You might think of Mean Gene as a lost Beastie Boys member. That is because of his style to blend in old school rap and hip hop sounds into rock music. The whole album is a rap rock fusion. That is what you will think when you listen to the Back To The Old School Class Dismissed album by Mean Gene.
DJ Clay did most of the production, Carlito-D wrote all of the album, and Mean Gene was the incredible visionary of this album. The production is samples from cuts of various old school Hip Hop/Rap classics everywhere.
This album was released in 1995 on CD and cassette by Boomin' Records in Flint, Michigan. The front cover are the colors of the Green Bay Packers football team colors with the mascot hornet. You would have thought Mean Gene was from Wisconsin. For those who don't know, Mean Gene is from Flint and not Lansing, Michigan or Wisconsin as many people thought he was. He was going to school at University of Michigan - Lansing at the time, which is why you see the green and yellow colors on this album. Mean Gene is a real cool big dude. Mean Gene was an artist out of Flint, Michigan at one time.
Anyway…On with the album!
The first two songs are based off of beer which is Mean Gene's favorite drink. The intro is called Beer Run ironically. The country samples are just yeehaw! Mean Gene loves his beer. He makes that point blank clear on the first two songs of this album. Now for those who want to know what a beer run is, look it up.
Drunk Technique uses a barrage of vinyl scratches, samples, and breakbeats with a touch of lyricism. The sound for this song is electronically polished. Mean Gene don’t play when it comes to beer.
Back To The Old School is basically going back to the basics in old school hip hop and rap. It's not just only about going back to the basics.
It's about reminiscing about the old days or preferably the 1980s in this case. Drinking beer, eating chicken and ketchup, and going to concerts. Back in the days everything was cool. Back in the days all you needed was a boombox. When somebody rocked the party, nobody got shot. As for this song, he production is samples from cuts of various old school hip hop/rap classics everywhere. Back To The Old School has that east coast sound!
It's an All Night Thing when Mean Gene is on a late night creep. Chasing skirt and licking booty. It only involves all the women that Mean Gene meets. This track is sort of a precursor to Freak Nasty - Da Dip and a successor of Skeezer Pleaser - UTFO.
Anyway this song is mainly about late night sex. You can feel that Freak Nasty vibe to it. The remix is even better! DJ Clay is on the wheels of steel and he does a superb job as usual! The bass is super heavy but not too hyphy.
Mad Flavor is laced with a Grand Funk Railroad sample heavily relying on the organ and rock guitar.
You can feel the vibe of the pipe organ in harmony as if it were playing live at church on Sunday at the very beginning of this song. Yes this is the Grand Funk Railroad from the Southside of Flint, Michigan.
You can feel the harmony of the organ. The outlaw country rock sample was appropriate for this song. Mad Flavor should have been longer in terms of track duration by being 3 to 4 minutes long.
DJ Clay did a superb job on Wheels of Steel. The samples are on point. Wheels of Steel should have been longer also! Anything you know that DJ Clay does is the shit! It hits hard. DJ Clay definitely goes hard on the wheels of steel wether it be live in concert or in the recording studio,
The kick drums and tom drums were perfect fitting in the live production on Ill Time. The Beastie Boys bass sample was ill! Ill Time is hard rock mixed with rock 'n' roll. Adventures based on smoking, chicken, and alcohol is how it is at a Mean Gene show. It's all wildness and partying. Mean Gene knows how to put on a show and the crowd goes wild and ill!!
For those who don't know, Mean Gene was experimenting with the chopped and screwed sub-genre on Up On My Ship. The sounds are funky with a touch of old school rap and hip hop music. Notice the organ being used? The beats cam from a drum machine. When you’re on Mean Gene’s ship, there’s no avoiding getting drunk as hell. It’s beer after beer.
You will love the incorporated Yes Yes Ya'll sample from Beastie Boys - Slow and Low used on Yes Yes Ya'll. It has that East Coast feel to it. The timbre, beats, and production are on point! You can feel Mean Gene rockin' it during one of his live concerts on this one right here! Notice how the Tom drums are used mixed in with the beats? You can tell Mean Gene put his heart and soul into it. Mean Gene is good at what he does. The crowd at the end went wild!!
Now onto the Live Concert version of Yes Yes Ya'll!! Mean Gene put his heart and soul into performing live at his concerts on stage! Mean Gene is good at what he does. You can feel Mean Gene rockin' it during one of his live concerts on this one right here! He knows how to put on a good show. The crowd at the end went wild!! You can tell Mean Gene put his heart and soul into it. Mean Gene is good at what he does.
Here's how Mean Gene was received by his audience in the Dirty South particularly Texas. You see not too many people in Texas knew who Mean Gene was. In fact, not too many people outside of Michigan or the Midwest knew who Mean Gene was. Even during Boomin' Records prime from the timespan from the years 1995 to 1997. To sum it all up… this album was overlooked as a whole altogether.
I rate this album, Back To The Old School Class Dismissed, 5/5*****!!
No comments:
Post a Comment