Prose -n- Cons - Proof Is In The Prose album review
Prose -n- Cons - Proof Is In The Prose is a lost classic album from Flint hip hop and Ypsilanti, Michigan from 1991. The album was released on cassette. Not too many people know about this album. The samples are carefully arranged over dope thin beats and percussion.
The producers who produced this album were Lee Martin, Brandon Wilkins, and Greg Rhymer. All whom were in the hip hop trio Prose -n- Cons. The project was overseen by Brian (Jeff) Brown and Sean (Treble) Rugless for No Budget Productions. As the title of the production company states, the production is low budget. So a wise recommendation would be to listen closely.
The song 3 Ways To Rek A Mic describes in exact detail 3 ways to wreck a microphone. Step 1 is apex, Step 2 is complex, and Step 3 is Trendsetter. This song is lyrical. Prose -n- Cons breaks it down lyrically on how to wreck mic in 3 ways. P-N-C shares the crown of hip hop with many others.
Thin beats and vinyl cuts are what stand out in this song. The beats are not too processed or thick. The beats are produced and arranged at a perfect level. Bass is set to a medium level. 3 Ways To Rek A Mic samples The Family Stand - Ghetto Heaven.
Apex is up first. Apex is about new prose and new flows. Tampering with his microphone might end your life. He is a gangster on the microphone who keeps his style original compared to all others. Apex has been into hip hop since 1976. But he is a friendly brother on the street when you meet him. He hates bad things and rumors. Apex describes himself as a lyrical individual.
Complex is up next. Complex is a lyrical term, lyrically speaking. He is designed to rhyme. He brings good loving to ladies like Romeo from Romeo and Juliet. The rhymes he recites will stay in your mind. He gets better with time and with his rhymes. His rhymes get better with time. He gets better with every song. Complex has purpose. Complex searches 7 emcees for wack emcees. He will have you dancing.
Trendsetter is last. Trendsetter kicks a soliloquy to show his ability. Suckers think they can deal with him. His lives his life legally as he has no time to live his life illegally. Trendsetter tells us to wake up and find peace. He is not a teacher, but he is amazing on the mic.
Creepin’ is a late night creep type of song. The song uses a cool beat which follows a sample. The trio roams around campus by going dorm to dorm in search of girls.
Jamz Iz Slammin’ (where it’s at?) is a song laced with phat heavy hip hop beats. The song hits and slams hard as all get out! The song is a shout out to both Michigan and Ohio. Slam-Mental is an instrumental of Jamz Iz Slammin’ (where it’s at?).
Stric 9 mm relies on the sample usage of Boogie Down Productions - 9MM where KRS-One uses his Jamaican Patois accent. The song has a Reggae style sound. The bass is programmed to have a reggae sound and follow the reggae rhythm. The song discusses the dangers of gun violence. The song makes a comparison between guns and addictive drugs.
4/5****!
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Jake and Jay - My Caddy single review
Jake and Jay - My Caddy is one of the most forgotten singles to have come from Flint rap and hip hop. This single was released on 12” vinyl by Raw Recordings in 1988. This single is one of the string of single Jake and Jay released on Raw Recordings during the 1980s. Now on this single one can expect to hear the sounds of old school electro rap.
This single is a Ski and Jay production which was executive produced by Vincent Shane Fielder. He served as producer on many of their songs. Jake and Jay were the first rappers from Selby Hood. They were big in Flint during the 80s. Jake and Jay were also known as Ski & Jay.
My Caddy! is the Flint Town version of Run DMC - My Adidas. This makes sense because Flint was once home to General Motors (GM) which manufactured automobiles in their car production plant. Flint’s Chevy In The Hole alongside with GM produced and manufactured Cadillac automobiles. You often saw Cadillacs cruising up and down the strip of Saginaw Street back day in Flint, Michigan on a daily basis. Many people would cruise in a Cadillac around Flint.
The song is a nice old school electro rap song with a retro vibe from yesteryear. A 200 Alpine kicks the dope beat. The Unknown Scratcher is responsible for the vinyl cuts you hear. The two get flashy and materialistic on this song unsurprisingly.
The song My Caddy! samples Run DMC - My Adidas, Syl Johnson - Different Strokes, T La Rock - It’s Yours, Zapp - Ready To Rock, and Juice - Catch A Groove. Most importantly, the song relies heavily on the sample of Run DMC - My Adidas. The song is practically a cover and the Flint answer to Run DMC - My Adidas.
