Rakim Toronto

Pretty nice show if I say so myself


Paid in Full

the E to the P to the

I can turn the party out just by standin still
Make the ladies scream and shout while the brothers act ill
Take total control, of your body and soul
Pack a nine in my pants for when it's time to roll

You gots to chill - EPMD


Heard that EPMD was reuniting for a performance this fall at BB king in NYC. Erick & Parish Making Dollars (EPMD) they say have not performed together in 7 or 8 years. Wow, has it been that long?

I remember those Brentwood Long Island cats from Strictly Business back in 1988; "Jane Haircut like Anita Baker" and all that. One of the most influential hip hop groups in the past two decades up there with a Tribe Called Quest.

I remember cats using trademark EPMD terms like getting the Bozack and doing the Steve Martin. Ok well what can I say I'm old. lol

What an influential hip hop group though. Just look at the careers that EPMD have spawned. Das Efx, K-Solo, Redman, Stezo, Dj Scratch and on his own Erick Sermon brought the most beautifulliest MC Keith Murray to light. Hit Squad, Def Squad and all that. Strictly Business, Business as Usual, Business Never Personal, Unfinished Business. That word business in their album titles was a trademark. Those cats were all about the business.

And it was ironically business that broke them up in the first place. Beefs over money allegedly leading to home invasions and all that. Both parties took their acts on the road and went solo. Erick had way more success than Parish though producing crazy hits for many an artist as well as making a name for himself sampling Marvin Gaye for his (Erick's) hit song music.

They got back together and produced two albums in the late 90s but it just wasn't the same. The vibe couldn't be the same after all how can you be friends with a cat who had allegedly sent his boys into your spot to attack your friends and family. But this is EPMD so again it was a business decision. After all they did say its business never personal.

Anyway if you don't know about Erick and Parish go ask somebody. Here's a look at a couple of their hits. Headbanger wasn't really typical EPMD in my opinion but was more a product of the 1992 hardcore era still just on lyrical content especially the Redman verse this is a hellavu track.




You've got to chill with the Jungle Boogie sample combined with some Zapp was more indicative of early classic EPMD joints. Enjoy

Freestyle!

freestyle Fanatic probably the best around
as for corny mcs like Chuck D I shut em down

Scenario - Phife Dog


Was inspired to write about the art of freestyle by these wack mcs I saw on BET today. Challenger and Champion were both terrible but hey what do I know I haven't watched Freestyle Fridays since the days of Jin and this one cat from down south who won 5 weeks in a row.

So freestyling what is it? The art of going off the top of the dome, spitting that hot ish, creating a line on the spot so deliciously inventive that the crowd does a double take.

Yea its kind of hard, takes lots of practice and you just have to have the skillz to be able to think fast and spit faster.

Anyway I youtubed freestyle and came across a half decent Freestyle Friday battle between some cat called PL and another cat. First round PL dropped a line like "Those lines you should hold em in, before you win, Free will come out slap Julissa and host this show again" and the second round well just watch the video and see.




Pretty creative isn't it.

I mean yea a neatly constructed verse a la Rakim or Nas or some old otherworldly, crazy scientific George jetson type Can-i-bus type spitting is hot but watching and realizing that a cat just took what was in his surroundings, what he was witnessing, hearing, smelling or feeling around him and incorporated that into a line that made sense and fit into his rhymes there just aint nothing else in hip hop like that. NOTHING! And it doesn't matter if the cat is a big name artist with the bling or a lil grimy dude with 15 cents in his pocket. Its a gift and those who got it, got it, those who don't don't even try.

And yea plenty big name cats cant freestyle. Don't get it twisted. Just cause the rhyme isn't on their album yet doesn't mean its a freestyle.

And great freestylers do not necessarily translate into great records. Supernats output has been questionable and so has Jins but then a so it a go sometimes.

Anyway in the annuls of great freestylers certain names stand out; KRS-one, Craig G, Supernatural even this newbie Jin so here's a freestyle. Here is one of the great ones Supernat busting it down from the movie Freestyle

Guantanemera

If your name was Chun-Li, we'd be playin Street Fighter.



