"Horns of Jericho" is acknowledged by most people in the know as the Magnum Opus of all britcore albums and the blueprint for many other UK albums that followed it. I'm certainly not about to challenge that as I share the same opinion and do also regard it as one the greatest albums of all time. Although I have to admit that it's not absolute perfection, only a "mere" 95% perfect - which is close enough to amazing isn't it ?
The outstanding quality of Hijack and this album is thanks to the sum of the group's parts ie. the MC's - the vicious, malicious, streetwise, rapid spitting of Kamanchi Sly and the deep, ominous tones of Undercover, and the DJ's - the legendary Supreme and Undercover (again) who share production and turntable duties (plus a few dudes, namely Fritz, Clueso and Ulysses, who seem to do nothing on the album as such as far as I can tell).
In 2008 there is no point to go into the background of the connection between Hijack and Ice T/Rhyme Syndicate, as those who care about Hijack's music would know it all already by now (if not, Google it) but it is worth mentioning Ice T as a gauge of what sounds to expect on this album. Think Ice's "The Hunted Child" or any of his similar faster tracks, add some golden era classic PE to the mix, season it all with undertones of ominous hardcore darkness and you'd have an idea of what you're going to get from tracks like "Hijack the Terrorist Group", "Airwave Hijack", "The Syndicate Outta Jail", "The Badman is Robbin" and the brilliant afro-centric themed call for Unity of "Brother Versus Brother".
There are other flavours on show here too. I do not hesitate to state that "Phantom of the Opera" is one of my favourite songs of all time (and also a brilliant way to start the album). To me it is the foundation track of so many hardcore UK hip hop (AKA britcore) songs that followed it, or at the very least it has all the elements that define it as a perfect example of the hardcore UK style. It has the "Apache" beat as it's heartbeat with prominent bass adding weight to those beats, with various horror movie themed effects running throughout it and a few explosions and gunshots for added brutality. On top of the soundtrack we have rapid fire delivery from Kamanchi Sly coupled with absolutely terrifying aggressive vocal technique from Undercover and the combination of these two rappers on this song is truly something to behold. Also less noticeable on the track, but necessary to complete the darkness of it, is an underlying monotoned siren sound which makes me think of the deadline sound on a heartbeat monitor which completes the terrifying feel of the track. There's a sparsity to parts of the track as well which gives it a very appealing and applicable rawness too. Perfect.
"Back to Brixton", "I Had to Serve You" and "Don't Go With Strangers" do slow the BPM's down somewhat, although not to the extent of forsaking the hardcore feel of the album. "Back to Brixton" has punchy RunDMC'esque drums with guitars thrown in and it is close enough to an 80's rap/rock effort, not too dissimilar a style to what the aforementioned RunDMC did a few times as the "Kings of Rock", however thankfully the guitars are kept in the middle realms of the track and are not too cheesy or "out there". Whereas "I Had To Serve You" is probably the funkiest song on offer here with a cool bassline and head nodding tempo of snappy beats and dope cutting of a Spoonie G sample for the break. Totally different again is "Don't Go With Strangers" which is an intensely dark, rather gloomy and very ominous sounding track which lyrically plays out as a Community Service Announcement warning kids to be wary of strangers, perverts and shady types, very much as the song title implies. There really should be more songs like that - "Can you believe that he had 92 previous convictions for child abuse?, on the loose, the courts just left him, to walk and stalk another victim, we have the solution to end this confusion, diffuse them !"
What does however take away from the hardcore feel of the album (and ultimately costs this album it's perfection) is a track, well two tracks, called "Daddy Rich" which appear on the album twice in "Part 1" and "Part 2" variations, "Part 2" being a remix I think (although honestly I've never listened to either version in full in the 15 odd years I've owned this album). Frankly I don't want to spend too much more "blogspace" on these songs as they have always been a thorn in my side regarding this album but I will just say that they are both heavily R&B singing laced, very slow and very LONG songs which to me always seemed incredibly out of place with the rest of the album and are simply not appropriate in amongst all the hardcore songs. The other negative on this album, although not even 1% as upsetting as the "Daddy Rich" business is an interlude which is nothing more than someone playing the drums ad hoc style for 1 minute or so. Simply unnecessary to record something like this and it screams of album filler.
