My coworker Mike recently passed along a bunch of old recordings that he made from the mid- to late-80's, including a great set from Chuck Chillout's old radio show on Kiss FM (98.7), taped back in 1987. These days Kiss FM in New York is devoted to playing bland R&B music from days gone by, music that seems best suited for waiting room sound systems. Back in the day, however, the station (along with WBLS 107.5) played a huge role in the development of hip hop, and Chuck Chillout's show was a big part of it.
For today's post, I'm throwing up a promo from the show that was put together by a group that Chuck was promoting at the time, Deuces Wild. I just found it to be a great snapshot of what hip hop radio was like back in the day. If a rapper does a promo spot for a station these days, it's typically little more than a five second soundbite with the artist spending more time dropping his own name than the name of the dj or radio station. Of course, nowadays you only need to have your record label send along some payola money to the station to get your song played so there's a lot less incentive to put together something like the following promo:
The promo samples Herbie Hancock & The Headhunters' Watermelon Man, several years before Jesse West (aka 3rd Eye) and Puffy got around to using the same loop for the remix of Supercat's Dolly My Baby (a song notable not only for being one of the best fusions of dancehall and hip hop, but also for marking the first collaboration between Biggie and Puff). Watermelon Man has been sampled by a wide variety of rappers - from a young Jay-Z and Original Flavor on Gumdrops to Shaquille O'Neal to the U.M.C.'s - but Schooly D was the first person, that I'm aware of, to use it. He liked it so much, he flipped the sample on two separate songs for his album Smoke Some Kill.
Deuces Wild had a brief flirtation with mainstream success in the late 80's with their song Five Times the Rhymer. The group got a fair amount of play on WBLS, largely because Deuces Wild's dj, Funkmaster Flex, was interning for Chuck at the time (I believe the emcee in the group was Kool Chip, but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong). Chuck Chillout spent a lot of time promoting the group, but Deuces Wild eventually disbanded and their dj, Funkmaster Flex, went on to bigger and better things after he got his own radio show on Hot 97 (97.1).
One of my french connections sent me an email earlier today with the above photo attached and a byline pronouncing the kid in the photograph as the "French T-Pain!" I found that to be très drôle, but apparently that's what passes for a compliment on the other side of the Atlantic as Charly Greane is currently holding down the number one spot on the French music charts. Here's a radio rip of the track (which he's made freely available on his MySpace page - for those so inclined you can buy a better version of it on iTunes), Premiere Classe ("First Class"):
I don't know if it's the vocoder or the trance-lite beat in the background, but I found the song to be vaguely reminiscent of Lil Wayne's Lollipop. Not in a good way, of course (assuming there is a good way to emulate Lollipop), but reminiscent nonetheless.
It's interesting how often Monsieur Greane drops the "N-Word" throughout his rhymes (even if you don't speak french, you should be able to pick it up at the beginning of this song), though from my experiences the word doesn't generate the same reaction as it does over here, for various reasons. Also interesting to note the fact that this vocoder phenomenon has taken off even over in Europe, suggesting, sadly, that it's not going away any time soon.
The chorus of "Honkey step once, Honkey step twice" would admittedly be more controversial if it weren't for the fact that Question is white, and sadly the potential for controversy was really the only thing interesting about this one (if T-Pain dancing around in whiteface at the end of last year didn't get people talking, it's unlikely this will). Too bad, because Question's life story is rather interesting; he was raised by a heroin addict, became homeless and eventually joined the military before settling down to raise two children.
So instead of giving us a tale of overcoming the burden of drug addiction, life on the street or perhaps a taste of what it's like to survive a war in Iraq, Question serves up a half-hearted attempt at creating the next Party Like a Rockstar or Crank Dat. It's a curious choice as the lead single for a rapper whose promoters are touting as a great lyricist, and who himself boasts that "A lot of these artists are just copies of what’s currently hot. But I don’t sound like anybody, especially [anyone] out the south."
It will be interesting to see which demographic this appeals to more: the ringtone rap lovers that this is clearly targeted towards, or the white hipsters who will inevitably attempt to dance to this song in the sort of ironic fashion that they're known for. If you belong to either of those groups, you can download his mixtape Xanaxover here (to be fair, there are a couple of nice tracks on the mixtape).