Go Off is a freestyle track where Jake and Jay rap against each other. The song is the longest song on the single with a duration of 6 minutes. Fresh freestyle rap is what you can expect to hear.
Don’t Breathe is a stupid dope fresh cut produced by Vincent S. Fielder and The Unknown Scratcher from Wizards of the Turntables. Here Wizards of the Turntables are the ones using the wheels of steel. The song brings a breath of fresh air to the single and serves as the closing track. Vincent S. Fielder made a perfect choice by using this song as the closer.
4/5****!
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K Chill - Get Ya Funky Off album review
K Chill - Get Ya Funky Off is one of the more underrated Cleveland rap albums from the 90s that got overlooked due to the success of Bone Thugs N Harmony, Cochise, and Brothers 4 The Struggle. The success of Bone Thugs N Harmony and Brothers 4 The Struggle is what led this album to be overshadowed and overlooked. Adjust your speakers! The bass on this album is heavy. K Chill actually has some pretty decent songs on here. Every song is solid with no filler material.
The artwork for this album is solid for an album from 1993. One could expect more looking from a 1993 perspective. Some of the pictures a presented in a blurry low quality scale. (Only some copies have this issue.)
K Chill tells us a bunch of raw uncut children stories with explicit language on Cisco Kid. He gets serious on this song. Adjust your speakers! The bass on this song is quite heavy.
Setting for the beginning of Cisco Kid takes place inside an infant ward of a hospital. A baby is crying. Lullaby music is playing in the background. Soothing of course.
You might not believe this but K Chill remembers the date of his birth. He remembers being born. He came out of his mother’s stomach. It’s a trip. The doctor slapped and K Chill knocked him out. Damn! K Chill is nothing to play with. He was ruthless and hyper as an infant. A beeper was kept in his diaper.
Elementary school wasn’t shit to K Chill. The Cisco Kid. By Kindergarden is when he learned what the 3 R’s were. Reading, writing, and running hoes. K Chill was stacking bills by 1st grade. He was already practicing his macking skills by 2nd grade. Elementary school wasn’t shit to K Chill. K Chill was the mack by 7th grade.
Here are the children stories which K Chill used explicit language and with his own twist. A huge twist of sexuality is used. His stories are provocative in nature. He told the stories of Cisco Kid, There was an old woman who lived in a shoe,
One example is version of Mother Goose’s There was an old woman who lived in a shoe. He renamed the story into "There was a lady who lived in a shoe." . This lady was a prostitute who worked for Little Boy Blue.
There was a lady who lived in a shoe. She was turning tricks as a prostitute for Little Boy Blue. Blue’s main hoe could not live in the dumps. So they had a first class suite in a Reebok pump. Then things started turning funny. She started coming up short on the money. Little Boy Blue said, “What up, hoe? Sing or else I’m going to have your ass living in a broke lane.”
Another example is his telling of Hickory Dickory Dock. The song uses drug related themes. Hickory dickory dock, a new dope fiend coming up on my jock.
No 1 Else 2 Blame deals with the touchy subject of black on black crime in America. Not so many rappers speak on the issue of black on black crime.
K Chill got jacked for his 8 Ball of cocaine the other day. He is thinking about whether he should go and get a .9 millimeter handgun. He is aware that if he does so that he is contributing to black on black crime. However he chooses not. Instead he calls for police. Police did not find shit.
Dreams of a .9 millimeter to his head got his mind bent. First words he heard were, “Get against the wall!” The sounds of a glock being cocked is all he heard. 3 other brothers grabbed K Chill. They told him, “Get against the wall, mothafucka, and stay still!” This is a scary situation. This here is an example of black on black crime.
Boom Boom '93 is a remix of Boom Booms In My Trunk from his 1992 EP The Chill Factor. K Chill came to us live with a new remix for 1993. Young Wish is the other rapper that is on the chorus.
The song is an ode to bass. Hearing bass booming from a stereo system is an everyday thing in Cleveland. Go down St. Clair Avenue and you’ll hear what I’m talking about. Boom Boom can be heard out of Jeeps and Rangers.
Below is a short list of some of the memorable verses and lyrics from this song.
