[Comp/EP] PRINCE PO - "The LEX EP"

"Introuction"

Queens duo Organized Konfusion is regarded as one of the best units hip-hop has ever wittnessed, with members Prince Po and Pharoahe Monch displaying a chemistry rarely equaled and a way to bounce rhymes off each other like there was no tomorrow. Despite their high quality output (two masterpieces, and one real banger) the group disbanded for a number of reasons shortly after the release of their third album "The Equinoix" (1997). One reason given was that they wanted to focus their skills as individual solo artists, while another reason mentioned was a souring relationship with their record label Hollywood/Universal whom they felt didn't give them the deserved support. On top of that Organized Konfusion did it all themselves when it came to their music - developing concepts, producing, all the writing, all vocals (their albums rarely had any guest appearances). This heavy workload, according to Prince Po, resulted in feelings of being burnt out. After getting the go-ahead from Prince Po to record solo, Pharoahe Monch went on to sign a deal with Rawkus and gaining a lot of success with the monstrous Godzilla sampling "Simon Says". Monch eventually released his solo album in '99 which in many ways picked up and updated the sound of the later Organized Konfusion records through the help of producers Diamond D, DJ Scratch, and Lee Stone. "Internal Affairs" is an extraordinary musical experiment that remains highly regarded amongst fans and critics to this day.

Prince Po would take things more slowly; releasing a trio of self-produced underground 12":s on labels ranging from Hydra Entertainment to Medicine Men between 1998 and 2001. The year of 2002, however, began a crucial change in Larry Baskervilles' path to becoming a full blown solo artist. A very important factor was Brian Burton, better known as Danger Mouse, who at this time still was an up-and-coming hip hop producer. The two struck up a friendship which resulted in an invitation for Po to participate on one of the choice cuts from DM's LEX Records debut with Brooklyn emcee Jemini ("Ghetto Pop Life"). The resulting track ("Copy Cats") was a playful party booster, with a heavy drum and bass sound, courtesy of DM's brilliant arrangement of rugged hip-hop with some quirky pop sensibilities. Together with Po and Jemini's machine-gun flows and sing-a-long hook "Copy Cats" was a remarkable cut that also marked the beginning of a super dope musical relationship. Burton's connections with indie imprint LEX Records is a very likely factor in the label signing the Queens legend for the recording and release of "The Slickness".

"The Slickness"

Released in 2004, Prince Po's debut album showed the other half of Organized Konfusion taking a different musical path than his original rhyme partner had done with his debut. Made up of twelve tracks, Po left the musical aspects in the hands of executive producer Danger Mouse to fully focus on his writing and rhyming. Beside DM's own quirky beats he assigned Madlib, J-Zone, Jel (of the Anticon fam) and club/hip-hop phenomenon Richard X to contribute instrumentals for the project. Having not released much since 1997, Prince Po had a lot to get off his chest and the album proved that he hadn't lost an ounce of the skills that had made him the legend he is considered today. You got the straight up rhyming joints like on the boom bap intro "Hello", to Po's take on true love (the absolutely beautiful "Love Thang"), the autobiographical "Be Easy", the party jams ("Meet Me at The Bar", "Hold Dat"), and so on. It's a very varied affair both with its lyrical themes and its group of producers, yet the album comes off as a very cohessive affair. Much of this is thanks to the working chemistry between Po and Danger Mouse who despite only being credited for producing three tracks left his musical fingerprints all over the album. Most of the beats have that quirky, upbeat arrangements heard on other DM projects around this time ("The Mouse & The Mask"; "Ghetto Pop Life).

"The Left-Overs"
"The Slickness" only included 12 real songs, and while at least ten of them were straight up banging records, it's a little peculiar to find out that Danger Mouse produced, mixed and mastered three additional songs left off the final tracklist. Similiarly, the lead single "Bump Bump" included a slamming self-produced B-side called "Runwitit" that easily could've fitted on the LP (the song was originally released as a limited single of its own in '02). The Danger Mouse tracks mentioned above were released on a 5-track sampler given away as a bonus item with an issue of HipHopConnection in June 2004. Two of these tracks showed up on the LP ("Social Distortion"; "Hold Dat"), but the three remaining tracks, that are all very much in the same vein as what DM created for "The Slickness", did not. These four tracks makes for a pretty damn dope little EP which stands as a great companion piece to Po's debut album. In addition I also included the aforementioned "Copy Cats" joint from Danger Mouse & Jemini's "Ghetto Pop Life" from 2003, since I feel that's where the story of "The Slickness" really begins ... So be sure to download and enjoy this, and why not throw this on directly after having played the LP from "Hello" to "Be Easy" (I recommend you skipping that bullshit Club Remix by Richard X of "Hold That")? As we usually say here @ The Lost Tapes: TURN IT UP!! 

