Since the mixtape invasion that helped 50 Cent score a deal with Eminem (and subsequently move 11 million copies of Get Rich Or Die Tryin’), it seems that a little too much importance is being placed on grinding out multiple street CD’s before dropping your “official” album. Case in point – Papoose. Sure, releasing twenty or so mixtapes with Kay Slay might have helped him secure his “1.5 Million Dollar Man” status over at Jive, but there’s a fair chance that Pap’s already used-up most of his best ideas and punchlines already. It’s not just the new-jacks who are over-exposing themselves–even certified champs like Ghostface are approaching saturation point by releasing two albums and various mixes in 2006.
Paul Juice is better than your life. While I’ve been known to shit on a few veterans still trying to do their thing, Large Pro continues to kill shit. Actually, for everyone who believed my post the other week regarding Fu-Schnickens and Rob Base getting new deals at KOCH, maybe you should click the link next time….
But back to the subject at hand, three new songs featuring either beats or raps from the live guy with glasses are currently in extra-heavy rotation at the Unkut Dot Com HQ and in my car/whip/ride/bucket. Who knew that Styles P new album would be half decent? The tracks that Fizzy Womack and LP did are the business, and the opening salvo featuring the grand imperial A to the effin’ Zee is epic. I’m even willing to over-look my hatred for anything connected to Yonkers on this one.
Meanwhile, Mr. Complex and co. just dropped a new Polyrhythm album from seemingly out of nowhere, but I’m not complaining. DJ Spinna can bring some serious shit to the table when he’s on his “A” game, and the beat on this piece is guaranteed to put a smile on the dial of even the most mean-spirited amongst us.1
The jewel in the crown of this LP triple threat has to be the cut from Marco Polo’s debut album, which combines an addictive beat with a superior Xtra-P vocal performance, and then adds some mind-blowing scratches from DJ Revolution for those who aren’t yet convinced. The cutting section at the end is James Flames/John Blaze/Larry Lava etc.
For fans of lo-fi noise – two different demo versions of the timeless “Marley Scratch”, taped off the radio and now available on the latest Traffic EntertainmentSpecial Edition....
A little while after I posted an article on Hydra Entertainment on this site, I received an email from Mike Heron, who as it turns out started the label with Jerry Famolari in 1997. Their debut release, “Screwed Up/They Wanna Know Why” was also the first of many dope records from Queens super-group Screwball, in addition to the B-side being the first track produced by Mike to hit vinyl (The Beatnuts handled the flip). He has been involved in a number of significant projects as an A&R consultant (most notably Big L’s “The Big Picture”) and has created some classic songs as a producer (such as Screwball’s “H.O.S.T.Y.L.E.” and “Who Shot Rudy”, as well as Big L’s “Flamboyant”). Right now he’s managing Joell Ortiz, who’s killing shit right now. When I finally spoke with Mike, I found that he wasn’t afraid to speak his mind on a number of topics, and he had me in stitches when he got amped. The following is a transcription of two phone calls made way back in January, 2005….
Robbie: I know that you were heavily involved with Screwball, putting together that first album, but did you actually put that group together? Or did they just approach you guys to put them out?
Mike: I met Poet through this guy in Queensbridge. Poet had done a record for Tuff City – he was in PHD with Hot Day. I used to try to get at the A&R dude from Tuff City, sending him beats and stuff. He had called me once, but he never called me back…I had been wanting to get with Poet and them back then. And then I’d met this dude from the Bridge who knew Poet, and then I met Poet. It originally started with Poet, and Poet had the idea [for Screwball]. When I heard the other guys, I was
like “Hell yeah”, especially Hostyle, he was amazing…and Kyron too – Solo. And the other two guys – Solo and KL – they were in a group called Kamakazee, that Marley Marl had.
Talk of “grown folk” music used to mean trading in your M.O.P. CD’s for some Jill Scott, but it’s becoming a topic of talk for more and more MC’s as many long-serving rap troopers are now entering middle-age. Underground stalwarts the Juggaknots tackled the issue with fellow elder statesmen Sadat X on “30 Something”, while boardroom bandit Jay-Z swagger-jacked the concept and song title a month later for his return to “official” recording.
