NEW MUSIC from Queen

Latifah, LL Cool

J,

and Biz Markie

SEPTEMBER 1991

THE MAGAZINE OF HIP-HOP MUSIC

~\

J
d

Ice

Cube and

director John Singleton

chronicle the lives

oPBoyz'N The Hood"

-TBfei

ICE
mgUffm
V

CUBE

Rolling with

EPMD, RUN-DMI
j

Eazy
fce-T

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Tone-Loc,

Hgj v
,

1
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R
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"74470"7S191"
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\ I peaceful
JEN
1

a^fl

It

Music

is

the

ride.

Heavy

D.

& Thfijoyz

are the way. Peaceful

is

the journey.

<

The Overwd^gt^Vtn^nd The Boyz are back

hi

and bigger than ever with

tg,

w-up album to
features
;?

livin'hrM,^
the
hit

NohaifW
Love'

"Now That We Found

by Guy's Teddy

Riley.

<m
it's

It's

pound for pound their most slammin' album to date. And

D.

proof that on stage, screen and vinyl, Heavy

& The

Boyz

are large and

in

charge.

Available

On MCA/Uptown Compact Discs, HiQ Cassettes, And Re

Also Look For Their

New Home Video

Bv.

HEAVY
And Eddie

D.

& THE BOYZ

Executive Produced

findre Harrell.

Heavy

D.

F.

FOR THOSE WHO DARE TO BE DIFFERENT,

YOUR DAY HAS COME.

ON SEPTEMBER 3RD 1091 THE SHEEP

SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH,

AND NOTHINfi WILL EVER BE THE SAME

BLACKSHEEP
1 Wolf In Steep's Clothing

THE FORTHCOMING ALBUM

FEATURING THE SINGLE

*ftatot *f the

Month

a P*|ip'am company

using

*'Mn

m M^u^jjf|ct^e!fi|w

.
.

".

-fir J-*^

Departments
THI MAGAZINE Of HIP-HOP MUSIC. CULTURE & PD1ITICS

SEPTEMBER 1991, NO. 24

On the
Ice

10
1 1

Source Chart
Top 15 rap LPs and 12-inches

Cover!!
is

Cube

starring
in

in

a "real" film about

2 6

Letters

growing up

South Central LA.

Media Watch
A
survey
of

cover photos: both photos by Shawn Mortensen

1

the coverage of rap music

in

the mainstream media

Ear To The Street

The death
of

KDAY 0n
hits big

Tour:

Rap

Rock

Hip-Hop fashion

19 22

Hip-Hop Quotable

Boomin System
The
latest in

Features
24
Real Niggaz Don't Die

home

electronics, by

James

K. Willcox

23 25

Home

Video

Entertainment for your VCR, by Pistol Pete

Fat Fashion
The Source presents our fashion page on the hip-hop
tip.

NWA's new

album,

Niggaz4Life, is flying off of the shelves despite the inevitable wave of dissers

26

Producer's Profile
Adario Strange on Dr. Freeze

and doubters by Jon Shecter

28 29

Rap On Campus
G-Man reports from William Paterson
College.

Say What
Featured
artists: Kid

30

Endangered Species Boyz N The Hood is a

landmark
film that

Sensation,

Downtown Science

36 37

Doin'
by

The Knowledge

showcases the talents of director John Singleton

and rapper turned actor,
Ice

James Bernard

The Real World

Cube. Ras Baraka

interviews

Cube and
talks with

38 39

On The Video
by Captain Video

Tip

dream hampton
John.

Microphone Check
Featured
artist: Tim

Dog

40
48
High Rollers

Regional Reports
Rap news from across the Hip-Hop Nation

How

do today's hottest rap roll from place to place? A special Source pictorial brings you rappers and their super-dope rides
artists

44
46
54
62

Crossover Column
Kim Green on
Definition Of

Sound

A View From Da Underground

A dope comic
strip

on the hip-hop

tip

by Tramp, Hayz

&

Cee.

Record Report
The Source's squad of rap
critics

review the latest releases.

Rap Business 101

Professional advice for the aspiring artist or entrepreneur
by Neil Harris

63

Unsigned Hype

64

The Last Word

THE SOURCE

SEPTEMBER 1991

Something's burning on Cypress

Hill's self-titled

debut album, featuring The Phunckv Feel One .

47889

How Could Just Kill A Man and

I
,

Li ght

Another .

Rollin'

out August 13.

CYPRESS

HILL.

BOLD BLUNTED FUNK.

Produced by
D.J.

ON RUFFHOUSE/COLUMBIA.

Muggs for The Soul

Assassins. "Columbia" Reg. U.S. Pat.

* Tin. Off. Marca Regittrada./ 1991 Sony Musk Entertainment Inc.

-VaJ*'

r**"

torn*

CdBPfffffiST
El

WIN
an
all expense paid

1 1
1 1

NIGGA 4 LIFE
You a n/gga till you die If you po, you a po nigga If you rich, you a rich nigga But you never stop being a nigga And if you get to be educated You just an educated nigga Understand?

I
1

!
1 1 i I

TRIP

TO

ecvi
lift

l I 1 I 1 1
1

NWA '91
understand.
I

was brought up

in

an environment that

i)iri\rno\

traditionally fought against this kind of ideology. In other

1
1

OF a king

1
1

somebody called you a nigga, get ready to fight. Initially when I first saw this little poem, I was outraged. After all, I was not a nigga. But then I started to think back... I
words,
if

thought back

to

my

college days at Syracuse. I thought about

wan
YCXBUKIXMIY CONIFST
DETAILS IN OCTOBER ISSUE

how many African-American

I I 1 I 1 I 1 1 I 1 I 1 1 1 I
the "if

students struggled to pay the

bills

and

you can't afford it, drop out attitude" that so many students got every day from the white folks in financial aid. I thought about

having
campus.

to protest just to I

get African-American

programming on

thought about

my

Black friends on campuses across the

country who went through the same bullshit at their schools and I
thought...
I

"you

still

a nigga."
to the corporate job that I
staff. I

thought back

had before
I

became a
I

part of the
realized

Source that I was a

thought about the feeling

had when

token there. I thought about actually feeling this

"glass ceiling" that I had heard so

fact that I wasn't

much

about. I thought about the

embraced into

this

whole "corporate culture" the

way

my peers were and I thought... "you still a nigga." everything I thought of my everyday experience as a Black man
that

3 O

KELTES
tii macaiimi ai lie lap music

cuauii s pannes

I I
1 1 1

from being watched extra carefully at department stores, to the look of fear on a white person's face when I step into an elevator alone with
them.
I

thought of everything from the dirty "he must be dealing

I get while driving

drugs" stares
by

"New

York's finest"

down about why I'm

a nigga."

the street, to being questioned

in certain parts of

town, and

then I thought... "you

still

BAHIA
ENTERTAINMENT

i
1

Until the leaders of this great nation of our's recognize that there
is still

1
I

a grave problem here,

life.

and

that racism

still exists,

I'm gonna be

i
THE SOURCE

a nigga for

I
[IinjugngjgjBMgjBMBMMSMEUc^^

DAVID WATKINS

SEPTEMBER 1991

m
I

Wm

mm

sm

5fl

Mixer and producer extraordinaire Pete Rock and master

rhymer CL Smooth are

Ail

Souled Out on this debut

6-song EP featuring the singles "Good Life" and

"Mecca and

the Soui Brother."

Produced by Pete Rock

Management: Untouchables Entertainment

On Elektra Cassettes, Compact Discs and Records

;,,

1991 Elektra Entertainment,

Division of

Warner Communkatiorivinc. O'Aj.time W,

!Hf

MAGAZINE OF HIP HOP MUSIC CUltURI & POIITICS

BASIC

Number 24

THE SOURCE MIND SQUAD

Publisher David Mays
Editor-in-Chief

Jon Shecter

Managing

Editor

Christian Wilder

Senior Editor

James Bernard
Music Editor Rob Tewlow
Director of Corporate Relations
Brett

Wright

Ho//y.,

0(

Business Manager David A. Watkins

Retail Sales Director

Reginald C. Dennis
Editorial

Promotions Manager

Matt Capoluongo
Classified Ads:
Editorial Assistant:

Josh Nathan

Stephanie Jackson Circulation Consultants: Publishing Management Services

Contributors:
Dennis, Chilly

Scott Poulson-Bryant,

E.,

dream hampton,

Neil Harris, Funken-Klein,

Dan Charnas, Reginald C. Bbnz

Malone, Pistol Pete, Adario Strange, Gabriel A.Tolliver, Captain

Video

Record Review Squad:

Atco, Big

B.,

Greg C, Matty C, Disco,

B-Nyce, Reef, Ronin-Ro, J The Sultan, Cee Wild

Regional Correspondents: Shockmaster Glen Boyd,

Cheeks,

Ian Burke,

MC

Chill, Chris-Chris,

Colonel

Earl,

Steve Fournier, Billy

Jam, Johnbronski, Alphonse McCullough, Dream Nefra, The Overlord RK, DJ P, Jackie Paul, The Rhythm Rocker, Roderick Schaetfer, Ben Smith, Geoffrey Watts, Jeff Woods, Doug Young

Art Director
Erik

W.L. Council

E.

Loren Associates

Photo Editor

dream hampton
Associate Designers Mateo Mulcare
,

Chris Calloway

Illustrations

Andre LeRoy Davis, Pikasso, Tramp Hayz & Cee

FOR A FREE BASIC DARLENE POSTER

WRITE TO:
Hollywood BASIC

THE SOURCE
274-8334.
02205.

is

published monthly by Source Publications,

Inc.,

594

Broadway, Suite 510, NY, NY, 10012.

Application to mail
at

Phone (212) 274-0464, FAX (212)

is

second class

pending

at

Boston,

MA,

Contents and design

of the publisher.

may
year,

not be reproduced without the express

permission
reserved.

1991
1

by Source Publications,

Inc. All rights

Subscription Rate:

$19.95 (12 issues). International $39.95

871 Page Street #3, San Francisco,

500

S.

Bueno

Vista St.

(Surface), 64.95 (Air)

West Coast

Office:

Burbank,CA 91521
Attention: BASIC Darlene

CA, 94117 (415)626-6691

POSTMASTER:

Please send

all

address changes
10012.

to:

The Source, 594

Broadway, Suite 510,

New

York,
at

NY

PUBLISHER'S CREDO:

We

The Source lake very seriously the challenge

lor the rap

ot

being the only independent voice

music

industry.

We
it

strive hard

OUT NOW:
RAW
FUSION "Throw Your Hands
Stole
In

to bring the reader a

art

complete and unbiased representation

it.

ot this incredible
is

lorm and

all

that

surrounds

With

this in

mind,

we

feel that

important

lor

our readers to be aware

of the nature of

our relationships with the rap

The Air"

industry.

We

engage

in

business transactions with companies that are part of the rap

levels.
at

ORGANIZED KONFUSION "Who

LIFERS

My

Last Piece

Of Chicken?"

music industry on two basic

such companies. Secondly, we

Obviously,

we

accept advertising from

times are contracted by record companies to

GROUP "WORLD TOUR-Rahway

QUEEN "Another One

Prison, that's it"

Home Video

aid

in

the promotion of their product outside the direct channels of the

magazine.

Bites The Dust" (Phase 5 remix)

With respect

to

any

of our

business relationships, we

feel

it

is

our

responsibility always to strictly police the integrity of our editorial content.

Only
1

in this

way can we continue

to bring to

you the clear and unbiased

our readers.

Hollywood
1991

Q^H3

coverage which we hope has won the respect

of all ol

Hollywood BASIC

THE SOURCE

SEPTEMBER 1991

SOURCE CHART

ALBUMS

NWA
Niggaz 4
Life
Priority

Leaders of the New School

Future W/out

Pete Rock
All

& CL Smooth
Souled Out
Elektra

Past

Elektra

11
Heavy
A
MCA

Slick Rick
l

Peaceful

The Ruler's Back

Def Jam/RAL/Columbia

-fe
W'tiBrW

Boyz

'N'

The Hood
Soundtrack
Qwest/WB

m.

Hi ft*

Journey

M
r!

7
Chubb Rock IHUBB^CK
The

12
1

Terminator
Valley

Livin

Large

One
Select
Vf^^M f. _^fe^^

Of The Jeep
Beets

Soundtrack
Def Jam/RAL/Columbia

1 &1
mi ugnn ^^f^BM

THE

If

3
De La Soul
De La Soul
Is

ONE

P iJH
Mr.

Pro Division/RAL/Columbia

8
KMD flf^WFl
Hood
Elektra

13
Geto Boys
We
Can't Be Stopped
Rap-A-Lot

Dead

Tommy Boy

4
3rd Bass
Derelicts

14
IceT OG
Sire/WB

Cypress

Hill
Hill

Of Dialect

Cypress

Det Jam/RAL/Columbia

Ruffhouse/Columbia

15
SINGLES

1 2 3
i
I I

"Hip Hop Junkies" Nice 'n' Smooth

Def Jam/RAL/Columbia

Sleepin On
1

My Couch"
Del
Elektra

"O.P.P" Naughty By Nature

Tommy Boy

"My Mind

is

Play in'

4
I

Tricks on

Me"

Geto Boys
Rap-A-Lot

6 7 8 9
i
I

Stole My Last Piece of Chicken" Organized Konffusion

"Who

Hollywood BASIC

11
I

"Pop Goes the Weasel" 3rd Bass

Def

Jam RAL

"Sobb Story"
Leaders of the New School
Elektra

"Flavor of the Month" Black Sheep

Mercury

"F*ck Compton" Tim Dog

Columbia

5
Q
THE SOURCE

"Saturdays"

De La Soul
Tommy Boy
SEPTEMBER 1991

10
l_

"Juvenile Delinquents" Juvenile Delinquents

Pro Dhr./RAL/ Columbia

12 13 14 15
i

"The Chubbster"

Chubb Rock
Select

ii

Definition of a King"

2 Kings

in

a Cipher
Bahla/RCA

"What Goes Around Comes Around"

Biz

Markie

Cold Chillin /Warner

"Fly Girl"

Queen

Latifah Tommy Boy

Unemployments
find

at

an

all

time high

being

minority

is

like liuing on Death

Rom

Va bound
It's

to die.

time
fl

to get fflflRD

'Cause flint

Damn Thing Changed.

"AM'T

fl

DAflin THIflG

CHARGED"

the new albu

lir.C.

and THE

!,Vf
3

prochfjced bylSBbe Cube, Sir Jinx co-produced by Chilly Chili and D.J.

W.C
bo n e s

&

LETTERS
comes
off as a parody of the legitimate street flavor The Source has. Not to mention that muddling through his gibberish "givez" me a headache. Don't make the mistake of running his articles on any sort of regular basis. Peace.

