Raw Ice Dynasty - Living On The Edge album review
Raw Ice Dynasty’s Living On The Edge album is street savvy rap meets socially conscious hip hop. This album has an 80s music meets 90s music type of vibe. Raw Ice Dynasty is a product of early Cleveland gangsta rap from the early 1990s. Fans of early gangsta rap and hip hop will enjoy this album. However the album lacks in longevity as there is only 5 songs included. While lacking in longevity, the album compensates for that in lyrical content.
Their debut album was released on cassette only by Conneyonne Records in 1990. The ‘Parental Advisory’ sticker adds a nice touch of gangsta rap. Notice the ‘Parental Advisory’ sticker says, “Parental Advisory MuthaFuckn Lyrics. MuthaFuckn is written in red marker just below the word ‘advisory’. Conneyonne Records was a label from Cleveland, Ohio.
Brothers 4 The Struggle member Johnny Paycheck was a part of Raw Ice Dynasty from 1988 to 1991. Johnny Paycheck would later form the group Brothers 4 the Struggle using some members from Raw Ice Dynasty.
Nasty Nancy is a Too Short-esque sex rap type of song hence the title “Nasty Nancy”. The song Nasty Nancy has an 80s rap type of vibe. Unsurprisingly the whole song is about sex.
Paycheck came back with a lyrical attack on the song Back For The Payback. He is back for the payback on this song! The song Back For The Payback is a freestyle with a punch of lyrical rap performed by Paycheck backed with other members from Raw Ice Dynasty. Paycheck shows no fear in his raps as he is on a lyrical attack.
4/5****!
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Variety of Sinz - Hellavish • Blaze For The New Year album review
Variety of Sinz - Hellavish • Blaze For The New Year is one hell of a wicked album. It's hell in the beginning and heaven in the end when you are listening to the album as the words suggest on the album cover. Variety of Sinz bring out to you the hellish rap sounds of horrorcore, grimness, and acid rap along with that Flint Town sound with additions of spoken word from Revelation Records and Boomin' Records. Variety of Sinz can be compared to rap groups such as Natas, Project Born, Twiztid, The Dayton Family, Tnt, ICP, House of Krazees, Top Authority, and Cobane Boyz among others.
Hellavish was an album that was released on cassette only in 1994 by Revelation Records from Flint, Michigan. The A-Side is Hell The Beginning and the B-Side is Heaven The End. Steve Pitts engineered and mixed this VOS album at Success Studios.
The intro begins during a dark grim stormy night that quickly turns into a hellish nightmare. The mood easily quickly gives a negative feeling onto the listener or audience comparatively speaking. This track is known as the Stormy Night Intro.
Hellavish is a hellish song. Dark grim tales of horror are told. Hellish actions are committed by Variety of Sinz during a dark stormy night. There is no turning back after listening to this song after a day. Hellavish is a reprise to the Stormy Night Intro. The mood and vibe is dark. That's how music fans would consider this song. D Polk (Dion Polk) breaks us off something wicked on this VOS song. Helebe is known for his wicked rhymes which are considered to be hellish.
Hizzi uses a variety of kick drums and 808 beats over dope rhymes. The layers of beats are particularly thin. Steve Pitts produced and engineered the song.
The sounds of Other Side can be described as dark, negative, brooding, and hellish in key terms. Hellish is one word to describe this track. The mood and vibe is considered to be both dark and negative. Notice how the mood is brooding negative for instance. It's a fight between heaven and hell on the Other Side track. They wonder if they will either end up in heaven or hell during this track.
Variety of Sinz wonders if the group themselves will make it into heaven after committing hellish action that are considered to be a sin inside the track Other Side. They think heaven is too far on the other side for them to go. Besides their homies in hell (life) they would hate to see each other die.
Mind Flip is one hellish G-Funk track. The song itself has a dark eerie mood which is not surprising as most Variety of Sinz songs are comparatively dark. VOS is coming through your stereo system with hellish wicked rhymes. The song uses a thick layer of beats and bass. Followed by a thick layer of beats is a thick layer of bass which balance out perfectly.
This VOS song is aimed at the fake ass fools aka the plastic people. It’s a Revelation Family posse cut.
40 Fiend starts the song off first. He barely works a regular 9 to 5 job. The rest of the day he’s getting high. He is often making dope shit better than the chronic (a reference to the album Dr. Dre - The Chronic). You gotta come bubonic in the music industry. 40 Fiend makes people feel him with his rhymes. Throughout the verse, 40 Fiend makes references to contemporary rap artists of the time who were big such as Spice 1, Ice T, MC Breed, Snoop Dogg, 2Pac, and Top Authority.