For the record, the award for the best song about dancing like a white person still belongs to Epmd:
For week two of "Feed The Beast," Nico's ongoing promotional effort for his album No Beast So Fierce, the audience-selected beats should spark some interest in both old school heads and fans of Lil Wayne. Well, at least until they hear Nico's reinterpretation of Weezy F Baby's original verse at the end of the freestyle:
I must admit that I did like Wayne's verse on Dey Know, if only because of the line, "All my kicks is fly like Liu Kang." I must also admit, however, that I liked Nico's verse even better. His impersonation is spot-on, from the delivery that sounds like it was processed through a five dollar vocoder to the stream of consciousness wordplay.
The second freestyle features the beat from the Beastie Boys classic Paul Revere, a beat that Nico wasn't particularly enamored with. That didn't stop him from tearing it apart, though:
If you're somehow still not convinced of Nico's skills on the mic, check back next week for another installment of Feed The Beast. If you have a beat you want Nico to spit over, let him know! And if you missed it the first time around, be sure to check out the interview that we did with Nico discussing the new album, No Beast So Fierce.
I don't know how many of you read Passion of the Weiss on the regular, but for those of you who missed it, my man Zilla, channeling his inner Goldilocks, recently dropped a post over there lamenting the fact that hip hop is filled with rappers who spend either too much or too little time on the mic and only a few who get it just right.
One of those put into the "Too Much" category was Sean Price, who earned his spot alongside Lil Wayne (whose Da Drought 37 should be dropping any day now) for recycling verses from low profile collaborations with your favorite MySpace rappers. The following song, featuring Sean P alongside Little Brother's Big Pooh and the Bay Area's Bash Bros. off of their new album Main Event, is unlikely to change Zilla's opinion of the man, but he should at least get props for slipping in a City of God reference (though now that I think about it, the fact that he's referencing a movie from 2002 makes me wonder if this verse doesn't already exist on some long forgotten B-Side):
Sean Price is an absolute monster on the mic, but I sometimes question his beat selection. So as far as I'm concerned, the more songs he appears on the better - it increases the likelihood of him spitting a verse over a beat that I might actually be interested in listening to.
For more from The Bash Bros., hit up their MySpace page. Last week they released a new mixtape, Daily Business Vol. 2, which they've made available for free over here.
I figured that it now being almost two months since the announcement that Eminem and DJ Premier were working on material for Em's new album, something from the album itself would have leaked onto the internet by now. My search came up empty, but I did come across the above video for Pacewon's I Declare War, which was released way back in 1998. I don't ever remember seeing this video before, and I'm kind of surprised that the Marshall Mathers cameo didn't generate more buzz for it, coming as it did right on the heels of The Slim Shady LP.
On entirely different subject, here's a new video from Hi-Tek, off of Hi-Teknology 3:
By now, you should all be familiar with Zilla Rocca, one half of Philly's Clean Guns, the hip hop duo that's been repping the City of Brotherly Love about as well as any group in recent memory. Up to this point, we haven't had a chance to hear much from Zilla's partner in rhyme, Nico The Beast, a tremendous emcee in his own right. Nico was kind enough to take some time out on the release day for No Beast So Fierce, his new solo album, to answer a few questions about life as a full-time emcee with a full-time career, his thoughts on Philly hip hop, his connection to the Roc-A-Fella dynasty and some details on the album itself. Special thanks to Zilla Rocca for actually transcribing the interview (if any of you need someone to take care of your audio transcripts, holler at Zilla because he banged this thing out in record time):
People from this site know you through the songs you've done with Zilla as part of Clean Guns, so let's start there. He says you were the person that got him involved in hip hop, way back in the day. So what were you and Zilla into as kids? I'm told that Remedy had an impact on your early development as an emcee - what was it about him specifically that had such an influence?
Nico: Well, as kids, we were more into sports and chilling with our friends. Music was a part of my life, but I wasn't collecting crates of records or nothing like that. It wasn't until I heard Wu-Tang that I really started getting into the culture. So, I'd say right about '97 was when I first started rapping. Since I was into the Wu, when I first heard Remedy on The Swarm, I dug the way that he had something to say that was relevant to him. He wasn't just spitting grimy shit, ya know.
