Rough House Survivers - Straight from the Soul LP

Relativity (1992)

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.

As far as the golden era of hip hop goes, I think that 1992 is a year that really gets overlooked in the best year in hip hop discussions.  Maybe it doesn't have the line up of stand out classics like 91, 93 or 94 do.  There's no Tribe album that came out this year, The Hieroglyphics records didn't come out in full force until 93 (til infinity).  Yeah, the Chronic came out in November or so, but that's not an album I rank as a classic in my world, plus it got way more play in 93 than it did in 92.

But when it comes to consistency, 92 was just full of great records with production that really hits the sweet spot for what I'm looking for in hip hop.  Even those records that completely fell through the cracks are pretty elite.  Case in point is this Rough House Survivers album.  Even with guest appearances from CL Smooth, Sadat X from Brand Nubian and Grand Puba, it didn't really make much noise.  I don't remember it from back then, though there were certainly quite a few ads for it in The Source that I've seen rereading those.  Straight From The Soul didn't register then, but it sure stands out to me now.

The production is pretty flawless here.  With jazzy loops, low end bass and big hooks.  Perhaps the thing I miss most about older hip hop is the use of hooks which seems to have all but vanished, even from the folks from back then that are still putting out records.  Give me a hook!  Lyrically, I can't say anyone in this crew is top level elite, but everyone that touches a microphone is really good and wouldn't be out of place rhyming next to anyone.  They all hold their own next to the guest appearances, who are among the top tier of the era.

It's a record that really shouldn't be forgotten.  Anyone that likes golden era hip hop would probably really dig this.  Particularly the disciples of 1992, perhaps the hidden best year of hip hop.

Rough House Survivers - Straight from the Soul:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nu-P0iHFdiBhPRqlciuz6O-Gvz2vb0QXo

The Beatnuts - The Beatnuts 2xLP - Red Vinyl (/500)

Traffic / Relativity / Sony (2018, 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 Beatnuts were another one of those Golden Era groups that I knew by name back then, but never had any records by.  I likely saw their name mostly on production credits for other records and probably from time to time reading The Source.  But 1994 was a transitional year for me musically, so there are definitely some hip hop records that slipped through the cracks as I was starting to dig into punk and indie rock.

I picked up this record quite a while ago actually, maybe two years at this point but I just hadn't gotten around to writing about it.  The main strength of this album is how great the beats are front to back.  An expertly produced hip hip record, I can't complain about a single beat on here.  Jazzy without being too slow, upbeat without being too poppy or corny and expertly picked samples give the album a warm, lived in sound.  It's unique and interesting, but the vibe is instantly familiar.

Lyrically, these guys can hold their own as well.  They're not upper echelon MCs, but they are good and the beats play to the strength of the rapping.  But when someone elite like Grand Puba shows up on "Are You Ready" it's obvious they're just a notch below.  That's not really a bad thing or even a criticism.  This record just came out on the tail end of an era filled with some of the best to ever do it, to be pretty close to that elite level is a real accomplishment considering the others that were putting out records at the time.

In 2022, it still sounds innovative and fun.  I would highly recommend it if it flew under your radar back in '94.

The Beatnuts - The Beatnuts:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_ntZLcx9o0v6IlPQ2MJk90bL8XqFypCj0s