Philaflava.com's 100 Greatest Obscure Tracks: Part Six

Good morning party people. Like the Biz sang, it's spring again....unless you live where I live and there are a chance of snow showers today. Go fuckin' figure. Regardless, we've made it through January and February, two months that I can't really stand. March isn't all that great either, but it's tolerable. April is the birth month of many friends and myself for that matter, but it is still kind of crappy, except for those warm spring days that litter the month from time to time. I guess what I'm trying to say, I'm ready for good weather once again. It's time for baseball, it's time for swimming, it's time for short shorts on the hotties, it's time for BBQ's (went to my first one of the year last weekend). Being back home, I'm hoping for a return of the summers I remember before I moved. Of course I won't be able to spend my days drinking beer and floating the river while living off my severance package as I did the last summer I spent here (2003), but I still look forward to having some fun. What does this have to do with Part VI of the Philaflava 100 "Kinda" Obscure? Nothing, so let's go to that. Oh and go out and buy EMC - The Show.....buy one for your homeboy while your at it.

Link For All Song in Part IV
Mac Mall - Let's Get A Telly
Main Source - Set It Off feat. The LOX
Mase - Drug Wars
Masta Ace – The B Side feat. Paula Perry & Lord Digga
MC Serch - Back To The Grill (Remix) feat. Chub Rock, Red Hot Lover Tone, Nas & O.C.
Mean Green – L.A. Finest feat. Mykill Miers
MF Grimm- So Watcha Want Nigga
Mic Geronimo - Three Stories High feat. Royal Flush
Mobb Deep - First Day of Spring feat. Tragedy Khadafi
Mobb Deep- Cop Hell (DJ Premier Remix)

Mac Mall - Let's Get A Telly (Relativity, from the "Let's Get A Telly" b/w "Servin Game" 12 inch, 1996

Again, another west coast artist I wasn't all that familiar with. Word to herb, I just didn't get into some of the Mac _____ (fill in your choice), for whatever reason. By the mid 90's, when this came out, I was starting to shy away from some of the west coast albums, although I remember bumping Dru Down a lot. As I said, I don't see anything wrong with Mac Mall, he was a hell of a lot better than a lot of the dick riding west coat artists that just jumped on "The Chronic's" coattails and made the G-Funk era one of the most duplicated eras ever in hip hop. This was the first time hearing this joint. It's a catchy joint, one that I like. It has that west coast funk sound that I did like. I fuzzy bassline hooks it up and a catchy chorus sticks in your head. I think it's worth a listen if you are unfamiliar with it. -Trav

Main Source - Set It Off feat The Lox, Shaqueen, Lotto (Wild Pitch, from the "Fuck What You Think" LP, (officially) 1998)

"Set It Off" is from the post Large Professor Main Source era. One of my "against the grain" hip hop views that I have was that I was never particularly crazy about Main Source, in any form. With Large Pro, I loved his production, but I was never crazy about his rhyming and I didn't care for the song concepts on the first album. Then you get rid of the dope beats when LP bails, but you pick up a MC who I like better in Mikey D, but regardless, I didn't pay much attention to the "Fuck What You Think" LP when it dropped. I know for some people this the album is an absolute classic, WYDU's own co founder, Polarity loves this album. It's that album which this track is from. Now, "Fuck What You Think" is a kind of obscure album, but it still goes against my calling a track from any album "obscure'. That being said, the beat is a familiar sample, which I believe can be found on a Ras Kass track....I've been racking my brain over which one since I first started listening to it, but its been a long day. The album was originally supposed to drop in '94, and the chorus dates it at right about that time period as they have what I like to call the "Posse Chorus", where all their boys go in the studio and shout out the chorus. It was done a lot in '93 & '94. The song is decent, but again, I wouldn't have it in my list, but this wasn't all my doings either. - Trav

Mase - Drug Wars (unreleased, '93)

Mase? That sucker that used to rap all those pretty boy, glossy cross-over tracks with that piranha P. Diddy? How'd he make the list? Well, simply Mase at one point was a FUCKING BEAST! The Mase you see dancing around on your TV as a walking stereotype, or the televangelist swindling dollars out of helpless saps who actual follow his "Word of God" is totally opposite of the one that was once part of the best groups of the mid 90s. Murder Mase's Drug Wars is a verbal exercise in wit, rhyme schemes and adroitness penning that has only been matched by a few in that era. Mase spits one long verse giving details of his neighborhood's conditions, the NYC law enforcements corrupt ways and how he lives through it. A truly unparallel exposition by this once incredibly talented writer. - Original Philaflava post

