Lil Rascal - Da Phunky Runt was released by none other than gospel rap artist Lil Raskull in 1994. That album was released on Dead Game Records. This album was released during the great ''Golden era'' when music was not only music but was an art. This album is one of Lil Raskull’s lesser known albums that did not receive nationwide distribution similarly to the albums The Benediction and Because It Was Written.
Now Lil Raskull was going by the moniker of Lil Rascal and was not a well known gospel rap artist in the world of Christian hip hop yet. This piece of work was his first professional album. He was a gangsta rap artist at the time this album/EP was recorded and written. This album is a gumbo of mixture of gangsta rap and funk produced by Tiger. Now Tiger had magic. He could play music he produced and dudes would throw money at him. He was definitely real sick with them beats. Not to mention funky. The deal was made possible by Tiger. Lil Raskull wouldn’t be the artist he is today if it wasn’t for him.
Pen N Pixel did the designs for the label logos and fonts. The vinyl uses a black and white color scheme.
Lil Raskull was signed to an underground label in Houston, Texas called Knee Hi Records. Knee Hi Records was the byproduct of seed money they received from a street pharmacist. The street pharmacist funded Knee Hi Records for $10,000 dollars in terms of start up cost. Tiger was working out of a studio on the Southside neighborhood of Houston, Texas. (This studio was the same studio Scarface was discovered in.) However this album received limited distribution and was only pressed up on 12” vinyl. Only a limited number of copies of this vinyl seem to exist.
Here are the reasons why Da Phunky Runt album did not receive nationwide distribution and became one of his lesser known albums.
Reason #1. Lack of being business savvy.
Neither Tiger or Lil Raskull had any business savvy. That $10,000 dollars worth of funding dried up before the album could get any nationwide distribution to the streets. So this resulted in only a limited number of copies being pressed up on 12” vinyl. That is why Da Phunky Runt was never pressed up on CD or cassette.
Reason #2. The demand of wanting more from the producer instead of the artist.
People in Houston wanted more from Tiger (the producer) instead of Lil Rascal (the artist). Everyone believed in Tiger’s production, not necessarily Lil Rascal. His production is what lead Lil Rascal to be overlooked. Dead Game heard Tiger’s production from Lil Rascal’s album/EP and immediately wanted to draft him to their production team and label.
Reason #3. Low confidence on Lil Rascal’s part.
His talent wasn’t strong enough to make anyone believe in him yet. Lil Raskull didn’t think he could be a talented rapper.
Three of the songs including the Jus Da Intro and Mi Way were later included on his 1995 album Like A Grown As Man.
The version of Mi Way that is on this album/EP is the original version and is not labeled as interlude. Dead Game Records like the song so much they decided to turn Mi Way into an interlude called Mi Way (Interlude) which would later be included on his 1995 album Like A Grown As Man. The funky bass lines follow a ghostly rhythm that is produced by Tiger. The Mi Way song is an instrumental.
I rate this album 4/5****!
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