Gang Starr - One of the Best Yet 2xLP

Gang Starr Enteprises / TTT / INgrooves (2019)

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 thirty 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 I started to type up the label name and release date, I was kind of shocked that this record is seven years old already.  It's been sitting in my 'to write about' pile for almost as long.  As I've mentioned before, I'm trying desperately to get through a backlog, particularly of hip hop records, so I'm doing my best to focus on the ones that have been sitting around for a while.  I'm not sure that anything in my pile has been sitting as long as this.

Part of the reason is not really knowing what to say about it.  This was released in 2019.   Guru from Gang Starr passed in 2010.  There's this whole drama where Premier didn't have access to Guru's archive for a while and it's kind of a convoluted mess that I don't feel like trying to explain right now., in part because I'm not even positive that I understand it completely.  He did eventually get access and pieced together this album using the vocal material available to him.  He paired his production to the vocals that were available and brought in guest appearances to flesh out everything until there was enough for an album.

As a technical marvel and a final tribute to the legacy of Guru, I don't want to disparage what everyone was able to accomplish.  I'm glad they did it.  For me, just judging it as an album and forgetting the extra emotional baggage, it's only OK.  The production is solid, but not remarkable.  As much as I love Gang Starr and Premier's production, I have always preferred the sounds he was crafting in the early 90s.  The later we get, the less it connects with me.  It's not like I'm saying Moment of Truth wasn't a well produced record, but I don't think it holds a candle to Daily Operation or Hard To Earn.

The rhymes that they were able to get from Guru's archive are strong.  I've always found him to be underrated as an MC with Premier's production getting so much of the group's attention.  Guru has always been a master at a laid back, confident conversational flow and this material is no different.  The problem is there's probably not enough for a full album, thus the many, many guest appearances.

It's tough to not be the old man saying "back in my day, hip hop albums only had one or two guest appearances and the main MCs did the rest of the heavy lifting," but I have to say it.  I don't buy a Gang Starr record to hear someone else rapping.  Sure, it's cool if Jeru shows up for a song, but when that is one of a dozen features, it turns into a compilation and that's too much for me.  Not to mention that many of the MCs brought in don't really have much to do with Gang Starr and it's a little jarring having them pop in on a verse or drop down a bizarre hook that doesn't have much to do with what Guru was rhyming about.

Still, the fact that it exists at all is a great thing, as a tribute to Guru and Gang Starr and as a bit of hopeful closure for DJ Premier.  Not to mention that there are moments on here that are truly great.  They are unfortunately only just moments though.  Worth a listen if you are a fan if nothing else.

Gang Starr - One of the Best Yet:

https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mfOxmtWGvvX7ehOGD9IlGqOPgZqSk5P8U

Gang Starr - Daily Operation 2xLP - Red Vinyl

Urban Legends / Virgin / UMe (2023, 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 thirty 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.

Gang Starr is one of my favorite hip hop groups and the one-two punch of Daily Operation and Hard To Earn is a hell of a two album run.  One of the best, I think.  Daily Operation has always been my favorite Gang Starr record.  I've said this before, buit although the highs on Hard To Earn are higher, Daily Operation is the more consistent album start to finish.

I've had a single LP pressing of the album for a few years, and that one wasn't cheap.  It sounded good enough, but the rest of the Gang Star catalog had been reissued over the years and all sounded better.  Not sure what took them so long to get to Daily Operation, but I finally have a nice, double LP version.

It's easily the best this album has ever sounded in my house.  It's got a warm, lived in feeling that hits all of those nostalgic notes of when I first discovered it in 1992.  Daily Operation is a top, top tier record and if you don't have it in your collection due to its difficulty to find in recent years, now's the time to grab the best version that I've heard of it.

Gang Starr - Daily Operation:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kHsyxdYPnwr0az_8_IElIiNXljkCtzTAo

Gang Starr - The Ownerz 3xLP

Virgin (2015, 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.

The Ownerz was the final Gang Starr album of the group's original run.  It came out while I was working my radio promotion job and a buddy that was working at Virgin at the time hooked me up with a CD copy back then.  So unlike a lot of hip hop from 1995 until recently, I did actually hear this right when it was released.  It got to a point where this album was the only one of theirs that I didn't have on vinyl, so I finally picked it up to complete the full length collection.

Gang Starr has pretty much always been amazing.  Even in 2003, when the bulk of hip hop was absolutely not my cup of tea, Guru and Premier put out an album that still felt like the sort of thing I would have listened to at the height of my hip hop fandom.  The beats still feel like classic Premier and Guru's lyrics are as sharp as ever.  If it was primarily the two of them over the album, it would be another classic.  But to me, that's the album's biggest problem.