Masta Ace – The B-Side feat. Paula Perry, Leschea & Lord Digga (Delicious Vinyl, from the "Sittin' On Chrome" LP, 1995)

Hailed as one of the most consistent artists in the game ever, Ace came with a West Coast flavored album on his third studio album. Labeled as a "group" album, Ace came with his crew that consisted of Leschea, Lord Digga, and Paula Perry. The four would show up together on the track "The B-Side," (Leschea doing basically the intro and chorus) for one of the strongest and overlooked tracks on the album. The track, produced by Ace himself, follows the deep bass/car crusin' vibe that is found throughout the album. The INC crew also represents the "B-Side", which in this case is the Brooklyn side. Leschea kicks shit off and gets the listener pumped then Ace comes in sets the mood for the joint. Ace's rhymes sound less complicated than on previous releases, but still manages to come dope. Paula Perry has long been one of the most overlooked female MC's in the game and the bars she spits demonstrates why that is so. The chorus is simple, yet effective. Digga will never be confused with Rakim, but handles his mic duties adequately enough to set it up for Ace to seal the deal. The track has always been one of my favorites from the "Sittin' On Chrome" LP. The chemistry the four displayed, especially on this joint, is top notch and highly overlooked by the masses. - Original Philaflava post (of course it was written by me)

Trav's note: I fought long and hard to have Ace's "N.F.L. (Not For Long)" on the list instead of this, since this is no way obscure to me....but I lost.

MC Serch – Back To The Grill (Remix) feat. Red Hot Lover Tone, Nas, O.C., & Chubb Rock (Def Jam, from the "Back To The Grill" b/w "Daze In A Weak" & "Back To The Grill (Remix)", 1992)

I'm sure there is a story behind this version, which contains the same MC's as the original plus another guest appearance from another Serch protégé, O.C., but I've either forgotten it or never heard it. The lyrics are the same as the original, with Nas spitting his classic verse that puts pretty much everyone else to shame. Off my memory, I think the remix was produced by T-Ray, who also did the original. The beat is rather basic, with a upright bass line that lends a thick feel overall to the track. One could argue that it is better than original in some ways. - Original Philaflava post (also me)

Meen Green – L.A’s Finest feat Mykill Miers (Patchwerk, from the "Fat Sacks" b/w "L.A.'s Finest", 1997)

Another overlooked gem from the West comes courtesy of Meen Green. Featured on his 1997 release The Smokin’ Section, the Western Hemisfear O.G. links up with fellow left-side resident Mykill Miers as they trade verses letting niggas know that they will be hanging from palm trees if they come to L.A. thinking shit is sweet. Fellow Hemisfear member, Voodoo provides the ominous beat on this joint which lets Meen Green and Mykill Miers do their thing and murder the track. This same beat would be used a year later on Xzibit’s “Recycled Assassins” (the irony) but this joint is easily the better of the two. Check the rest of Meen Green’s album for more nice shit. - Original Philaflava post

MF Grimm aka Grimm Reaper - So Wat Cha Want Nigga (Underground Records, on the "So Whatcha Want" 12 inch, 1993)

Mf Grimm released this 12” in 1993 under the alias ‘Grim Reaper’ on the independent ‘Underground Records’ with the first verse originally being recorded for the ‘Live At The BBQ’ posse cut which Grimm did not make it on due to legal problems. The first thing that stands out to me here is Grimm’s energy and the aggression with which he attacks the beat. Unlike the reflective Mf Grimm of today this is a younger more psychotic and violent version with a more rapid fire delivery. The last line of the second verse “fuck the world/and all of you can suck my dick” sum up the sentiment on this track up perfectly. - Original Philaflava post

Mic Geronimo - Three Stories High feat Royal Flush(Blunt Recordings, on the "The Natural" LP, 1995)

On "Three Stories High", we have another dark Buckwild beat. Buck was known for some dense basslines back in the day and this track lives up to that reputation. You get a vision of the sewers, while listening to this, it's even equipped with leaking water sounds. The dusty drum track just ties the whole beat together. Mic Geronimo is another artist I never really got into much back in the day. I just wasn't feeling his rhyming style. Royal Flush on the other hand, is probably my second favorite QB MC after Nas. His cadence and tone have always been something that grabs me, regardless on what track he is rhyming on.

