Catapulting from his elusively maneuvering under the radar scary good debut album “The Good Sun”, the new addition to the Stones Throw roster follows up 2 years later from his 2010 release with the “Subject: Matter EP.” Homeboy Sandman the Elmhurst, Queens representer is truly an underrated talent and a spray of Febreeze in a high school football teams locker room filled with must and smothering body odor. Also an advocate of organic produce and following your inner voice, Boy Sand embodies a genuine, eclectic nature both sonically and individually as a graduate from an Ivy League school personally deafening the external forces influencing him to use his advanced degrees instead of pursuing his aspirations of making a living off being an emcee.

The “Subject: Matter EP” may arguably have the most verbally introspective and informational artwork ever. It basically breaks down the EP as a whole, what he meant to convey, as well as a track by track explanation along with thoughts on Frequently Asked Questions about his stage name.

Usual suspects such as 2 Hungry Bros contribute to the project on the production end. “Subject: Matter” is not too much of a departure from his previous release from a beat standpoint; still containing that soul and jazzy boom bap feel to perfectly compliment the New York natives style. Sandman is a little more serious and laid back on this record getting personal on the silky smooth, yet tastefully pu**y whipped cut “Unforgettable.” Still maintaining his melodic flow and intelligent, deep witty thought out lyrics on “Canned Goods”, which is about his experience with canned goods in addition to capturing the escalating modern crisis’ around the world where he chants “Canned Goods, other foods spoils much quicker. The spoils go to the victors…”

In conclusion, this is a strongly recommended listen. You will truly get your own experience dealing with a Homeboy Sandman project for better or worse. “Subject: Matter” is only available through direct .mp3 download via various outlets and on vinyl; meaning no CD love. (Whoever made that decision to do so needs should consider being a guinea to an experiment by a mad scientist and lab assistant that resembles Igor to scramble their brain cells, consequently rearranging their logic to better suite the needs of next time offering this project in disc format.)

For further diagnosis of the non social networking using emcee (except myspace, maybe) check him out on MTV’s Made serving as a rap coach.

Written By Scott Kebo

-EDITORS NOTE: You can learn more about Homeboy Sandman in our detailed interview HERE!!

Yes, they are back with a tasty vengeance and my appetite has signed on as their partner in crime… The new layout looks great! The dining room is significantly more spacious and the decor is classy, interesting and welcoming. I was greeted by the same great staff, plus some additional new smiling faces.

The menu looked virtually the same. I did spy the previously non-existent Sweet Potato Burrito that was of astounding intrigue, but I was instead seduced by the daily special; a Tempeh Sandwich with Pear slices and Mushroom Pate’ with a side of a Sage Mushroom Soup. Quite delectable I say.

I admit, in my inner-sinister voice, that I’m regularly writing down the components of the Tao Daily Specials with the intent of one day trying to recreate them at home and reproduce those palate pleasing moments at will. Fear not, that doesn’t mean I’ll end my travels to Tao Natural Foods. I still need to stock up on vitamins, protein powder, natural soaps and the other world of wonders they offer. Plus I’m too distracted to cook that often and I still need to be able to transcribe all their new recipe ideas…

Oh yeah, I saw they are having “Customer Appreciation Super Saturday” this weekend (Feb 4th). I’m not sure what that entails, but it has my attention and eventual attendance… Visit them on Facebook HERE!

Written By a responsible eating Kevin Beacham

-NOTE: In my satisfied excitement I forgot to grab a new photo of the space so I had to kick old school with the image…

Also, the homie, Skye went there today to partake in the renewed the goodness. He had the Lentil Soup (featured below) which he simply and assuredly described as “Grrreat”… (Think: Tony The Tiger with less verbal enthusiasm, but equally impressed).

Tickets are on sale now at FIFTH ELEMENT for “The Upliftment Struggle” show at 7th Street Entry on Feb 19th with I.B.E, Ill Chemistry (Desdamona & Carnage), Maria Isa, Kool Akiem, and Plain Ole Bill!!

DOWNLOAD “THE UPLIFTMENT STRUGGLE” NOW!!

I Self Devine – The Upliftment Struggle (Free Mixtape) by rhymesayers

This is all leading up to I Self Devine “The Sounds Of Low Class America”!!

If you know me, listen to Redefinition Radio, regularly read any of my wordy online ramblings, or had any discussion with me in the last ten years about my favorite new(er) MCs then you should be aware that I’m a big Chief Kamachi fan. He’s among a select elite few who I consider natural MCs. He just has “it”. It’s a gift. However, he doesn’t let that allow him to be lazy. He loves it, values it, and still strives to achieve higher levels of mastery over the craft.

Quite honestly, there’s not much more I can say about Kamachi overall that I didn’t say when I wrote the review for “Clock Of Destiny”, which is a great album and you can read that review HERE.

That in mind, I’m going to focus the bulk of this review on taking a deeper look at the lyrics. That is the primary driving force behind a Chief Kamachi album. It’s going to be a rather challenging effort for any album this year to surpass “Rise And Rhyme” lyrically, the bar has been set pretty high early in 2012.

All the lyric talk is not to say the production is worth ignoring, because there are some quality beats present. However, in some cases, there’s nothing particularly dynamic about the production. In general, it sets the tone and stays out of the way and let’s Kamachi go to work. Many of the beats have an interesting vibe or premise, but the biggest critique is the arrangement. Beyond that, they tend to have a similar signature cinematic epic warrior sound, invoking visions of theme music for a Future Primitive B-Boy entering the arena for combat. As powerful of an image that induces, it is still good to hear him on some varied sounds. It’s these alternate tracks that shine the most on the album; “Chuck D”, “Return Of The 7”, & “Get Righteous Or Die Trying” [all 3 produced by Audio Narcotics], as well as “Rise And Rhyme [Produced By Diract Beatz] and “Bulletproof Auras” [Produced by Junior Makhno].

As far as guests, there are four tracks with vocal appearances. With the exception of Killah Priest, none of the names were recognizable to me, but some of those unknowns drop enough quality gems to have sparked my interest in searching for more of their material. I’m not exactly sure who is who on each track, so the complete list of MC collaborators are Vendetta Kingz, G8abak, Columbo Black, Contra Psalmz, & Merc Versus. DJ White Shadow is also a solid presence on the album, supplying cuts and scratches.

Here are just some of the albums lyrical highlights below. This is my best interpretation from listening in headphones. Hopefully Kamachi will correct any misquotes if they exist…

The album opens with “3rd Lecture”, an on-going saga from his previous albums (except “Concrete Gospel” where an installment is now noticeably missing). This is a 2:43 minute lyrical exercise where he drops a series of gems such as “Pyramid builder trying to find tenants/What we find behind the sky is MY limits” and “African lion, war for Orion/Old ancestors used to Breakdance with the Mayans”.

“Chuck D” was the first leak from the album and has an ill and controversial video. Building off the title, the scratches in the hook and pieces of his lyrics pay homage to Chuck D and Public Enemy. The video itself gives life to the PE concept “Louder Than A Bomb”. It’s a great song on it’s own, but for the full effect I suggest viewing the music video. It’s virtually impossible to single any of the lyrics out, as it is pretty lethal thru out, but the final bars to the first two verses are both pretty stellar,

Verse One: “One, Two, Mic Check, Sunzu/Run away slave, in the jungle wearing one shoe/I am the body the great leaders can come thru/Neck loose from every noose that it hung thru!”

