Well, maybe not that good. But it's up there. Why? We're focusing on good hip hop ONLY this whole week, no bullshit at all (except for a U-God review, but other than that: all good). And to keep things solid at the front end of the week we've got a new cut from the king of Newburgh, New York: Big Bad Baragon. This guy has established himself as a dopetrack-dealer and a gifted lyricist, so we officially look forward to his shit. Let's go....
Nice. See, besides mic skills, I would compliment Big Bad Baragon on his beat selection skills. This guy knows what he is doing. Shout to Hexsagon on the beat too, it's mean (like your step dad).
A for the lyrics, Baragon brings it tough:
As long as I'm alive I'm a'be stepping for perfection
My future looking fly like the Jetson's
The road's ahead, so I hold my head
'til I got enough dough to make a loaf of bread
Second verse...Uh, wait does he tell his mother that he's willing to kill for money. Don't tell her that! She doesn't want to know! Just bring her the checks and when she asks where they came from, yell "I been workin'" and walk out. Slam the door. She doesn't need to know. #Parents! #smh!
Whatever, this is another dope track. I think we should take a closer look at Hexsagon at some point as well, shit might be dope. .
HUSTLE SCORE 8/10
BRRRRRRERRTT! (car breaks) Wait a minute. I was just checking on Hexsagon's beats (which are good) and I found a Hall & Oates beat. What!?
"Would you like to get flat, firm, sexy abs without ever getting on the floor for painful sit ups, boring crunches, or gimmicky ab machines?" YES PLEASE! HI! It's almost Christmas in the United States, so you know what that means: getting your abs hot for the Holidays. I don't know about you but my abs are a mess. I mean, I think they're a mess...I haven't seen them since 1991. I'm fat. That's sad for me, but I've decided to make a change. It's time to blast the shit out of my abs with something that I love: hip hop! Y'all been warned. LL Cool J. So, let's take a look at "Hip Hop Abs" and see what this is all about. Well, it's a "breakthrough weightloss system that combines fun cardio dance with targeted ab sculpting moves". Eeeh. I don't like the sound of that. Dancing? "Fun"? No thanks. I don't dance no more, all I do is this (shuffle around). Maybe hip hop abs aren't for me. But you can still do it. Here, check out the commercial while I just lay back and listen to my favorite kind of music: hip hop.
"Serious core work"? NO THANKS. I hate work. That looks terrible. Good luck.
Anyway, let's take a look at the music. HIP HOP AND YOU DON'T STOP. Well, where is the hip hop? I hear "beats", but they're all very generic. Let me ask you this, Shaun T.: where is the hip hop? I didn't hear a single rhyme. I heard a lot of beats that sounded like they came off of an informercial, but nothing official.
How can you have hip hop abs without hip hop? That's just "Abs". I have abs. Flabby abs. Where was Big L? Where was Talib Kweli? Hell, where was Wiz Khalifa? Where was Flo Rida? What about Dizzee Rascal? This is a disaster. This isn't Hip Hop Abs. It isn't even Rap Abs. It's more like Generic Beat Maker Abs. Or Dance Abs. Come on Shaun T., get a life. Who are you trying to appeal to with this? Thugs? Housewifes? Backpackers? Gym teachers?
IN CONCLUSION: Get your mind right Shaun T., and get ya titles right.
This post is easy street. All we do is publish the lyrics to a verse that we find particularly dope. Just like how the Source used to publish the hip hop quoteable. Except today you could just do a google for the lyrics.
Today we're featuring Deck's verse from Gang Starr's "Above the Clouds". When this album came out (1998), Gang Starr were considered hip hop elders and had achieved legendary status. While Deck was riding the top of the Wu Tang wave. You might remember that RZA's five year plan ended in 1997 so all of the clansmen were left to fend for themselves at this point (I guess). So we got a lot of guest spots. This is one of the best guest spots of all time.