To bring this review back to where it should be, ie. on a positive note, is an amazing posse track called "The Contract". Along with Kamanchi Sly it features 3 of the greatest UK rappers ever ie. Shaka Shazam, Icepick and Katch 22's always magnificent Huntkillburyfin. All MC's flow wonderfully on this track and interestingly Kamanchi Sly gives what might be his best appearance on the album here, as if the presence of the others on the track inspired him to reach for higher heights of greatness. The music here is another staple of britcore bliss with fast bongo styled drums and a relentless very bass heavy punchy rhythm driving it, matched nicely with dramatic Hawaii Five O type crimewave sound effects behind it. One of the best posse tracks ever.
I hate to say albums are essential, as everyone has different tastes and different ideas as to what albums people should own, but I'd fail to understand why somebody who likes their hip hop hardcore wouldn't want to own this album and wouldn't fall in love with it. Yes it is essential listening for anyone who has a hardcore hip hop bone in their body and the fact that Kamanchi Sly and DJ Supreme are seen as greats of UK hip hop is another reason to pick up this example of them at their best.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Barack Obama
This may be seen initially as somewhat out of context for this site but then maybe not ...
I just want to give props to Obama and his victory. A victory for African American people, all people of colour and people who care about issues of race and inequality. A victory for the legacy and dreams of Malcolm, Martin, Huey and all other leaders that have lived and died for the cause. A victory against the oppressive governments of the past. A victory for hope.
Most of all - to bring it into context with this site - it's a victory for hip hop. For Chuck D, KRS, Katch22, Black Radical, 24K and all afrocentric rappers who saw hip hop as the black CNN, a black voice and movement, a tool for change, Obama is there as a representation of what you fought for on wax and beyond. Well done Obama and well done hip hop.
I just want to give props to Obama and his victory. A victory for African American people, all people of colour and people who care about issues of race and inequality. A victory for the legacy and dreams of Malcolm, Martin, Huey and all other leaders that have lived and died for the cause. A victory against the oppressive governments of the past. A victory for hope.
Most of all - to bring it into context with this site - it's a victory for hip hop. For Chuck D, KRS, Katch22, Black Radical, 24K and all afrocentric rappers who saw hip hop as the black CNN, a black voice and movement, a tool for change, Obama is there as a representation of what you fought for on wax and beyond. Well done Obama and well done hip hop.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Blade - The Lion Goes From Strength to Strength (691 Influential - 1993)
For many reasons Blade is undoubtedly one of the legends of UK hip hop. Due to his longevity, due to his “do for self” attitude in getting his music out there by all means possible at the grassroots level, due to the respect from his fans and peers and of course due to his skills in making unique and raw dope music. A prime showcase of his skills are on display on his debut album, “The Lion goes From Strength to Strength” (which was released on his OWN label, 691 Influential) which finally saw the light of day after a few years of releasing impressive EP’s and 12's.
With 21 tracks totalling almost 77 minutes long you couldn’t complain that he wasn’t giving his fans what they wanted. Even if you discarded the 4 or 5 interlude tracks you’d still be left with close enough to 70 minutes worth of “real” songs (which was immense by 1993 standards) and with only one guest artist on one track (where have those days gone?) you’re really getting a Bladefest with this album.
