Royal Flush - Ghetto Millionaire (August 19, 1997 )

My second Blunt/TVT Records alumni is one of the many headscratchers of this genre we love. You know the ones. You hear them on a couple of hot songs and you genuinely look for more of their material. Then, after hearing what you asked for, you're left confused about whether you found what you were looking for or not. But, hey. That's why I'm writing about a guy like Ramel Govantes, whom you can still catch selling shish kabobs in Queens at 3 AM to this day, just look for the name Royal Flush aka Mr. Govantes' Kebob for a Shishy Evening and you'll find him in a jiffy.

So Govy here apparently hooked up with the subject of my previous post, fellow Queens Arab barbecue expert Mic Geronimo, in the early 90s, which resulted in our current subject appearing heavily on Mic's seminal 1995 debut, The Natural. (An album I'll admit to being quite fond of.) Ramel's chemistry with the Masta I.C. was pretty undeniable, and  he also impressed with his command of the microphone, which is always good to have. Which for some reason led to Blunt being sold on the idea that Flush should get an album on his own. So all parties involved went to work on just that.

Blunt seemed to like the ingredients that made The Natural whatever it was to fans, so they made the decision to bring back most of the people who produced said album to work on Mr. Govantes' shit as well. However, this decision seems to have been made before Blunt received sale numbers for The Natural, evidenced by the fact that they went the screamingly opposite direction with Mic's sophomore release, Vendetta. (An album I'll admit to utterly loathing.)

This album, however, marked a transition in some of those producers' directions in their music, similar to quite a few production juggernauts. Some started sucking faster than others, I'll admit, because people like Erick Sermon took their sweet time descending into garbage territory, while others like Diamond D flipped at the drop of a hat, never returning to what made them great ever again.  Well, not ever.

Now that nobody's reading this post, I'll keep the review going for my nonexistent fanbase's entertainment. Here's Ghetto Millionaire.

1. INTRO

One thing that always pissed me off about this album is the various intros throughout. As if one wasn't infuriating enough.

2. I BEEN GETTING SO MUCH $

Goddamnit, Buckwild. What the hell went wrong, duke? It's almost like he's trying his damnedest to ruin his beautiful legacy as if it's the most despicable thing in the world to be associated with. Govy here (I don't give a flying fuck if you're annoyed by me calling him Govy instead of Royal Flush, by the way. Save your breath.) marks this special occasion by interpolating Phil Collins' defining song, In The Air Tonight, which is a favorite of mine. Boy, is this one a stinker. Motherfuck this song.

3. ICED DOWN MEDALLIONS (FEATURING NOREAGA)

Fun fact: Flush's actually Capone of CNN fame's older cousin. You can tell if you pay close enough attention. They sound pretty alike. Although I guess he's bringing Noreaga instead to the party because of Capone's prison term at the time. Anyways, this is the start of our host's relationship with EZ Elpee, piano sampler extraordinaire, who doesn't sample any pianos here. Go figure. Anyways, Noreaga sounds at home on the hook while our host runs down the mandatory three verses. The end product sounds surprisingly not that up to par. Not bad, but not amazing.

4. CAN'T HELP IT
My God, this song blows.  I've always hated the Love Is A House sample and Khadejia's interpolation of Michael Jackson's I Can't Help It falls to the ground nostril-first. Trag's future BFF is left trying to pick up the pieces with whatever he can find in his rhymebook, but to no avail. Prince Kaysaan fucked up on this one hard. This is definitely not a good sign.

5. ILLIODIC SHINES (FEATURING MIC GERONIMO)
Hold up, Prince Kaysaan sort of redeems himself here. Maybe it's because Mic Geronimo continues his winning form from The Natural and fucking drags Ramel along for the ride, who excels rhyming alongside his partner. This was pretty good.