Deck is easily one of the best spitters in the Clan, and this is just one his best verses. He sounds charged on the Premier beat and apparently remembers who he is rapping next to: the all time pro Guru. So he brought his "A" game.
After spinning that I must say that Guru could have easily got his verse quoted here as well. Not to mention Premier's beat. This song is just three experts working together. Perfect.
So, here is Deck's contribution.
Yeah; I leave scientists mentally scarred, triple extra large Wild like rock stars who smash guitars Poison bars from the Gods bust holes in your mirage and catch a charge shake em down like the riot squad Invade your zone, ruin like ancient Rome I span the universe and return to Earth to claim my throne The maker, owner, plus soul controller Ayatollah rest in the sky, the cloud's my sofa Stand like Collossus, regardless to whom or what Numerous attempts at my life, so who to trust Who but us, to supply you with the fire? The burning truth, 150 Absolut proof On the mic like Moses spoke in golden scribe Survivor of the oldest tribe whose soldiers died I notified families, we shed tears and more but our hands are the ammo cause the battle's still on Sound the horn; we come rumblin through the function Precise laser beam technique to touch somethin When we die hard, to build the monument to honor us with Humungous effect in the world - we could have conquered it
IN CONCLUSION: Can you get any better than that? No. Beef up your rhymes and get back to me, slackers.
ABOVE THE CLOUDS SCORE 10/10 DECK SCORE 10/10 GURU SCORE 10/10 PRIMO SCORE 10/10
I'm Tort Team, even when I'm by myself. I'm Illideph, even when I'm by myself. I crack skulls, even when I'm by myself.
All of that boasting aside, Newburgh, New York's best is back in the place with more fire.
Of course we're talking about Big Bad Baragon, who you might remember from his hit song 6th Borough (which we gave a very high score to due to it'sdopeness).
Well, he's done it again. This time he's dedicated a song to a classmate DJ AnGee Cee, and while I don't know who that is, I must say this song is on another level. Actually, it's exactly on the level of Tribe's Bonita Applebum, which is a very good thing.
Now at great risk of pulling anger and wrath from older heads, I've gotta say that I like Angie as much as Bonita Applebum. Now, I'm saying that with a major qualifier: Bonita is a classic. Tribe Called Quest was laying foundation with their shit, that breakbeat is insane and the casual spit is innovative as hell. Angie is some new underground shit that builds off the people who pioneered this shit. But the reason that I like Angie so much is because it takes the path laid by previous MCs (like Q-Tip) and improves it. Angie's beat is hard as hell, the change ups are mad nice, and the lyrics are dead on. But the most important aspect of this song, the reason that it rises above the rest, is the back-and-forth (a cornerstone of hip hop) which is employed perfectly.
You got bodied. This track is perfect. Get that mixtape out.
Click-a-click POW! Welcome to the Tortoise General Blog, and today’s clasik trax post!
Today we’re turning our attention to the great state of Illinois city of Chicago and looking at the song “Duesday” by Verbal Kent. “WHO?” – you. GTFO. You have no right to ask dumb questions like that. This song features Tableek and RacecaR, you are allowed to ask who they are because nobody knows. Actually, Tableek (from Maspyke) is from Massachusetts and does some kind of big undergroiund hip hop tour. RacecaR has a terrible name and is from Chicago too (just like Verbal Kent).
RacecaR and Tableek
So why are we reviewing this track? Cuz itz dope ya big dummy, and we’re trying to be more positive and showcase music that we actually like. So let’s go..
So how was that? So good. Keep making music like that guys. Oh, and in follow up news RacecaR may have known that his name was kinda silly, so I think he changed it to 12:51. Way Better? Still not that good? He probably didn't think that one through because now EVERYBODY is going to be comparing him to Brooklyn rapper 12 O'Clock. Now that's a great idea for a post! Stay tuned!
Are you ready? Let’s look at a few classic tracks that’ll flip ya wig, kid.
