Welcome back to the penultimate chapter in InsidePulse’s Hip Hop Essentials. Since I was the jerk who was organizing this feature and imposed the “no album appears twice” rule, I lead by example and volunteered to go last. This guaranteed that I was going to have to really dive into my collection to find albums worthy of being “Essential.”
So dive I did. I managed, coincidentally, to come up with a list composed entirely of debut albums and featuring four consecutive years. It’s odd how things turn up. Let’s get on with it.
The Pharcyde, Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde
Once upon a time you could come from California and not be gang affiliated or “hard.” I know, I know it’s difficult to believe, but back in those days you could be from the Westside and release a fun album. That’s exactly what this quartet of Californians did in 1992.
Produced entirely by J-Sw!ft (with the exception of one track) it sounds like nothing before or since. The beats drift from insanely catchy (Passing Me By) to almost cartoon-like (I’m That Type of N#gga) to practically somber (On The DL).
Content wise it’s just a damn fun album. Ya Mama consists solely of cracks about “your mom” while Oh Sh#t details embarrassing moments from the members of The Pharcyde’s past. The immortal Passing Me By is all about not getting the girl. Even the skits are enjoyable. On It’s Jiggaboo Time the group lampoons the idea of selling out.
This is the Hip Hop album that most people are going to relate to. We’ve all lost the girl, we’ve all longed for a car, and we’ve all smoked a blunt with five-year old. Ok, maybe that last one is something only a select few have done. Regardless, this album is a pleasant reminder of a simpler time.
Yes the group crumbled and is currently a pale version of itself. But that’s what happens when you hit your peak on your first album.
Souls of Mischief, 93 ’til Infinity
Ah 1993. It was a time when the West had it’s own little “Native Tongues” like clique. It was called Hieroglyphics and 93 ’til ¥ was the album that certified the group as a force to be reckoned with.
This album completely dispelled the myth that the East Coast had lyricists on lock. The Souls had a flow that was comparable with anyone at the time (I was partial to A-Plus). One of the great things about the album was the group dynamic. There’s really a chemistry that’s apparent from the first listen. The storytelling on the disc is very impressive consider it’s a debut. On one song each MC provides a different variation on the theme (What a Way to Go Out) while on another (Anything Can Happen) they tell a tale from different perspectives, almost passing the baton throughout the song.
In terms of beats, there are a few horn samples, which gives the occasional jazzy feel, but many of the beat use odd sounding samples to grand effect. Nearly every beat will have your head nodding, as the production sounds like a mix between Pete Rock and Ali Shaheed Muhammad, with a pinch of Dan the Automator.
Again this album is a relic from a different time. A time when MC’s still in high school didn’t have to be pop or hardcore, they could just create. It’s an album that sounds fun at times, but mostly just sounds real.
The Beatnuts, Street Level
1994 saw many “classic” albums released. But no classic has been more slept on than The Beatnuts full length debut. This album is memorable because it features The Beatnuts who were known mostly as producers (Common, Chi Ali) who stepped out from behind the turntables to rhyme. And like Kanye West did a decade later they crafted a masterpiece.
Unlike Kanye, they weren’t trying to be “conscious.” In fact they spend quite a bit of the album rhyming about weed or alcohol induced stupors. The album’s first lyrics really set the stage for what’s to come;
“(Hey) It’s the junk yard n#gga, kid you know what I’m about
Puffin’ on a fat one, guzzlin’ on a Guinness Stout,
pullin’ bitches on regular…”
The album continues on the path of hedonism and nothing is sacred. (It’s only detour is the label demanded single Props Over Here, which still stays very true to the Beatnuts sound and content.)
Listening to this album today, what stands out most is the sound of scratching. Nearly every track has some sort of scratch. And the production is very lush. Samples layered on top of quirky samples. Even the almighty Wu-Tang is sampled. The skits are hilarious on Sandwiches Psycho Les describes his dream girl and Let Off a Couple describes an “episode” over a beat so smooth you almost feel it’s wasted on a skit.
This is hands down one of the greatest “Producer turned MC” albums, and while it’s never going to get mainstream acceptance, it’s a certified Hip Hop classic.
Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version
In 1995 the Wu-Tang reigned supreme. That said, many didn’t know what to make of Ol’ Dirty’s debut when it dropped. Sure it claimed to be a “return” to the 36 Chambers” but the album took the chaotic form of it’s artists. I mean the album features an intro that’s almost five minutes long. Still it’s a work of art.
The first song contains the refrain “Ooh baby I like it raw” which really explains why the intro contained the admission of having caught gonorrhea, actually twice. The album bounces between the out of left field Shimmy Shimmy Ya to the even more bizarre Drunk Game (Sweet Sugar Pie) to the requisite Wu-Tang collabo Raw Hide to ODB trying to put down his homies Protect Ya Neck II The Zoo. But it really does work as an album.
This is due to two major factors. First ODB is always entertaining. Whether he’s attempting to sing, straight rhyming or telling a tale his knack for turning a humorous lyric keeps you listening. Secondly the album is produced mostly by the Rza who broke out of his usual “Wu-Tang” mode for this album. Hippa To Da Hoppa is almost a jovial beat. This didn’t sound like an MC rhyming to a beat, it sounds like a producer who crafted the beats for the MC.
Yes, ODB does use a verse from Damage on Brooklyn Zoo II, but that doesn’t mean that album doesn’t have plenty of lyrical gems. ODB is easily one of the most quotable members of the Wu, and tens times as quotable as any MC out today.
This album serves as an example that there is a fine line between madness and genius, and sometimes they connect and create a thing of beauty.
Little Brother, The Listening
Many people have already proclaimed that Little Brother’s sophomore album The Minstrel Show is the best album of 2005. Well, in 2002 they made their remarkable debut with The Listening. Back in 2002 Hip Hop was firmly in the grasp of the radio and video channels. “Bling” had firmly been embraced. Many fans of Hip Hop wondered if anyone remember the Golden Age that was the early 90’s. Little Brother responded with a resounding “yes.”
It’s refreshing to hear an MC rhyming about struggling to maintain a job and their passion (Speed) or struggling with familial relationships (Far Away From Me) or even love (Love Joint Revisited). Phonte and Big Pooh craft personal verses that really resonate when compared with the mindless lyrics found on the radio. They also inject humor throughout the album on the skits (Roy Lee and Percy Miracles are excellent characters) or even poking fun at other MC’s (coughGhostfacecough) whose lyrics make no sense (The Listening).
9th Wonder deserves credit for making beats that have the soul of No I.D. and feel of Pete Rock yet maintaining his own identity. Many early 90’s touchstones are even referenced on the album, such as A Tribe Called Quest, Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth, Digable Planets and Public Enemy. This is one of those rare albums that is over an hour long with 18 tracks and you can let it play through.
It’s really difficult to explain what this album does for me. It reminds me everything that I loved about Hip Hop that I thought was gone. It gives me hope that Hip Hop can be saved from it’s own materialism. I really hope that this album ends up being the album that started a shift in the culture and mindset. If there’s only one of my Essentials that you try out, The Listening is the most deserving of your time.
And there you have it. That’s my list.
Keep your eyes peeled for Jeff Fernandez’s concluding chapter to this feature. And refresh yourself with what’s come before this chapter;
And Michael Chadwick.
I welcome your feedback.