Verse Two: “Nat burner, don’t wanna be a crack earner/God Body, historical fact learner/House Ni***as…Uncle Toms…Janitors/I’m in the lab with the pen like Ben Banneker/Cure for A.I.D.S in a West African canister/The killing fields, Cannonball brandisher!”

“Return Of The 7” has Kamachi making use of a more relaxed tone to his approach, but the subject matter remains heavy, as he reasons, “Don’t need a dollar if it gets me or my family hurt” while enjoying drinking a “Glass of wine from a old Egyptian distillery”, and spends his earnings and time responsibly, ”…Invest in rare books, don’t care about a sneaker sale/Power to the people, the only thing the speakers yell/Mission complete when all of my messages can reach the jail”.

The start of the third verse is a excellent example of his seamless weaving of words, “Young Tut it gotta be, New Millennium odyssey/Digging deep, thinking they hit the spiritual lottery/All they found was fragments and pieces of old pottery/Searching in the sky, but the secret’s kept inside of me/Me and my rituals, different camaraderie/ 9th Wonder, light thunder, laughing at Socrates/Children in my village I raised got better prophecies/Our stolen legacy, they begging me to stop it please/For our knowledge we were strung up and dropped in seas (?)*/But was reincarnated one of the top MCS…”

*this could also be “dropped and seized”???

“Get Righteous Or Die Tryin” deals with the struggle of trying to escape the street life and showcases his gift for disturbing visuals, as he outlines the limited world view of a drug dealer on the corner, “Talk to the karma king trying to get the game score/It ain’t red or blue, the color green starts the gang war/I did some things in life that I should be ashamed for/Eight hour shifts in the snow by the same store/Dope fiends bopping their heads with a vein tore/Walk with the steel umbrella if the rain pour/Welcome to the world young fella, we getting slain more/Can’t think straight, they putting poison in our brain core/My sneaker money taking food out of children’s stomach/three weeks in the street, watch the good feelings plummet…”

Near the end of his journey he finds himself nearing a path of Righteousness, “See the light and the force come, dance to the war drum/All this bulls**t music making us more dumb/The stress, drugs and sex is weakening our health/I ain’t preaching to ni**as, I’m just speaking for myself/Yeah…Child of Africa, raised in America/Traveling back home, trying to purify my character”.

He relentlessly continues with the grim visuals on “Soul Soldier”, “Came from the east, trying to raise my family in the wild west/Daughter jumping rope in a pretty colorful Nile dress/Blood on the playground fence making her smile less/ni**as dead, case getting buried under the file chest/My son’s play astrology, science a hobby/Now they study crack viles in a project lobby…”

Kamachi is also deserving of a salute for another of his strengths, writing hooks that are worthy of equal praise to the verses. This is clearly evident in the dire scene of the “Soul Soldier” chorus, “Soul Soldier, still singing Sankofa/Cops at the door and the gun’s under the sofa/Before I open the door I kiss my Black Panther poster/You’ll ni**as scared to ride this American rollercoaster!”

“The Gypsy” is testament to his story-telling skills, which is already evident thru the use of visual imagery described above, but hearing it in this context invites a different appreciation. It depicts his meeting with a Gypsy and the story cleverly combines his potent mixture of the street life, mystics, and intellect.

Mind you, that’s just a touch of the highlights. I didn’t even speak on the title track, “Rise And Rhyme” which is pretty bonkers from the opening line to the last bar or “Rapwhore” which is essentially a reworking of Common’s “I Used To Love H.E.R” concept with an ill twist.

As I listen this album, about the tenth time in the last 24 hours, it tempts my imagination to run wild. The way he speaks of black magic and things of the sort I ponder is it feasible that he conjured up a concoction that forces words to do his bidding and fall perfectly in place, in rhyme form, as he wills it so? That line of thinking is nearly more plausible to consider than any simple belief that he can “just rhyme that good”. Despite my previous comment, rhyming this well isn’t all entirely natural. It is actually rather uncommon. If you want to reach this level, “Rise And Rhyme”, as Freeway, his Philly brethren, says, “Early!”

Written By Kevin “Still A Rap Fan” Beacham

WARNING: This article is laced…heavily with sarcasm, but that doesn’t make the subject matter any less lovable or desirable. I got mine so you get yours…

Ah, the innocence of early Hip Hop…

I think the average person knows that the DJ invented Hip Hop, or so I hope. It’s pretty obvious that the MC quickly became the most popular part of the Culture once records came into play. However, I think many forget that it was really “Breakdancing”* that made Hip Hop a household name. Mainstream America was fascinated by the Hippity Hop moves of the Urban Youth…

I don’t know with absolute certainty where the wildfire started, but I have my suspicions. In ‘83 Style Wars and Wild Style both hit and made some noise in the Hip Hop community and started to resonate beyond, but didn’t quite take it mainstream. It took something a bit more commercially susceptible…

I can recall the “day everything changed” vividly. It was a Monday in Mr Asmir’s art class and the primary focus of conversation was who had been to the movies that weekend. It wasn’t small talk. It was specific. The real question was who had seen Flashdance? The film itself isn’t about Breakdancing, just as much as the talk in general wasn’t about the film, it was focused on that quick couple of minutes where the Rock Steady Crew graced the screen. That brief moment had people mesmerized. It created a domino effect in people trying to get their Breakdance on.

Around the same time as all of this, a inspiring filmmaker was finishing his documentary/variety show about the West Coast Hip Hop Scene called Breakin’ N Enterin’. Of all the films mentioned above, it is perhaps the least known. However, it is infamous for what it inspired. Breakin’ N Enterin’ takes you on a journey thru L.A. to meet Chris “The Glove” Taylor, Egyptian Lover, Hen Gee, Ice T, Boo Ya Tribe, Nat The Cat, and of course, Taco, Shabba Doo & Boogaloo Shrimp… Yes, Breakin’ N Enterin’ was the inspiration for the blockbuster movie Breakin’.

Breakin’ was huge! It entered suburban America and never came back. I’ve always wondered how it was received in New York. I can picture hordes of New York youth heading to theaters to peep it and barely being able to get keep themselves from laughing uncontrollably at the sheer ridiculousness of this rendition of the West Coast Hip Hop Scene. I’m sure they thought it was just as corny as they expected Hip Hop outside of New York to be. Although, a bit unfair since Breakin’ isn’t the most authentic and/or complete look at the LA Hip Hop Scene. Then again Breakin’ N Enterin’, somewhat of a documentary, doesn’t make the scene seem that much cooler. However, what NYC probably failed to realize is that their scene may not have been as cool as they thought to outside eyes, particularly in hindsight. Such evidence of that was exposed to the mainstream later that same year with Beat Street. Sorry NYC, there’s a hint of absurdity in your history too, but we still love you!

Truth is, back then it was all a bit silly, but it’s irrelevant because it was a time of innovation, fun, empowerment, entrepreneurialism, and more. Hip Hop had already been around about a decade before Breakin’, but it was definitely a turning point for corporations realizing they could make a lot of money exploiting this Culture. They now recognized that they didn’t have to stop at just giving out bad record deals. They could also get over with movies, TV commercials, and other forms of visual media. That made Breakdancing the best exploitable medium, as it was most visually appealing.

OK, OK. This isn’t meant to be all cynical & bitter, it’s a light-hearted piece. I suppose it is also true that very exploitation also added the fuel to the fire that allowed Hip Hop to become a multi-million dollar industry…including my job and ability to get paid for writing this article, so unfortunately I probably owe those greedy people, bad fashion, and horrendous trendy Hollywood writers a thank you…sigh.