Nine is a gravel voiced Bronx MC (also known as the Bronx Major), who was relatively small time and is still not to be confused with Tech N9ne because of the name or DMX because of the voice. Nine is known for his single “Whutcha Want?” and then for disappearing. “Whutcha Want?” is one of my all-time favorite tracks, it’s way up there on the list. So let’s just shut up and check it out.
"Whutcha Want?"
Phat beats for my rhymes...
That’s the best.Now, let’s just add on…everyone knows that DJ Lennox is a great DJ. Shout out to wherever Lennox is from. I really liked his “Notorious 3000” remix album, but the standout track for me was #4, the I Get The Paper Remix, I bet it’s because it blends three of my favorite hip hop shits: Top Billin’ by the Audio Two, Get The Paper by B.I.G., and Whutcha Want? by Nine. This is like my dream song. Dream team. It’s perfect. Go ahead and skip down to #4 to hear what I’m talking about, then spin the whole thing later…
Blap Blap! Life is good.
Okay, I can’t stop. Let’s stick with Nine and go on to a track with an interesting backstory: “Any Emcee”. Now, the sample for this track is played out big time (not the Eric B. & Rakim sample, the “I’ll Be Around” ample that forms the beat), but when this song came out it was fresh and new. So now for the interesting thing, and also the strangest thing ever: San Fransisco rapper Rappin’ 4-Tay, came out with a song called “I’ll be Around” on March 7, 1995. This song was huge and it used the exact same “I’ll Be Around” sample as Nine’s “Any Emcee”, so two songs with the same beat. The amazing thing is that Nine released this song on the exact same day, March 7, 1995. That’s a major coincidence, two songs, from different coasts with the same beat being released on the same day. How did that happen? It doesn’t really matter, it’s a dope sample that Rappin’ 4 turned into a major radio hit, even though Nine’s track is a better song. But I'll give 4-Tay credit, after the first verse this song is still pretty good...
Amazing.
Let’s just go with another dope Nine song. The previous two were both from his 1995 album “Nine Livez”, this song is from his 1996 album “Cloud 9” (an album with one of my favorite album covers, see the top of this post). Lyin’ King was Nine's last hit, and I think that it barely qualifies as that since nobody really heard it, but I’ll attest that it is good. Now you can see for yourself…
See, u doubted and then u got bodied.
Okay, we’ll wrap this up with a little bit of a switch up. We’ll stick with Nine, but change lanes to KRS-One. His album Strickly for da Breakdancers & Emceez was an instrumental album that the teacher dropped in 2001 and nobody checked for because most of us aren’t Breakdances or Emceez, we’re just normal people. Anyway, the song Steady Bounce was the first track on the “Breakdancers” side, and it samples Nine very well. So go ahead and give it a listen, then grab a piece of cardboard and spin on your head. (keep in mind it is an instrumental)…
This is one of the best posts ever! You're so lucky.
WHUTCHA WANT? SCORE 10/10
I GET THE PAPER REMIX (DJ LENNOX BLEND) SCORE 10/10
Ba-BAH! All rise for another "Line for Line" post, where we examine the lyrical genius of a dope verse. Today we're going with east coast all-pro AZ who really is one of the best MCs out there despite a somewhat offputting catalog. We all respect AZ around here, and you should too, it's just his albums have too much fluff (I guess) so we don't spin them that often but we do fill up our mp3 players with his many dope shits (The Format especially).
So our dope AZ verse for today somehow comes courtesy of Raekwon and the fifty mixtapes and albums he's put out over the last few years. This is a 'back in the day track' called Whips & Kicks, where Raekwon and AZ spit about cars and shoes repsectively. I've made it clear in the past that these are two subjects that I could care less about. Cars? Who cares? Shoes? You're a dumbass for writing anything about shoes. But on this track the subject matter is fine because two capable MCs are spitting on it. No dumbasses here. So let's hear the track and we'll get to the review in a sec, okay?
