Trav's Personal Favorites: L.A. Dream Team - Kings Of The West Coast

Reader Appreciation Week

Back again with some more knowledge to be dropped. But before we do that, I have a little announcement. We've been doing this blogging thing for awhile now, a year and a half to be exact in March. Polarity and I came up with the idea while trouncing through the blogs that were out there at that time. The blogging scene was much different at that time. There were a lot more single track blogs and very few, if any, album blogs out at the time. Most of the blogs then had some sort of writing done on them as well. Since then, the number of blogs has exploded in quagmire of material that is just awe inspiring. You can find almost anything if you look for it hard enough. The blogs have taken over the forums, the file sharing programs, and even the torrents to some extent. I like to think we have a nice little thing going on here. I mean, sure, there are better written blogs. There are blogs with deeper crates. There are blogs that post up more material and more often. I still like to think we are in the top 10% of the blogs out there. I'm not trying to be arrogant, but I think we have a very good core of visitors that visit the site quite often and in turn make me want to keep doing this. Our numbers have held steady over the month of February at around 1000. I'm sure there are blogs out there with more visitors, but I'm happy with what we have. Sure, I've had some negative experiences, but the positives have far out weighed the negatives. I hope to keep doing this into the foreseeable future.

I've always said that I'd do this even if there was only 50 people reading this blog. Hell, I did for the first seven or eight months. But in all honesty, while I might do it for a while, if it wasn't for the people who visit this blog everyday, I'd give up on it after awhile. I've met some great people by doing this and have been introduced to just as much music as I have introduced to others.

When I was on one of my used shopping trips this afternoon (more on that tomorrow), I was digging through the bargain bin and ran across a CD that I thought was a true pity to be sitting n the bin, that a lot of people on the site would probably like to have. Then it hit me, why don't I buy it (it was cheap) and give it away on the blog as some kind of an appreciation thing, then I remembered three other CD's that I have duplicates of that I had bought thinking I had lost the original CD, only to find it later on. Yeah, it might come off as desperate attempt to "be liked" or some bullshit, but in all honesty if I sold them back at a store around here, I wouldn't get more than a buck or two at the most. I'd rather see someone who actually wants them have them. So all this week is going to be "Reader Appreciation Week".

Here is how it's going to work:

1. Each day this week, I'll ask a trivia question, Hip Hop related of course. The FIRST person to answer CORRECTLY in the comments (MUST BE IN THE COMMETS OF THAT DAYS POST) will get their choice of CD's. Today, there will be four CD's to choose from. Tomorrow three and so on. I AM THE JUDGE, THE JURY, AND WHAT I SAY, GOES....END OF DISCUSSION.

2. I will give the official decision by the end of the day. I will then have that person email me their address and their choice of CD and I'll send off the CD on Saturday or Monday. International is fine.

3. One question will be announced from today until Friday. I will try to announce the day before when I'll post the question for the next day.

4. You can only win once, keep it fair for everyone else.

The four CD's that are being given away. I personally vouch for all of them, or I wouldn't have bought them twice.

1. Cru - Tha Dirty 30 (Violator, 1997)
A slept-on album from the Violator crew. Features the majority of the production done by Yogi, who would go on to become a member of Puffy's "Hitmen" crew. Guest appearances by Ras Kass, Slick Rick, & The Lox. (yes, I do know what it's going for on Amazon, but seems like more of a hassle than it's worth, plus I know where to get another one if I wanted to sell it. All I ask if you pick this one, pick it for your own personal use)

2. Prime Minister Pete Nice & Daddy Rich - Dust to Dust (Def Jam, 1993)
If you don't know who this is, you shouldn't have this album. 2/3 of Third Bass, with production from the Beatnuts, KMD (MF Doom), Sam Sever, and Pete and Rich themselves. Guest spots by Pyscho Les of the Beatnuts, Kurious, and a debut performance of Cage.

3. Barsha - Barsha's Explicit Lyrics (Bum Rush Records, 1990)
Part of the First Priority music family. Production handled by Audio Two and the King of Chill. Ignore the bad cover.

4. Shadz Of Lingo - A View To A Kill (EMI, 1994)
They debuted on Erick Sermon's "No Pressure" album. Production by Diamond D, Erick Sermon, Dallas Austin, and Madness 4 Real.

Clear????