Anyway, I can’t lie, I was 14 years old and I loved Breakin’ when it came out. I was amazed by the Popping moves of Boogaloo Shrimp (Turbo in the films), leading myself, along with countless other young kids, to trying out our Popping moves with a broom after viewing this movie.

Breakin’ has a pretty standard Hollywood premise. There’s the Suburban White girl, Special K, from the upscale upbringing who is an aspiring Jazz dancer who just happens to stumble across Street Dancing and falls in love…not just with the dancing either. A romance begins to brew between Special K & Shabba Doo (Ozone in the films). All the while they train Special K in the art of Breakdancing, tour the LA Hip Hop Scene, win some dance battles, and get Street Dancing respected by a committee of Professional Dance snobs…pretty impressive I say.

Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo took the silliness to a whole other level, which you might not even think is possible, but it is. However, the heart is in the right place, as this time around the mission is to save a neighborhood community center from demolition. Guess what? SPOILER ALERT: Hip Hop wins again!

Alright, confession time. Those movie synopsis’s are from memory and IMDB.com descriptions because I haven’t seen either one of the Breakin’ movies since the 80s probably. Part of the reason I ordered this double pack DVD was so I could finally own them myself. With that said, don’t judge me if my description isn’t 100% on point, I know it’s the basic idea, so just roll with it OK? ☺

Another thing interesting about these early Hip Hop inspired movies was the lack of Hip Hop on their Soundtracks. They would generally have more Hip Hop song clips in the movies that didn’t make the Soundtrack. I take that as more proof of the superior popularity of Breakdanding. The corporate leaders, who saw dollar signs with a movie on Breakdancing, didn’t think that people would buy a Rap Soundtrack. That is my best guess. In any event, the Breakin’ Soundtrack is still pretty awesome, even with it’s ONE Rap song. It’s a reflection of the West Coast scene’s Roots deep in the Funk and fusing it with Electro. This invites lots of Vocoder, Drum Machines, bright Keyboard sounds, and plenty of singing.

I have no idea where the duo Ollie & Jerry came from, but they represent admirably with the perfectly catchy theme song, “Breakin’…There’s No Stopping Us”. This song just makes you want to dance for the revolution of self, you can barely resist it. The team returns for “Showdown”. It doesn’t reach the same heights, but uses similar elements, plus throws in some minimal scratching, on this primarily instrumental track designed to set the battle scene. Although, the tempo and mood of the track makes me visualize people dancing in slow motion and with lots of smiling faces. The legendary Bar-Kays contribute the fast paced dance jam, “Freakshow On The Dance Floor”…it’s pretty great. I completely forgot about Hot Steak’s “Body Work”! It’s the home to the acapella intro “I Don’t know what I been told/Music makes you lose control…” Despite the fact that if you don’t know what you’ve been told then you’re probably not a good listener, this song is still a good listen. Man, as I listen to this I am reminded of how sweet this Soundtrack is! I am going to need a Breakdance lunchbreak… Carol Lynn Townes “99 ½” is another nice joint with some low tuned Roland TR-808s, sparse use of some Heavy Guitars, and some singing pulled up from the Soul in the name of love. 3-V’s “Heart Of The Beat” has the most Hip Hop styled drum programming of the tracks so far and acts as a slowed down Hearthrob track a la The Cover Girls, Debbie Deb, and the like. Fire Fox’s “Street People” isn’t ringing the same familiarity as the other tracks mentioned, but I’m feeling it. It’s the Street Dancers anthem and I’ll gladly ride for it and with it, this is one for the convertible! Re-Flex holds it down for the “New Wave” craze and could have fit just as easy on the Footloose Soundtrack. The album ends on two classics of a different type. Chaka Kahn’s “Ain’t Nobody” is colossal! I love this track; the production, the arrangement, the written words, and of course her amazing voice! When she drops the jewel, “It happened so naturally didn’t know it was love”…whoa! Touching hearts son! This is a 80s favorite for me. It all comes to a close with the lone Rap track and it’s a monster. Ice T and Chris “The Glove” Taylor** pick up the pace for this super team-up to praise the DJ skills of The Glove. I can clearly remember sitting in my room and listening to this and just marveling at that elegant intro, “Once upon a time a DJ’s task/Was just to play records, what more could you ask?/But then came remixes scratching, and cuts/Which was too much for many, drove some DJs nuts!” As if you need another reason to buy this Soundtrack, this reissue on Get On Down Records includes a full length poster!!

All in all, these are fun 80s movies that give you a glimpse of the LA Scene, plus you get to see a bunch of awesome stuff like; Ice T in fantastic outfits, Jean Claude Van Damme busting some Popping moves in the background, the correlation of Breakdancing and magic, Spandex, and all sorts of smile and/or head-shaking inducing antics. Pick up the movies and the Soundtrack, share it with your children, laugh about it with your friends, or reminisce about your days as a Street Dancer with pride. Whatever the reason, just do it, I know you want to…

-NOTES:
*Breakdancing: I know this isn’t a term embraced by all in the Culture, but it’s certainly fitting here in a discussion about Hollywood movies. To keep it a tad bit realer though, shout out to all my B-Boys and B-Girls!

**Both Breakin’ & Breakin II had some other Ice T cuts that I always wanted to have, but where only in the movies; “Combat”, “Go Off”, and a couple others I think. I still hope those surface one day….

***Breakin’ N’ Enterin’ Isn’t available on DVD or otherwise far as I know, but you can watch it in pieces on Youtube. You can BUY THE SOUNDTRACK HERE!

Editor’s Note: Make sure to peep the bottom of this article for a special announcement about a new Dope Folks Release from the Tuff Crew archives!!!!

Besides enjoying the music of the Tuff Crew, I was also intrigued by how the group was set up. In true Old School fashion, the group name was centered on the DJ, but in a slightly more subtle way. Rather than being DJ Too Tuff & the 3 MCs or something of that nature. They were simply named the Tuff Crew, with DJ Deuce Ace Detonator Too Tuff at the helm on the turntables, while on the mic you had Ice Dog, L.A. Kidd, and Tone Love. Generally it was commonplace that the DJ handled the production. However, on “Dangerzone” it was a collective effort of Too Tuff, L.A. Kidd and Tone Love. Then on the second album it says “Produced by L.A. Kidd & The Tuff Crew Band”. Plus, both the first two albums credit the lyric writing to Ice Dog and Tone Love, leaving me to believe that one or both of them wrote lyrics for L.A. Kidd. The Tuff Crew did things a little differently…

Their debut full length album* in ‘88 made some noise, specifically due to their hometown anthem single “My Part Of Town”, but the album was filled with underground grimy B-Boy fueled Hip Hop. It helped generate interest in the group and set the bar high for their second album, “Back To Wreck Shop”.

For me, this album is a definite improvement from “Dangerzone”. That’s saying a lot because that album is great in it’s own right, I feel as if the productions, lyrics, scratching, and song structure is all improved on “Back To Wreck Shop”. I actually assumed that was a common belief amongst Tuff Crew fans, until I recently had a debate with Slug (of Atmosphere) on which of the two albums was better and he was 100% riding for “Dangerzone”. We had limited time to discuss, so we have agreed to a more formal debate later. Yes, we take this Rap stuff pretty seriously…ha. Mind you, I don’t there’s a huge difference in the two, just that “Back To Wreck Shop” edges it out by a noticeable margin.