So if you’ve never heard Blade before what can you expect from him as an MC ? I can’t name anybody that sounds similar to him, but for a very loose comparison (we’re talking Paris Hilton loose here) there is a somewhat UK version of Chuck D’esque aspect to his voice – at least in the powerful, commanding and booming delivery and resonance it projects – but Blade’s overall delivery is probably slower and clearer and he’s more deliberate in the way he ends each line he spits. Lyrically he’s pretty angry. He’s angry with the British government, angry with the anti hip hop record industry, angry with wickety wack weak rappers and all of that produces an aggressive, fiery MC which is an MC perfectly made for hardcore hip hop. As Blade says “When I get madder than mad I get hyper” – words from hardcore rap heaven! Yet despite his obvious frustration and anger Blade remains well grounded and focused and seems totally in control of his mic presence and presents a really strong MC demeanour. There is also a nice dose of humour, sarcasm and wit to his rhymes which is always a good thing and “keeps em eager to listen”.
As you can probably tell from the above described microphone stance, Blade is likely to have some rough, raw and hard music to back his vocal style up and thankfully he does have such music in abundance, but there is some variety in his soundscapes also …
The hardest tracks here are almost brutal, especially “God Give Me Strength”. It has a rapid, pile driving, hammer of a beat which just keep thumping away at your chest with its underlying screams, whilst Blade delivers powerful and poignant lines like “… where’s the books about Armenia ? Africa you don’t see in the media …”. “Dark and Sinister” sounds exactly as the title implies with another pounding drum track laced with horns and underlying scratching and features another UK legend, MC Mell’o, in my favourite all-time Mell’o mic performance, I don’t think he ever brought it harder than this. “Take it to the Edge” also keeps it mean and hard and is carried for the most part by metal guitars and various screechy effects and Blade’s voice booming on top of it all is simply fantastic. Other tracks such as “100%” and “Heads are Forever Boppin’” don’t let up on the hardcore side of things either.
The variety comes in the way of less aggressive tracks with funky, head-nodding leanings instead but by no means are these tracks less raw. Examples of this would be “No Compromise”, “Bedroom Demo”, “… or Get Crushed Like a Pumpkin” and “Suck On My Electric Guitar” which all are somewhat in the regions of an early Cypress Hill funky feel, albeit not entirely so with Blades vocals and the raw sparsity of the tracks retaining that harder UK feel. Interestingly the title track of the album, “The Lion Goes …” is most unique in amongst the other tracks with a slow and low feel not too distant from classic old Rap-A-Lot Texas funk, but obviously Blade and Willie D & co. are worlds apart on so many levels.
If there’s any complaint from me then I’d aim it solely at the interludes. There is a track/interlude called “Silence Is Better than Bullshit” which is just that, 2 minutes of almost total silence (with only the distant sound of Blade or someone munching away on a packet of chips and having a drink?). Okay there’s probably a point to it - or maybe there’s not? – but come on Blade you could’ve given us 2 minutes more of “God Give Me Strength” or something instead of this! I do like the “Survival Prelude” interlude with its Farrakhan (?) speech which is very reminiscent of an old Cube or PE song intro. However, traditionally skits/interludes on albums are no friends of mine and especially those where the artists are just talking some nonsense in the studio and decide to record it on the final product, as is the case with a couple of the interlude bits on this album. Interlude business aside, there's not one actual proper song on this album that i don't like.
Another great thing about this album in general is that the production feels slightly rough around the edges, and I mean that in a major positive sense. As with many other UK hip hop releases from that era it doesn’t sound heavily polished, over produced or too clean and is all the better for it’s lack of gloss. Straight up raw, underground and pure UK hip hop is what the legendary Blade delivers with this effort and it is one of the best albums from the golden era of UK hip hop from one of the UK's best.
With 21 tracks totalling almost 77 minutes long you couldn’t complain that he wasn’t giving his fans what they wanted. Even if you discarded the 4 or 5 interlude tracks you’d still be left with close enough to 70 minutes worth of “real” songs (which was immense by 1993 standards) and with only one guest artist on one track (where have those days gone?) you’re really getting a Bladefest with this album.
