Author Archives: illtal

Underrated – CRU

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Cru

This is my first installment of a new segment entitled – Underrated. Each month, I’ll be showcasing a group/song/album from the past that I feel is often overlooked when the word “classic” comes up. The hope is new and old hip-hop fans alike will seek out these cuts and they will get the recognition they deserve. So here it goes…

The first featured group is a personal fav of mine, CRU aka The Rhythm Blunt Crew hailing from the Bronx, NY. The group removed the “Rhythm Blunt” from their name due to concerns with censorship and conservative retailers. The group consisted of Puerto Rican rapper Chadio, hype-man/rapper The Mighty Ha and mc/producer Yogi.

So what makes them so underrated? Their 1997 debut album Da Dirty 30. Yogi handled all production on the album and to put it bluntly, the beats are hot. While Yogi wasn’t the best on the mic, Chadio def held it down with his own style. Mighty Ha added the comedy/bugged out element to the group, playing a similar role as Ol’ Dirty to Wu-Tang. What you don’t know is the album featured several unknown artists that would later have hits of their own including The LOX, Black Rob, Tracey Lee, Ras Kass and R&B singer Anthony Hamilton.

The first and biggest single off the album was “Just Another Case” featuring Slick Rick. However, the real banger (at least in NYC) was the b-side “Pronto“. The infectious West coast-influenced track was played on Hot97 constantly and MC’s were known to freestyle over the instrumental. Their second single “Bubblin” had a very ATCQ-vibe, but I actually never heard it on the radio.

Unfortunately, the album wasn’t a commercial success. CRU was signed to the Hip-Hop power house Violator Management, so they had a few features post-debut. One of the better ones was Diamond D‘s “Hiatus Remix“. Their last appearance was on the Violator Album in 1999 and the group disbanded.

Yogi went on to have an extremely successful career as a producer. His production credits include Puff Daddy, KRS-One, Terror Squad, Black Rob, G. Dep, Busta Rhymes, N.O.R.E, Method Man, Shyne, and Wale.

If you haven’t already, check out CRU’s debut album Da Dirty 30. Below are some choice cuts to get you familiar with them.

Pharcyde – 4 Better Or 4 Worse (Remix)

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Ray Bryant was a Jazz pianist from Philly. He started playing at the age of 6 and his career spanned 50+ years. He worked with several well known Jazz names including Miles Davis, Sonny Stitt, and Charlie Parker. He also worked with a few (sampled) soul singers including Carmen McRae and Aretha Franklin. If that wasn’t enough, he has a bunch of musician nephews including Kevin Eubanks (of Jay Leno fame). His 1967 album Slow Freight, released on Cadet featured the track The Fox Stalker. The intro was looped for the Pharcyde‘s underground remix of “4 Better or 4 Worse“.

The original version of “4 Better or 4 Worse” appeared on the classic 90′s LP Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde. DJ Nu-Mark produced the remix which didn’t surface on official vinyl till 2008. For those who don’t know, DJ Nu-Mark is a member of the underground hip-hop group Jurassic 5. Check out the original Jazz cut by Bryant to see how it was flipped.

Jo Thrillz – Rhymes Like These

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UPDATE:

I got in contact with Jo Thrillz and everything is gravy. Might work together in the near future!

So I wake up this morning to see my Twitter “mentions” flooded with some song produced by me!? I check it out and it seems Canadian rapper (not Drake) Jo Thrillz recorded a track over “Rhymes Like These” off my instrumental album Trapped in the 90′s.

Just to be clear, I didn’t really “produce” the track, and Jo Thrillz never hit me up asking if he could use the beat. However, he clearly listed me in the production credits and the video title, which is more than some rappers have done that I actually worked with in person. It’s part of the territory when you release an instrumental album so it’s all good.

Anyways, I reached out to him so let’s see if he hits me back. In the meantime, check out his video.

