The Roots - Illadelph Halflife

DGC: 1996

Getting a few Roots records was inevitable for yours truly, but it was nice to get the full smorgasbord of their catalogue before committing dollars to disc. And while it may seem obvious getting this one to start, I'm sure few would disagree with it either. Having gotten it and enjoyed Illadelph Halflife on its own now, however, I'm strangely at a loss for words of what I want to say about it.

There isn't much else I can touch upon the band itself that everyone in North America (and beyond!) doesn't already know (live hip-hop band, etc.), and I haven't given myself ample time to digest this particular release further. It's like, sure, this was the tastiest item in that smorgasbord, but to truly appreciate it, I need more than just a couple servings of it; really let it marinate on my taste buds. Or I just feel 'ill'-equipped to talk this album up as it deserves at this point. See, there I go, already falling back on bad puns.

I guess an adequate start is why Illadelph Halflife, what makes this album the one I wanted to nab first above all others. Beyond having that irresistible mid-'90s Eastcoast hip-hop aesthetic, I mean. Okay, that's a big reason, hands down. Whether it was getting in the grime of it was the Wu or ample raiding of funk, jazz, and soul records from the likes of DJ Premier and Tribe Called Quest (among many others), it's a sound I really vibe on, and kinda' wish I'd jumped on it a lot sooner than just these past few years. Sure, I had a few obligatory records here and there (Gang Starr, Big L, that one Nas everyone must have), but was missing so many more. Just... so many more.

Still, The Roots are Philly, not New York, which may account for how much soulful their style is. Or maybe it is just that live-band approach to their craft. Which is cool and all, but if I wanted to hear strictly that, I could have nabbed their first two albums (or the live one). Naw, what properly got me hooked in was hearing more of their studio production, which I feel really came into its own with Illadelph Halflife. They'd get more polished and bolder in later records, but here everything's given ample oomph over all their funky, jazzy rhythms and, where warranted, soulful backings (What They Do, No Alibi, No Greater Protector).

Lyrical content, then. After all, this is a hip-hop group, where lyrics are paramount. And honestly, I think that's why I like this record so much, Black Thought, Malik B, and all their guests given plenty of prominence. If anything, the 'musicians' part of Roots is put on a back-burner, far less jam sessions and solos indulged than before. I imagine this was done to help sell them to a wider rap audience not so keen on musical ability beyond what a dope, looping sample provides. I'd say the trick worked.

Nas - God's Son

Columbia: 2002

I will never claim being an expert in all things Nasir Jones. For the longest time, all I really engaged with him was the obligatory purchase of Illmatic every fan of hip-hop must. For sure there were parts of his career that intrigued me, but little I was compelled to dig into.

So take this with as much sodium carbonate as you can handle without causing kidney stones, but having actually listened to most of Nas' discography now, I'm claiming God's Son the best of his '00s output. Yes, better than the comeback Stillmatic, better than the critical darlings of Hip Hop Is Dead and untitled, and most definitely better than the double-LP Street's Disciple (think everyone agrees that's the worst of the decade).

This isn't me just being contrarian, saying such for hipster cred or something. Yeah, this album doesn't get brought up as much as the others, so is easily forgotten. It doesn't have any outright bangers or easy talking points going for it. No, just a solid record front to back (well, save one track), and in my mind, that's its greatest feat. The only other release under Nas' belt to that point you could say the same of was Illmatic, and though It Was Written and Stillmatic were good too, there were still a couple things holding them back from being as top tier. I'll touch on the former at a later date, but regarding Stillmatic, I felt it was as good as it needed to be, to resuscitate Nas' name in the rap world, and that's all. Was there that much doubt he could rebound though? Somehow I think not, most folks believing the ability was there, so long as the will was there.

Which is what makes God's Son that much better. Released a mere year after Stillmatic, whatever fire was lit under Mr. Jones continued burning hot (an artist like Nas doesn't lose inspiration just like that), now without some ungodly amount of expectation placed on him. Free to weave more 'hood tales, sexy come-ons, reflective poetry, Jay-Z disses, and the like, all refined to Eastcoast hip-hop perfection. Except Zone Out with Bravehearts. Have no idea what happened there.

Even the 'corny' tracks are fun! I Can is basically a 'work hard and honest to achieve your dreams' dressed in a uplifting-yet-rugged nursery rhyme. Book Of Rhymes has fun with the notion Nas owns pages of unused verses, presented with some self-deprecating humour. Another 'revived rhyme' from Tupac appears on the acoustic (!) Thugz Mansion (N.Y.).

To be fair, things get really metaphysical towards the end of God's Son, with more odes to the deceased and reflections on the future. I'll allow it, Nas having well earned the right to pontificate. And at less than an hour runtime, the whole record breezes right on by, leaving you wishing for more (like Illmatic!). Trust me when I say, even by 2002, the issue of rap album bloat hadn't subsided by a long-shot.

Sykonee's 'Sportsing' Surveys: THE ROOTS

Right, The Roots. This took a lot longer than I was planning, and not because this was some impossibly large discography. Oh, I thought there might be more out there than just their mainline records. After all, when you're billed as one of the most successful live hip-hop bands on the planet, you'd expect a tonne of live albums. Only one has seen an official release though, but that's neither here nor there. No, the reason it took me some 2.5 months to complete this survey is because, um... I didn't do much 'sportsing' for over a month there. Look, when one comes down with a heavy case of 'Mopevember', coupled with literally cracking a molar such that I had to get a crown for it, such things tend to throw one's regular physical regiment out of wack.

What's not wack, however, is The Roots. I first come into contact with them when their charming What They Do video was making the rounds, taking the piss out of all the rap music cliches that were prevelent in the '90s (hehe, 'butt cramp'...). Clearly these chaps were on a more 'conscious' level than their peers, but I was still a few years away from truly getting bit by the hip-hop bug. When it finally did, some of their eye-catching items like Phrenology and Game Theory got me more curious, but never did I pull that trigger. I really have no excuse to put them off any longer though, so time to go whole hog on their discography!













That took a few more unexpected turns than I, erm, expected. Like, they started out pretty much as I figured, but even early on, they were throwing curveballs left and right. Them getting thick into the genre daliances, however, really took me surprise, and I love they were willing to do that, especially at the height of their popularity. Or at least, the height of their initial popularity. I sense they've become an altogether different kind of popular now, the kind that even middle America is comfortable with. Seems somewhat antithetical to their original manifesto, but eh, brothers gotta' get paid.