So if you’ve never heard Blade before what can you expect from him as an MC ? I can’t name anybody that sounds similar to him, but for a very loose comparison (we’re talking Paris Hilton loose here) there is a somewhat UK version of Chuck D’esque aspect to his voice – at least in the powerful, commanding and booming delivery and resonance it projects – but Blade’s overall delivery is probably slower and clearer and he’s more deliberate in the way he ends each line he spits. Lyrically he’s pretty angry. He’s angry with the British government, angry with the anti hip hop record industry, angry with wickety wack weak rappers and all of that produces an aggressive, fiery MC which is an MC perfectly made for hardcore hip hop. As Blade says “When I get madder than mad I get hyper” – words from hardcore rap heaven! Yet despite his obvious frustration and anger Blade remains well grounded and focused and seems totally in control of his mic presence and presents a really strong MC demeanour. There is also a nice dose of humour, sarcasm and wit to his rhymes which is always a good thing and “keeps em eager to listen”.
As you can probably tell from the above described microphone stance, Blade is likely to have some rough, raw and hard music to back his vocal style up and thankfully he does have such music in abundance, but there is some variety in his soundscapes also …
The hardest tracks here are almost brutal, especially “God Give Me Strength”. It has a rapid, pile driving, hammer of a beat which just keep thumping away at your chest with its underlying screams, whilst Blade delivers powerful and poignant lines like “… where’s the books about Armenia ? Africa you don’t see in the media …”. “Dark and Sinister” sounds exactly as the title implies with another pounding drum track laced with horns and underlying scratching and features another UK legend, MC Mell’o, in my favourite all-time Mell’o mic performance, I don’t think he ever brought it harder than this. “Take it to the Edge” also keeps it mean and hard and is carried for the most part by metal guitars and various screechy effects and Blade’s voice booming on top of it all is simply fantastic. Other tracks such as “100%” and “Heads are Forever Boppin’” don’t let up on the hardcore side of things either.
The variety comes in the way of less aggressive tracks with funky, head-nodding leanings instead but by no means are these tracks less raw. Examples of this would be “No Compromise”, “Bedroom Demo”, “… or Get Crushed Like a Pumpkin” and “Suck On My Electric Guitar” which all are somewhat in the regions of an early Cypress Hill funky feel, albeit not entirely so with Blades vocals and the raw sparsity of the tracks retaining that harder UK feel. Interestingly the title track of the album, “The Lion Goes …” is most unique in amongst the other tracks with a slow and low feel not too distant from classic old Rap-A-Lot Texas funk, but obviously Blade and Willie D & co. are worlds apart on so many levels.
If there’s any complaint from me then I’d aim it solely at the interludes. There is a track/interlude called “Silence Is Better than Bullshit” which is just that, 2 minutes of almost total silence (with only the distant sound of Blade or someone munching away on a packet of chips and having a drink?). Okay there’s probably a point to it - or maybe there’s not? – but come on Blade you could’ve given us 2 minutes more of “God Give Me Strength” or something instead of this! I do like the “Survival Prelude” interlude with its Farrakhan (?) speech which is very reminiscent of an old Cube or PE song intro. However, traditionally skits/interludes on albums are no friends of mine and especially those where the artists are just talking some nonsense in the studio and decide to record it on the final product, as is the case with a couple of the interlude bits on this album. Interlude business aside, there's not one actual proper song on this album that i don't like.
Another great thing about this album in general is that the production feels slightly rough around the edges, and I mean that in a major positive sense. As with many other UK hip hop releases from that era it doesn’t sound heavily polished, over produced or too clean and is all the better for it’s lack of gloss. Straight up raw, underground and pure UK hip hop is what the legendary Blade delivers with this effort and it is one of the best albums from the golden era of UK hip hop from one of the UK's best.
Monday, October 13, 2008
No Remorze - The End (MZEE 1995)
Germans loved hardcore UK hip hop. Well some at least did (and still do). They loved it so much that they took the classic sounds of Silver Bullet and Gunshot and made those sounds harder, faster, angrier and noisier. No Remorze were a perfect example of this and their “The End” album is a case in point of Germans taking britcore and putting their own stamp on it. Look no further than the album cover and you know you’re not getting sweet ballads from these guys ie. three mean looking hooded hombres gazing at you with nothing but a cold, dead, barren wasteland as their backdrop.