 

01."Runwithit" [prod. Prince Po]

02. "So Rebellious" [prod. Danger Mouse]

03. "Copy Cats" (Ft. Jemini) [prod. Danger Mouse]

04. "Better Things"  [prod. Danger Mouse]

05. "Get On Down" [prod. Danger Mouse]

PRINCE PO - "THE LEX EP"

[Comp] PAULA PERRY - "FORT KNOX"

The name Paula Perry first came to attention as the ruff female voice of Masta Ace's The I.N.C. collective. First introduced on Ace's '93 classic "Slaughtahouse" where she made hip-hop fans around the world take notice with a strong solo cut of her own called "Who U Jackin?". When it then came time for the second Ace release with the clique, "Sitting On Chrome", Perry was given a much more prominent role, holding her own against the seasoned leader and fellow emcee Lord Digga on several stand out songs from the LP. The original idea from here was for each member of The I.N.C. quartet to deliver solo albums of their own, starting out with R&B singer Leschea's "Rhythm & Beats" in '97, where Perry made an apperance on the opening track "My Flow". 

These cameos and the self-released solo 12" "Paula's Jam" B/W "Problems" not only made heads take notice, but also got the ill spitting female emcee a deal with legendary power house Motown. In 1998 she recorded her solo debut for the imprint, executive produced by Masta Ace and Mister Cee and entitled "Tales From Fort Knox". The first, and unfortunately only, single from the LP was the heavy hitting DJ Premier produced "Extra, Extra" which showed a take-no-shit emcee that was really coming into her own as an artist. The B-side "Down to Die For This" was no lesser track, featuring heavy names Easy Mo Bee and Jesse West on production and guest vocals, respectively. While this 12" managed to make some noise on the underground circuit, and rightfully so, the tired bosses at Motown didn't find the sales satisfactory which led to the shelving of "Tales From Fort Knox", despite the project being already completed and assigned a catalouge number for both vinyl and CD release. There were however a few promo copies of the album pressed up on cassette, and although a rip never has surfaced online, it has been available for a lot of dough on eBay so somebody out there is sitting on this long lost gem right now. Hopefully one day it will be released through some small imprint, it's always a real shame when a honest artist's entire work is never heard by the intended public.

After the Motown deal fell through, she has only released a few independent 12":s, most of it quality stuff, the latest being 2000:s "Y'all Chicken Makes Me Laugh". My man ANT has collected all of Paula Perry's released solo material from this period for us all to enjoy, making his own version of what "Tales From Fort Knox" might have sounded like; and indeed, many of these tracks might have orginally been recorded for that project (the intro is in fact the actual OG intro, once posted by Domingo via Soundcloud). Super thanks to ANT for this dope compilation, and for the rest of y'all, enjoy and TURN IT UP.... Also while searching images for this post, I found a 2009 mixtape by Paula Perry called "The Godmommy" @ DatPiff, so peep that as well.

 

01. "Fort Knox: Intro"

02. "Paula's Jam" (Ft. Que45)

03. "Down to Die For This" (Ft. Jesse West)

04. "Extra! Extra!"

05. "Four P's in a Pod" (Ft. Precious Paris)

06. "N.V. In Em" (Ft. 4LB)

07. "Y'all Chickens Make Me Laugh"

08. "Reasons" (Ft. Que45)

09. "Six Pack" (Ft. Nikki D, Heather B, Bahamadia, Rah Digga & Precious Paris)

10. "B.Q.E." (Ft. Mr. Cheeks)

11. "Getta Grip Muthafuckas" (Ft. Mr. Cheeks)

12. "Paula's Jam" [Knobody's Remix] (Ft. Que45)

PAULA PERRY - "FORT KNOX"

[comp] LACE DA BOOMS - "MURDER SEASON"

In the mid-'90s there were so many incredibly dope acts on the hip-hop scene that unfortunately a lot of them were lost in translation, so to speak. Not too long ago, the immensely talented New York emcee Big Kwam's entire catalouge was collected in true Lost Tapes fasion as "Verbaliwed: Raw Skillz". Luckily I have been able to find all of Kwam's original 12" catalouge in my local used record shop and was totally blown away; still looking for the "Execution Expert" EP though. But Kwam is only one of many immesely talented rhymers with a great ear for beats that got a chance to drop a few singles through the mid-'90s before fading into obscurity. Big Twan is another example, who's superb EP "One Time For The Lyricist" I recently found in the used section. Then there's of course Mike Zoot, Matt Fingaz, Shades Of Brookltn, and a whole host of other hot emcees that never got their real chance to shine and has since resignde from the recording industry.

