Beneficence is a rapper from New Jersey who has been putting in work for a long time, gaining the respect of many of the hottest rappers and producers throughout the East Coast due to his skilled rhyming and down to earth persona. Though he put out his first 12"s in 1994 and 1998, respectively, it wasn't until he hooked up with Ill Adrenaline Records in 2010 that I and many with me really came across his work. On his debut album "Sidewalk Science" for the label he worked extensively with Diamond D on the production while Roc Marciano, Truth Enola, Rob-O, The Legion, Diamond D, Lord Tariq, Prince Po and Frank-N-Dank shared microphone duties. His follow up, "Concrete Soul" was released a year later in 2012 and was even more packed with big names that had a lot of underground fanatics drooling. I'm talking beats and rhymes from Buckwild, K-DEF, InI, Lord Tariq, DJ Doo Wop, Gensu Dean, Confidence, Roc Marciano, B1, Herb McGruff, Da Beatminerz, AG, El Da Sensei, Nature, Masta Ace and many more. A true '90s hip-hop extravaganza if I ever heard one and funny thing is that it all worked in bringing back that sound we all love and cherish.
Now Beneficence and Ill Adrenaline is back for round three, and as they say if the formula ain't broke, don't fix it. "Basement Chemistry" is a little lighter on the guest features but still manages to pull some impressive rhymes and beats from Inspectah Deck, DJ Spinna, Da Beatminerz, AG, Masta Ace, MC Eiht, El Da Sensei, L'Orange, Chubb Rock, MindsOne, Confidence, Black Sheep + The Legion and more. The latter two appears on the single and accompanying video for "Make It Hot (Jingle Jangle v.2)", the sequel of Dres and Legion's classic 1993 single. You can peep the video above and stream the entire album below. The LP is available on CD, cassette and vinyl and can be purchased from UGHH now.
Following the drop of the Confidence remix of "Stereo", rugged NY veterans The Legion drops the visuals for another ill single - "For You". "The Lost Tapes" is out now on CD and limited cassette from Ill Adrenaline Records.
Molecules, Chucky Smash and Cee-Low of the hardcore Bronx team The Legion returns this year with their first album in a decade. "Theme + Echo = Krill" was a sincerely ill project, but it got lost in shuffle due to the huge amount of superb hip hop being released in the early to mid-'90s, and after the commercial flop of the project things quieted down for so many years that I must admit that I was pleasantly suprised when I saw them signed to Ill Adrenaline Records for a new album. The first single (with accompanying video), "Stereo", saw the trio returning to their D.I.T.C. roots witth a vintage Buckwild production on hand. Now that initial single is being touched up by label mate Confidence who does a great job with smacking drum programming, Rhodes, screeching guitar and even a horn section which together gives the soong a completely new feel. The new Legion project is titled "The Lost Tapes" and is released on CD on May 20; the two vinyl EP:s drops sometime in June. The project is described as follows:
""The Lost Tapes" ain't only a simple compilation of rare and unreleased tracks, it's rather a musical documentation of a group that has been staying in its lane creating raw, uncut and uncompromising Bronx flavor for more than two decades now. So this 20-track strong album includes the rare 12" sinfle only "Freestyle Demolition" from 1994, rare, old and unavailable on CD tracks, unreleased joints and instrumentals plus 3 brand new bangers ("For You", "Stereo", "Strereo [Remix]"), produced by The Legion, Buckwild and Confidence." - Ill Adrenaline Records (pre-order CD).
Legendary Bronx bombers The Legion enlists Buckwild for some rugged hardcore shit on "Stereo", and the results is slamming. This is the first single from the trio's upcoming full-length release "The Lost Tapes" (love the title) which is out on May 20 via Ill Adrenaline Records. The project consists of various rare and unreleased material along with three newly recorded songs (this being one of them). I really hope we'll get an album full of all new material soon because these guys still knows how to bring da ruckus for sure. Pre-order @ iTunes for the digital and cop the CD directly from Ill Adrenaline Records. Also, in related news, it has been revealed that Legion producer/emcee Molecules is working on a n EP with Showbiz titled "A Bronx Tale". For anyone who remember their rugged collaboration "Revenge" you know this is gonna be something special!