“Boom boom in my 89 Honda with my Alpine/Pull out ya ya”
“We’ll snatch some boom boom out your trunk”
“I’ll snatch the boom boom out your trunk”
Hang Up 304 uses a dope selection of funky beats. The song uses a dancehall reggae rhythm. The song uses medium bass. His flow blends in perfectly with the smooth beats.
K Chill was cooling out at the house with nothing to do. The phone rings. Who could this be? Maybe it’s a girl. A groupie calls to tell him that she is 7 months pregnant. She was the girl he met on tour. Her stomach is getting fat. How could this be? K Chill wore a condom. The condom must have broke. He hangs up the phone on her.
He is sick of all these hoes up in his business. It’s not their business to know who he has touched, freaked, or fucked.
K Chill raps about selling rocks (cocaine) on Erskies. The song gives details about his shortcomings and falls when he was drug dealing. The song gives details about his downfall in the drug game. Loosing money is part of the drug game. Cutting up 20s to 10s is selling yourself short. You will earn less money by doing so. So don’t sell yourself short. His rise in the drug game was not easy. There many obstacles he had to overcome such as getting caught by police and running out of product.
For those who did not know, DJ Swamp was K Chill’s DJ back in the day for his first two releases. DJ Swamp did the scratching on Erskies.
Now if you listen to the lyrics on Next On The Mic, there is a hidden diss. The lyrics “Your lyrics wouldn't be hard if you wrote em on concrete” serve as a diss towards wack emcees and rapper. So all weak emcees better be aware. Heed this as a warning. The humorous side of this song are these lyrics “ The roof the roof the roof is on fire/We don’t need nothing but the weed and a lighter”
Big Butt Females was the Cleveland answer to Sir Mixalot - Big Butts. His love for big butts drives everybody nuts. The bigger the butt is, the bigger the body will be. Think redbone.
Coochie Crook relies heavily on the sample of George Clinton - Atomic Dog. K Chill sounds similar to Ice Cube when he raps on this song. The song is about straight up sex. The song is very cookie cutter in terms of subject matter.
4/5****!
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K Chill - The Chill Factor EP review
K Chill - The Chill Factor is one of the more underrated Cleveland rap EPs from the 90s that got overlooked due to the success of Bone Thugs N Harmony, Cochise, and Brothers 4 The Struggle. The success of Bone Thugs N Harmony and Brothers 4 The Struggle is what led this EP to be overshadowed and overlooked. Adjust your speakers! The bass on this album is heavy. K Chill actually has some pretty decent songs on here. Every song is solid with no filler material. It’s the infamous K Chill yall!
The artwork for this EP is solid and fresh for an album from 1992. You have an abstract color scheme which uses a dot matrix printing style. That is why you can see bubbles in some of the text. The colors are similar to a soft drink you would purchase at a sporting event. Notice the cyan blue, white, and magenta colors. The colors are similar to Icy Blu’s debut album from 1991. Think of that color scheme when you look at the visuals for this album. One could expect this looking from an old school perspective.
The Chill Factor uses phat bass and a slow pace rhythm. His flow fits perfectly with the slow rhythm. His rhymes, cadence, and flow are similar to Ice Cube, Grand Daddy I.U., and Digable Planets.
K Chill expresses his hatred of R&B music on Straight R & B. He considers R&B music to be weak. K Chill is sick of these weak MCs getting rich. He expresses hatred towards weak MCs in his lyrics. They use rap as a tool when they couldn’t wrap gift (Notice the double entendre?) To go commercial or be underground is one thing. The radio hates K Chill because he speaks the truth.
The setting for Can't Let It Be Me takes place at a United States Marines Office in San Diego, California. It’s wartime and the marines are looking for a few good men as soldiers to fight the war in Kuwait.
K Chill did not want to join the war. But the marines were in dire need of soldiers. K Chill is in Kuwait with an M16. He is checking his weapons. He makes sure his boat is clean. The weather is hot. Him and his partners playing guard is a trip. He can’t let that be him.
12:00 at night is when he rolls in a jeep undercover while dressed in black. The enemy has not captured him. He has seen too many Rambo movies to let that happen. He froze a tank only to have that tank explode. The tank was soon left behind. He can’t drop the gun now. The rest of the song deals with the casualties of war and also war experiences.
Can't Let It Be Me uses thick bass over simple beats.
The song Boom Booms In My Trunk is an ode to bass. Hearing bass booming from a stereo system is an everyday thing in Cleveland. Go down St. Clair Avenue and you’ll hear what I’m talking about. Boom Boom can be heard out of Jeeps and Rangers. K got the boom boom in his trunk. Rangers on Dayton’s with the boom.