Mobb Deep - Cop Hell (Primo Remix) (Unreleased/White Label, 1992)

One of Mobb Deeps earliest recordings originally dating back to 1992, this DJ Premier produced track was done when Havoc and Prodigy were just 16 years old and was original intended for there Juvenile Hell album which it did not make it onto for obvious reasons. Over a hard and stripped down mid tempo Premier banger, Hav and P cause a bloodbath massacring the whole NYPD! Mobb Deep sound demented and ready to go to hell for snuffing Jesus on this one, a very far cry from there more recent efforts. This track was only ever available as a test pressing 12” of which there were no more than 10-20 copies. They have sold for around $1500, partly for the b-side unreleased DJ premier instrumentals, which legend has it he tried to mutilate with a razor so they would not get leaked. - Original Philaflav post

Mobb Deep - First Day of Spring feat. Tragedy Khadafi (Unreleased/Bootleg/White label, 96-97?)

This song first came out in 1996 or 1997 and finally saw the light of day on the recent Mobb Deep Infamous Archives LP. The song is significant for a few reasons- it is part of a large body of work that The Mobb put out that never (until recently) saw the light of day while maintaining the classic sound of The Infamous and Hell On Earth era- before Murda Musik would mark the gradual decline of the group's output. Also, the track is technically a Mobb Deep track but the star of the show is QB stalwart Tragedy Khadafi. The beat is a simple head nodder and Tragedy rips into a really brutal verse with lines such as "Yous a half-way/ thug that you portray/ if you got locked up for a day, you prolly come home gay," and "When I was runnin' from cops you was practicing jump shots." Trag really does a bang-up job in illustrating the difference between thugs who live the life and fakes who live the life vicariously through the music. Yes, it's a topic that's been covered by many, but never quite as eloquently as Trag did it for us here. As mentioned earlier, Mobb Deep has a huge body of work that never saw the light of day that still could be regarded as classic status. It is certainly much better than what the crew is putting out on G-Unit. Luckily The Mobb recently put out The Infamous Archives. While this material isn't at all new to vinyl geeks and mixtape (emphasis on tape here) collectors, a lot of Mobb Deep fans who longed for the group's heyday never got a chance to hear this stuff and are ignoring the Infamous Archives release, expecting it to be more G Unit excrement. If you like this stuff go cop the album and then try to dig up the Mobb Deep "Infamous Demos," which are the rough studio versions of The Infamous that were later re-worked into the classic album we revere today. - Original Philaflav post

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Used CD Shopping Trip 8-24

Second Spin; Denver, Denver Colorado $24.13

I love Fridays, especially after a pay day. I work weird hours during the week, coming in the office by 6 a.m. and getting off between noon and 2 p.m., depending on the work load. This past Friday, I left the office around noon, stopped by Pat's Cheesesteaks (best Philly's in Denver) and munched down on a philly cheesesteak sandwich then decided to hit up Second Spin, probably my favorite used CD stop in Denver. Although it was pay day, after paying bills and the such, I had to watch what I spent. I couldn't do one of my infamous $75-$100 trips. So I pulled a $20 out of the ATM went into the shop. The best thing about Second Spin is they always have pretty good specials going on. This time it was buy two used CD's get the third for half price and their usual any CD 3.99 and under is half priced. They had a fair amount more in terms of selection when it came to the $3.99, they must have missed me, since I hadn't been in for awhile.

Nothing horribly rare by any sense of the means, although a couple CD's I was happy to run into. I think most if not all have been seen on the blog circuit (what hasn't?) and I've even posted more than one of these. I dug through the entire section and since I was on a "strict" budget (I still managed to go over my $20 limit) I only picked the $3.99 and under CD's. The result? Twelve disks for $24.13. Here is my bounty.

Rottin Razkals - Rottin' Ta Da Core (Illtown, 1995) $2.00

1. Intro

2. Batter Up

3. Oh Yeah

4. Frustration

5. A-Yo

6. Hey Alright

7. Lik' a Shot

8. One Time for Ya Mind

9. Get up, Stand Up

10. Life of Bastard Featuring Treach

11. Homiez Niggas

12. Come on Y'all

Naughty By Nature's weed carriers dropped their only album in '95 to a semi warm reception. Nothing terribly exciting about this album, but if you liked Naughty, then you should probably check this album out, shit even Treach is the first person you hear when you play the first song. All the production was done by Naughty (read Kay Gee) so you know what to expect.

