been finally released 15+ years later and is available on CD. Get more info and connect with the main himself: www.myspace.com/mikeydestruction‚ÂÂ
Steady Serv is a Chicago Underground Legend. One of his key claims to fame is 1994's single release "You Know The Time" (hear it on the Redefinition Radio 10-1-05 show). It's produced by Andy C and is the first use (that I know of) of "The Human Fly" (from the "Enter The Dragon Soundtrack") later used by The Lixx, Ill Al Skratch, and others. Tone B Nimble (of All Natural) contributed the cuts and Steady Serv drops his matter of factual conversational vocal style. He's calm but swift. He's confident but not egotistic. He's soft spoken yet engaging. Unfortuantely after this release he never released anything else and wasn't as active on the scene. Then in '99 he unexpectedly appeared at the radio show I was doing at the time ("Time Travel" in Chicago) with new music in hand. He let me play one song, "Lyrical Graffitti" and took his dat back saying he would be back and that he would be working on releasing a new project soon....I never heard from again and the project never dropped. Luckily I recorded all my shows so the only way I've been able to enjoy and in turn share this song with people is from that taped copy. This song is parrallel to how I view Steady Serv's personality; it embodies a certain connection with Hip Hop's culture and history, the track has a mechanical-futuristic feel to it that is complimentary to the charismatic-robotic delivery of the man himself. I don't know if that description really does the song or it's sound justice so you are just going to trust me on this until you hear it for it self. His writing is clever and meticulous. At times he seems to go off in his own world and not quite going off beat but certainly rhyming on the beat rather unconventionally. As an added bonus, I just recently ran into him when I was in town for the Chicago Rocks concert and I got his number and he said he had some new music...perhaps this time I'll connect with him before he slides back into the shadows again....
The W.I.S.E Guyz is one of the groups that sort of came out of no where in 1989. I had never heard of them and then one day while watching some video show I saw their debut video "Time For Peace". Shortly after I picked up the album, "Eef yoU eN Kay E". It was produced by the West Coast L.A. Posse (not sure how missed making this connection with the Mikey D song early....ha). The MCs are Stretch (also known for his Hip Hop dancing with the Mop Tops and later forming the crew Ten Thieves) and Big Ill (later forming Ill & Al Skratch). The title track on this album is what originally made me a fan. The beat is creative and on the mic they are going all out. There all sorts of creative patterns, excellent word linkage and rhyme schemes. I definitely got to play that some time soon. I chose to play "Big Ill (The Mack)" which is his solo cut. I think I used to sleep on this song for some reason. When I eventually rediscovered it a few years ago I had new found appreciation for it. I'm particularly fond of the closing line, "beat me, I doubt it so don't even think about it cause the mind is a terrible thing to waste".
One recent trend in Hip Hop that has made me excited is the releasing of instrumental versions of classic and/or obscure LPs from the 80s and 90s on vinyl and CD. I think it's safe to say that alot of times when tracks are made with an MC in mind they don't always sound complete without the vocals. However, in lesser cases a producer is creative enough and pays equal critical mind to the arrangement that hearing it instrumentally enlightens you to some subtle and otherwise previously not recognized treats. That is exactly the case with several tracks from the release of the instrumental version of Divine Stylers '89 debut "Word Power ". It's produced entirely by often overlooked West Coast production legend, Bilal Bashir. He's originally from the Bronx, but moved to Cali in the early 80s and the word is that he is responsible for and/or at least popularizing the use of the SP-12 on the West Coast.
Expect more song by song breakdowns of future Redefinition Radio shows. You can hear this show at the webpage:
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/radio/programs/redefinition_radio/
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