As for what's next for surveying, think I'll be killing two birds with one stone, even if the music I'll be listening to will be only suitable for the most meditative of 'sportsing' activities.

Various - CB4 (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

MCA: 1993

CB4 is a cutting satire of the early '90s gangsta rap scene, specifically the rise of N.W.A., peeling back the macho facade that was often presented to Johnny-Q Public. As a hopelessly white teenager from the suburbs of Vancouver, however, I had no clue of what the Chris Rock movie was revealing. I thought it was just a funny comedy about rap music, of which I had barely begun digging into beyond whatever pop radio deemed appropriate. The 'hardest' I'd gotten for myself included some tracks off Ice-T's O.G. Original Gangster, and I came ever so close to nabbing Naughty By Nature's latest, had 2 Unlimited not intervened at the eleventh minute.

Truthfully, the only reason I got this soundtrack was from a little goading by peers while browsing a music shop. Yeah, we were fans of the movie, especially all the funny, dirty language as heard in such classics like Straight Outta Locash and Sweat Of My Balls. No way that I'd get this tape though, not with a musical taste that mostly consisted of music from the likes of “Weird” Al, Wayne's World, and whatever that “techno shit” was. Well, joke's on them, as not only did I buy that CB4 tape right then and there, but even pulled a 'prank' on our science teacher in getting him to listen to it too! Haha, oh, such rebellious youth, we was.

Enough anecdotes about buying my first rap album. What's even on this thing, and does it hold up nearly three decades on now? As a collection of hip-hop from the latter years of the Golden Era, it certainly does, but also kinda' ...doesn't? If we're being totally honest, there isn't anything on here considered an essential classic. And although some bonafide legends of rap in Public Enemy, KRS-One, and MC Ren show up, they were kinda' on the downswing of their careers at this point. Meanwhile, shining the spotlight on up-and-comers like Fu-Schnickens and Parental Advisory may have seemed beneficial at the time, but sputtered into nothing after. Still, keep an ear on that Blackstreet group, if they can shake the dated New Jack production from Teddy Riley for someone fresher.

Despite those criticism, there's still dope jams on here. Public Enemy may have seen better days, but Livin' In A Zoo (plus a Very Important sermon from Chuck D prior) kicks all kinds of ass. MC Ren's Mayday On The Frontline brings the proper gangsta menace to the show, while the Fu's Sneaking Up On Ya offers the lighter side of fancy world-play. Elsewhere, the Beastie Boys make a cameo in the DJ Hurricane led Stick 'Em Up, a tune about robbing people, and rather strange considering they were trying to shake off their younger, bratty attitudes. And for the “WTF?” records, here's P.M. Dawn's Nocturnal Is In The House, the spiritual group's own foray into hardcore. It's... not bad? The fact it also appears on a compilation that includes KRS-One makes it even more ironic.

Casual - Fear Itself

Jive: 1994

You'd think every dope album from the Golden Age Of Hip-Hop would shine bright upon some wall of fame for all to see, but to this day, some records still get passed. True, my perspective is quite skewed from rap consumption habits that are, at best, lackadaisical. And yet I come across CDs that leave me stupefied over their lack of discourse, even among those who consider themselves 'true, proper, underground hip-hop heads'.

I can never claim to be one, but I'd like to think myself somewhat favouring sounds off the commercial path (chart-topping classics notwithstanding). Still, it took me a stupid amount of time to check out anything from Casual. I like Hieroglyphics, and all their associative output with Del Tha Funkee Homosapien and Souls Of Mischief. Why so long, then, in scoping out solo material from a member with just as much presence within the group as all these other MCs? In all honesty, I simply didn't know he had solo material of any significance. Maybe a mixtape or item released through the Hiero Imperium, but for whatever reason, it never clicked for me that he was a separate artist from Souls and Del.

Release albums he has though, quite a few of them, even making his debut on Jive back when that label pretended to give a damn about the Hieroglyphics crew. Fear Itself came off the heels of '93 To Infinity and No Need For Alarm, and features all the soul 'n' funk samples and trunk rattling beats you can expect of this era of Hiero. You'd think this would make Casual's premier a shoe-in for legendary status along those two, but I've seldom seen in name-dropped. Was it a commercial flop? Well, no more than the others, but sales never stopped records from becoming 'backpacker classics'. Was it simply lost in the shuffle of all things G-funk out on the West Coast back then? Perhaps a little, but No Need For Alarm dropped the same day as Doggystyle (!!), and folks in the know will always point to Del's album as essential.

The only thing I can think of is that Casual doesn't come off as flamboyant as his Hiero brethren here. Absolutely he holds his own for the duration of the album, and his sinewy, husky flow is easily identifiable. For all his sharp battle-raps though, I can't deny there's just a little something missing from Fear Itself.

Menace, that's it. Hieroglyphics were never 'thug' rappers, but Souls didn't mince words about getting up in your grill. And when Del sounded pissed, you believed he'd “chop your muther-fuckin' head off”. I don't get that same sense with Casual, coming off fun lovin' and, at heaviest, rough n' tumble. Like, Smilin' Mark Henry, rather than Hall Of Pain Mark Henry. He'd definitely get there, subsequent years in the de-e-e-eep underground battle-rapping sharpening his edge. This first outing remains solid though, a worthy companion piece to the early Hiero saga. Can't knock them vintage Domino beats.

Boogie Down Productions - By All Means Necessary

Jive: 1988

It really is bonkers just how much of a game-changer the year 1988 was in the world of hip-hop. Even the lamest of laymen know the classics dropped: It Takes A Nation..., Straight Outta Compton, Strictly Business, Follow The Leader, Eazy-Duz-It, He's The DJ, I'm The Rapper... So many more I could name, such that it's not surprising that something like By All Means Necessary could so easily get overlooked. Yet the second album from Boogie Down Productions was a game changer all in its own right, one of the earliest examples of conscious rap. There were examples of street commentary and lyrical prowess before, but not to such an extent KRS-One brought here. The murder of your friend and producing partner would have that effect.