Let's Hear
1 1

it

for the Sistas

I

Brendan Monroe
feel

As the mother

of a ten year old African-American son,

Allston,

MA

have a vested interest in rap music, from the standpoint that it has had such a profound impact on our youth socially, culturally, politically, etc. am more than pleased to see the influx of female rappers on the music scene today who are more than wiggling, jiggling, boy toy, fantasy objects. These budding young sisters actually have some things to say. What took y'all so
I
I

damn

long!?
Willetta

Jacksonville, FL

All readers the sexist, murderous and negative views of some rappers appalling. Any brother that advocates hitting a woman or murdering another brother is not a man, but a fiend who is desperately crying out for some positive spiritual force to remove them from their madness. Sexism is synonymous with racism. We cannot continue to demand our liberation and dignity in this
I

find

are

F^
times that
I I

Closing the Generation Gap

I

encouraged
to write
letters.

world while denying our

women

Fax them to
(212) 274-8334
or mail to:

of theirs.
Willie

In my fifty years of living there have been several have read something that have felt very strongly about... enough that wanted to write a response. This will be the first time that actually did it. really enjoyed reading The Source magazine. did not know that rap and hip-hop music was as big as it is. My ignorance about that style of music was because
I I I I

Abraham Howard,
Atlanta,

Jr.

refused to listen to

it.

It

seemed so

far

removed from my

style of

GA

music
vision

The Source,

(Jazz). hope my generation will learn not to have tunnel because we miss out on a lot of good things.
I

LETTERS
594 Broadway

Sapphires Closet
Seattle,

WA

Equal Lights
Thanks to the new wave of females in hip-hop, males no longer need to disrespect the opposite sex, the females are
doing a good enough job themselves.
like to
If

Suite 510,

New

York,

NY

10012.

Intelligent Black

Women
The magazine
reserves the
rappers,
I

Shut Yo' Mouth

After watching the
felt

"even

hit

the blunt," steal other ladies men, and stay

home

Donahue Show on female

say that their music has
is

drinking Cisco,

more power

to

them.
DJ Wildwoodberry

appalled by

BWP

trying to

Tampa, FL

right to edit letters for

clarity

a message. Real rap fans know that their album

just "bullshit

and

length
The Bishop of Hip-Hop's letter [Source: July '91] mirrored my feelings. The IBWC could be large, but Yo-Yo is coming off halfcocked. Personally, think if you want to smoke blunts or drink Cisco, you could remain intelligent, but the stealin' of men and
I

on wax" to get a paycheck, while a rapper like Harmony who tries to give a positive image of Black women has to share the spotlight with these so-called artists. Instead, we were forced to see BWP ruin a perfect chance on national television to show that rap is more than just "story telling to music," but a tool used to promote Blacks to a higher social level than the one we exist at now.

stompin' sisters

is

pretty lame.

Karyn Exilus
Bronx,

PFC Chris Stewart

NY

USMC Camp

Lejeune,

NC

Homo-hypocrisy
would like to give a shout out to Ice T for his excellent new album. To me, the most impressive item off of it is Ice's almost apologetic attitude towards his treatment of homosexuals. Ice realizes that people are different and there's no reason for the prejudice. Today, homosexuals are the only group that it's still legal to discriminate against (the military's ban on gays). This is something that needs to be changed. To fight the power against racism and still condone homophobia is hypocritical there's no room for hypocrisy today. Ice's new attitude is very responsible and necessary and much respect is given to him for breaking this ground. Nathan Dobs Milwaukee, Wl
I

Counterattack
response to your article "Police Brutality To serve, protect and break a niggaz neck," [Source: June '91] you hit the nail on the head. Brothers and sisters need to get involved and let the elected officials know that brutality will not be tolerated at all. Let's get it together and make the system work for us, instead of against
In

us.
Jeffrey A. Shields
Fayetteville,

NC

White Heat
i

Bonz, Pleaze!
used to buy the occasional Spin Magazine to read their articles on hipstopped buying any issues of Spin because most every article they had on hip-hop was written by that ignorant moron, Bonz Malone. His work
I

hop.

Our music is one of the greatest curiosities that white people will never fully understand or experience. If we insult white people in our music, we will only get banned for political reasons. We can sing about money, sex, drugs, even religion, but talk about the white people and you'll only get death threats. White people fear the day of the Black planet. Why don't we make a movie about Black kids going to college and making something out of their lives instead of movies on being a gangster and shooting drugs?
Kenneth Mays

THE SOURCE

SEPTEMBER 1991

U.S. Air Force

/ A comedy
about makin'it!

,.*< 4

#
or
&&

Lisi Jlrrindtll

Blanche Baktr

mmsm .x,^
1991 Tbe Samuel
GctdwvJi

IbMIlita'tf
Writ

Julia

Campbell ^'^^-tltrbffiliancock
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JustinM-erman

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Picker
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-

<&./. ".-.-,

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featuring

Husk

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W tock

anil

Hie JimjHsSrattitts

COMING SOON TO A THEATRE NEAR

Y<

'#

Eazy T?
Today's Uncle

Tom

is

any Black
1 1

from from the racial stereotypes of Black males in the '90's. Today's Uncle Tom has no problem with
profits

J male who

Media Assassin
is

amazing that people way across the globe honor "our own shing Black prince" more than we, as a Black nation have, and sadly, probably ever will. This is
for. It's

anything as long as he gets paid.

He

portrays an
his social

image of ignorance & immorality,

conscience
boot-lickin',
is

a big fat zero. Today's

sambo,
is

the most intelligent type of music because it educates the people and has a lot of positive messages. Music critics only look at it as dance music. They're just a bunch of ignorant racists and it's evident that the media is

Rap music

stamp from

Iran

honoring our fallen

hero.
f

5
R.

"bought-and-sold" raves that he

reality.
is

the biggest threat to hardcore rap today.

Paal Handing

speaking on
account.

He

is

not trying to better the

community. ..he

trying to better his

bank

Norway

Who

fits into this

category better than

Eazy E? Combined with statements he's made about South Africa, the abuse of Black women,

Stamp Of Disapproval
I

UNIVFRSAl OAV or STRUOlUE AOAINST RACE DISCRIMINATION JM4

Malcolm
this

X,

and not wanting

to

be a
to

role

model,
Yessir

am

astonished and perturbed at the fact that

Mr. Sharif Elmekki

Philadelphia,

man

should change his

name

"MC

Boss, the Ruthless Tom."

Mark McCord Oakland, CA

many Americans (Black and white) do not know who Malcolm X really is, let alone stood (died)

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Paul's solo artist should be spelled

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Call:

OPEN: MON-FRI10am-5:30pm OR FAX US: 718-252-6221

and the selections you want. Make sure to write whether you want cassettes or CD's. I for SHIPPING & HANDLING charges add $3.50 for the first 4 cassettes or LP's and $.75 for each additional your buying 1 cass, I cassette or LP. Or add $3.50 tor the first 2 CD's and $1 .00 for each additional CD. "(ex. you buy 4cass. then S&H is also $3.50, ect.)" I then S&H is $3.50; I APO & FPO addresses please substitute $8.00 instead of $3.50 in the above rates and then follow additional I charges FOREIGN ORDERS (ALSO HI, PR AK) please substitute $10.00 instead of the $3.50 in the above I rates and then follow additional charges. We donl accept foreign currency. Please pay by international money I order in U.S. funds (Avail, in most banks & post offices.) I We accept money orders, checks, and major credit cards. Personal checksmust clear ourbankbeforeweship I (Min. 2 weeks.) Please make your checks or money orders payable lo "Upstairs Records Inc". The prices in NY residents Sorry, no C.O.D's. I this ad reflect a 5% cash discount. Please add 5% for credit card orders. appropriate sales tax. Not responsible for typo errors. I please add
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Teluxe."
In

Summer Jeep Slammers,

the production

credit should for the

Black Sheep album

Hill

should read "Black Sheep."

In

Record Report, a Cypress

regret

photo was

mistakenly placed

in the slot for

Tim Dog.
"Nzinga" for

We

any confusion.
stylist.

In Fashion page, credit given to

CD

THE SOURCE

SEPTEMBER 1991

Makeup/Hair

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DESTINED FOR GREATNESS

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MEDIA WATCH

Johnny,

local articles detailing a full frontal assualt

Come Home
IF
YOU CARE ABOUT MUSIC criticism (and it's OK if you don't),
know John Leland's work.
80's,

on the rap community. Stealing a page from Tipper Gore and the Parents'Music Resource Center (PMRC) were opinion
pieces in a pair of

London

dailies that

indicate the geographic origination of

of these ethnocentric prejudices.

some

you'll

The

first

was a patronizing

diatribe by

Throughout the early

he amazed

James Delingpole

me with his passionate discussions of the music that I loved (and still do). In particular, I can honestly say that his Spin "Singles Column" about BDP centering

The Daily why "Rap is basically a song without a tune." The Source's Reginald C Dennis put Delingpole to rest in last month's Media
of Telegraph, listing the reasons

HIP-HOP SOUND BITES

could see myself doing a oneshot thing with hip-hop if it were
"I

on

Scott

LaRock and

"Stop

The

Violence" changed the way I think about music. He seemed to have a real handle on

where the music was coming from and

where
it really mattered. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same about his more recent work. Now the pop

music

critic for

infected with the

Newsweek, Leland seems same anti-rap bias of his

Watch. Just when you thought it was safe, enter another tasteless piece of journalism, "The Sinsister Hatred of the Rap Racists" by Mihir Bose of The Daily Mail. Bose, like Delingpole, is ingrained in a thought process that has never understood the conflicts between Black and white, poor

something that was isolated from my own records. But a Luther record is its own animal." Luther Van dross. New York Times, 6/5/91

and

rich.

He cannot comprehend

rap's

employer. For example, in his opinion piece in the July Details, the one with Ice T on the cover, Leland dismisses rap as overly pious and "preachy": "If rap has become our

most important music

demand proof
argument

it

and you should before you buy this has also become our most

anti-establishment propaganda. As DJ Quartz commented, "Mr. Bose should get some education he seems to think that it is a terrible thing that music might possibly educate and infrom." Bose digs a deeper hole when he tries to

music] alright. It's the next thing, but it's all from me
".../

like [rap

and I deserve recognition for that. And too much of it, you know,
they're not saying anything

self-important."

Self important?

De Le? EMPD? KMD?

DJ Quik?
masses

Regardless of the fact that

of people (myself included) are

finding incredible amounts of

meaning

in

Ice Cube, Public Enemy, PRT, Brand Nubian and Ice T, he's gonna tell me that it's boring. John, if you don't understand the utter thrill of hearing Chuck D's or Ice Cube's or KRS-One's rage-filled outbursts taking our anger and shoving it back in our faces then you're missing a lot of the fun

address racism. He doesn't believe there is a racism problem in the U.K., except of the "Black-on-Black" variety. He notes the fact that Blacks are as heterogeneous as whites, but simply ignores the fact that Blacks experience much more widespread and deeper poverty than whites in Britain, and the problems are accentuated by
racism.

positive to help people. I don't like

Music is a powerful force, and if you use it wrong, it's no good. I always try to do something
that.

positive with

my

music."
'91

James Brown,
Spin Magazine, June

Finally, he twice makes incredulous comparisons between rap and Nazi Germany: "The concerts are more semimilitary rallies than musical events. Not so much Woodstock as Nuremburg" and,

in the music.

I feel

sorry for you.

were prepared to make any sacrafice for the movement, while these guys [rappers] are just
"...We

JAMES BERNARD

JUNGLE FEVER
"There have been wild men before in the American black commuities. But both Niggas With Attitude and Public Enemy are profiting from the hatred they spew..." MihirBose 5/31/91

"[Eazy-E] created a frenzy which was somewhat reminiscent of the Nazi rallies." To compare some "Fuck the Police" chants that speak upon governmental repression to the calculated genocide of mllions of Jews and others is blasphemous. One group speaks from the minority, while the
other kills them. It is this type of reporting that is not simply foolish and spiteful, but

trying to get rich off the illusion of

struggle.

What Chuck
are saying

D and

a bunch of cliches. Someone needs to sit them down and give them a
is just

KRS-One

real political

and

historical

education.

MERICA HOLDS NO MONOEurocentic, racist One avid Source Quartz from the United Kingdom, sent us two
poly

on

potentially dangerous. Bose and Delingpole both feel threatened by the language of NWA, PE, and 2 Live Crew, and by calling the artists "racist" and the music "limited," they are labeling the issues invalid, thereby causing further damage to the polarization of the Black and white communites.

Muhammad Ahmad,
Emerge Magazine
"60's Radicals:

Where Are They Now?,"April

'91.

viewpoints. reader, DJ

CHILLY E

THE SOURCE

SEPTEMBER 1991

THE MAGAZINE OE HIP-HOP MUSIC. CUITURE & POLITICS

11

Please enter

my

subscription for one year of The Source,

The magazine
Enclosed
is

of Hip-Hop Music, Culture

my

and Politics check or money order for $19.95.*

NAME

(please print)

TELEPHONE #

ADDRESS

APT#

CITY

STATE

ZIP

mssR

THE MAGAZINE OF HIP-HOP MDSIC, CUITURE

8 POLITICS

make check or money order payable to THE SOURCE in U.S. funds. Send your payment and this form to THE SOURCE, 594 Broadway, Suite 510, New York, NY 10012-3233
*

Please

fc

y iin^y^J,

THE FOLLOWUP TO

C#pftf

SINGLE BURN BABY\f URM| (UK ^ ROM THE UPCOMI NG ALBUM

IN'

HARD TIME ON PLANET

PPERS

EARTH'

RECORD

Public

Enemy

joined Anthrax
in

Chicago to

shoot a video
for tho hard-

rock version of
"Bring Tho

TURNTABLES & GUITAR

RAPPERS AND ROCKERS SHARE THE SAME BILL.
have read previously in The Source about the problems rap artists are having with live shows in 1991. In major cities across the country, promoters are prevented from booking big hip-hop shows due mainly to inflated insurance rates that make the shows too expensive to put on. Venues fear the violence typically blamed on rap shows that attract a large Black audience. The result? Big rap shows like the ones that toured in '88 and '89 are a thing

<

Noise"

You

of the past.