Man, I absolutely loved this cut since I first heard it on the Japan only D.I.T.C. album/compilation "All Love" and I can't even imaginehow many times this have blasted through my headphones throughout the years. Showbiz top-of-the game dark boom bap ala "Goodfellas" style combined with Molecules rugged murdder story is just perfect chemistry and I wished there would've been more from these guys than this and the earlier "Who's It On Pt. 1" (apparantly this was recorded around '95). Now this classic cut will hopefully get more of the attention it deserves as it will be included on a forthcoming Ill Adrenaline Records EP of "Lost Tapes" from The Legion crew; which means that it also gets an accompanying video as you see above.
Mark September 25 in your calendars as South Africa based producer The Militia plans to unveils his "Timeless Classic EP" upon us. Besides a terrific boom bap beat and steady cuts, we get treated to a rare guest apperances from underground legends The Legion. Other guests on the project include Rome Clientel and Skyzoo, the former who we heard on the equally slamming "Never Ending Saga".
Heads in love with that vintage South Bronx boom bap sound that know their hip-hop history is in for an unexpected suprise. Affiliated with Black Sheep and Showbiz & AG, The Legion (a trio made up of Molecules, Chucky Smash and Cee-Low) had a minor hit with their single "Jingle Jangle" in '93 setting up listeners for their heavily underrated debut album "Theme + Echo = Krill" (click on the link to check it out if you're still sleeping) the following year. Despite dropping a dope underground album and a pretty sick '98 single they fell victim to label politics and besides the occassional Molecules production credit (including D.I.T.C., Dres, Milano and Mos Def) they pretty much dissapeared from the scene without a trace.
Therefore, I'm glad to announce that the trio is releasing two previously unreleased songs on 7-inch vinyl via Ill Adrenaline Records this week. While it's not exactly new material, it's at least unheard music from a legendary underground crew; and pressed up on wax nontheless. Both songs are self-produced in 1995 and recorded over at what used to be D&D Studios. The A-side "Straight Flow" is even accompanied by a brand new video which can be seen up top and the B-side is a joint titled "Automatic Systematic". This is obviously great news enough but what's even more amazing is the word over @ UGHH that The Legion is recording a rugged brand new full-length album for 2012 with production by Molecules, DJ Premier and Showbiz. Reminds me a lot of when Freestyle Professors' returned with "Gryme Tyme" a couple years back, and that turned out to be even better than anyone could have expected.
As a bonus track I added The Legion joint "Freestyle Demolition", a pretty slamming track that appeared as the B-side to the "Jingle Jangle" 12-inch but didn't make it to "Theme + Echo = Krill". While you're bumping that make sure to order the limited "Straight Flow" 7" single while its still available (the order site also allows you to check out audio snippets of both songs).
The Legion were a hardcore rap crew from The Bronx that first made their mark as associates of Showbiz & AG and Black Sheep. It's not unfair to say that their music forms as a fusion of the above mentioned groups and shares many similarities with both. The Legion was made up of a trio consisting of Chucky Smash, Cee-Low and Molecules who also produced most of the group's material. According to Smash, 'Cules was a real street cat who also worked the SP1200, Cee-Low a player and club-goer and himself heavily into graffiti and the culture of hip-hop. With all these styles combined The Legion was born. Chucky Smash also told in the UNKUT interview how they used to live together with Showbiz and Dres and moving in the same circles which certainly rubbed off heavily on their own music.
Like most, my first introduction to The Legion was through that banging interlude on Show & A's "Runaway Slave" where a hardboiled beat's rocking and a voice declares that "The Legion's in the house... Cee-Low's in the house....Molecules's in the house" and so on. The first time that interlude cut off I was pissed because I was so hyped by the sounds of it and was just starting to expect to hear the full thing. However, The Legion got signed to Mercury Records and one year after the "Runaway..." interlude, in 1993 that is, the trio came out with their debut single and video, for the song "Jingle Jangle". The hard cooking sounds with its strong jazz influence was a common sound at the time but the guys displayed a lyrical style and chemistry that was both humoros and hardcore and made them stand out on their own. "Jingle Jangle" also featured an excellent performance by Dres of Black Sheep which revealed another connection that would prove important for the future.
