"People say I'm a disgrace to the human race I love overweight women when they sit on my face"
R.A. The Rugged Man. Seriously, how can you not love the guy.
If you've found us, you've heard the stories & you already know that "every record label sucks diiiiick".
What you might not know is that R.A. used to drop jew-elz for the now defunct "Mass Appeal" magazine. Here are some of the educational pieces he authored & accompanying pics resurrected today for your reading pleasure. I scanned 'em a while ago so don't have issue #s or anything other info, all I can tell you is that they came from a couple different issues. Grab all of 'em here.
I also got a couple of his radio appearances for your edification. The first one I came across at http://schnooklynzoo.blogspot.com/ and it's Prince Paul's satellite radio jam, "Da Ill Out Show". R.A. is there for most of the 2-hour show themed around songs of love & hate. Get it: Ill Out Show Pt. 1 Ill Out Show Pt. 2
R.A. also made a long appearance on DJ Eclipse's Rap Is Outta Control show in November 09 that is well worth a listen.
Go pick up "Legendary Classics Vol. 1" and support an American Lowlife.
"If ya'll really like to rock the funky beats, somebody in the house say 'hell yeah'!"
Public Enemy are perhaps one of the most listened to groups in the history of Hip Hop. I know it sounds a little over the top but it must be true. My homie agnew gave a great book called :Don't rhyme for the sake of riddlin' - Russell Myrie, it is all about PE. Reading it takes me back to my teen years. Some of the insights from the book are amazing for me. I have listened to PE's albums hundres of times and finding out these secrets/histories about the creation of the music and the situation surrounding it has caused me so much genuine joy.
I have been listening to PE steady since I opened page one, one, one........one. Thus, I decided to add some of my favorite insights and music from one of the greatest Hip Hop groups ever. This first post will be about PE's second and most well known album. 'It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back'. What a long and bold title. The title comes from a quote on one of the tracks on the first album, 'Yo! Bum Rush The Show' called - 'Raise the Roof'. The lyric goes: "and for real it's the deal and the actual fact/ It takes a nation of millions to hold us back". While reading a Canadian magazine article about their first album which was titled "It takes a Nation of Millions to Hold us Back" Chuck D and Hank Shocklee realised the power of the title and used it for their ground-breaking second album.
"You're blind baby, you're blind from the facts of who you are coz you're watching that garbage"
Flav was the comic relief to Chuck D's hard rhymin. However, he was a talented musician in his own right. Playing many keyboard parts and the drums. On 'Rebel without a Pause' perhaps their most famous song, and I quote "Flavor played the beat on the drum machine continuosly and perfectly for the whole five minutes and two seconds". This was quite the revelation for me. I had always though Flav was just the jester. It seems he made a big musical contribution to the Albums. Yeeeeeeeeeaaaaah Booooooooooyyyyyyyyyyyeeeeeeeeeeeee!
At the begining of Flav's solo track, 'Cold Lampin With Flavor', there is a quote 'No more music by the suckers' Flav then goes on to say ' Yo! man what does he mean by suckers man? Yo, he only trying to put a black eye in the gang.' While this was funny for me all those years ago listening to the album, it now apears that there was quite an interestind story behind it. The quote is from DJ Mr Magic who had a very popular radio show in the late 80's in New York, he played Public Enenmy No 1 and then dissed the group due to some confussion about PE being down with KRS 1 and Scott La Rock who had been at war with the Mr Magic's homies, TheJuice Crew. Flavor listened to the radio hard and was always ready with the pause button on the tape. He recorded Mr Magic's quote live on the air and then proceeded to use it in his hit song.
The album starts with an introduction the a PE concert in London. This always struck me as a youth. Why did they use their London concert? American MC's very rarly mentioned London, my city, so when London was name checked at the beginning of the album and throughout I was very excited. Chuck, at their UK concert at the Brixton Academy went on to say "Yo, fuck Thatcher, fuck that dog faced bitch" further endearing him to the British Hip Hop fans, myself included.
