I know I haven't been around in a minute. I love the web and all the blogs but that damn "real life" keeps getting in the way. Divorce laws suck camel dick but I digress, this ain't the place. Let's talk Hip-Hop!
Nothing is as synonymous with Hip-Hop as the collaboration. From 1985's Slick Rick/Dougie Fresh masterpiece The Show/La-Di-Da-Di all the way up to any current remix featuring MC My Man, White Towel Guy From the Stage Shows...and Lil' Weezy, the collabo is the defining piece of a rap album. While it's been overused as of late, there are still some that make an album that much more rewarding. I've put together a collection of some of my favorite and some not so popular or familiar ones for y'all to bump. It'll go from "Oh thas my shit!" to "What album is that on?" LET'S GO!:
The Symphony (feat. The Juice Crew All-Stars)-Marley Marl:How can you do a collection of of collabs without possibly the G.O.A.T.? Marley took this collection of still young and hungry MC's and had them kick possibly their best lines over a hard, piano-driven loop. Kane's verse at the end is simply the knockout blow after Ace, G. Rap and Craig G. lump you up against the ropes.Headbanger (feat. Redman & K-Solo)-EPMD: The infamous "Impeach" break appears in no less than three cuts on this collection, this is the first. E Double and Mic Doc traded verses over the familiar break but are overshadowed by Redman who was "wicked with the style like he had cerebral palsy."
Pimpin' Ain't Easy (feat. Nice & Smooth)-Big Daddy Kane: This was one of Greg Nice and Smooth B's first real high profile gigs. Not only is the chorus catchy but Kane's line of "I see trim and bag it/Take it home and rag it/the Big Daddy law is anti-faggot" shows how much times have changed. Warner Brothers would have NEVER gotten away with releasing it today and I'd be suprised if that isn't bleeped on re-issues.
Doin' Our Own Dang (Remix) (feat. Q-Tip, De La Soul & Monie Love)-Jungle Brothers: I love this remix! And I love the Native Tongue family feel of the song. They added a house/club beat(which was big at the time) and the familiar "Do it" sample makes it memorable. Not quite "Buddy" but another example of how great this crew was. Unfortunately with qoutes like this from an interview earlier this year:
AFRIKA: I want everyone to know the truth about the Native Tongues. They have been trying to erase the Jungle Brothers out of the books, when I was the one that started the whole thing. This has been going on for years. There’s a reason we haven’t been able to do a Native Tongues reunion: It’s because there are house niggas and real niggas. The Jungle Brothers are real niggas. Maseo has always been good people and a real dude. But Q-Tip and Pos, I don’t know.
I'm pretty sure any chance of a reunion is dead.
Fanatic Of The B Word (feat. Mike G. & Dres)-De La Soul: Another Native Tongues creation. Another dope track. I was surprised this wasn't a single on the De La Soul Is Dead album. I really enjoyed the bass line at the beginning and the way the beat pounds when it kicks in reminiscent of "Can I Kick It?" in many ways. Dres definitely spits a good verse on it. Check this one for sure.
Go Where I Send Thee (feat. Master Ice & Uneek)-Masta Ace: There goes that "impeach" break again. Ace & Co. got biz on this track. It's actually one of my favorites from him. I'm positive it's the way they looped a christian children's song (Children Go Where I Send Thee) that made it stick in my head for about 15 years. Hot. (Thanks Trav!)
The Basement (feat. Heavy D., Grap Lova, Dida & Rob-O)-Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth: Did I mention I'm a Pete Rock stan? The P to the R can do no wrong with me and this is no exception. The trademark horns are there as well as a great usage of Sister Nancy's "Bam Bam". Much better than Skinz, the other posse cut from Mecca & The Soul Brother.
Back To The Grill (feat Nasty Nas, Chubb Rock & Red Hot Lover Tone)-MC Serch: First let me say I used love Serch but The White Rapper Show is UNFORGIVEABLE! With that being said, for me this is kind of a sequel to Live At The BBQ. Serch rips it with the then popular Chubbster and Red Hot Lover Tone but it's young Nasty Nas that steals the show with his verse. They all hold their own but it's another glimpse at the future of Hip-Hop that makes this song a keeper.
