Das EFX - Hold It Down 2xLP

Music On Vinyl (2019, Reissue)

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo! MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for twenty-five plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

When Dead Serious, the first Das EFX, album came out in 1991, I was pretty obsessed.  Great beats, cool vibe and wild lyrics that made more than a couple of pop culture references that really landed with me.  When it came out, I felt like I was one of the few people that liked their second album, Straight Up Sewaside just as much as Dead Serious when it was released in 1993.  I even remember reviewing it in my high school newspaper and proclaiming it better than the first.  I don't really feel that way anymore, as nostalgia is a real beast sometimes and the first album just evokes a different strain of memories.

I'll be honest, when Hold It Down originally came out in 1995, I never listened to it.  I had pretty much moved on from hip hop at that point and I think that year's Souls of Mischief record might have been the only hip hop record I bought.  I'm not sure if hearing this album then would have really changed my mind about anything, but after going back to it and spending some time, I can claim this is one of a very small amount of 90s post -994 hip hop albums that is actually worth a damn.

The beats are really strong for 1995, when I felt there was so much trash polluting hip hop.  They're still grimy with a strong snare crack and deep, grooving bass lines.  Lyrically Hold It Down sits inbetween the constant 'diggety' of the first record and the 'no diggety at all' of the second.  They break out their signature flow here and there, but they don't beat it into the grouond.  My only real complaint about it is how long it is.  Seventy four minutes is way too long for any album, it's nearly double the length of Dead Serious and it's certainly not twice as good.

But there's way more good than bad on here and it's definitely worth giving a listen if you missed it first time around.

Das EFX - Hold It Down:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_ndeDQzsgd-NrxA7uSP_nrL-cQwP8lDq6Y

Das EFX - Straight Up Sewaside LP - Brown Vinyl (/1000)

Music On Vinyl (2019, Reissue)

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for twenty-five plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

I went pretty crazy for the first Das EFX album, Dead Serious, when it came out.  It was a huge favorite, one that I absolutely played to death in 1991.  By the time Das EFX was ready to unleash their follow up in 1993, their unique "diggedy" style had been co-opted and beaten into the ground by other, lesser artists.  Even Casual took aim at this on his Fear Itself album with the line "Enough of these motherfuckers biting Das EFX."

It's pretty clear that Das EFX took this rampant copycatting pretty seriously as they dropped that style completely for Straight Up Sewaside.  The result is a record that is still strong.  They delve into their usual pop culture references and  hit with sludgy beats and upbeat vocal interplay. But for whatever reason, it doesn't feel as playful or as fun as Dead Serious.  That's not even necessarily a bad thing, there's just a different vibe to this album.

When it came out in 1993, I loved it.  In many ways I thought it was an even stronger record than Dead Serious and I remember writing something like that in a review I wrote for my High School newspaper (yes, I've been writing this sort of thing for a long time and no, I can't explain why I'm not better at it than I am).  But as the years have gone by, I'm always drawn back to Dead Serious and don't listen to Straight Up Sewaside anywhere close to the same amount.  Ultimately, it's a strong record, but doesn't tug on my nostalgia the same way their debut record did.

Das EFX - Straight Up Sewaside (Youtube full album playlist):
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nQeba7jO-N--5pzb4XNMObFLPsSNeabKc

Das EFX - Dead Serious LP

Music On Vinyl (2017, Reissue)

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for 25+ years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

Das EFX was something of a revelation when I first heard them.  This was a band that was spitting out lyrics that were almost ninety percent pop culture references, mixed in with a little creative jibberish and the occasional story telling plot point.  I had never heard anything like it prior to its release in 1992.  The first Del record was probably my first experience with a hip hop record that was light and comical, without being a joke, but Das EFX took the silliness to a higher level while keeping the music grimy and tough.

As part of the EPMD led Hit Squad, Das EFX instantly had cred, but it's the quality of the ten songs on this record that make it a bonafide classic twenty seven years later.  The beats are sludgy, but still punch in a way where it's impossible to not nod your head along.  Album opener "Mic Checka" sets the stage for what's to come, highlighting Das EFX's "diggedy" style flow and name dropping The Captain and Tenille for no real reason.  It's hard hitting, but ridiculous and I just love it.

Considering that a lot of the 90s had hip hop acts cramming their CDs full of music to the maximum run time, Dead Serious coming in at a lean forty-ish minutes makes each song more impactful.  Plus there's not much in the way of filler or stupid skits that weigh down a lot of other albums of the era.  In 1992 this was one of my very favorite albums.  In 2019 I still think it's as great as ever.  I also really dig their often slept on sophomore album Straight Up Sewaside, but I haven't picked up the vinyl for that one just yet.

Das EFX - "Mic Checka":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXSBk_ebq-A

Das EFX - "They Want EFX":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mF61j4Re2io

Das EFX - "Straight Out The Sewer":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLST66gKEyA