Speaking of Zilla, I promised I would try to dig up an embarrassing story about him. You've known him since he was three, so I'm sure you've got some dirt on him. Care to share?
Nico: Only story I got on my boy that we still laugh about is when we were like 9 years old, right when Major League came out, that young man (Zilla Rocca) shaved the back of his head to look like Rick Vaughn (Charlie Sheen's character). I still bust his balls about that to this day. Other than that, it was like anything else as kids, messing with chicks and getting in trouble.
Outside of your life as an emcee, you seem to be living something of the American dream. You've got a wife, two kids and your own business - that's very different from the stereotypical rapper's lifestyle. I'd be interested in hearing how (or if) that affects your approach to emceeing.
Nico: Fresh, real talk, my wife is my biggest fan and at the same time my biggest critic. This actually
helped me during the maturation process as an emcee. My kids were somewhat of a savior to me, because
before them I was on some wild shit. Fighting and getting into trouble with corners, some real wreckless
shit. It wasn't till my first daughter Gianna was born that I finally took a step back and slowed down
and channeled my anger into words. As per my schedule, my wife is cool with me being a lab rat, because in
the long run that pot of gold is worth it. Feel me?
Nico and the Family
We have a lot of unsigned artists that read the site, artists who work a (more often than not menial) day job, essentially just killing time until they're in a position to make a full career out of their music. Given the financial realities of the music business these days, that's unlikely to happen for many of them. I get the feeling that many of the artists think that taking their 9-to-5 job seriously is equivalent to giving up on their dream of being a rapper. As someone who seems to have found a pretty good balance between your music career and your non-music career, what would your advice be to other unsigned artists?
Nico: We are all in this for the love first and foremost, but that being said, we also need to eat, right? I can only explain it one way, if you wanna play minor league ball don't step in a major league stadium. Some cats ain't built to work a job (career), and then work a JOB (Hip-Hop). It wears on you if you don't learn to separate the two. Music is a 24 hour a day, 7 days a week job. My brain don't take no days off, neither will the passion.
Zilla tells me that you have a bit of a connection to Beanie Sigel through his cousin News, and that at one point you were close to signing with Criminal Records. Can you elaborate on how you know News and what went down with the record label? Have you ever had any contact with Beanie himself?
Nico: Ok, to set the record straight, the whole Criminal Records thing was more a South Philly rumor, urban myth
if you will. I met Sigel once and that experience is what drives me to this day (not in a good way). That's a story I will have to tell you, off the record. News, on the other hand, is a good dude. I actually chilled with News a few times and at the time (like 6 years ago) I wasn't as seasoned as I am now. I guess I am kinda glad nothing came of it, where would I be now, ya know? But the other brother that nobody really knows about who is a real good friend of mine, and who actually introduced me to News is my man, Pudge. Anybody who really knows Sigel and News know who Pudge is so I won't delve too deep into that. Pudge is a great dude, period.
Can you give us your take on what the Philly hip hop scene is like?
Nico: Philly hip hop is a segregated trash can with a few jewels in it. Real talk. Everybody raps, and not everybody does it well. Everybody hates, and everybody does THAT well. That's why, for me, I wanna do tracks with anybody. From Tank Nitty (Mainstream monster) to Reef The Lost Cauze (Underground Icon). It ain't about all this, "I rap so fuck these other cats." Nah, if you got that mentality, eat a dick.
From my perspective on the Philly scene, it's seemed to me like, historically, there was always a balance between hardcore rap and more lighthearted rap. For every Schoolly D or Steady B there was a Fresh Prince and Jazzy Jeff, for every State Property there was a Roots crew. Over the past few years though, it seems like everyone's gotten a harder edge. So is that just a situation where, if you're coming up now as an emcee in Philly, it's inevitable that you're going to be influenced by the success of rappers like Beanie Sigel and Cassidy? Or has the city itself gotten harder, with rappers just responding to that?
Nico: I think that most of the cats out of Philly sound the same, in that, the material is the same, the flow is the same, ya know? So if you can separate yourself from that, than you get placed into another bracket i.e. Hardcore or lighthearted. So for Clean Guns it was more of a well balanced clash. Zilla being more crazy and outgoing, me being more laid back and gritty. It meshes well for us. The city as whole, though, would be better suited to listen to whole CD's and not just go off of one person's style or flow.
