100 Mandatory Golden Era Hip Hop Tracks or You Get Mindwiped: Tracks #51-60
Mr. Inquisitor Hip Hop Understander is at it again, abusing bourbon in the Fortress Monastery and trying to tell everybody else what to listen to.
Below: Writeups for tracks 51-60.
51. "I Own America, Pt. 1," Slick Rick
He of the eye patch and imperial drip, he of the singular style: lilting, louche delivery; pornographic imagination, literary scene-sketching and, lest you think he's soft, one of the sharpest pens in the game when it sensed a pretender's jugular in the room. Surgical savagery from The Ruler, one of the best MCs of all time. (Somebody in some magazine said one of the rhymes on this track was one of the year's worst, but why that one? In '88, he said he was going to let his dog fuck your wife if you're wack on the mic, so I'm not seeing anything egregious here.)
52. "9th Wonder (Blackitolism)," Digable Planets
That drum track is so laid back, sometimes it feels like the snare's not going to hit on time, but like many of the tracks from Blowout Comb, the silky vibe can be deceptive: check how the mood deepens with that squelchy monotone sample in the leadoff (same sample source, I think, from "Public Enemy No. 1"), and the confidence of these MCs. This is precision craft; subtle, but not soft. (Also: "Black Ego")
53. "The Main Ingredient," Pete Rock and CL Smooth
The Golden Era kind of died for me when these two split, but before they did...this issues. On an album level, CL sits down on his flow more than in the first LP; more sure-footed, less hyper, more cohesive and effective. I picked the title track because, while nothing Rock puts his name on ever disappoints, this sample is the most addictive hook on the LP.
54. "Represent," Showbiz and AG
A friend of a friend was so passionate about Runaway Slave at a party that I bought the CD. Years later, "Represent," is still my fave. The sampling across this album is generally rowdy and raw, which I liked, and this track moreso because I'm a sucker for anything that has Big L and Finesse on it, and AG always has personality to spare.
55. "Jbeez Comin Through," Jungle Brothers
This drum sample never got old for me, especially the way the producers set it up with that noisy horn loop and heavy rhythm scratch. A liquidy sproing of a vocal sample, then we're off to the races and I'm thinking for a few seconds it stands up to any of the '90s Big Beat/breaks work. Sleight-of-hand across this album, it gets more interesting every time I hear it and these cats made it sound so easy. This is all work directly from the center of the heart.
56. "Disk and Dat," Kwest Tha Madd Ladd
Another brilliant artist partially doomed by late release/label bullshit. "101 Things To Do When I'm With Your Girl" is probably the most well-known, but I played the hell out of this one, too, with its rollicking drums/keyboard sample and time-capsule tribute to the studio tools and processes that made the tracks. I don't know if Eminem ever listed him as an influence, but listening to this, it seems he owes Kwest a debt: hyperactive, troubled and funny microphone scamp from around the way, alike in spirit and cadence.
57. "Mr. Goodbar," LL Cool J
LL and Kane were the preeminent crafters of the ladykiller/MC killer personas. Kane had the better pen overall, but he never quite purred and cooed through tales of nailing your girl the minute you turn your back like LL did. "I'm That Type of Guy" from Walking With a Panther is another great example, but this track is meaner (and also the best off Mama Said Knock You Out, you can have your boomin' systems, 'round the way girls and the title track.)
58. "It's All About Me," D-Nice
D-Nice had the looks, the voice, the confidence and the Boogie Down pedigree. Hook him up with a James Brown "Mind Power" sample and he creates one of the most irresistible examples of pre-1990 MC chest thumping around.
59. "Wordz of Wisdom," 3rd Bass
One of my favorite kinds of late '80s cuts is when they decided they finally got the track hypnotic and catchy enough (thanks to ace plundering of some Gary Wright hooks) and just piled on bars, bars and more bars, unconcerned with running time. Seems like a microphone workout like this was table stakes if you wanted to have a serious hip hop album, and Serch and Nice deliver.
60. "Sally," Stetsasonic
Every year I get older and have more frames of reference, and still, every time I hold this up to the firmament of 1988, the production still relegates other production teams to the dim recesses. Such depth. Such sparkle. Such joy. Such movement. In my version of Blade Runner, they play this for the replicants and if they don’t dance, BAM, right in the dome.