Cypress Hill - Cypress Hill (August 13, 1991)

It’s tough being a mental health patient diagnosed with multiple disorders. Trust me.

Y'all remember my relationship with The Monstars Anthem from the Space Jam OST, right? How it introduced a frightened, lonely kid prone to abuse from the ones closest to him to an unapologetic, take-no-prisoners genre of narrative besides video games that helped this prepubescent combat the traumatic experiences threatening to suffocate him from the inside. By the grace of the Almighty, it was all thanks to two men on that song. One was Cliffy Cliff Smif bka the mighty Method Man from the ageless Wu-Tang Clan, whose music and its impact on my life I've already gone to great detail about on this here blog.

Now's finally the time for me to talk about the other man whose music I had a relationship beyond words through all the video games I played throughout the years: Luis Mario Freese aka Dr. Greenthumb bka the mythical B-Real from the immortal Cypress Hill.

Strap in for yet another doozy.

Since B-Real was the first voice I heard on The Monstars Anthem, that nasal tone of his bonded with my preteen brain in such an inescapable way that I immediately recognized him when I heard my very first Cypress Hill song, the bloody rapcore classic that is Lightning Strikes. I heard this satisfyingly loud banger during my very first Twisted Metal 4 playthrough, when the track blasted throughout my rampage through the Road Rage stage. Shoutout to anyone who nails dropping the Calypso special on their unsuspecting opponents from halfway across the stage: I salute your dedication. Believe me, that game stuck with me for a long ass time.

Point is, this hip hop journey of mine has always been anything but conventional, and the fact that I heard Lightning Strikes 6 years before my next exposure to Cypress Hill, I feel, has given me more of an insight into how this shit works than if I had gotten into their discography back when it came out. You know, along with the rest of the world. If you’re asking, that next exposure was thanks to the GTA San Andreas fictional radio station Radio Los Santos, which provided me with my next taste of Cypress Hill magic: How I Could Just Kill A Man. To be honest, at first I wasn’t really that stricken with the b-side simply because Ice Cube's It Was A Good Day had me in a damn trance, as it should. Nevertheless, Kill A Man eventually wormed its way into my subconscious as I continued to parade my brand of death and destruction around the fictional state until I rammed Tenpenny and his bitchass firetruck off the freeway. 2004 was a good year for me.

Two years later, my journey into the caverns of boom bap high art would be in full swing and it was then that I first heard our subject today, their eponymous debut, for the first time. It was only natural that my addiction to Cypress Hill and the Soul Assassins in general would only get worse from there, driven in no small part by the experiments of their in-house producer: the legendary Lorenzo Cavassi aka Lawrence Muggerud aka Grandmaster Muggs bka DJ Muggs outta Queens NY, who would eventually become responsible for MANY a classic hip hop display. His exploits on the boards, along with his very credible background as a DJ, led to some of my absolute favorite experiences listening to hip hop. And said experiences came at a time when I desperately needed them.

Before I get into this review proper, let me remind you that Cypress Hill wasn't always called that. The true founders of this legendary group, South Gate-based Cuban brothers Senen & Ulpiano Reyes bka Sen Dog & Mellow Man Ace called their pet project DVX (Devastating Vocal Excellence) in 1988. Muggs was in another group called the 7A3 with the Bouldin Brothers Brett & Sean, both of whon maintain very close ties with the Soul Assassins as a whole, and the Bell-based B-Real was the Reyes Bros' little homie who impressed them with his lyrics. By the time the collective got down together, Ace left the group to establish a solo career with varying levels of success, which left DVX as a trio. They changed their name to take after a street from the Reyes' hometown of South Gate and the rest is history.

Also of note is that in acquiring DJ Muggs, they were able to link the sound of both the East & West Coasts in their product way before there was a distinct divide between the two schools. Later on, producers like E-Swift, J-Swift & Madlib would echo such experimentations to form their own classic sounds. Chalk that up as yet another innovation in the Soul Assassins' war chest. But let's not get ahead of ourselves here.

And here's where I return you full swing to 2006, back to the beginning of my in-depth journey. I remember how I felt when I read all the opinions everyone had about this special group of musicians: 'The first two albums are the most important, forget the rest.' Being that I was too immature to experiment with my listening back then, I believed the opinions I read and limited my exposure to Cypress Hill as a whole only to our subject today and its successor for almost five years. More on how that eventually turned out in later reviews. But for now?

Cypress Hill I, boy/girl (pick one):



PIGS
Rap album intros be damned! Muggs gets right to work as he freaks a jarring (in the best way possible) Chuck Cornish loop, while B-Real lets loose a one-verse wonder bashing the ever-living shit outta the defenseless police. Because what did they ever do wrong to deserve such a tongue-thrashing, right? It's not like they murder countless unarmed children in the open every fucking day, right? Right?! This song basically establishes the career-long revulsion Cypress Hill has for the ole five-o. Of course you'll immediately notice the nasal tone of our lead MC. Turns out he didn't want to perform this way at first, because he thought his real voice was a better fit. Well, Sen & Muggs quickly shut that shit down and schooled B on how much value this tone had to the overall product, as it gave the graphic displays of thuggery present here, and on a majority of the album a playful, cartoonish tone that made them easier to market. Did I forget to mention that this shit bangs?!