Boriqua's On Da Set (feat. Doo Wop, Fat Joe & The Evil Twins)-Frankie Cutlass: My friends and I used to call this "The Puerto Rican Dwyck" which is basically what it is down to the similar break. Frankie Cutlass adds some tight production but it's really where Joe starts to evolve as an MC that makes the listen enjoayble. On this track he spits fire like he's got something to prove and easily outshines Doo-Wop and Co. Nice banga for the ride.
Rough...(feat. Treach, Heavy D. & KRS-One)-Queen Latifah: My favorite song on this collection. I think Black Reign slipped through the fingers of alot of heads back in the day. This is a far cry from the U.N.I.T.Y. Latifah from the same album. This track hits hard and all MC's involved rip some shit. Heav and the Teacha go above and beyond with exceptional bars. However, Treach in particular grabs you with his verse and practically strangles you with it. Definitely a stand out cut!
Rat Bastard (What The F---? Mix) (feat. Psycho Les)-Prime Minister Pete Nice & Daddy Rich: Let's be honest, this sounds like Poppa Large because basically it is. The two songs blend so effortlessly, it's criminal. Still a great song though and Pete's lyrics are tight throughout. Les who's never been a lyrical monster puts forth a solid effort. Even updating an old Rakim rhyme with "smooth but I don't get upset/I jig a hole in your stomach pull it out and I jet". Everyone loved Serch but Pete was slept on big time.
A Buncha Niggas (feat. Third Eye, Guru, Biggie Smalls, Rob-O & Busta Rhymes)-Heavy D: Damn, Heav was everywhere in the 90's! Everyone wanted Heav on their joint and he had no problem getting people for his. This cut from the Blue Funk album has an ecclectic collection of MC's. A young Biggie Smalls spit a good verse with some Akinyele-like inflections at the end of his phrases("Huuuuugh!" or some shit like that) that he thankfully abandoned. Guru, Third Eye & Rob-O have respectable bars and Bussa Bus inputs his own type of manic energy with a patented "powerful impact" verse at the end.
Crooklyn-Crooklyn Dodgers: The Crooklyn Dodgers were a collective specially assembled for the Spike Lee film of the same name. Buckshot, Special Ed and Masta Ace's flows all complemented each other and I wish they would have done more music together. The song is mellow and with all the love the MC's show in their verses, it makes you wish you were from BK.
Down The Line (feat. Preacher Earl, Melo T, Bass Blaster, Asu & Guru)-Nice & Smooth: Premier dusted off the break from the Manifest Remix, blended it with the ever present "impeach" break and had a hood classic on his hands. I'm from the Bronx and everyone was gassed when Preacher Earl shouted out Edenwald projects, it kinda legitimized the North East. Greg Nice and Smooth B. got mad love for this song...they lost it however when they collabo'd with NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK the same year. Damn...
Nuthin' But Flava (feat. Charlie Brown, Ol' Dirty Bastard & Biz Markie)-Funkmaster Flex: Poor Charlie Brown, this dope track was the last hot shit he did(please don't make me upload "Papermakers" with C&C Music Factory...what were you thinking C-Boogie?) Flex assembled a group of MC's, each one more flamboyant than the next. Biz and ODB on the same track? Can a straight jacket be far behind? Dope lyrics and good old fashioned jeep beat provided by Flex make this one worthwhile.
Animal Mother's: Attack Of The Killa Collabos
This collection was fun to put together and hopefully you'll find some new stuff that you like to go along with the familiar stuff here. Download and enjoy.
Be back with more new shit in the coming days. Glad I can do this again.
I didn't hear from Cons again until about 2003 and man was I impressed. The dude's whole style changed. Sick metaphors and a more confident delivery. He also had alot of production help from some Chicago dude named Kane or what have you. In any event, this was not the same dude yelling into the mic on that Quest b-side 10 years earlier. He had grown by leaps and bounds.