He remembers all the people who were haters all on up The Dayton Family’s shit. People started dissing them because they couldn’t get a grip on their success. The Dayton Family’s albums were selling out back in the mid 90s. They had 2 gold selling albums.
40 Fiend dedicated the first verse to the music industry. That’s why you hear references made to other artists.
D Polk is tired of the old shit. He laughs at the wack people who diss him and can’t stand him. He carries a full clip. Social conservatives want to ban him but won’t give their time to him. D Polk is in a rage as his mind is crazed. Stay away and bacdafucup.
Helebe is known for his wicked rhymes which are considered to be hellish. Leatha Face and Helebe raps some hellish wicked rhymes at the very end of Mind Flip. They want you to listen to the wicked rhymes that them and Variety of Sinz spit. They have such spirit in their raps.
VOS is coming through your stereo system and coming to your soul at the end of Mind Flip.
The song Book 1 serves as the ending track for Side A (Hell The Beginning). The song uses a thick layer of beats, sound effects, synths, and bass. Book 1 serves as a representation of the book of sins. Similar to purgatory and the Seven Sins.
Can You Hang (Prelude) serves as the beginning track for Side B (Heaven The End). The song uses a thick layer of beats, sound effects, synths, and bass. VOS lets us know it’s on.
Variety of Sinz doubles up as a team on Double Up. Double Up is a posse cut that is a solid group effort. The vibe is similar to Mind Flip.
The Preacher is a spoken word skit of sorts. A preacher explains to an audience you can’t blame kids for the way they are. The institution failed on the children. Somewhere along the way in life is where the institution failed the children.
Rap meets spoken word on Bigger Balls. The song has a dark mood and negative vibe. The song is about who is the better rap group.
You can hear dark sound in the mood and vibe of Bigger Balls when you listen to the beginning after 15 seconds. A keyboard organ playing down tempo notes easily gives away a negative eerie vibe and mood. A female vocalist is the angelic voice in the background chorus. This female vocalist is singing solo however on such short notes. Rap meets spoken word on Bigger Balls. The song has a dark mood and negative vibe.
Variety of Sinz compares themselves to the rap group Top Authority on this track right here. They contemplate and wonder why their albums are not selling as well as the Top Authority albums that were circulating around the city of Flint, Michigan at the time.
Variety of Sinz put out an album on cassette and it’s not selling in high quantities as the Top Authority - Rated G album was. They wonder why their album is not selling as many copies as the Top Authority - Rated G album was selling in terms of album sales. So now they wonder who has the bigger balls hence the title of this track.
It's mind over matter on the track Mind Over Matter. Think of the term 'mind flip' when you listen to Mind Over Matter. The mood is brooding and eerie. Mind Over Matter is about decision making and dealing with insanity. Miez Nazty raps a verse on Mind Over Matter. The song was produced by Steve Pitts.
5/5*****!
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Raw Ice Dynasty - Time To Pay The Boss album review
Raw Ice Dynasty’s Time To Pay The Boss album is street savvy rap meets socially conscious hip hop. However this Raw Ice Dynasty has a more militant gangsta rap sound than it does hip hop. This album has an 80s music meets 90s music type of vibe. (Not surprising since this album was released in 1991.) Raw Ice Dynasty is a product of early Cleveland gangsta rap from the early 1990s. Fans of early gangsta rap and hip hop will enjoy this album.
This album was released on cassette only by Conneyonne Records in 1991. The ‘Parental Advisory’ sticker adds a nice touch of gangsta rap. Notice the ‘Parental Advisory’ sticker says, “Parental Advisory MuthaFuckn Lyrics. MuthaFuckn is written in red marker just below the word ‘advisory’. Conneyonne Records was a label from Cleveland, Ohio.
Brothers 4 The Struggle member Johnny Paycheck was a part of Raw Ice Dynasty from 1988 to 1991. Johnny Paycheck would later form the group Brothers 4 the Struggle using some members from Raw Ice Dynasty.
Die Nasty uses killer vinyl cuts and real lyrical content. Die Nasty is about how Raw Ice is lyrical and deadly in a raw manner. Raw Ice is known for their lyrical content. The song Die Nasty is a “gangsta rap dynasty”.
