Real Live - The Turnaround: The Long Awaited Drama (October 1, 1996)

I mentioned in my previous post that I was a huge fan of producer K-Def's work behind the boards. I wasn't bullshitting, believe me.

But first, I have to say I've been a fan of Tragedy Khadafi's various cameos splattered throughout the mid-90s, even though I fucking hate his Khadafi nickname and prefer to call him just Tragedy. Most notable of which was on CNN's lone classic, 1997's The War Report, which actually was Tragedy's brainchild & passion project according to hip hop lore, and the fucking awesome Strange Fruit off of Pete Rock's solo debut album Soul Survivor. Yet, I have not been able to get into Tragedy's albums Against All Odds and Still Reportin', which I thought were his only albums for all intents and purposes at the time. But it was a simpler time where I didn't know of Mr. Percy Chapman's previous incarnation as the Intelligent Hoodlum, a much better pseudonym in my opinion, under which he recorded his eponymous debut album in 1990 and his K-Def-helmed sophomore album. That particular album, aside from quenching my thirst for good Trag lyrics over production worthy of said rhymes, really got me asking: who the hell is this K-Def dude? Has he done anything else in this hip hop game?

Real name Kevin Hansford, K-Def is a producer from New Jersey, a very slept-on hip hop hotbed in the 90s, who sometime in early said 90s hooked up with Marley Marl of Juice Crew fame (One of the godfathers of hip hop, straight up.) and became an understudy of his, honing his craft on the production tip under the very best. His work includes quite the few tracks from the first two albums by fellow NJ sensations Lords Of The Underground, for whom legendary punchline extraordinaire Redman was a DJ, and more importantly to me, all but 3 songs of 1993's Tragedy: Saga Of A Hoodlum, by and large Tragedy's best solo contribution to hip hop in my eyes.

In a very pleasant surprise for me, he's done some other shit, as well. For somewhere in the mid-90s, Mr. Hansford hooked up with a certain Lawrence Wright, who secretly isn't very known as MC Larry-O. They teamed up to form Hansford & Wright, 'The Best Goddamn Divorce Law Firm In Town'. No, really. That was their slogan. Over time, however, they eventually found that their lawyer homies gassed them up into thinking they were the best when they weren't. In fact, they pretty much sucked. So, our two heroes quit the law business, gave their lawyer homies the finger and switched to being Real Live, a DJ-MC combo alongside the Gang Starrs, the PR-CLs & the Show & AGs of the world.

Now, back on K-Def a little bit. All his previous production work under Marley was severely overshadowed by one simple yet important obstacle: His works were mainly promoted under the fact that, well, he was under Marley. So, this project was really the first in where he's completely free of that huge shadow. As for Larry-O, he had something going for him that he might not care to admit at the moment: He sounds and looks a lot like a certain late legendary Notorious B.I.G., although he obviously does not have his once-in-a-lifetime creativity and flow. However, Larry still wasn't known. Like, at all. So, the general picture was that the odds were stacked somewhat heavily against our protagonists. But, you as well as I know that in hip hop, that's mostly a good thing.

Did I just give out my final review decision? Oops. Read on, motherfucker.

1. INTRO

I swear. Just once.  Please.

2. POP THE TRUNK

From the very first second you hear Havoc's sampled voice, you just know. K-Def brilliantly freaks one line a piece from two of the absolute best songs in hip hop history, Mobb Deep's Survival Of The Fittest & Redman's Can't Wait for the song's hook, all to the ingeniously slowed-down loop from James Brown's blaxploitation classic Slaughter Theme. Larry-O makes his mission statement very clear: A good serving of East Coast thug rap. Technically, he's not bad. He can come up with his fair share of decent imagery and punchlines. He's no Prodigy nor is he a Big L.  But in some cases, an MC doesn't need to be. What he does need is to be believable, and in that aspect, I believe Larry-O will fuck me up if I cross him the wrong way. The rest is left to K-Def's wizardry behind the boards, which straight up elevates the material heard on here to extremely valuable status. This shit bangs.

3. THE GIMMICKS

Speaking of thug rap, Kevin samples Biggie's immortal verse from the likewise-immortal remix to Craig Mack's Flava In Ya Ear here, making this song a prime example of how much Lawrence sounds like the sampled icon. Allow me to reiterate just how important Larry not embarrassing himself is to the end product. K-Def proves just how much of a musician and a composer a proper hip hop DJ/producer is with his downright breathtaking mashup of Diana Ross's Brown Baby/Save The Children, Isaac Hayes' The Look Of Love & Average White Band's 1975 disco classic School Boy Crush. No lie, merely two songs in and this review is showing me just how much K-Def is slept-on. By EVERYBODY.  Larry-O can only sit and watch as his fairly good lyrics are elevated to classic status by his DJ's work. This amount of praise simply spilled out without me intending to do so, but that's how good K-Def really is. One of the best 1-2 combos I've come across, and if you're a longtime fan of hip hop, you know how rare that last statement is.

4. THEY GOT ME

This was an interesting lyrical display from Lawrence. Here, he waxes poetic from the perspective of a street hustler who's captured in defeat by his enemies. The most defining part of this display was the fact that Larry doesn't take the sucker route and describes with as much detail as he can how his foes end up killing him and what was running through his mind in the meantime. Larry outshines K-Def for the first time on this album, and it's glorious. Note that I think K-Def still did an amazing job behind the boards.  The song ends with a short instrumental with Larry dropping some brilliantly flowing basic thug raps, then asking K-Def to cut the beat off in the pretense that they're saving shit for the "next" album. How'd that work for you two, may I ask?

5. AIN'T NO LOVE

First thing you hear on this track is Bobby Bland's sampled voice from his 1974 soul display, Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City, and the confrontational manner in which the song is sampled is a foreshadowing sign of what to expect on this song. The strings of Freddie Hubbard's 1979 jazz composition Little Sunflower playing under the sample, another example of brilliant musicianship by K-Def, are then brought to the forefront of the song as Larry-O takes to the mic.  He then proceeds to give one of the most brilliantly written street hustler raps I've ever heard by setting the grim conditions that gave birth to his mentality in the first verse, utilizing the second to describe his motivations and process, then finally visualizing the despair of the reality he's living in while implying an ill-fated end. This was as effective a marriage between beat and rhymes as any hip hop classic I've ever heard, and that's a long fucking line of classics. The cherry on top was the short-but-sweet instrumental at the end, Pete Rock-style.

6. ICEBERG SLICK

I find it absolutely hilarious that Kevin here chose to sample Lil' Kim, of all people, off the fucking ridiculous Junior M.A.F.I.A. single I Need You Tonight, but he pulls it off. RIP Aaliyah. K-Def's turn at sampling the song that gave birth to most of hip hop's Golden Era sound by its very lonesome, Bob James' 1974 classic, Nautilus. Larry-O here thought it was the right time to introduce his alter-ego, Iceberg Slick, who's apparently a drug lord from the streets with limitless funds and an endless army of cutthroats and you know the drill, via a more aggressive delivery. This wasn't bad but Larry's lyrics pale in comparison to what we've previously seen from him on here.

7. LARRY-O MEETS ICEBERG SLICK

So apparently this is a song produced by aforementioned hip hop godfather Marley Marl. A fact which is absolutely against this album's cohesion with all due respect to Marley, who ad-libs in his famous manner throughout the song. His sampling choice for the session is Isaac Hayes' 1975 cut Ike's Mood/You've Lost That Loving Feeling, on which Lawrence starts us off by reciting a bar from the previous song coupled with an original bar as the earbleedingly boring hook. Lawrence then launches into a story describing the character introduced, once again, in the previous song interacting with the actual drug lord, Larry-O. The ensuing events are intended to be a journey inside Larry-O's head as he rationalizes why this character formed inside his consciousness in the first place. Larry's lyrics are good, but the way the hook repeats at the end of the song brought me a physical headache, no lie. Dare I say it but Marley Marl is the reason this song sucks balls as a whole.

8. ALL I ASK OF YOU (COMMIN' THRU)

Marley's back to ruin another song by sampling Ask of You by Raphael Saadiq off the Higher Learning OST. This was very unfit of what Larry-O displayed with his lyrics, as by this point he needs to get back with K-Def post-fucking-haste. Motherfuck this radio-pandering beat.

9. THE TURNAROUND

Kevin! Am I glad you're back. I don't mind that this song is another thug rap anthem, it's a welcome scene compared to the beats you've heard for the past 2 songs. Too bad, the lyrics aren't as good as said 2 songs, but at least they're not straight up ass. Thank you, Marley, for extremely lowering my expectations. The song ends with another instrumental, which is immediately followed by a skit which finds Larry clowning one of his hoes, a skit which was extremely necessary. Extremely. Like your life will never be complete without hearing this skit type of necessary. Oh, was I too sarcastic?

10. TRILOGY OF ERROR

And it didn't take too long for K-Def to hit his brilliant stride again. Awesome! Here, he samples David Axelrod's 1977 jazz hit Terri's Tune, a sample I'll always associate with Inspectah Deck who sampled the same source on his song Elevation off of his underrated 1999 debut, Uncontrolled Substance. Nevertheless, I'll concede that K-Def freaks it better. For his three verses, Larry flexes his storytelling muscles again with a story per verse this time. Each one describes a different act of betrayal from one of Larry associates with the final story being, of course, about a woman who sets him up. Larry chooses her story as the perfect time for a cliffhanger, never to be goddamn continued. The song ends with an excerpt of a live show where the DJ cuts up...

11. REAL LIVE SHIT

...the lead single, released over a year before the album, and by God, is it a monster. K-Def constructs a magnificent East Coast hardcore beat from an almost unrecognizable sampling of both Poor Abbey Walsh by Marvin Gaye and Hydra by Grover Washington, with an excerpt from Nas' It Ain't Hard To Tell, which happens to be one of my two favorite songs on Illmatic, the other being Halftime. It's like he's forcibly showing every other producer at the time to be a complete amateur. Larry steps up to the plate and you immediately recognize that you're listening to a special entry in thug rap, from his effortless confidence to his forceful rhymes. There's a very valid reason this is Real Live's signature song. Side note: Is that Marley Marl on the hook?!

12. DAY YOU DIE

K-Def is showing off here. Lou Donaldson's It's Your Thing? Really, Kevin? Nicely done, anyways. Larry-O sounds more comfortable on here than usual with his boasts n bullshit and he amps up his delivery as a result, which is always nice. Apparently, K-Def took it on himself to provide the hook not in rhyme, but in dialogue. Somehow, it all works. That's all I really got. The song ends with a fucking whimsical instrumental.

13. CRIME IS MONEY

Over a Minnie Riperton sample, specifically Rainy Day In Centerville, Larry-O really flexes his imagery muscles in this b-side to Real Live Shit. I personally found this performance by him to be among the best he's done on this project, so far. So, while people might point this out as yet another thug rap exercise, it's really not so when the subjects exhibit a little thing I'd like to call "skill". This little thing I just mentioned is present here, and in loads. From the expert production, which I truly cannot understate, to the effort in the writing that clearly pays off. Props to the line: "Now every n**** wanna see a mill/And still hold the block down like Big Will."

14. MONEY & SHOWS

Now, while this wasn't bad, I am confused as to why this song is censored for one. Furthermore, Larry-O and K-Def both seem to be coasting on this track, whether it's Kevin's plain (by his pretty fucking lofty standards that we've seen from him so far on this album, anyway.) sampling of Eddie Drennon's Do What You Gotta Do, or whether it's Larry-O delivering a paint-by-the-numbers thug rap that is in no way, shape or form different than most of the thug piffle rampant in 1996. This was a not-so-slight slowdown...

15. REAL LIVE SHIT (REMIX) (FEATURING GHOSTFACE KILLAH, LORD TARIQ & KILLA SIN)

...that is fucking fixed with this brilliant remix of the lead single. Remember how I described the original as a monster? Well, this remix is its big bad brother. K-Def reworks the same ingredients that made Real Live Shit into a recipe that's even better than the original. Former weed carrier-turned-tenth member of the Wu-Tang Clan Cappadonna (aka Cappachino The Great aka Papi Wardrobe aka Oh Donna aka that dude who almost ruined Wu-Tang Forever aka he who was kicked out of the Wu camp for a long time and had to resort to driving a goddamn cab until he got back into the Clan's good graces) provides us with a wordy hook that still remembers to stay the fuck out of the way as all four MCs rip the instrumental a new digestive system. Ghostface is up first, spitting a verse that descends from the very best of hip hop braggadocio dynasties, following a sample of his timeless participation in GZA's 4th Chamber. This verse was actually used prior in an unreleased-til-2014 version of Mobb Deep's classic Eye For An Eye. Then, after the returning Nas sample from the original Real Live Shit, Lord Tariq, of all the rappers in that year, gives P.Tone a run for his goddamn money. I guess me not really expecting anything from Tariq was a factor in me liking his verse that much, but I digress, the man killed it. Speaking of killing, Killarmy's Killa Sin, the second Killa after Ghostface Killah (that's a lot of kills) on the song, sweeps in and, no lie, delivers the best verse on this remix. Hell, this verse is his best guest verse ever. Ever. The only shit that tops this is his best work with Killarmy, straight up. Poor Lawrence was left with no chance of following that verse, even if he didn't have the worst contribution on the song. In no way am I ever implying that his rhymes were bad, it's just that his three guests were that much better than him. Hell, I even enjoyed Oh Donna's wordy hook. This was a damn fine way to end the album and, fuck it, one of the best remixes in hip hop history.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Wow. 