The strength of the Tuff Crew are based on a few choice characteristics; the excellent scratching techniques of DJ Too Tuff, quality production that uses standard break beats and drum machines as the basis, but is enhanced with stellar programming, & finally, their great MC voices.

The album comes in with a dramatic intro that loops Run DMC’s “Sucker MCs” drums with the Rocky “Going The Distance” theme music on top. It’s a nice and simple instrumental piece that sets the tone. It’s easy to imagine it working great for a stage show intro.

Then the album officially kicks into gear with “Show Em Hell”, that raw Boom Bap Hip Hop. The quick cuts, with a slight dragging technique, by DJ Too Tuff, using the song title is nearly hypnotic. Vocally, the last verse, by Tone Love, is what best represents the essence of showing the competition hell, “Contagious, I spread, you catch it/Tell the next man, ain’t a crew to match it/Lots of knots coming in so I stash em/Nuts’ll bluff to be tuff so I smash em/Then I make a move or dash/Right past the garbage and put out the trash/Like a rash I’ll soon break out/To hunt down another soft brother to take out/Like a semi-automatic assault weapon/Spray a sucker with rhymes and keep stepping/Further…my songs are murder/Just for the New Jack acts I never heard of.”

My favorite track on the album is “Come On & Go Off”. The drum programming and tuning is superb. Also, the usage of the choice sampled pieces, with a touch of echo at key points, is stellar. The unique drum pattern encourages each MC to flow perfectly off-kilter and make creative use of cadence. Ice Dog executes this perfectly with the second half of his verse with so much style, “Now you know once I throw and let go/Rhymes flow natural/Yo! pump the beat up cause you’re about to meet a/Brother, heat up to eat up your mind with rhymes like a bag a cheeba/But some call me buddah/Taking all suckers out, now who the/Hell wanna try and fail/Do Tell, posses fail because I rock well…” It’s just a bugged out style, effectively using techniques of elongated bars & run-on sentence rhyme schemes. As he says earlier in the verse, “Rhyming more ways than the others, because I don’t play games/Not your average MC…”

However, the most shining lyrical moment comes from the guest MC, Mechanism The Articulate One. When I heard this dude I bugged out. I knew there was no way he wasn’t coming out with an album, he was just to ill to be ignored, but that day never came. I got revived hope a few years later when The Source Magazine Unsigned Hype Winner was DJ Too Tuff & MC Mechanism for a new demo that The Source praised for it’s greatness. I thought, “OK, there’s no way labels will sleep a second time, particularly with a co-sign by The Source!” Wrong. Mechanism would never release any other material besides this one verse until a few years ago when DJ Too Tuff dropped the “Lost Archives” CD, which contains more proof that Mechanism should have been a priority to some record label.

As for his “Come On & Go Off” moment, his verse reflects that title concept perfectly and relentlessly. There’s dynamic use of technique, vocabulary, lyric content and style, “A portion of knowledge you’re sworn to inquire/A test of matter submitted to the sire/Mechanism will lead em, if not beat em/Take away the hand that feed em/Kick it to the North Side, do not abide/To objective criticism, facing it eye to eye/You’re in danger, I rearrange your tone/Take your style and stand like stone/You write your rhymes fabricated, I hate it/Now you wonder why you took the fall, so bow, say it/Poetical justice, raise the roof, teach the youth, bump this rhythm/To prove a point, house the joint/Dip your soul in the wax to anoint yourself/I’m the judge and the jury, force of fury/on MCs who perpetrate!” Certainly a verse worthy of considering in any conversation of the best lyrical guest spots of the 80s and perhaps beyond.

I just realized that this is the first time that I’ve listened to this whole album in full in a long time and now I realize what the greatest problem is, consistency. If you shave a few songs from the track listing and get this down to 10-11 songs, you make a tighter album. Though I suppose there can be some debate because I’m not sure what sort of effect the songs I would eliminate had on their career.

I’m guessing they had some good feedback from the lower East Coast on the debut album, at least in part, because they had the heavy Roland TR-808 Bass and while the music wasn’t completely up to Miami Bass speeds, it was definitely uptempo. The only thing they were lacking to please the Miami Bass crowd on their debut album were the sex filled lyrics, as that first album was purely B-Boy braggadocio. They flipped that up this time, assumably in an effort to capitalize on the lower East Coast crowd. There are two songs that represent that here, “Gimmie Some” and “She Rides The Pony”. I pretty much hated both of these songs when the album came out and not much has changed now. I always thought they were too corny. However, the scratching on “Gimmie Some” is pretty stellar, but I get enough of that on other tracks, so I can live without hearing it here. The production on “She Rides The Pony” is pretty fresh and that just further aggravates me because it could have been an iller song with different subject matter. However, perhaps these songs actually gave them new legs in their career in select regions. Yet, no one I know or talk to about Tuff Crew ever cites these songs as something they care about, so it seems they may have been a distraction to their core audience.

The only other songs that I would consider filler are “Got To Be Funky” and “Danger Zone Assault”. Neither one of them is completely a throw-away, but they just lack the punch of the rest of the album. “Got To Be Funky” has the album’s most uninspired production and the MCs reflect that lack of energy in the lyrics, as it sounds like they are just going thru the motions of getting the song done. Immediately following is “Danger Zone Assault”, which is one of the albums four instrumental tracks. Again it just doesn’t have that spark to hold your attention. It’s a cool collection of break-beat loops and some vocal samples from the crew, but what adds flavor to the other instrumentals (besides the intro which serves purpose on its own) are the cuts of DJ Too Tuff, which are noticeably absent here.

A big problem in these issues is the sequencing. Putting those two tracks, “Got To Be Funky” and “Danger Zone Assault” back to back was a mistake. By then you are six tracks into the album and already have heard 3 of the albums least impressive tracks, an easy way to damage an albums overall impact. Even moving “Danger Zone Assault” to the end as an Outro, which it sounds like anyway, would have been strategically a better move.

“What You Don’t Know” is a better attempt at tapping into that Uptempo Miami Bass/Dance market. The foundation of the beat is the club hit Strafe “Set It Off” with Too Tuff cutting up some Prince vocals like a maniac, “Shut Up, Already, Damn!” Lyrically, they just keep it in the pocket and ride the beat, focusing on the strength of their flow and distinct voices. Definitely a lot of flavor on this one.

“Down With The Program” takes them slightly out of their standard lyrical element and hits a bit on the positive lyrics tip. It’s evident from the start that it’s not where their focus is. They don’t really stay on topic, but just touch on some important issues amiss some freestyle lyrics, but it’s still a nice twist. The production on here is probably the best on the album. Very well put together with bits and pieces, accompanied by Too Tuff supporting on the cuts, a perfect marriage. Speaking of which…

Another album highlight is “Soul Food”, an instrumental with Too Tuff showing off the musicality of his turntable skills, on a track that makes a great fusion of “Darkest Light” by Lafayette Afro Rock Band and “Shaft In Africa” By Johnny Pate, the same sample combination used again many years later by Jay Z on “Show Me What You Got” from his Kingdom Come album.

The rest of the album is solid also. You have “Mountain’s World” which samples Spoonie Gee “Love Rap” and Bob James “Nautilus”, which is another Hometown anthem featuring rarely heard Tuff Crew member Monty G a.k.a Mountain doing his thing. “Behold The Detonator” is an all out turntable exhibition allowing Too Tuff to flex his range of skills. “Nut” is fun track based on another Tuff Crew thing, slang. Well, a Philly thing really. Crews from Philly were always introducing new slang words to the game. “Nuts”, as I interpret it, was their way of calling someone a sucker. The track mixes their stone-face serious B-Boy style with a touch of humor. The title track “Wreck Shop” has a vibe similar to their biggest hit, “My Part Of Town” and showcases their knack to make tracks that are danceable, but still maintain a hardcore essence. Finally the album comes to a close with “My Parta’ Town Remix”, which is essentially a souped up Dub Version, which was probably appreciated by the DJs.