Straight up, Raekwon is dope on this track. He kicks a decent rap about old school cars (the ones that people actually owned). He sounds like his battery is almost dead but he still comes correct. Good verse.
AZ, on the other hand, shows how hip hop is done. He takes the topic of shoes (which I absolutely hate) and kills a verse about them. Why? His flow is dead on time. DEAD ON TIME. DEADLY. Like holy shit. Young MCs should study this flow. Young MC should study his flow. Learn it. Know it. Be it. Flow on. Clear? AZ's rhymes are also densely stacked, and he owns the topic. I'll be honest, I don't even know what he's talking about half the time, probably because I don't give a rip about shoes. I don't even give half a rip. I don't even know what a rip is. But AZ's flow is deadly. Maybe we should check the lyrics and see if we can decipher any of this
Eighty-four mopeds, Blue and white Pro-Keds Just started puff'n, Got instructions for an old head Co-ved, Wally rock'n niggas tryna grow dreads Back in the bush, Church Ave. on the jux Shell toes, Black and white, No laces in em Pat U-edition had his whole face in em Straight leg denims, Taylor made shit Kareem Laker colors, Low cut suede tip Stay dipped, Stan Smith lay sick Two-toned colors, Put the taps on the rubber Puma rock'n nigga, Fuck a womber I was bigger See a bitch in seconds an assumed that I could rip her None hipper, Copped kicks with the zippers The Filas arrived, It was Levi's and high In V Tracks I was simply the mack Everything I snatched had to match with the hat Reebok rocker, Whole crew couldn't knock us Fuck who? Only thing to do was just glock us Valley Competitions and the Jordan's hit stores I'm sitting reminiscing, T. La Rock it's yoursNow fast forward time nigga still on the grind Haters everywhere, Nigga still gotta shine Gucci's all kinds, Switch em up for the weather Louis' in lime, Only do it for the pleasure Come fresher, From the tech on the dresser Fifth in the waist, Still crys'd and I'm laced
Okay! I still don't get it, but what a great verse. Great beat too. If you understand the lyrics, then good for you, the song is probably even better. Good job AZ (as always)!
Why did we pick Wish Bone of all people for a feature? Let me answer that for you:
If Bone Thugs ‘N Harmony was a family, Bone would be their last name, right? We have Layzie, Krayzie, Flesh ‘N, Bizzy, and Wish. So Wish Bone’s first thug name is Wish. A RAPPER NAMED WISH. HAHAHAHHAHAH! That’s the worst rap name ever, seriously, if not the worst one of the worst. But Flesh ‘N is really, really bad as well. So what’s up with Wish lately? What have you been doing since your glory days when you and your team was going six times platinum? Hopefully not playing shows in the middle of Missouri, but instead living it up, big time. So Wish, where u at?
Let me back up for a second, I was (at one point) a huge fan of Bone. First, because of their association with Eazy-E, then because of their amazingly unique sound and dedication to it. I still kind of like it, but I don't play it or buy it or listen to it ever. For me, Wish was the most memorable harmonizing thug. He was the one guy whose voice I could actually pick out, so he was an early standout. I was a fan. That all changed when the Mo Thugs Family dropped though, I just couldn’t bring myself to buy that album (the cover is WACK and the radio track was awful). By the time “The Art Of War” dropped, I was done with the whole package. I bought it, spun it, and put it in long term storage. I never looked back and never bought anything else. Truth. We all remember 1st of tha Month and Tha Crossroads, but here is an example of really good early Bone track featuring our man with the correctly spelled name, Wish:
Those were the days.
Let's move on. So what happened to our boy? Well, he isn’t in Bone anymore, I guess. But that’s probably temporary since he is cousins with two of the main guys: Steve and Stan (a/k/a Layzie and Flesh ‘N). So he’s kind of a permanent member by blood. Even if he’s out, HE’S IN. Ya dig? I’m sure we all remember that he also had a son named Lil’ Wish, so he’s gotta keep working. So let’s check the craft.