One of the most prominent out of these young rhymeslingers was Lace Da Booms, a Brooklyn native, who released a trio of 12"/EP:s between 1996 and 1997 on the Guesswhyld label; a label that was responsible for a whole lot of dope underground music. Lace first made noise in 1996 with the 12" single "Cut That Weak Shit" B/W "Ain't No Secret"; the first record on Matt Fingaz' Guesswhld imprint, and featuring headnodding mixes by Buckwild, Guesswild Production, and Obsession, with guest apperances by Quasi Modoe and Royal Flush, not countig the solo B-side, produced by none other than Domingo.

The following year the same label released the next single, including the Buckwild produced "Murder Season" with two versions of "And Once...", laced by Domingo and Sha-Self, respectively.  The Brooklynite's final '90s release is perhaps his finest, released shortly after "Murder Season", this untitled record was actually released as a 2x12" set featuring instrumental, clean and dirty versions of all eight songs found on the two discs, and only one guest apperance by  singer Hope Calabrass. However, the production credits run like a who's who of the great underground producers of the time: Buckwild, DJ Spinna, DJ Ogee, Domingo, and Derick Trottman. To me, it's probably DJ Ogee's (mainly known as OC's original DJ, and for producing a smaller amount of classic tracks throughout the years), smooth but bass- and turntable heavy contribution "The Glory" that is the real stand-out on an EP full of dope music. On a side note, I've been wanting to do a DJ Ogee collaboration for some time but not sure if the material would be enough.

To be perfectly honest I don't know too much about Lace Da Booms beside the few singles he has released, where he's from, his connections to several ill producers and record label. With remixes and alterative versions I have put together a typical Lost Tapes compilation of every VLS material Lace put out in the couple of years he was active on Guesswhyld. Clocking in at just over 45 minutes with thirteen songs (including three remixes and two guest apperances), "Murder Season" plays out like a dope album and truly makes you wonder whatever happened to Lace.  In fact, in an article from 2009 in Black Sheep Mag, here the emcee is talking about a a then forthcoming EP which will be followed by a full-llength; but this was in 2005, and I sure haven't heard anything yet. Oh well, here's ALL of Lace Da Booms tracks ever released, including singles, B-sies and his two sole guest apperancnes (tracks #3 and #13). ENJOY!!

 

01. "Murder Season"

02. "Cut That Weak Shit" [NYC Mix]

03. "Strategy"
04. "The Truth Iz..."

05. "Glory"

06. "And One" [What's Da Deal Mix]

07. "Countless Thoughts"

08. "Ain't No Secret"

09. "Cut That Weak Shit" [Buckwild Mix]

10. "Sumtimez"

11. "And One" [What's Up With A Deal Mix]

12. ""Cut That Weak Shit" [Obsession Remix]
13. "Mad Abour You"


2, 9, 12 additional guest vocals by Quasi Modo & Royal Flush)
3 additional guest vocals by Raiderman, Mr. Voodoo, Sean Price, & Mike Zoot
13 additional guest vocals by  Wizdom Life,  Matt Fingaz, Craig G & Mike Zoot
2 remixed by Guesswild Productions, 11 remixed by Obsession
1, 7, 9 prod. by Buckwild; 3, 6 prod. by Sha-Self; 4 prod. by DJ Spinna;
5 prod. by DJ Ogee; 6,8 prod. by Domingo; 10 prod. Derric Trotman.

LACE DA BOOMS -
"MURDER SEASON"                                              

[Comp] ALI SHAHEED MUHAMMAD - "IN THE SHADOWS"

There's absolutely no argument that A Tribe Called Quest with its huge impact on the hip-hop scene isn't one of the most influential and greatest hip-hop grops of all time. From the heavily jazz-influenced soundscapes, to the innovative turntble work, to the positive and often hilarious lyrical concepts; all three members contributed something unique to the table. All the elements came together to form like voltron and created one of the most unique musical styles the world has ever witnessed. The chemistry beween its two vocalists, Q-Tip and Phife Dawg still holds up as one of the ultimate tag teams of rap music, and 'Tip and Ali's unmistakable mixture of boom bap tinged jazz with its heavy low end and fequent use of the Rhodes pianio was certainly a new vibe that would inspire generations to come.