HOW I COULD JUST KILL A MAN
The breakout single, everyone. Or rather, the breakout b-side. Cypress Hill defined the idea of getting over using the lesser-promoted song. Many a better critic than myself has already explained how essential this timeless hip hop experience is, but let me do me anyway: Muggs almost scrapped this song because he heard EPMD looped the same Tramp loop on Rampage, their smash tag-team with LL Cool J. Thank God he contacted EPMD personally and they fell madly in love with his take, then. I always enjoyed the sped-up Jimi Hendrix sample during the hook. B-Real slaughters shit with his braggadocio & thuggery. The immortal Good Times quote made this song just as immortal in my eyes.

HAND ON THE PUMP
Cypress Hill wanted this to be the lead single. You can even hear how much they wanted that in the sample hollering their name at the beginning. The airheads at Columbia preferred The Phuncky Feel One, relegating this as the second single. Really explains why the label's pick flopped hard at first. Anyway, Muggs goes into his bag of tricks and throws another gauntlet of samples at you, somehow creating a dope-as-shit instrumental from oddball excerpts from Jr. Walker, Gene Chandler, James Brown and many others. On the lyrics side of things, you are treated to your very first full Sen Dog verse, which would become a real fan favorite in his repertoire. This will be the benchmark for his future appearances. And B-Real sounds hyped as fuck to perform with him, being Sen's protege 'n' all. Until you realize that Sen did NOT write his verse. Nope, that honor goes to the 7A3’s aforementioned Brett Bouldin. Still, this is a smash, but it could've been an even bigger smash had the label listened to Muggs.

HOLE IN THE HEAD
The onslaught of awesomeness continues as Muggs, by now revealed as the true architect of the Cypress Hill sound, conjures a confusingly addictive Jimmy McBride loop where you can't help but nod your head along. B-Real returns to his solo ventures as he once again nails the balance between menacing and cartoonish, with his nasalities effectively cloaking the thuggery. The fourth dope song!

ULTRAVIOLET DREAMS
DJ Muggs gives you a break from the assault with a slowed down Muddy Waters loop as an effective interlude. One that you'll actually need for once.

LIGHT ANOTHER
Two themes shall henceforth be prevalent in each and every Cypress Hill album, streetlife imagery and odes to cannabis. Seeing as I've never smoked anything in my life (and I intend to keep it that way), I didn't know what to make of the group's attention to the latter at first. Over time, I grew to appreciate the art behind such compositions, whether they be lyrical or musical. Especially when they house displays such as this where DJ Muggs is going crazy with the Kool & The Gang loops. Plus, B-Real's admonishment of the individual rightfully coughing furiously after toking up busts me at the seams every time! Side note: Everyone I've met who does enjoy the sticky green absolutely adores listening to the Hill blasted outta their fucking minds, so I appear to be in good company.

THE PHUNCKY FEEL ONE
The actual lead single. Even though I see Muggs' point and wish that the label fuckfaces listened to him in regards to Hand On The Pump, I strangely appear to be on the label fuckfaces' side as I love this song, which houses Muggs' most creative use of sampling up to this point. The man has spliced together so many unrecognizable samples built on a banger of a JBs loop and elevated the beast to an unfathomable level. B and Sen utilize the Run-DMC tag team formula to share mic time, doing it very proud indeed as they rip the beat apart with unconventional braggadocio that B wrote for both of them. My second-favorite song on the album.

BREAK IT UP
Muggs is apparently very proud of this interlude. I fail to see why, to be honest. The beat is engaging, though. Moving on.

REAL ESTATE
OK, show of hands from anyone who actually thought this b-side to the second single was actually going to be a rap song about real estate? Quite a few, huh? Well, count me in that group! What you really get is quite an extensive braggadocio display from B-Real over yet another marvelous DJ Muggs mashup. Though I still crack up when I hear B end his verse with "Check out the story to the glory of the real estate!" The video version has Sen perform a verse written by B and he sounds damn good doing so!

STONED IS THE WAY OF THE WALK
If you're one of the many heads who familiarized themselves with the EPMD brand of Jeep-rattling funk, you will hear tributes to that sound splattered throughout our subject today. Nowhere is said influence more apparent than this song, where Muggs lays out the canvas perfectly with a distorting-yet-commanding Ingrid horn sample. Following which he unveils the beautiful weld of Grant Green bass and drums from a track by He Who Must Not Be Named. (No, it's not Voldemort) With another solo display, B-Real is at his most ambitious on this joint as he weaves to and fro between very poignant subject matter, a short sex rap, homages to the herb and clever thuggery. A lesser MC would've buckled under such strain and failed spectacularly, but B breezes through effortlessly using a single verse. Out the gate, you know you're dealing with a special caliber of MC. Funny that despite not being a single, this song received the full video treatment. And it's one of their best from this entire album! My favorite song thereon, despite the odd venture into filth.