I could actually argue that the Carnival was a better album than the Score but I'd probably cause a whole set of hoopla amongst Hip Hop fans. I can remember when I first heard both albums though which is kind of rare given the amount of music I listen to. Heard the Score the Friday before Reading week late Feb 1996. Was actually on my way to the bus station to head for "the D" when I decided to kill some time and stop in Play De to see what was new. Surprise of surprises a new Fugee album. Somehow back then all the really good album releases snuck up on me. Anyway bought the cassette and well needless to say I killed that ish on the 5 hr bus ride and when I came back me and my boys was all over that album. My favorite song was Zealots with lines from Clef like
I haunt MC's like Mephistopheles, bringin swords of Damocles
Secret service keep a close watch as if my name was Kennedy
Abstract raps simple with a street format
Gaze into the sky and measure planets by parallax

and Lauryn with the
"behold, as my odes, manifold on your rhymes Two MC's can't occupy the same space at the same time".

That was some crazy we got to rewind that joint ish.

The Carnival well bought it late Spring or early summer of 97. Was finishing up Grad School and living in a basement in the Annex. I remember listening to it once and being like whatever, then when I settled down for the crazy intensive thesis write up this album was my theme music.

Anyway I've decided to revamp the blog a bit with the help of Youtube. Now I'll just be dropping a video (and I might throw in some reggae some of the time), and dropping a couple of paragraphs.

Peace!

one more time

I posted this one in may last year and no one got it so i'm bringing it back once again

Its kinda like that movie falling down with Michael Douglas
I feel the struggle is ill I smuggle this ......

this one is easy

I plan to grow dreads
but first a nappy fro
the longer the hair
the easier to scare a foe

"We can Fight the Power like this was P.E. class"

Happy new year. Here's the first one of the new year, lets see who gets it.

Pataki,
got all kinds of undercovers coming at me,
perhaps he, won't be happy, til they snatch me,

Amateurs get hung by their own gold chains

a bit more

no one is getting this one so maybe a bit more of the song will help. The other clue is that although this artist has quite a few albums the song was never on any album.

I had it up to here and I swear I'm bout to pull a colin ferguesson
gonna shoot the nervous one
and the brave one
I'm misbehaving
now today a mild mannered citizen no longer wants to play
Its kinda like that movie falling down with Michael Douglas
I feel the struggle is ill I smuggle this ......

come test it

Walk, like a ninja, on the asphalt
Here talk is cheap, you're outlined in chalk

i'm back

another easy one for you folks but you have to be specific on the answer


"I'm not Koresh
Cause I control minds wit rhymes, so FBI don't test
I got a no. 2 pencil and I'm a scribble all over your face"

another easy one i hope

ya whole aura is plexiglass

guess this

ok the solution to the last one was Tragedy Kahdifi - Trag Invasion from back in like 1988 off the Intelligent Hoodlum album. See told you it was obscure. Think I got a little carried away with that one

here's a new one which should prove easier


Salutes 2 action be tha latest enter-ree
4 illadel colonies da get da cream like cherry jubalee -
my steeze puts ya at ease like methamphetamines
or like Tony Starks fantasies about his wallabess

obscure

kind of obscure ok really obscure

I snatch the party and squeeze it like Play-Dough
I grab the mic and I kick it like Kato
Rap so fierce, the deejay is Fatal
You can't hang, so it's back to your cradle

been a while

It's a mad [mad] mad [mad] world and it's best to never wild out
Go against me and I'm, quick to pull out
The driveway by the way hey
Picked up your girl cause she was goin MY WAY

name the mc, and the song

turn the party out

Ok easy one here. Yes the last lines been sampled quite a bit but this is the original verse.

I go for what I know doin a show for human beings
I'm guaranteed to rock I make the ladies scream and shout
I'm bound to wreck your body and say turn the party out

its been a long time

I lef the last quote up quite a while and while couple of folks got the song no one got the actual artist whose verse it was. Good job though. So here's the next one.

Right now I'm smiling
Taking advantage of this moment
Cause there might not be another soon
Holding on to memories like roller coaster handle bars
tightly cause I'm slightly off my rocker--But to you
I may appear to be your average joe
But little do you know
that even joe got problems that he gots to joust with

crime side of life, foul price to pay
illegal life, trigger trife till we old and gray
when the flesh dry up and the world decay
reach heaven in a pearly white ACUR-ay

Was going to post this last week after hearing this song on the radio. lets see who gets it

I wrote this, I smoke this mic until it's heated
The kid he tried ta battle me but then he got defeated