Beat Garden's Big O with Don Magic Juan
What's the response to the music been like from West Coast heads? What was Don Magic Juan like in person? [When Nico originally agreed to do the interview, the whole Beat Garden crew was planning on flying out to L.A. to do a few shows. It wasn't until a couple of weeks after they returned from their trip, during which they met Don Magic Juan on the streets, that I finally got the questions for the interview set up.]
Nico: Damn Fresh, it really did take you a long time to get me these questions.(Laughs) Nah, L.A. is a dope hip hop city. It's pretty much a hipster town for the most part, but they took well to us, so I can't complain. I loved it there and I would go back tomorrow if needed. The bishop drives a lime green 89 Rolls Royce, and can pull any chick he wants, no bullshit. I think he almost had Big O [the Suge Knight of Beat Garden] wearing a skirt.(Laughs) Just kidding, Don Magic is a good dude, but the real "star" if any that we met was [DGK founder] Stevie Williams a.k.a. "The Black Tony Hawk". Maybe one of the dopest cats I ever met.
Let's talk about the new solo release, No Beast So Fierce. What can we expect from the album?
Nico: "No Beast So Fierce" is out now and available for purchase soon on CD Baby and Itunes. It is me. From my wife and kids, to my family, to friends passed, to the beast, to the street I grew up on, the city I live in. It is a ride and if you are willing to take it, you WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED. Everything on it, from the beats to the lyrics is unbelievable. It features Zilla Rocca, both as emcee and producer, Two Gunn Ciz, Reef The Lost Cauze, Black Russian, Dame of Triple Nickels, Toke Jones, and Angela Rastelli. Production by Zilla Rocca, Alex Wood (he is a goddamn problem!), Evolve One, Stupid Genius (What up Genius?), and my main man, my brother, Noochman, whom you will hear a lot about very soon.
Ok, on the realer side of things, these next three cats needed an extended mention. First, my man and my brother Slim Dsm, who in my opinion is the best emcee, bar none, I have ever heard. This man is what lit the fuse inside the beast. Give credit where credit is due, he's a legend, real rap. Second, my man and my brother Blessa, who in my opinion is the best of what Philadelphia has to offer (next to me of course.).(Laughs) From his flow to his energy to his lyrics, dude is flawless. Last, but definitely not least, my motha fuckin brother, Jerm a.k.a M.O.G. a.k.a. Man Of God or Mutation of Greatness. This man is undoubtedly a messenger of God. He steered me in the right direction, so now it's on from here on out. I got you Jerm. Walk Wit Me.
To promote the album, you're currently running the "Feed the Beast" campaign, with you rhyming over beats selected by the fans. When you freestyle, are you coming strictly off the top of your head or do you mix in some prewritten stuff as well? When you use someone else's beat, are you conscious of the original verse when you start rhyming, or do you just approach it as a blank slate and do your own thing?
Nico: I approach "freestyles" if that's what they should be called, with a mentality of 'I am going all out.' Bar for bar fury from top to bottom. A genuine freestyle would come off the top but I won't step to the mic with off the top unless needed. I feel when I present myself when the record button is on, I want nothing less than monster mentality. Not saying I can't freestyle, but I know for sure my written is better on a quote, unquote freestyle. I try not to pay attention to what someone else has done on a beat, cause if I did I would stray away from me and do them.
I know that you're taking suggestions from everyone, but is there one beat out there that you personally want to rhyme over?
Nico: Truthfully, I have no preference in instrumentals. But I love going over Wu joints and Premo beats.
Do you take a different approach to doing work as a solo artist as opposed to when you're putting together a song as Clean Guns? A lot of emcees tell me that, when they get on a track with someone else, they raise their games lyrically because they don't want to get shown up by the other emcee. I know it's a little different when you rap with Zilla, because you're friends, but does it require a different mentality to write lyrics for a solo track?
Nico: I've never felt the urge to shit on anyone on wax. Mainly because people are gonna have a favorite on a track regardless of whether they spit the hottest 16 or not. With me and Zilla though, we complement each other on track so I don't need to murder it. It evens itself out. My approach when I write solo joints is exactly that, my approach. So, I don't think about what someone else would say. If I couldn't make music that I don't like hearing first, that would be kinda ass backwards. Right.
