Master Ace – Take A Look Around 4xLP

Traffic (2007, 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.

Though he's known as Master Ace on this album, his 1990 debut, I know him as Masta Ace.  I first heard Masta Ace from his "Jeep Ass N***h" single from the 1993 album Slaughtahouse.  That whole album is great, but when it came out, I didn't really know that the Masta had another album that came out three years earlier.  Later on, I did dig into Masta Ace's other albums.  I was really disappointed by 1995's Sittin' On Chrome.  The production is just not what I want to listen to, but I guess I shouldn't be too surprised as the sound of hip hop in 1995 had drastically changed from what I was interested in.

But, going backwards to Take A Look Around shows a younger Master Ace, who was just as adept on the microphone then.  The production isn't at all like Slaughtahouse, but 1990 Marly Marl was making some pretty incredible beats and the album is full of them.  Is it as lush and dynamic as things would get over the next couple of years?  It isn't, but it doesn't sound dated the way a lot of pre-1991 albums sometimes can.  The production is excellent top to bottom with head nodding bass lines providing a canvas for Masta Ace to rhyme over.

This version of the LP that I found is a quadruple LP version from 2007.  In addition to the original album, there's two extra LPs of remixes, bonus tracks and instrumentals.  I can't really say any of it is essential, but for me, I like to have the most comprehensive version of a record that's out there.  Most folks would be totally set with the main album, which more than stands on its own.  

Master Ace – Take A Look Around:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvULvhZ5CXk&ab_

Masters Of Ceremony – Dynamite LP

Traffic (2005, 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.

The first and only Masters of Ceremony album, Dynamite, came out in 1988.  Slightly before I started digging into the world of hip hop and a year that was so full of absolute classics that some of the other albums released that year faded into obscurity.  I never heard of Masters of Ceremony back in the 90s, but had I know that they were the first group that Grand Puba was in before Brand Nubian, I'm sure I would have went out of my way to track down a copy.

And that's exactly why I tracked down a copy many, many years later.  I've always been a big fan of prime era Grand Puba.  His work on the Brand Nubian debut, his first solo record and the myriad of guest appearances he made in the early 90s was a hell of a run.  It's interesting to go back a few years before that to see how he came up.

In no way is Dynamite anywhere near as good as any of Puba's early 90s work.  It's from 1988, so it has an older school feel, especially production-wise.  Most of the beats are OK though.  While the production certainly sounds dated compared to other golden era releases, even those that came out in 1988, Masters are definitely taking advantage of some of the new tricks and techniques that were starting up.  Yes, a lot of it sounds a little hokey, but the bulk of it just sounds like good, early hip hop.  Aside from the song "Redder Posse."  That song is just straight nonsense.  The group comes off like a bunch of sappy R&B clowns with horrible synth and the worst crooning in the hooks.  Luckily, this song is an anomaly.

Lyrically Puba shares his time with another MC called Dr. Who.  They do a lot of the Run DMC style of passing the mic back and forth, even mid sentence.  Puba isn't rapping at the level he'd hit in a few years, but he is quite a bit better than Dr. Who.  Again, none of this is bad, it's just a little simplistic compared to where hip hop and Grand Puba would end up in just a couple of years.  This probably isn't the sort of record I would listen to as part of my regular rotation, but it's a decent enough change of pace when I'm looking to indulge in some of hip hop's earlier times.

Masters Of Ceremony – Dynamite:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3DTua2OfNY&ab_

Kool G Rap & DJ Polo - Live and Let Die 2xLP

Traffic (2012, 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.

Live and Let Die was the third and final Kool G Rap & DJ Polo release.  It originally came out in 1992, but I never had it back then.  Like with all of Kool G's records, they just didn't enter my world for whatever reason.  I feel like I have some memory of "Ill Street Blues," but only the name of the song, I don't remember hearing it back then on Yo! MTV Raps or anything.

Of the three albums the group released, this one is probably my least favorite, even though if you just look at if from it's technical execution, it's the strongest and most fully realized of the group.  I think I just like the roughness of Road to the Riches the best and tend to go back to that one the most often, but you can't argue how well done Live and Let Die is.

The bulk of the production on the album was handled by Ice Cube cohort Sir Jinx.  As such, it has a similar vibe to Death Certificate and The Predator, which were recorded around the same time.  There's an early, pre-Chronic west coast feel, with super low end bass lines and a laid back tempo.  That gives Kool G Rap the breathing room to really go all out with his lyrics, which lean much harder into the mafiosa gangter style that was starting to show itself more fully on Wanted: Dead or Alive.

