MC Boob
MC Boob changed his name in ’86 and is better known as
Steady B. Hailing from Philadelphia, Steady B was one of the pioneers who helped build the Philly scene (along with 3xDope, Schoolly D and others) and pave the way for future Philly emcees.
Yo Mutha isn’t the usual and obvious abbreviation, instead it’s a reference to who Boob is getting down with, ‘your mother’. It’s a basic beat and in many ways it sounds really dated compared to many of the other tracks featured in this series. It hasn’t really stood the test of time, but it’s an interesting track nevertheless.
Until more recent times, Philly has often had a hard time being taken seriously as a centre for credible hip hop. It’s not like there haven’t been any great artists from Philly, as I mentioned in the review above, Steady B produced a wealth of successful albums and 3xDope were one of the earliest innovators of their style. But more importantly than any of this, Philly is the home of gangster rap. Some of you may beg to differ, but I can assure you that it isn’t LA or anywhere else near the west coast.
In 1985 Schoolly D released the classic hit, P.S.K. What Does It Mean (the initials PSK refer to the Park Side Killers, a Philly gang that Schoolly D was affiliated with). The beat of this track is well known and well sampled, but it’s the lyrics that are the most significant aspect. Within the track Schoolly refers to guns, drugs and sex and gang culture. The whole style in which he presented the track was also completely new. This song is widely accepted as the first true gangster rap song. Take a look at a selection of lyrics from the song and you can see that this wasn’t the usual lyrics from a rapper in ’86:
On a personal note, it’s only since the wide availability of the internet over the last decade or so that has allowed me to fully appreciate this song (and others) for what it’s meant to be. I’ve always loved it, but at the same time I also thought the chorus was a load of bullshit. Until I found out what PSK really stood for, I wasn’t buying into lines like K is for the way my DJ’s Kutting, it just seemed like a feeble cop out lyric that didn’t sit comfortably with the verses. At least I know better now!
His debut album Schoolly D that was released in 1986 continued this style. The full album only contains 6 tracks. Nowadays that would probably be called an EP and 15 years ago it would have been a maxi single.
And from a 6 track LP, he managed to release 3 singles!
But later that same year, Schoolly released his 2nd album (containing 7 tracks) entitled Saturday Night. The title track becoming another notable hit.
Now in the previous part of this Silver Anniversary round up, I discussed Ice-T and his track 6 In The Mornin’. I was very careful to mention that the track was widely accepted as the first west coast gangsta rap song. Ice-T has stated several times in interview that when he wrote 6 In The Mornin’ he was heavily influenced by Schoolly D’s P.S.K. and kind of emulated his rhyme style in his own delivery.
And one final last point of interest. Schoolly D released his early material on his own record label. There were plenty of independent records labels around that time (many only putting out one or two records in their lifetime), but not many artist owned labels.
In 1985 Schoolly D released the classic hit, P.S.K. What Does It Mean (the initials PSK refer to the Park Side Killers, a Philly gang that Schoolly D was affiliated with). The beat of this track is well known and well sampled, but it’s the lyrics that are the most significant aspect. Within the track Schoolly refers to guns, drugs and sex and gang culture. The whole style in which he presented the track was also completely new. This song is widely accepted as the first true gangster rap song. Take a look at a selection of lyrics from the song and you can see that this wasn’t the usual lyrics from a rapper in ’86:
Drivin in my car down the avenue
Towin on a j, sippin on some brew
Turn around, see the fly young lady
Pull to the curb and park my Mercedes
I said, "Mama, mama, I tell you no lies
Cause all I wanna do is to get you high
Copped some brew, some j, some coke
Tell you now, brother, this ain't no joke
She got me to the crib, she laid me on the bed
I fucked her from my toes to the top of my head
I finally realized the girl was a whore
Gave her ten dollars, she asked me for some more
Told me 'bout this party on the Southside
Copped my pistols, jumped into the ride
Got to the place, and who did I see
A sucker-ass nigga tryin to sound like me
Put my pistol up against his head
I said, "Sucker-ass nigga, I should shoot you dead"
On a personal note, it’s only since the wide availability of the internet over the last decade or so that has allowed me to fully appreciate this song (and others) for what it’s meant to be. I’ve always loved it, but at the same time I also thought the chorus was a load of bullshit. Until I found out what PSK really stood for, I wasn’t buying into lines like K is for the way my DJ’s Kutting, it just seemed like a feeble cop out lyric that didn’t sit comfortably with the verses. At least I know better now!
His debut album Schoolly D that was released in 1986 continued this style. The full album only contains 6 tracks. Nowadays that would probably be called an EP and 15 years ago it would have been a maxi single.
