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“Let The Funk Flow”-EPMD

Taken From: “Strictly Business”-EPMD (1988, Sleeping Bag/Fresh)

Damn, for those of you who have the 3G IPhone…well, it’s a beautiful thing.  Amongst the countless “Apps” that you can download for the gadget, there’s Pandora internet radio.  What makes Pandora so special is that you can customize a station simply by keying in the name of your favorite group or artist.  The other morning while flipping through my customized EPMD station, “Let The Funk Flow” surprisingly blared through my Bose headphones (which, while somewhat pricey,  are well worth the extra coin).  Prior to this listening, it had been soo long since I’d heard the 3rd track from EPMD’s seminal (and debut) LP, “Strictly Business”, even though just over a decade ago Nas offered his clever twist on the track with the lead single from his album of the same name, “Nastradamus”.

Sampling Otis Redding’s “Nobody Knows You (When You’re Down And Out) and the JB’s “(It’s Not the Express) It’s the J.B.’s Monaurail”, “Let The Funk Flow” is Erick and Parrish at their slow-flowin’ finest.  The bassline and signature funk epitomizes the formula that made EPMD one the most often imitated, never duplicated duos in Hip Hop.  Even if there may not be a drastic change of pace within the track, and after a few listens some may find the sampled loop to be a bit monotonous, true school heads will enjoy this trek down memory lane while recalling why many of us fell in love with EPMD in the first place.  Still, I can’t quite figure out why this track wasn’t released as a single from “Strictly Business”.

“Center Of Attention”-INI

Taken From: officially Pete Rock’s “Hip Hop Underground Soul Classics”-”Center Of Attention”-INI (2003, Rapster)

Synonymous with the name Pete Rock (who handled the album’s production) and recorded in 1995 shortly after the Pete & CL split, INI’s debut “Center Of Attention” was slated as the first official release on Pete Rock’s Soul Brother Records label. The debut single, “Fakin’ Jax” (which also featured Pete, and featured a CL-directed first verse from Mr. Phillips), garnered quite a bit of attention (no pun intended). Unfortunately, shortly thereafter, Rock’s distribution deal with Elektra Records fell through, and plans to release the albums were subsequently cancelled due to issues over ownership of the masters. “Center Of Attention” did, however, find its way onto the underground market through heaby bootlegging and simply put is an “underground classic”.

My favorite cut from the album also served as it’s title cut, the very subtle, soulful grooves of  “Center Of Attention”.  Although, the loop that fuels this PR masterpiece wouldn’t grace my ears until a few years after the release of INI’s debut, via the intro to GangStarr’s “Rep Grows Bigga”, the added piano stabs that Pete sprinkles amongst the clever Jeff Beck sample truly pushes this track over the top and only adds to it’s elegance.  A true “must-hear” for any Pete Rock fan, and sadly one of the Soul Brotha #1′s most overlooked productions.

“Ingredients To Time Travel”-Artifacts

Taken From: “That’s Them”-Artifacts (1997, Big Beat)

More important than what the ‘Facts brought to their music with 1997′s “That’s Them” was what they actually choose to leave out, which in turn made “That’s Them” such a refreshingly easy listen. Void of gaudy “bling” references or illegal narcotic distribution tales, instead there is just straight emcee bravado with a hint of inebriated B-boy wit. The Brand Nubian assisted “Collaboration Of Mics” and the Run-DMC sampled “This Is Da Way” found the Artifacts unleashing a lyrical onslaught aimed at fake ass, doo-doo rappers over bonkers production courtesy of Lord Finesse (”Collabortion…”) and the Mighty V.I.C. (”This Is Da Way”). But the true “oh shit!” moment on “That’s Them” is delivered via the spacey and progressive “Ingredients To Time Travel”.

On “..Time Travel”, Tame seemed to be experimenting with a new and hypnotic time-delay style over an equally mystical beat that was produced by a little-known producer who went by the name of Gruff Rhino. To truly witness the depth of “Time Travel” you’ve gotta’ bump it in your headphones… even a well assembled car stereo or a boombox just doesn’t give the track it’s due as the track fades from right to left within your ear candy. If I was to do a “Most Played For The Week” post, this track would have the #1 spot on lock, no question! And the lyrical wordplay on this joint is strictly “rewind” material!!  Truly one of my personal sleepers EVER!

