Get To Know H.E.R.

Ah, here we are finally. Took a little longer than I thought it would take, but we’re finally on the third album of 1986. And what an album it is! Raising Hell, by Run DMC is considered by practically everyone to be their best album and is in tons of greatest so and so lists in various magazines. Chris Rock even goes so far as to call it the first great rap album. In many ways, it was the first album to really put rap on a national level of fame. Of course, as we now know in today’s crunk crap era, fame doesn’t necessarily equal quality, so let’s start our critical review.

1. Peter Piper - The album starts right off with the rhyming, even before the beat comes in. The lyricism on this album is actually pretty dope, considering that it was before Rakim and the so called revolution happened.

2. It’s Tricky - EVERYONE knows this song. Sounds just a bit corny in this day and age, but damn me if this song isnt fun.

3. My Adidas - The ever so famous ode to the essential B-boy gear of choice. The beat is minimalist as hell, but that’s fine with me. I prefer a simple beat like this any day to that shitty A Milli.

4. Walk This Way (ft Aerosmith) - The song that catapulted them to stardom, Walk This Way, was the first rap song to ever reach the top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100. Back in these days, popular rap actually had artistic value.

5. It Is Live - Amazing percussion creates a musical soundscape for Rev Run and DMC to trade rhymes over in this track.

6. Perfection - As far as percussion based beats go, I largely prefer the last track to this one. Honestly, this track gets to be pretty boring.

7. Hit It Run - The beatboxing on the track sounds pretty, well, horrible but the rest of the track is pretty amazing. I’m gonna say that the beatbox portion wasn’ t meant to be taken seriously at all. Yeah..

8. Raising Hell - A great mix of rock and rap. Run DMC may not have been the first to mix the two genres, but they were definitely one of the greatest.

9. You Be Illin - Jam Master Jay cuts the track beautifully and Run DMC comes off sounding like an extremely subdued version of the Beastie Boys. Not surprising I guess since both this and Licensed to Ill were produced in large by Rick Rubin.

10. Dumb Girl - I find the hook on this song to be hilarious, but other than that I’m not the biggest fan of it.

11. Son of Byford - More of an interlude than anything. Features yet more meh beatboxing but since this is an interlude I guess I don’t care too much.

12. Proud To Be Black - The token afrocentric track. It’s really a great track. If Public Enemy weren’t so bent on revolution, this might be what they would sound like.

Final Score: 9.0

22 years after its release, the album does sound a little outdated in some parts. But who cares really? Outdated or not, it’s still dope as fuck. The album is consistently good all throughout, but that also ends up being the reason it only gets a 9.0 from me. There’s no track that shocks you and grabs you and makes you want to go back just to listen to it a gajillion more times. In other words, while the album is consistent, there’s really no punch in the face moments of excellence. Still, like I said, it’s dope and definitely deserves to be listened to. And with that said, 1986 is over. You know what that means. Next stop, 1987 and the Golden Age!

So after learning about the great man Afrika Bambaataa were you able to sleep last night, all excited about hearing some actual music from the guy? Have you been refreshing the browser every 5 minutes, hoping that I’ve finally posted a review of this old school gem? Are you dying with anticipation right about now? If you’ve answered yes to any of the above, you’ve just surprised the crap out of me and made me think that maybe there is a hope of a hip hop renaissance in the near future. But most likely you’ve answered no to all of them and there is no hope whatsoever but that’s beyond the point. The point of today’s entry is quite obviously the review of Planet Rock: The Album (so as not to confuse it with Planet Rock: The Song I guess). Before we go any further into this writeup, you should know that many of the songs were actually from earlier than 1986 and Planet Rock serves more as a compilation in a way. Also remember that this is an old school album and the beats and rhymes may sound a little outdated. But then again, the rhymes you hear on any given old school album is better than some of the crap that Souljah Boy is pulling out of his ass so maybe you guys won’t care. And I’m going off on a tangent again. So, without further ado I give to you, Planet Rock: The Album.

1. Planet Rock - The voice effects in the beginning give kind of a feel of an old school T-Pain. But unlike  actual T-Pain tracks, this track pretty much rocks. There’s huge breaks between actual verses on this song and you’re probably not used to that. You just have to understand that back in the day, hip hop actually incorporated all of its elements. These days, it seems like the only aspect of hip hop that have survived is emceeing (which isn’t even referred to as such anymore) but back then the emcee knew that it was part of a bigger machine.

2. Looking For The Perfect Beat - So, a common question I receive is that if I claim the majority of  Crunk music to suck ass because of its simplistic lyrics, how can I call something like this a classic track? Well, one answer is that this was back then in the beginnings of hip hop. The art of emceeing has evolved quite a bit since then and if you can’t even rap better than these guys that can only mean hip hop’s devolved. Second, as mentioned above, the emcee wasn’t the forefront of hip hop at the time and it was evenly concentrated. The DJ on this track is equally as important as the emcees. Hip hop these days don’t even concentrate on anything else but the emcee, hence people just calling it rap. If you claim rapping to be the center of hip hop, God forbid I hear some actual dope rhymes on a track once in a while. And geez, I’ve strayed. I’m sorry, the song itself is dope.