Throughout the album, Kool G shows why he was one of the best during the earlier portion of the golden era.  He's not Rakim or KRS-One, but he's definitely at the level right below that as far as lyrics of that early time period go.  Again, no denying that this a great albu, but for whatever reason, I tend to gravitate towards their first album if I feel like spinning some Kool G Rap & DJ Polo.

Kool G Rap & DJ Polo - Live and Let Die:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rPTvGcdYjo&ab_channel=deal4real2000

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

Souls Of Mischief - 93 'til Infinity 2xLP - Blue Vinyl (/2000)

Get On Down (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.

Yeah, I have this on vinyl already.  I actually wrote about it during the first few weeks of starting up Ed Lover Dance Day around here.  But as it is one of my top three hip hop albums of all time, I just couldn't resist picking up this colored vinyl variant with the obi strip.  It was also an easier decision since I had a Get On Down gift certificate kicking around from Christmas.

I don't really have anything to say about the album that I didn't already say here.  But to summarize quickly, it's just one of the greatest things I've heard in my entire life with absolutely killer production and stellar lyrics all the way through.

Sound quality wise, it's good.  Just as good as the old 2021 2xLP pressing that Traffic put out.  In fact, the liner notes on the gatefold are exactly the same, making reference to it being nearly twenty years since its initial release even though we're now only a year away from the thirtieth anniversary.  If you don't have this album yet, that criminal.  This is a great version to pick up.  If you only have a single LP version, it's also worth the upgrade.  But if you already have the 2xLP version, it's probably only worth grabbing if you're a bit obsessive like I am.

Souls Of Mischief - 93 'til Infinity:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_k3iPJ9cBB9c_y9oSCOexs9-75aYImFmEg

Leaders Of The New School - A Future Without A Past 2xLP

Traffic (2004, 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.

In 1991 there was no way to escape the video for "Case of the P.T.A." on Yo! MTV Raps.  It was on a lot.  That's not a complaint as I'm grateful it was on often enough that it stuck with me and made me pick up the CD.  There's lots of interesting history out there on the internet about Leaders of the New School.  Of course, they are most know as that group that Busta Rhymes started off in, but there's other anecdotes out there about them running in the same circles as Public Enemy and a battle rap for the rights to the Leaders name.  But for me, I have just always liked this album as a standalone record.

I have never been particularly interested in Busta Rhymes' solo career.  He had that guest appearance on Tribe Called Quest's "Scenario" and his career started to blow up.  There was one more Leaders album called T.I.M.E. that came out in 1993, but after that it was off to the races for Busta and off to essentially nowhere for his cohorts Dinco-D and Charlie Brown. Which is a shame as I think Dinco and Charlie bring quite a lot to the proceedings.  Are they at times overshadowed by the ridiculously charismatic Busta?  Of course, but they hold their own and if they were in any other group they would have shown quite brightly.  I could definitely do without Charlie Brown's random shriek that makes an appearance in too many songs, but when he and Dinco are just rhyming, they're great.

The production is that perfect 1991 style of innovative hip hop that I love.  Big snappy snare drum and rumbling bass.  It's also just a lot of fun.  Something that happened in the 90s that I just don't see at all today is upbeat, happy hip hop.  It doesn't always have to be doom and gloom guys.  And even though this record is somehow thirty years old now, to me it still sounds fresh and fun and brings me right back to my freshman year of high school.

Leaders Of The New School - A Future Without A Past:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lkKi9mFuYHTZBD12-EVLpsoP5KhbD_J3A

KMD - Mr. Hood 2xLP

Traffic/Elektra (2004, 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 first time I had heard of KMD was when Zev Love X made a guest appearance on the 3rd Bass song Gas Face.  I can't say that the first KMD full length, Mr. Hood, was on may radar as soon as it came out, but in the intervening years, I've become a really huge fan of this album.  Zev Love X made a far bigger splash in the hip hop community when he disappeared and reemerged as MF Doom, but for me, the KMD albums records are the cream of his crop.

The thing that I like best about Mr. Hood is the storytelling aspect as the songs are strung together with dialogue between KMD and the fictional Mr. Hood, which is primarily strung together using samples from some woefully out of date children's storytelling records and some English language instructional records.  While skits on hop hop records are not always my favorite, these serve a greater narrative purpose than the randomly tossed in comedy skit.

The beats on this record are bouncy and upbeat, a perfect slice of golden era hip hop production.  Combine that in with stellar rhymes and the aforementioned narrative and you've got yourself a real classic.  It is criminally under appreciated despite the relative success and notoriety that MF Doom has achieved.  KMD had one other album called Black Bastards that was pulled by Elektra prior to release.  It floated around bootleg circles for years until finally getting a proper reissue.  That one is still on my list of vinyl to pick up once finances allow for the purchase of more records.