The production of the three first classics, before Jay Dee was added to the fold of The Ummah, has been somewhat controversial. The Abstract, beter known as Q-Tip, was responsible for much of the beats and arrangements; it's hard not to recognize his drum patterns and innovative use of jazz samples. 'Tip has many times stated that he was the sole producer of all Tribe's music (the stuff not hadled by DiLLA of course), which I personally believe is far from the whole truth. Many of the classics gives writing or co-writing credit to Ali Shaheed, including a song like "Crooklyn" that is generally thought to be a 'Tip production, when in fact they both collaborated on the beat as anyone in´possession of the actual single can attest to. Last, but definitely not least, if Shaheed was only contributing the scratches on those records he hardly would've gotten publishing and writing credits. The Ummah, which of coures consisted of Q-Tip, Ali and Jay Dee, was one hell of a power trio which is often overlooked as to what they each contributed to the music, as they all had quite different styles, yet were all clearly very influenced by eachother whcih gave the trio a coherrent sound. Ali was probably the most soulful, R&B fusing producer out of the three, easily being able to undercut a regular R&B jam with some vintage hip-hop aesthetics without ever coming off as forced. D'Angelo's "Brown Sugar" and Jon B's "Cool Relax"are both perfect examples of this.

Although he mainly produced under The Ummah or A Tribe Called Quest banner, we can not overlook the magnitude of the plenty of songs credited only to Ali Shaheed Muhammad (something you often have to read the actual credits to gain knowledge of); and that's where this compilation comes in. Kicking things off with Sha's masterful and energetic remix of Boogie Down Production's classic single "We In Here", which is a perfect example of Ali's style as he totally flips the original, giving it a totally new sound without losing any of the rawness of the original mix. This is followed up by another ceritifed hip-hop classic in the form of the first Crooklyn Dodgers joint (Masta Ace, Buckshot & Special Ed) that was released in '94 on the "Crooklyn" soundtrack (it should be noted that both Q-Tip and Mummad are credited for this one). Now, it wouldn't be right to at least include one Tribe joint, but as is usuaul with my compilations I won't add any album material. Instead I have opted with the Mr. Muahammad remix of "Check The Rime" which beauifully flips the sonic concepts of the OG. After the '94 cut "We Run Things" from Mr. Khalyl, Lee Stone and Y-Tee. Following that we're moving into the jazz and soul realm which the producer handles with excellence; a reinivsion of the Curtis Fuller classic "Five Spot After Dark", remixed for a jazz remix compilation from 2006. Another sick departure from the traditional hip-hop bangers to the jazz realm comes in the form of legendary sax-player Greg Osby's "Rise" and Shaheed's remix where he enlists a rare guest apperance by none other than CL Smooh. The heat simply don't stop and this is in fact one of my personal favorite compilations in quite some time... In fact, I like it so much that I went back and added 320 kbps rip of many of the songs to add to our listening experience. Oh and for some good measure, check out my previous compilation of Q-Tip's prouction work, titled "Abstractions of Funk" - now that would've made a slamming double C D don't you think? TURN IT UP!!!

01. Boogie Down Productions - "We In There" [A Tribe Called Quest Remix]
02. Crooklyn Dodgers - "Crooklyn'"
03. A Tribe Called Quest - "Check The Remix" [Mr. Muahmmad's Remix]
04. Da Bush Babees - "We Run Things (It's Like That)"
05. Curtis Fuller - "Five Spot After Dark" [Remix]
06. D'Angelo - "Brown Sugar"
07. Fu-Schnickens - "La Smoove" (Ft. Phife Dawg)
08. Ice Cube - "What Can I Do?" [Eastside Remix]
09.Scriti Politti / Mos Def - "Tingseltown to Boogiedown" [Shaheed Variation]
10, Gil Scott Heron - "Don't Give Up"
11. Mos Def - "Got"
12. Shaquille O'Neal / Phife Dawg - "Where Ya At?"
13. Greg Osby / CL Smooth - "Raise" [Shaheed Remix]
14. Shola Ama - "Lovely Affair"
15. Jon B. - "Cool Relax" [Ummah Remix] (Ft. GURU)
16. Fu-Schnickens - "True Fuschnicks" [Shaheed's Fix]

ALI SHAHEED MUHAMMAD - "IN THE SHADOWS"