PSYCOBETABUCKDOWN
This track leaves no room for confusion: The comedic overtones taken from B-Real's delivery throughout the album are absolutely intentional. Nowhere is this more displayed than this track, as B veers off the deep end with some of his zany references. All set to a goofy-as-fuck mashup of Willie Hutch & Parliament from Muggsie here (This is intended as the highest of compliments) A special track indeed!

SOMETHING FOR THE BLUNTED
This interlude is exclusively for weed-themed parties & 4:20 concerts. Or if you devote yourself to cannabis half as much as these three do. As such, it contains a pretty enjoyable beat.

LATIN LINGO
Let me take this opportunity to remind yo ass that Mr. Muggs Muggerud here has yet to come with even a slightly bad instrumental. Not even an iffy one. I wish I was kidding. Here he brings you yet another headbanger, although this is more of a mellow slapper than the rest. It's this track that unveils the true capabilities of Sen Dog as a performer. In an interview, Muggs reveals that Sen was actually the very first who pioneered Spanglish rhymes, way back in 1988. Sen coined the term for the obvious reason being that he rhymed in English and Spanish simultaneously. Remember how groundbreaking that Mellow Man Ace debut was? Yeah, his older brother did it first, naturally. So it’s confusing when you find out that Ace wrote these bars for Sen! This track is basically proof that Sen’s delivery is as crucial an element to the Hill’s success as any aspect of the other members’ game, with B-Real providing the ad-libs for a change.

THE FUNKY CYPRESS HILL SHIT
Muggs has decided that you, the listener, have had enough time to relax, so he assaults your senses once again with a shit ton of samples mashed together haphazardly and yet retained a surprising amount of cohesion. B-Real returns to the forefront with more nasal thuggery, comically delivered to a tee. Good to hear Sen enjoying himself on the adlibs.

TRES EQUIS
And we come to our very first throwaway! It's actually amazing that it's the second-to-last track! I will say that Muggs' John Roberts loop is pretty bombastic in the best possible way. Shame it had to go to waste over a useless sex rap. It's even more of a loss that this is the lone track solely in Spanish, as I'd've loved to hear Sen (back at the solo helm) deliver a full Spanish track that tackles any other subject matter more relevant.

BORN TO GET BUSY
The final track is basically an outro with a minuscule lyrical contribution from Sen giving his take on the B-Real nasalities. Then, Sen goes on a rant about strolling in the ways of the buddha masters. Whatever the fuck that means. Your confusion will subside when you find out that it was actually B and Ho wrote the song! The awesome Stoned Is The Way Of The Walk beat returns afterwards amid a myriad of choppy samples raining down on your ears, in the midst of which you'll hear an announcer describe, in a corny dramatic tone, the effects of cannabis. Interestingly, you'll feel as if he's been smoking for the past week straight. I'm guessing it's the mixing of said excerpt. Or not.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
Contrary to popular belief, this eponymous debut by our hosts initially didn't do very well, leading them to open for more impacting acts like Naughty By Nature at the time. However, the snowball formed after seven months with them selling five hundred thousand units and repeating the feat after a further ten months. Eventually from then on, they'd gradually sell over a million more units over the next seven years, reaching a total of two million units stateside alone. Proving just how much of an enduring brand Cypress Hill can truly be.

And you know what? Every bit of success this album received is warranted and then some: This debut is an enthralling sonic journey with fly rhymes to match that kickstarted one of the most legendary careers hip hop has ever seen. It is so revered that an act like Rage Against The Machine would eventually release their cover of How I Could Just Kill A Man as the third single to their platinum-selling final album Renegades. Simultaneously, this album also represents the perfect fusion of the East Coast influence and the West Coast-grit and street talk that would eventually take over the game in the 90s. Think of this album as the West Coast's purest answer to EPMD, no disrespect to other West Coast answers.

WORTH IT? If you want to make me legit mad, trash this album in my presence. That'd be the very moment I... don't do anything and laugh it off. We're not in school anymore, buddy. Seriously, this is one of the finest hip hop acquisitions you can make, so I suggest you get to it.

TRACKS TO TRACK DOWN:
SHOOT 'EM UP
Off the Juice soundtrack, this was an appropriate continuation of the heavy funk sound introduced on the crew's debut, which eventually inspired Muggs to continue pursuing that sound for a while. Here, he builds an instrumental based on a King Floyd loop obscured by an entertainingly irritating guitar sample. B-Real writes a flurry of bars where he and Sen Dog capitalize with them cartoonishly playing with their pitches (especially B) as they deliver some thuggery fittingly from the perspective of Bishop. This track was very apropos and fulfilling. And we're done.

This was only the beginning, so if you dare brave this Soul Assassins tunnel, enter here.

Pete Rock & CL Smooth - All Souled Out (June 25, 1991)

Sometimes in life, one can feel pretty stupid. Sometimes the cause for such feeling is known only to said person. Sometimes it's plain for all to see. Unfortunately in my case, I'm the second scenario. You see, when you establish a blog called Boom Bap Reviews and a year goes by without you writing about a group that embodies boom bap in every sense of the word, you probably deserve to be branded as stupid.

Well, this shit ends now.