Not that BDP was glorifying violence on Criminal Minded, but right from the jump in My Philosophy, you can hear a change of tone in Mr. Parker's lyrics, presenting himself as The Teacha. Whereas before he'd show off his lyrical ability as street poetry, here he's using his verbal dexterity for higher thoughts, opening the minds of those who'd listen. These aren't the words of some street hood, but an individual who's studied why the streets are the way they are, and taking those to task who'd rather wallow in the bliss of ignorance. Small wonder he's posing as Malcom X on the cover art.

That's not to say he doesn't have things to say about the systemic issues in late '80s America that lead to such troubles. Stop The Violence rants on about the double-standards living in The World's Greatest Nation entails, while Illegal Business gets into complicity of police forces in the drug trade, taking bribes from peddlers to keep selling that crack to junkies. He even gets into some safe sex shenanigans with Jimmy, though in more a playful manner than the other tracks. Hehe, heh... “ding dong”...

It's not all soap-boxing though, KRS-One devoting just as much time to battle-rapping throughout the album. Whether still calling out wack MCs (Ya Slippin'), getting his braggadocios on (I'm Still #1), or railing against commercial sell-outs (Part Time Suckers), he's got plenty of shooting barbs. And while he's at it, may as well continue alternating between Bronx boom-bap and dancehall toasting, further proving one need not be limited in rapping delivery. Heck, the final track is basically a beatnik poetry outing.

Speaking of beats, in honour of the fallen La Rock, most of them retain the simple DJ cut-n-scratch or reggae bounce as he produced in Criminal Minded. While the extended BDP crew gets the credit, DJ Scott does get an 'Overseen' credit too. Aww, ain't that nice. Wish I could get as hype for the beats though, their dated attributes quite apparent when stacked against what The Bomb Squad was doing with Public Enemy at the same time. Not that it matters. By All Means Necessary is mostly about KRS-One's rhymes, and rhymes he delivers, yo'.

Del Tha Funkee Homosapien - Both Sides Of The Brain

Hiero Imperium: 2000

Widely regarded as the kick-off to what would be Phase II of Del's career. Okay, maybe you could point to the Hieroglyphics debut 3rd Eye Vision as the proper kick-off. Come to think of it, didn't his actual Phase II drop with No Need For Alarm? Or would I Wish My Brother George Was Here be pre-Crisis Del? I'm getting too many of these comic book analogies mixed up. Let me backtrack.

Both Sides Of The Brain came out in the year 2000. The following year, Deltron 3030 dropped, Gorillaz right behind. And with 3rd Eye Vision being out just prior, you can say Del'amania was running wild at the turn of the century. All this while being fully independent too, the Hiero crew among the first rap conglomerates to truly take advantage of a blossoming internet, exclusive content only available through their website. The CDs had better distribution than that, but with the advent of file-sharing, Del's newest material made its way across the globe to such a degree even his old label Elektra couldn't have imagined. Like, if they had, they wouldn't have dumped him so unceremoniously in the first place.

For those who were just discovering Del, Both Sides Of The Brain was about as perfect a summation to the chap's approach to hip-hop as they could hope for. Whether being known as among the best of the battle-rappers, or having one of the funniest outlooks on the ridiculousness of his surroundings, this album provides it all. I mean, the second track on here is If You Must, a tune literally about all the stinky people he's had to deal with, and super-catchy to boot. You'll never hear as many different ways of describing foul human odours as on this cut. Oh, and if you're down with the dorky side of Del, there's also Proto Culture, where he and Khoas Unique go on about classic video games. Handy way of getting a good word in for future Tony Hawk consideration.

If You Must aside, the first half mostly has Del spouting off about the rap industry while showing off his Jaw Gymnastics. On the other half, tracks like Style Police, BM's, and Soopa Feen have more fun with their topics. I almost want to put Skull & Crossbones in with that group, but Del seems deadly serious about the perils of drinking and driving on that one.

I could go on and on about all the stuff Del's rapping about, and rightfully so since he's a rap artist, but man, how can I ignore all these dope beats? There's so much going on here too, I could eat up a whole review's worth. Heck, Pet Peeves alone is over seven minutes long, with three totally different segments tying it together. Then you get production from Prince Paul, El-P (fresh off his seminal work with Company Flow), the usual assortment of in-house Hiero cats... All killer, no filler in this seventeen tracker, my friends.

The Herbaliser - Blow Your Headphones

Ninja Tune: 1997

Is this The Herbaliser's break-out album? Well, it's got A Mother on it, the tune that opened up Kruder & Dorfmeister's contribution to the DJ-Kicks series, which counts for something. So much so, that it just might be Jake and Ollie's most well-known song, which is remarkable considering it wasn't released as a single, nor made the cut on their 2010 retrospective compilation Herbal Tonic. Still, it must have been popular enough for them to include two versions of it on here, the other titled Another Mother. This is also the point when the DJing duo started expanding their sound from strict jazzy trip-hop exercises, incorporating actual musicians and lyricists. Okay, the musicians part was more for the tours at this stage in The Herbaliser's lifespan, but the lyricists, they be here.

More so though, this was about the time Ninja Tune itself started breaking out as an indie label with real potential, a promising growing roster that held more than whatever project Coldcut and crew was up to. True, they were riding on that 'electronica' wave that threw trip-hop favourite Mo'Wax into the pie, but exposure was exposure, even if it was in the backwash of everything else getting the hype. The Herbaliser benefited from this no less, though that aforementioned K&D rub didn't hurt either.

If anything, Blow Your Headphones captures the sound folks would come to associate with the label for nearly a decade after. That's either its greatest strength or an unfortunate weakness, depending on how you come into this album. Great, if you love the classic Ninja Tune trip-jazz funk-hop sounds, and enjoy consuming it from an era it was still quite fresh. Or you found it to grow rather stale after a while, and this is just a reminder that the label had a real tough time evolving as the years wore on. Actually, that's hardly accurate at all, the Ninja posse including many unique artists in the coming decade. Could they help it if their biggest stars and most prominent compilation contributors came from this mould? Okay, maybe a little – all about that sweet licensing exposure, amirite?

So the nu-hop acid-scratch vibes dominate, with tracks like both Mothers, Ginger Jumps the Fence, and Shorty's Judgement leading the charge. A couple tracks (Put It On Tape, Shocker Zulu) slow things right down into near illbient waters, plus a whole pile of interstitial tracks litter about. There's a jazz-hop cut in Saturday Night with some of that rappity-rap going on, but the bulk of the lyricism on Blow Your Headphones features What? What? She also goes by Run Run Shaw, Tsidi Ibrahim, and Jean Grae. With the jazz influences getting ultra-thick on her cuts (The Blend, New + Improved, Bring It), I can't help but think I'm listening to some of Guru's Jazzmatazz selections. I suspect The Herbaliser sensed it too, the beats they provide her quite indebted to DJ Premier. Well, except that pure beatnik-gangsta poetry outing in Hardcore. Weird one, that.

Various - Blade - Music From And Inspired By The Motion Picture

TVT Records: 1998

Plenty has been said how this movie ushered in a new era of comic book adaptations. That it rescued a quickly diminishing genre of film from the downward slide of Schumacher Batman into something once again credible and financially lucrative. That the cinematic juggernaut known as the MCU would never have gotten on the beachhead had this relatively unknown creative property of theirs been a box-office dud. Yes, all these things have been brought up by people who make it their business/career/hobby discussing such things, but that's not what I'm doing here.

Instead, I wish to make my own hot-take proclamation about Blade. More specifically the soundtrack: this was the last of a small but vital run of scores that people intimately associate with exactly one techno track, which everyone had to rush and buy because of needing that one techno track.

You know the type I'm talking about. Your 'Mortal Kombat Theme'. Your 'Trainspotting Theme'. Your, um, The Saint Theme. For a time in the '90s, a wave of movies featured some big thumping anthem as its centrepiece of music, forever tying song and cinema to specific scenes. For sure there were plenty of soundtracks that featured electronic music, before and well after Blade, but can you instantly identify That One Track out of any of them? No, Zion doesn't count. Even if folks do remember that scene (for all the wrong reasons), they definitely can't recall how its techno track sounds, preferably forgetting anything associated with the Matrix sequels.

You can't shake the image of Blade's blood rave and the pounding acid of Pump Panel's rub of New Order's Confusion though. There were plenty of other great artists with tunes in the movie – Photek, DJ Krush, Source Direct, Junkie XL, Solitaire ...Polygon Window? - but its this specific one everyone knows. I just have to say “that movie Blade”, and you instantly hear the acid again. Aww, and here I am, thinking Expansion Union's Playing With Lightning is just as dope.

“But wait!” you say, “what's with all those artists you mentioned above? I have the CD and only a couple of them are in there. It's mostly a bunch of hip-hop!” Right you are, oh man of straw. In fact, only four tracks as featured in the movie made the cut of fifteen here. Save a couple clubbier offerings from Mantronik and Roger Sanchez bridging the gap, everything comes from the lands of gangsta rap.

Though as they are tracks 'inspired by' the movie, it feels more appropriate to call this 'gothic rap'. Lots of raps about Blade, hunting vampires, wars between heaven and hell... pretty cool stuff, with a good mix of stars and unknowns. Gang Starr is here! KRS-One is here (breaking fourth walls, no less)! Mystikal is here (his track was great at showing off the bass of the JVC Kaboom)! P.A. is... wait, Parental Advisory? Oh, wow, they were also on the first rap soundtrack I ever owned. Small world.

GZA/Genius - Beneath The Surface

MCA Records: 1999

It was an impossible task. Like, has anyone in the history of hip-hop managed it? I won't deny I haven't heard every rap album ever, with some acts and artists glaring (deliberate?) holes in my accumulated knowledge of that scene. If the self-proclaimed 'Genius' couldn't make the transition from underground critical darling to the mainstream however, what hope have any other, I ask thee? Even the full might of the Wu-Tang Clan had a shaky crossover with Wu-Tang Forever, while only Method Man managed anything considered a successful solo career by that point (maybe ODB too, though more for features). And now the Wu member most known for having the deepest, thought-provoking lyrics was having a stab at commercial success too? Oh dear, this won't go well, will it?

Not that it was a deliberate attempt at crossover success on Mr. Grice's part. Indeed, the very title of GZA's third second album is a not-so subtle analogy at looking for the depth of lyrical content beneath a shiny surface. Unfortunately, the presentation of this album comes off rather muddled, such that the shiny surface is too reflective and distracting. You feel like you should be getting some deeper content out of it, but who can tell when the production is this crisp and clean compared to Liquid Swords. And if we wanted music like that, the 'Puff' Daddy Era was still burning hot (though just about exhausting the last of its fuel). Throw in oddly placed 'skits' of benign-sounding but insidiously predatory corporate ads, and the resultant album is one with good tracks but no flow, ruining much replay value. Despite the title's implication, what you hear is really all you get.

Beneath The Surface provides a perfect example in its opening salvo. Amplified Sample is a solid club banger to kick things off, followed by the moodier, street-tales titular cut featuring string loops right out of a 'Shaolin' slums scene. Then, two skits, followed by another club banger in Crash Your Crew. Rinse, repeat, and it doesn't feel like I'm getting the same deep insights and clever wordplay as Liquid Swords anymore. Much less the classic RZA production either, mostly stepping back while his assortment of proteges take over the console (Mathematics, Arabian Knight, Inspectah Deck, others). Nor are there many members and affiliates of the Wu making guest spots either (Masta Killa, Method Man, and Killah Priest the most prominent of the bunch). All par for the course when it comes to this era of Wu-Tang solo projects, true, but all reasons folks consider these years the start of the Clan's decline.

If anything, Beneath The Surface cemented those hushed whispers into general discourse, what with it failing to fulfill the hype expected of it. And despite multiple tries at hearing more beneath its surface, my impression of the album hasn't changed in two decades. Maybe I'm just too dumb, but my thoughts aren't uncommon. Still, d'at building bass in High Price, Small Reward tho'!

Swollen Members - Balance

Battle Axe Records: 1999

I don't always look back on my time working a little music shop in the hinterlands of British Columbia in the best of lights (so bored, so little pay...), but I do appreciate it expanding my pre-Audio Galaxy music consumption. Ordering in all the electronic music I wanted was no small thing, and it wasn't long before my peers came to me with requests as well. This eventually drew the attention of connoisseurs of other genres, particularly underground hip-hop. For sure they helped me clue into Wu-Tang Clan and OutKast, but without these folks asking for acts like Hieroglyphics or Jurassic 5, where would my rap knowledge be? Not terribly good, I wager.

Swollen Members was another such unknown entity. I'm sure a number of my Canadian brethren are wondering, how can that be? For a time, the group helmed by Mad Child and Prevail was one of the biggest rap acts in the country, only ceding their time at the top when Drake came along as the New Canadian Hotness. This is true, but before their big break with the album Bad Dreams, they debuted with this record, Balance. And as the current Top Canadian Rap Act was then Rascalz, Swollen Members had to bide their time in the underground. For there can be only one Canadian Rap Act in the public eye at any given time. I honestly have no idea how or why this is so, I just know it to be so.

In any event, I doubt Swollen Members could have become an overnight sensation even if they wanted to. Their style was always heavy on themes of the occult, not exactly mainstream friendly, and rather fringe even back in the '90s. It honestly still boggles my mind that an act that had Mad Child rapping about witches and demons would go on to have any radio play, but then I suppose Rascalz weren't doing so hot, and Canada needed something to fill their One (1) Popular Rap Act quota. Balance generated more than enough buzz to get record execs looking.

For a young white dude with some dorky traits, hearing another white dude rap about dorky things while in the presence of dope-as-fuck rappers like Del Tha Funkee Homosapein, Everlast, and Dilated Peoples, producers like The Alchemist, plus scratch masters like Mix Master Mike and Kut Masta Kurt, you bet this was right up my alley! Not that this is some horrorcore schlock, Swollen Members sticking to most traditional 'backpacker' rap topics about how lyrically dope they are and all good stuff. They just use unconventional metaphors, is all, with moody, minimalist beats, pianos, guitars, strings, and chants to back them up. The only time this album gets 'fun' is on the Del cut Left Field, which sounds like a tune from one of his own albums, Swollen Members guesting.

And yet, despite quite liking Balance, I never followed this group after. Sadly, Canadian over-hype has a way of sullying a good thing.

Czarface & MF Doom - Czarface Meets Metal Face

Silver Age: 2018

It wasn't the hip-hop team-up *I* was hoping for, but Deltron can't be everywhere. Still, this probably makes the most sense of any collaboration with Czarface, the comic book inspired creation of Inspectah Deck, Esoteric and 7L. For sure there's been plenty of rappers who've taken cues from comics, but not many adopted it into a lasting persona. One other such dude is MF Doom, a remarkable two-decade feat with seemingly little Marvel/Disney threatening glances over his shoulder. Like, is the mask just different enough that copyright claims haven't buried him these past two decades? MF Doom is also a dude I probably should have digested far more of than I have to this date (re: barely at all). In due time, I'm sure I will; maybe after I've exhausted every and all Wu-Tang explorations.

First off, how are Deck 'n Eso'? Still in that comfortable flow they've been in since Every Hero Needs A Villain? You bet they are, while 7L's production retains the ol' school funkadelic sample-heavy hip-hop flavour I've come to appreciate out of this group. Hell, as 'mumble rap' and its cheap-ass sounds have come to dominate, this stuff remains a wonderful renaissance of when hip-hop was dynamic and vitalic. Whether with twitchy paranoid pianos (Badness Of Madness), street-hustlin' bass boogie (Astral Traveling, Forever People), or grimy soul-sludge (MF Czar, Phantoms), there's plenty here for the old heads and the new heads who like what the old heads like. Methinks that's a demographic that could use a little more of a boost.

As for them rappers then, what are you in for? Czar-Deck is his usual lyrical form, even calling out his detractors for being too lyrical at times (th' fuck kinda' criticism is that? Rebel INS always uses just the right amount of words in his rappity-raps ...kids these days). MF Doom sounds cool, in a rugged, low-key menacing sort of way. Not as lyrical as Deck, but they are rather different MCs, and make for a good contrast against each other. As for how he sounds compared to other projects, I honestly can't say – this is my first extended exposure to MF Doom (gasp!). As for Esoteric, I was worried he might get outshone by Deck and Doom, in that Eso's style is so similar to INS, he'd come off like a spare wheel to Deck and Doom's interplay (plus, y'know, just not as famous as the other too). He holds his own just fine though, and even has some of the funniest lines here, especially if you know your wrestling references (hehe, “stick out like Kurt Angle's temple vein”).

Beyond that, this is just a solid collection of hip-hop. Nods to the 'comic book team-up' aspect is played out in skits as knowing winks, but they never go much beyond that. Which is a little disappointing for yours truly, as I'm still waiting on a proper Czarface narrative album. Who knows though, maybe that Ghostface collab' will finally see the deed done.

OutKast - ATLiens

LaFace Records: 1996

Now this one, I was under no delusion it'd sound like Stankonia. No one in hip-hop sounded like Stankonia in the mid-'90s – heck, very few sounded like Stankonia when that album dropped, though I'm sure there's an outlier or two that could be pointed out as the true originator of 'southern trap-rap crunk-jungle soul'. Point being, though Stankonia kinda' numbed the enjoyment I should have had with Aquemini, I knew fully well ATLiens would be its own beast, meaning I could take it in under its own terms, expectant hype be damned.

No, wait, that's not entirely true. I knew ATLiens had its own high amount of praise, though for different reasons. An album that showed there was something creative and ingenious brewing in the lands of Georgia. An album that proved southern rap could be more than a bunch of booty bass and ghetto-cheap beats. That Wu-Tang Clan didn't have a monopoly on comic book iconography. Okay, maybe not so much that last one, but man, doesn't Big Boi look like he'd fit right in with a team-up with Method Man or Ghostface Killah? Right, they settled on Raekwon in Aquemini, but for sure the seeds of a major coastal crossover event were planted here. Also, Andre 3000 as a genie, but there were wacky sorts in hip-hop before him. He just started flying his own freak flag for ATLiens.

So if there's any disappointment to be had from my end regarding OutKast's sophomore album, it's that they didn't push the envelop quite as far as I was led to believe. The package screams ultra nerdcore concept outing, and given the general plaudits heaped upon it, I figured it a game-changer not just in the lexicon of southern rap, but all of rap. Nay, it's instead treading ground already being charted by the likes of the Hieroglyphics crew and other 'backpack rappers' of the time. And hey, totally a departure of what was expected from the south, so that's good enough, right?

Right. I don't need to hear Boi and 3000 rapping about their intergalactic escapades as portrayed in the booklet's comic. Hearing them waxing tales about living in Atlanta is good enough when the flows are this dope and the beats are this fine. ATLiens is best served as a deep southern fried slice of chilled-out vibes, perfect cruising material for hot 'n muggy days just trying to get by. There are moments of introspection, moments of booty chasin', and moments of good ol' simple head-boppin' – all under a thick THC haze as imported from somewhere beyond the outer reaches of your being. Or something.

It's a strange journey I've taken in exploring OutKast's discography. I came in when they were crossing over, but before they'd truly broken through the mainstream. The further back I dug, the simpler they seemed, but somehow more interesting too. Still, not sure I'm up for Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik. That one seems too straight-forward, and I need my OutKast a little askew.

OutKast - Aquemini

LaFace Records: 1998

Like many, this was my first introduction to OutKast. Unlike many, I didn't actually hear this until well after I'd heard their follow-up album Stankonia, the first OutKast record I listened to. The logic in this admission is Aquemini had been a major hit in the little corner of Canadian hinterland I lived, the local populace quite enamoured over that Rosa Parks jam.

Upon returning to the music shop I worked at after a year away in The Big City, that snappy Aquemini cover art was there to greet me, one of the store's hottest items at the time. Interesting, thinks I, in that when I'd left the year before, it was Puff Daddy's tribute to the dead Biggy that was our hottest item. I was curious what could have supplanted that gargantuan single, but didn't throw it on before we sold through our stock, and forgot about it. Then I heard Stankonia, my head a'sploded from its awesomeness, and I remembered, oh yeah, they had that Aquemini album a couple years back too. I should check that out, if I ever find it again.

I bring all this up because context is key in how one forms an opinion on something, and because of my ass-backwards journey into OutKast's discography, my initial impressions of Aquemini wasn't so high. For sure I eventually dug what I heard, but it wasn't what I was expecting. Stankonia's wild genre fusion had me thinking the Atlantian duo were always doing such stuff, and instead I got a solid rap album with some southern soul and a smattering of dalliances outside the norm. Man, how I envy those who were listening to OutKast from the beginning, hearing Aquemini proper-like as yet another bold step forward in their musical evolution.

Honestly though, I don't have much to gripe with this album. I feel it drags a bit too long, my attention drifting after the two-parter Da Art Of Storytellin', but that was a complaint of almost ever hip-hop album in the late '90s: too much bloat. Still, it's hard denying Aquemini winds significantly down in the back-half. Prior to that, you have the aforementioned club hit Rosa Parks, the Raekwon guesting Skew It On The Bar-B (a big deal, considering few from the East Coast felt Southern rap had much legitimacy), the ultra-psychedelic titular cut, and the electro-leaning Synthesizer (George Clinton, yo'!). Damn, even without comparing to Stankonia, that's still a hot opening salvo of songs! Slump and West Savannah take things back to the easy-vibin' groove, while Da Art Of Storytellin' Parts 1 & 2 have some of the catchiest production on the whole damn album (the rappity-rap parts are pretty dope too).

What I'm trying to say is, Aquemini was a real slow burn for yours truly. It didn't mesmerize me like Stankonia did because how could it? I had to take it on its own terms, which I stubbornly did after too many years. My brain did a bad on this one.

Boogie Down Productions - Criminal Minded

B-Boy Records/Traffic Entertainment Group: 1987/2016

Can't be a hip-hop completist without having Boogie Down Productions in your collection. Not that I'm under any delusion I'm a completist - I'm in no hurry to add Biggie, Jay-Z, or Lil' Wayne to my rap shelf (far right, lower third). Just saying, if you want hip-hop heads taking you seriously, the group KRS-One built is required study material, this debut album from the BDP posse a Very Important rap album from the '80s. A remarkable feat, considering there's no Rick Rubin or Def Jam association with Criminal Minded. Can't escape the influence of an AC/DC sample in Dope Beat though. But hey, a ton of hip-hop culture cribbed from Boogie Down Productions after, so fair play.

Like gangsta' rap! Only, Criminal Minded isn't gangsta' rap at all, at least not in the way N.W.A. would define it. No doubt KRS-One gets into some gritty street tales, like resorting to gun violence to save his ass from home invaders in 9mm Goes Bang, or dealing with a crack whore in Remix For P Is Free. That's only two tracks out of ten though, hardly enough material to consider this album gangsta' rap through and through. Hell, such tracks aren't even playing up the 'gangsta' lifestyle, no more than Grandmaster Flash's The Message does (and it doesn't). It's that cover art, isn't it, KRS and DJ Scott La Rock all decked out in a small arsenal. Definitely a first of its kind, rappers showing off their guns and ammo rather than their sneakers and jewellery, though seems overplayed for the sake of marketing here. Gotta' draw attention from that crashed jet on License To Ill somehow.

Beyond all that though, Criminal Minded still has its feet within the realm of old-school hip-hop. The beats are simple boom-bap and quick-cut sampling (rock and James Brown, naturally), with Scott La Rock scratching between KRS-One's verses. Meanwhile, Mr. Parker goes off on a variety of topics, mostly showing off his lyrical prowess (Poetry, Word From Our Sponser, Elementary, Criminal Minded) while going after lesser MC – truly, the essence of vintage street battle-rap. In fact, this album was also among the first in bringing crew feuds into the spotlight, KRS-One singling out the Queens rapper MC Shan of the Juice Crew for being a style-biter and “sucker MC” compared to talents from the other Boroughs of New York City. South Bronx and The Bridge Is Over are often name-dropped as seminal classics of 'diss rap', and hearing them even this far out of context, I can't help but lean back and proclaim, “Daaa-yuum!”

And there's more! KRS-One switching between Jamaican toasting and his Bronx flow, properly bringing the two styles together. The tragic fact this was the only material we'd hear from Scott La Rock, murdered later that year. The album's underground status cemented due to years of being out of print from label mismanagement. Me finally knowing where Method Man got that 'super sperm' line from. It's all here! Completist material indeed.

Wu-Tang Clan - 8 Diagrams

Universal Motown: 2007

RZA was scoring movies. GZA was rapping about cars. Method Man was more interested in acting. Raekwon was holding out on the album everyone wanted from him. Masta Killa had a surprisingly solid debut though, and Ghostface was flying high, but overall, things weren't looking so hot for the Wu-Tang Clan. Then ODB died, and folks wondered if that would be the final wound that would end the hip-hop juggernaut. Fools. This, above all else, was the rallying cry to bring the Clan back together, in honour of their fallen brother. Proving all their doubters wrong that their time had passed probably wasn't a bad motivator either.