After some moderate success with the single, Mercury gave the group the thumbs up and a budget to record a full-length album for the label. The result was to be the strangely titled "Theme + Echo = Krill", a largely self-produced album that continued where the preceeding single had left off both from a lyrical perspective as well as with the beats. Cee-Low, Molecules and Chucky Smash all hold down their parts on the microphone well, but what really has made this album stand the test of time, at least for the initiated who actually knows about it, is the banging production. The record is full of jazz and funk samples, prominently with keys and all sorts of horns, pounding bass (often accoustic stand-up bass) and thick drums. Not suprisingly, the sounds are reminiscent of what D.I.T.C. and Mista Lawgne were doing in the early '90s. Several of the samples would much later be used by major artists like Mobb Deep, Smif-N-Wessun and MF DOOM. Molecules would later go on to produce slamming records for Mos Def and Dres although his placements has been few and far in between.
The album was completed and ready for release in the middle of 1994 but was heavily under promoted by Mercury, in fact the vinyl version were only pressed up in promo copies and both versions quickly went out of print. "Theme + Echo = Krill" was a great album with a bit of an old school feel to it but in 1994 hip-hop was starting to move on into new territory. Had this album been released at the same time as "Runaway Slave" or "A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing" I'm confident in saying that this LP would have been remembered much in the same way as those records. Unfortunately for the crew, the hard work they put into making a great album passed quietly above most hip-hop heads and both the vinyl and CD copies of "Theme + Echo" quickly became out of print and an eBay item. Could we get a reissue please? Traffic, I'm looking at you!
Besides the underground classic "Jingle Jangle", highlights include the second single, the bass heavy party anthem "Legion Groove" and the two Mista Lawgne productions, "Once Upon A Time" and "Zootie Bang". And of course it wouldn't be a early '90s album without the obligatory posse cut to show for, now would it? In this case, Show & A fans will be thrilled that "Who's It On Pt. 1" is the entire version of the "Runaway Slave" interlude and features a classic AG verse plus some Showbiz vocals over that addicting ruffneck beat. "...Part 2" in the same series adapts a different beat and features the trio going head to head with Black Sheep and Chi-Ali and you can bet it's a lyrical clashing that will take you back to the golen days of rap. It can't compare with the defining masterpieces of its time as there are moments of the album that does sound dated and unoriginal, especially as the album runs on for slightly too long, but these are mostly minor flaws and as a body of work it is a very good, and sadly very overlooked, one.
It's not all fun and games though; most of the latter part of "Theme + Echo" revolves around more serious subject matters including the use of the word nigga, it's origin and the meaning of it. Several important skits deals with this topic while songs like the dark and moody "New Niggas" has the crew spitting over a sinister piano-laced track where a murky bass clarinett gives a chilling effect as it floats in and out of the composition. One of the LP:s finest moments however comes with the closer, "Rest in Peace", a heartfelt tribute that deals with the pain of losing someone close and anyone who've done so should be able to relate. It's ill that Molecules flips the repetitive bass line (later used by Alchemist for Mobb Deep's "The Realest") for the basis of the song while he's adding several horns fading in and out to emphasize the theme. "Rest in Peace" is a great closer for a great album and will have you wishing these guys would've actually blewn up the way they deserved. After the album went wood, the group made the occassional guest apperance on albums by Black Sheep/Dres but has since faded into obscurity. I have a memory of reading somewhere in the mid-'90s that Dres was starting a record label and that he would sign The Legion as his main act; guess that never materialized.
01. "Enter The Realm"
02. "Jingle Jangle" (Ft. Dres)
03. "Buddah Break" (Ft. World Famous Brucie B)
04. "Legion Groove"
05. "Back in the Days"
06. "Step to the Stage" (Cuts by C.M.E.)
07. "Makin' Noise" (Ft. Dennis '3D' Scott)
08. "Krill Ill"
09. "Representanto"
10. "Zootie Bang" (Prod. by Mista Lawgne)
11. "Once Upon A Time" (Prod. by Mista Lawgne)
12. "I Like The Way It's Going Down"
13. "Bring It"
14. "It's Thorough"
15. "Who's It On Pt. 1" (Ft. Showbiz & AG)
16. "Who's It On Pt. 2" (Ft. Black Sheep & Chi-Ali)
17. "The Word Nigga"
18. "New Niggas"
19. "The Truth"
20. "Rest in Peace"