Below is a short list of some of the memorable verses and lyrics from this song.
“Boom boom in my 89 Honda with my Alpine/Pull out ya ya”
“We’ll snatch some boom boom out your trunk”
“I’ll snatch the boom boom out your trunk”
3/5***
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Grand Daddy I.U. - Smooth Assassin album review
Grand Daddy I.U. - Smooth Assassin was an incredibly slept on classic album that hip hop heads overlooked. The fact that that people reminded him of Big Daddy Kane did not help. Grand Daddy I.U. has charisma with his smooth rhymes and cadence. His rhymes consist of consonants and vowels. It’s absolutely amazing how an album from 1990 can still sound fresh today. East Coast rap could not get any doper from Hempstead, New York. (That’s near NYC for those of you not from Long Island.)
The U Is Smooth is where Grand Daddy I.U. raps using his smooth cadence and intellect. His style is similar to a guest host from the Cotton Club in Harlem from the 1920s. The U never fails to disappoint his audience. The U's in effect. Live and direct as he projects his intellect.
He calls out MC’s who copy others in these lyrics:
“I wrote another verse for imitators to copy-cat/You learn the words, reciting where you get sloppy at/You can't kick it quite like the U can/Any fan in the stand can tell whose rhymes you ran/Man, the words the same, verses identical/Wanna be down, but you ain't been a cool brother like the U, so my knob you're slobbin/31 flavors like Baskin & Robbin/The U trains by draining brains/And the only remains is bloodstains/Havoc and homicide, rappers are mummified/You tried, but lost your pride, now you run and hide/You're trapped in a maze, there's no escape route/Guilty of theft, so you're left as a deaf-mute/You floor at my feet, but when I step, you're left there/With tears in your eyes, but I don't care/Nothin you can do, now you're down and desperate”
He ends Verse 1 smoothly with these lyrics.: “Next time you know I ain't the one to mess with/So keep this in mind before you move/Yo, the U is smooth”
Grand Daddy I.U. is sitting in his dressing room in Verse 2. Notice the star on his door? The crowd is waiting for the show to be raw. Fans have been anticipating the moment for the longest amount of time. News reporters are hawking him. It's almost show time. So keep waiting. Only 2 minutes left.
Now the spotlight shines, the curtains go up and like a volcano Grand Daddy I.U. will erupt. He jitter-bops on stage and grabs the mic with a tight grip. He carries a tool for any fool who might flip.Pandemonium breaks loose when he’s in effect. One thing’s for sure is that no other brother can touch the U. He’s too smooth. All raps he write are up to par.
Biz Markie and Grand Daddy I.U. are geniuses when it comes to choosing samples. The sample of Grover Washington Jr. - Hyrda was perfect to use due to the jazzy vibe and smooth nature.
Pick Up The Pace is where things start to speed up on the album. The tempo and pace are sped up much faster than the opening song. The cuts are crisp and clean. People don’t give Grand Daddy I.U. or his producers enough credit for their work.
All raps he write are up to par. Such as these lyrics for instance: “Bass till impact is unbearable/And I'ma do MC's somethin terrible/Cause I like to start shit off with a bang/Cliches and slang that no man can hang/With, the one your girl shares her putang with/And Jimmy's what a stick that thang with/You can't stand the pressure and pain when you're put in heat/You felt defeat, so you cheat and still couldn't beat”
He gets smoother and smoother with each rhyme. It's like magic the way the rhyme flows. This is poetry in the highest form.
Grand Daddy I.U. gives us something new and some new flava for ya ears on Something New. For those who didn’t know, Desiree Price, Toni Rolle, and Raezia Rolle are the 3 females who sung the hook.
Here it is. A world premiere! Crystal clear in your ear. So listen here.This song is something new but I.U. is not new to this. So don't fool yourself with garbage that you normally listen to. Nothing changed. So don't act strange. He’s calling shots as he makes his appearance. So get out of his range. No interruptions. No interference. Give him the mic and watch the whole place jump. So turn it up loud and let the bass thump. Because it’s something new from the Grand Daddy U.
Mass Destruction is his most versatile song with devastating lyrics. The song displays and showcases the best of his lyrical skill and ability.
Below are some examples of his devastating lyrics.
“Destruction/whenever I come/There ain't nothin' left when I'm done/The only thing that remains is ashes and dust/Blood Stains and veins from brains that I bust/Cities and towns burned down to the ground/Blows and echoes/screams in the background/All feel the wrath of a psychopathic/Death scenes are graphic/stopping all traffic/As I demolish MC's/When I'm gone, ain't nothin' standing/Not even the trees”
“All in my path just shatters and breaks/When I step the whole earth shakes/The sun, moon and stars'll fall from the sky/Seas, lakes and oceans all run dry/The aftermath is epitaph after my warpath/And those who laugh feel the wrath of a bloodbath/Bodies dismembered, chopped into shreds/Big chunks of meat, arms, legs and heads/No man can stand my plan of deduction/Cause whenever I come it's mass destruction”
“Cards are dealt, now my wrath is felt/So witness the holocaust, then as you fall you're lost/Thrown off course, too late for remorse/Damage renegs, all controversy/Face your doom, now you scream for mercy/Erase your thoughts, you can't be reborn/It's no turnin back, when you're dead you're gone/And now your soul belongs to me/Sentenced to dwell in hell to eternity/Streets overflow in oceans of blood/And all disbelief is nipped in a bud”
Nobody Move is about a smooth assassin and bank robber named U. As usual, Grand Daddy I.U.’s smooth rhymes consist of consonants and vowels. The song is laced thick beats and thick bass which both stand out.
It's midnight. U and Kay sit in a beige Cadillac dressed in all black. They creep through the block. There’s not a cop to be seen. Armed and dangerous, lookin' for somethin' to stick. The pistol's loaded, prepared to click. The stars are bright and tonight's a full moon.
They hit the gambling spot at 2:13. Number book runners, thieves, and drug chiefs are all inside gambling. Both of them kick in the door and yell, "Bank stop! Nobody move.” “Hands in the air. Get against the wall. Empty your pockets.” They’re takin' it all. Cash, jewelry and drugs, even the keys to peoples rides. It's just a stick up. Don't make it a homicide. This is serious biz. Give up the money.
The two hit the backdoor and made a clean getaway. Whoever said that crime don't pay? No cops in sight. No sirens to be heard. Not a word on what had just occurred. Next they count the money they had stolen. $42,000 dollars was the mount stolen.
Next they both go to the bar. The girls was very hot. They picked the baddest two girls and got a room at the Marriott. The scene was fine. Bubble bath and wine. Champagne and caviar in jacuzzi. The whole nine. All that good shit. Both had stunted them out and played them both like trash. Left them stranded and then we cut out with the stash.
Now time for the next hit. The two grab some ammunition to prepare for another mission. (Now in this case a mission is a robbery.) They went to the bank to make a big withdrawal.
During Verse 3 is when and where things take a turn for the worst. Despite having this robbery mapped out, they end up getting caught.
The security was gagged. The crowd froze as the robbery was in progress. I.U. grabbed a teller, stuck a .9 millimeter in her nose. Her told the teller, ”Fill up the bags quick, this ain't a joke. One false move and everybody smell gun smoke.” They hurried up and grabbed the dough. Outside is surrounded by police. 3 cops were shot. Bullets flew like rain. The scene was hectic with all the mass hysteria going on. People are screaming. Puddles of blood.
They soon found an escape route and left the area. However police were closing in. Then in an instant Kay went down. He was shot in the head with no chance of survival. He hit the concrete, dead on arrival. Police called I.U.’s name as he fell to the ground.
He is scared to death. Of course he will be facing life in jail. There is not one bullet left in his gun. What good is a pistol without no slugs? So he accepts the fact he is caught.
The rest of his life will be spent in either Comstock, Attica, Fishkill, or Clinton. No dough, no hoe(s), no cars or gold.Just hard time and no chance for parole. But that's the price he gots to pay for all the times when he used to say, “Nobody move.” .
I.U. puts a soulful touch on Soul Touch with his smooth flow and cadence. Him, Biz Markie, and DJ Kay Cee incorporate the sounds of rap and soul.
Here we go. So pull up a chair and gather close. Check out the man that has the most. Soul is the music's basic foundation. You’ll feel a sensation as soon as it's heard. Only soul is allowed here. From letters to words and words to a sentence, he turn out shows for the hoes in attendance. Crystal clear, smooth and impeccable. Everything that I.U. touches just turns to soul.
5/5*****!!
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