Coppers Ain't Shit is about Raw Ice’s viewpoints and perspective on police brutality. Raw Ice shows distrust and disgust towards law enforcement on this song of theirs. The song uses samples in a perfectly timed manner. Nothing is out of place with the samples that are used on this song.
He Used To Be My Homy is a cautionary tale about how friends can turn into backstabbers quickly. A friend who snitches on you is a backstabber. People can change like the weather.
4/5****!
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Chat Chat demo album review
The demo of long deceased Flint, Michigan rapper Chat Chat is a cassette that has been long forgotten. Chat Chat is a product of 90s Flint rap. Not too many people remember this rapper which is a tragedy because he left behind what could have been a career in music.
Chat Chat’s demo was recorded and engineered by Steve Pitts at Black Jack Studios in Flint, Michigan in 1994. Steve Pitts produced the entire demo himself. The songs included on this demo cassette are Somethin to Think About, Cry In Hell, Crazy Thought, and Lookin For A Gank.
Chat Chat’s demo came out around the time KingHood Cykoz released their first album which was in 1994. Chat Chat was influenced by the sounds of gangsta rap, electronic music, and horrorcore. Not only that, Chat Chat was influenced by the sounds of The Dayton Family, KingHood Cykoz, 211, Esham, Natas, Evol, and Variety of Sinz.
Crazy Thought is a song which delves into the crazy mind of Chat Chat. The song has a dark eerie horrorcore vibe. Vinyl scratches used on this song blend in with the horrorcore element very well.
Time after time, Chat Chat feels crazy. He can’t get himself together. It’s gotten to the point where he is about to lose his mind. He needs to chill as he always has these crazy thoughts. By living in this hellhole, he knows he’s lost. Chat Chat feels as if he has no place to go. He doesn’t give a fuck about anyone. Chat Chat feels like grabbing his gun to kill someone. Like a crazy motherfucking G.
At the 0:51 timestamp is where he talks about killing his family. Here is how he killed his family: He shot his mother in the temple. He left her dead on the bathroom floor. His brother was an eyewitness to this killing. Chat Chat attacked his brother using a butcher knife. He stuck his little nephew in the freezer.
Homicidal business is what he is always thinking about. He smothered a little girl by kidnapping her. Nobody had a clue what happened to her. 2 weeks later, Chat Chat is attending her funeral. The song gets crazy at this point. He kills her father by putting a bullet hole in his head. Now he’s 6 feet under.
The ending of Crazy Thought is where the tape sounds like it's getting eaten up. Chat Chat's voice comes on the speakers saying, "Turn the tape off devil worshipping muthafuckaz!”
Death Wish is a death themed rap song performed by Chat Chat. Death Wish was produced by Steve Pitts. He gets very dark on this song.
Chat Chat gives the public and us listeners something to think about on the song Somethin to Think About. The mood gets very dark quick as Chat Chat himself gets very deep on this song. He shares his thoughts on how life really is for him.
Chat Chat talks about how hard it to get a job when you’re from the ghetto. The trouble starts when a person from the ghetto submits an application only to have the employers throw it in the garbage. Unemployment is the reason why Chat Chat joined a gang (on the set). He feels that he is unemployable due to being from the ghetto.
Death knows no color as death happens to everyone. Death has no boundaries.
Despite the negative vibe you get from listening to this song, Chat Chat has a message. His message is “Change with the times so you won’t be let behind.” That way you can adapt to change as time progresses forward.
For those of you wondering what happened to Chat Chat, an explanation is provided below. It was a tragedy to what happened to Chat Chat. Here is what happened to Chat Chat:
Chat Chat was killed in 1994. He killed with a gun which resulted into death was by gunshot. Chat Chat was murdered over a woman. One day, Chat Chat was killed in his car by his homeboy. He was dating some woman his homeboy was.
His death was a shock. Chat Chat had left his child behind at the time of his death. His death was a tragedy that was not observed by Flint as a whole. His death remained overlooked and unnoticed. Robert Towne was Chat Chat the rapper. He was a rapper who was part of the Revelation Family on Revelation Records during the mid-1990s.
4/5****!
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Lil Louis & The World – I Called U (33 ⅓ RPM Promo Version) single review
The Lil Louis & The World – I Called U (33 ⅓ RPM Promo Version) is a unique vinyl promo which unfortunately did not get much media coverage as all of his other songs and singles had previously. The sounds of dance music meet the unique sounds of electronic music. 1989 was a good year for music.
