UPDATE: Craig Mack passed away on Monday the 12th of March, 2018. RIP. This legit broke my heart. This guy was the epitome of not giving one fuck about what everyone says about you. And he was happy in doing so. There's a lesson to be learned in that. I hope this review reflects just how much of an impact son really had on the game. Onwards...
I'm back. It took some coercing. BELIEVE me. But, I'm back.
Throughout this obsession of mine, I have come across some legendary artists whose work will define periods of my life forever. Some of these legends whose legendary status is not to be questioned are irritatingly underrated by the masses, others irritatingly overrated. Yeah, you read that right. Even legends can be overrated.
How so? Because their brand is so marketable to the industry that it makes them the only ones that get talked about to the point of exhaustion. Take LL Cool J & Jay-Z, for example: Both of these dudes have at least one classic album in their catalogs and more than their fair share of hit songs. Or Dr. Dre, who was a bonafide genius when it came to production. Keyword: was. These dudes, because of their significant commercial success, may lead the casual listener to believe that they’re the ONLY acts that are worthy of discussion.
And then you have guys like Sean John Combs, aka Puffy aka Puff Daddy aka P.Diddy aka Diddy aka Mr. Ciroc himself. Fuck it, I'm just gonna call this guy Comby. So, from this day forth, that shall be his name on this blog. Where do I even start with this fucker? He was an intern running with Dr. Jeckyll aka THE Andre Harrell who made him serve errands for THE late great Heavy D's crew back in the late 80's. Comby somehow only learned from that experience the following: Selling out will always be the key to success. In no way, shape or form am I saying that Jeckyll & the Hevster were sellouts. I'm saying that's what Comby understood from their success in the industry. But while Jeckyll & Hev were smart politicians, Comby is downright shameless in his pandering to the latest whim of the corporate world. And to tell the truth, he would've crashed and burned a long time ago if it wasn't for one man: Christopher Wallace.
Let's not get it twisted, person. Mr. Wallace bka the Notorious fucking B.I.G. is without question one of the worthiest MCs gracing the microphone to ever be called 'timeless'. Nowhere is this more apparent than on Comby's vanity label Bad Boy's first released album: The classic-yet-glaringly-flawed Ready To Die. The reason why it's glaringly flawed? Comby's insistence to suck the radio's cock with degrading songs "for the ladies". The fact that the cock-sucking produced commercial results is and always will be absolutely irrelevant to me. The reason why it's a classic? One name and one name only: Easy Mo Bee.
Osten Harvey Jr. was already a producer with a swiftly growing reputation as a potential classic-making machine by the time Comby came knocking. He had experienced various degrees of success with his collabos with the legendary Big Daddy Kane, and unwarranted failure with his full album collabo with The Genius, who would later blow up as the GZA with the rest of the immortal Wu-Tang Clan. Thanks, Cold Chillin'! The forced radio-whoring joints did wonders for GZA's later career, guys! Although you obviously didn't benefit from said rise in any way, shape or form. Gee, I wonder whose fault is that? And just so we're clear: Easy Mo Bee had absolutely zilch to do with those crappy songs.
Back to this, though. Easy Mo Bee's chemistry with the late Biggie was immediate. The two released BIG’s first ever single, Party And Bullshit, for Jeckyll’s Uptown Records on the Who's The Man? soundtrack (Yet another forgettable film with a killer OST) to rave reception. The two hit it off from there, with Mo Bee acting as the Large Professor to Biggie's Nas on some of the most critically acclaimed songs on the latter's debut album that were not produced by him. Y'know, Unbelievable? Suicidal Thoughts?
However, Easy Mo Bee's impact on the Bad Boy legacy went even further than that. MUCH further. See, at the time of BIG's signing, Comby was attempting to groom yet another potential golden egg. Some dude by the name of Craig Mack. Now, this guy's story is a doozy of an industry tale. Hailing from Brentwood Long Island, Craig Mack had already attempted to break into the business as part of a DJ-MC act with DJs Diamond J &Teddy Lee called MC EZ-Troup. They released a single & b-side in 1988, Just Rhymin’/Get Retarded that, despite impressing very influential figures like the aforementioned Heavy D, went nowhere due to the fact that the group’s deal with Fresh Records was absolutely rotten with absolutely zero promotion from the label. Feeling guilty about the ensuing chaos, legendary Brentwood duo EPMD (who got their hometown homies the deal in the first place) hooked Mack up as a future member of the then-invincible Hit Squad. Of course, EPMD immediately broke up afterward, leaving Mack without a home. Being that he had connections with both Erick & Parish, Comby knew about Craig's surprisingly-dope skills as an MC at that time. Surely enough, he swoops in with dollar signs all up in them goofy-ass eyes of his, promising Mack the promised land. Only one problem, though: Craig Mack, unfortunately, wasn't the prettiest rapper in the world. Comby had to figure something out. Enter Easy Mo Bee again.
