Back in 1996, bootleg records of radio show freestyles were everywhere. The internet hadn’t really taken off yet, so for people like me living on the other side of the world it was pretty much the only way to hear this kind of stuff. One of the best series of freestyle wax was called “Wild Style” which collected the guest appearance freestyle sessions on Funkmaster Flex’s show. Each volume typically featured the (then) cream of the east coast crop doing their thing on all the latest instrumentals.
This Cormega & Nas session taken from Wild Style Volume #2 is kinda interesting if only for the fact that tracks featuring these two are few and far between. Nas pretty much sticks to material from his then-unreleased ‘It Was Written’ album, but Cormega really steals the show. Maybe I’m crazy, but I’ve always thought Mega delivery sounded a lot sharper on old material like this and ‘Affirmative Action’ than anything he did on his albums, listen and make up your own mind.
Add classic beats like ‘Stages & Lights’ by Sadat X and ‘Clones’ by the Roots into the mix and you have some certified flavor. The debacle involving the replacement of Cormega in the Firm (by Nature) for the group’s disastrous collaboration album and the ensuing war of words between Mega and Nas is well-documented, but the duo’s chemistry here hints at what might have been.
NB: For collectors interested in the record itself, it also features Tribe Called Quest (with Consequence), Heltah Skeltah and Ghostface going off the top of the head and is probably the best entry in the series.
Polarity!
5 comments:
daaaan dawg. hook us up with the other joints on the record!! i'm here in nj/ny, but i never heard these "freestyles" but that's cuz there was a lot of funkmaster flex overdose!!
merry xmas to all.
Thanks for the comment Al... You might have to bear with me a while to get the whole record 'cause like I say I don't have the patience to upload it on dial-up ;S
Holy crap! where can i but the records?--I've been searching for these sessions for ten years
sall good polarity.
no rush. i'll prolly forget i wanted it anyway,
then i'll come here 1 day, and BAAM!!
btw, the meff link is down.. i tried to grab it but it was busy all day, and now it's gone!
Doc Holiday, I picked up several of these from record stores back in 1995/96 when they came out (although they say 'promotional use only' on the label). I haven't seen them too much recently though, so I guess just keep your eyes out. I'm not sure if they're valuable or not.
Thanks Al, I'll re-up the meth link soon.
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