Later this year, I hear that you'll be working with your younger brother on another project. Can you tell us what to expect from that?
Nico: Fresh, no joke, my brother may be the most talented dude I ever met. I know a few people that "play a shit load of instruments", but Cuz, this man is a goddamn phenom. No bullshit, in 5 months he has learned how to make beats that shit on cats who been doing it for years. It really ain't fair.(Laughs)
His beats make me step my game up. The only other person who has done that thus far is Alex Wood. The project that we are working on is called, "Me and My Brother" which turned from an EP to an LP. It will be the first LP released under Beast Entertainment which is a subdivision of Yadibox.com and Beat Garden. You can expect me flippin flows, from double time to Big Pun like to melodic. Whatever you need, this joint will have. Once again, his name is Noochman, that is N-O-O-C-H-M-A-N. Yea, he is a problem. Get at em for beats. "Me and My Brother" due out late '08.
Last question: Zilla's been doing his own thing with his various side projects, and now you've got this solo album of your own and the project with your brother later on this year. Y'all aren't breaking the group up, are you?
Nico: NOOOOO!!!!, Clean Guns can't be broken up. I knew him my whole life, and you don't stray away from those who keep you grounded. Ying and Yang, but it works. Can't stop a locomotive when it's fully steamed, feel me? He's killing it, I'm killing it. Just imagine when we get back in the lab as a team again. Holy shit!!! Fire from Beat Garden and Beast Entertainment never stops. Shoutouts to Noochman, Davey Za, Mal, Byrd, Telly, Kev, Pop the W.G.H.M, Pudge, Mel, Slim Dsm, Blessa, Trip Nickels, Z-Rocca, Big OC Diesel, Randy Watson, Angie, Toke, 2ew Gunna, the rest of my family and friends. We got this. I NEED THAT!!!!!!!!!
Nico was also kind enough to pass along a couple of tracks to put up with the interview. Give them a listen and you'll hear how Nico tears into a beat, dude is nice for real. The first one is a track off of No Beast So Fierce, with Angela Rastelli singing the hook:
As he mentioned, the new album will be available on cdbaby and itunes in the near future. I'll put up an announcement once it's for sale, but in the meantime keep an eye out on Beat Garden's website for more updates, and Nico's myspace page for more cuts from No Beast So Fierce.
I suspect I'm several months late on this, but I just saw this video for the first time and felt the need to share it. As my man Grills said, its "the best robot in the history of the robot."
It's no secret that I'm not a huge fan of the type of hip hop that's been making it's way out of the South over the past few years, but I'm always interested in hearing what unsigned artists are doing with the music regardless of where they're located. So when I received a promo for 5th Flow, a trio of emcees based out of Houston (two members, Rahlo and Supreme, are from Texas, while the third member, JClay, originally hails from Chicago), I put aside my regional bias for a moment and gave their music a listen.
Their latest mixtape, A Quarter to a Half, features the type of production that has an unquestionably "Southern" feel to it and will no doubt appeal to fans of UGK, Plies or just about any other emcee from south of the Mason-Dixon line. It's not necessarily the type of music I would normally be checking for, but I have to admit that the group is quite good at what they do. The beats on the majority of A Quarter to a Half are what I would classify as typical of southern rap - occasionally veering into "ringtone" territory - but the three emcees in the group manage to keep things interesting even over subpar beats, in part due to the fact that they each have their own distinct delivery.
For me, the standout track on A Quarter to a Half is California Dreamin', which samples The Mamas & The Papas song of the same name, giving it the honor of being the only hip hop track I'm aware of that uses the group as its source material. Crunk rap mixed with folk music from the 60's might not sound like the makings of a hit, but the song is actually quite good. Check it out:
JClay tells me that 5th Flow has sold over 100,000 mixtapes worldwide, which, if accurate, is not only a rather impressive sales figure for an unsigned group - hip hop or otherwise - but it also suggests that there remains a large audience for Houston-based hip hop, even if the demand isn't quite as high as it was during the peak of the Swisha House era. Perhaps Def Jam's marketing team should get in touch with them to see what their secret to success has been, because they've managed to outsell at least a few members of Def Jam's roster.