I think the argument can be made that the their debut album, “Dangerzone”, is more raw and pure in it’s underground appeal, but “Back To Wreck Shop” shows clear signs of elevated skill levels all-around and a wider range of appeal, all while they were still trying to figure out their place in the ever-growing Rap industry. It’s that kind of growth that could be best maximized on a third album, but that opportunity never quite came for the Tuff Crew. A couple years later they did have a third album, but it was minus two very key members, DJ Too Tuff and Tone Love. Plus it took a more street direction, making it very different from the Tuff Crew we hear on these first few projects. Regardless, the Tuff Crew left a powerful mark on the Hip Hop map with their short, but strong discography, most of which is still available.

AVAILABLE NOW FROM THE TUFF CREW:
Tuff Crew/Krown Rulers “Phanjam”
Tuff Crew “Back To Wreck Shop”
Tuff Crew “DJ Too Tuff’s Lost Archives”

I’m currently looking into why “Dangerzone” hasn’t been reissued yet, I’ll update soon as I know!!

BREAKING NEWS: The good people at Dope Folks are about to release a Tuff Crew related project; Danger Zone Mobb Sqwad, an EP that was originally a cassette only release**. This was a project by Tone Love and Too Tuff after they split from the Tuff Crew and it is awesome!! It sounds exactly what I would hope a third Tuff Crew album would sound like…

*The Tuff Crew debuted with a split EP in ’87 with the Krown Rulers called “Phanjam”. The original is a bit of a collector’s item but it has also been reissued on CD and LP. Get it HERE.

**There were also about 20 copies of vinyl pressed for local radio DJs…mega rares!

Written By Kevin ‘Waiting For Tuff Crew related Dope Folks Releases” Beacham

As I look thru my Mix playlist on ITUNES, one reaches and smacks me back to reality… I had a discussion earlier today about me current hiatus from DJing and I have been getting a few comments from people recently referencing some of the experiences they had hearing me DJ. Most often the location that comes up is my Friday nights in the Caterpillar Lounge at Azia. I did that night for like 7 years and it became one of my favorite regular gigs of all-time. There was a special magic that happened there; a unique bond formed between the customers, the staff, the music and myself. I’ll never forget those nights.

The mix that I found is titled “Live At Home Part 1”. I could hardly remember making this, until I listened to it and refreshed my memory. It was something I put together for my High School Reunion. There was a question about whether or not they were going to have a DJ for us so I was asked to bring some music “just in case”*. I couldn’t bring myself to just put some music on CD, so I stayed up the whole night before I left and made two mixes; “Live At Home Part One” & “The High School Jams Part One”.

“The High School Jams” is a Mix of tracks that were popular during my High School Years of ’86-’88. It is filled with the “hits” that I don’t always play because I tend to lend towards the B-side tracks, less known singles or album cuts. It was great to finally do a mix of these songs that I also love but just generally avoid because everyone else plays them. I’ll post that up someday soon too.

“Live At Home Part One” is pretty much a direct reflection of what my Caterpillar Lounge sets sounded like during the last hour or two. It’s designed for dancing. It’s and hour of Soulful Disco, 80s Soul/Pop, 80s/90s Hip Hop, 70s Funk & Soul, etc… I use a lot of my favorite blends/and transitions from those classic Friday Nights.

I did it completely live, one-take, all vinyl, so it captures the complete feel of a live set. It’s not an exercise in perfection, but an escape into pure expression. If you were a part of those Friday nights, this will definitely put you there mentally. I just close my eyes and find peace, even in its imperfections…

-The Playlist:
Shannon-Let The Music Play
Chic-Good Times
Cheryl Lynn-Got To Be Real
The Emotions-Best Of My Love
Chaka Kahn featuring Mele Mel-I Feel For You
Grandmaster Mele Mel-White Lines
Laid Back-White Horse
Prince-Erotic City
Shiela E-Glamorous Life
Ready For The World-Oh Shiela
Dazz Band-Let It Whip
Michael Jackson-PYT
Rick James-Give It To Me Baby
Chic-Freak Out
Parliament-Knee Deep
De La Soul-Me Myself & I
Chubb Rock-Treat Me Right
Salt N Pepa-Push It
Now That We Found Love
Sugarhill Gang-Apache

MORE ABOUT MR DJ NIKOLESS:
BUY MIX CDS (if you are into that sort of thing…)
DOWNLOAD MORE NIKOLESS MIXES

*We didn’t need to use my Mixes at the High School Reunion. They were able to secure the perfect DJ! In our High School Days there was ONE DJ who was on top in our area, not just for our High School, but the whole County. That man is Captain 2 Fresh a.k.a The X. He came down to rock with his two turntables and like 30 crates of vinyl! He is still doing it 100% like he did in ’88! He is among my DJ Heroes without question.

Written By Kevin Beacham

I honestly can’t clearly remember what my first experience was with Reggae Music. My parents were heavy into music, but Reggae was not something in their collection. I got a touch of it thru Motown and other Soul artists borrowing from the sounds, but didn’t always make the connection, except in the more blatant examples like Stevie Wonder. I have scattered memories of hearing Bob Marley songs in my youth, but I imagine that is a similar experience for anyone growing up at the time. I didn’t really grasp what Reggae Music was just yet.

Considering that, there’s no doubt that I really started to appreciate and fall in love with Reggae via Hip Hop. The movement of the Mid 80s was key, with artists such as Shinehead, Just-Ice, KRS One, Daddy Freddy & Asher D, Soul Dimension and a few more. They weren’t the first to use Reggae Music in Hip Hop, but definitely the ones that made it popular. The Reggae push got even stronger in the 90s, which included a influx of traditional Reggae artists releasing tracks over Hip Hop styled beats; Shabba Ranks, Supercat, Cutty Ranks, Mad Cobra, Ini Kamoze, etc… That trend caught on like wildfire and suddenly there were numerous Reggae Artists becoming a part of American Popular Music Culture. I thought that was amazing! You have Hip Hop music, which is clearly inspired by Reggae traditions, now being responsible for introducing a range of Reggae Artists to the US. It is a great way for Hip Hop to repay its debt to Reggae. I’m actually curious as to how much effect Hip Hop had on the popularity of Reggae in America. I’ll have to dig up some research…

In any event, in the Early 90s I started living with a friend of mine named BMZ a.k.a Black Man Zeke and his dad. It was a great experience for multiple reasons. They let me set up my home studio in a backroom and I could do sessions literally whenever I wanted. It was a completely laid back environment, except for the shenanigans perpetrated by Zeke and myself. Also, they had roots in Jamaica, so living there exposed me to a lot of that Culture. I found it fascinating and begun to explore it more often. What I quickly learned was I wasn’t that interested in the popular Reggae sound of the day, Dancehall, which suffered many of the same criticisms of Mainstream Hip Hop. I was initially drawn to it because of the beats, but that was a theory I rejected in Hip Hop for the most part. I always put equal, if not more consideration, in the lyrics. I started to apply that same line of thinking to Reggae.