Peter Phillips was a scrawny little teenager living in a little place called Mount Vernon, New York. South side Mount Vernon, to be exact. Being that his home was literally a stone throw away from a certain place called the Bronx, he was very close to the epicenter of hip hop's birth. So naturally, he was introduced to the shit at a very young age. However, the importance of his age when he did is irrelevant compared to the importance of whom introduced him to this passion of ours. See, Pete is the younger cousin of a certain Dwight Myers, bka the late great Heavy D, who is right up there with the Rakims, the KRS's & the Kanes of the world as an integral part of a generation of MCs that changed lyrical contribution to hip hop forever and right up there with the LLs, the Beasties & the Run-DMCs of the world as one of the most successful rappers of all time, selling at least five million records throughout his lifetime, with his hits Now That We Found Love and Big Daddy still getting airplay on mainstream hip hop radio. (Just listen to his guest feature on Naughty By Nature's Ready For Dem. Go ahead, it's on YouTube. Great, huh?) One can safely assume that without the Hevster, Pete Rock (Hev's nickname for his younger cousin) would not be the hip hop household name he is today. The same goes for a certain Corey Penn.

Corey Penn also lived near the Bronx in a little place called New Rochelle, which neighbors Mount Vernon. He too was exposed to hip hop at an early age by his legendary cousin Maxwell Dixon, bka Brand Nubian's Grand Puba. Insert my praise for Heavy D here, except without the mainstream success part. Sorry, GP. Anyways, Hev and GP, influential legends that they are, arranged for Corey and Pete to meet in one of their many get-togethers in Lincoln Park, being that their respective crews were down with each other and all. And this meeting just so happened to coincide with Corey's serious efforts in following his beast of a cousin's footsteps into the realm of MCing while Pete gets a big time job in WBLS for his DJing skills under yet another hip hop great, legendary DJ/producer Marley Marl. (Yet another favor Hev pulled for his cousin. Of course, Pete had to have the skills to back such endorsements up in order for this favor to not seem as a total dick move. Which, thank Almighty God, he did) So you start seeing a pattern here: All this legendary influence would eventually result in something worthwhile, right?

These two got together, and the chemistry was off the charts. Pete, fresh off Marley's production tutelage on a few tracks off Hev's popular Big Tyme album, showed that he was ready to become a legend himself behind the boards, while Corey, whom Hev dubbed CL Smooth, showcased a certain talent in multisyllables that proved his cousin's endorsement of him was no fluke. The result? Their lead single, The Creator, is a Pete Rock solo song with Pete rapping.

I'm sure you're currently jammed proper in WTF mode. I don't blame you. But isn't Pete Rock the DJ, you ask? Why, yes indeedy feed the needy, he is. So how was he able to write lead single-worthy lyrics, you ask?

Here's the thing: He didn't. And according to him, he never wanted to rap in the first place. Yet, on one breezy night, him, CL & Cousin Puba were in the midst of a studio session when during break time, Pete started reciting lyrics from a favorite song of his. Puba, seasoned MC that he is, heard a certain quality in Pete's voice that was perfect for lyrical delivery. So being that Pete's only contributions to the art of MCing were a few corny-ass bars on Cousin Hevster's Don't Curse and a few cornier-ass bars on Pete's own timeless remix to the legendary Public Enemy's Shut Em Down, Puba offered to write all the song's lyrics for him. And when you are a producer of Pete's caliber and you have one of the best MCs of all friggin' time writing your lyrics for you, you're free to focus on the aspect of hip hop music you're actually good at. So, of course, The Creator was a hit. Here's the thing though, Pete: All this still doesn't justify why you, the DJ of the group, chose your first debut as a group on wax ever to be a solo song of yours, whereas the MC of your group is stuck on the b-side. I only attribute it to my lone gripe with the legendary Pete Rock: He's a bit too much of a mark for himself. I apologize to the hip hop heavyweight if this seems a little disrespectful, I don't mean it to be, but I am for damn sure no dickrider and I call it like I see it.

The success of The Creator spurred Elektra, the group label, to approve the making of a six-track EP, which indeed is my focus for this post. And you're here to find out if they blew it, you malicious piece of shit.

GOOD LIFE
Petey starts us off behind the boards with a soothing loop of O'Donel Levy while sprinkling in some Mountain ad-libs and a very famous Eddie Kendricks interlude. Corey utilizes the ensuing wizardry to open a basic-yet-incredibly vivid lyrical window into various tales and journeys of escaping poverty in America. This style fits him very well, because he has an authoritarian voice of someone you can definitely learn a thing or two from. That's right, exactly like a Chuck D. I loved this shit.

MECCA AND THE SOUL BROTHER
However, what's pretty impressive about CL Smooth is his ability to sound right at home doing either conscious rap like the above song, or displaying straight dominance on that mic, like this song here. Pete's beat (Hey, that rhymes!) showcases that the kid was a true genius behind the boards, welding two O'Donel Levy samples together, and cutting up Cousin Hev's first ever shout-out of PR & CL ingeniously as the hook. Overall the result is nothing short of awesome. Now allow me to get back to the lead single situation: This track is, of course, the b-side to The Creator. Now, I want you to honestly listen to both songs, back to back. And I mean this version, not the remix shown in the video. Heard both songs? OK. Now, do you honestly believe that The Creator fits being the lead single better than Mecca and The Soul Brother? Or should The Creator have been the b-side here with Mecca getting the lead look? Another thing: The term Mecca refers to the holiest city in Islam, and it's located in the western region of the Arabian Peninsula. Just wanted to throw that out there because this explanation will come into play when I review their next album.