This summer, a strange new pattern for big tours has emerged rap artists are teaming up with popular rock, heavy metal and alternative rock acts to tour the country. Does this mean that the persistent barriers that separate styles of music are finally being broken down, or are promoters simply cashing in on the popularity of rap amongst the white rock audience? Are people who pay to see the Vision Thing Tour, for example, coming to see gothic rock band Sisters Of Mercy or rappers Public Enemy? Or both? "I think you're gonna see Public Enemy fans that are white that would not go to see them under normal circumstances," says John Marx of the William Morris Agency, the large booking firm that arranged the Vision Thing Tour. "It's a safer environment for these fans." Marx explains that the staff who put this tour together didn't set out to team Sisters Of Mercy up with a rap band, but the idea of adding Public Enemy "seemed to sit right with everyone." Since planning for the tour began, two cities have refused to allow the show in their venue with Public Enemy on the bill: Detroit, which happened early, and Brookhaven, Long Island near PE's home base of Hempstead, LI which got nervous at the last minute. On the other dates, Public Enemy will perform second to last (with Young Black Teenagers actually opening up the PE set), followed by headliners Sisters Of Mercy, who sold way fewer records but have a large cult

THE VISION THING TOUR

25
cities,

kicked

off July

12th

In

Chicago

Sisters Of Mercy "Public

Enemy Gang Of Four Warrior Soul Young Black Teenagers

AUGUST
DATES
1

CITY
Houston, TX Dallas, TX

VENUE Sam Houston

Coliseum

Starplex Amphitheater

4
5

Mesa, AZ Costa Mesa, CA Sacramento, CA

Denver,
Berkeley,

Mesa Amphitheater
Pacific

Amphitheater

Cal Expo Amphitheater

8 10

CO CA

Red Rocks Amphitheater Greek Theater

LOLLAPALOOZA

Festival

1991
Living colour

Jane's Addiction Siouxsie

& The Banshees

Nine Inch Nails* Ice T Butthole Surfers* Henry Rollins Band

AUGUST
DATES
1

CITY
Minneapolis

VENUE
National Sports Center World Music Theater

3 4 5
7

Chicago
Detroit

Cleveland

Knob Amphitheater Blossom Music Theater

Pine

Toronto

CNE
Great

following.

So how do the artists feel about getting out there in front of a whole new crowd? "Cool. I'm an alternative artist anyway," says Ice T, who is on tour with Jane's Addiction. "I can't tour with rap groups no more because all the rappers went R&B. So they want to wanna go out with Tony Toni Tone, En Vogue and shit but they don't want me around. 'Cause they know that I'm gonna get on stage and "Get Buck Naked" and act wild. I think it's a situation where hip-hop is playing themselves again they turn their backs on the hardcore artists. I look at it like yo, music is music. When I'm not listening to rap, I don't listen to R&B. I listen to, like, Slayer and Testament.""

9 11 13 14 16 17 18 20 23 25 27 29

Boston Stanhope, NJ Saratoga

Hershey, PA Washington DC
Raleigh
Atlanta

Woods

Waterloo Village Performing Arts Center

Hershey Park Stadium Lake Fairfax Walnut Creek Amphitheater Lakewood Amphitheater
Central Florida Fairgrounds

Orlando
Dallas

Starplex Amphitheater
Fiddler's
City

Denver Salt Lake

Seattle

Green

Park West Amphitheater

t.b.a.

METALLICA & NWA At press time, still tentative.

THE SOURCE

SEPTEMBER 1991

HIP-HOP
44

QUOTABLE**
MONTH

THE DOPEST RHYME OF THE

A page

from a recent issue of Women's

Wear Daily
"O.P.P.,

FASHION REPLAY
reak out
all

how can I
To have

explain

it? I'll

take

it

frame-by-frame
it

it

y'all

jumpin' shoutin' sayin'

O is for other, P is for people, scratch your temple

The
It's

yoar old school Kangols

last P,

well that's not that simple

and shell top Adidas. Pick the

mothballs out of your then-funky

sorta like-a well another

It's

way to

call a cat a kitten

five little letters than I'm missin,

it

yeah

fresh jackets from the dayz of

wayback. If s
high fashion.
is
If

official:

hip-hop is

now

You

get
It

on occasion
I

if

the other party isn't gamin'

it...

you're confused, "high fashion"

seems

gotta start the explaining bust

short-hand for "overpriced," "trendy" and

"hopelessly behind-the-times." But, according

to

Newsweek, "rap has moved uptown,

offering

For the ladies, O.P.P. means something gifted

wealthy

women

a touch of grit at predictably

The
teeth-grinding prices." What's
it all

first

two

letter's the

same, but the

last is
call

something different
it

about?
It's

Well, for $800, you can get gold vinyl quilted

suits with matching baseball caps and, for

the longest, loveliest, lean,

the leanest

$454
It's

another five-letter word rhyming wit' cleanest and meanest

I

mere, you can sport a huge, rhinestene crown

danglii.g on an oversized chain

(remember
Harmony

won't get into

I'll

that, I'll

do

it,

uh, sorta properly

for property..."

those?). These folks aren't kidding:

say the last P,

hmm, stands

performed at a recent Bleomingdale's function.

As Newsweek admits,
But we'd add that
it's

"It's

a sanitized version."

TREACH of NAUGHTY BY NATURE

from "O.P.P." (Tommy Boy)

lot funnier the

second

JAMES BERNARD

THE SOURCE

SEPTEMBER 1991

ILLUSIHAIIUN:

MKAbSU

"Fans who had

The Quiet Murder

of a Radio Station
by Darryl James
past March, the nation's only allrap station, KDAY, abruptly slipped out of existence without fanfare and without even saying goodbye. In the fall of 1990, rumors were sweeping over Los Angeles and the rap industry that KDAY was being sold to a new owner who would change its pioneering format. These rumors were hotly denied until the very day in March of 1991 when the station went totally blank, only to return three weeks later with as KBLA, a

memorized the
Rapline number

called in panic,

This

asking about the

station's

disappearance"

news station. With the Los Angeles market's strong

support for the station's format, all facts point to an intentional cover-up, designed to prevent the mounting of any substantial opposition that might challenge the change.

KDAY

had made enough money

in its seven-

He never got the chance. On March

at

11, 1991,

year dedication to rap to stay above-board, and the ratings at times were competitive with FM stations with much more powerful
signals.

But Heritage, the original owners, seemed have other ideas. Apparently, the plan to to abandon the all-rap format was laid out more than a year ago, before a new owner was even confirmed. Heritage wanted to sell the station at least two years ago, but few offers were made and those offers eventually fell through. In order to make it easier to attract a new owner, the station would have to be less successful. To blunt its winning track record, the efforts of the staff seemed to be intentionally undermined. According to Jack Patterson, the former

11am, General Manager Ed Kirby gave Patterson two hours notice. At 1pm, the station went dark. His only warning was the sudden appearance of off-duty cops and security guards the day before, obviously in
anticipation of protests or demonstrations.

Curtis Harmon, the popular afternoon mixmaster, recalls searching and searching in vain for his afternoon "quick fix" of hip-hop. Fans who had memorized the Rapline number called in panic, asking about the station's unannounced disappearance. Patterson believes that Heritage never had a complete commitment to the station and its format, especially since the original purchase

FINAL RESPECTS:

MC TROUBLE

Music and Program Director of KDAY, all promotional activity such as billboards, bumper stickers and t-shirts, stopped as early as two years ago. KDAY's Community Affairs Department and sales staff, both serving to keep the station visible, were cut back. "Even
a

was merely part of a package deal along with a cable company and a billboard company. When powerful FM stations arose to challenge KDAY's market, Heritage ran instead of fighting. And according to Greg "Mack Attack" Mack, who had been with KDAY for seven years, the
of the station

WHEN
MC
hop

DEATH
in
it

occurs

our
is

community
particularly

always disturbing,

when

it

involves someone young; becuase

within that death, we see potential at rest. Trouble, whose given name was LaTasha Rogers, a talented hipartist overcome by an epileptic seizure that forced her death June 4, 1991, is no exception. Her 1990 release Gotta Get a Grip (Motown) carried her to national fame. To keep her memory in our hearts let's lead our lives by her successful

new owner

company
to

the size of Heritage

you have

spend money

to

knows that make money,"

didn't quite understand what they were trying to accomplish at KDAY. In this gulf of misunderstanding of both the

said Patterson. Without promotion, the ratings suffered over the past year. Advertisers left, the market value of the station decreased and a sale was made easier. KDAY's new owners, Fred Sands Realty, promised Patterson that he would receive ample notice if the format changed, so the staff could say goodbye to its loyal fans. Patterson wanted to bring back all the old

previous and

new owners, KDAY drowned.

same market
are claiming

FM

stations in the

up the slack, but another KDAY fiercely independent and committed to breaking new artists may never come to be.B
to take

Darryl James

is

the

Managing

Editor of Rappin'

Program Directors and the acts that KDAY broke on the airwaves to eulogize the station for eight hours live on the air. Patterson also worked to put together sponsorship dollars for a huge celebration
jocks, the past

Magazine, and the Editor of the Hip-Hop Countdown & Report, a nationally syndicated
radio rap show.

example and words: "...educating myself.. .knowing what I want out of life and spending every minute
working toward that
brings happiness."
goal.. .that's

what

TRACY SHERROD

party,

h THE SOURCE

SEPTEMBER 1991

"

\AKERS

DISC

MAKERS
in
~7

DISC &
Pays!

TIMES
Rick in the July issue, Rick had his sentence handed down on June 6th at Bronx County Courthouse. Judge Sheindlin sentenced Ricky Waters to 31/3 to 10 years in prison, with eligibility for parole after two years. Rick will be held temporarily at Downstate Correctional Facility. The Source joins the rest of the hip-hop community in wishing Rick a peaceful journey.... In other news of rappers in trouble with the law, sentences have been handed down for the Fat Boys "sex, rhymes and videotape" case reported in the Mar/Apr issue of The Source. Darren "Buffy" Robinson allegedly videotaped three of his friends partying and having sex with a 14-year-old girl. Judge Charles B. Smith of Chester County Court in Pennsylvania handed down varying sentences to the participants Buffy aka "The Human Beat Box," who pled guilty to sexual abuse of children, was sentenced to two years probation and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine.... Nastymix Records has filed a breach of contract suit against its top-selling rap artist Sir MixA-Lot, claiming Mix breached his contract with Nastymix to deliver the second and subsequent six albums under their current recording agreement. The suit also names Def American Records Rick Rubin's label for knowingly and intentionally interfering with Nastymix's contract by signing a deal for Sir Mix-A-Lot's next album. Nastymix is seeking fulfillment of its contract with Mix, or damages for breach of contract. We'll keep you posted.... Village Voice columnist, author, and celebrated Black music critic Nelson George just signed a two book deal with Harper-Collins Publishing. In January 1992, George's
interview with Slick

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book Elevating the Game: The History and Aesthetics of Black Men in Basketball will hit
bookstores. Then, in the Spring of 1992, a collection of

George's essays and reviews will be published under

& Bohos: Notes of Culture. Plus, George co-wrote the screenplay for Go Beverly! a film that began production in New York in March... KRON-TV in San Francisco has announced that it will air a new version of its award winning show "Home Turf," hosted by Dominique DiPrima. "Home Turf Summer Mix" will showcase the diversity of the Bay Area and give young
the
title

B-Boys, Buppies, Baps

New Black

people a chance to be heard on a variety of subjects.

The show
flavor....

will maintain its cutting-edge hip-hop Actor Blair Underwood who played Russell Simmons in the film "Krush Groove," but is best known for his role as Jonathan Rollins on NBC's "LA Law"has directed the new video "Still A Young Man" for Quality/Pump Records artist Positive

Generation...

And

finally, in

the

Look

How Far Rap

Has Come department: The

bumrush, crackhead,
illin',

following words have

been added to the Random House Webster's College Dictionary: B-boy, blasted, boy toy,
def, dis, ditz, doofus,

dweeb,

ice,

wack, wuss.

THE SOURCE 'SEPTEMBER 1991

BOOMIIM'

SYSTEMS

B EEFED-UP s 90UND
FROM YOUR TELEVISION

by

James K. Willcox
ATCHING TV USED TO be one-dimensional
enjoyment. But with the

growing

interest in stereo TV, hi-fi VCRs

and even home surround systems, we're asking our televisions to sound as sharp as their
pictures look.

The demand

for

beefed up audio along

with video hasn't fallen on deaf ears;

many

television manufacturers are

with recognized

teaming up

names in audio to include better sound built into their sets. For example, Zenith is incorporating the Bose Acoustic Wave speaker technology in some
of
its

high-end sets, while

Sony has licensed

called

a sound

enhancement technology
Retrieval

SRS (Sound

System) from Hughes Electronic to add and extra dimension to its stereo imaging. Likewise, Toshiba and Carver, as well as Magnavox and JBL, have headed to the altar in a marriage of their respective video and audio strengths. Which is all fine and good if you're in the market for a new set. But what if you already own a set but want to improve the

Bose's Video

RoomMate Powered Speaker System and Sony's

wireless IF-S50K (inset).

additional power

and

in

fact can handle

them

amplifiers rated as high as

100 watts

per

to be floor or ceiling mounted and still provide on-axis performance. Boston

channel. With a system selling price of $659, the Pro III Plus also a three-piece (two satellite speakers and a subwoofer) design was developed directly from JBL's recording studio monitor, and boasts a

Acoustics offers a shielded center-channel

speaker as part of its T6 ($899.95) six speaker surround sound system, and sells a separate 404V ($130) center channel
speaker designed to
of almost any
sit

unobtrusively on top

wider frequency response.

sound?
quality to

ways to add better an existing TV set. If your TV has audio out jacks, or even a mini jack for a line level source such as a headphone, the simplest way is to connect it into your audio system.
Fortunately, there are

Boston Acoustics offers shielded versions of many of its popular book shelf
speakers, such as the A40V, as well as a
video version of
its

TV set. NHT offers a center channel version of its Model 1 speaker called the Model 1C ($170), as well as the Zero 3-Pack ($270), containing three Zero
video shielded mini-speakers.

three piece SubSat Six

($499.95) system, which features its MagnaGuard shielding. Koss, perhaps best known for its headphones, has two nonpowered shielded speakers in its Dyna Mite line of audio/video speakers: the M/60 Plus ($129.95) and the M/80 Plus ($179.95). And Sonance, a pioneer in high fidelity, in-wall loudspeakers, recently introduced the M30V ($310 per pair, including brackets and grilles), its first inwall shielded speaker designed to be installed in close proximity to. a video
screen.