JCD & The Dawg Pound - A Day In The Life (Profile, 1992) $2.00

1. Radio Intro

2. St. Louis Niggas

3. Get Naked

4. They Like It Like We Do

5. Day in the Life of a JCD

6. Tilo Sings the Hits

7. Big Bitch

8. Kibbles and Bits

9. Bon Appetit

10. Over Pussy

11. Tell Ya' Bout a Bitch

12. Boot Nat

13. Fish House

14. Budda Rhymes

15. Dog Pound

16. Cold Kaos

17. Gotcha

18. Lou 40 Blues

19. Personal Loser

20. Shout Outs

I remember picking this up on tape way back in the day as a result of seeing it in "The Source" or "Rap Pages" or something like that. I completely forgot about until Dread posted it up on Bust The Facts awhile back. It's not a lost gem or anything, but it's not all that bad. It was executive produced by Courtney Branch & Tracy Kendrick, who did some stuff with the "304 Posse" (DJ Quik, AMG, 2nd II None, Hi-C and Slyk Smoove) which is probably why Slyk Smoove appears on a track.

Success N Effect - Drive By Of Uh Revolutionist (Wrap/Ichiban, 1992) $2.00

1. Intro
2. Success N Tha House
3. Cinfrontation In Mosley Park
4. Bucking On Dope Niggers
5. Bullshit Views
6. Raised From Depression
7. Brainwashed Niggers
8. Real Black Souljas
9. Gameplan
10. Ultimatedrive By
11. Police Brutality
12. Fuck1 Time
13. Wblk (We Be Black)
14. Black Radio Aint Black
15. Pimps And Players
16. Out Ta Get Rich
17. Warr
18. Forty Aces And A Mule
19. Fuck The System
20. Comin' Up
21. Voice Of A Black Revolutionist
22. The Other Levell
23. Change The Dial
24. Final Call

For some reason, I've always liked this group, although I'm not really sure why. I guess its because I love their self-titled debut album, which is just about a bitch to find a real copy of. They changed over their three album career. If I remember right, this is their last album they released, which was basically on a black power platform, but some good music, filled with common and familar breaks and samples.

Mic Geronimo - Vendetta (Blunt Recordings, 1997) $1.50

1. Nothin' Move But The Money
2. Vendetta
3. Survival
4. Life N Lessons
5. For Tha Family
6. Street Life
7. Be Like Mic
8. Unstoppable
9. Single Life
10. Things Ain't What They Used To Be
11. How You Been?
12. Usual Suspects

I've never been a big Mic Geronimo fan, I'm not sure why, but he has never excited me. Well, after Polarity dropped a review his one cent album, I've had some weird desire to hear it. Just by looking at the production list on it, you'd think it would have a good chance of making some noise.

Kool Moe Dee - Knowledge Is King (Jive/RCA, 1989) $1.50

1. They Want Money
2. The Avenue
3. I Go To Work
4. All Night Long
5. Knowledge Is King
6. I'm Hittin' Hard
7. Get The Picture
8. I'm Blowin' Up
9. The Don
10. Pump Your Fist

I've always enjoyed this Kool Moe Dee album more than any of his other ones for some reason. I had this on tape, but never did pick up the CD for some reason. "Pump Your Fist" was always one of my favorite Moe Dee joints. This was also about the time he started dabbling a bit in the New Jack Swing stuff that pops up on here in a few places.

DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince - ....And In This Corner (Jive/RCA, 1989) $1.50

1. Then She Bit Me
2. I Think I Can Beat Mike Tyson
   
3. Jazzy's Groove
4. Everything That Glitters (Ain't Always Gold)
5. You Got It (Donut)
6. Girlie Had a Mustache
7. Reverend
8. Who Stole My Car?
9. Men of You Dreams
10. Numero Uno
11. Too Damn Hype
12. Jeff Waz on the Beat Box

I ain't gonna lie, I though Jeff's and Will's first four albums were great, and I always particularly liked this LP. Not sure why, its just fun to listen to.

Easy Mo Bee - Now Or Never: Odyssey 2000 $2.00

1. Now Or Never

2. Sunstroke

3. Fie Fie Delish

4. Instrumental No.1

5. S---'s Goin' Down Tonite

6. Soul

7. Talkin' Bout You

8. Instrumental No.2

9. N.Y.C.

10. *69 Monique No.1

11. Sex, Money, Drugs

12. Instrumental No.3

13. Sound Of My Heat

14. Let's Make Toast

15. *69 Monique No.2

16. Make Em Bounce

17. Dis Beat Is Mine

18. Instrumental No.4

19. *69 Monique No.3

20. Always Be There For You

21. We Pledge Allegiance I was kind of scared of this one, there for I never heard it, which is kind of weird for me. This got a lot of bad reviews and the such. While it could stand some trimming on the track list, it isn't nearly as bad as I was thinking it would be.