“D & D Soundclash”-Afu-Ra f. Cocoa Brovaz

Taken From: “Body Of The Life Force”-Afu-Ra (2000, Koch)

Originally slated for release a few years prior to 2000, the collapse of Gee Street Records led to Afu’s release on the underground upstart label, Koch (who, nowadays, seems like they sign everybody and their Mother).  Many of you will recall the DJ Premier blazer “Whirlwind Thru Cities” as your first exposure to the unique, distinctive vocal stylings of Afu-Ra.  Afu’s debut didn’t quite match the intensity of the debut single, as “The Body Of The Life Force” played more like a “Body Of Unbalanced Material”.  Simply put, the great tracks on the album were GREAT, however, the flops really came off as just….ehhhh? The album certainly didn’t lake variety as there’s a parade of solid productions led by Muggs (of Cypress Hill) on “Soul Assassination” and DJ Premier on “Mic Stance” and “Defeat.” Afu-Ra also invited a few guests, and the collaborations were more than welcome: GZA matches wits on “Bigacts Littleacts” and the Cocoa Brovaz (aka Smif-N-Wessun) and Jahdan show up on “D&D Soundclash” (Afu-Ra’s salute to his roots at the legendary D&D Studios.

Try to capture the scenery that surrounded the recording of this Beatminerz produced classic when you listen to it.  Certainly Rasta-influenced, the Beatminerz dug up their signature dirty, dusty, dingy drums for this masterpiece as Afu, Tek & Steele sound more like a cohesive trio than two separate acts pieced together for the sake of a notable “guest appearance” intended to generate more album sales.  Being that this track was released around the time when the Down South movement had just begun to generate a head of steam, one could only imagine what a breath of fresh air was when this track played out on my DiscMan.

“Travellin’ Man”-DJ Honda f. Mos Def

Taken From: “HII”-DJ Honda (1998, Relativity)

In the mid-’90s, DJ Honda released a slew of singles while making international headway in the club scene and made his debut with “Out for the Cash” which featured the Beatnuts, Fat Joe and Problemz  in 1995. Hll followed-up his debut nearly three years later, showcasing collaborations with De La Soul and KRS-1 on the Relativity-released “HII”.   Honda’s self-titled debut was fairly solid and 1998 only brought forth more goodness in the form of “HII”, namely the album’s finale, which featured (at the time) a little-known MC by the name of Mos Def.

My love for “Travellin’ Man” was recently rekindled in the last few years, after hearing CL Smooth rip the track on his J. Period assisted mixtape “Man On Fire”.  Honda hit the nail on the head when he was able to tie down Mos Def for this track.  “Travellin’ Man” features one of the best produced beats I’ve ever heard from Honda as Mos Def wails: “Memories..don’t live like people do..they always remember you..” without being annoying or “Ja-Rulish”, if you catch my drift?

“Jersey”-Queen Latifah

Taken From: “New Jersey Drive” O.S.T.-Various (1995, Tommy Boy)

Thank the good Lord for the “shuffle” option on the Ipod!!  Not only was Queen Latifah’s “Jersey” literally “buried” amongst the 150 GBs of other lost music on one of the greatest creations known to man, but “New Jersey Drive” (which, is one of the better soundtracks to ever drop) hasn’t received it’s fair share of spins in a few years either.  A soundtrack which featured the likes of Outkast, Keith Murray, Ill Al Skratch and let’s not forget Total’s biggest splash to date that featured the Notorious B.I.G. (and mostly for what this soundtrack is remembered for), the James Brown-jerked, “Can’t You See”.

Produced by Latifah herself, “Jersey” is Dana’s ode to her good ole’ stompin’ grounds of New Jersey.  Boasting Biz Markie’s infamous beatboxed: “I can’t..forget New Jersey”, this track is the true definition of East Coast “bounce”.  The subtlety of “Jersey” is it’s beauty as Latifah laced the track with elegant, airy production that is extremely suitable for the “T.R.O.Y.” (although, not quite on that playing field) type of vibe Latifah is aiming for with “Jersey”.  Even though female emcees don’t serve as the most popular listening choice amongst male Hip Hop fans these days, Queen Latifah’s “Jersey” is an instant classic that should not be overlooked.

“Salute”-M.O.P.

Taken From: “Firing Squad”-M.O.P. (1996, Relativity)

Now wait a hot second here!!  How is it possible that a track produced by the legendary DJ Premier is considered even remotley “forgotten” Eric?  Well, for one, even though I purchased M.O.P.’s “Firing Squad” when it dropped waaay back in ’96, I…much like most of you, I assume…have done the most popular and necessary thing, conduct a “Google Blog Search” and nonchalantly proceed to download the album.  Well, here’s the real kicker, if any of you may have also noticed-most of the downloads for “Firing Squad” contain the extension of “Salute”, titled “Salute Pt. II”…not the original.  So, even when I lucked out and found this album in the “used” bin at Hastings a few months ago, I had totally forgotten just how “necessary” this track was.  However, here today-just for you, I’ve included the “original” for your downloading pleasure (as I pat myself on the back).