There are way too many guest appearances for me.  I know that's what hip hop turned into, everyone on everyone else's albums, but if I buy an album, it's because I want to hear the person or group putting out that album.  Of The Ownerz' nineteen tracks, eight of them have guest verses on them.  It makes everything feel watered down to me and I think the album would be significantly stronger if those verses were replaced by more from Guru.  That aside, it's still a solid album and considering when it came out, it's certainly one of the better post-golden era releases out there.

Gang Starr - The Ownerz:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mBFNxw8008IL_EVoKRxvaJsk6fR1yTXzM

Gang Starr - Moment of Truth 3xLP

Virgin / Noo Trybe (2051, 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 Age' 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.

Daily Operation and Hard to Earn stand quite high on my list of all time favorite hip hop albums.  They came out in 1992 and 1994, respectively, and sit in that sweet spot of my own personal Golden Era.  I didn't look backwards as much back then, so I wasn't as familiar with their albums before 1992 and by the time Moment of Truth came out in 1998, I was pretty checked out on most hip hop.  I don't know why it took them four years between albums back then, but I'm not sure a year' or two difference would have put it anymore on my radar back then.

I came to find out over the years that many people, to the point where I would a say a majority, place Moment of Truth as the best Gang Starr album.  I don't know that I could say that, but it is really good and way better than I would have figured for a record that came out in 98.  The secret sauce here is how well DJ Premier puts together beats.  While there is certainly a slightly different vibe compared to their early 90s releases, for the most part the production still feels genuine and is similar enough to me that it works.  It does have something of a minimalistic feeling on some songs, but again it still sounds like Gang Starr.

And to me, Guru sounds exactly the same, which is a compliment, I don't want him to sound different.  His laid back, somewhat monotone delivery just works for him.  He's a skilled lyricist, but always shines the brightest when he's working with top tier production.  Do I think this is the best Gang Starr album? No, Daily Operation and Hard to Earn are superior in my opinion.  But Moment of Truth is really strong and is just as good as, and in some instances is better than, Step in the Arena.

Gang Starr - Moment of Truth:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lCXbcwQDrKmdSjIPEVJyI99YviaASHw2A

Gang Starr - No More Mr. Nice Guy LP - Red & White Inside Out Vinyl

Vinyl Me Please (2022, 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 pop in and out of Vinyl Me Please.  Occasionally they have a neat reissue that I'm interested it, so I subscribe and then cancel.  My taste in music is way too finicky for me to be able to commit to a long term subscription, but I joined up when they announced this Gang Starr reissue.

No More Mr. Nice Guy is the first Gang Starr record and probably the one I've always been least familiar with.  I never even had the CD if you can imagine such a thing.  It's mostly because I always felt like it really didn't sound much like the Gang Starr that I know and love.  It was 1989, Guru and Premier had not yet coalesced into the monster group that put out Daily Operation in 1992, or even Step in the Arena in 1990.

The beats sound kind of old and they don't have that same DJ Premier vibe that I so adore.  Guru is not as smooth or monotone on this debut and there are a few songs where he rhymes uncharacteristically fast.  It's sometimes kind of jarring to be honest.  

Even saying all of that, this is still a really good record, particularly for the standards of what was going on in 1989.  They weren't ahead of their time just yet, but they were right on target with what most of the rap world was releasing at the time.  I listen to the record and it's just fun.  It's not mind blowing or important or super influential, but there's something to be said about a record that you can just put on, listen to and enjoy.  

No More Mr. Nice Guy has that and then some and this pressing by Vinyl Me Please is for sure the definitive version for the sound quality and the huge pile of bonus tracks.  I would really love it if VMP could get their hands on the rights to Daily Operation and give it a similarly excellent treatment.

Gang Starr - No More Mr. Nice Guy:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mwQzpYHjgJo5JgeJh8rC-j6fM_hseAmcg

Gang Starr - Step In The Arena 2xLP

Virgin (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.

For me, Daily Operation and Hard To Earn are the quintessential Gang Starr records.  They are the two I had in the 90s and the ones that I have listened to far more than anything else.  Over the intervening years I have picked up more of the Gang Starr catalog.  While I haven't upgraded everything to vinyl, I did decide that it was time to add their sophomore album Step In The Arena to the collection.

While there is nothing on this record as good as the material on the two albums that followed, there is a lot to love about Step In The Arena.  This is where DJ Premier really started coming into his own, beats wise.  The production on this album is ten million miles ahead of anything on the group's debut No More Mr. Nice Guy.  