GO WITH THE FLOW
Pete goes left with the S.O.U.L. flute sample dominating this track. With braggadocio being the bread and butter of an MC, CL's contribution really hammers home the fact that these two are skilled musicians vibing off each other. This was pretty enjoyable, yet I would structure it a bit later in retrospect. It's too early to slow down things.

THE CREATOR
The lead single. I've already talked about this in abundance but let's talk some more. Pete surrounds himself with a prominent King Curtis loop that gets the blood pumping something proper. As I've mentioned before, Cousin Puba wrote the lyrics to this song. And since he's a certified MCing legend, writing some killer punchlines is a walk in the park for him. Furthermore, his prediction that Pete has a good voice on that mic came true, because Pete delivers these lines as if he's been spitting all his life. I really do think this was a pretty good song, yet I'm still pissed that it was picked as the lead single. Spoiler alert: Thank God, Pete doesn't make this mistake again. Ever.

ALL SOULED OUT
Lou Donaldson is all over this instrumental, from the drums to the organs played to the light horns in the background. Brilliant work by PR. The speed of the beat forces CL to kick in high gear as he display yet another offering of punchlines. I must admit the fast pace fits his flow well, and he makes the most of said fact. Excellent song, but I might've been expecting more from a title track by such a team. That's pretty much all I got.

GOOD LIFE (GROUP HOME MIX)
I've been a staunch supporter of the original mix for a very long time, but it's only during listening to it while writing this review that I've finally changed my mind: This remix, where Pete cooks up a storm with a sweet Ray Barretto appetizer to start you off, followed by a brilliant Meters loop with some added Kool & The Gang flavor. I'm now totally convinced that combining this beat with the original lyrics realizes the desired vision better. And we're done.

FINAL THOUGHTS
Oh, how so little can go so long. All Souled Out is the place to start if, by a freak accident, somebody introduced you to Pete Rock and his importance to the game without somehow playing TROY for you. The following statement has been stated countless times, but PR & CL really do bring the best out of each other. Granted, my issue with the lead single choice is nagging but it isn't enough to deter you from enjoying the hell out of this release. It truly is a testament to the quality of this little EP that I can't really pick a favorite song out of the bunch. But perhaps All Souled Out's biggest accomplishment was it set the foundation for a career in the golden years of boom bap.

WORTH IT?
You bet your malicious ass. All Souled Out is as consistent as any hip hop release can get. All the songs here have aged beautifully, and in such a freak case that you haven't heard them before: Be prepared for a lifetime of fandom of these two.

TRACKS TO TRACK DOWN:
THE CREATOR (SLIDE TO THE SIDE REMIX)
MUCH love to one Angus Batey for the heads up! I just heard this and I'm literally gobsmacked that I got the opportunity to hear something so rare! This must've been hell to acquire back when it originally came out on one of the single's many copies in '91. Anyway, the true highlight of this remix is that you get to hear CL share mic time with his DJ/producer and show him how it's really done! Over a typically masterful concoction of Mar-Keys & Tyrone Washington samples while retaining the genius Eddie Bo bass sample that made the original such an addictive track to begin with. If you loved this EP, you need to hear this! And we're done

For more in the scintillating career of Pete Rock, here. (You know because unfortunately CL hasn't really done much of note in his solo career.)

The Genius - Words From The Genius (February 19, 1991)

I'm ending the Easy Mo Bee run on this blog with a rather unpopular choice. Not to say reviews of Osten's work won't pop up here again but, to my knowledge, he only has one album directly credited to his name: Now Or Never: Odyssey 2000. And trust me: While it really isn't that bad of an album, it's just not review material to me. So, the only choice left to me is the lone album he fully collaborated on with another artist. And that artist just so happens to be a founding member of one of the greatest and most long lasting hip hop acts of all time. (Furthermore, just don't ask about Rappin' Is Fundamental, as that would be wasting everyone's time. Most importantly mine.)

You see, Gary Grice (Not to be mean or anything, but that last name really sounds like a licorice brand or something.) is one of the very few MCs who've lived long enough to properly experience the very birth of this hip hop thing we obsess over so much. Hell, he was fucking twenty-five when this album dropped. And as such, he's also part of an even fewer group of MCs who wasn't really influenced by anybody. Yes, he had the ability to form his very own style from the jump, which would serve him very well in the future. As a resident of Brooklyn neighborhood Bedford-Stuyvesant, bka Bedstuy, Gary is a true believer in it's Do Or Die attitude. And it truly shows in his career that began as a founding member of battle rap group Force of The Imperial Masters, later redubbed the All In Together Now Crew, along with his two cousins Russell Jones and Robert Diggs. Gary called himself The Specialist while Russell and Robert took The Professor and The Scientist as their respective pseudonyms.