Once I embarked on that musical journey I discovered I was far more moved, entertained and appreciative of the Reggae styles of Roots & Dub. I had a stronger connection to songs of struggle, love, survival, Culture and things that touched the Soul. Barrington Levy was an instant favorite, but also I was hooked on Horace Andy, Dawn Penn, Lee Scratch Perry, Sister Nancy, Tenor Saw, Yellowman, King Tubby, and similar artists. It’s actually funny that I didn’t discover that before since the Hip Hop artists who really introduced me to Reggae were primarily rhyming and chatting about those same things; KRS One, Just-Ice, Shinehead, etc…

I maintained that connection with Roots Reggae, but admittedly did not branch out too far from those basic artists I mentioned above, only picking up a couple “handful” of new songs and artists over the years. That’s why I was excited when Traffic Entertainment started offering more Reggae titles on Vinyl & CD. I started picking up a few things here and there, but finally decided to just go all out!

Fifth Element has created a new Reggae section in-store and online! Many of the titles are from the Clocktower Label, but there is a wide range of talent represented, as well as a nice combination of CD and Vinyl options. In doing this I have accomplished what I feared and what kept me from getting “too” intrigued by Reggae…a lot of money that I will spend…ha. At some point and time, I “need” to own all these albums, so I’m just going to slowly build the collection. I suggest you do the same…

Among our collection you will find the work of Barrington Levy, King Tubby, Scientist, Jackie Mittoo, Lee Scratch Perry, Augustus Pablo, Horace Andy, Jah Thomas, Jah Woosh, Linval Thompson, Roots Radics, Slim Smith, Tristan Palma, Burning Spear, Dennis Brown, Keith Rowe, Naggo Moris, Johnny Osbourne, Heptones, Bunny & Ricky, John Holt, Ranking Dillinger,The Ethiopians, Prince Jazz Bo, and more!!

You can peep the Reggae section online HERE or in the store the Reggae CD section is at the front of the store in the New Release Rack and there is a Reggae section clearly marked in the vinyl area.

This also reminds me I’ve been meaning to do a blog about the History of Reggae in Hip Hop, but haven’t gotten around to it. In 2006 I did a 6 Part special on the “History OF Reggae Hip Hop” on my Redefinition Radio Show (89.3 The Current). You can hear those shows/see those playlists HERE (scroll to bottom of page).

-Here’s just a small sampling of what you will find in our stacks of goodies:

The Upsetters-Blackboard Jungle Dub Version 1 (from “Blackboard Jungle” CD/LP)

Augustus Pablo-Road Block (from “Ital Dub” CD/LP)

Jackie Mittoo-Drum Song (from “Showcase Volume 3″)

Lee “Scratch” Perry-When Jah Come (from “Chapter 1″ or “Eternal Dubs” CDs)

-Written By Kevin Beacham

*Of course, you also have to give credit to many Punk Rock artists who were also early supporters of Reggae music and are also responsible for its popularity in the U.S. and Europe.

However, what I can’t accept is what I hope is poor representation of human emotion and decision-making or better yet, just lazy writing. Don’t get me wrong, I assume all writers have the issue. I certainly don’t think everything I write is award winning, far from it… But, when I spend my $30-$50 to go see a movie (one of best parts about being single is being on the low end of that these days…ha) or spend an hour to watch a TV show I have some, what I consider realistic, expectations*.

I spend a great deal of time working and so it’s always nice to have one or two TV shows that I enjoy to escape reality for a couple hours a week. I can’t count how many shows I started watching because they had an interesting premise, but I had to abandon because of plot loopholes or one character was so unbelievable/annoying that they became too painful to watch. Two recent things come to mind.

I like Mark Wahlberg. I like action movies. Although, I don’t expect big budgeted #1 Movies In America to be well thought out masterpieces. I go just to enjoy something visually stimulating and some over the top action, but it’s frustrating when there are these things that should have been obvious rewrites that get over-looked. Particularly when there are so many other options in how they could have been handled.

SPOILER ALERT!!

I went to go see Contraband because the trailer looked action-packed and that’s the mood I was in. In general the story was interesting. It had a psychological premise of how far would you go to protect your family? Would you risk your own safety? The safety of others? Your freedom? And to what degree?

Ultimately, the route he took seemed a bit outlandish. Mr Wahlberg needed to protect his wife’s brother and ultimately his family, who would inherit his “death debt” if what was due went unpaid. To do that he returned to his life of crime for what I assume was one of the more high-risk crimes of his career. That led him to travel on boat to challenge Panamanian gangsters, the coast guard, crooked boat captains, and his own inner moral conflicts. Maybe it’s me, but it seems rather than risk all of that it may have been easier to just deal with the one guy threatening you and your family. Sure, I get it, it doesn’t end with one guy, but he was clearly a psychopath who couldn’t be reasoned with and didn’t respect Mr Wahlberg’s street cred. That just seems like a better place to start. Truthfully, the risk he took by going on the voyage seems much greater than the risk of just finding a way to get rid of his adversary. Still, I get it. That is not as emotionally gripping of a movie. Fine, let’s let him go the long way, but wait there’s more…

We are supposed to believe that Mr. Wahlberg is smart, resourceful, and cunning. He is considered, by friends and foes, as the best and smartest smuggler in the business. He is virtually a one-man mission impossible. Yet, gangsters, particularly a psychotic loose-cannon madman, well played by Giovanni Ribisi, have threatened his wife and children on multiple occasions. When Mr. Wahlberg visits Mr Ribisi at home to reason with him, he is compelled to disarm and put a gun to his head, in front of the Ribisi’s daughter no less, which leads to more promises of payback to him and his family. After all of that, Mr Wahlberg still leaves his family on a boat mission giving no real warning to them of their safety being in jeopardy. No one is left to look after them. Perhaps he could ask them to go stay with friends or family while he’s gone. How could none of this cross his mind?? One might argue that the harassment of his family while he is gone is a critical piece to the building plot. I agree, but couldn’t that same point be reached more intelligently, not to mention interestingly. I don’t know, maybe the Gangsters hunt them down in their hiding place by being relentless in their pursuit (ya know more violence, which people love) or catch them surprisingly as they are packing to leave, or maybe just accidently run into them at a gas station…endless possibilities. Just something that shows there was some effort and that Mr. Wahlberg is truly as smart as suggested, but was just thwarted thru real-life loopholes and not Hollywood ones.

If that isn’t bad enough, the means in which Mr Ribisi actually gets into the house is beyond ridiculous. Imagine you are a wife of a guy who has lived a life of crime. He left that lifestyle to be there for his family and started a home business installing home security systems and helping homeowners be safer in their home. You are currently the nervous wife, overly concerned for your family’s safety due to the gravity of the situation at hand. Yet, your children and yourself are nearly killed because the Gangsters moseyed on in the thru an unlocked back door??? Seriously? No security camera, alarm or, heaven forbid, a lock! At least let them have to kick in a door or break thru a window. I understand that if they want to get in, they can, but let them work for it!

Honestly I can go on and on. I am pretty certain that the times and ways Mr Wahlberg put his family in harms way are far greater than the original threat itself. He could have stayed home and done nothing and kept them safer, just by being there. Only the Hollywood ending allowed them to be safe and alive in the end.

OK, apparently my frustration had me spend more time on that than I intended, so just one more semi-quick thing….Alcaztraz.

When I heard about this show and it’s connection to Lost, I was definitely intrigued. Upon hearing the storyline I was even more convinced, it sounded very promising. I made sure I was home for the 2 Hour Premiere Event and that further sold me on it.