I Called U (But You Weren't There) is a hilarious electronic song that uses a house soundscape. A piano accompanies the house soundscape along with a saxophone. An Afro-centric percussion ensemble is used. Djembe, shakers, conga, and bongos are used. The vocals are what make the song unique along with the Afro-centric percussion which is used.
The song is about an ex-lover trying to get back into Lil Louis’ life by stalking him. She continuously calls him over the phone. She gets into his business by stalking him every chance. Some call this song the “ballad of the psycho ex-girlfriend”. The vocals are what make the song unique. The song is definitely something that the guys can definitely relate to.
The song begins with a telephone ringing. Lil Louis picks up the telephone to answer whoever is calling. A man in the back asks Louis if that is another prank call. Read the lyrics below.:
Lil Louis: Hello....hello?
Man in the background: Louis, is that another crank call?)
Lil Louis: No, I know who it is.
*Lil Louis hang up the telephone*
Apparently an ex-lover is stalking Lil Louis wondering about his whereabouts. It is a female who calls him again. She questions where did he go. Her response was “I called you but you weren’t there.” . Lil Louis tells her “I was out taking care of business.” . She proceeds to tell him she was following him in her blue car. She asks “Why can’t we start again?”
Lil Louis clearly does not want anything to do with her. If you listen closely to her vocals over the phone, she sounds as if she were drunk. Some call this song the “ballad of the psycho ex-girlfriend”.
I Called U (But You Weren't There) charted at #16 on the BillBoard in the UK in January 1990 and at #23 in Ireland in January 1990. I Called U (But You Weren't There) also charted at #48 on the BillBoard in Belgium in March 1990. The song was a hit in several European countries in 1990.
The Over The Edge Mix of I Called U uses a wide variety of instruments. Lil Louis is a genius when it comes to instrumentation arrangement and production.
The Saxy Mix of I Called U uses a jazz instrumental over an ensemble of saxophones. The jazzy vibe adds to the mix of the sexiness in this Lil Louis song. Lil Louis is a genius when it comes to instrumentation arrangement. He can do no wrong when it comes to production.
Blackout (Phase 1) aka Blackout (Phase I) is also known as The Lights Go On and Phase 1: The Lights Go On
Blackout by Lil Louis was released as a promo on vinyl in 1989 by FFRR and Epic to promote his From The Mind Of Lil Louis album that would be later released that year. Blackout has a very deep house sound mixed with electronic music. This song was played around the world in nearly every club and at every party back in 1989. Its uplifting vocals are what really energize the song. The song Blackout utilizes a time signature of 4|4.
However Lil Louis gets in touch with his religious side by quoting some scriptures from the Christian Old Testament book. Such as mentioning The Lord is my shepherd from Psalm 23. Psalm 23 is the 23rd psalm of the Book of Psalms.
The first verse quotes the beginning of from the Christian Old Testament and Book of Psalms.
[Verse 1]
The Lord is my shepperd, I shall not want
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures
He leaded me beside the still waters
He restoreth my soul
He leaded me in a path of righteousness
For His name's sake
Yeah
Though I walk to the valley of the shadow of death
I will fear no evil, for thou art with me
Thy rod and thy staff comfort me
Thou preparest a table before me, in the presence of my enemies
Thou anointest my head with oil, my cup's runneth over
Surely goodness and loving kindness
Shall follow me all the days of my life
And I will dwell in the House of the Lord
Forverer
In the middle of the song is where Genesis 1:1-10 is quoted. Revelation 6:12 is quoted as well. These are the scriptures listed below.
[Genesis 1:1-10]
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth
And the earth was without form and void
And darkness was above the face of the deep
And the spirits of God moved upon the face of the waters
And God said "let there be light", and there was light
[Revelation 6:12]
And I beheld when he opened the sixth seal
And Lord there was a great earthquake
And the sun became black a sackcloth of hair
And the moon became as blood
And the stars of heaven fell to the earth even as
A fig tree casts her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind
And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together
And every mountain and island were moved out of their place
The message at the end of the song tells us to seek out the truth. The message at the end of the song is “The truth is now, don't wait, too late to wake up” .
Blackout (Phase 2) aka Blackout (Phase II) is also known as Phase 2: The Night The Club Lights Went Out, The Lights Went Out, and The Night The Club Lights Went Out.
Much of the entirety of this song is played in reverse order. That includes the lyrics, beats, and sound effects. Except for the occasional vocal samples. The song uses an interesting house soundscape.
5/5*****!!
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