Fat Joe – Bronx Tale

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Sammy Nestico has a very long and prestigious music career. He’s best known for his arrangements of the Count Basie Orchestra and tons of work with film/television music. There is even an award named after him! Despite his lengthy career as a Jazz/big band composer and arranger, his first solo album didn’t drop till 1982. The album has a lengthy list of guest musicians, but the only one I recognize is Bud Shank. Most of it is traditional Jazz, with the cut “Shoreline Drive” being the exception. The track sounds more like something off of a CTI release than a big band composer album. The song was famously sampled for Fat Joe‘s intro track to Jealous One’s Envy, “Bronx Tale“.

Joe’s sophomore release Jealous One’s Envy is usually regarded as his best work. “Bronx Tale“, the first song on the album, sets the tone for the rest of the classic LP. Diamond D loops the Nestico track to perfection while KRS-One spits some bars. Ironically, the track sounds more like KRS-One featuring Fat Joe, as it’s mostly him doing the rapping. Diamond didn’t add any drums or chop the sample, but in his defense, it really didn’t need to. Either way, check out the original cut.

Rare Earth Discography Complete!

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Rare Earth Discography Complete

For those who follow me on Instagram, you know about my quest for all Rare Earth (the label, not the band) albums. Well the quest is finally over! (sort of…) I’ve 99% completed all of the US releases – no re-issues! I’m only missing The Generation Soundtrack which I’ve feverishly been looking for, but to no avail. It’s what record collectors refer to as a holy grail. I’ll find it one day, but in the mean time, I’m chalking this up as a complete discography.

For those unfamiliar with Rare Earth, get familiar! There are plenty of drum breaks and dope pysch samples to go around in the catalog. The catalog even features a pre-famous Meatloaf! Distributed through Motown, it was Berry Gordy’s answer to the Rock/Folk/Blue Eyed Soul also popular at the time. Outside of the actual group Rare Earth, it didn’t have much success and only lasted a few years.

Here are some notable tracks that you might recognize…

Tragedy – They Force My Hand

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Hodges, James, & Smith was an all-girl group out of Detroit. The group was formed by Mickey Stevenson, who was Motown‘s A&R during their hit-making years. Using his connections, he was able to get Hodges, James, & Smith high-visibility performances at the best venues. His goal was to mold a group similar to The Supremes. However, they really never struck it big, even though they released several albums. Later in their career, they sang backup vocals for Bobby Womack and Sylvester. Their debut album featured the cut “Signal Your Intention” which was used for the Tragedy Khadafi track “They Force My Hand“.

“They Force My Hand” featured fellow Queens rapper Cormega and appeared on several mixtapes at the time. It was released on white labels and bootlegs, but would eventually end up much later on the album Against All Odds. The track was produced by Spunk Bigga and featured the intro of the sample looped with some light synths and non-sampled drums. Even though you may not recognize the name, he’s actually worked with a dope list of artists including InI, G Dep, McGruff, and AZ. Take a listen to see how he flipped the original.

Pete Rock – Strange Fruit (Unreleased Version)

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Soul Survivor was Pete Rock’s first solo effort, released via Loud Records. Before the album dropped, a rare sampler entitled It’s Me made it’s rounds early in 1998. The sampler featured tracks produced by Pete Rock (and strangely a track by DJ Krush featuring Tragedy Khadafi?). The first track is an unreleased version of “Strange Fruit“.

The album version featured Tragedy, Wu-Tang affiliate Cappadonna and Onyx’s Sticky Fingaz. The unreleased version is much longer and has a different line-up. The Tragedy verse and hook remain intact; however, Pete Rock actually spits a weak verse on this one. He’s followed by Tragedy’s cohort N.O.R.E. and finally Meccalicious. Meccalicious hailed from Pete Rock’s neighborhood, Mount Vernon, and even earned himself an “unsigned hype” in The Source. He did a few more songs with Pete Rock, but his career never really took off. In addition to the line up, the intro is also slightly different. The album version has the Billy Holiday sample reversed. The demo version doesn’t.

I admit I don’t own It’s Me. Instead, I found this track on a white label bootleg simply labeled RA-009. The b-side is the DJ Krush song with Tragedy.