By now, Osten's ear for potential talent in an MC was second-to-none. He most definitely had that gift in a producer that would bring the very best out of an individual working with him. Hell, he made a 17-year old Mally G sound like an absolute pro in 95. Anyway, Mo Bee took a quick-but-extremely-focused detour from his BIG venture to work with Mack, resulting in a certain batch of songs that were topped off with what would become Bad Boy's very first commercially released single: Flava In Ya Ear.
A few months after that song dropped, it set the hip hop world a-fucking-blaze. Everybody wanted to know who was that garble-voiced rapper spitting over that two-noted masterpiece of a beat. Comby, contrary to popular belief, was baffled. How the fuck did Easy Mo Bee pull off what he couldn't? Osten managed to turn the ever-so-anti-radio rapper into a hot commodity. So, of course, Comby roadblocked his own talent and went full force ahead into BIG's album. Simply because Mack didn’t want to be promoted as a pimp. Shows you the type of superficial asshole you’re dealing with. (Comby, if you have a problem with that: Sound off below.)
Despite all that, the following album, Project: Funk Da World, still sold five hundred thousand copies. Something that can never be taken away from Craigy here.
Speaking of which, the album was a divided work on the production tip: Easy Mo Bee handled five tracks, Craig himself handled five tracks (!!!) and a lone track was given to Rashad Smith to, um, experiment with. Incidentally, that track was the one Comby fell in love with enough to contribute his loathsome ad-libbing to.
Enough said. On to the review:
PROJECT: FUNK DA WORLD
Album intro. I almost skipped the whole thing, until I heard the famed Hamilton Bohannon sample, expertly cut for Mack to spit his BNB (Boasts 'N' Bullshit) via his unmatched delivery, which fails to grab you, I’m afraid. Imagine my surprise when I found out that Mack himself produced this.
GET DOWN
This track's intro still pisses me off to no end. However, a straight up majestic boom bap beat tackles you, robs you for all you're worth and just leaves you feeling as stranded as you could possibly feel immediately after that crappy intro. Enter Easy Mo fucking Bee. And this time, there’s no lack of interest from the listener, as Craig really gets into his groove when he's on this guy's beats, flowing without a care in the world and actually displaying some pretty good punchlines here and there. The iconic Q-Tip from A Tribe Called Quest would commission one of his most famous beats ever as a remix to this masterpiece. A definite win.
MAKING MOVES WITH PUFF
One hell of a goddamn slowdown. Not that that’s a bad thing when done right. This here is the aforementioned Comby track, which was the third single. Surprise surprise. This shit even had an accompanying video with MC EZ here trying to imitate Comby's abhorrent dancing in these shitty videos. Complete with explosions, because what rap video is complete without explosions, amirite? As for the song itself? Ironically, the beat may be trying a bit too hard to sound like an ATCQ composition but Rashad Ringo Smith surprisingly pulls off an infectious instrumental in what remains my favorite production of his, while Craig barrels through with his punchlines that should not be this interesting and yet you’re still wanting more. Admittedly, I still love this song, despite Comby’s wakass being on here.
THAT Y'ALL
The playful beat that you hear off the bat, again surprisingly made by Mack himself, throws you a bit off, but I feel it works primarily because of the PMD sample thrown in the mix. Craigy, however, screws up his chance at redeeming himself by delivering a truly horrid performance. This shit was hilariously bad.
FLAVA IN YA EAR
Every time I hear this song, it is stuck on repeat in my head for months to come. Months. Easy Mo Bee delivered a masterstroke of genius beatmaking so good that Craig couldn't help himself but deliver a performance that still takes your breath away, 21 goddamn years removed from the time of its making. All it took was two notes from a timeless O'Donel Levy record and you've got yourself a hip hop classic.
FUNK WIT DA STYLE
I won't even try to front: this beat blew me away when I heard it the first time. Constructed from a very recognizable Emotions sample and some truly inspired audio bit selections, I'm again baffled at the fact that Mack is this capable of a beatmaker. His production skills are noticeably worse, though, as he can’t grab the listener on here to save his life.
JUDGEMENT DAY
Osten's back at it again. This time, he brings to the table no more and no less than his absolute best production during his Bad Boy tenure. Ready To Die fans, read into that what you will. The fact still remains that Easy Mo Bee simply has better chemistry with Craig Mack than with BIG, even though his collabos with the late legend are still mostly timeless. He just brought something more outta Craig Mack, who hadn't yet gone batshit crazy and demonstrated effectively so by skydiving into the track with his performance. Hell, I consider this song even better than Flava In Ya Ear. (You know what to do if you don't like my opinion. Yep, down there.)
REAL RAW
OK, this song is quite the revelation. For the Craig Mack that you'll hear here sounds absolutely nothing like the rest of the album. The explanation is quite clear really, as this song was recorded during Mack's Hit Squad internship days. I must note, he sounds much more, for lack of a better expression, "composed". For example, his enunciation is infinitely clearer than what you hear on Flava In Ya Ear. The result is Craig Mack's finest lyrical display bar none. I know, I was flabbergasted, too. Not to mention a deft Days Of Our Lives reworking. I cannot stress enough how bewildered I am at Craig Mack's production touches so far. That was somehow intended as a compliment.
MAINLINE
Contrast the previous song with this one. Here, Craigy is damn near unintelligible, with an insistence on garbling his voice as much as possible. Let it be known though that with effort, you can still hear much from what he's saying. However, most rap fans won't appreciate the fact that they have to exert effort in deciphering this man's delivery here. So, even though I still really enjoyed this track because of Easy Mo Bee's masterful Mandre-sampling beat and Mack’s admittedly fun delivery, I can't really recommend our host's overall execution. This song is just too inaccessible. End of story.
WHEN GOD COMES
Now, this Mo Bee production suffers from no such problem. Here, Mack must've been very passionate about truth and what it means to him, (I guiltily admit that the resulting mental image of Mack's face when pondering too hard brought me to tears. Tears of laughing my fucking ass off. See this for reference. You'll know which face I'm talking about.) because he tries to commit every positive thought that ever crossed his mind to wax. It really works, though, as his sincerity shines through and he raises up some pretty legitimate points. Add that to Easy Mo Bee's spot-on Phoenix Authority retooling and you're left with one of the most introspective hip hop records ever made. No, I'm not joking.
WELCOME TO 1994
The final song on this album is fittingly a Craig Mack instrumental, and a dope one at that. He once again turns to another PMD sample, one which he sprinkles through a jeep-rattling instrumental that pushes him one last time towards what is unfortunately a very uninteresting performance. A pretty bland ending for an album like this one, as it’s crystal clear that Mack’s immediate circle, while not yes men, were unsuccessful in influencing him. For better or worse, he made the album he wanted to make.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Captain Obvious Time: This album sounds the furthest from Comby's vision of all the Bad Boy releases throughout the label's horrid 20+ year life. I honestly don't know who or what to thank for that particular tidbit. Should I thank Craigy and his flat-out weird tastes in entertainment? Or Easy Mo Bee and his criminally-underrated wizardry behind the boards? Or Comby himself for not directing his sellout visions towards this piece of work? Whatever the case may be, this album is still a worthy entrant into the widely-debated "Golden Era Of Hip Hop", despite the inconsistent hit-rate on the lyrical front. Beatwise, this is still very solid, though. By the way, I would have an issue with dude's hooks. Yet they're delivered with a unique and awesomely on-purpose 'I couldn't give less of a fuck what you think' laziness that sells each and every hook he does on this album. Bottom line, the critical and commercial milestones this album has reached only add to the legendary war chest of Easy Mo Bee accomplishments in hip hop. And for the most part? Craig Mack did pretty well for himself, too. Suck on that, Comby.
WORTH IT? Every goddamn step of the way. This is the only Bad Boy release where Comby had ZERO control, and that is an achievement in and of itself, thereby maintaining the distinction of being the only release free of the usual Comby hindrances, aside from one single song. That's definitely something Craig Mack should be proud of.
TRACKS TO TRACK DOWN:
FLAVA IN YA EAR (REMIX) (FEATURING THE NOTORIOUS B.I.G., RAMPAGE THE LAST BOY SCOUT, LL COOL J & BUSTA RHYMES)
The very single that launched Biggie into superstardom. Also, the very reason Easy Mo Bee left Bad Boy Records. Let's get into it: Every single aspect of this remix that wasn't lyrical was handled by Easy Mo Bee and Easy Mo Bee alone. So of course, Comby listed himself and a reportedly unwilling Chucky Thompson as co-producers, knowing damn well they both didn't have shit to do with the track. Interestingly, Easy Mo Bee now says that he doesn't hold any grudges against Comby but I don't believe that for a second. And if that's %100 true, then that's all the more reason to hate Comby, who has surely screwed over countless more figures in similar situations. Oh, the song itself? Improves on the original in almost every way. Almost. Comby's fucking adlibs during BIG's stellar verse somehow taint this song, albeit ever-so-slightly, but you will not care in the slightest as BIG delivers the immortal verse that truly informed the entire world of his arrival as a legitimate nationwide superstar and not just a regional hero. As for the host? Craig’s verse actually makes it sound as if him & BIG are battling, which might not be that far from the truth as BIG notoriously dismissed his former labelmate in a 1997 interview. Taking in that context, Craig still delivered a worthwhile verse that made his presence felt. I gotta mention that I’m not that big of a fan of LL's verse here. Too radio-whoring for my taste. Rampage gives us some pretty generic rhymes, and Busta tries and fails to recapture his Scenario magic. None of those flaws matter, however, when presented within the context of Easy Mo Bee's brilliant production. Using the same beat as the original, Osten seasons it this time with some guitar notes here and there, transforming the entire song with much more impressive results that negate each and every flaw this remix could've had. And as I've stated, Biggie's verse is immortal & Craig’s “reply” is uncharacteristically mirthless and potent. Do NOT let this remix slip through your fingers.
For more Easy Mo Bee, here.
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