Oct 28, 2011

RhoDeo 1143 Grooves

Hello, more rap coming your way today, after the New York party rap of the early eighties and the 'conscious' response later that decade. Ushering in a new era of hip-hop that downplayed violence and sexual exploits, the New York City-based Native Tongues took the rap world by storm in the late '80s and early '90s. The base of the group originally consisted of the Jungle Brothers, Afrika Bambaataa, and Queen Latifah, with the purpose being to perform with each other and promote one another's projects in order to get noticed by the mainstream.

They shared a common goal, and that was to spread a positive message through music without taking away the gritty realism and street logic that came with hardcore hip-hop. De La Soul were the next to join the group, taking Stetsasonic producer Prince Paul and upstart teenagers A Tribe Called Quest with them. This would fill the initial lineup, and De La Soul's "Buddy" and the Jungle Brothers' "Doin' Our Own Dang" became early recorded examples of their collaborations. That's why they are all gathered here today...three great hip hop albums ..word up!

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Mike Gee (born Michael Small; Harlem, NY), DJ Sammy B (born Sammy Burwell; Harlem, NY), and Baby Bam (born Nathaniel Hall; Brooklyn, NY) came together as the Jungle Brothers in the mid-'80s and began their recording career at the dance label Idler.Their landmark opening salvo, Straight out the Jungle was also the very first album from the Native Tongues posse, which would utterly transform hip-hop over the next few years. That alone would be enough to make it a groundbreaking release, but Straight out the Jungle also contains the musical seeds for a number of soon to be dominant trends. As well as, the group's groundbreaking collaboration with legendary house producer Todd Terry, "I'll House You," paved the way for numerous hip-house hybrids that shot up the dance and pop charts over the next few years.

The follow-up to their groundbreaking debut, Done By the Forces of Nature is the point where the Jungle Brothers' production catches up to their musical ambition. There's still a ruddy, lo-fi edge to the record, but the samples are more abundant and intricately woven, and there's an altogether fuller sound that gives the group a greater presence. Moreover, the group's non-musical ideas come into greater focus as well. The Native Tongues' Afrocentric philosophy gets a more extensive airing here than on the debut, filling the record with positive consciousness-raising, both cultural and spiritual, there are even the occasional lyrical asides concerning good dietary habits.

All of this makes Done by the Forces of Nature one of the most intellectual hip-hop albums released up to that point, but as before, the group tempered their cerebral bent with a healthy sense of humor and fun. Thanks to the improved production, the J.Beez are able to take it to the dancefloor better than ever before, and toss in some pure, good-time, booty-shaking grooves. Late in the album, the posse cut "Doin' Our Own Dang" offers the chance to hear most of the Native Tongues -- Tribe, De La, and Latifah -- dropping rhymes all in one place. Through it all, the J.Beez construct an eclectic musical backdrop borrowed from jazz, early R&B, funk, African music, and more. Even if Straight out the Jungle was the historical landmark, Done by the Forces of Nature feels more realized in many respects, and is arguably the more satisfying listen.


Jungle Brothers – Done By The Forces Of Nature ( 291mb)

01 Beyond This World 4:08
02 Feelin' Alright 3:36
03 Sunshine 3:45
04 What "U" Waitin' "4"? 4:04
05 "U" Make Me Sweat 4:01
06 Acknowledge Your Own History 3:40
07 Belly Dancin' Dina 3:41
08 Good Newz Comin' 4:38
09 Done By The Forces Of Nature 3:49
10 Beeds On A String 3:34
11 Tribe Vibes 3:53
12 J. Beez Comin' Through 3:36
13 Black Woman 3:57
14 In Dayz "2" Come 3:56
15 Doin' Our Own Dang 4:18
16 Kool Accordin' "2" A Jungle Brother 1:56

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De La Soul formed while the trio members -- Posdnuos (Kelvin Mercer), Trugoy the Dove (David Jude Jolicoeur), and Pasemaster Mase (Vincent Lamont Mason Jr.) -- were attending high school in the late '80s. At the time of its 1989 release, De La Soul's debut album, 3 Feet High and Rising, was hailed as the future of hip-hop. With its colorful, neo-psychedelic collage of samples and styles, plus the Long Island trio's low-key, clever rhymes and goofy humor, the album sounded like nothing else in hip-hop. Where most of their contemporaries drew directly from old-school rap, funk, or Public Enemy's dense sonic barrage, De La Soul were gentler and more eclectic, taking in not only funk and soul, but also pop, jazz, reggae, and psychedelia.