Connections in this method are relatively straightforward. But chances are, your speakers are a good distance from your TV set, which may be fine for regular stereo

POWERED
SPEAKER SOUND
is

However, not everyone's television set

conveniently located within connecting

distance of an audio amplifier. But thanks to

enjoyment and certain special effects, but which can make on-screen dialogue annoyingly seem as if it's being spoken by off-screen characters. And because regular loudspeakers contain magnets that can cause picture distortion and discolorations, you'll have to leave them at least 10-12
inches from the set.

new, powered speakers, that doesn't

mean
in

you have to settle for a big picture and small

sound. Bose was one of the pioneers

powered speaker systems; its Video Roommate system ($339) will connect directly with most TVs and all VCRs and
laserdisc players straight from the box, and

optional adaptors are available for

other types of connections.

most

'SHIELDED"

SOUND

~^~
If

SURROUND SOUND
it

AR
calls

offers a series of

powered speakers

you already own a decent pair of

Powered Partners. Both the 570 and

are shielded for video application,

Several companies are making

what are called "shielded" speakers, which can be placed alongside, below, or on top of your television. These days, any number of well-known speaker manufacturers offer shielded versions of some of their more popular small speakers. For example, all three models in JBL's ProPerformer series offer shielded drivers for next-to-TV placement. The speakers ($199 per pair)
are small satellite units capable of handling

speakers, another option is available, thanks to the increasing popularity of some home surround sound
stereo
systems: adding a shielded center-channel speaker that can be placed on top or below a TV set. Dolby Pro Logic surround sound systems steer dialogue to a center channel speaker, and several manufacturers offer

the

420

speakers designed specifically

purpose.

for that

10-60 watts of power. The ProPerformer Plus model ($439/system) adds a dualchamber subwoofer that requires no

Yamaha offers two shielded centerchannel loudspeakers: the NS-C70 ($129) and NS-C90 ($149). Both of Yamaha's speakers are angled at 15 degrees, allowing

and deliver 40 watts and 10 watts of power per channel, respectively. The speakers wedge shape allows for numerous placement and mounting options. Sony's IFS-50K speakers ($349.95) are not only magnetically shielded they're wireless. The company also offers the more conventional wired SRS-150 shielded, powered speakers, which plug into either a mini jack or standard phone jack. So next time you kick on the TV set to catch the latest videos, don't just watch the picture hear and feel it, too.

THE SOURCE

SEPTEMBER 1991

HOME VIDEO
by Pistol Pete

<
EC LU cr LU O-

OL MOE D
Funke Funke

GANG STARR
Step
In

Wisdom

The Arena

Written by Kool Moe Dee Produced by Joseph F. Nardelli Directed by Jim Swaffield

All

"Just To Get A Rep" directed by Fab 5 Freddy other videos directed by Kevin Bray for Time Shift Productions
Chrysalis Video approx. running time: 20 minutes

Zomba Video
approx. running time:

55 minutes
like a

Wisdom Kool Moe Dee's new home video Funke Funke females plays those appeal soap opera, and could
easily
to
still

watching Channel Zero. Like fixtures "All My Children" and "General Hospital," this 30 minute video is structured like a soap "rapera," and it offers all of the love-in-the-afternoon drama you'd ever need. Numerous women are shown fawning over the mysterious and seductive man behind those huge dark shades, and each one gets a

and a variety of promised video Step In The Arena, which clocks in at only 20 minutes. Sure, more heinous crimes have been committed. But blink and you're liable to miss the "new,

Chrysalis manages to stuff four videos

"extras" into the

new Gang Starr home

slammin' performance footage of Gang Starr at

New York's Apollo

Theater." Got allergies? Well don't sneeze because you just might miss those "special, never-before-seen outtakes from all their videos." My

somehow, someway. The other half of Funke Funke Wisdom is made up of music videos, including "To The Beat Yall," "Wild, Wild West," "I Go To Work," and "They Want Money." Despite the many subplots, Funke Funke Wisdom is anchored by a fictional press conference of the Stop The Violence Movement and a performance of the song "Rise And Shine." The released video of "Rise And Shine" that has been playing on video shows features an ending of a scuffle between two audience members followed by a quick gun exchange. In Funke Funke Wisdom, however, the fully-developed ending is revealed. As Chuck D and Kool Moe Dee stand to observe what's happening, they are caught in the crossfire. The rappers are shown gunned down, their clothes splattered with blood, and the
piece of him

that something in the range of a forty to sixty minute running time would have done justice to what is, nevertheless, a quality home video product. The four videos contained on Step In The Arena cover all the
point
is

necessary bases for a well-rounded rap group in '91: street-level respect, positive mind, love, and self-promotion. The group's harder edge is demonstrated in the gripping clip "Just To Get A Rep," while social and political awareness are addressed in "Who's Gonna Take The

audience is naturally in a state of shock. After about ten seconds of this, our slain heroes miraculously "rise" to their feet. A confident Kool Moe Dee says, "So for the members of the press that like to write all the hype about what's going on in the streets, this is what it's like. You don't understand it until you live through it. You got to wake up and wise up." In unison, the panel then chants "stop the violence!" Other highlights include the scene where Kool Moe Dee is rudely late for an interview with a radio personality named Big Bucks, and he is grilled by his publicist. He explains to her that he tried to get out of the interview on purpose. "It's the typical we love your music, but can't play your record, Black adult-contemporary, CHR, numbers, Stop The Violence deejay," he sighs. And as if Moe wasn't surrounded by enough beautiful women, the rapper is stopped dead in his tracks after a concert performance by "Chocolate," a fine backstage kind of girl. "I do hope you are as intellectual as you portray," she says. "So that you may be able to distinguish a cerebral sex-goddess from just any ordinary groupie. Because Kool Moe Dee, I want you. In fact, I have to have you. Whenever, wherever you so desire. For one night, or for a lifetime..." Yo G, time to draw up the pre-nupital joint. Funke Funke Wisdom is an interesting and original concept. Aside from "The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air," there really isn't much rap-related programming of a scripted nature on television. For that alone, the tape is a good buy.

Weight," which features news footage of Adolph Hitler and Martin Luther King. "Lovesick" is rapper Keith E.E.'s heartbroken ode to the special girl in his life who trips due to her inability to understand the Guru's celebrity status. The prerequisite ego piece comes in the form of the previously unreleased "Take A Rest," which is a straightforward
that could use better lighting. While many experts in rap today are quick to predict a lesser role for DJ's in the future, it's clear that DJ Premier's position as an integral part of Gang Starr is solid. But unexplainable is the fact that
clip

few words on Step In The Arena. Nevertheless, these brothers have their heads in the right place. Discussing goals, Keith E.E. says he hopes "to get more and more people up on some original style rap music fly street beats and dope rhymes. It sounds corny, but that's what rap is about: the rhymes, and
this talented producer says so

the beats, and the turntables." Additional homage is paid to the Gang Starr sound by special guests Chubb Rock and jazz great Branford Marsalis. The Chubbster praises: "I feel that they're one of the pioneers to have brought jazz to

mingle with hip-hop, and to create a new vector which hip-hop can go down." That sent me straight to a dictionary, and sure enough, "vector" is a word. Sorry for doubting you, Professor Chubbs. Marsalis, who has worked closely with Premier, says of Gang Starr: "they find the hard grooves, and they throw them out there. And that's what the music is
about."

THE SOURCE

SEPTEMBER 1991

3IQ

T'HOQ

XAOOM JA3J1
around the country that
sell to

NWA
rockets to #1,

hip-hop fans

in

the

street.

But these objections

towing a

trail

makes NWA's
to

rocket ride

#1 that much more

All

of doubters,
dissers,

incredible.

across

America,

in

suburban

and

shopping malls and midsize cities, thousands

devoted fans
behind them.
by Jon Shecter

upon thousands of white kids were running to the record stores

without seeing a video

and grabbing new NWA shit.

for the

Clearly the double-

platinum success of Straight Outta Compton gained the group a

large interracial fan base, but why are so

THE
number one Pop Albums

HIP-HOP NATION

stood still on June 15th. That's the day the NWA

many
seems

white

kids
It

turned on by

NWA?

album Niggaz4Life knocked Paula Abdul's Spellbound out of the

slot

that these violent, gritty

storytellers offer white youth

exciting connection to the glorified

acknowledge
the greatness of Niggaz4Life.

on Billboard's Top
Actually, the rap

chart.

of the inner-city. White kids idolize Black performers across the

life

world was pretty shaken up the week before, when Niggaz debuted at an astounding #2 position, the highest entry by any album since Michael Jackson's Bad. All this with no single and no video, making Niggaz only the fourth album to top the pop chart in the past 16 years
without generating a top

spectrum

Tyson

but

from Murphy to Jordan to

NWA

You hear guys dissing the

it

shit, calling

wack. why,

When some

you ask
of

can't
front

them

on

it.

And

this "real rap" record

takes them a step closer to that mysterious ghettoworld they wonder so much about.

When NWA

say the lyrics are

hit

reached

number one on the

#1,

just too negative or

muthafuckin pop chart! Sleep.

Amongst
group males,
like

40 single. Niggaz went to number one under a new charting system

of
it's

peer white
a cool

status symbol to

implemented by Billboard magazine called SoundScan. Charts were traditionally compiled from retail store clerks who phoned-in or
mailed-in a
list

NWA means
it

you

"street,

NWA
for

are more "more "hip." offers white

mainstream America was dumbfounded. "People magazine wanted to catch the group casually at home, sitting on their couch and smiling," a spokesperson from Priority Records told us.
"I

too simple, which is easy to under-stand. It's clear that NWA lost a lot of depth

When NWA reached the top, every important newspaper and magazine in the country scrambled to do a piece on this "new pop
critics

and

intelligence

when they lost Ice Cube, and if you

break out Amerikkka's Most Wanted, you'll hear

phenomenon." For the most part, found the album offensive

tried to explain to

Cube

of the store's

fifty

males

top-selling records. Since the stores

males, that matter

all

some 40

woman
sit

year old white that they don't

blowing NWA away with sharp subject

on their couch and

smile. They're

matter and
excitement.

lyrical

did not provide actual sales figures,

chance

to live out

the system, as most industry people

admit,

was

left

open

to

manipulation by record companies. With SoundScan, the Top Pop Albums chart is compiled by computers that tabulate actual sales from readings of the bar codes on each product as it leaves
the store.

the ultimate macho fantasy: every girl sucks your dick, every guy who ain't
eliminated.

gangsters, for god's sake."

But when

hip-

hop heads dis the

production, they are

down gets

clearly bugging. Yes, there are great

rap producers

in

New

SoundScan has angered a lot of record company executives who watched their artists particularly
alternative rock

acts
is

fall

off the

charts.

And

it's
its

clear

that

SoundScan has

legitimate faults:

the pool of retailers

too heavily

favored towards rackjobbers outlets such as department stores

who stock

only proven hits on their shelves and the survey has not wired in stores that move "alternative" product in urban markets, such as the Tower Records chain and the hundreds of "mom and pop'' stores in urban markets

would argue that Niggaz4Life is the first rap album to hit the mainstream crowd and the hip-hop crowd with force at the same time. For every Black hip-hop fanatic driving through Detroit, Houston, and of course Los Angeles pumping Niggaz from their rides, there's a group of baseball-cap wearing white kids listening to Niggaz in their living room. And then there's the Madonna/Vanilla Ice crowd, which is too broad for me to even stereotype, grooving right along to Niggaz too. There goes the neighborhood! Everywhere you turn, the youth of America is tuned in to NWA. Everywhere, that is, except New York City, where hip-hop's most
I

Powered Productions Dr. Dre and Yella is the most consistently

York, but High

exciting production
tracks
in

squad in the industry today. Listen to their

and the record got dissed in spite of its success. But beneath the obvious moral objections; critics and fans of NWA are forced to address a larger issue the fact that NWA, rap's violent heroes, are the ultimate success story. NWA transforms ghetto hell into long dollars; they've become very wealthy by marketing the ills of the capitalist system to the people that put them down. To discuss NWA is to discuss the fundamental problems, conflicts and opportunities of our society. As David Browne so succinctly put it in the New York Times, "It's a

situation thick with irony, but

clean,

NWA

bold sounds locked

are probably too busy counting their

grooves so dangerous, they

earnings to care."

outlast the grittiest

New

York shit

out here. It's obvious that Dre and Yella care how a record sounds

the highs are crisp, the lows are earth-shaking, and the live in-

struments and perfect samples

right in

fit

the pocket.
styles!

And the rhyme

Check out

hardheaded

fans

refuse

to

Ren's flow on "She Swallowed It," or the post-old school pimp groove on "Findum, Fuckum & Flee," where Eazy and Dre showcase their new and improved skills. This is the way real rap is supposed to sound you

Face it: Niggaz4Life contains harmful, hurtful words. It is unnecessarily violent, and it is sexist to a disgusting degree. You can't argue with any critic who points out these faults. But understand that Niggaz4Life is real hip-hop. Not Hammer, not Ice, this is the sound of rap music from the streets, created and performed by talented artists who refuse to sell out. The real niggaz know what their fans want, and their fans respond. With
real dollarz.a

THE SOURCE

SEPTEMBER 1991

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FAT FASHION

$230; 5 pocket

denim pants $60;

both by Parasuco

Leaf collar catsuit

$95; two color

quilted bolero jacket

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PRODUCER'S PROFILE

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by Adario Strange

DR. FREEZE

PLATINUM WOULD BE

DR.

name for this cat who takes the most basic

a better

sounds and samples, and turns them into hit records. With the help of his partner Spiderman, Dr. Freeze has
Dr.

quickly risen to the levels of prominence most twenty five-year olds are hesitant to even dream of. Hailing from the planet Brooklyn, Dr.

Freeze and his partner Spiderman

Freeze describes himself musically as "a hipstiletto heels wearin' he Listed amongst ain't. On his way up, he is. his production credits are BBD, Another Bad

hop Prince." Well,

someone reaches

their success, there's always

he's

been exposed

to

throughout the years. His

Creation, Red Bandit, Today, Maliaka Thompson, and Finesse & Synquis. His most recent success is Color Me Badd, from the soundtrack of New Jack City, who's single, "I Wanna Sex You Up," has gone well over platinum. Ironically enough, Dr. Freeze says
that this particular track was originally going to be used for his own album; which proves that ya never know how phat a track is until it comes back to slap you in the face. And in this case, leave a silver-colored hand print (gimme that type of slap any day, G). What makes me feel that Dr. Freeze is destined for greater things is that he

somebody that helped them." Now Hiram Hicks acts as his manager and Dr. Freeze has somehow managed to maintain a humble, yet
confident, attitude.

own upcoming album will be a collection of many of the artists he's produced as well as his own material. With Today, BBD, ABC, and
a healthy list of other heavyweights to appear on his album, I smell dollars G! With such prosperity coming the way of a

Having grown very close to BBD through Hiram, Freeze explains their music "mentally it's like Public Enemy music except with basslines and keys and serious singing behind it." But Dr. Freeze is quick to add, "I wouldn't call my music mental; I would call Shocklee's music mental," instead depicting his music as something
like Earth,

young brother, you might wonder if there's another music industry (not gettin' paid) nightmare waiting to happen. Countless times, we've seen an up and coming producer,
inexperienced in the choppy waters of music
business, get dissed so hard you only see their name on those Pathmark, "K-Tel" re-releases. But looking at Dr. Freeze's support group (Spiderman, BBD, Hiram

possesses something that the truly dope producer should have knowledge of an

instrument. When I go over the really original and innovative producers of the past couple of decades, all have been people with a technical understanding of music. Citing the Brand New Heavies as one of his favorite new live bands, Freeze plays piano, flute, trumpet, and

Fire hip-hop. Considering that he has expressed a desire to produce the likes of Rakim, Slick Rick, Big

Wind &

Freeze says The

Daddy Kane, and Kool

Bomb Squad was

one of
his greatest

drums. Other young, aspiring producers

should note this as important, because
it's

one

Rap, all that we've heard before from this brother may have just been a prelude to some old really stank shit. Recently, Dr. Freeze has completed a

influences, next to

Howie Tee and of

course Quincy Jones, who he calls "The Father of Music"

thing to know that a sample filled track sounds hype and quite another to know why it sounds hype. No stranger to performing, Dr. Freeze has been on the same bill as MC Lyte, Red Bandit, and even had a record out on Black Magic Records called, "I'm too Much." After payin some dues, Dr. Freeze's newfound success has him saying, "I feel like a different person, I feel kinda scared. When you have a dream and it hits you in the face so fast, you
don't
his

number

of phat projects

including Bobby

Brown

("You Ain't Brown"), 7A3,

Good

to

Go, and The

Hicks), his future looks to be a bit brighter than that. One of the biggest problems facing the music industry today is what Freeze calls "a lack of trust and communication as far as are Black people concerned." He's right, if there was more networking going on between Blacks in

know how

to

take

it."