Chuck, Steve, Stan, Tony, and Bryon
Well, after their dozens of industry awards, huge album sales, and the album “Art of War”, Bone (along with Wish) went on to record two more albums for Ruthless Records. 2000’s “BTNHResurrection” (great title?), and 2002’s “Thug World Order” (featuring Phil Collins, LOL). Nobody heard a single song from these albums. In between these albums everybody released solo albums except for Wish. Not long after that, their contract with Ruthless ended and things got shook up: Bizzy was kicked out of the group for mental health issues (I guess). This was right around the time he was on “America’s Most Wanted” talking about hisvery bad childhood. Very weird. Oh, and also Flesh 'N pistol whipped his own mom. Yikes. What do you expect? They are thugs after all. Mo thugs.
At some point Bone started skipping around from record company to record company, members came and went, and they managed to release four more albums (!) and also reassembled with all five members and formed their own record company for the last release. In addition, tons of solo and group side projects were released, but nothing made even the tiniest dent in the music world. So think about this: there are probably three hundred Bone songs that you have never heard. Collect ‘em all!
The greatest generation.
Wish was along for the ride all the way through, sticking with the group and never going solo. Finally in 2001 he and Krayzie split from the Bone to pursue solo careers after creating their own record company. Anger and bitterness was spread online between the members, things were said. Feelings were hurt. But family is family and amends were made (I guess). So Wish was pretty busy with his record company because they released like eight records that you haven’t heard of. Then they renamed the company “The Life Entertainment” (their blog is here) and created “The Life Clothing”. That’s where we’re at today. Who knows what’s going on? One of the shirts has a Krayzie Bone quote which is just a normal thing that everyone says: "Let's be honest, the industry's now overcrowded with garbage." Good quote. Perfect quote. Perfect grammer ("industry's?" really?). Otherwise, the clothes are Bone themed (meaning 20 years outdated), or Australia themed (whuut?), and Krayzie has a mixtape series called The Fixtape which is the best name (let's be honest).
So the answer to “Where U At?” is that Wish is still in the music biz! Hooray? Is he making money? Probably not. Does he have a solo album yet? NO! What? Dude, it’s been like thirty years (not a joke). Do we have a recent song of his to review? Sure…
“No Mas” by Bone
That sounds like your parent’s Bone! Fine. It’s nothing I want to hear. All the distortion on the voices is taxing. And that last guy, holy cheese, get off of my headphones. That rapping is out of line, son (or should I say "sir" since you’re probably 50). Where was I? Oh, was Wish in there? I guess, I don’t know. The song wasn’t that good. And why is it called “No Mas” instead of “No More”? Nobody knows. Nobody knows anything. Nada.
As a bonus for me, “Tha Crossroads” came on my headphones right after “No Mas” so I’ll go ahead and give it a review as well. It is WAY BETTER than No Mas, literally a million times better. I never really liked Crossroads, but I can’t really knock it. The production is nice. The harmonizing makes sense; the flow is great, the content is pseudo-deep and engaging. Bone sound like champions on this track. Everything just works, good song, even though it’s not really my taste. How many rappers talk about helping people not be lonely? None. Also, this track makes it clear that production is a key for these guys to succeed, I wonder if DJ U-Neek still helps Bone out, or did he get busy with other projects? I think Bone really needs to get him back. Give him an Australia shirt or something. All a thug could do was cry, cry. So tap my forehead and let my eyes disappear, this song is okay still!
I don't know what is going on anymore. I respect Erick Sermon greatly, but I basically wrote him off as a has-been for the very good reason that he hasn't put out anything good in a LONG TIME. I mean, it got to the point that I would see E. Serm's name attached to something and have second thoughts about spinning it. I still would spin it out of respect, but I was almost always disappointed. So when I heard about his new mixtape I said "Ugh, I'll check that out later". And I waited for a long time then I finally gave in and gave it a spin...and HOLY F, it's really good. I mean like his best work in a really long time and also better than a lot of stuff out right now. He has a new energy, his rhymes are solid and his beats are on time. What in the hell happened? I can honestly say that "Breath of Fresh Air" is incredible, and I never use the word "incredible" because people sound like dinks when they say that. But this is that! I can't believe it.