3. Renegades of Funk - Fans of MF Doom might recognize the intro from that one track with Mr Fantastic. Fans of good music might recognize the track to be an infectious as hell, great song. I personally enjoy the sections without the emcee better but that’s just me.
4. Frantic Situation -  It’s an average track, especially compared to the previous three tracks. It’s also quite annoying in some parts. Thankfully, it’s also the shortest track on the album so we don’t have to listen to too much of it.

5. Who You Funkin With - Remember how I said, the emcee wasn’t the main focus of hip hop back then? Doesn’t mean that there weren’t any tracks that put rhymes in the spotlight at all. The first three fourths of the song lets the emcees take center stage and not a single line is wasted.

6. Go Go Pop - And the rapping steps back and takes its place among the rest once again. But who cares? It’s still pretty good although it kinda drags a bit past the halfway point.

7. They Made A Mistake - A banging way to end the album.

Final Score: 9.0

I may be a bit generous in giving it a 9.0 but taken in the full context of the whole old school hip hop movement, I don’t think that score’s too far off. This is a great album to listen to if you want to know what hip hop sounded like back in the days. People talk about old school these days, they talk about B.I.G. and Tupac. Fuck outta here. This is old school and it’s old school at its finest.

And so we begin, with the first actual album review in the series. Took long enough huh. Anyways, when we last left the Beaties, they’d just met Rick Rubin, changed themselves into a rap group and signed with Def Jam. The premise of the Beastie Boys was simple enough. They were a bunch of white guys who loved to drink, party, womanize, and somewhere in between rap about all that. Looks like a horrible idea on paper to me, but what do I know right? Especially since the album was freaking incredible and has since its release sold only about a gajillion copies. Seriously, the Rolling Stones’ headline was “Three Idiots Create a Masterpiece.” And that…pretty beautifully sums up the Beasties in a nutshell. So, let’s continue and actually listen to this masterpiece that idiots made, Licensed To Ill (which, no joke, was originally supposed to be called “Don’t Be A Faggot”).

1. Rhymin & Stealin - The song starts with the drums. Then the guitar joins in. Then, the three proceed to rap a great track. That choppy rhyme style you’re hearing? That’s old school baby. Until we hit “A Hip Hop Odyssey Through NYC: 1987,” get used to it.

2. The New Style - The chemistry found in the the group is pretty amazing. I for one think that today’s rappers should bring back the tag team style of old school fame (Mos Def and Black Thought did it on a Root’s song and the end result was nothing short of superb). As for the track itself, it kinda drags a little bit towards the middle but then, wait! The beat changes in the middle of the track and you’re right back to enjoying it.

3. She’s Crafty - Eh, you can do without this song. Songs complaining about females has never caught my attention unless it happens to be made by Will Smith and Jazzy Jeff. And Gold Digger was alright too I guess. But this one you can do without.

4. Posse in Effect - Man, imagine what could’ve happened if the Beastie Boys were actual beats on the mic. Crazy. As for the track itself. It’s alright.

5. Slow Ride - The first thing you’ll notice is that there’s no guitar on this track. Second thing is that regardless, it’s good. Very chill and relaxed for the Beastie’s first album. You don’t get much of that until an album or two later so this is a preview of sorts.

6. Girls - This song makes me wish I were reviewing Check Your Head or Ill Communication instead. This album sounded a lot better the first time around. Where are the good songs?

7. Fight For Your Right - O. There they are. Everyone knows this song. My mom knows this song. Some people think it’s great, some people not so much. Myself, I used to live by this song. So I guess I fall into the former camp. Strangely enough, the Beasties themselves, fall into the latter camp. Weird huh? Whatever it’s a great song.

8. No Sleep Til Brooklyn - Followed by something even better. The guitar here is pretty sick and it comes complete with a guitar solo played guitarist Kerry King of Slayer. I’m starting to remember why I like this album so much.

9. Paul Revere - The track almost sounds too subdued to be on this album. But, I’m glad it is because one of my favorites. It’s also most likely your favorite rapper’s favorite track as well.

10. Hold It Now, Hit It - If I’m not mistaken, this was the first single to be released from the album. It’s pretty good but more often then not, you’re gonna skip this song…

11. Brass Monkey - …in order to get to this one. It’s a fun track and it’s hard not to like. It’s just too damn infectious.

12. Slow and Low - Believe it or not, this was originally a Run DMC song that was left off King of Rock. I’m glad the Beastie Boys decided to do a cover because it would’ve been a damn shame if no one ever heard this song.

13. Time to Get Ill - I’ve always liked this song and I’m glad I did, because last songs are very important to my overall impression of an album (well, unless its an outro of some sort.)

Final Score: 8.5

As much as I love this album, it’s more of a personal taste thing. I can’t give it anything higher than an 8.5 without feeling pangs of favoritism. That being said, it’s still a great album and it deserves nothing lower than an 8.5 either. It might take a while to get into some of their stuff but it’s well worth it. You’ll be glad you did when I begin the reviews of their later albums. Their next album sounds totally different and I actually think that their next three albums are nothing short of classics. But til then, and til the next review in this series knock yourself out with this one.