And from a 6 track LP, he managed to release 3 singles!
But later that same year, Schoolly released his 2nd album (containing 7 tracks) entitled Saturday Night. The title track becoming another notable hit.
Now in the previous part of this Silver Anniversary round up, I discussed Ice-T and his track 6 In The Mornin’. I was very careful to mention that the track was widely accepted as the first west coast gangsta rap song. Ice-T has stated several times in interview that when he wrote 6 In The Mornin’ he was heavily influenced by Schoolly D’s P.S.K. and kind of emulated his rhyme style in his own delivery.
And one final last point of interest. Schoolly D released his early material on his own record label. There were plenty of independent records labels around that time (many only putting out one or two records in their lifetime), but not many artist owned labels.
2 Live Crew
I think most people think of the 2 Live Crew as a group of 4 guys (Luke, Fresh Kid Ice, Brother Marquis and their DJ Mr Mixx) hailing from Miami with Luther Campbell (aka Luke) as the front man of the group. Well, it wasn’t always like that. This little excerpt from Wikipedia puts their beginnings into a sharper perspective:
The 2 Live Crew was created by DJ Mr. Mixx with fellow rappers Fresh Kid Ice and Amazing V. The group released its first single, "Revelation", in 1985. "Revelation" was popular in Florida, so The 2 Live Crew relocated to Miami. Brother Marquis joined The 2 Live Crew for its next single "What I Like". Local rapper Luke gave The 2 Live Crew a record deal and worked as the group's manager and then lead vocalist.
For me, the crown jewel in the group was always Brother Marquis. Despite his often corny subject matter, his delivery was always on point and he was certainly one of the early emcees to display the ‘effortless flow’ style of rapping. It was his rhyme style that often salvaged a track into something more listenable (let’s be honest, Luke’s voice grates on your ears more than screeching bus brakes).
Ok, I’ve deeply digressed into the importance of the 2 Live Crew’s contribution to hip hop, but hey, isn’t this a thread about significant artists/records from 1986? Too right.
Now Get it Girl is pretty damn annoying. It over uses the main sample waaayyy too much which starts to drive the listener insane, but essentially it's a dance track so what do you expect? The beats got those familiar retro hand claps from the electro era but it's all been sped up to a Miami Bass tempo so it just doesn't work.
But the B side, Cut it Up, is much better. It's a proper old skool track and what the 2 Live Crew should have stuck to. Essentially it's the crew putting on their DJ and bragging that he's the best there is, but this is pretty well justified given that Mr Mixx was a respected DJ.
The other single that year, 2 Live is What We Are, is much better known as it was the title track from their debut album. Again, the style of this track is typical of the era in both the music and lyrical style. It's not necessarily an outstanding track, but if you listen to it again today, it's hard to believe that this crew became the profane antagonists we all now remember. I can't help but feel that Luke saw the money potential from the sex rhymes and pushed the group down that road.
Here’s a few final points for your consideration before I move on:
- Was Fresh Kid Ice the first Chinese rapper?
- And why was his arm in plaster for so long? Was this some kind of repetitive strain injury from all those sex rhymes?
- Skyywalker Records must have been one of the earliest ‘artist owned’ labels. Nowadays everybody wants to set up their own label to allow unedited artistic expression, but in 1985 this was something else.
His sound was created by producer Kurtis Mantronik (of Mantronix fame), and was unique for its time. His gruff and gritty rhyme style was unparalleled by other artists of that era and coupled with elements of reggae toasting he was one of the pioneers of ragga hip hop.
I can’t think of another emcee at that time with a full set of gold fronts, was Just Ice one of the first to do this too?
Coming up in Part III is a mixtape full of tracks specifically from 1986 that you can download for your listening pleasure. Look out for this over the next few days.
Mike Check.
I enjoyed this post topic very much. I agree with pioneers often being forgotten or overlooked regarding their contributions/skills/etc. As for Fresh Kid Ice, I know of no other Chinese rapper before him. As for Just-Ice, that photo of the Beastie Boys is along side their DJ at the time, DJ Hurricane, that is not Just-Ice.
ReplyDeleteHi there, thanks for taking the time to reply, your feedback is appreciated. It's a good call on the Just Ice photo, I don't know why I didn't spot that before. I should know better than to trust a google image search, lol!!!
ReplyDeleteYour Fresh Kid Ice comment is an interesting point. I've also spent the last 20+ years thinking he was half Chinese (or something similar), but then I read somewhere recently that apparently he's not, he's African American. I don't know how true this is, so I didn't discuss it in this article, (I guess I should probably treat it with as much caution as a Just Ice image search!). Peace.