GREAT JOB* THIS TIME ERICK SERMON!
*There are a couple of exceptions, but great job for the most part.
Yo! From Track 3 "Fix Your Face" all the way to Track 11 "I'm Good" is top choice hip hop. All the tracks in this window are great. But the whole shit is mostly good. Plus the guest spots are top notch (even with Rick Ross) and everyone comes correct. What more can I say, just listen to it and see if you agree with me!
Now for the exceptions, and I don't want to dwell on this, but there are some mistakes on here too. First of all, WHY ARE THERE SKITS? Nobody wants to hear those ever. They're the worst and EVERYBODY HATES THEM. Second of all the skit called "Head Skit" is the worst kind of skit that everyone especially hates and everyone wonders why it is on the mixtape and what is wrong with people in general and especially whats wrong with people who make sex skits. I know skits have become a throwback to the good old days, but they're a terrible throwback. I would literally throw them back in time, into a fire so I never hear one again.
Next, the track "Headgames" featuring 50 Cent and one of my favorites, Keith Murray, is awful and reminds me of why I doubt the Green Eyed Bandit. That beat SUCKS A NICKLE THROUGH A STRAW and it has that traditional Def Squad sound that we would all like the Def Squad to move past. Just put Keith Murray on a good beat, like any other beat on this album (Except for Commander N Chief, cuz that's from the same crop of crap beats). Why not?
Oh, and the hook of Lil Nikki is terrible, oh yeaaahhhh! But I'll still say that it's a good song. 1-9-9-9.
Okay other than that the rest of the album is great.
Almost everyone in America knows that I hate almost all music. The only place to find good shit is in the dark corners of the internet and around midnight on Satellite Radio. The best stuff is well hidden and comes from a place of real hunger. Now, I don't know if Newburgh, NY is hungry, but I suspect that MC Big Bad Baragon and producer Bazooka Joe are. Their tracks consistently show a high level of skill and heart. This is my shit...
I think they found my playbook because they know my vulnerabilities: hard reppin', a hook of scratchin' samples, ill rhymes, good flows. What more do you want? Nothing. What more do you want me to say? Don't sleep on this shit. Let's hope for more of the same in the future.
6th BOROUGH SCORE 9/10
P.S. Can someone tell me what song this beat came from? It's killing me.
--Official Stats-- Artist: Sunz of Man Producer: True Master Title: Next Up Album: "The Last Shall Be First" Release Date: July 21, 1998
Some time ago Imentionedthat I might review this track due to the dopeness of Method Man's verse. Well, it's follow through time! I will say up front that Method Man brings his game on his verse, and he out-games his hosts. But who the hell are his hosts? Nobody knows. The Sunz of Man. Who? Exactly. So this album was the first album released by Wu-Tang Records, it goes the heavily religious route but still manages to pull out a few bangers. I think it even had a major hit with the song Shining Star, featuring ODB and Earth, Wind, & Fire with production by Wyclef Jean. That's weird (and not a very good song). In the end the album was pretty good and earned significant spins in the Tort Labs back in '98 - '99. Cool.
So this song is a late album banger which isn't that much of a banger after all. The problem is that the production is a bit stale which forces the MCs to step up their energy an lyrical game. Fortunately everyone does. I guess I should just say what everyone is thinking, True Master has some dope production, but he's no RZA. I get sick of writing up reviews of medicore songs and then discovering that True Master was asleep at the boards. Come on!