The

realization of

dream started when he gave the track for BBD's "Poison" to Red Bandit. From there it went to Tara Geter (formerly of the Gyrlz) and then to Hiram Hicks, and the rest is history. "I have to thank Red Bandit and Tara. When

Neutrons. On the subject of his favorite producers, Freeze says that the late Eighties rap redefiner's The Bomb Squad was one of his greatest influences next to Howie T, and of course Quincy Jones who he calls "The Father of Music." Usually when someone mentions his influences, one has to look deep to find them reflected in their music, but the eclectic creativity displayed in Dr. Freeze's production aptly represents who and what

the industry,
"glass ceilings."

maybe we
It's

could dissolve some of those

cool to

"get over," but

how about

following the example of New Edition and getting

over together.

Breaking through

all

become a habit

for Dr.

kinds of ceilings has Freeze who says he'd

at acting

also like to try his

hand

and maybe

one day directing. Whatever roof he decides to come crashing through next, I'm sure the damage will be welcome!

THE SOURCE

SEPTEMBER 1991

OFTEN IMITATED NEVER DUPLICATED

>JP
i
s^k

U:-

THIS

WHAT
U RAP 2

IS

THE LONG-OVERDUE SINGLE FROM THE ALBUM, "TO YOUR SOUL." AVAILABLE IN 12" AND MAXI CASSETTE. INCLUDES DEVASTATING RE-MIXES BY U.K.-BASED MIX OUTFIT, THE BOILERHOUSE. HJjf THE DEBUT RELEASE FROM SLAMMIN' RECORDS.

PRODUCED BY: CHAD ELLIOT AND THE JAZ. ADDITIONAL PRODUCTION AND REMIX BY: BEN WOLFF AND ANDY DEAN FOR THE BOILERHOUSE. MANAGEMENT: STAN POSES /UNITED ENTERTAINMENT. 1991 EMI RECORDS USA. SLAMMIN' RECORDS IS AN AUTHORIZED TRADEMARK OF EMI RECORDS USA 212-603-4163. DISTRIBUTED BY QUARK, INC. 212-489-7260.

ATTENTION
College Students:

Become a Part of The

William Paterson
College

treated to many different speakers who enlightened the students and community. Shaharazad Ali (author of The Blackman's

SOURCE MIND SQUAD

as

Guide

to

Understanding The Black

Woman),

Kwame Toure (Stokely

Wayne, N J
by G-man

Frances Cress Welsing, and Dr. Ivan Yan Sertima were all here to drop science on the campus. But the one who dropped it
Carmicheal), Dr.

THE SOURCE
Marketing Representative

PEACE
about

FROM THE
Wayne, NJ

campus

of William Paterson College. We're

1

located in

mile uphill from Paterson, home of King Sun and Eastside High School from the movie, Lean On Me. On WPC radio (WPSC-FM 88.7) we have the #1 rap show in New Jersey: the BFA Rap Show (BFA stands for Brothers For Awareness) where DJ True Blue and myself rock every Wednesday night from 10pm-2am. The rest of the BFA Posse includes DJ Dove, Hype Stuff, JScratch and The Snowman. We play strictly hardcore. We try to promote awareness through the music as well as with interviews. Being on the airwaves we definitely feel we have to give back to the community, so on the show we have interviewed such organizations as Delta

hardest was the teacher, KRS-One. We had so many people that we had to turn some away. Back to the radio lab, my trip to The Gavin Seminar in San Francisco was slammin'. I came back with much West Coast product so my audience could see how it's done out there. Also, the Hip-Hop at its Crossroads Conference at Howard University in Washington D.C. was equally dope. We also got treated to a special concert. At the end of a benefit basketball game between two NYC radio
stations, WBLS and WFAN, there were performances by Chubb Rock, The Jaz, and Style and in the house that night were King Shameek, Latee, and The Funke Natives. All in all this past year was definitely dope and we plan to take it to a higher level in the coming year. The second "Quest For Campus Supremacy" will be bigger and better. An addition of a second show geared for the African-American community called Moments In Soul will be in effect. This show will be on the R&B tip with the focus on all forms of Black music. Everybody from Jimi Hendrix to Marvin

on your campus

We are looking for

dedicated, ambitious

students with an interest in

HIP-HOP
and a
flair for

marketing and promotions.

If you

think
the
bill,

you

fit

Sigma Theta, Alpha Kappa Alpha, Phi Beta Sigma, Zeta Phi Beta, Bro. Abdul
Kadir Muhammad from The Nation Of Islam, The Black Student Association, and Dr. Linda Day, a Professor of African
History.

Gaye to Levert to BBD to OG Style. We also wanna hook up a major rap show on
campus and be on the lookout for the Top 40 of 1991 Year End Countdown. So there it is straight from The BFA
the

and would
like further information

On the rap front, the BFA co-sponsored "The Quest For Campus Supremacy" our first ever all campus rap contest. Props go
out to the winner, The Hype Stuff. Hype Stuff definitely kicked it and won the top prize. Rap was the winner on another front when the ladies of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. had a talent show and rap took that one too. Daddy D, runner up in 'The Quest For Campus Supremacy" was the big winner that night. Gettin' back to the BFA Rap Show we have had many special nights on the show like The Year End Countdown, Old School Night (all old school records), Freestyle Night (17 MC's going for self), and Ladies Night (all female
rappers).

Gotta send props out to the other rap shows in the area. Big Shoutouts
to you.

Show

on the program
contact: David Watkins
at

Wildman Steve and Adario Strange (WBAU), The Awesome 2 (WNWK), The Stretch Armstrong Show (WKCR), The Underground Railroad (WBAI), and The Propmaster Kool D J Red Alert
to

The Source

(KISS-FM).
air in the

We

have got

to

keep rap on the

NY-NJ

area. Also peace to

Mighty Zulu Nation and The Five Percent Nation. And Big Props to The Source and The Mind Squad. G-Man
says "peace" and I'm out like British

THE MAGAZINE OF HIP HOP MUSIC. CUEIURE

aim

El

POIIIICS

Walkers and Mocknecks.

Glen "G-Man" Holt is the Assistant Music Director for WPSC. He is also an
intern in Epic Records'

Rap Department.

(212) 274-0464

Throughout the year, the campus was

THE SOURCE

SEPTEMBER 1991

KID SENSATION
Nastymix Records

On maturing as an artist: On the

released,
I

first
I

album

that

was

really

more

trying to find myself.

really hadn't

developed my own style yet, I hadn't developed my own sound. On the new album, I've really established myself as not only a lyricist and a good rapper with speedy quick delivery and clever delivery, but also as speaking out for the youth. The title of the new album is
Voice

Of The Youth, and

if s appropriately titled.

I'm speaking about

solutions out

the problems with the youth, and just kicking

there. It's

some

almost a guidebook to the

way

us teenagers should be
striving for.

living

and the kinds of things we should be

On versatile production:
this next

think people

who hear

gonna just trip, because I don't stick music anymore. I'm not centered in just a West Coast style, I don't use just bass to make my music sound good. I've got some real creative sampling without just looping other people's stuff and using it, I've got some grooves that have a totally different feel to them. Now I've got stuff with an East Coast feel to it, I've got stuff with an L.A. feel to it, I've got stuff with the Seattle swing of
are really, really
to

album

any certain

style of

course, 'cause that's

my city.

It's

just all there.

SPEAK OUT

DOWNTOWN SCIENCE
Def J ami Columbia Records

oOSCO Moneyr Our message

Bosco, I'm a character, this
is

is,

we're

Downtown Science.

I'm

Sam, he's a character. And the music is a fusion of our personalities. Sometimes a concept is restraining. Because as an artist I don't want to be tied to just one thing. We don't want to be handcuffed to a particular image. We are what we are and what we are is two kids who hang out and go to the clubs.We're not trying to use race as a gimmick or be controversial were just being us.

Sam Seven Originally we didn't want to have our picture on the 12we didn't know how people would react, but it came out and the label liked it so we said fuck it, why not have our picture on the cover?
inch because

Other than

that,

it

[race] hasn't

caused us any problems. We've had a

shit, like in Billboard

couple of articles with some stupid

we got a really

good review but the opening sentence was like "The bi- racial duo..." and last year it was "salt and pepper combo" or some stupid shit. But that's the press. If they feel that its important to stress that we are a white dude and a Black dude, that's what they gotta do. We don't really get involved with that. I think that once the album drops it won't really be an issue, and it
really hasn't
this"

been a big
in

issue.

It

wasn't like

said, "hip-hop, let

I

I've been down for a long time. A of times find that a of white kids who are hip-hop right now go out of their way legitimize themselves "Oh, used to play used to write grew up Bed Stuy" I'm not you ask me you, but I'm not going
lot lot

me get into

to

ball,

graffiti,

in

like that. If

I'll tell

out of

my way to tell you that I'm white and legitimate.

THE SOURCE

SEPTEMBER 199

^r

Make
You probably saw
year, but the reality
Until
is

Black Film.
40 Acres
T-shirts last

this

statement on the backs of

that Black films

were not being made.. .until now.

told

now,

stories

about Black people of our generation were

as seen
Film

through white eyes or from a white perspective. Enter 23 year-old,

school grad John Singleton.

USC

from a Black perspective.

He wanted to make a film about Black people And why shouldn't he? He's Black; he's from LA; he
film that

grew up just like us. Boyz N The Hood

easy place
to

is

makes you

think.

It

stars Ice

Cube
is

in his

acting debut as Doughboy, a kid from South Central. South Central

not an

grow up there's gangs, drugs, guns and worst of all police. Through his music, Ice Cube has been able to give the Black youth viewpoint of the situation in L.A, making more people aware that there is another side
to the story

about the inner-city

is

streets

than the one they've been hearing

John Singleton
different

expressing the very same message but through a

films,

z
111

medium. By making
those

John

is

able to add visual effects that

awaken
their

who were

not hip to Cube's music. So Boyz

The

may Hood is

CO

z LU
I-

view from within South Central or Tales from the darkside, so

to speak.

o Z < X
CO

The following are interviews with Boyz

Singleton
^ft

The

Hood

writer/director John

and rapper/actor,

Ice

Cube.

WE SOURCE

SEPTEMBER 1991

4,
,.,.'r

character much like himself. The movie brings out a lot of topics that most are afraid (and some too removed from) to discuss. So me and
the Cube got together mentally in the headquarters of The Source. Me in New York City and him in L.A. The only thing between us was AT&T and a dictaphone. We kicked it for about and hour and Cube had a whole lot to say. We talked about Ice Cube the movie star, of course his beef with

NWA,
lot

his upcoming album and much more. After all that, I came to the

conclusion that there

is

definitely a

more

to

be talked about. So to

keep everything democratic here goez some mo' dialogue:

Ras: What's Boyz about?

CO

the
is

Hood
a story

z LU > LU H W O

Ice

Cube: Boyz

N the Hood

about kids growing up in South

Central LA. It's not something that's action packed. It's about people. It shows how a man can teach his son to be a man and a woman really can't do that. They can just teach them to be respectable adults. It's about love, and it's about the street situation.

MO' DIALOGUE
gsfic

Does the movie depict real

Most
definitely! It's not

life?

QQQQPgr
ICE

aaaaCHBB

-lt-*-- ",^-.T^-., J^

)OTDDup pqaaaapazse

even a movie people can criticize. People should just be happy that they are really getting a
look into our world.

CUBE

By Ras Baraka
ight now all across the planet the world is being saved for democracy. George Bush (uggh!) and his cohorts have developed a fool proof plan to destroy the "bad guys" and

Dough Boy is like my earlier years. After I reached a certain age I knew that shit wasn't cool and wasn't the right route. But I think I would still be like Dough Boy if I wasn't making records.
So rap saved your life?
Yeah, most
definitely.

develop a "New World Order." It's simple: first you need 400,000 troops, then 400,000 bankers and boom, VCR's! Meanwhile, on it's own shores, Amerikkka solves its problems with dialogue. Philip Panel is gunned down by five-o, its solved by channel 4. Black youth are bombarded by militia at Virginia Beach, it's second on the list of topics of discussion at local NAACP luncheons, next to Wilder's election. Rodney King is beaten by the police in a violent ritual, there's talk of forming police review boards. ..only talk. Worst of all, Vanilla Ice turns rap star; he's bludgeoned to death with youth slang at local hangout spots. There is still a long list of things that deserve some dialogue. One of them is the endangerment of young, Black boys. Lately people have begun to pay close attention to the large amount of deaths that occur in our inner cities (mostly
boys).

NWA

is still hitting you hard with their little "shout out" to you on their new album Niggaz 4 Life? Are you going to reply to "Benedict Arnold?" NWA... They can't fuck with me lyrically so the worst thing they can do is dis. I might respond [to "Benedict Arnold"] but I gotta think about it. The Blackman don't need to dis each other anymore. That shit ain't really necessary. I don't think their record is as good as Amerikkka's Most Wanted. I don't know everybody else's opinion. I think I got a little more dimension. That shit is too narrow. It's like that same old "nigga, bitch, nigga, I'll shoot you." That shit was cool in '87 when it was shocking, but now that gangsta rap is played, it's all about what you saying. I got something in the chamber for them, it's just truth because I know them niggas like the back of my hand and they can't fuck with it. I don't think they take time out for rap music like I do. It's not like they ain't capable. They would

The almost hopeless looking conditions that play themselves out in our communities every day has been made salient many times biassedly through the media, but more
realistically

through some of our rap

artists. Ice

Cube has been

rather chase bitches. This shit is my bitch. They just don't take enough time to pre-think their records. Their production is dope. When they get in [the studio] what they come out with is cool, but if they took a little more time to think about it before they went into the studio their records would be

known
in

good or bad, our inner cities. In his rap "Tales from the Dark Side (Endangered Species)" he pulls no punches in telling us that Black boys are becoming extinct. Again in "Dead Homiez" he reminds us of the senseless killing of Black boys. Now he is acting in a dope, new movie Boyz the Hood. He plays a
to discuss in his raps the things that occur,

much

better.