In fact, very reflective of album cover is the title track “The End” which sits appropriately as the last proper track of the album and has a great sample of Busta circa LONS era stating “you’d better beware coz the end is near”. Accordingly it’s a very dark, apocalyptic track with the malicious mic slaying vocal talents of MC Crak proclaiming eminent doom for humanity due to their own actions throughout history leading to their self destruction. The song is very angry, highly political, message laden and very much exemplifies No Remorze’s mission statement throughout most of their tracks – musically and lyrically. Significantly the track runs directly into the albums Outro which quotes Gravediggaz “nowhere to hide, nowhere to run” over an absolutely huge earth shaking beat which all comes to a halt after a minute or so with the sound of nothing but a heart beat monitor “dead line” ie. death, the end. It’s actually one of the best album finales I have ever heard (which is why I mentioned it first here).
Not everything was new at the time of this album though as 4 tracks were released prior to this album but had slight re-workings and given a “95” suffix for inclusion in it. Without a doubt two of those re-worked tracks, “Condemned to Death” and “Dark Malice”, were classic No Remorze tracks in their original forms and still are here. I’ve already spoken on “Dark Malice” on my Joining Forces review and “Dark Malice 95” (thankfully) hasn’t been altered for this album very much, if at all. “Condemned to Death” is a classic too and is a far more sparse production than "Dark Malice" with mid tempo punchy beats sitting over the dramatic rhythm sample taken from Rakim’s “Let the Rhythm Hit Em”. This newer version does however have far too prominent church organ keys in the chorus as an “add on” which doesn’t really work that well for me.
“Killa Squad 95” and “No Justice 95” could be twin sister songs as they are quite similar and are both absolutely breakneck speed sonic assaults with screams, sirens, high BPM’s and manic DJ work in full effect. Especially “Killa Squad 95” which is probably the fastest I’ve ever heard Crak rhyme and it’s truly something to behold (I’m sure teenagers into their mellow, lightweight, moody hip hop these days wouldn’t be able to comprehend an MC bringing it like this). None of these “old come new” tracks are really that different to their original incarnations but for some reason the recording/playback quality is somewhat “muddy” and Crak’s vocals are buried far lower in mix than they were on the old versions. Therefore they don’t blend in all that well with the new songs which are noticeably cleaner recordings. Having said that, it's a fact that some of my favourite hip hop albums of all time were recorded in dubious quality and I've learnt to live with it.
The majority of those new tracks are pretty wicked. “Slaughter of the Lambs” gives Crak a chance to catch his breath with its more laidback pace and presents us with relatively crisp and busy drums over the lovely “Nautilus” sample cruising below. “Remorse? No!” sounds like it could easily be a track from the first Def Wish Cast album and is britcore to the nth degree. It has ominous, dramatic and crisp production and fantastic DJ work from the legendary DJ Style Warz with cutting that’s cannot be described as anything but scythe like ! “Hunted” shares a similar blueprint but bumps up the noise, drama and darkness.
Not all is perfect here though. Although they are both very hard and aggressive tracks, “Pros and Cons” and “Fascists Must Burn” do very much sound like the left and right arm of “Dark Malice” as they are both structured almost too similarly to it using heavy guitar riffs as their main driving forces. No denying Crak sounds rough and rugged on both though. Not so on “Bitches” however, which threw me a real curveball the first time I heard it, and it still does. Yes it’s a noble message bigging up women but a soft R&B female crooned track in the middle of a hardcore hip hop album just does not sit right for me at all (especially wedged between Killa Squad and an interlude stating “hardcore we’re giving you more and more”!) and it’s something I wouldn’t have ever expected from a group like this.