While the producer may have been lacking on the beat, the MCs were not...well, some of the MCs were not. This is a posse cut, I guess, with three Sunz spitting a verse and then Method Man closing out the track, and I don't know if I can say this right but the title of the album is played out in this song. If I listed the MCs in order, best to worst, the last on that list is the first to spit. "The Last Shall Be First". Get it?Dammit this blog is stupid. What I'm trying to say is that the each MC that spits is better than the guy before him. 60 Second Assassin is first and his verse is just bad. Prodigal Sun is next and also flops. Thankfully Hell Razah brings a decent verse, kicking it off with this line:
"If I could chew glass to this Ture Master shit..."
Dope right? Yes. So Method Man ends it and just kills everyone. He does way better than he should have. Yo, Meth, you should have saved this one for your own album, you know, to make it less wack. Okay, so here is the verse:
[Hell Razah] Next up? [ Method Man ] Yo, I believe that’s me. [ Hell Razah ] Aiyyo Meth lock it down like LAPD.[ Method Man ] While you proceed to cut the mustard, I cut the cheese. Mr. Freeze givin' cold shoulders to MCs. The sickest of disease, Johnny Blaze at three hundred and sixty degrees, my PLO steez is from here to overseas. Guerillas in the mist swingin' from the highest trees, bombin’ enemies. See me in the global war being all that I can be: camouflage fatigue, hard-headed, major league. Got 'em under siege. Your battleship is sinkin’ 20,000 leagues beneath sea level. Adjust the treble on that thang thang get your shovel. Can you dig it? Keep talkin’ ‘bout it while we live it. All day, every days a Billie Holiday. Lady sings the blues, get the street news.
By the way, have you heard crime pay? Hit your block like that lava that burnt Pompeii: mega hot. In the melting pot, felt the shot around the world We unstoppable like Juggernaut, baby girl. Armed and dangerous street militia, I'll make you famous. Gamma-radiated verbal going through changes.
We get some required comic book references (X-Men & Spider Man), some history, some clever wordplay. It's all good, and one of Meth's best. And it's buried on this weird album that nobody heard. I would say keep up the good work Meth, but we all knowthat didn't happen.
Today we're honoring ourselves! TORT TEAM! WHAT! TORT TEAM WHAT?
It's just your typical best of / worst of post. Nothing special. Also, note that this post is ineledgeble for "worst post" because it would easily win that honor since it is literally the worst post we've ever done.
This was a difficult one, especially with Showbiz and A.G. coming out so strong at the end of the year. A-Y could have easily taken it all, but I'm a sucker for anything BCC...add to that the scratching of "the king" at then and nobody else really had a chance (Philly Stand UP).
Cappadonna for his verse on I Don’t Care from Vast Aire’s "Ox 2010: A Street Odyssey"
Editor's Note: this may have been released in 2010 (hence the title) but it came out so late that it didn't make the play list until this year. This song and Vast Aire are dope 2011 'til infintiy.
Not to mention Cuban Link Kings and other stong work:
We know this came out in 2010 but it’s still the best of 2011 - it will continue to be the best every year until someone comes close to topping it (stand up West Coast). Everyone here officially loves this track.
But we’re not known for our love. Let's get to what we love: HATIN'!
Yo Meth, this is absolutely nothing like the St. Ides commercial or even the Super Gameboy commercial. YOU BLEW IT. Scroll up to that Xzibit video (or any of the tracks above) then reconsider your career choices.
So today we'll do a long, in-depth retrospective on U-God and how he emerged from the RZA's five year plan. No big deal. And also: so booooorrrrring. So grab a seat, or better yet find a link outta here.
Let's go.
On one hand I would say U-God came out of the five year plan just great! In just a few years everyone in America learned the name U-God. A lot of people could even recognize his voice on songs that played on the radio and on BET. He was in music videos and living the high life, I’m sure. I would even speculate that he had established a legitimate fanbase! Plus, all the money and celeb connections and travel and doing what he loves and getting money for it…we would be so lucky to live like that. U-God was on top of the world! Good on him.