Said career would finally catch a break when Gary was recruited by Cold Chillin' Records, home of the famed Juice Crew, of which fellow Brooklynites Big Daddy Kane and Masta Ace were members. Now, at this stage, Gary probably thought that his skills as an MC would guarantee him instant promotion. Alas, if only he learned from fellow former Cold Chilla Kool G Rap's career woes with the infamous label before signing with them, as they only pushed Kane on that label. Everybody else was basically thrown to the wolves when it came to marketing.

Speaking of which, this album here had a very curious crafting process: Gary, who now renamed himself the Genius, (because he's smart, you see.) brought fellow Bedstuy alumni Osten Harvey Jr., who dragged his younger brother Patrick along for better or worse. Patrick Harvey, aka LG aka LG Experience, was a young upstart who wanted to follow in his older brother's footsteps, as Osten had already made an impact with his two Big Daddy Kane productions on It's A Big Daddy Thing. We'll see just how he fares in his first work sessions in the review.

Now, the true reason for me choosing this particular album is because of the unanimous flak it gets from hip hop heads who are diehard fans of Gary's ventures as the GZA from another group he co-founded: The Wu-Tang Clan. (That, and the fact that this album has absolutely zero guest appearances. Which would make it a true insight into Gary's ability to hold an album by his very lonesome) Hands down one of the most long-lasting hip hop supergroups of all time, its members are still releasing albums under the Wu banner to this very day. Now, understandably, GZA did follow this solo outing with Liquid Swords, one of the greatest albums in music history. An album that completed its one millionth sale twenty goddamn years after its five hundred thousandth, accomplishing the latter feat in merely two months. That has to tell you something about said album's legacy in this art form. As such, many people heard Liquid Swords first, and were considerably underwhelmed when they finally heard this album and thought it wasn't as good, and just so we're clear: I consider my past self Exhibit A. My current opinion is that this outlook I had was not even remotely fair to Words From The Genius, as it was crafted with a mindset that had not yet understood what it takes to make an album of Liquid Swords' caliber. Furthermore, Robert Diggs bka the RZA, who is once again co-founder of the Wu with Gary and, you guessed it, Russell Jones bka the late great Ol' Dirty Bastard (RIP), hadn't even begun producing professionally at this point in their respective careers. And given that he is the sonic director of Liquid Swords, the unfairness of this argument has really reared its hairy, warty ass. All one needs to do is clear his head from such lofty expectations and imagine you live in a world where there is no Wu-Tang Clan to speak of.  Only then will one be able to unbiasedly judge this album's merit or lack thereof.

In 2006, Traffic Entertainment, having acquired the entire Cold Chillin' catalog, issued a re-release that included tracks produced by the RZA back when he called himself Prince Rakeem that were done immediately after the original album dropped and were thrown away after it tanked, but mysteriously found and branded as "smash hits" in a 1994 re-release. You know, because Cold Chillin' would never try to capitalize on the Wu-Tang's sudden rise at the time, right? So yeah, basically, that's the version I'm reviewing.

So, is the shit any fucking good?

COME DO ME
I present to you the lead single aka the main reason people despise the entire album aka one of the absolute worst contractual obligations of all time. It really is no wonder why this album tanked, given that this is its leading single. You just know that any attempt at pushing Gary as a ladies man will blow up in your face in the worst way possible. I'm sorry, Gary but I saw the fucking video for this thing. (Mainly to catch a glimpse of ODB & Wu debutant Raekwon the Chef in their very first appearances to the public as extras.) My dude, when you repeated that ridiculous hook to the camera you looked like Witch fucking Hazel. The producer of this steaming pile of sewage is Jesse West, who's normally pretty capable. Don't believe me? Check his work on KRS-One's Step Into A World (Rapture's Delight). I hold Cold Chillin' fully responsible for this piece of shit, because there was no way for Jesse to make things interesting neither here nor on the remix he was forced to make that ends this 2006 re-release. I've talked about this abomination long enough, and I advise anyone who's legitimately interested in this album to SKIP. THIS. SHIT.

PHONY AS YA WANNA BE
Alas, the true beginning of this album, and the b-side to the horrid abovementioned lead single. I'll bet the very few people who caught Come Do Me on rotation were too peeved to even look at the back cover of the single to check if there's another song when they encountered it in Sam Goody stores, right? Too bad, as this song is pretty fucking good. Easy Mo Bee truly began his experimentation games that would later make him the legendary producer that he is right here on this very track. The guitar licks in the beat provide the backing needed for the Genius to relay some punchlines that clearly show why he is regarded as one of the true greats this game has ever seen. An early lyrical precursor to Clan In Da Front, and as such, this shit knocks in all the right ways. I especially loved the Four Tops interlude in the midst of the song, after which Gary gallops ahead with his punchlines, starting with quite the cheeky reference to said Four Tops sample. Awesome.

TRUE FRESH MC
Freaking a legendary Funkadelic sample, Mo Bee approaches the track with relentless energy in mind this time. Which stands in beautiful contrast to the directness exhibited in the prior track. the Genius really takes this to heart as his performance this time switches to a conscious display of his superior intellectual background. You'd think that this is unfitting of punchline-ism on paper, but once again, this is something you have to listen to in order to fully appreciate. Another one-two combo.