I wasn’t familiar with lead star, Sarah Jones a.k.a Detective Rebecca Madsen. When I looked at her resume, which is very active, I realized I hadn’t watched her previous TV shows, but she did a solid job in the Premiere. I was already a fan of two of the lead co-stars. One is Jorge Garcia a.k.a Hugo from Lost a.k.a Diego Soto here. He was very likable in Lost and the same can be said here. He plays a similar character in the fact that he’s a cool-nerd that just seems like he’d be a great friend. On Alcatraz he’s a successful writer, comic book shop owner, and Alcatraz historian. Sam Neill is another key character, Emerson Hauser, and his resume goes back to the mid 70s, he’s put in some work! I was a fan of his other recent TV Show, Happy Town. It was very interesting and I was a bit upset when it got cancelled**.

SPOILER ALERT #2!!

However, when I watched Alcztraz this week I was a bit let down in the character development. Trying to paint Sam Neill as the hardened shell on the outside that is really an emotional timebomb just seems forced too quickly. In general, I can believe it, but the way it was portrayed here just seemed a bit much too accept as natural and should probably develop more over the course of the show. OK, OK, I might be being a bit picky. That isn’t even my main concern with the latest episode. The true problem rests in the Jorge Garcia character, Mr. Diego Soto. He is struggling with his place in helping with this investigation. He knows he has valuable information. He is obsessed in learning more about Alcatraz. Plus he thinks what he is doing is “super-cool”. However, he’s not really cut out for the danger, dead bodies, and all that. Completely understandable, the average person would feel that way. Although, it does seem a bit suspect because wouldn’t he have had to endure all of that stuff in his extensive research of every criminal activity of every inmate of Alcatraz? He should have some sort of cushioning to that right? OK, let’s just say that knowing it and witnessing it first-hand are not the same thing. Great point. Here’s my real issue. In this episode they are dealing with a Child Kidnapper-Murder. They already know they have a couple days to find this guy before the criminal returns that kidnapped child home, but DEAD. We later learn that Diego Soto experienced a similar or perhaps same experience at the exact same age, so he’s a bit more emotionally connected to this case. SO how does he respond??? He threatens to quit. Then he runs off on his own to solve the crime with no communication with the people who can actually help him stop it. Then, as we could have guessed, his theory helps him find the culprit and the child in a diner. Of course, magically at that moment he receives a phone call from Detective Rebecca and needs to wait for her to arrive. When the Killer and child finish their Cherry Pie snack and are about to leave, the only obstacle Diego can muster up to slow them down is dropping a pie plate in front of them. That lasts about 5 seconds. So he follows up by blurting out something like, “Hey what are you guys up to?”…You know because small talk with strangers blurted out uncomfortably always leads to a lengthy conversation. Those attempts hardly delay him a minute, but miraculously that’s all the time needed for Rebecca to arrive just in time to FAIL to save the day.

I don’t know, but I just really, really hope that in a real life situation, where you have the benefit of knowing that you are all that is between a child being murdered, that you are able to come up with a better plan to save that child’s life. Anything. I don’t even want to theorize about what he could have done because I agree any number of things could have worked better or possibly worse, but I’m just saying, dropping a pie plate?!?! Come on son!!!

As for Alcatraz, I’m still in. I’m going to continue to watch and just hope the character development improves. It’s just unfortunately there always seems to be THAT character(s) on a TV show that is so aggravating in their choices*** or movies with interesting or great plots that leave so many obvious loopholes in the script. Honestly my bigger concern is hoping that these thought processes don’t really reflect true human reasoning or lack thereof. I know the world is a scary place but lord help us! ☺ I really want to believe that human instinct is better than that. I don’t have any psychological advice for those on the losing end of that issue, so instead I opt for the easier fix. More and more it makes me want to get a job in Film as a loophole consultant. I think I’d do a pretty good job. Don’t even get me started on video games… I’ll share more of my ramblings of this nature as disappointments occur, which means, probably soon… Now go find loopholes in all of my writings and expose me, I can hardly wait ☺

Written By A Less Than Thrilled But Probably Too Picky Kevin Beacham

-NOTES
*Reading my writing is FREE and less time consuming so I get slight pass…ha. I suppose that time-consuming comment is questionable. I am pretty wordy…ha.

**But yes it had some character flaws too…ha

***I gave up so many show just because one character of facet of the show was just to annoying to watch. Ones that come to mind are Prison Break (second or 3rd season), Heroes (2nd or 3rd season), Flashforward (that girl looking for her sister which lead to her horrible choices and the boyfriend who just went along with all of it because of love…I nearly went insane…ha), The Cape (I tried so hard with this one), and the list goes on…sadly enough.

Here it is, the official new music video from the Evidence debut album, “Cats & Dogs” on Rhymesayers! Great concept, ill visuals, nice subliminals, and all around fly!

Director/DP/Editor: Todd Angkasuwan
Gaffer: Joe Cheung
Grip: Vu Hoang
Location Mgr: Jeff Dean
Studio: The New Place Studios
Appearances by: Rahki, Bravo (Sid Roams), & Babu

They were a Baltimore based crew who first got their start as a DJ crew. The founding member of the crew is DJ Spen, who is now world renown as a dance music DJ, but got his start making Hip Hop Pause Tapes. I found a cool interview with him online on BlogTalkRadio talking about his history (find that HERE). Between that interview and some Old School B-more heads posting up stories on OldSchoolHipHop.com, I was able to piece together a basic history of the Numarx.

DJ Spen was inspired from listening to Randy Dennis on WEBB AM Radio. The station would play mixes from a New York group called the AP Crew. DJ Spen appreciated what they were doing, but also realized that he was already doing the same thing in his basement. He put together a Pause Tape and his Mom drove him down to the station to drop off the tape and lo and behold they played on-air the next day!

Eventually DJ Spen wanted to recreate the Mastermix/Pause Mix style live, so he sought out some other DJs and began to form Numarx. The crew went thru a few early incarnations, but eventually settled with four core members; Spen (DJ), Junie Jam (DJ), Wanye (DJ), & Kool Rod (DJ/MC). They would rock using eight turntables!! Not long after, they got the final piece to the Numarx puzzle, KG a.k.a Kevin Liles.

Of course, now Kevin Liles* is a highly recognizable and respected figure in the Music Industry. He rose from unpaid intern to the President Of Def Jam in only seven years. However, in the early 80s he was doing his thing on the mic with Numarx.

Numarx moved from doing mixes on WEBB radio over to V103 FM and there they created some classic radio mixes that are heavily sought after by many collectors, myself included. Beyond radio, the crew also released the “Buss It” 12” in 1984 on the KMA label. The actual name on that record is Nurmarx, so not sure if that is spelling mistake or if they originally went by that name instead??

“Buss It” is a quality record that is comparable to a lot of what was happening at the time. Yet, it was in ’87 when they released what is their career-defining music, two songs on opposite sides of the spectrum.

“Rhymes So Def” used to get played on my neighborhood college station WNUR 89.3 FM in Chicago. For a while I didn’t even know who the group was. I would just catch it on various tapes while dubbing the radio. It just had this ill vibe with choppy hard drums that had more emphasis on the snares than the bass. It mixed in James Brown’s “Funky Drummer” from time to time to give it a more fluid feel. There’s a hard edge with a musical touch, executed perfectly with a rugged guitar stab that is sampled and played in a simple melody. All the while, in the background there’s some keyboard work that sounds like a remix version of the X-Files theme music. One thing you notice right away is how well it is arranged. There are a variety of beat changes, builds and drops, leaving never a dull moment. It’s not just about the music though. MCs KG and Kool Rod prove themselves to be quite capable on the mic, as one would expect when the hook asks the question, “Have you ever heard rhymes so def??!!”