Weaving clever wordplay and deft rhymes across two dozen tracks loosely organized around a game-show theme, De La Soul broke down boundaries all over the LP, moving easily from the groovy my-philosophy intro "The Magic Number" to an intelligent, caring inner-city vignette named "Ghetto Thang" to the freewheeling end-of-innocence tale "Jenifa Taught Me (Derwin's Revenge)." Rappers Posdnuos and Trugoy the Dove talked about anything they wanted (up to and including body odor), playing fast and loose on the mic like Biz Markie. Thinly disguised under a layer of humor, their lyrical themes ranged from true love to the destructive power of drugs to Daisy Age philosophy to sex. Prince Paul (from Stetsasonic) and DJ Pasemaster Mase led the way on the production end, with dozens of samples from all sorts of left-field artists, the pair didn't just use those samples as hooks or drumbreaks but as split-second fills and in-jokes that made some tracks sound more like DJ records.


De La Soul – 3 Feet High And Rising ( 387mb)

01 Intro 2:17
02 The Magic Number 3:14
03 Change In Speak 2:33
04 Cool Breeze On The Rocks 0:46
05 Can U Keep A Secret 1:38
06 Jenifa Taught Me (Derwin's Revenge) 3:25
07 Ghetto Thang 3:35
08 Transmitting Live From Mars 1:06
09 Eye Know 4:06
10 Take It Off 1:53
11 A Little Bit Of Soap 0:47
12 Tread Water 3:54
13 Potholes In My Lawn 4:14
14 Say No Go 4:20
15 Do As De La Does 1:58
16 Plug Tunin' (Last Chance To Comprehend) 4:13
17 De La Orgee 1:11
18 Buddy (feat. Jungle Brothers, Q-Tip) 4:56
19 Description 1:24
20 Me Myself And I 3:41
21 This Is A Recording 4 Living In A Fulltime Era (L.I.F.E.) 3:16
22 I Can Do Anything (Delacratic) 0:40
23 D.A.I.S.Y. Age 3:58
24 Plug Tunin' (Original 12" Version) 3:41

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Without question the most intelligent, artistic rap group during the 1990s, A Tribe Called Quest jump-started and perfected the hip-hop alternative to hardcore and gangsta rap. In essence, they abandoned the macho posturing rap music had been constructed upon, and focused instead on abstract philosophy and message tracks. Comprised of Q-Tip, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, and Phife, A Tribe Called Quest debuted in 1989 and released their debut album one year later. Second album The Low End Theory was, quite simply, the most consistent and flowing hip-hop album ever recorded, though the trio moved closer to their harder contemporaries on 1993's Midnight Marauders.

Though the abstract rappers finally betrayed a few commercial ambitions for Midnight Marauders, the happy result was a smart, hooky record that may not have furthered the jazz-rap fusions of The Low End Theory, but did merge Tribe-style intelligence and reflection with some of the most inviting grooves heard on any early-'90s rap record. The productions, more funky than jazzy, were tighter overall -- but the big improvement, four years after their debut, came with Q-Tip's and Phife Dawg's raps. Focused yet funky, polished but raw, the duo was practically telepathic . The mammoth track here was the pop hit "Award Tour," a worldwide call-out record with a killer riff and a great pair of individual raps from the pair, it assured that Midnight Marauders would become A Tribe Called Quest's biggest seller. The album was commercially successful, artistically adept, and lyrically inventive; and cemented their status as alternative rap's prime sound merchants, authors of the most original style since the Bomb Squad first exploded on wax.


A Tribe Called Quest – Midnight Marauders (flac 306mb)

01 Midnight Marauders Tour Guide 0:45
02 Steve Biko (Stir It Up) 3:11
03 Award Tour 3:46
04 8 Million Stories 4:21
05 Sucka Nigga 4:05
06 Midnight 4:25
07 We Can Get Down 4:19
08 Electric Relaxation 4:04
09 Clap Your Hands 3:16
10 Oh My God (Feat. Busta Rhymes) 3:29
11 Keep It Rollin' Feat. Large Professor 3:05
12 The Chase, Part 2 (Feat.Consequence)4:02
13 Lyrics To Go 4:09
14 God Live Through 4:15
15 Hot Sex 2:45
16 One, Two, S**t (Feat. Busta Rhymes) 2:45

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1 comment:

  1. Rho
    Catching up with rap - I listened, enjoyed a few, but often ignored it, although I appreciated Ist gen Sugarhill, Grandmaster, Rapture etc., working in Sound Warehouse, Dallas.
    Later NWA seemed to say nothing to me about my life. However watched American Honey recently and understand how significant the music must be to those who are young [and I can't stop playing the soundtrack]. So please could you repost the links to Jungle Bros., De La Soul and Tribe Called Quest. Cheers, jws.

    ReplyDelete