THE GENIUS IS SLAMMIN'
This time Easy Mo Bee tries his best to compete with Gary's punchlines by combining two handpicked samples by The MGs and The Meters brilliantly to form a beat out of the top shelf. The Genius ingeniously responds by weaving various themes of intelligence in his punchline-filled verses. I have to admit, one of the things I like the most about these results is that they present a totally different aesthetic than Gary's later work with his cousin. One I guarantee most people would've enjoyed had Come Do Me not fucked it up for everybody by delaying our exposure to the true meat of this album by at least four years. Fuck that, I still love this song.

WORDS FROM A GENIUS
Alright, these two aren't showing any sign of slowing down! Osten with the prominent Funkadelic sample and Gary with his by-now golden standard of punchlines. Genius' rhymes really present a strong point regarding actually writing your rhymes against freestyling your career away. And, as many pointed out, many of the greats who now write their rhymes in their head started off writing on paper and perfected their shit to the point where their reflexes have become ingrained in their brains. And Gary still outdoes all of them with his meticulous care for what comes out of his mouth and exactly how it does so. So, don't give me that bullshit about "one-taking a classic". If you didn't exert any effort in your rhymes, they're probably worthless. And just so you know, none of this lyrical brilliance would be digestible if the actual music isn't working for you. Well, I'm here to say it's working wonderfully for me thanks to Easy Mo Bee. Dope! One note: Prince Rakeem remixed this track with the result appearing later on this 2006 re-release and though it wasn't nearly Wu-Tang level material nor as good as the original Easy Mo Bee cut, it was fairly decent. If nothing, it's on this remix that the first signs of Bobby's meticulous nature show themselves.

WHO'S YOUR RHYMIN' HERO
The debut of Mr. LG Experience. Osten's younger bro tries so hard to impress the label here, and wrongly so, with his straight-up lazy looping of a Jimmy McGriff sample. And yet I still would've liked this song if it wasn't for the ear-rape of a hook, screaming of corporate interference, that completely ruined the LG Experience for me. To top it all off: Gary's punchlines, while still light years ahead of your average ghetto references, fail to reach the standards he set for himself so far on this album. This was, unfortunately, a failure.

FEEL THE PAIN
Osten returns, armed with a second Meters sample, and obliterates any memory of the previous song with a smacking beat. This is not lost on our Genius as he dives head-on into battle mode, plowing ahead with punchline after eviscerating punchline. You really feel this Gary Grice cat is not bullshitting when he mentions his history of battling crews all around New York. This shits bangs something proper.

THOSE WERE THE DAYS
Still not through with impressing you, Gary continues to a different venue for him to steamroll you with some more punchlines with: Nostalgia. He chooses to display his dominance in the high school scene this time, and the results are just as effective. Interestingly enough, this is the last song of what I call the, ah, "Braggadocio Medley" on the album. I like that this album pays good attention to sequencing. Not Liquid Swords good, but good nonetheless.

LIFE OF A DRUG DEALER
This song marks the beginning of what I call the "Conscious Medley". In said song, Gary portrays the hardened protagonist with the titular occupation. I like that our Genius began this "medley" with the caricature song, if you will. Backed by Osten's magnificent Bobby Rush choice, Gary launches into a single 30-bar verse that becomes the inspiration behind his later smash, Killah Hills 10304. Please note that the overabundance of violence and foul language displayed here is most certainly tongue-in-cheek. End result? There's a reason Gary revisited this well later on, as this song rocks.

STOP THE NONSENSE
God DAMN, is Easy Mo Be ever on fire with these funky beats! Here, Gary gets his preach on, and he makes sure that he keeps his wit dialed up to 11 in order to have a glimmer of hope at reaching them boneheads who run for the hills as soon as anyone tries to say anything remotely positive. And I do mean 'wit' in every sense of the word. The line: "It goes way beyond just saying no" makes my point pretty clear, no?

LIVING FOUL
Here comes the part where someone listening to this album might get tired, as admittedly these songs seem like they're blending in together. But forgive me for not being that guy because I'm just a person who really appreciates effort when I recognize it. And by this point, I recognize that Osten, with his Bobby Rush-sampling ways, was going to make sure that he blew away minds of people like me who just have an affinity for the relentless, if I may. Gary shares his producer's stubbornness by making this song his personal war on drugs, and it works wonders for me. Even if his third verse sounds a tad hypocritical now. You'll know why when you hear the damn song. Moving on.

DRAMA
Now, you'd think that this would be a song about girl problems. Naturally, you'd be dead wrong. Allow me to single this song out as my favorite track on the album, by far. With Easy Mo Bee delivering the coup-de-grace of his journey on said album by freaking the fuck out of a Millie Jackson classic. And there is no clearer proof that our Genius earns his nickname than this baby here. This is to pre-Wu Gary Grice what Ready To Die's title track was to the late Chris Wallace. For in this song, Gary truly runs the gamut of his MCing skills. He brings motherfucking everything to the table: punchlines, metaphors, imagery, storytelling, subject matter, you name it. If you absolutely had to forego listening to the entire album and felt it absolutely necessary to sum up what you'd get, then I'd tell you to stop being a bitch and listen to the goddamn album and pay special attention to this track right here. I salute anybody who became a fan of either Gary or Osten as a result of this song. Way before Bad Boy & the Wu.