The shining moment of the lyrics come in right off the top when Kool Rod drops some intelligence, elegance, and a dab of humor, “Chronological words, a geographical phrase/A proceed to put your mind in a baffled stage…”, after the killer intro he ends the quick verse with the heavy-handed warning to the suckers, “I got a crazy side to me that my momma ain’t seen!” That’s simple among the “Classic-est”….

Even the layout of the 12” leaves no mystery that they are a DJ/Production crew first and foremost. The A Side is called the “Extended Dub” version, rather than the vocal. The B-side starts with the “Radio Version”, followed, finally, by the “Regular Version”. However, don’t let the term “Dub” mislead you. The A-side is indeed a full vocal version, but after the main verses it just seamlessly “extends” into a Dub Version for the next few minutes and your listening pleasure.

Later that same year, they released another single, “Girl You Know It’s True”. As the title may suggest, it goes a completely different direction than the hardcore foundation of “Rhymes So Def”. It is more pretty musically and there’s a singing chorus, as they Rap about love. I never heard this song back then. I don’t think it made to much noise in the Rap world. However, as you may recognize as you hear it, and from the title, it is indeed the original source material for the hit song by Milli Vanilli. Oddly enough, Milli Vanilli was offered to record the song thru a producer in Germany.

I’m not sure if Numarx received any money or career traction from that Milli Vanilli experience. Perhaps there is something telling about their record label history. Numarx released both those singles on Studio Records, a Maryland based small indie label. However, in ’88 they issued a 7” on UK based label Bluebird with “Girls You Know It’s True” b/w “Rhymes So Def”. I’m assume it was that, in one context or another, that lead to the German producer asking Milli Vanilli to re-record the track.

As for Numarx, in 1988 they released their debut full-length album, “Our Time Has Come”. In this album you can see them taking some different steps from their “Buss It” and “Rhymes So Def” days and leaning more towards the “Girl You Know It’s True” market. Quite honestly though, no song on the album is more commercial sounding than “Girl You Know It’s True”. They use an assortment of B-Boy Breaks, Go-Go styles, R&B flavor, and a touch of Dance music to build the album. It’s one of those albums that struggles to find a fan-base. On one hand, they made some music with more universal appeal than a underground Hip Hop record, but didn’t result in any significant hits, so the audience they were attempting to reach virtually ignored it. On the other hand, loyal fans of “Buss It” and “Rhymes So Def” were disappointed and felt alienated by the record and their attempt to go “commercial”. Perhaps it was their years on radio and club DJing that influenced that direction. Doing both of those things they were gaining an understanding of how the music business works, but just weren’t able to capitalize on it at the time. Obviously, Kevin Liles had that latent talent within him to make artists commercially successful, but wasn’t able to manifest it until several years later with artists on Def Jam.

Then again, it’s not completely unfair to ignore the album. Although, nothing is bound to be more pleasing to the Hardcore Hip Hop fanatics than “Rhymes So Def”, there are some other notable tracks.

The album starts off with “Kool Rod”, a straight up battle rhyme joint that also features some flavorful scratching over a minimal Roland TR-909 (?) beat.

I’d say that “S.P.E.N The Confusion” is the easily the best new track here. It’s dedicated to the man on the wheels, DJ Spen. It’s the song with the strongest Go-Go flavor and has some hyped densely packed production. The tag line is pulled from “Rhymes So Def”, “Commander of ship, fantastic trip/My DJ cuts the hip!” DJ Spen flexes his skills nicely by cutting up an assortment of vocal bits & pieces, as well as flipping some KC and the Sunshine Band, “Uh Huh, Uh Huh, I Like It”…which transitions perfectly into the next track.

The “The Way I Like It” is a good joint with a hook that builds from a portion of “Rhymes So Def”. The production isn’t great, but it’s cool with solid opening and closing verses.

Although, there are some solid tracks in their discography, many would probably argue that their greatest contributions were their incredible radio mixes. I had heard about them for years, mainly from people seeking them and reminiscing about their greatness. I recently got my hands on two of them from the back in the day homie, Jason Mindus**.

Below are two mixes to give you a taste of their meticulous, conceptual, and skillful mastermixes, among some of the best in game!

Numarx Mastermix #1: This mix wastes no time coming out blazing and quickly gets into a blend of The B Boys “Girls” backing beat with some Phil Collins “In The Air Of Night” vocals on top. With some supported elements from The World Famous Supreme Team and additional soundbytes, I think that is Popeye is among them. It just continues on for the next 20 plus minutes with a collection of R&B vocals on top B-boy beats, intelligently placed quick-cuts, and other tricks. This mix relies heavily on their skills as producers and arrangers.

Numarx Mastermix #2: This one is a little heavier based on their cut n paste, editing talents and turntable skills. They give a new twist to tracks by Whodini, LL Cool J, Skinny Boys, Schoolly D, Run-DMC, 2 Live Crew, Cutmaster DC and more. DJ Spen even drops an exclusive verse in the mix, which shows he had some quality rapping skills as well. That leads into a Human Beat Box break that features more MCing by the Numarx crew.

I’m definitely on the hunt for more Numarx mixes and any mixes that are similar***. If you have any info or tapes, help a brother out…aight!

-NOTES:
*More on Kevin Liles HERE. Quite the success story….

**Jason Mindus: Back in the mid 90s I did street promotions for Rick Rubin’s American Records. My awesome boss was Dan Charnas, the author for what I am continual referring to as easily one of the best books written about Hip Hop, “The Big Payback”. Also, working for the label was Jason Mindus who was cool people, but honestly the main reason I remember him is because of a tape he sent me. I was doing my Caught In The Middle Magazine then and he wanted to send me some of his hometown Baltimore flavor so he sent me a demo, which gave me my first taste of Labtekwon! I became instant fan and that made Jason Mindus the man forever…ha. We reconnected about a year ago via Facebook and started to trade some 80s radio shows and that’s when he sent me these…making me home the man forever again…double forever I suppose…

***Twin Cities people should be aware of J Love The Soundsmith, one of the finest Hip Hop DJs in this city. He’s originally from DC, but he used to strategically place his radio in his room to hear the Numarx radio mixes out in MD. He cites Numarx as a big inspiration for him to start on the wheels of steel. He also dida Numarx tribute mix that you can hear HERE!

Written By Kevin Beacham

BUY EVIDENCE “CATS & DOGS” NOW!!

I had nearly forgotten that I had this footage from the last Hip Hop Essentials showcase (12.21.11) at Triple Rock! However, the recent talk about the Evidence “Falling Down” music video premiere reminded me.

For those not in the know, Hip Hop Essentials is the class taught by Kevin Beacham with the Rhymesayers Staff & Artists at The Institute Of Production & Recording. Students learn about Hip Hop history, business tactics, studio practices, live performance tips, writing exercises, song arrangement, and more! For more info on The Institute Of Production & Recording and the Rhymesayers Class contact IPR HERE.

Here’s some clips from the December show all shot and edited by Adam Stanzak (of Oh Boy Films)!!

-EVIDENCE “It Wasn’t Me” Live:

-EVIDENCE Triple Rock Performance Recap:

-FEAR ITSELF: Twin Cities own, they rocked the 2nd set of the night!

-Who The Hell Are They?: This is the students from the Rhymesayers Class! Peep more about them HERE: