Back in the 80’s and 90’s, there were artists that I heard, usually because of Yo! MTV Raps, that I searched for and sometimes didn’t find. On other occasions, there were one album wonders that put out an album and you never really heard from them again.
I’m not entirely sure why there were certain albums that I could never find. However, I think it was a function of rap being a newer genre and record store owners not believing in it’s legitimacy, along with my location in the Syracuse, NY area. I remember finding it fascinating that some areas of the country didn’t even have a concept of what rap was. On vacations, I would often walk into a store and not even find a rap section, or anything even mixed in with Rock or R&B. I found some Schoolly D in Canada around 1989 and I remember being shocked, but excited, that they sold rap music in Canada. I can’t say that I was the most enlightened and worldly kid, but figured if I couldn’t find EPMD in a Minnesota suburb, then I surely wouldn’t find any Schoolly D outside of the United States. My mistake. (I also thought it was CRAZY that the tape for Smoke Some Kill was black and not white, or clear like most tapes. How incredible that Canada gets their own special tapes!)
Anyway, here are a couple of albums I had a hard time finding when they were released and a few from those "one album wonders", groups that made only one LP and disappeared when they shouldn't have.
LP’s I Couldn't Find Back in the Day
DC Scorpio 1988/89
I remember seeing this dude’s video for "Stone Cold Hustler - Pt. II" on Yo! MTV Raps and digging the hell out of it. I immediately started looking for an album from Scorpio, but never found anything. When I was 12 or so, I really had no concept of singles and albums and that a single might be released before an album, or that a video might be made for a single, without an album. So, for about a year I would randomly check my local record stores for an album, but never found anything. Back then, I just thought it meant the album wasn’t available in my area, but if I had the availability to drive to NYC, I’d find all those “lost” albums that I couldn’t find. And, there wasn’t the internet to provide release dates or artist info.
Well, years ago I looked him up (and I think Travis posted something on him previously) and found that he never released an album. Mystery solved as to why I didn’t find an album.
Man, I loved this song and I remember having it taped for a while and listening to it over and over. Well, the video's a bit dated and features an anti-drug message with a lot of "dope" dance moves and some nice '89 styles. I still dig the song though.
"Stone Cold Hustler - Pt. II" video:
I found a MySpace page, but I'm not sure it's official, so feel free to google the man to get more info. It looks like he's still involved with making music in some capacity and there are a few recent videos on YouTube.
True Culture 1992
Unlike, DC Scorpio, TC released an album, but I was never able to find it in Upstate NY. I looked over and over again, but had no luck. Again, I don't know why I could never get my hands on this, but I remember checking for it for quite some time. If I was a few years older, I may have been able to find it by driving around, but I was religated to wherever I could get a ride to, which was usually with my parents and not some hip-hop head that wanted to drive all around the city so I could buy a tape.
I actually ended up getting this from a blog, possibly WYDU, a couple years back and gave it a listen. "Rude Boys Come To Play" is a nice track, but I can't say that I've given the LP a proper listen since downloading it.
"Rude Boys Come To Play" video:
Unfortunately, the band's name doesn't really stick out enough and makes them hard to search on the internet. I haven't been able to find anything new on these guys.
Rude Boys Come To Play - https://www.yousendit.com/download/THE1eVdpOC9waFRIRGc9PQ
Style 1990
Another album I couldn’t find and I searched for a while and never found anything, but I was digging through some records around 1995/6 and found In Tone We Trust for a couple bucks and made the purchase. I ended up listening to it once and it sounded dated at the time.
I'm pretty sure I picked up the mp3 of this LP from this blog, but it may have been another, a few years back. I'm not sure what the single was that I heard back in the day, but I'm guessing it was "What a Brother Know", because that is what I found a video for below. The video is pretty typical 1990 with a lot of random dancing. Back in 1990, he appeared to be a conscious-type rapper, but goes a little harder these days under the name T.O.N.E-Z, making music
"What a Brother Know" video:
T.O.N.E-Z web site: www.myspace.com/tonezworld
In Tone We Trust: http://www.sendspace.com/file/8c93pa
The Afros 1990
Afrooooooos! Once again, I really don’t know why I could never find this. Remember, these are just LP's I couldn't find around the time the came out, so I don't need to know that you're local record store carried 50 copies that were actually rung up by The Afros themselves. Nah, just kidding, let me know if that happened.
The Afros featured Beastie Boys' DJ Hurricane as a member and were a bit of a gimmick I suppose. I've always thought Hurricane was a solid MC, so it would have been nice to see him get more than a couple solo LP's. The group was signed to JMJ/Columbia, but never released another LP. They probably knew that they had their little spot in hip-hop history and to make another album wasn't really in the cards.
My buddy, Drew, from high school found a couple copies used somewhere and picked one up for me around 1995 or so.
"Feel It" video:
More Info: http://www.beastiemania.com/whois/afros/
Kickin' Afrolistics - https://www.yousendit.com/download/THE1eVd0RkVlM1JMWEE9PQ
Brief Glimpses and POOF... Gone
Yaggfu Front
I was a huge fan of the North Carolina group’s 1994 (CONFIRM) debut LP Action Packed Adventure and the group’s overall fun vibe and humor tinged rhymes. With songs like “Left Field” and “Frontline”, they also proved that they could have a more “sophisticated” sound that probably would have been closer to what they would do in the future. But, they never did release a follow up LP to APA and disappeared for the second half of the 90’s.
In 2001 or 2002, they released an EP of sorts, The Secret Tapes, with a couple old tracks that were meant to be on their second album and 2 or so new songs. It was worth the purchase, but again, it wasn’t a full album. They seemed to be primed for a “comeback” of sorts, but then dropped off the radar yet again. I found their MySpace page and requested their phony friendship and never got confirmed, or was just flat out denied. It looks like the last post was from 2008. Another decade has passed and it doesn’t look too promising for those of us that are still waiting for a new LP.
"Left Field" video (what a great track):
Action Packed Adventure - http://www.zshare.net/download/73487784a7cbf7e7/
The Secret Tapes - I have the entire LP/EP, but the only 3 tracks I have on my computer right now are in the download above. Please let me know if you'd like the whole thing and I will tear up my apartment to find it.
*I've posted on these next 2 before, but whatever, it's good stuff. How's that for a response?
The B.U.M.S.
Brothas Unda Madness released Lyfe N’ Tyme in 1995. They were from the West, but didn’t sound like most rappers from their neck of the woods, which I found refreshing. The LP had a couple classics in my mind, such as "West Coast Smack". The album wasn’t without it’s flaws, but it was a promising start and I was looking forward to hearing more from the duo of E-Vo and D.Wyze. Both were highly capable MC’s, but I have never heard anything of them since 1995, let alone any rumblings of a follow up.
Unfortunately, most of my attempts to search the internet for information have come up empty. There just isn’t a lot out there. If anyone has heard anything, please update us, I’d love to hear what happened and what they’re doing now.
"Free My Mind" video:
Lyfe N' Tyme - https://www.yousendit.com/download/THE1eVdpSWVuSlJMWEE9PQ
Rottin’ Razkals
They were down with Naughty By Nature and there were some relatives between the groups as well. I dug this album back in 1995 and they seemed like a group that would at least be around for a little while. Unfortunately, we only got one album and they were gone. They don't appear to have any web sites out there, so I'm going to go out on a limb and say they won't be releasing new material anytime soon.
There are some real nice tracks on this LP, including a classic in my mind, "Oh Yeah".
"Oh Yeah" video:
Rottin' Ta Da Core - http://www.zshare.net/download/73487034b9850f82/
3/10/2010
Yaggfu Front, The B.U.M.S., The Afros, Rottin' Razkals and More Randomness
7/28/2009
Yaggfu Front
As I sit down at roughly 11:30 at night after getting shit together for my pending move (nothing out of state at this time, just a move down the street), my mind is numb, I'm tired, yet I started thinking of things to re-post. Most of my CDs, CD-Rs, and records are already boxed up (after doing rush packing way too many times in my life, I'm actually ahead of schedule for this move) so I'm at the mercy of what is on my computer. Not that is a bad thing with 500gb plus of music on my computer, it's just that everything I could think of was boxed away or it was all original ideas that I wanted to wait to tackle when I wasn't strapped for time.
As I scrolled through my music, it was either things that had been seen elsewhere, stuff that could still be found on WYDU somewhere or stuff that I had gotten myself on other blogs (when I still had the time to check other blogs...bleah). Then I got to Yaggfu Front. I did a search on WYDU and didn't come up with a post on them. They were one of my favorite groups from that time period (mid 90's), sort of like a poor mans Pharcyde (yes I'm stealing that from somewhere else), but I always dug them. Truth be told, back in 2006, D Ranged and Jingle Bel where going to be WYDU's first interview. Milk D beat them out then eventually I lost contact with the two members (Spin 4th was not involved at the time). It's unfortunate that I've never done a proper post on the group or got that interview done with them. Since I have time restraints tonight, I'm just going to toss these two projects up.
The first is the Secret Tapes project that released in very limited quantities, so limited that I've never seen a physical copy of it anywhere. It was released on Mends Recordings and consisted of remixes, unreleased material and other stuff from '91 til '01.
Yaggfu Front - Secret Tapes (Mends Recordings, 2002)
| 1 | Roll Wit The Yaggfu | |
| 2 | Plastic Fantastic | |
| 3 | Hard Headed Niggaz | |
| 4 | The Love Scene | |
| 5 | Walk Around Town Aka Thinking Caps | |
| 6 | Mr Buck | |
| 7 | Fling-A-Ling Style | |
| 8 | All Slow | |
| 9 | Jump On It | |
| 10 | Listen | |
| 11 | Future Shock |
The second is one that was one that they posted on their blog or their myspace....or maybe it was both. I don't remember. They were talking about making a comeback, hence the myspace, the blog, the interview that never happened. They were pretty excited about it when I was speaking to them in the late summer/early fall of '06, then nothing. None the less, there isn't much new in terms of music on this, but it's mixed together and a nice little thing to have if you are a hardcore fan.
Yaggfu Front - The Yaggfu Mixtape, 2006(?)
001 - Whered You Get Your Bo Bos - Yaggfu Front
002 - Future Shock - Yaggfu Front
003 - Listen (Ft. Esau) ! - Yaggfu Front
004 - Roll wit the Yaggfu - Yaggfu Front
005 - Plastic Fantastic - Yaggfu Front
006 - Slappin Suckas - Yaggfu Front
007 - Uptown Downtown - Yaggfu Front
008 - Black Liquid - Yaggfu Front
009 - My Dick Is So Large (Bonus Track) - Yaggfu Front
010 - Hard Headed Niggaz ! - Yaggfu Front
011 - Mr. Hook - Yaggfu Front
012 - Hold Em Back - Yaggfu Front
013 - Jump on it - Yaggfu Front
014 - Fling-a-Ling Style - Yaggfu Front
015 - Fruitless-Moot - Yaggfu Front
016 - Action Packed Adventure - Yaggfu Front
4/03/2008
Philaflava.com's 100 Greatest Obscure Tracks: Part Ten (The Final Chapter....sort of)
Yes, I know, nine comes after eight and before ten. Well it does when you don't have technical problems and accidentally erase Part Nine of the ten part series. I thought I was being slick and getting ahead by doing nine and ten tonight so I could work on getting some other things that NEED to get done with this blog and a guest post that is a year late. But, either blogger ate the post, or I pulled a bad one, but Part Nine is nowhere to be found. So instead of making y'all wait, Part Ten is going before Part Nine....you won't mind....and now I still have to rewrite part nine....oh well. Also, the group of us that originally put this list together, Dred Scott, Galvatron78, glavet (me), Killer Ben, madtapes Magneto, MGP, Paragraph President & Philaflava, apparently can't count either, because there is only 98 songs instead of 100, hence only eight songs appearing on the last part.
Link For All Tracks
Tragedy Khadafi - Street Life (Return of The Life)
Trendz of Culture - Off & On (Lord Finesse Remix)
Trendz of Culture - Who Got My Back (Remix) feat Method Man & Treach
UGK - It's Suppose To Bubble
Ultramagnetic MC’s – Raise It Up (Remix)
Yaggfu Front - Slappin' Suckas Silly (Diamond D Remix) feat. Diamond D
Young Zee - Stay Gold feat. Lauryn Hill
YZ - When The Road Is Covered In Snow
Intelligent Hoodlum - Street Llife (Return of the Life Mix) (Tuff Break Records, found on the "Street Life" b/w "Mad Brothers Know His Name" 12 inch, 1993).
This remix is of the "Street Life" track that would later appear on Tragedy's sophomore album "Saga Of A Hoodlum". What makes this remix so special though, is it comes from the mind of the almighty K-Def. The beat is on some other shit as K-Def laces up some melodic keys and throws against a backdrop that Trag sounds the best over. I'm sure there is a story behind this appearing on the Tuff Break label in between the two albums he did as Intelligent Hoodlum, but I don't know it. - Trav
Trendz of Culture - Off & On (Lord Finesse Remix) (Mad Sounds Recordings, on the "Trendz...." LP, from 1993)
Trends of Culture were one of my personal favorites from the era. At that time, I thought I was one of the few people that knew about them. None of my hip hop friends were checking for them back then, they were just a bit too "underground" for their tastes. The true highlight of this track though is Lord Finesse, both on the mic and behind the boards. The funkyman delivers a hardrock beat that packs an ill bassline over some funky drums to give you on trademark sound found during this time. Lyrically, it comes off like a freestyle for the most part, which makes it sound even more authentic. - Trav
Trends of Culture - Who Got My Back (Remix) feat Treach and Method Man (Mad Sound Recordings, from the "Who Got My Back" promo 12 inch (?), 1993)
I wasn't even aware this existed until WYDU's own Brian posted it up (which I'm pretty sure that's where this mp3 came from originally) over a year ago. I don't know much about the origins of this one. Not sure who the production is from, how Meth and Treach ended up on it, none of that. But I do know this joint is nice. - Trav
UGK - It's Suppose To Bubble (Jive/RCA, from the promo 12 inch "It's Supposed To Bubble", 1993)
UGK is underrated. UGK overrated. Whatever side of the coin you're own, it's undisputable; UGK went under the radar for years. Rightly or wrongly, it's the truth. To me, UGK is one of the greatest rap duos ever, and this track along with the album "Super Tight" is as important to hear as any other album to come out of the south in the 90s. Bun B and Pimp C both give their declaration to their town Port Author Texas while giving a glimpse of the daily routine of the day. UGK rap eloquently over a smooth beat, with an addictive, yet simple chorus (on the surface), leaving us with one of the best tracks of the 90s. - Original Philaflava Post
Ultramagnetic MC's - Raise It Up (Remix) (Wild Pitch/EMI, from the "Raise It Up" b/w "Saga of Dandy, The Devil and Day", 1993
Ultra could do no wrong in my book during their first three albums. This remix from their third album for the arguably best song was actually not as good as the original in my book. But hey, what do I know? It doesn't really change much from the original, but the chorus is slightly more annoying. I should know who did this remix, but for the life of me, I'm drawing a blank. - Trav
Yaggfu Front – Slappin' Suckas Silly (Remix) feat. Diamond D (Mercury, from the "Slappin Suckas Silly" Promo, 1993)
Yaggfu Front is group that should have blown up, but unfortunately, they never did. The group came straight outta North Cacalaca (North Carolina) and consisted of D'Ranged & Damage, Spin, and Jingle Bel. They were on the lighter side of hip-hop, sort of like an East Coast Pharcyde. Surprisingly enough, the remix version that DITC alum Diamond D, doesn't differ greatly from the version that appears on the LP beat wise. He keeps the general arrangement, but beefs up the bass line into its own creature, especially when played on some monster speakers. It provides some bounce that will keep that head noddin'. Diamond also adds some scratches to accompany the horns that already gave it that DITC "feel". He drops the keys that could be found in the original version, which gives it a richer feeling. Lyrically, the chorus has been changed up, with Diamond handling those duties and completely changing it up. He also drops a few bars. While Yaggfu never blew up like they could have/ should have, this track is one that deserves more props than it currently does in this day of age in the hip-hop history books. Dope rhymes, head nodding bass line and a chorus that one is shouting out to by the end of the sing is all that a great hip hop song needs, yet so very few are found like this. - Original Philaflava Post (Written by yours truly, and I nominated the song)
Young Zee - Stay Gold feat. Lauryn Hill (White Label, from the 12 inch single "Stay Gold", 1997)
Young Zee of The Outsidaz is a tremendously talented rapper that never got his just due. His style was the catalyst of Eminem's career and while his Musical Meltdown LP is almost as good as any album to come out of New Jersey, it never saw the light of day. This track, Stay Gold with Lauryn Hill was a single waiting to happen. The hottest new artists of the past 5 years Lauryn Hill doing the honors of spitting a verse and singing a wonderful hook with Young Zee demonstrating his superior rap skills with a unique flow and voice. This track could've been a classic in any format, in any era, yet do to label politics and the like, it never was to be. Still, this track showcases one of raps most hidden talents with another great artist, giving the audience a memorable song that 'til this day bumps like it just came out. - Original Philaflava Post (maybe me?)
YZ - The Road Is Covered In Snow (Tuff City, from the "EP", 1991)
YZ is another cat that I always thought should have had more success than he did. Straight from New Jers, he released this "EP", in 1991, which contained some excellent tracks, "When The Road is Covered In Snow" is one of them. Produced by Tony D (who I've always been a fan of) hooked up a familiar sample and just let YZ do his thing on it. We need some more YZ in the '08 - Trav