6. MOVING ON YOUR WEAK PRODUCTIONS (FEATURING PHENOM PACINO)
Da Beatminerz come with an instrumental that would've been perfect as an 80s love ballad, but I guess the drums hit the way they're supposed to, so I don't mind that much. Flush and his weed carrier, apparently from their support group Wastlanz, rock over the Nas sample well, with thuggery that would make Tragedy Khadafi proud. Might I add that the name Phenom Pacino will never be taken seriously.

7. CONFLICT INTRO
See?

8. CONFLICT (FEATURING WASTLANZ)
The producer's called Sha Self, what were you expecting? I mean, really? Generic late 90s rap song #868430.

9. SHINES INTRO
&^%$#! (Always loved when comics & cartoons did this.)

10. SHINES
Hi-Tek lends Flush his services right after he formed Reflection Eternal with Talib Kweli, and it's one of the best cuts on the album, landing at just over three minutes. Hi-Tek becomes the gajillionth producer to effectively freak a Prodigy of Mobb Deep sample. Ramel sounds right at home, for the record, with lines like: "I'm dyin over better things, not flooded pieces/Kids die for no reason, sick believin/I wish we all wouldn't wear it even." This was really fucking good.

11. FAMILY PROBLEMS
Man, why are the songs that are thought out the most always the shortest on these goddamn albums? Anyways, EZ Elpee returns behind the boards and, could it be? Yes! We have pianos! Mr. Govantes utilizes this opportunity to let off a one-verse wonder that's pretty fucking descriptive. Now, if this story's true, I'm gathering our host was a juvenile when he did what he did, because there's absolutely no way he'd be a free man if he was an adult. The album's momentum is getting a bit better.

12. WHAT A SHAME (FEATURING NOREAGA)
Another EZ Elpee track. (Why doesn't he call himself EZ LP and be done with it. That 'Elpee' spelling gets on my damn nerves every time I come across it.) Here, he brings us samples of The Jones Girls' When I'm Gone effectively. Mr. Govantes and NORE's first real collaboration gives us their take on the One Love idea. It's not bad, per se, but the idea's novelty has worn off a long time ago, to the point that many songs of this nature come off as biting and following a trend. This one doesn't feel like such, though.

13. REGULATE INTRO

If the album had a voice by this point, I swear I know what it'd say to me. It'd say: U mad, bro?

14. REGULATE (FEATURING MIC GERONIMO)
Yet another EZ Elpee beat. I guess our host saved him and his family from a flaming building, and now he's invited over every Thanksgiving. Anyways, this track is a foreshadowing element of things to come for Mic Geronimo, even though it's Govy spitting the club-friendly rhymes. This was meh, at best, solely because of Flush's verse.

15. WORLDWIDE
L.E.S.'s beat is a weird choice for Trag's future BFF's thuggery as he disses the shit outta the Dogg Pound. The beat contains a sped up sample of the opening violins on Billy Preston's You Are So Beautiful, so that it sounds like a broken synthesizer, which is to say, not so bad, per se. Ramel is in full-on thug-rap-reppin-NY mode with his verses, despite the instrumental, which shows the level of commitment presented by him on this song. I'd still listen to it, but I wouldn't go out of my way looking for it or anything.

16. N****S NIGHT OUT (FEATURING JA RULE)
Scratch that. Worldwide is a fucking work of art. A symphony defining an era compared to this shit. The mutated Buckwild is back, and you can imagine my fury at the ignorance present here. Forget the fact that I actually like the source material, Boz Scaggs' Lowdown, Buckwild's sampling here adds absolutely nothing to its legacy. Worse yet, it detracts from it. Furthermore, you can guess what that title lyrically brings out of Govy here. This crapfest is complete with Ja's filthy hook.  And yet, this is still loads better than the last time Buck & our host for the evening hooked up on this album. Nevertheless, skip this shit.

17. INTERNATIONAL CURRENCY INTRO
You know what I needed more than anything in the entire world by this point? Forget something to eat. Forget some goddamn water. No, I needed another intro. They cure AIDS, they do.