Plus, the vast, vast majority of the record is just Premier and Guru.  One of the things that drove me crazy about the Gang Starr records Moment of Truth and beyond is that they were so crammed full of unneeded guest appearances that they hardly felt like Gang Starr records.  I know that an issue with hip hop records as a whole and isn't limited to Gang Starr.  I don't mind two or three tracks with a guest verse, but when you're relying on others for more than half of your album, it just feels watered down to me.

That's not an issue issue with Step Into The Arena.  You get Guru emerging as one of hip hop's great MCs and laying the foundation for the two certified Gang Starr classics that were next in line.

Gang Starr - Step In The Arena (YouTube Music full album playlist):

https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nCo09vBMoy9s38eLZrY2VU7DOBIoFwlx4

Gang Starr - Hard to Earn 2xLP 180g Vinyl

Respect the Classics/Virgin (2014, 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.

For two albums, Gang Starr could arguably be designated as the greatest hip hop group of all time.  Daily Operation and this album, Hard Two Earn, comprise one of the hardest one-two punches in rap history.  While I think that Daily Operation is ever so slightly a stronger overall record, Hard To Earn has higher highs and is home to most of my very favorite Gang Starr songs.  One of those songs is the first I heard from the album, "Dwyck."  Dwyck was released as a video and single way before the full album did and I remember being kind of confused as I couldn't figure out where it came from.

I grew up in a rural town in northwestern New Jersey.  We couldn't get TV or radio over the air because we were way too far away from the local affiliates broadcasting out of New York City.  We had to have cable in order to get TV.  What I did was I spliced off the cable from my 9" television in my room and fed it into my stereo.  For reasons I can't totally explain, this allowed me to get all of the NY radio stations.  This is how I would listen to the Kool DJ Red Alert Show on KISS FM. During one of Red's shows, I managed to tape "Dwyck" off of the radio and for the longest time, that was the only version I had.  Even today, when I listen to the album version, my brain starts to hear the mixing and segue into the next song that was present on my tape.

"Dwyck" is but one of many incredible tracks on Hard to Earn.  "Mass Appeal," "Tonz o Gunz," "Speak Ya Clout" or "Now You're Mine" would probably be the best tracks on just about any hip hop album of the era, but on Hard To Earn, they're all fighting each other just to be the second best song on the album.  The best?  Well for me that has to go to "Blowin' Up the Spot." Over arguably the greatest beat of DJ Premier's career, Guru just blasts through word bending lyrics building rhyme on top of rhyme in a structure that probably doesn't make sense on paper, but in the song itself is essentially a masterpiece of self aggrandizing bravado.

1994 was the year that I started to fall out of love with hip hop as I was getting more interested in indie rock and punk rock.  But between this album and Casual's 1994 classic Fear Itself, the year definitely had two all time greats to help close out my participation in the golden era of hip hop.

Gang Starr - Hard to Earn (Youtube full album playlist):
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kN2u5Udy3Zuq0WIxq-sQlStlWOHkr9v4U&feature=gws_kp_album&feature=gws_kp_artist

Gang Starr - Daily Operation LP

Chrysalis/Cool Tempo (1992)

It's no secret that in addition to poppy punk rock, I also love golden era 90s hip hop.  I have several key pieces on vinyl, but the vast majority of my hip hop collection is on CDs that I bought when I was in high school.  I'm trying to track down some more on vinyl, but a lot of it is out of print at collector prices.  That's certainly not something I can swing right now, but as luck would have it, I managed to pick up a couple of Gang Starr records at a totally reasonable price.

Daily Operation was the first Gang Starr record I bought when I was younger.  I'm pretty sure that I saw the video for "Take It Personal" on Yo MTV Raps and that let to me grabbing the CD.  It remains one of my all time favorite rap albums.  While it may not hit the highs of Hard To Earn, as a whole record, I think Daily Operation is stronger overall.  At least there aren't any three minute long songs that's nothing but answering machine messages.

There's something magical about the way the Guru's smooth vocal delivery played over the beats that DJ Premier served up.  There's always been a mix of hip hop, jazz and funk samples, but I don't think anyone filtered like Gang Starr to create such a unique sound that could never be replicated by anyone else.  Pretty much every song on here is perfect and I'l glad to finally have the vinyl in my collection.

Gang Starr - "Take It Personal":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69PcbIxF-04

Gang Starr - " Ex Girl To Next Girl"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwSXfocnt48