Anyone reading this have a life-altering experience, lately? Show of hands? To those of you who did, now you know where my mental's at and why it took me so long to come back.
Now that I'm here, though, today's subject kind of fell into my lap. I mean, I obviously already knew of East New Yitty's Anthony Cruz bka AZ. What I meant was that up till now, I'd decided not to review any album from this dude's catalog. Not because I think that they're good or bad, but simply because for the longest I just couldn't figure out what I wanted to say about son. It didn't really help that throughout this hip hop fandom of mine, I've encountered dude's work countless times. Then, these past few weeks came. I was adjusting to my current situation when I stumbled upon something I already watched way back in the summer: the BET half-hour documentary about our subject for this post. While it was a doc I enjoyed immensely, it wasn't until I watched it again these past few weeks that it started a massive back-&-forth debate in my head regarding ol' Antonio's impact on this genre. Add that to me stumbling upon 36 Seasons by Ghostface Killah, on which AZ was co-starring, a role in which he stole the show every time you heard him, and my AZ retrospective journey was officially underway. Fast forward to now, I finally know where this guy fits in this blog of mine.
Out of all the Brooklyn neighborhoods frequently mentioned in hip hop, Anthony Cruz was born in the one that intrigues me the most, East New York. So many of my favorite boom bap tunes were inspired by that place. I was also very intrigued that Stetsasonic were from ENY as well, and that their early park jams were the main reason he fell in love with the art form. (For the record, if you don't know who Stetsasonic are, you should probably stop reading this very instant and burn their catalog into your brain. Like now.)
This change in Tony's life was largely hidden from the world. In fact, apart from immediate family and very close friends, nobody really knew that AZ was a potential MC, until one of his homies hooked him up with an upstart DJ/producer, some dude who called himself Pete Rock, in 1989. You might've read about him once or twice or a hextuple of times here. Of course AZ, being the aloof & bashful twerp that he was back then, never pushed for a collaborative album with the Soul Brother back when the legend was cutting his production teeth. I'll let you think about that lost opportunity for a moment. And yes, I do enjoy making you think about these lost possibilities. Builds character, you see. To crank your irritation up a notch, the hip hop world wouldn't have even heard of Anthony Cruz had it not been for a chance meeting with another then-up and comer in hip hop, one Nas.
After meeting each other through a dude called Yammy, Large Professor Nas immediately noticed that this AZ cat was a diamond in the rough who simply cannot slip through the fingers of hip hop history. So, once the dude who was originally scheduled to appear as the sole guest appearance on his album got locked up, Large Professor Nas remembered that burning desire he had to put Mr. Cruz on. And that's how Life's A Bitch, the last completed record off Illmatic, was born.
You can probably guess how things went from there. Everyone and their government mule wanted to hear more from AZ. Matter of fact, that one verse incredibly got him the deal with the late EMI Records, whose fuckface execs ran to him with big-ass dollar signs in their eyes. Everyone around Tony was so elated that he was finally provided the platform an MC of his potential deserved. So, he went about recording the single that was to be his opening statement in the rap game, the one song that everyone was hopefully to point to years later when remembering his impact on hip hop history. The resulting single, Sugar Hill, sold five hundred thousand copies in less than three months. Naturally, album time was upon our protagonist.
Given that its release followed Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx..., the quintessential mafioso rap album in my opinion, Doe Or Die was considered the second mafioso masterpiece which helped further the mafioso influence spread throughout East Coast hip hop back then. Along with the critical acclaim came the inevitable comparisons to Illmatic. And if there's one negative from AZ debuting on that album, it's the fact that he's always shoehorned in lyrical comparisons with Nas, even when they're not sharing the same song. I feel this really detracts from the opportunity to appreciate his lyrics, because songs like Life's A Bitch effectively demonstrate how Tony can be a lyrical force to be reckoned with. Hell, this is a stigma he's still carrying, goddamnit. And that's where this review comes in. You're here to find if Mr. Cruz exorcised that stigma on his debut.
Doe Or Die, boy/girl (pick one):
INTRO
Is it just me, or have these intros/skits/outros long overstayed their welcome in this genre? It's even worse when they are backed by amazing beats such as this Lunatic Mind recipe. Yet another composition needlessly flushed down the toilet.
UNCUT RAW
Here Tony assesses the motives of a young criminal mind in the ghetto. Simple note here: Any aspiring MC who hasn't yet studied AZ on songs other than Life's A Bitch is really missing a a lyrical spectacle. And it is here that the first issue I have with this album shows itself: The beat by a certain Loose (me neither) is merely serviceable. See when you have an MC the caliber of Tony here and you're seeking to craft the ultimate hip hop song, musical and lyrical quality must both be present. The result ain't ass or anything, but I won't go out of my way to include it on any playlist of mine, and you shouldn't either.