18. INTERNATIONAL CURRENCY (FEATURING WASTLANZ)
ChySkillz debuts his lone track on this album with a beat that sounds once again straight out of Buckwild's best material. Maybe ChySkillz was trying to smack some sense in Buck. This leads to Flush and his weed carriers actually handing out some well thought lyrics, despite the pig-ass hook. This was much needed at this point.

19. WAR
Ramel catches wreck on a beat that he produced himself. Given the final result, maybe he should've produced his album by his damn self. At least, we wouldn't be exposed to shit like this album's first song. The beat surprisingly sounds pretty on point and our host is serious with his writing, the line 'Who's to blame? Man or cocaine? This world is insane' particularly catching my ear. This was another step in the right direction.

20. MAKIN MOVES (FEATURING MIC GERONIMO)
Is it possible? Can it BE? LORD YES! A PROPER BUCKWILD INSTRUMENTAL! To anybody who still decided to read this review and document my suffering so far, this is a prime example of what I was talking about when praising Buckwild's production skills. Maybe it's because he worked on this in 1996, but no matter. Buck freaks a brilliantly-sampled Montara by Bobby Hutcherson to sweet perfection, and our host is downright cleansed by it, delivering a gut-wrenching performance into the average street hoodlum's mentality. Best song on the album by far, even with Mic stuck delivering a hook that's not to be proud of. One of my favorite Buckwild productions.

21. REPPIN
L.E.S. returns to ruin any goodwill Govy earned from the previous track with this radio-fucking song. Almost as bad as I Been Getting So Much $, but not quite. What more do you want from me?

22. DEAD LETTER
The prerequisite ode to fallen comrades. I guess Mr. Govantes has enough emotion in his delivery necessary to count this as one of the not-so-bad songs, so there's that. The beat by a thing called Low wouldn't sound out of place as posthumous 2Pac song #6748. I don't know, I still liked it.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Let's play math: You have 22 tracks: 5 worthless skits, 6 bile-ass songs and 11 good-to-fucking-awesome songs. What would you think of it? Royal Flush can hold his own behind the mic if the beat's good enough, although that's not always the case, e.g. Regulate. The guests also vary in quality, from brilliant a la Mic Geronimo, to downright embarrassing a la Ja fucking Rule. I don't know, I'm still confused by this release. It's worth pointing out that Blunt failed in their pursuit to repeat The Natural's success, if you can call it that. However, Ghetto Millionaire did succeed in repeating one of its predecessor's feats: Not selling a single goddamn copy. Oh well.

WORTH IT? This is one of those albums that services like iTunes was invented for, where you can acquire the good shit and leave the rest. It's up to you if you want to get the whole damn thing and support the artist. Besides, for those iPod junkies, like myself, you can always delete the rotten shit. Speaking of rotten.

TRACKS TO TRACK DOWN:

ROTTEN APPLE
This EZ Elpee track was released to hype up the album, and ended up being one of Ramel's landmark releases. This is one of those songs that you're mystified as to why they're left off the album, as it would've fit perfectly on it. Anyways, EZ samples Nas' The World Is Yours in an effective manner, while Flush waxes poetic about the paranoia surrounding 'the life', and does a pretty good job up until his final verse where he almost ruins his work by flossing for a bit, then reverting to his by-now trademark thuggery. Overall, this was worth the search for me.

For more Royal Flush, click on his name.

Mic Geronimo - The Natural (October 17, 1995)

I think I wanna talk about a project involving ChySkillz some more. Sort of.