How true is the rumor that Dr.

Dre

is

going to do some

beats for you? Me and him been talking because he finally left slave master Jerry Heller [NWA's manager]. We been talking about doing

CONT. ON PAGE 34

THE SOURCE

SEPTEMBER 1991

C/)

</)

z LU > LU H Q

HIP

HOP

CINEMA...SOUTH CENTRAL STYLE

r MuvniriiiwMi^
|i

Central Los Angeles. Streets that were designed to disarm the Black male. At its' best, Boyz the Hood is an intense look into the culture that has produced the Hip-Hop phenomenon. It is possibly the first film to document the realities, the gestures, the ambiance of what is privately called the Hip-Hop Nation, the Black urban landscape. John is a card-carrying Hip-Hop Nation member. Not by choice, necessarily. Birthdays, graduations and other significants are remembered by the hypest jam at the time. The film utilizes this and, in fact, is dated by classic cut selections. For instance "Jam On It" is playing in a scene that takes place in 1984. Like Tre, one of several young men's stories intimated in Boyz, John Singleton also grew up in the streets of South Central Los Angeles. Like Tre, John attributes direction and strength to the guidance of a present father. Boyz is painfully true to the distinction between boys that have been raised to be men by men and those single-parent (mother) reared brothas who, the film insists, will constantly seek the balance and direction to enter manhood. Boyz the Hood is painfully true to a lot of the realities of Black, urban America. Throughout the film there is the militaristic sounds of police helicopters patrolling the neighborhood. In any given scene ambient lighting will be totally disrupted by a loud flash of inspective outside light, a painful reminder that our communities are under siege by the government's police. Where there is confrontation with the police it is the Black policeman who is high strung, offensive and dangerous. A painful reminder that every brotha ain't a brotha. Perhaps the most piercing of all truths unmasked in Boyz is the raw truth that death has become a common part of our community. The opening scene in the film revolves around a group of children's curiosity about a dead body. As if stopping at a candy store the kids leave their route to school to cross the restricted lines of a murder site. In another scene, boyz and men posture their way into manhood several feet away from the body of a slain teenager. Singleton doesn't knock you over the head with loud affirmations, his message is subtle, dense and quick like a gunshot.

John Singleton
The first time I saw a dead body was when they carried the older woman who lived next door to the ambulance. The next time was in the middle of the street near my father's house. He'd been shot, probably in a drive-by, and no one came to his aid. He was screaming for help and we all just kind of looked at him. I was fourteen. Moving in with my father was a big catalyst in my life. It whipped me into shape. There's a whole generation of young brothas out there who've been raised by their mothers, out of necessity. But a woman can't teach a boy how to be a man. She can only show him how to be a version of the brotha that left her, his father. It's a very viscous cycle. Black men have to be responsible for raising Black men, it's always gonna come back to us. In the film, Ricky's mother loved him and he ended up a teenage father. She couldn't stand Doughboy and he ended up a crack dealer, there's got to be balance. There's going to be a difference between women who have been raised with a man in the house. Women who were raised with a man in the house are going to be more secure in their relationships with other men. I have a script that I wrote, it's a story about five Black women. I think it's best that a Black woman direct it. I was thinking about Neema Barnette. She's a sista in New York, a very powerful filmmaker.

pgopo og JOHN SINGLETON

By dream Hampton
ecently I and nine other filmmakers founded an independent, Black film production collective. All of the members are younger than 25, all are dedicated to a common cause; to burn Hollywood to the ground, to put our stories in yo mothafuckin' face, to report, to undistort, to
reconstruct, in short we were gonna make the white boy the extra. Admittedly, we are the post-Spikey boppers but that didn't soften our

credo. Hollywood, the Eurocentric dream be the target of our rage, our right-to-be-hostile hostility. Arri was our Uzi and Kodak Eastman was going to code its "flesh" tone to a defiant shade of Black. That was before John Singleton. That was before Columbia dropped 6 million dollars in a brotha's lap. Now we're maybe thinking about considering another approach. One way tickets to Cali, anyone? Boyz the Hood is an uncompromising, meditative drama about three Black males coming of age in the streets of South
factory,

was

to

CONT. ON PAGE 35
THE SOURCE

SEPTEMBER 1991

ICE

CUBE CONT.
I

things together, but

don't

know

if it's

going to happen.

Back to the movie. What's Dough Boy's view on women? Dough Boy's view on women is they're all bitches and shit. It's like his moms is giving him a raw deal. Dough Boy and [his
brother] Rick have two different fathers.
I

guess Ricky's

fuck Uncle Sam. We just narrowed it down to the police. Because the Black kid out there don't give a fuck about who's mayor or who's governor or who's the president. All that shit don't matter to them. The only piece of government they see is police. The police is the government in the ghetto. Everybody else is bullshit because no matter who's the president, you still gotta pay your rent and you still gotta eat. It's the same shit so it don't matter who's in the white house 'cause they don't give a fuck about us anyway.
It's like

The movie also brings out sects or gangs in the community. Why do L.A. is like Vietnam with s^ gs develop?
.

Like

COIlCrete.

The enemy
i i I

I said, these kids raise themselves. Their gang is their only family.

yOU Ore SUppOSed

i

tO

be

This

is

the only place

where

they

mean

W z
LU

LU

the ones
to

you supposed

something. Actually, what they're doing is protecting their neighborhood.

O
<
CO

LT

be helping.
don't

Protecting

it

from who?
needs to be

They

know who

to protect it from, just that it

protected. There are gangs on incident can start a gang war.

damn near every block. And one

Ice

Cube and

the Lench

Mob

father treated her better than Dough Boy's father, and all he wants is her respect and her love and he doesn't get it. That's probably why he thinks that way.

So what do you do to keep Black boys alive? Show them another way. I don't think talking will help. It's gonna take another incident. More Rodney King type shit. And it's starting to happen. Pretty soon, shit's gonna blow up
and it's plain to see that these gangs are gonna have to get together to survive.

are an endangered species? already dead. All they have to do is kill us physically. People who die of high blood pressure, stress and this and that are not dying because they eat wrong. They are dying from oppression. That will stress anybody out. Then you add drugs to that, the penitentiary and this capitalist system. You know in America if you're poor you ain't shit and they show you that. So, you got all these poor kids trying to get rich, by any means necessary. So what you got is Black on Black crime. Not because they want to shoot a brother, but a Black person is an easy target. For one thing, nobody is going to really give a fuck if we kill each other. It's not going to be investigated by the police, like if it was a white neighborhood. So it's like Black people are easy prey because no one cares.

Do you think Black boys

Most
definitely! Mentally,

we

What do you do to help unite gangs? What I do is show them their life on
figure out,

records, so they can

"Damn, every time Cube rap, he end up in the penitentiary." I just show them all the incidents on the records, and hopefully they'll make the right decisions.

Did the movie help?

Oh yeah, it was straight up truth. That's the only reason I did it.

why

did

it.

That's

My

So, what's next for you? record. That's the most important thing right now. It should be ready in September. It's called Death Certificate.

Is it
I'll

gonna be harder than Amerikkka's Most Wanted?

Why do you think there is so much killing?

the easiest way to solve a conflict. Guns are available and kids now are just cold. The thing is we don't make any guns. They have gun shops in LA, you can buy a shot gun or a hundred of them if you wanted to. Plus, the hot guns on the street. Guns are easy to get. LA is like Vietnam with concrete. The enemy you are supposed to be fighting look just like the ones you supposed to be helping. It also starts with babies. Parents shove bottles in their mouths. The bottle is not living, the bottle is Similac. A product. It ain't as good as the breast. When you breast feed you're not only giving them food, you are giving them life. After they get a certain age, parents stick them in front of the television and that's the worst shit.

Fighting

is

you be the judge of that. The lyrics are more deeper than Amerikkka's Most Wanted because some of the records were supposed to be NWA's records and I had different views then. When I got around Chuck, my eyes opened more. That's why I did records like "The Product" or "Dead Homiez." It wasn't all about being a super killer, it's all about being real,
let

putting

down

the 411.

There has also been some talk about you leaving

Priority Records. Is that true? I hate Priority. This might be my last album. If they don't release me I'll just produce and run Street Knowledge, because I refuse to be a hoe.

So are they pimping you?

All record

Are you saying TV creates a

community?

companies are exploiting the

the artist.
I

artists

because they

lot of

crime in our

get paid

much more than

ain't

Hell yeah! Look at "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous." Kids watch that shit and they want the same shit. They look at their house and they're like, "Fuck, I need money."

them motherfuckers getting. Fuck that, I

get paid.

They

get paid like get double, triple what I'm

wanna

going out like that.

And now back

to the regularly scheduled program...

Why fuck the police?

Knowledge, Knowledge!

Ql

THE SOURCE

SEPTEMBER 1991

JOHN SINGLETON CONT.

happen. I wrote that character around Cube. I wanted all of to play his boyz bu t then that shit went down with them. But Cube came through.

NWA

Three months later we hooked up. He was real professional to work with, he'd never be late or none of that. He was committed to the project. Everyone was real committed to the project. It wouldn't have happened if there wasn't that commitment. The film was shot in an area called the "Rolling Sixties" in Crenshaw,

I ^[^^H
^^^HB
j|m
j

z > LU H CO Q
LJ

CO

(South Central). They call it the Rolling Sixties cuz there's this gang called "The Sixties" up in there. The Fruit of Islam worked on our film as security. You take a Black film with a Black crew, Black security, in a Black neighborhood, and the kids on the block, the gangs in the hood, everybody's gonna give you respect. There's no reason for us not to work
together.

TOEBF
John Singleton
directs

a scene with Larry Fishburne

There are lots of extremely talented Black filmmakers out You have people like Spike who are beginning to break down the discrimination that effects distribution. For me Spike is like a hero. I mean he's our generation's Melvin Van Peebles. I have a different voice than Spike. People are always going to want to compare any new Black filmmaker to Spike. He's a
here.

to make the Black one with the most riff, the most self hatred, was very intentional. Fuck what white people are doing, they're gonna be doing what that anyway. Black policemen have an obligation to serve their community. The first people to support Darryl Gates after the Rodney King incident was "The Black Policeman's Association." Black police ain't got no business showing out for white police. L.A. is a car culture. We play our music in our cars. So in the film I wanted all of the music to come from a source, from cars or radios. The music is a part of the integral structure.

The decision

police officer the

You got

to

CO

go in Hollywood and turn it out,

take that

o H m < m z

CO

money
shit.

and buy our

own

reference point and that's cool. I look at what he's done in Brooklyn, giving his money back to the community, setting up shop and shit, and I know that no matter

how bad
own

it

seems

I'll

never leave Los

Angeles. You got to go in Hollywood and turn it out, take that money and buy our
shit.

The whole Hip-Hop

sensibility, culture

and

politics are in

gave the script to Russell Simmons [CEO of Def Jam]. I went to him and I was like yo, I need 2 million dollars to do this movie and he was like "yeah yeah right." He tried to fade me cuz he didn't know who I was from Adam. Then he read my script and told the studio it was the dopest shit he'd
Initially I

ever read.
I met Ice Cube at this rally the Nation of Islam had called "Save the Black Family," in 1988. When the minister [Farrakhan] speaks, Bloods, Crips all of them come together and have showdowns on who could give the most money. Later I saw Cube at this PE concert in Hollywood. I was stranded and he gave me a ride home. He popped in a rough mix of Amerikkka's Most Wanted. I got him to commit to play Doughboy. I didn't have a dime but I knew it was gonna

about the culture without having someone on screen, rapping, that's a video. In the next few years a lot of booty wack Black films are going to come out and flop and that's gonna make it hard for young, Black filmmakers. Then you're gonna have directors try to pass their work off as Hip-Hop films. They think if they use the word "homeboy" or "G" they can be legit or down. You qualify your legitimacy by going back and giving back to the community you're drawing from. You've got brothas as diverse as X-Clan and K-Solo or De La out there telling stories on wax. Why can't we transfer those stories to a filmic language? It's all about telling your stories. We need to concentrate on writing good material about these stories. I'm looking forward to that.
to write a film

this movie. There's a

way

THE SOURCE

SEPTEMBER 1991

DOIN' THE

KNOWLEDGE

foodstamps or of young Black mothers who have babies solely to get government aid
did

more

to fuel the callous, anti-welfare

still

sentiment (which

exists today)

more

than any newspaper editorial or academic study on the issue. Or the popular gang member-as-Godzilla stories make it too easy for our society to choose incarceration
over rehabilitation, meaning that countless,
pathetic drug addicts or unemployable

minority

men get locked up

hint of compassion

by

James Bernard
he

without any instead of getting help

be so backward
if

or jobs. Perhaps our country's economic or

social policies wouldn't

WHEN
animalistic. In fact,

interviewed

my

suit jacket. After this pause,

"I

gang members
incarcerated in

Southern California,

was amazed

at

how

sharply these so-called

"criminal animals" differed from the
public's perception of them.
I

did not meet

anyone who was stupid or crazy or

amid shocking tales of massive drug deals and ruthless violence, I saw a certain logic to their reactions to the choices dealt to them by society, choices that I, for one, have never had to face. During that week at the prison, I asked many questions some were incredibly naive and some were a little more informed. At one point, I was engaged in this long,

surprisingly friendly discussion with a

would change the funeral scene. They made it seem as if we didn't care about our homeboys. Then I would show the anger and the need," he said, echoing a refrain I heard a lot that week. Looking me dead in the eye, he glowered, "Man, you don't know hatred until you see your boy, your best friend, lying dead in the street. I hate them [Crips] worst than I hate the Ku Klux Klan. And you don't know hunger until you go to your nigga's house and see his folks eating leftover oatmeal for dinner." He's right: I don't know. I soon realized that his mood change wasn't because I was an idiot, but because no one had ever asked him about his opinion before. He has never had a chance to tell his own story
prior to our interview. It wasn't only him:
I'll

answered me.

more welfare mothers or young Black and Latino men had the opportunity to bumrush the show as whimsically as Reagan, Bush or anyone else in the opinionmaking apparatus.
In this light, these times continue to

amaze me. As you know, hip-hop has made

the "means of production" available to
people who were never supposed to be heard from, namely young Black folks
and, increasingly, young Latino folks. Hiphop has allowed creative young people like Cypress Hill, Ice Cube, Luther Campbell or Yo-Yo to broadcast their experiences, hopes and dreams without having to get the

permission of publishing companies, record

companies or the FBI It's easy to overlook what this has meant, but I can't. When I

was

in junior high school, I'd don't think

young, 21-year old Blood member.

off so well that

We hit it

understood the significance of Malcolm

X or

he slipped (and quickly

never forget how utterly

human

all

and called me "blood," a term of endearment usually reserved for other gang members (the Crips
apologized) a couple of times
call

each other
is,

"cuz").
I

members were during our discussions, how my illusions about them were shattered and how I wished that they had the opportunity to tell their stories
these gang

knew much about Black history. But Chuck D and KRS-One changed all that. I don't
even think
I

had the capacity

of)

(and be proud

my own rage,

asked him about "Colors," the Dennis Hopper-directed, Sean Penn-starring movie. I asked, "What would you change about 'Colors,' if you had the chance?" Then, he got quiet. I thought that I had played myself in the worst way possible. The tie that I was wearing (so I would not be confused for an inmate in the event of a "disturbance" or "emergency")

That

until

more

often.

with a swagger, to call motherfucka. But Ice Cube and

understand walk myself a bad

to to

NWA

Telling one's

own

story

is

very

important in America. And not only in some artsy-fartsy way. Our political and
social culture is

changed all of that. More importantly, my younger peers do not have to go through
the confusion and pain that
I

experienced.

based on myths, fables

and narratives
eats,

and in many, painfully

who

real ways, these stories determine

who goes to jail and who gets the most desirable jobs. For example, Ronald
Reagan's oft-repeated tales of welfare mothers who buy steak and caviar with

seemed awfully

tight at the

moment, and

my armpits

suddenly became sticky under

Hip-hop tells our story. This storytelling is happening on a larger scale than I ever imagined. NWA shot to number one on the pop charts, LL Cool J stayed in the top thirty for much of the year and other artists like Public Enemy, Ice Cube, Yo-Yo and Digital

tall Black stood in the cockpit with trouble if you don't give us any," the Black

The

man

a cocked gun

man

in his hand. He aimed it at the back stated harshly. From the way the man had spokt\

"Where to?" the captain inquired

softly.