KMD - Mr. Hood (Youtube full album playlist):
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mrQgcU0xVDKBGCL88NEKZQHl2FA63iMrU

Boogie Down Productions - Criminal Minded LP - Red Vinyl

Traffic (2016, Reissue)

For Ed Lover Dance Day this week, I'm going to talk a little bit about Boogie Down Productions.  They were one of the first hip hop groups to really make an impact on me.  I couldn't say for sure when it was that I started listening to them, but I feel like it most have been something involving Yo MTV Raps and the song "My Philosophy."  When I was at the height of my BDP fandom, the album Criminal Minded was somewhat hard to come by.

I had the main BDP full lengths on CD (By Any Means, Ghetto Music, Edutainment) and I also had their live album.  On the live album there were a handful of great songs that weren't on the other full lengths, so I needed to figure out where they came from.  This is pre-internet (or if not completely before the internet existed it was definitely before I had access to anything), so you can only really get info from magazines and other people.  Not having much in the way of like minded friends at this time, I had to get the info where I could.  I knew there was a first album, but I couldn't find it anywhere.

Then, one day randomly I was at a record store with my dad and I was digging around the rap CDs and I found it.  It looked a little shady to be honest, cover art was blurry and it was decidedly kind of budget looking, but I had it in my hands.  Bootleg or not, I was buying it.  It ended up being one of my favorite albums by BDP.  The production sounds old and dated, but in the best possible way.  It's a classic record with classic hip hop sounds.  I love the piano riff on "The Bridge Is Over."  "Poetry" and "South Bronx" are perfectly old school, but forward reaching.  You could tell they were doing something special and innovative for the time.

For me though, the highlight is the title track, "Criminal Minded."  I had only heard the version on the live CD before finally hunting down this album and was shocked that it was so much longer than the live version.  It's just such a great song and the fact that it came out in 1987 is kind crazy.  BPD went on to release several additional records (all of which I will be writing about at some point as I've added the vinyl of each to the collection), but being able to listen to their starting point on nice heavy red vinyl is a treat I sure didn't think I would be able to experience in 1991.

Boogie Down Production - Criminal Minded (Full Album YouTube playlist):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=de0Ll_W5RvI&list=PLWkhuBo9IpsCbJo_Cv-7d4ftbSDCpxe-L&index=1

Souls Of Mischief - 93 'Til Infinity 2xLP

Traffic (2010, Reissue)

I have written about this record once before on this site, but if I am going to begin a journey writing about influential 90s hip hop records every Wednesday (Ed Lover Dance Day), I cannot do that without mentioning 93 'Til Infinity.  This album, along with Del's No Need For Alarm and Casual's Fear Itself (more on that next week), pretty much make up my holy trinity of hip hop.  Yes all three are Hieroglyphics related, but these three records hit me like nothing ever had previously.  I love them all so very much.

93 'Til Infinity was actually the first of the big three Hiero records to come out.  I remember when I first saw the video for the title track on Yo MTV Raps.  It was laid back and reminded me of the Pharcyde's "Passin' Me By" a little bit.  I don't know for sure that I was aware that they were affiliated with Del The Funky Homosapien when I first heard the song.  No Need For Alarm wasn't out for a few more months and with no internet, the only way I would have known that was if I read it in The Source, which was a distinct possibility.

Once I had bought the full Souls record and No Need For Alarm came out in November of 93, it was pretty clear to me that something special was happening.  93 'Til Infinity is a remarkably consistent record, full of incredible songs with amazing rhymes and killer beats.  I love the way the jazzy samples mix with the bouncing bass lines to provide canvases for all of the Souls' vocal interplay.  These guys riff off of each other so well and it comes off unnervingly laid back and effortless.  I'm sure a ton of work goes into making something sound this tight, but the whole record has the vibe of just being tossed together on a summer afternoon because the guys just didn't have anything else to do that day.

93 'Til Infinity is twenty six years old.  I was sixteen when I heard it for the first time.  Here I am at forty two, and whenever I play this album it still sounds so cutting edge to me.  Maybe part of that is me still being stuck in the 90s, but I think the much bigger part of it is that Souls Of Mischief created a bonafide classic album.  One that will likely outlive all of us.

Souls Of Mischief - "93 'Til Infinity":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VwfYCFYZws

Souls Of Mischief - "Limitations":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orDlWs6BphQ

Souls Of Mischief - "That's When Ya Lost":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MMc9UVXyUM