Buckwild, along with fellow DITC producer Diamond D, is responsible for one of my biggest heartbreaks in my journey into hip hop.  Let me elaborate.  My introduction to him was through his collaboration with Celph Titled of AOTP fame, where they actively sought out his 90s material exclusively during 93-97. The result of course blew my mind, as literally every beat I heard from the man on that project caused me brain damage from too much headnodding, including the Pete Rock-style instrumentals after a few of the songs. I was so blown away by the material I heard that I had to check out all the songs he did, with the mere mention of his name drawing me to an entire project. If you're a rabid consumer of hip hop, you know exactly what I'm talking about when it comes to your favorite producers.  However, something seemed to have happened to dude, because he started producing some absolute piffle as soon as 98 hit.  Don't believe me? I dare you to listen to OC's Bon Appetit with a straight face. Go on.

So, I started categorizing his music, along with others that I've had a similar experience with, another prime example being Erick Sermon. In Buckwild's case, I now only listen to his material in the aforementioned 93-97 period. So, when I found out that he had contributed fairly heavily to Queens native Mic Geronimo's 1995 debut, The Natural, I immediately went in for a looksee.

So what is there to say about Mic Geronimo? Well, I, for one, feel it's very strange that an artist like Mic, real name Michael McDermon, is being treated like he's all but evaporated from our chosen genre, even though he played a major part in putting on arguably the three biggest Def Jam artists in the late 90s. Trust me, you'll know them when we get to them, the world got physically sick of them collaborating with each other later on.  Now, for what it's worth, the first time I ever heard Mic Geronimo was three years ago when Large Professor snatched him up from his apartment to appear on his 2012 cut, Mack Don Illz, off the Professor@Large album. I remember thinking he was fairly alright, but there wasn't any lasting impression or the like. But, I digress.

I came to find out that this album had a couple of producers who share Buck's problem, in my eyes. One was DJ Irv, now known as Murder Inc (whoops, sorry. The Inc.)'s very own Irv Gotti. Now, I must be honest, I'm kind of on the fence about lil' Irving here. On one hand, he's responsible for one of Shawn Carter's most enduring songs, Can I Live, off his mafioso classic Reasonable Doubt. On the other hand, he's responsible for the world suffering through Ja Rule. Oh well.  Turns out, Irving was the key factor in Mic signing to Blunt Records, a subsidiary of TVT.  I think the record label's name is a big reason why Mic was never as relevant as he should've been.  Irv produced the debut single, Shit's Real, and the fine folks at Blunt decided it was album time.

On the way, Mic somehow got with fellow Queens hoodlum Ramel Govantes, aka Royal Flush (currently serving time as Tragedy Khadafi's BFF), resulting somehow in Govy appearing in one way or another on nearly every goddamn cut on the album, a la Tragedy on CNN's The War Report.

So, what was the end result?

1. THE NATURAL

We're off with a production from Mark Sparks of Shoop fame, which was done during the phase that every R&B producer goes through where he wanted to make people forget that he's an R&B producer, which can result in good music.  Mark Sparks, in particular, produced one of my favorite Jazzmatazz songs, Medicine, which featured True Master rhyming alongside the late legend Guru (RIP). This song is equally awesome, yet for entirely different reasons. One, it's one of those atmospheric beats that transports you straight back to mid-90s New York. Second, Mic sounds pretty fucking comfortable in his material, which is always a good quality in an MC. It's this very quality that made greats like Guru, Rakim, Tragedy and Prodigy excel behind the mic, and Mic has plenty of it. A headbanger.

2. LIFECHECK

Da Beatminerz in their first of 2 contributions. Keep in mind, this is Dah Shinin'-era Beatminerz, and as such, the material heard here isn't quite up to par. Mic picks up the song, however, with his effortless flow and calm shit-talking. I still liked the end result, nonetheless. That's all I got.

3. WHEREVER YOU ARE

Now this was more of what people expected from R&B producers of that period. Mic's take on Mark Sparks' feel-good music threatens to veer into generic love-rap material during his first verse, but goes back to basic braggadocio that we've heard from countless other aspiring MCs, and the end result is still better than every "made" rapper on the radio today. Sad, that.