GIMME YOURS (FEATURING NAS)
Time for old friend Pete Rock to step behind the boards. I tell you: I friggin' love the shit outta this song. I couldn't give less of a rat's balls that Nas is atrocious on the hook, the Soul Brother still found a way to make this shit a classic. AZ does not switch up his MO and this time, the Minnie Riperton-sampling beat matches his contribution punch for punch. If it weren't for Nas making every lost R&B legend throughout history turn in his grave with his putrid I-Level interpolation, this would easily be one of the greatest hip hop songs ever made. As such, it's still one of the greatest hip hop songs ever made. Then there's the remix, produced by Erick Sermon. Now, this was done back when the E-Double was just starting to make a limited reputation for himself as one of the go-to producers for radio appeal, and as such, his remix sounds a bit poppy. Nevertheless, it is a more fleshed out track with a proper vocalist singing the I-Level interpolation instead of Nas, violator of R&B. You'd be correct in assuming that the remix is the better song, but I actually listen to the original more. Not sure what this signifies.
HO HAPPY JACKIE
Oh Buckwild, how I miss your boom bap beats. Le sigh. Here he hits another homer with a brilliant sampling of Kool & The Gang. So of course, AZ spends the entire song ho-shaming a girl. Look, obviously these types of women exist, but I'm sorry: I can't believe they were as rampant as most rappers imply them to be. Misfire. Call em like ya see em, people.
RATHER UNIQUE
The PR returns on production duties and while his Les McCann-sampling beat is the textbook example of what sampling can offer music in general, I can't claim that he hasn't made better Petestrumentals. For example, his work with INI. Or the earlier Gimme Yours track. Still though, this is one awesome song. The minimalist beat provides ample space for Tony here to roll out the quotables show. And by God, does he ever. This dude is that MC, schooling you and kicking your ass with his wordplay. Two for the good!
I FEEL FOR YOU
We go from Pete Rock to Amar Pep, one of AZ's childhood friends. Unfortunately, the step down in production quality is absolutely jarring. AZ's attempts at thug rap are commendable, but ultimately meaningless as Amar's beat absolutely refuses to let you tune it out and try to focus on the lyrics. What makes this so frustrating is that the beat can only be described as noise. And not Bomb Squad-brilliant noise, but babies crying after shitting themselves-noise. Antonio, I know you're a stand up guy who does right by his homies, but goddamn: Less ass on them boards, please.
SUGAR HILL (FEATURING MISS JONES)
The producer of Life's A Bitch is reunited with AZ to give him his biggest record. And, believe me, L.E.S. pulls no punches with the radio-pandering, with the Sugar Free sample running rampant throughout the instrumental. Hell, Miss Jones even interpolates the record's famed hook in a manner that fits this track. Here's the thing: I actually dig this record as a song. But as a hip hop track it's just too corny. Of course, AZ comes correct on them lyrics with his rags-to-riches mafioso approach here, as he's always done so far. I must say that the influence on the lyrics may be G Rap & RAGU, but on the music it's BIG's Juicy all the way. I stand by what I said earlier, though: I dig this record as a song, but not as a hip hop track.
MO MONEY, MO MURDER, MO HOMOCIDE (FEATURING NAS)
DR Period, fresh off his hardcore flex with MOP's debut album To The Death, switches up his production approach entirely for this track. Here, he exhibits a level of skill previously unheard from him on his To The Death work with a deft sped-up O'Jays sample that amps up the theatrical value as AZ & Nas craft their classic mafioso duet. The interplay between both MCs is electric and furthers the mafioso rap lynchpin status that this album is trying to achieve. After the song ends, you're treated to a short one-minute mini-song with yet another fantastically haunting beat by Lunatic Mind. And this time, AZ spits 8 bars that will stick in the back of your brain for quite some time. I'm just a bit vexed that this wasn't the intro to the album.
DOE OR DIE
In an attempt by EMI to throw off the audience, AZ enlists the help of Rap-A-Lot producer N.O. Joe, whose Houston brand of G-Funk bred many a hit for the likes of the Geto Boys, Scarface & UGK. In return, AZ spits some of his best lyrics ever on the beat. Now, I appreciate the attempt to broaden one's horizon, but the jump needs to sound organic. Trust me, the bleak lyrics are not a good fit for the party feel of N.O. Joe's G-Funk presented here. If you want to hear these lyrics paired with a beat that does them justice, there's a remix on Youtube by Boston production heroes the Vinyl Reanimators (famous for their acclaimed work with Edo. G & the late Scientifik) so go check for that. You're welcome.
WE CAN'T WIN (FEATURING AMAR PEP & BARSHAM)
I tell you, this album's cohesion has been shot to hell too many times. For example, here Amar Pep returns on the boards with a beat that sounds like it was made by a five year-old. It's here that AZ decides to bring his homies on this posse cut about five percenter conspiracy theories, on which he completely obliterates them on the lyrical front. For the record: Barsham sounds like the younger, greener brother of AZ. The dude rambling incoherently in the bookends of this song needs a crisp punch in the face last century. Fuck this song.
YOUR WORLD DON'T STOP
Because we can't have nice things, the awesome original version of this song by Spunk Bigga was scratched off the album because of bullshit regarding an uncleared Lou Donaldson sample. Instead, one of my favorite beatsmiths, Original Flavor’s Ski aka Ski Beatz aka that motherfucker who later produced Dead Presidents for a certain Jay-Z, issues a remix with cleared samples that is simply suffocating in its minimalism. Maybe that aspect fits a song about a jailed convict more, but the vocalist's off-key chants are even more jarring than Nas' earlier ear-rape, unlike the original where the sampled chants are perfectly on-key.
SUGAR HILL (REMIX)
L.E.S. remixes his original creation with a more hip hop-oriented beat, sampling the same Stylistics record made famous by EPMD back in 1989 on their hit It Wasn't Me, It Was The Fame. He also samples Miss Jones' final chants on the original Sugar Hill. Let me tell y'all: This is more like it! The instrumental makes AZ's lyrics sound more desperate, fitting the mafioso approach like a friggin' glove. This was a damn fine way to end the album.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Now that we're done with the track reviews, let's address the obvious: Does this album warrant all those comparisons to Illmatic? The answer should be a resounding 'Hell no'. The main thing Illmatic had that this didn't was the presence of a producer orchestrating the album. Illmatic had Large Professor overseeing every bit of its crafting as the perfect A&R. Doe Or Die was afforded no such luxury, and as such it suffered from the fuckfaces at the label talking into AZ's ear and pulling him in the directions of their every whim: One moment they want the poppy Juicy-like single with Sugar Hill, the next they want the Cuban Linx mafioso banger so they get Mo Money Mo Murder and after that they go after that G-Funk money through making the title track, then they go back to trying to recapture Illmatic's magic with Gimme Yours and Rather Unique. See the problem here? There are too many musical discrepancies to consider this album a back-to-back classic, which is a problem AZ still suffers from on his subsequent albums. What's even more infuriating is that AZ here was right under Pete Rock's nose: These two could've extended the magic found on Rather Unique and Gimme Yours to a full masterpiece of an album, through him producing the entire thing or taking Large Professor's Illmatic route and A&Ring the album properly. Instead, what we get is a compilation of Tony's best songs mixed with some alright joints and truly horrid tracks, none AZ's fault of course. Unless he was responsible for Amar goddamned Pep being here. Cuz lemme tell ya: Whoever decided that Amar buttfucking Pep's beats deserved to score full songs while Lunatic Mind's contributions were relegated to mere intros and interludes should be kneed in his/her nethers.
FINAL RATING: 3 outta 4. Even though this album contains at least four of the best songs in hip hop history, I cannot in good conscious say that the full product is zero skips. So buy the recommended tracks, stream ‘em, burn ‘em, buy the whole thing, whatever. Just make sure you get a taste of AZ backed by the worthy beats found on Doe Or Die. Some of the best hip hop you'll ever come across in your life. Trust me.
TRACKS TO TRACK DOWN
DOE OR DIE (REMIX) (FEATURING RAEKWON)
Further proof that the remixes to this album's singles far outclass the originals, here AZ enlists the help of the motherfucking RZA, Abbott of the Wu-Tang Clan, who sculpts a track right out of the Cuban Linx mold, complete with a Raekwon feature for AZ to indulge to his heart's content. AZ takes full advantage of this opportunity, relishing in his invitation to Wu territory and managing to create a song that would've snugly fit on the Purple Tape. Of course, Raekwon sounds absolutely thrilled to spit alongside Tony here, which is always a plus. So yeah, this song's perfect. I'd like to point out that there are three versions of this song, all official. This is the one I'm reviewing here, because I feel it's more complete. Again, you're welcome
For a further exploration of the Visualiza, here.
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