They had to find themselves in a bit of a pickle though. Hip-hop was a far different beast in the year 2007 compared to their '90s heyday. Crunk was now the hottest shit on the market. Meanwhile, Kanye West had almost single-handily put gangsta' rap to rest after beating 50 Cent in their duel of market supremacy (the infamous Graduation - Curtis showdown). Did the Wu have anything fresh on offer in this new world?

The RZA certainly did, in that he'd amassed an arsenal of instruments, offering more creative freedom than he'd ever had before. There's still funk and soul samples throughout 8 Diagrams, but unlike days of old where they'd be looped over a twitchy beat, there's more freeform funk going on here as instruments strut their stuff. It was a significant step forward in RZA's songcraft, though not everyone was entirely on board with it, Ghostface and Raekwon especially vocal about their concern over this change of musical direction for the Clan.

I can understand why. Musically, 8 Diagrams is a creative album, with plenty of strange, warped twists and turns of funk and soul coming at you. Unfortunately, it kinda' overshadows what the actual MCs of Wu-Tang bring to the table. Everyone sounds fine and all, some members more fired than their solo stuff (Method Man, Deck), though lacking much evolution in their usual topics of street tales, battle-raps, and livin' large. Plus, the bangers on this album don't go as hard as some of their classic material, tracks like Rushing Elephants and Wolves oddly muted for the energy they're trying to generate. The only time things get proper-Wu hard is Stick Me For My Riches, where Mathematics brings southern bounce to the party. Also, with so much musical exploration on RZA's part, the album doesn't really coalesce into anything more than an assemblage of tracks for their own sake. Aside from proving they were still kicking it, there's no real 'statement' being made about hip-hop at large by the Wu-Tang Clan here, as so many had expected

Ultimately though, 8 Diagrams is worth having just for the final track, Life Changes. Here, the Wu offer their final farewell to the deceased Russel Jones, one of the most heartbreaking pieces of hip-hop I've ever heard. You just ain't human if you don't feel something welling up from this song.

Hieroglyphics - 3rd Eye Vision

Hiero Imperium: 1998

Basically mandatory listening for anyone who figures themselves a 'true hip-hop head', though I wonder just how much weight such a proclamation carries in this day and age. Back in the '90s, the Hieroglyphics crew were one of the most respected underground collectives you could find. They were rappers who flirted with major labels, even found some minor success with them, but never compromised their integrity for that easy crossover money. They were thus dropped and forced them to go proper independent before they could release an actual debut with everyone involved.

3rd Eye Vision wasn't just the culmination of the years of hard work put in by Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, Souls Of Mischief, Domino, and Pep Love, but a mission statement that underground hip-hop could succeed on its own terms, supported by hardcore fans, with no major label backing sullying your vision. You had to work to find this music, and would be rewarded with hip-hop of greater class than what was polluting the charts. Heck, I only came upon this as a special request order in the music shop I worked for in the Canadian hinterlands, though the dude who wanted it couldn't pay the $30 for it. Me though, I had no problem snagging that CD for myself, after which the guy was quite sore about, but yo', I gave him a month to come through. Shit's too dope to just sit on our shelves unloved.

Of course, finding such music is now easy-peasy, so claiming righteous 'backpacker' cred in owning 3rd Eye Vision's a moot point. And as hip-hop has morphed and changed in the two decades since this dropped, does there remain much interest and necessity for an underground classic sporting some of the best MCs out of Oakland riding mint beats and jazz-funk samples while taking to task a culture long since removed from dated gangsta' tropes? Oh, you know that answer is a 'yes'!

The posse anthems - You Never Knew, The Who, Off The Record - are as earwormy as anything you might have heard from other rap collectives, each Hiero member proving just how part and parcel they are to the whole. Not that each MC doesn't get their own chance to shine solo though, each member given an eponymous short tracks to spit some bars scattered throughout the album. Hell, Del kinda' gets two such tracks, At The Helm a classic Funkee Homosapien sounding-off cut that ranks up with any of his best work.

While the album does run a tad long at twenty-one tracks, you feel it's warranted with so many skilled lyricists on hand. Heck, they probably could have done the double-LP deed, but considering every hip-hop artist was bloating the scene with such efforts, keeping things at a tight, sharp regular LP length was best. Get in, prove your point, get out, and reap the rewards as the hip-hop community celebrates your triumphant statement that underground rap could flourish in the new millennium. At least until crunk ruined everything.

Raekwon - The Wild

Empire: 2017

I feel neglectful when it comes to Raekwon. It was his Immobilarity that opened my eyes to all that hip-hop could be in terms of narratives, and both Cuban Linx albums are stone-cold classics in the Wu pantheon. Unfortunately, his other albums don't spark much interest in yours truly. It's not that I doubt his verbal skills on any of his projects, but I've been burned a few too many times on 'mediocre Wu' to scope out everything all these MCs release. Rae's no less immune to the syndrome, a lesson learned with The Lex Diamond Story. Unless he's bringing something dope to the table with production to back it up that gets the knowledgeable heads I trust talking, I give his stuff a pass.

Turns out Mr. Woods has released an album that's gotten knowledgeable heads talking, or at least positively buzzing to such a degree that I haven't seen since Cuban Linx, Pt. 2. While by no means is it being hyped to Cuban Linx levels (because really, the only thing that could generate such talk is a Part 3), I figured it was about time I got myself re-associated with The Chef in The Wild.

And this... this is pretty darn good! Mind, I'd never go into a Raekwon joint expecting something revolutionary, not at this late stage of his career. Just bring me more of those vintage storytelling raps with witty street slang and a slew of solid beats to back them up, and I'm more than sated. Rae' easily delivers on the lyrical front, providing his usual assortment of street tales, reflective raps, and braggadocios boasts about living and maintaining his good life after so many years in the game. I was particularly thrown for a loop on Marvin, a retelling of the life of Gaye with Cee-Lo Green belting out a chorus as only he can. Where did Rae' find the inspiration to rap about that tale of triumph and tragedy? And damn, does producer Frank G ever provide the perfect soul loop for this tune (not to mention his other contribution of Nothing - methinks he gets Rae's vibe quite well indeed).

The soul loops mostly dominate The Wild, which makes sense as Mr. Woods' own flow has taken on something of a mellow, husky soul itself as he's aged. He still finds time to fit in with current trends though, including a twitchy, synth-heavy cut with Lil' Wayne in My Corner (he don't rap much of anything new, but he does sound good rapping it), a gothic tune with synthy choirs and organs in M&N with P.U.R.E. (don't know him), and a slice of trap in You Hear Me to close The Wild out. It's... fine for trap, I guess? Doesn't really fit with the rest of Rae's vibe on this album though, especially as a closer. Don't worry, Shallah, you don't have to jump on every trend with your work. Like, no one remembers that 'crunk' jam off Lex Diamond.

Various - Wu-Tang Meets The Indie Culture

Babygrande Music: 2005

When I was in the throes of my hip-hop honeymoon, two groups ruled supreme as all that was great within the genre. You know who these two groups are, because I've constantly name-dropped them for as long as this blog's been active again (five years, oh good God...). And as any 'young rap fan' can attest to, when you start following groups, you start thinking up potential pair-offs between them, like comic super-team cross-overs. How dope, thought Year 2000 Sykonee, would it be for Del Tha Funkee Homosapien and Inspectah Deck to trade lyrical atomic bombs! Casual and ODB riding a warped rhythm with their rugged, warbling flows! Souls Of Mischief sharing street tales with Ghostface and Raekwon! A-Plus and True Mathematics blending samples! Never mind the Wu and Hiero ran in such drastically different hip-hop spheres that these pairings could never to happen - I could at least dream of them.

And then it did happen! ...kind of. While not a full-on collaboration, the fact I'm holding a CD that includes Del, Casual, GZA, RZA, and U-God in the tracklist feels like a minor miracle in of itself. I guess having MF Doom, Ras Kass, Aesop Rock, Prodigal Sunn, R.A. The Rugged Man, J-Live, plus others is a nice bonus, if you're down for such acts too.

Wu-Tang Meets The Indie Culture is the brainchild of Dreddy Kruger, who appeared on a couple Wu affiliated tracks, but settled into an A&R role for the franchise, producing compilations and the like. When he launched his own print in Think Differently, he wished to bring more underground acts to the light, and figured mixing 'backpacker' rap acts with Wu-Tang stars was a good way of doing so. Providing the bulk of beats for all these MCs to spit their bars over is Bronze Nazareth, who's had a decent career in his own right following this record. He certainly gets the Wu aesthetic as laid out by The Abbot, funk and soul samples looping over gritty or smooth rhythms, as per each cut's lyrical context. Oh, and RZA handled his own 'blaxpoitation' beat for his team-up with MF Doom in Biochemical Equation, though the infamous masked MC lacks much spark in his verse. Kinda' happens when the 'collaboration' doesn't require everyone to be present in a studio.

That's unfortunately the vibe I get from Wu-Tang Meets The Indie Culture - a lot of disparate acts doing their minimum best for the project before they moved on to their own interests. There isn't anything wack on this CD, but nor does it elevate much higher than whatever excited ideas were probably germinating in your mind from the core concept.

Still, Dreddy Kruger believed in it enough to get enough recognizable names involved, his enthusiasm coming through in the paragraphs of liner notes. The highest praise I can give this is Wu-Tang Meets The Indie Culture is it's the best 'third tier' Wu project I've ever heard, though my sample-size is minuscule.

Wu-Tang Clan - Wu-Tang Forever

Loud Records: 1997

The Wu-Tang Clan's sophomore album couldn't help but be a double-LP. I mean, it was already The Thing to do for most rappers of note in the mid-'90s (Tupac, Biggie, Bone Thugs, Master P), but at least it made sense for this dynamic group. Their debut Enter The Wu-Tang was as perfect an album as any dropped in hip-hop's history, and the half-dozen solo records from various members after proved there was no lack of dope material in their ranks. After so much unprecedented success as a rap conglomerate, they absolutely deserved more room to breathe, letting all these MCs have more opportunities to shine on the mic, and celebrate The RZA's five year plan coming to fruition. Concerns about filler and bloat? Oh come on, how could the Wu Empire falter in their moment of triumph, especially after such a glorious lead single in Triumph?

And CD1 doesn't disappoint, almost a strong album experience in of itself. Yeah, the overlong Wu-Revolution opener reeks of pretentious hubris, that the Wu nation is willing to sit through a nearly seven-minute long sermon from Papa Wu. On the other hand, it does set a tone that the Clan is aware of social issues impacting black communities, and that they aren't gonna' just be another bunch of rappers glamorizing gangsta' lifestyles. Cool, but now that you've cleared your conscience, RZA, how about bringing the motha'fuckin' ruckus again? He done does that, Reunited showing off his newfound twitchy-soul production chops, follow-up For Heaven's Sake bringing the ghetto-grime to the fore, As High As Wu-Tang Get a fun bit of bouncy funk, Maria a boozy-woozy fest, and It's Yourz a good ol' stompin' crowd anthem.

And the rest of the Clan bring killer material to CD1 too, some of their all-time greatest lines ever dropped here (GZA: “Too many songs with weak rhymes is mad long; Make it brief, son - half short, twice strong.”). MCs that didn't much get spotlight in 36 Chambers have equal opportunities among the established stars, and a decent range of topics are covered among the ten tracks (lyrical showcases, street tales, conscious slabs, slum love, etc.). The only thing missing from CD1 is a definitive, stone-cold classic cut, but then they had to save something for CD2.

Disc number two starts off strong as well, Triumph the kick-off, followed by Impossible containing what RZA considers “one of the illest verses of all time”, Ghostface Killah vividly narrating the last moments spent with a dying friend on the street. Unfortunately, this is where that anticipated bloat starts to settle in, a run of average, oddball tracks leading to a slog of hip-hop between the islands of right dope shit (harrowing Little Ghetto Boys, ODB's wonderfully unhinged Dog Sh*t, the orchestral punch of Heaterz). Cheekily, the closing ghetto-soul of Second Coming is strictly handled by vocalist Tekitha, with nary a Clan member in sight.

CD2 is essentially a glorified B-side, but as mentioned, Wu-Tang Forever is easily worth the admission price for CD1.