A couple little curios to finish off with, one strange and one cool. Strange - the Intro is listed as having a run time of 1.62 (1min 62 seconds - huh ???). Cool - there are lyrics provided in the CD booklet for each song in their original English and ALSO translated into German – now that’s a nice touch. It is bit of a shame though that Crak never rhymed in German, which would've been pretty cool and potentially added to the hard sounds (some German language MC's sound wonderfully MENACING), but i guess the English rhyming let his message be known to wider audience outside Germany (especially the UK crowd) which may have been part of the reason why.
Any fan of the old UK hardcore sound or anyone interested in hearing one of the best groups of all time from Germany should track this down.
In fact, very reflective of album cover is the title track “The End” which sits appropriately as the last proper track of the album and has a great sample of Busta circa LONS era stating “you’d better beware coz the end is near”. Accordingly it’s a very dark, apocalyptic track with the malicious mic slaying vocal talents of MC Crak proclaiming eminent doom for humanity due to their own actions throughout history leading to their self destruction. The song is very angry, highly political, message laden and very much exemplifies No Remorze’s mission statement throughout most of their tracks – musically and lyrically. Significantly the track runs directly into the albums Outro which quotes Gravediggaz “nowhere to hide, nowhere to run” over an absolutely huge earth shaking beat which all comes to a halt after a minute or so with the sound of nothing but a heart beat monitor “dead line” ie. death, the end. It’s actually one of the best album finales I have ever heard (which is why I mentioned it first here).
Not everything was new at the time of this album though as 4 tracks were released prior to this album but had slight re-workings and given a “95” suffix for inclusion in it. Without a doubt two of those re-worked tracks, “Condemned to Death” and “Dark Malice”, were classic No Remorze tracks in their original forms and still are here. I’ve already spoken on “Dark Malice” on my Joining Forces review and “Dark Malice 95” (thankfully) hasn’t been altered for this album very much, if at all. “Condemned to Death” is a classic too and is a far more sparse production than "Dark Malice" with mid tempo punchy beats sitting over the dramatic rhythm sample taken from Rakim’s “Let the Rhythm Hit Em”. This newer version does however have far too prominent church organ keys in the chorus as an “add on” which doesn’t really work that well for me.
“Killa Squad 95” and “No Justice 95” could be twin sister songs as they are quite similar and are both absolutely breakneck speed sonic assaults with screams, sirens, high BPM’s and manic DJ work in full effect. Especially “Killa Squad 95” which is probably the fastest I’ve ever heard Crak rhyme and it’s truly something to behold (I’m sure teenagers into their mellow, lightweight, moody hip hop these days wouldn’t be able to comprehend an MC bringing it like this). None of these “old come new” tracks are really that different to their original incarnations but for some reason the recording/playback quality is somewhat “muddy” and Crak’s vocals are buried far lower in mix than they were on the old versions. Therefore they don’t blend in all that well with the new songs which are noticeably cleaner recordings. Having said that, it's a fact that some of my favourite hip hop albums of all time were recorded in dubious quality and I've learnt to live with it.
The majority of those new tracks are pretty wicked. “Slaughter of the Lambs” gives Crak a chance to catch his breath with its more laidback pace and presents us with relatively crisp and busy drums over the lovely “Nautilus” sample cruising below. “Remorse? No!” sounds like it could easily be a track from the first Def Wish Cast album and is britcore to the nth degree. It has ominous, dramatic and crisp production and fantastic DJ work from the legendary DJ Style Warz with cutting that’s cannot be described as anything but scythe like ! “Hunted” shares a similar blueprint but bumps up the noise, drama and darkness.
Not all is perfect here though. Although they are both very hard and aggressive tracks, “Pros and Cons” and “Fascists Must Burn” do very much sound like the left and right arm of “Dark Malice” as they are both structured almost too similarly to it using heavy guitar riffs as their main driving forces. No denying Crak sounds rough and rugged on both though. Not so on “Bitches” however, which threw me a real curveball the first time I heard it, and it still does. Yes it’s a noble message bigging up women but a soft R&B female crooned track in the middle of a hardcore hip hop album just does not sit right for me at all (especially wedged between Killa Squad and an interlude stating “hardcore we’re giving you more and more”!) and it’s something I wouldn’t have ever expected from a group like this.