The Question for today:

What is Masta Ace's FIRST and LAST name?

leave your answers in the comment section for this post. First person with the correct answer get's their choice of CD. Good luck and play on..........I will ask tomorrow's question at 5:00 pm Mountain Standard Time

Trav's Personal Favorites: L.A. Dream Team - Kings Of The West Coast

This selection is probably some what of a sentimental pick on my part. Like most people my age and not from the inner cities on the coasts, I was introduced to Hip Hop through Run DMC back in 1986. They will always hold a special place in my heart as the group that turned me onto something that hold dearly in my inner soul. I can't totally remember who was the second group/artist I got into. It could have been Whodini, who I heard a kid in my math class in 7th grade listening to (R.I.P. Chris Jones). It might have been the 2 Live Crew. I remembered sneaking over to a girls house while her parents were gone with a friend and they played "We Want Some Pussy" for the first time. I think though, it was this group, the L.A. Dream Team.

I remember sitting by the stereo my parents had bought me for Christmas that had dual cassette player (that was a big thing) and I had the record button down and my finger on the pause button, ready to spring into action at a seconds notice. I'd do this three-four times a night. Where I was from, it was mostly the annoying 80's garbage, but one night, they played "Nursery Rhymes". It became a hit in my town and would be on the "Top 5 at Nine" for a month.

My friend and I had been introduced to Run DMC, but if I remember right, "Raising Hell" wasn't out yet, but we had "Kings Of Rock". When "Raising Hell" dropped, there was a song called "Peter Piper", and we sure they were responsible for "Nursery Rhymes". You have to remember, we were naive little white kids in the 7th grade. The radio station would soon start playing "The Dream Team Is In The House", which I want to say was released before "Nursery Rhymes" but our little town was a bit behind the times. That song would catch fire as well. I'm not sure how we ever figured out who was who as far as the groups go, but I would get this tape for my birthday and I played it OVER AND OVER AND OVER again. I even cut off the front cover of the tape and pinned it to my wall. I still have that tape, missing cover and all.

The L.A. Dream Team were actually very instrumental in the West Coast's early hip hop scene. Before the gangsta phase that put SoCal on the map, L.A. and the surrounding area was heavy into the Electro scene, which was kind of a spin of dance and hip hop. You could credit it to the early Kraftwerk and the Soul Sonic Force of Afrika Bambaataa fame.

The Dream Team was composed of Rudy Pardee, who was a Cleveland native and Chris "Snake Puppy" Wilson. Rudy Pardee passed in a scuba diving accident in 1998, while Snake Puppy was is still involved in music and video production.

The album might sound dated to the younger listeners out there, but for the most part, the album is filled with early West Coast electro goodness. The two big songs for them were "The Dream Team Is In The House" and "Rockberry Jam", that I want to say appeared on a movie soundtrack of some sort. "Nursery Rhymes" as mentioned was a hit in my neck of the woods. I'm sure that the song, along with probably most of their stuff, was a regional thing. I found interesting that Tracy Kendrick and Courtney Branch also had a hand in producing this album, as they can be found producing for AMG and 2nd II None later on in the whole west coast area.

They would go on to release "Bad To The Bone", but the whole electro sound was fading by that time. Thanks to Dread at Bust The Facts for hooking me up with a digital copy of this. "Bad To The Bone" was also posted up on Bust The Facts with in the past week.

L.A. Dream Team - Kings Of The West Coast (MCA, 1986)
http://sharebee.com/2efa278c

1		Kings Of The West Coast (2:52)
2		The Dream Team Is In the House (5:13)
3		Nursery Rhymes (3:41)
4		You're Just Too Young (5:19)
5		Hollywood Boulevard (4:59)
6		And The Orchestra Plays (4:02)
7		Rockberry Jam (5:14)
8		Calling On the Dream Team (4:32)

9 The Dream Team Is In The House (Extended Version)
10 Rockberry Jam (Wicked Mix)

Re-Ups: Do a search in previous posts for any additional info you might want.

Ali Dee - Bring It On
http://sharebee.com/ec8ae672

1. Batter Up

2. Bring It On

3. How Ya Feel

4. Hit Em in da Head

5. Who's da Flava

6. Tap Skinz

7. Flip Cassette

8. Da Mann

9. Styles upon Styles

10. Take It Back

11. Dee Swings Jazz

12. Got 2 B Real

13. Crazy Swift

14. Murder at Midnight

15. Stompin' Committee

Smooth Ice - Smooth Ice
http://sharebee.com/214697d4

1		Do It Again (4:13)
2		Smooth But Def (4:05)
3		Without A Pause (2:53)
4		Gettin' Smooth (3:27)
5		Trunk Of Funk (3:48)
6		Pay Your Tickets (4:15)
7		Twice As Hard (3:53)
8		I'm Coming (3:42)
9		Now It Sounds Like A Record (3:59)
10		Rock Til Ya Drop (2:59)
11		Shout Out (3:04)