On the other hand I would say that his fame might have had nothing to do with his own abilities, but his connection to a very popular super group with a bunch of people in it. So the coattails argument may have come up in his head, whatever that is. The Clan had several breakout stars who sold millions of solo records – and he wasn’t one of them. Everyone knew and loved Method Man, ODB was becoming America’s sweetheart, GZA, Ghost and Rae were being listed with the great MCs, and RZA was being praised for his vision and production. U-God was one of the odd men out. Shit, the only ones left without a solo at this point were the RZA, Deck, Masta Killa, and U-God. But RZA was known for his production and Deck had established himself as a force behind the mic. So it was really only U and Masta Killa at this point. In fact U had that Black Shampoo track working against him, so things were also kind of a mess for him. So...that's got to be a lot of stress for Baby U (I hate that name BTW).
It’s impossible to discuss the Wu without comparing the MCs. In the old days, people would sit around and list their favorite members of the Clan, discuss their best lines, and then talk some shit about the rest. U-God always got bad word of mouth in my circles. Why? His style is on par with Rae and Ghost, right? His flow is rugged and on point, and he’s mad creative (who else rhymes like that consistently?). I think the answer has something to do with the randomness of his spitting. Rae and Ghost also do stream-of-consciousness rapping, and they get pretty random, but they both also kill back-and-fourths, and rap the shit out of a story rap. U-God always stuck to the stream-of-consciousness flow and never really changed up or tested other styles (maybe except for Black Shampoo), plus he got mad random a lot...sometimes it sounds like he’s just listing words. In fact, that’s what he sounds like a lot of times, and nobody likes that. It’s nonsensical and impossible to relate to.
I wonder how U-God would have done if he had been a solo artist instead of a member of a collective. Would he have sold units? I doubt it. I would argue that early on the Wu was the Method Man show featuring the rest. Ghost and GZA held their own as well but I don't know if the rest of the Clan had the charisma to get signed. Let's be honest, ODB probably wouldn't have had a chance (due to his weirdness) and the rest of the clansmen are pretty odd (if you've never heard of the Wu). I've noticed that promotion from early Wu appearances was dominated by Meth and Ghost, sure the other guys were around but everyone knew who to put the mic in front of during freestyle time. In fact, it's tough to even find early promotion featuring U-God, I don't know what he was doing, but it wasn't promotion. And that's the thing, U was playing a supporting role even in promotion, in his first five years he established himself as a relief from the headliners within the Clan. Everyone pays to see Meth and Ghost, and U-God spits some dope lines between them and (1) breaks things up (2) is quick about it (the four-bar killer) and (3) makes the headliners look better.
So what’s the point? The Tort Team started this series to prove that U-God’s lousy reputation was unearned, and now it looks like we’re agreeing with it. We’re not. Dumping on U-God is like saying that Flava Flav is the worst member of Public Enemy. Of course that’s true, but Chuck D is a headliner and Flava plays his part to make the group better. Chuck D as a solo act would have been incredibly dope, but Chuck D with support from Flava Flav changed music history. Similarly, the Wu-Tang Clan would have been dope with or without any specific member, but the fact that they all form together as one makes the overall unit better. When U-God comes in to spit, he usually improves the project, and in some cases he dominates. We’ve seen that many times in his first five years of songs, and we'll see it again. The Wu is stronger with U.
As we continue this series we’ll take a look at U-God’s solo albums, and we'll also see the entire Clan slide from the premier name in hip hop, to veterans trying to hold their spot in the face of Kanye, Eminem, and 50 Cent. The end of the five year plan also marks the end of the Clan’s glory days. Sure there are lots and lots of good things to come, but it’s a long, long, long slide from the top to where we find ourselves right now. Today the Clan has low sales, infighting, and solo albums that get almost no attention. In 1998 I would buy anything even loosely associated with the Clan, today I even skip some major releases. There has just been too much Black Shampoo and not enough Bells of War. Things are very different indeed.