I swear to God I didn't start this review with the intention of praising this album as much as I did, yet here we are. Reviewing this album made me feel two things. One was straight up awe: While I did like this album before this review, I had no idea, I swear once again, that I'd emerge out of this review loving the damn thing. The other was vindication. Let me explain: As I'm digging deeper into this hip hop journey of mine, I've slowly formed the opinion of 'show, don't tell'. This holds especially true for this genre. Don't tell me you're the best, show me you're the best. A prime example, K-Def's work on this album dares, fucking dares, the competition to come up with something better, dammit. The production present on here is nothing short of elite. (with the exception of Marley's tracks: Marley Marl should've never come within fifteen feet of the boards) I'm dead serious. Mr. Hansford's compositions demand respect sheerly from the level of skill & effort put into them, and they rank right up there with your favorite boom bap producers' most famous works. For his part, Larry-O does just enough, since admittedly his lyrical prowess rarely matches K-Def's wizardry behind the boards. Nevertheless, he effectively holds up his part of the deal, providing quite a few moments of brilliance in the process. And in 2015, this shit holds up very nicely, indeed. One thing, though: I never understood why this album's commercial performance was so poor. Maybe it was because it was distributed by Big Beat Records, a label that knew nothing of how to promote hip hop, except for Quad City DJs & Junior M.A.F.I.A.; especially Lil' Kim. Because she basically promotes herself. Case in point, look at how bad they did fellow NJ legends the Artifacts. But we'll get to that later.

Sadly, Real Live disbanded not long thereafter. K-Def kept himself busy for the most part, including providing Ghostface Killah with genius production on It's Over off of his overrated Pretty Toney Album. (Blasphemous?! Sound off in the comments below!) Larry-O, however, all but vanished from the industry, only appearing on Marley Marl's Foundation Symphony off his Re-Entry album in 2001, and never returning. I'll admit, that song was pretty good, even if Lawrence's delivery was a lot louder, which didn't suit him at all. 

WORTH IT? You bet your sweet ass. This album should be in your collection last millenium, please. This is the type of album you brag to your spoiled friends about when said spoiled friends question your hip hop knowledge. I cannot recommend this shit enough.

TRACKS TO TRACK DOWN:

GET DOWN FOR MINE

First thing I thought of when I heard the sample of Love Unlimited Orchestra's Strange Games & Things, which itself is a cover of Jay Dee (Soul)'s Strange Funky Games & Things, was EPMD’s Manslaughter. That makes sense, since EPMD are the first hip hop act to sample this wonderful song. Knowing that, I'm happy to report that K-Def does this sample justice, providing the proper backing for Larry-O to spit his thug raps with much-appreciated venom. Seriously, the man goes off, with his flow and delivery adding to the overall satisfaction you'll feel after hearing this. And, thank you dear God: he finally performs a hook that doesn't make you want to shoot yourself. This appeared on the High School High OST, released a month before The Turnaround, which provided some good promotion.

THE TURNAROUND (THUG REMIX) (FEATURING TRAGEDY & CAPONE)

I'm still scratching my head as to why Trag doesn't collaborate with K-Def more often, as he is, for my money, the perfect MC to spit over his beats. Especially back then. Maybe Real Live would've lived a little longer had Tragedy been the MC. I'm digressing again. Anyways, following his introduction of the song's hook, Tragedy certainly brings the goods here as he incinerates the beat, awesomely-constructed around Teddy Pendergrass' Come Go With Me, with his opening verse, which is filled with that QB imagery you love so much from greats like Nas, Prodigy and Cormega. All of whom, like it or not, molded themselves after Tragedy in one way or another. Larry-O is up next and he makes sure he follows up with something worthy on this posse cut, delivering a verse that's equally awesome. Capone of CNN fame bats cleanup and he does so pretty nicely. I must add, I've always liked Capone better than Noreaga, since I find that Capone had a better grasp on his lyricism and flow. His voice is obviously ridiculous but he makes it work and he certainly sounded better than NORE on the songs he actually appeared on in The War Report, their best album bar none, even though he was ass on his solo song, Capone Bone. Nevertheless, all parties involved in this particular song delivered an amazing performance on all fronts. This song's worthy of being in your collection.

For more on K-Def, click here.