“Salute” finds M.O.P. at their most “ruckus-bringin” finest lyrically , over a Primo track that sounds like what would happen if the instrumentals from Nas’ “Nas Is Like” and M.O.P.’s “Everyday” (from the best M.O.P. album to date, “Warriorz”) had offspring.  Sadly, “Salute” is waaay too short, clocking it at a shade over two minutes in length, it goes without saying that “Salute” truly leaves you fiending for more.  By the way, speaking of the aforementioned “Everyday”, that same track also featured Wyclef’s proteges, Product G & B…whatever happened to those dudes?

“Return Of The Dread”-Brand Nubian

Taken From: “Everything is Everything”-Brand Nubian (1994, Elektra)

For starters, admittedly, due to the fact that I purchased Brand Nubian’s third album (and follow-up to “In God We Trust”, Lord J and Sadat’s second effort sans Grand Puba) on the same day as Pete Rock & CL Smooth’s “The Main Ingredient”, it’s a pretty fair statement to say that “Everything Is Everything” didn’t receive too many plays in the…aheem…Geo Tracker (!).  One track over the years that’s really seemed to stick to my ribs was the Lord Jamar solo outing on the album, “Return Of The Dread”.

Borrowing two vocal samples from Scarface (“It’s the return of the muthafu*kin’ dreadlock” and “anyway you come, I’m in your muthafu*kin’ sh*t man” (maine), Lord J (who also produced the track) does one of my favorite samples of all-time (the Emotions’ infamous “Blind Alley”) justice.  With a super-thick bassline and hard drums, Lord Jamar unleashes verbal fury over a track that suits his persona to a tee.  Even though, Jamar exercises his usual “Kill Whitey” theme hear, it’s hard not to love the strongest track on the last dope album we’d hear from Brand Nubian.

“Brown Sugar” (Beatminerz Remix)“-D’Angelo f. Kool G Rap

Taken From: “Cruisin’” Maxi-Single (1996, EMI)

Even though it would take me nearly 8 (!) years since it’s release to first hear this track, it’s safe to say that the Beatminerz reworking of the D’Angelo classic, “Brown Sugar”, will go down not only as one of my favorite Beatminerz’ remixes of all-time, but one of my top three Beatminerz’ beats ever!  Improving on an already classic track by the time “Cruisin” (D’Angelo’s third single released from the album, also titled “Brown Sugar”) is not an easy task, but the production team of the Beatminerz did it with such ease that it’s not far fetched to say that the remix hits harder than it’s predecessor.

Also, let’s not forget that this remix also featured a VERY nice sixteen from the legendary Kool G Rap.  Talk about an odd pairing?  However, believe it or not, it works masterfully.  Da Beatminerz creating somewhat of an airy feel (damn those bells are slick!) to match D’Angelo’s silky smooth vocals (pause).  Also, as far as I’m concerned, the Kool G Rap verse is without a doubt one of the best verses he’s laid on wax…and there’s been a plethora of them to choose from!  Yes, I’m aware that this doesn’t necessarily qualify as “Hip Hop”, but gotdamn it’s hard to front on this Beatminerz CLASSIC.

“Truthful”-Heavy D & The Boyz

Taken From: “Blue Funk”-Heavy D & The Boyz (1992, Uptown)

First you hit us with “Brown Sugar” (?) now this, “Truthful”?  Damn Eric, what’s next Pink?  Yes, I’ll admit I’ve always been a sucker for blaring horn loops, knockin’ drums and to top it all off?  Yes, throw some sultry vocals from an “R & B Chick” on the hook and it’s ova’ for this mellow-type of fellow.  C’mon now, you just can’t front on Heavy D’s suppossed “dark” album, which was recorded shortly after the tragic death of one of Heavy’s dancers, Trouble T-Roy (hence, the forthcoming of Pete & C.L.’s “T.R.O.Y.” for all you no-brainers out there).  Shoot, I love “Blue Funk” enough to put in in my “Top 25″ albums ever!  Hell, maybe even my “Top 15″, I’m serious..this album was ALL I played during basketball season during my sophomore year of High School.

Laced by one of the most forgotten producers of our era, Tony Dofat (who also produced “Who’s The Man?” and “Who’s In The House”, from the album), “Truthful” is blessed with swift drums, Dofat’s signature horns and (again) an angelic vocal performance on the hook (courtesy of Terri Robinson).  The smoothest of the smooth, Heavy D, can be found reminiscing over love lost (as usual)….and don’t sleep people, Heavy was NICE on the M-I-C.  One of many emcees from the golden era that never receives his due props, rather to be written off as a “softie”. Yeah, the man behind “A Buncha’ Nig#as”, “Don’t Curse” and “Blue Funk” (produced by Hev’s cousin, Pete Rock) is soft, gimme’ a break! Minus the obligatory reggae cut “Girl”, “Blue Funk” was void of any fast-forward material, a true CLASSIC in my book.