# Fu-Schnickens? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 5, 2001, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fu-schnickens/79799 "2001-09-05T03:32:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kaotic\_Newtral](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@Kaotic\_Newtral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaotic_Newtral)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fu-schnickens/79799/1 "2001-09-05T03:32:41Z")
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! ``` ---
**Author:** ![stolichnaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bcef8e/32.png) [@stolichnaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stolichnaya)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fu-schnickens/79799/2 "2001-09-05T04:30:30Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fu-schnickens/79799/3 "2001-09-05T05:28:45Z")
**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. ---
**Author:** ![Gozu\_Tashoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7993a0/32.png) [@Gozu\_Tashoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu_Tashoya)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fu-schnickens/79799/4 "2001-09-05T09:02:44Z")
Eh, I liked 'em. Still do, if not as much. Liked **Black Sheep** better, though. ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fu-schnickens/79799/5 "2001-09-05T13:16:08Z")
In the somewhat same vein (but a little better IMO), how about Das EFX? And that first Black Sheep album was the good stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Kaotic\_Newtral](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@Kaotic\_Newtral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaotic_Newtral)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fu-schnickens/79799/6 "2001-09-05T13:28:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KKBattousai \* > \*\*Eh, I liked 'em. Still do, if not as much. > > Liked **Black Sheep** better, though. \*\* Man…I remember them now. I liked them too. ---
**Author:** ![dalovindj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/65b543/32.png) [@dalovindj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalovindj)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fu-schnickens/79799/7 "2001-09-05T13:28:33Z")
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 ---
**Author:** ![stolichnaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bcef8e/32.png) [@stolichnaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stolichnaya)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fu-schnickens/79799/8 "2001-09-05T13:45:49Z")
Now that crew was good. Remember “Similac Child”- the entire beat was based on loops of dogs barking- a really cool and eerie effect. ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fu-schnickens/79799/9 "2001-09-05T14:17:55Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![stolichnaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bcef8e/32.png) [@stolichnaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stolichnaya)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fu-schnickens/79799/10 "2001-09-05T14:26:33Z")
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”. ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fu-schnickens/79799/11 "2001-09-05T14:57:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by JuanitaTech \* > \*\*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. \*\* 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: 1. Jedi Mind Tricks _Violent by Design_ 2. Outkast’s _Stankonia_ 3. De La Soul’s _Buhloon Mind State_ 4. Dr Octogon’s _Dr. Octagonecologyst_ 5. Pharcyde’s _Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde_ 6. De La Soul’s _De La Soul is Dead_ 7. Jurassic 5’s _Quality Control_ 8. Wu Tang’s _36 Chambers_ 9. Tribe Called Quest’s _Low End Theory_ 10. The Roots \*Illadelph Halflife \* 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_. ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fu-schnickens/79799/12 "2001-09-05T14:59:58Z")
…you forgot KRS-ONE. ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fu-schnickens/79799/13 "2001-09-05T15:18:05Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fu-schnickens/79799/14 "2001-09-05T15:44:38Z")
I figured you didn’t forget him; your list was thorough and comprehensive. I guess I just wanted to mention him. ---
**Author:** ![Amok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f17d59/32.png) [@Amok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amok)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fu-schnickens/79799/15 "2001-09-05T18:35:18Z")
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). ---
**Author:** ![stolichnaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bcef8e/32.png) [@stolichnaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stolichnaya)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fu-schnickens/79799/16 "2001-09-05T18:53:38Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fu-schnickens/79799/17 "2001-09-05T19:05:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Amok \* > \*\*Nas _Illmatic_ \*\* Oh, Man! Great call – I’d forgotten all about that album. Definately a classic. ---
**Author:** ![Amok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f17d59/32.png) [@Amok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amok)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2001, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fu-schnickens/79799/18 "2001-09-06T22:29:47Z")
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… ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2001, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fu-schnickens/79799/19 "2001-09-06T22:54:32Z")
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? ---
**Author:** ![Amok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f17d59/32.png) [@Amok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amok)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2001, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fu-schnickens/79799/20 "2001-09-06T23:57:54Z")
> [@](#): > > 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. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fu-schnickens/79799.md?page=2)