Lord Tariq & Peter Gunz - Make It Reign (Columbia, 1998) $1.50

1. Make It Reign

2. We Will Ball

3. Massive Heat

4. Sex, Money, Life Or Death Interlude

5. One Life To Live

6. Fiesta

7. Then & Now Interlude

8. Startin' Somethin'

9. A Night In The Bronx With Lord & Gunz

10. Who Am I

11. Deja Vu (Uptown Baby)

12. Keep On

13. Worldwide

14. Streets To Da Stage

15. BX Most Wanted Interlude

16. Cross Bronx Expressway

17. Precipitation Interlude

18. My Time To Go

19. Bonus Track 1

I never bought this album when it came out, not even sure why, I guess it didn't really excite me when it dropped. Or it could have been my friend bought it and I just dubbed it from him. None the less, I threw it in when I got home and it pretty much sucks. Oh well, it was cheap.


C.E.B. - Countin' Endless Bank (Ruffhouse, 1992) $1.50

1. Seems You Forgot

2. Goes Like This

3. Get the Point

4. Man

5. Pass the Ammo

6. F*ck 'Im Up

7. Back up in da Joint

8. M.D.

9. Pass the Buddha

10. Monkey on My Back

11. Gorilla I think Steady B was the shit, but for some reason, I slept on this when it originally dropped. I guess I had a hard time seeing Steady B as a gangsta...boy was I wrong. Cool C and Stead took the gangsta thing a bit too far and the rest, well, we all know the story. I didn't like this when I first heard this a couple of years ago and Polarity said I was crazy. I gave it another listen and its not as bad as I first thought. Dove Shack - This Is The Shack (Fontana/Def jam, 1995) $1.50 1. Intro (Skit) 2. Smoke Out 3. This Is The Shack 4. Summertime In The LBC 5. Bomb Drop 6. The Train (Skit) 7. Fuck Ya Mouth 8. Slap A Hoe (Skit) 9. Freestyle Interview (Skit) 10. Freestyle 11. Crooked Cop (Skit) 12. Ghetto Life 13. East Side Party 14. Rollin Wit A Gang 15. We Funk (The G Funk) 16. There'll Come A Day 17. Summertime In The LBC (Rap)

This was another album I'm not sure why I never bought. I loved "Summertime In The LBC" and "This Is The Shack", but I never dipped into the cash box for the CD. Giving it a listen Friday night, I loved it. Not sure if it was the seventh beer I was on, or the Madden game I was enjoying, but G-funk never sounded so good to me. Only bad thing, it's the fucking clean version. So if anyone wants the clean version, I'll put the link up, but I doubt anyone would.


Too Nice - Cold Facts (Arista, 1989) $2.00

1		Cold Facts (4:23)
2		Here I Come (4:35)
3		Rock The Girl, Gee (Every Inch) (4:41)
4		Keep Doggin' Em (3:57)
5		The Phantom Of Hip Hop (4:41)
6		Two Can Play The Game (Who's Makin' Love to Your Old Lady) (4:57)
7		I Git Minze (4:30)
8		Cold Wild Strong Isle (3:50)
9		Everybody Loves Sex (4:25)
10		I'm Sad (3:48)

I know what you are thinking, that cover looks like some horrible group. While Too Nice isn't exactly the greatest thing since chocolate and peanut butter, but they are better than they look. I'm not sure if I remember them back in the day. I think it was one of those things I always saw at the record stores I frequented, but never bought because I never heard them. Bust the Facts posted it up this past spring and I kind of enjoyed it, soooo, I found it and the rest is history.


Kriss Kross - Totally Krossed Out (Ruffhouse, 1992) $1.50

1. Intro Interview

2. Jump

3. Lil' Boys In Da Hood

4. Warm It Up

5. The Way Of Rhyme

6. Party

7. We're In Da House

8. A Real Bad Dream

9. It's A Shame

10. Can't Stop The Bum Rush

11. You Can't Get With This

12. I Missed The Bus

13. Outro

14. Party (Krossed Mix)

15. Jump (Extended Mix)

Yeah, yeah, yeah I know, nostaligia is a bitch sometimes. I lost my copy of this sometime ago, and I guess I was too cool to get another at the time. Now I'm old enough, I really don't care. It's not that bad. Besides, I'd rather listen to all the old corny hip-pop stuff from yester year than 99% of the shit thats on the radio presentely. At least I did put down the copy of "Please Don't Hurt 'Em, Hammer"

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