4. MASTA I.C. (FEATURING ROYAL FLUSH)

I swear, there's just something different about Buck's production in the era I keep mentioning, almost whimsical even. This was an interesting choice for the second single, and it's a smash with me. Yeah, even with that stupid-ass hook. Mic simply goes off on here with his boasts, with lines like: "I subdued the microphone and left it in submission/Then cracked the philly open and found a talent that was hidden." This shit bangs. Oh, and that's Royal Flush on the hook.

5. MAN OF MY OWN (FEATURING ROYAL FLUSH)

First time I heard this beat, I thought of Buckwild immediately, because of the horns' placement in the midst of all the samples. But nope, this was ChySkillz' handiwork. Now, it's not that big of a mystery why his production is a massive nose-dive in energy when compared with his Onyx output, but, as I've stated before in other similar instances, that can be a good thing. It certainly fits our host's monotone delivery like a glove and Mic doesn't compromise in the consistency of his output. Not as much a statement as the previous song, but pretty fucking good, nonetheless. Royal Flush? On the hook, again.

6. TIME TO BUILD (FEATURING JA RULE, JAY-Z & DMX)

I fucking told you the combo was recognizable, didn't I? The first official track to feature the holy trinity of late-90s mainstream rap sounds like none of their future material together, which is a straight-up godsend. Hell, this is one of the select handful of Ja Rule performances that I'll ever sit through without physically suffering. Irving, another late-90s mainstream mainstay, provides us with his take on DITC beats in the era of this album's crafting, which inspires all participants involved to catch wreck in similar DITC fashion. Seriously, this cut would've fit snugly in Lifestylez Ov Da Poor & Dangerous, besides the fact that, you know, Big L isn't on the goddamn song. By the way, Jay has lost the Das EFX-sewage flow (No, really. That's what they call their famous flow.) by the time he recorded his shit and started sounding like what we hear on his debut, which is always a good thing. More importantly, DMX walks away with this song's best verse which, to my utter delight, sounds as far away from his Swizz Beatz-produced delivery as humanly possible. Even with everybody else turning in a stellar performance, (Yes, even Ja surprisingly sounds great on here.) just face it, people: There's no denying that a very hungry DMX is a legitimate threat on the mic.

7. SHIT'S REAL

The lead single, produced by DJ Irv again. And, I gotta say, I'll always prefer DJ Irv to Irv fucking Gotti. Anyways, the sampling of Deniece Williams' Free was on the money. As such, this contains my favorite Mic Geronimo showing on this album, for he delivers that monotone flow that sounds like he has absolutely nothing to lose, resulting in lines like: "For every episode I unfold/There be another sick story in my mind to be told" delivered with conviction that keeps you coming back for more, finding his boasts to be just the right amount of authoritative. This song was the perfect lead single for a project like this. Loved it!

8. THREE STORIES HIGH (FEATURING ROYAL FLUSH)

Buckwild returns for one of his most demented beats, with very little melody to speak of. A perfect canvas for our host to debut his homie, who impresses with his first presence on the mic. These two form an effective tag-team, with the thuggery present, even if not as refined, guaranteed to please fans of groups like Mobb Deep and CNN. I guess it makes sense that Royal Flush is now running with Trag. This was highly entertaining!

9. SHARANE

Mark Sparks returns behind the boards for a beat befitting of the East Coast sound of the time, and Mic shits on it with his contractual obligation of a song. I've always hated songs like this, and it being a narrative does not change my mind.

10. MEN VS MANY (FEATURING ROYAL FLUSH, C-LO & O.C.)

I'd have thought Omar Credle would prefer rocking over a Buckwild beat, but here you go. The gang wreck shop over a proper Beatminerz beat, where everyone plays off each other back and forth, except for C-Lo who contributes a single verse to the proceedings. Everyone seems to be having fun here, but naturally, Brooklyn's OC sounds the most confident behind the mic, which makes perfect sense. All in all, this was yet another high point on the album, an album that’s quickly turning into quite the gem!