One of the moist amazing facts I found was that 'Don't believe the Hype' was not supposed to even get on the album. It took Run DMC's, DMC to persuade the group that the track was dope. He used to rock it in his car all time. I have included that single so you can see what a tragedy it might have been had we not been warned 'Don't believe the Hype'.
I could go on. I won't. Instead here is some of the music.
"From a rebel it's final on black vinyl Soul, rock and roll comin' like a rhino"
The Album
Tracklist: 01. Countdown To Armageddon (1:40) 02. Bring The Noise (3:45) 03. Don't Believe The Hype (5:19) 04. Cold Lampin With Flavor (4:17) 05. Terminator X To The Edge Of Panic (4:31) 06. Mind Terrorist (1:20) 07. Louder Than A Bomb (3:38) 08. Caught, Can We Get A Witness? (4:53) 09. Show 'Em Whatcha Got (1:56) 10. She Watch Channel Zero?! (3:49) 11. Night Of The Living Baseheads (3:14) 12. Black Steel In The Hour Of Chaos (6:23) 13. Security Of The First World (1:20) 14. Rebel Without A Pause (5:02) 15. Prophets Of Rage (3:18) 16. Party For Your Right To Fight (3:25)
Some of my friends from the UK might think of this one when I talk about big daddy!
Other more North American friends may think of this big daddy.
However, rapnerds will know that there is only one Big Daddy. Big Daddy Kane.
Unlike any rappers before him and unmatched to this day. BDK is a hero to the rap nerds. He defined a whole part of my childhood. While I could never manage to quite pull off the high top fade, when I got mad shapes shaved in my hair it was for Mr Kane. If only he knew how much I tried to be like him. Not alone, Kane was a huge influence on most of my friends.
When I meet new nerds these days, I don't judge them, but I always ask what they think of the Big Daddy to get a general idea of how our friendship is gonna pan out. Perhaps the 18th letter had as much e.f.f.e.c.t on me as a little nerd, but Kane had mad swagger.
There is a lot of debate about which album was the best. However, I have gone with the first three albums because they were the dope ones and i didn't listen to the later ones as I didn't want my image of The Big Daddy to be tarnished. The first one, Long Live The Kane is the one I have listen to the most. The hard rhymes and beats really define classic Hip Hop for me. The second was a little more hit and miss but still heads and shoulders above the competition. the third one, Taste of Chocolate was one I listened to less but it has grown on me in my latter years (Big Shout to Sean for reminding me about this nugget).
I dedicate this to two of my most loved and respected nerds.
CAP
Mr Oddjob Pady
This goes out to you!
The first LP was a killer.
Long Live the Kane.
Tracklist:
1. Long Live the Kane 2. Raw [Remix] 3. Set It Off 4. Day You're Mine 5. On the Bugged Tip 6. Ain't No Half Steppin' 7. I'll Take You There 8. Just Rhymin' With Biz 9. Mister Cee's Master Plan 10. Word to the Mother (Land)
1. It's a Big Daddy Thing 2. Another Victory 3. Mortal Combat 4. Children R the Future 5. Young, Gifted and Black 6. Smooth Operator 7. Calling Mr. Welfare 8. Wrath of Kane [Live] 9. I Get the Job Done 10. Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now 11. Pimpin' Ain't Easy 12. Big Daddy's Theme 13. To Be Your Man 14. House That Cee Built 15. On the Move 16. Warm It Up, Kane 17. Rap Summary (Lean on Me) [Remix]
1. Taste Of Chocolate (Intro) 2. Cause I Can Do It Right 3. It's Hard Being The Kane 4. Who Am I 5. Dance With The Devil 6. No Damn Good 7. All Of Me 8. Keep 'Em On The Floor 9. Mister Pitiful 10. Put Your Weight On It 11. Big Daddy Vs. Dolemite 12. Down The Line 13. Taste Of Chocolate (Exit)