A couple little curios to finish off with, one strange and one cool. Strange - the Intro is listed as having a run time of 1.62 (1min 62 seconds - huh ???). Cool - there are lyrics provided in the CD booklet for each song in their original English and ALSO translated into German – now that’s a nice touch. It is bit of a shame though that Crak never rhymed in German, which would've been pretty cool and potentially added to the hard sounds (some German language MC's sound wonderfully MENACING), but i guess the English rhyming let his message be known to wider audience outside Germany (especially the UK crowd) which may have been part of the reason why.
Any fan of the old UK hardcore sound or anyone interested in hearing one of the best groups of all time from Germany should track this down.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Derek B - Bullet From a Gun (Polygram 1988)
Okay, yes I know this album is not particularly “britcore” in the Hijack, Gunshot, Killa Instinct sense (ie. relentless hardcore barrages of hyper beats and aggressive rhymes) BUT I have to give it some words here as it was the first
I have to start off by saying that there’s not all that much that signifies the album’s British origins and sets it apart from releases by notable
Musically, at times, the production swims around in the pool of Def Jam artists like PE, Run DMC, Beasties and Cool J circa 1987/88, reinforced by the fact that samples are used throughout the LP from some of those artists. I can’t help feeling that the goal of Derek and his label cohorts at the time was to sit alongside his US Def Jam idols rather than come out with a unique new style heavily rooted in UK influence, as London Posse did soon after. Although Derek himself may want to dispute that, as one his lyrics from the punchy beat attack of “All City” states “don’t copy Run DMC or LL Cool J, be original you’ll go further that way”. Somewhat fair enough words for him to say I suppose as he’s not 100% directly copying anyone but the aforementioned influences are very strong, which is probably understandable given that
The best tracks here are pretty damn good and they rock solid in good old 808 kick drum way and yes they do allude to the Def Jam influences. “Bullet From a Gun” hits slow, low and hard over a booming beat coupled with handclaps with sounds of bullets added for maximum effect. It’s actually quite similar to Cool J’s “I’m Bad”, albeit a slower and more simplistic version of it. 1st album Public Enemy sound comes into total E F F E C T on “Power Move” which even has Flavor Flav and Chuck saying a few words about Derek at the start of the track. Imagine a different MC over “Public Enemy No. 1” or one of those tracks and you have “Power Move”. The Funky Drummer driven “Human Time Bomb” could also sit on the same PE album and even has a Professor Griff soundalike providing backup on the track. No diss though, they’re all dope tracks despite their obvious forefathers of influence.
There are also a couple nice tracks which sizzle with a more unique flavour. “Bad Young Brother” ups the overall tempo with heavy pacey drum programming and wicked transformer scratching throughout and Derek going hell for leather on the mic in probably his best vocal performance on the album. “All City” has some banging and reasonably rapid drums hitting behind the rhymes but suffers a bit from the cheesy familiar heavy metal riff in the chorus. The most commercial track here is “Good Groove” which surprisingly sits pretty nicely with me as I love anything to do with the The Jackson 5 as “ABC” is sampled for the chorus and the James Brown funk woven through “Get Down” also has pianos from “The Love You Save”. Wonder if/how he cleared those samples?
One thing that needs to be mentioned before this review is done. Derek B actually appears as his DJ, Easy Q, on this album and it seems that Easy Q is sometimes the alter-ego that's rhyming at times also ?!?! In fact Derek rhymes about Easy Q (and vice versa) as if they were two different people but well he's really talking to himself. It’s all very confusing and slightly bizarre in a split personality schizophrenic sort of way. Derek B actually takes on the role of MC, DJ AND producer ! Very one man band Prince Rogers Nelson isn’t it.
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