July 11, 2011

Non Phixion - Legacy 12" (1996)


It still amazes me to this day that Non Phixion ever managed to get their material published.  They had significant interest being shown from several major labels, were then signed to Geffen, then signed to Matador, Matador then committed to producing an album and yet 5 years later they had virtually nothing to show for it! 

To the groups members, it must have seemed like the whole industry was against them.  Despite them having the backing of some industry heavyweights like MC Serch and Rick Rubin along with proven sales from their early single releases, it just didn't seem like it was ever going to happen for them.
Still, perseverance pays off, and so does setting up your own label (Uncle Howie Records) as this was the eventual remedy to the Non Phixion headache.


Going back to 1996 before most of their troubles started, when MC Serch was helping to get Non Phixion a major signing.  Their debut 12" entitled Legacy was released independently on the Fat Beats label and sold around 20,000 copies. 

It's an interesting release, because as it was 6 years before their debut  LP was released, it understandably has a completely different sound.  It was produced by Serch under his Serchlite Music company, whereas their later productions would come from either Necro or Non Phixion themselves.  However, it still maintains that trademark Non Phixion style.
MC Serch makes an unexpected appearance too, and somehow manages to sound a bit different without completely flipping his style, but it works quite well.

The B side is a different matter though.  The track is called No Tomorrow and is produced by Necro.  It's not the usual Necro style that we've become familiar with, instead this sounds much like most of the mainstream NY productions of that time.  The style of the chorus is also very typical of that era and overall the track reminds me of numerous east coast melodies from the mid 90's. 

It's definitely worth checking this out  If nothing else, it's good to feel some more of that mid 90's east coast flavour.

For those historians out there who like to know all the minuscule details of an artist or their history etc, you'll be pleased to know that the P Brothers conducted an explicit, honest and unique interview with MC Serch back in 2003 which he claimed would be his last interview of that kind.  He really went to town on setting the record straight. 
During the 2nd part of the interview, Serch explains much of the background to setting up Non Phixion and openly discusses the later fallout between him and Ill Bill.  It's a riveting read as it also uncovers lots of great history that hasn't previously been told about 3rd Bass, Nas, OC, Wild Pitch records etc.  But it's too much to cover here, so I'll get it uploaded in the next week or two!

Download The Full 12" (Hotfile 32mb)
http://hotfile.com/dl/120619834/015aabb/Non_Phixion_-_Legacy.rar.html

1 comment:

  1. The track Legacy wasn't produced by MC Serch it was produced by CeStyle from Total Pack and also featured him as the first rapper on the record.

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