All,
Am I the only person in the world who remembers Fu-Schnickens? I'm not sure how the group popped from my sub-conscious to the front of my brainial lobe(I know....) but for some reason the rap-group is stuck in my head. Back in good 'ol 1992 or 1995? I they made some sort of profound influence in my life. Can one of you tell me what it was? Don't make me TrueFuschnick you!Well, they introduced us all to the magic of Shaq rapping, but I personally consider that to be a negative effect, your mileage may vary. Aside from that, they were a passable act.
Can we rock? What’s up doc? Can we rock? What’s up doc? Can we rock? What’s up doc? Can we rock? What’s up doc… On second thought…they sucked.
Eh, I liked 'em. Still do, if not as much.
Liked Black Sheep better, though.
In the somewhat same vein (but a little better IMO), how about Das EFX?
And that first Black Sheep album was the good stuff.
Man…I remember them now. I liked them too.
Engine Engine Number 9 on the New York Transit Line, If my train falls off the track, pick it up pick it up pick it up!!!
DaLovin’Dj
Now that crew was good. Remember “Similac Child”- the entire beat was based on loops of dogs barking- a really cool and eerie effect.
What do you call this period of hip-hop? Not quite old school and definitely not new school. I’ve heard middle school, but that just sounds silly.
Any suggestions?
Oh…by the way no one’s metioned the Pharcyde’s She Keeps on Passin’ Me By. It’s on my MP3 player now and I listen to it almost daily. That and Scenrio by Tribe.
A buddy of mine on the college radio station called this class “developmental” with verbal emphasis on “mental”. That’s not official but I always liked it. Tho he included Pete Rock & CL and others that may have been considered “old school”.
I have the entire Bizare ride II the pharcyde album on my machine at work and listen to it at least once a week. It’s easily one my top ten hip hop albums of all time.
Since I mentioned it, everyone make your lists. I’ll start:
With honorable mentions going to:
Black Eyed Peas Behind the Front,
Black Sheep’s A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing,
Busta RHymes *The Coming *,
Das EFX’s Dead Serious,
Mos Def’s Black on Both Sides and
Tribe called Quest’s Midnight Marauders.
…you forgot KRS-ONE.
KRS-ONE is really hit and miss with me. Some of his stuff is OK but he’s more one of those that I respect but don’t really like all that much. I know that BDP is landmark early hiphop and blah blah blah…but he never really did it for me.
I figured you didn’t forget him; your list was thorough and comprehensive. I guess I just wanted to mention him.
OK, I’ll play… Hmm, off the top of my head (I’m sure I’ll forget somethings):
[ul]
[li]Public Enemy Yo Bum Rush The Show[/li][li]X-Clan Xodus[/li][li]Masta Ace, Inc. Slaughtahouse[/li][li]Eric B. & Rakim Follow The Leader[/li][li]Wu-Tang Clan Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers[/li][li]Organized Konfusion Stress-The Extinction Agenda[/li][li]Tha Alkaholiks 21 And Over[/li][li]Outkast Aquemini[/li][li]The D.O.C. No One Can Do It Better[/li][li]Nas Illmatic[/li][/ul]
And, well, I didn’t forget KRS-One either, though I did consider him. He’s got a lot of great material, but I didn’t feel like he had an album that was consistently as good as the ones on my list, though Criminal Minded and Return of the Boom Bap were close.
I wouldn’t consider Pete Rock & CL Smooth “old school”; Mecca & The Soul Brother was released in '91 or ‘92, I think, which was either around the same time as Fu Schnickens’ and Das EFX’s debut albums or maybe a year earlier. At one time, to me, old school was everything before Run DMC’s 1984 self-titled album, but years have gone by (much to my shock and dismay) and what’s considered “old school rap” has grown. Right now I would probably say old school includes up through the late 80s, to include stuff like Public Enemy, Eric B & Rakim, and the emergence of the west coast (NWA, Ice T et al).
Since most of this stuff is “old school” to me, I have to go on the reccommendations of others. Yours sounds like as good a formula as any. It seems like this: NWA is old school, Dre is not.
But it’s silly to try to define these things. One of the greatest things about hip-hop is that its conventions and history are very young and are still being developed and digested.
Oh, Man! Great call – I’d forgotten all about that album. Definately a classic.
Yeah, Illmatic is definetely a great album. It has been my choice for best rap album practically since I first listened to it. It’s not perfect to me, there are some beats that I’m not crazy about (e.g. “The World Is Your’s”), but I can live with them, and that’s really minor considering he comes through lyrically on each and every track. His rhyming on “New York State Of Mind” or “One Love” still hypes me up when I listen to it now. I have his second album (It Was Written) as well, and I’ve listened to all of I Am and Nastradamus at various times, but they just don’t do the same thing for me. He can still rhyme very nicely, and there are certain tracks that I like a whole lot, but overall in terms of beats, subject matter, basically the whole style, he went off into Puffy/Mase/Little Kim-land (much like Biggie’s Life After Death), and that’s just not my thing.
In Wildest Bill’s thread asking people to name the best rap group, I said of the groups still currently active my favorties were Outkast, The Roots, Wu-Tang Clan, and Tha Alkoholiks (now known just as Tha Liks). Of those, only The Roots didn’t have an album on my top ten list. From looking at your list you apparently think Illadelph Halflife is their best album, which I agree with, and I considered putting that on my list, but the problem I’ve had with all their albums is too many tracks I don’t care about inbetween songs that are truly classic. Illadelph Halflife isn’t as bad as Do You Want More? in that regard, IMHO, but it’s still there. It has been awhile since I listened to the album, but looking over the track list, “What They Do”, “? vs Scratch”, “Dave vs US”, “The Hypnotic”, “One Shine”, and “The Adventures In Wonderland” all stand out as tracks that didn’t do much for me. I just don’t care much for their instramental or expiramental stuff. Without the tracks I listed the album would still have been a decent size, and would have easily made my top five. Of course, that’s just my NSHO…
Re: Nas –
I agree completely. I used to rock Illmatic all the time, and his rhymes on “NY State of Mind” and “The World is Yours” are such the good stuff. I tried to listen to It was written, and I couldn’t get into it. Then I saw that he was hanging out with Piss Diddy, and wrote him off. Still can’t knock that first album though.
Re: “Filler” on the Roots albums –
You’re right, but I like 7 or 8 tracks off Illadelph so much that it far outweighs those dislikes. Truthfully, looking at this list today, I’m not sure that album belongs at the top of my list, but it is still up there.
Have you heard Jedi Mind Tricks?
I remember hearing a song of their’s which I liked (don’t remember the name offhand), but no, I’ve never listened to their album. It’s been a while since I last got a new cd, and I pretty much like the rest of the stuff on your list, so maybe I’ll check it out when I get a chance.