11. TRAIN OF THOUGHT (FEATURING ROYAL FLUSH)

I have to say, I'm pretty disappointed in Royal Flush's frequently wasted efforts on hook duties. Otherwise, this song was a prime example of just how Buckwild evoked an electric chemistry with whomever he produced for during that period. Buck returns again with his best beat on the album, with Mic effectively ripping the beat to shreds and spitting on the remains. Just… chefkiss.

12. THINGS CHANGE (FEATURING ROYAL FLUSH)

Apparently Royal Flush heard my plight earlier, so he threatened to bitch slap Mark Sparks if he didn't feature him on his homie's next song. I guess Marky took it personally, as even though he provided the duo with a fairly somber beat with smacking drums, he added a crooner to the proceedings that threatened to derail the momentum of the entire album. It’s a good thing that Mic & Flush went into the booth and spit some of the realest bars on any of their records together in an ode to fallen comrades, unfazed by the crooning fuckery that is the trashass hook. Overall, this was still pretty good. Moving on.

13. MASTA I.C. (REMIX) (FEATURING MR. CHEEKS & ROYAL FLUSH)

Okay, so apparently the internet's confused about who actually produced the song. Some sources say it's DJ Irv, other sources say it's Nashiem Myrick from Diddy's jolly bag of Hitmen. I'm guessing it's Nashiem, since they say his fucking name on the song, alongside the fact that the song comes built-in with its very own R&B hook. Anyway, the beat is pretty goddamn addictive, and all parties involved remain fairly aware of that as they proceed to demolish it in a worthy manner. One point, though. Mr. Cheeks is repeatedly being credited as the Lost Boyz on many instances such as this one, (including Onyx' Shut 'Em Down album. These plugs were shameless, and I'm proud of them being such.) and granted, Freaky Tah rhymes like, what, half a bar? It's still not enough for them to be credited as the entire Lost Boyz. Mic & Flush prove once again that they’re a criminally underrated tag team in this boom bap game. This shit was nice, son!

FINAL THOUGHTS: So what really is there to say about Mic Geronimo? Well, allow me some hard truths here: Mic Geronimo, despite never really pursuing this career, had something special in that pen of his that allowed him to shine on this debut album The Natural. And I do mean shine in every sense of the word. The man had a commanding presence on the mic, wrote with a purpose and immaculately picked the beats that ended up matching him perfectly. And the guests he brought in were nothing to be scoffed at, and I ain’t even talking about the usual suspects: OC, Mr. Cheeks and especially Royal Flush had stellar chemistry with our host. And as for the Def Jam trio? Jay’s transition into the Jay we ended up hearing on Reasonable Doubt started on Time To Build, X showcased once again why he was ready since he signed to Ruffhouse. As for Ja’s bitchass? Had he stuck to this style, maybe he would’ve never got on and we wouldn’t’ve had to suffer that trashass Murder Inc run. Back to the album, it remains a time capsule of something that can’t be faked nor manufactured. And that’s how real Mic Geronimo’s The Natural proved to be. Shit’s definitely real.

 

WORTH IT? You bet your doughy, warty & rotten rusty sheriff’s badge, it is!. Although it does contain a single snoozefest, Mic's product here is something special. So much so I’m fairly baffled that underground heads don’t talk about this album more. Heed the words you read and go get this shit NOW!

TRACKS TO TRACK DOWN:

HEMMIN' HEADS

Now this DJ Irv concoction I highly recommend. I have to say, I'm surprised that Irving was once as consistent as he is, because he gives us an absolutely smacking beat. One which Mic doesn't shy away from completely obliterating. A completely understandable prelude of his Can I Live work, even if it sounds nothing like it. I'm telling you, the Irving-Mic combination, when it clicks, lyrically brings the best out of Mic. This was a satisfying listen and should've been on the album. And we're done.

Want to know more about this dude? Here.