STAY OUT OF BARS
Now, you'd think that this would be a song about prison problems. Naturally, you'd be dead wrong. In actuality, the previous song marked the end of the "Conscious Medley" and a very unhappy, uncomfortable and unfitting return to corporate radio-whoring territory. LG Experience is back, and he brings, admittedly, much more effort in his production game than his previous abomination of an attempt. And yet, our Genius decides, in his infinite wisdom, that he should return to be as ignorant as possible by spinning a tale of the most stereotypical actions and fantasies that you can think of. Now, normally this wouldn't bother me in the least, but when it's an MC of Gary fucking Grice's pedigree? I'm actually insulted. To top it all off, Gary ends the song with the most senseless act of violence. One question for the Liquid Swords fan reading this: how does any of the above translate to an even remotely intelligent song?! You're right. It DOESN'T.

WHAT ARE SILLY GIRLS MADE OF
Basically, a ripoff of the countless "Gold Digger" song EPMD made popular. You can smell the corporate rot from 25 years ago all the way over wherever you're reading this from. And, while I really can't front on some of the lyrics, LG's Al Green-sampling experience (I will never get tired of clowning that nickname.) left a lot to be desired and our Genius' hook is, you know, ass. Plus, Gary really hasn't shaken off his character from the previous song in his very apparent disdain for women here. I really can't take that viewpoint seriously. You want women to stop being bitches? Here's an idea: Stop telling them they're bitches! Another sewage track that really is beneath our Genius.

SUPERFREAK
Oh, this can not be what I'm hearing. The GZA. From the legendary Wu-Tang fucking Clan. Spitting a sex rap. And don't give that bullshit about Queen's Gambit. Queen's Gambit was one long extended metaphor, with the emphasis not on Gary's tale but on how he told it. Which is definitely not the case here. Oh, and Queen's Gambit had one banging-ass beat, not this Rick James-sampling shitty LG experience (I really need to stop doing that). Motherfuck this song all the way down to its filthy innards.

PASS THE BONE
Didn't I tell you that third verse on Living Foul sounded a tad hypocritical? What do you mean you didn't hear the damn song?! Anyway, most Wu fans already herald this track as the only truly notable result from the Words From The Genius journey but for the uninitiated: This is the very first publicly recorded Prince Rakeem appearance and his debut production. And boy, does it ever show. This shit blows. Hell, his remix to the title track is leagues ahead of this. Back to the actual lyrics: Gary chooses to bless Bobby's very first production outing with a stoner rap. If you are a fan of Gary Grice's storied career by any chance, you'll definitely recognize how ludicrous what I just wrote is. And we're done.

FINAL THOUGHTS
As a project of insight on the evolution of Easy Mo Bee the producer: This is quite possibly the best place to start. The man did not compromise his approach. Not one bit. Can't say the same for his lil bro and the rest of the production gang: Jesse West was particularly terrible. In a song I've heard from him recently, he even brags about collaborating with the Wu, the collaboration being Come Do Me. Believe me, Jesse, if you're bragging about producing a song like that, (for a Wu co-founder, nonetheless.) you're needlessly and stupidly smearing your reputation. Bobby Diggs' mistakes are a bit more forgivable, seeing as it is his first time behind the boards and all. For his part, Gary Grice was without doubt a fully accomplished MC at the time of this album's making, and he wastes no time in repeatedly showing you that. This album may very well be the only album in the Genius' entire discography that shows you exactly how lyrically capable he is when carrying a full album without any guest appearances. That being said, all this makes some of Gary's choices of subject matter here all the more jarring. The sex raps in particular left a very bad taste in my mouth. But that makes me ask: is it really the artist's fault? Or is it the label's? Our Genius wasn't the only one clowned by the Cold Chillin' piffle machine. Look at what Kool G Rap went through with his Live and Let Die album with DJ Polo. But Gary got an even rougher deal: At least G Rap was able to make the album he wanted. Mr. Grice was in no such luck. Yeah, I'm sticking the blame for this album's crap songs entirely on Cold Chillin'. Imagine: All this horseshit because Big Daddy Kane sold five hundred thousand copies. So now, every MC with any shred of talent needs to be Big Daddy Kane. I will say this, though: Thank GOD they fucked their deal up with this guy. Or else, we wouldn't have Liquid Swords. Gary Grice would not be the hip hop legend he is today. And most importantly, nobody would've heard of the Wu-Tang Clan, nor become fans of theirs and years later discover this album as a hidden gem. Come on. You knew I was getting to this. The crap present on this album, while truly exhibiting Black Shampoo-levels of putridity, isn't enough to ruin the straight up classics on the effin' thing. Just momentarily erase the existence of the Wu, exactly like I told you.

WORTH IT?
It's an enlightening look at a legend's professional beginnings. Spoiler alert: they're still very fucking good, even if they do take a turn later on for the absurdly awful. So you're goddamn right it is.

Wanna know where Easy Mo Bee went from this? click here. For more GZA, here. And finally, Wu-Tang central is right here.