"When we get
can bet
it

will

ground I'll personally let you knout, " Zeke replied, then smiled. "Wherevt be where a Black man is treated like a man. Yes indeed! It's goin' sure 'nuffbe when
off the

c^ THE SOURCE

SEPTEMBER 1991

A Shudder
Underground charted very
juggernaut
is

well.

And

this

Through The
Halls of Justice
Thurgood Marshall, the
first

not restricted to music. Far

from

it:

there are nineteen films by Black

coming out this year alone, more Black films than in the entire decade before. With cinematic successes of New Jack City, The Straight Outta Brooklyn and Boyz being broadcast to Hood, a Black vision is all of America like never before. Yes, people
directors

Black Supreme Court Justice, retires

the past,
I

said the

same about the Blacksploitation era

always skipped the newspaper's Supreme Court section

Its

of twenty years ago, but yesterday's

filmmakers didn't entrench themselves institutionally like Spike Lee, Matty Rich

In

because the details of

decisions did not grab

In

my

Interest and,
I

and John Singleton are doing right now.

will

We

anyway, the comics were more fun.

the past four years,

skipped

hear from these artists for at least four or five years because of the production deals
that they are signing today. This, of course,

Supreme Court news because

I'm too scared to see

what

horrible

things they've done, sitting In Judgement far from anything remotely

mirrors what Ice Cube

is

doing with Street

resembling

reality.

These days, the comics are more attractive than

its

ever.

Knowledge Productions, what Eazy E has done with Ruthless and what Hammer (yes, Hammer) has done with Bust It
Productions

Last June, the nation's highest court ended

1990-91 term with

on
civil liberties

institutionalize,
is

two decisions that cap a year fueled by a

and
civil

rabid assault

institutionalize, institutionalize.

rights in the

name

of fighting crime. First, the Court allowed

The

picture

not as rosy as

suggest.

Michigan to lock

first-time, nonviolent offenders

away

for life without

Neither New Jack City nor Jungle Fever

were distributed very widely, even though

their per-screen take

parole. Ronald A. Harmelln, the case's defendant

who was caught

with a

was very

high.

Women
I

pound of coke, describes himself as a user who was desperately trying to

feed his habit.

have been notably absent, as have been

people of other racial minorities.

And

He needed

help, not a

life

sentence. The other decision

haven't seen the

same

level of

mass-

produced activity other than Todd Haynes' Poison and the much-discussed Thelma and
Louise

allows Juries to look at the victim's circumstances

when sentencing

from

people. Putting retribution over rehabilitation, such factors have nothing

to do with the defendants' "moral culpability." This society

white folks with an

will continue to

alternative vision. And, although the Hip-

seems
itself.

hell-

Hop Renaissance has and

bent on fighting so-called criminals instead of fighting crime

reach millions of people, our generation has

yet to produce a great poet (other than Paul Beatty, whose Big

For over forty years, Thurgood Marshall has been the leading

Bank Take

Little

Bank

crusader for

civil rights. It's

not an overstatement to say that he's been

you should check out) or novelist similar to the giants of the great Harlem Renaissance of the 1930's like Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston. Just by speaking up, the Hip-Hop Generation cannot be ignored. Though we've already had a huge impact on thic culture, we've only yet begun. Our generation has great promise. We have many stories to tell and many debates to spark. It's too late to turn back; our lives, hopes and dreams depend on our ability to be heard.

the moral conscience of the legal world. As the chief counsel of the

NAACP, he argued the Infamous Brown

v.

Board of Education

In

1954 and

countless other important cases. As the

first

Black on the Supreme Court,

Marshall Injected a bit of street knowledge into his opinions, making sure
that nobody forgets that real people's lives should matter In the often-

bookish legal world.

Marshall retired at the end of last year's term. Obviously frustrated

by his

Inability to Influence majority

decisions In this conservative era and

liberal ally,
life.

the loss of Justice Brennan, his major

Marshall leaves a proud

the co-pilot's head. "It ivon't be any the pilots kneiv he meant business.
ve go," Zeke said offhandedly, "you

trail

of

work to which he dedicated

his

Unfortunately,

we could

lose

his legacy at the

sweep

of a pen, a nightmare which Increasingly looks a

for.

Black

man can be a man."

future

we must

prepare

Donald Goines, from Kenyatta's Escape

JAMES BERNARD
THE SOURCE

SEPTEMBER 1991

ON THE VIDEO

TIP

part, the treasures that are

hidden away in

But

for

most of these early rap historians,

by Captain Video

the rap film archives will probably never see

the light of day.

a large part of the appeal was being part of a

scene where anything seemed to be possible.
Recalls

Included in the collection are gems like

Ruza Blue,
I'd

the original promoter of

INSIDE
the Gold Vaults of

TV show featuring performances by Run DMC, The

"Graffiti Rock," a one-hour

the infamous hip-hop spot The Roxy,

"sometimes
night and

walk

into the place

on a Friday

Treacherous Three, Afrika Bambaataa and Jazzy Jay, which seems even doper now because of its TV format coming off more like
"Soul Train" than the South Bronx. There's

have to pinch myself that's how unbelievable the energy level and the people
I'd

you'd see there were."

Rap Video
The early days
of breakdancing, rapping, and
graffiti

documentary on the evolution of graffiti co-produced by Henry Chalfonte and Tony Silver under a grant from the National Endowment For The Arts. Also, in
"Style Wars," a

Such was the drawing power of rap for Michael Holman, whose first exposure to hip-hop came in the subway as he watched the
evolution of graffiti from half-car to full car to

1985, the British Broadcasting Corporation

(BBC) did a documentary on rap which

featured footage of the legendary

D J Kool

Here

scratching,

parties on Sedgewick
original

and home movies of his first Avenue with the b-boys Clark Kent and Wallace

way to his Wall Street job. Curious about who was creating this, Holman managed to track down Fab Five Freddie after reading a blurb about him in the Village Voice. Freddie, in turn, invited Holman down to a
full

train on the

performance by the

Rock Steady Crew

at

have become

Dee. And many remember "Wild Style," the 1984 feature documentary co-produced by Charlie Ahearn and Blondie's Chris Stein, starring Fab Five Freddie and Busy Bee, and featuring performances by the Cold

The Kitchen, a performance art space in lower Manhattan. Impressed by what he saw, Holman soon quit his job and began managing the New York City Breakers. Along the way,
he also made films of such historic events as

Hip-Hop folklore.

Crush Brothers and Grandmaster Flash. And for the TV buffs, there's "Rapping To The
Beat," a 1981 piece that appeared on ABC's

Bambaataa's Zulu Nation gatherings at Bronx River Houses, an awesome battle between Dynamic Breakers and the Rock Steady Crew at Lincoln Center in 1980, and a
series of parties at a small

We tracked down the gems of Old School

footage that help the

and was produced by Danny Schecter, who later became involved with the show "South Africa Now." In addition to

show

"20/20,"

downtown

nightclub called Negril that later became The

Roxy. But like

many
it

of his peers,

Holman

legend

live on.

an in-the-studio look at the recording of the song "Showdown" a battle between the Sugar Hill Gang and The Furious Five the piece features a performance by the Funky Four Plus One at a giant rap show in Harlem, and it examines the origins of rap, its educational uses in the classroom, and the

eventually became disillusioned with the

scene. In his case,
to turn "Graffiti

came

in 1984

when plans

show

fell

apart as a

Rock" into a regular weekly TV station necessary to

secure the deal

demanded an under-the-table
first

cash payment.

"When I was

involved in rap

it

seemed

Barely
those

more than

fifteen
is

years old, hip-hop

fear with which rap is perceived by middleAmerica. Remember: this was in 1981.

light years hipper

and more experimental,"

says Holman, looking back on the differences

experiencing a wave of
nostalgia that
is

Like the rappers,

graffiti writers

and

putting

Old-School styles, dress,

breakdancers they documented, the early chroniclers of rap weren't in it for the money.

and musical

selections

into the world of today's

hip-hop fans. But for

who want a

real fix of that

Old School
movies,
real

flavor, it is the

documentaries,

home

news reports and specials that are the gems in the gold vaults of rap video.
it

MTV producer Cathe Neukum expressed

this

way: "In contrast to the stories and

rap, these

myths that have grown up around

that you can take a look at

films provide the ultimate reality check in

Most were coming to rap from another place and culture and many were white. For some, the attraction was the sheer "bugginess" of the music and the mixes which at that time might swing at any given moment from the "Andy Griffith" theme song, to James Brown, to The Incredible Bongo Band. For others, like Steven Hager (now editor of High Times Magazine), it was "the challenge of documenting a culture which had been evolving for over ten years, but which was
virtually ignored by the media." In 1984,

between then and now. "These days it seems like rappers are coming out with samples that are designed to appeal to white middle class kids in Scarsdale." And bringing up a point of
view expressed by several people interviewed for this story, Danny Schecter says, "I have a

problem with some of the social values that are conveyed in rap nowadays. A lot of people are posers they have the fire and brimstone,

but they don't have the vision that

coalesce a political

it

takes to

movement

that

is

capable

of achieving social change." Like the archives

of film that represent their contributions to rap, these filmmakers

them and see immediately, wow, these people and places actually did exist and this is what they looked
like."

product of their times,

part of was as good as

and historians are a and what they were a

its gets.

Recently

Neukum gave

viewers a taste
for the

of what is out there in

MTVs "Rapumentary
most

Hager changed that with his book Hip Hop: The Illustrated History of Break Dancing, Rap Music and Graffiti (St. Martin's Press), which remains to this day one of the most
historically accurate books

Captain Video (Mark Weinstein) is an independent video promoter whose company,

R'n'R Freelance, works with many rap Contact him at (212) 727-3014.
acts.

Part

II,"

which she produced. But

on the subject.

THE SOURCE

SEPTEMBER 1991

w
icrophone

Check

BR ONJ>

Tim Dog
lightmare

On

Webster Avenue
by Reginald C. Dennis

t
I

Hli HE SOUTH

BRONX.
What do you have to say about the attention that the West Coast has been getting lately? As far as creativity is concerned we all know that the East Coast really kicks ass. Not to say that the West isn't creative, but
as
far

Ground Zero. Tim Dog is on a mission. After years of underground success

as a

member

of the Ultra-

^^^^
to bring the

_^^H

magnetic MC's, he has

decided to strike out on
the solo
tip.

His mission:

It's not like you don't have skills on the mic. You don't really need to make dis records. Why lower yourself to gimmicks? You got groups like NWA who use stupid,

to serve justice to the lyrically impaired,

His

first

and Bronx back to the realm of rap. release "Fuck Compton" is nothing

old loops

and

just

come

out and curse on a

as

NWA
fuck

is

concerned, they can't

record and go "bitch suck

bitch that,"

my

dick; bitch this

hang on the
they
they...

lyrical tip.

Compared
is

to

me
but

less than a declaration of war. But this time

it's

ain't shit.

Not
it,

to say they're

wack

not the South Bronx vs.

vs. the world.

Queens

it's

the

South Bronx

wack. The muhfukas don't have any kind of lyrical skills, they just pop this unrealistic shit
they

aw

and they blow up. If you really think about it, it's doing something to rap. NWA has been out for three years and they still talkin' about the same shit. I'm not just tryin to dis NWA I'm not on their dick like
that

about what happens

in
I

the streets and that

all

I'm dissin'
I

of this bullshit

in

the

Why "Fuck Compton?"

Well
It's

shit ain't happenin'.

listened to their

new

industry.

got a song on

my album
like

called

how about why

not "Fuck

Compton?"
it's all

simple,

them muhfukas

think

about them
industry

when

album and all they girls, and that shit

talk
is

about

is

shootin

"No More Happy Rap,"

commercialized rappers

that disses

ridiculous.

Kid-N-Play,

it's

not.
in

They

think

they're the hardest group

when they're
it

the rap

Don't you think

think

NWA has some

not.

And they

they got
'em.

goin'

on when they don't, so fuck

don't always agree with them but I think they make good records. I'm not dissin' them just to be dissin' them.
skills?
I

..all these commercial rappers who just get on the mic and talk and because they got polka

Kwame, Young MC,

Vanilla Ice.

bullshit

dot shirts on, dye

in

their hair or

have crazy

hi-top fades. That's

what

I'm against.

Isn't

having a record like this going

it

I'm doin'

it

so people out

in

to cause some static and make hard for you to perform in LA?
I'm not the least bit

Oklahoma

where they be

Chicago and
sayin'

On "Fuck Compton," you

I

talk

about

the only nigga's that's hardcore

can know
it

NWA

is

Dre's girlfriend Michel'le...

dissed
her.. .its a street thing.

concerned about doin' shows out there because Compton ain't the hardest neighborhood in LA. I've had friends in South Central say to me, "Thank God you did that record," because they can't even get their props, or get recording deals because you got bullshit, stupid A&R people at record companies who think that

what's up. I'm dissin' them because

terrible injustice in this industry

is

dis a brother

and make
If

it

If you want to have some effect,

when

you

Compton
signing
all

is

the hardest neighborhood,

these groups who are supposedly from Compton. Not only do have no worries about doing shows in LA, have no fear. I'm straight from the streets,
I

muhfukas can't get recording deals because of muhfukas like NWA. You got muhfukas that want to sign you just because you from Compton. You got bullshit groups out like Compton's Most Wanted, and DJ Quik, who got this gigantic jherri curl wig on, big pit bull nose havin' muhfukah who can't rhyme for shit comin' out sellin records because he saying he's born and raised in Compton. If that's the
case,

man he's gonna know Dre is, he's gonna be quiet about mean he beat Dee [Barnes, the host of "Pump Up"] up because she had Ice Cube on the show that shows you what kind of pussy he
dis his
girl.

he's a real
like
I

respond.

If

he's pussy

it.

if

It

is.

Couldn't he step to her correctly and

his feelings

speak

on the matter?

If

Dre

thinks that beatin' up on a

Dee

who
is

woman

like

is

a positive role

people
nigga

cool, then

model for Black he needs to step to a

so can beat up he wants some of
, I

who

gives a fuck about

Compton?

like

"D." Tim
like that.

D-O-G
If

them muhfukas don't put no fear

heart.

in

my

want

to bring

back

lyrical

texture to rap.

on

his

ass

this...

come and

get some.

THE SOURCE

SEPTEMBER 1991

REGIONAL REPORT
the mic and showed us what they got. I was watching "Donahue" recently to see

packed house of heads, including a bald Ice

New York
BY COLONEL EARL
lately. There is no club out right now that has much-desired achieved the combination of playing the dopest jams, providing a secure atmosphere, and promoting the mating habits of the human species. The weekly jam Daddy's House has been the party coming closest to achieving

show on female rap artists, featuring guests MC Lyte, Bytches With Problems, Yo-Yo, Harmony, and Jazzy Joyce at the turntables. The show started off like the typical talk show that's doing its "groundbreaking" story on rap Donahue
his

The

NYC

club scene has been on the

crazy

down low

these requirements, yet as of late this event has had to deal with fights and unfriendly
police task forces.

phase that New York year at this time is going through, but kicked ass with Powerhouse having the lock on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. Presently, the choices for a good time are not that obvious and there is nothing really to convince all your boys to roll. Things will hopefully heat up for the New Music Seminar

Maybe

this is just a

last

asking the basic introductory type questions, and the same old dumb questions coming from audience members who just want to get on camera. Despite these drawbacks I admit I do feel pride when the non hip-hop culture gets exposed to a music that is the most progressive out right now. That's why it was so frustrating to see certain guests getting into a verbal battle about the virtues of Black womanhood on national television. I'm not judging who's right or wrong, I am just complaining about the final effect this has on the overall image that legitimate rap portrays. Whatever the disagreements were, this was definitely not the proper forum to air them. "Colonel" Earl Scott is an A&R manager
at

Cube (no more jheri curl), DJ Alladin, Crazy Toons, the Loc Tribe and many others. Also performing at the U.N. were Main Source and Son of Bazerk. While Son of Bazerk was in town, he got extra busy all over town, promoting his new MCA/SOUL album. He did performances at Fantasia and Jamaica House as well as a booming listening party complete with soul food, a James Brown impersonator and a live performance by S.O.B. Other local groups hitting wax include African Unity on A&M/TABU. Their first track, "I Love The Way You Make Me Feel,
is

a dope little new jack type groove. On their LP, expect more diverse material including

more underground material as well as some reggae-flavored tracks. Also just out on Qwest
Records is the Poet Society's first single "Catastrophe." This local LA. group is hooked

up with Snoopy (a.k.a. Quincy D) and has been tearing up shows lately. Kev's stage presence and an always creative dance show
set the Poet Society's live

performance above

RAL Def Jam.

I

in mid-July.

One

of the bright spots lately

was Boogie

Down

Production's

free outdoor concert in

Central Park. The African/world music act named Blaze did a decent set to open up the show, but by the time KRS-One stepped to the mic there was no doubt who knew the rules. In the shining sun and 90+ degree heat, Kris, Willie D, Heather B and DJ Kenny Parker had the crowd jumping up and down to the BDP classics, and grooving to some cuts from the new album, Sex & Violence ("'cause that's what sells," Kris
explained).

Los Angeles
BYDJP

First genre big

coined in this column, the next of rap music is here:

"Gangster Jazz." We're talking

about hardcore gangster lyrics over smooth jazz beats. Originated by buddha master Skatemaster Tate, this new sound comes from the West Coast and will be featured on the Stone Cold Boners' new Acid Jazz LP with guest vocalists from the

KRS

also held a listening party at

S.O.B.'s for his upcoming label called Edutainer Records (to be distributed by Elektra). The first release is an album called Civilization Vs. Technology by a conglomerate of artists known as H.E.A.L. (Human Education Against Lies). The first single is a star-studded affair called "Heal Yourself," and the stuff I heard was nothing to sleep on. Kool Moe Dee had a release party for his new album in the VIP room at Red Zone. The joint was jumping to the dopest hip-hop, there was an open bar and free food. No complaints
here.
scene, as well as

Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. and Cypress

Hill

scheduled to drop science. Speaking of Cypress Hill, their new Columbia/Ruffhouse LP should be pumping on the streets now. The crazy street buzz on Cypress is well-warranted, with a hyper new
style. Picture

something
at the

like

Brand Nubian

meet Ice Cube

Compton Swap Meet.

Oakland native Too Short made the Ms. Melodie and the usual

crew of industry partygoers. Yo, I'm definitely down wit' the Flavor Unit's latest contribution to the hip-hop scene, Naughty By Nature (just out on Tommy Boy). They rocked shit at the new Thursday night Daddy's House. The Tommy

posse was in full effect Tom Silverman, Monica Lynch, Albee, Cathy, etc. Also, the Flavor Unit was loomin' kinda large Lakim Shabazz and Apache got on

Boy

many blunts, they go East LA. and make a really dope record. to Yo Holmes, know what I'm saying? Also on Columbia and stirring up a lot of controversy in Cali is Tim Dog (of Ultramagnetic M.C.s fame) with his new record "Fuck Compton," where Tim Dog proceeds to dis N.W.A, Michel'le, Ice Cube and the whole city of Compton. Any plans for a promotional trip to Cali soon? On the promotional tip, Tommy Boy group
After a few forty's and

Naughty By Nature came

to

town and

ripped their show at the United Nations. Treach showed the skills Head rapper that got him his record deal, igniting a

MC

THE SOURCE

SEPTEMBER 1991

many

local crews.

The Poet

Society's dancers

Jump

and Jazzy
tip.

are also getting busy on the business

Shane
all

Mooney
L.A.

(Jump)

is

making Power Moves

over

BROTHAS & SISTAS OF THE

HIP

and Malik Levy (Jazzy) has been named of Black Promotion for Quality Records. Quality is stepping up and showing an increased interest in hip-hop with Malik on staff and

HOP NATION:
CALLED TO ORDER TO

Head

WE ARE
CLOCKWISE

DISCUSS THE POWER AND

POTENTIAL OF THE "SAFE &
FROM
LEFT:

several local rap groups on the label, including

Positive Generation and

Lighter Shade of

Brown.

POSITIVE HIP-HOP CLUB". THE HIP-HOP CLUB SCENE IN NYC

On
Eight

the live funk

is

tip,

L.A.

band Section
Latifah rips the mic for Jamal- Ski and fans at DJ P's spot "Brass," in

definitely in the house. Described as the

group of young Black and South Central ain't no joke. Latino kids from Also on the multi-racial funk band tip, we have L.A. homeboys Fade 2 Black. The group's leader, rapper Fade, looks like a P.L.O. terrorist ready to hijack your plane or sell you a Slurpee. Any crazy stunt will do; he has come out rapping
J.B.'s of the 90's, this

LA. PHOTO: JOSH TILLMAN

AND ELSEWHERE ACROSS THE COUNTRY IS IN DANGER OF BECOMING EXTINCT AND "THE SAFE & POSITIVE HIP-HOP CLUB" IS VIRTUALLY NONEXISTANT. WE CANNOT AFFORD TO LET THIS HAPPEN THE RESTRICTION OF RAP MUSIC ON RADIO IS BAD ENOUGH, BUT FOR IT TO CEASE IN NITECLUBS WOULD BE INSUFFERABLE. THERE WOULD BE NO OUTLET FOR OUR D.J.'S AND LIVE PERFORMERS, AND NO WAY FOR OUR PEOPLE TO ENJOY THEM.

Too Short, Blackwatch's Pam and Harmony, Kangol, Ms.Melodie and D-Nice celebrate with Kool Moe Dee at his release party, Red Zone, NYC. PHOTO: AL PEREIRA
Isis,

in a diaper before. (Fade, that

overall, they get the

was

booty.) But,

crowd going and get real

President of Power Move,

KRS-One edutains the crowd

Central Park,

in

funky.

photo: al pereira

DJ P

(Paul Stewart)

is

an independent, street-level promotion and management company. Reach him at 715 N. Gardner / Los Angeles, CA 90046 or fax him at
(213) 653-1019.

Jarobi and Richie Rich chillin' at Daddy's House, NYC. PHOTO: ricardo
"FISH"

NAAR

background: Daddy's House, NYC.

WE CREATED

(PHOTO: PHILLIPE NOISETTE)

DADDY'S HOUSE AT THE RED ZONE IN NYC TO FEED THE SOUL OF THE HIPHOP NATION. WE ALSO SET THE STANDARD FOR ALL HIP-

HOP CLUBS TO COME. WE MADE RULES: ALL ARE COME WELCOME, BUT

CORRECT. RESPECT & SAFETY

FOREMOST ARE OUR CONCERNS. IN THE PAST SOME IGNORANT ATTEMPTS HAVE BEEN MADE TO SABOTAGE OUR SACRED
MEETING PLACES.
IF

WE FUCK

UP NOW, THE SUCCESS OF

EVERY POSITIVE HIP-HOP SPOT IN THE COUNTRY WILL SUFFER, PROBABLY TO THE POINT OF EXTINCTION. WE CAN RESPECT THE SPACE, THE PEOPLE & THE MUSIC, OR WE CAN FIGHT S DESTROY OUR OWN SHIT DADDY'S HOUSE IN NYC & NOW DADDY'S HOUSE AT THE PALLADIUM IN LOS ANGELES ARE TWO OF THE LAST PLACES THAT THE NATION CAN PARTY NO HOLDS BARRED...
IS AN OPEN PLEA TO THE BROTHAS & SISTAS OF

THIS LETTER

THE HIP-HOP NATION TO SUPPORT DADDY'S HOUSE &

EVERY OTHER POSITIVE S

RESPECTFUL HIP-HOP EVENT, NITECLUB OR PERFORMANCE IN THE WORLD.
PEACE,

PUFF DADDY
JESSICA ROESENBLUM
ALL THAT PRODUCTIONS

BRAT ENTERTAINMENT

THE SOURCE

SEPTEMBER 1991

Detroit
BY CHEEKS AND JEFF WOODS
Breed's making noise with "Ain't No Future In Your Frontin'" off the self-titled album on the Ichiban Label. Other slammin' cuts are "Just Kickin' It" and "Better Terms." Detroit Records is a new label that's stepped on the scene with a release entitled "Detroit Is Back." Throwing on the cut are T-Bone and the Taxman, CST, Kool Sweet Terry, A.K.D. and Double D., and it's produced by William Lundy. G.B.K.'s gettin' busy with their release "Straight Off 7 Mile" on Raw Dog Records. Triplex is set to go on a promotional tour to push their album, Guilty Until Proven Innocent, any day now. is a new hip-hop/doo-wop group out of Lansing, MI, who are about to sign with a major label. The battle of the underground crews is on: The "Give Me That Motherfuckin' Mic" Showdown is set for early September. We'll keep you posted. Unsigned hype spotlight goes to Jeopardy, two dope female MCs whose tags are Shady D and Reesee. They're flowing with a hip-hop/house

Bay Area
BY BILLY JAM
is what natives call the Northern Sac-town (Sacramento), the state capitol, and Davis, a neighboring college town. DJ Zen at Davis' KDVS is a major supporter of the healthy local rap scene which has spawned names such as Homicide, Fonke Socialistiks, King Royal D, Royal Mixxers, Techni-Crew and Asiatic Apostles. The main obstacles facing these artists, he says, is "the lack of a real viable club scene" coupled with commercial radio's reluctance to get behind rap. Despite all of this resistance, crews such as Davis' promising Asiatic Apostles (AA) continue to surface. What makes AA unique is that they are one of the nation's few Asian rap groups. "We plan to be the Public Enemy for Asians," predicts D. Yee of the trio whose slammin' demo tape's songs are "based on the history of Asian Americans. They deal with issues like the glass ceiling concept and the model minority concept," he says of the songs like "Man In The Mirror" and "All I Need Is Me" which present the "Asian agenda," one that tackles racism and stereotyping. You can contact AA's Minister

MC

"Valley of The Fat Beats"

Cali valley that's

home

to

UNV

of Information, Rizal, at (916) 758-2154.

demo
It,"

that works. Pick hits are "Anyway You Want "Midnight Moan" and the lovely "I'm Looking

For Doctor Feel Good," a cut that's beyond scandalous. As always, any label interested in doing a compilation album featuring Detroit artists, call the Raw Edge at the number below. Contact the Super Promoters, Jeff Woods at (51 7) 321-0132 or Keith Harvard at (313) 885-2977.
Cheeks is Editor of Da Raw Edge, a regional mag. Contact her at (313) 886-1036 or send product to
P.O.

Meanwhile, in Oakland, the rapper to look out for is Seag whose freestylin' abilities caught the attention of the Geto Boys, who invited him down to Houston to join Willie D and Scarface on the debut by Gangster Nip. They returned the favor by appearing on a forthcoming Seag release. In the meantime, check out his impressive debut on True Black Records (415/839-3687) in which he and his SNV crew,

Box 43721,

Detroit,

MI 48243.

CONT.

London
BY BEN SMITH

DJ Lay Law, present their dope style on cut such as "The Dark Road," which heavily samples "The Message" plus sound bites from the 1970s Oakland-based movie, "The Mack." On the slow, smokin' "Straight Mobbin'," Seag shows off what best distinguishes him: his ability to rhyme effortlessly in pig Latin, something oddly missing since Frankie Smith's classic "Double Dutch Bus." While double-Dutch is Seag's forte, straight-ahead Dutch is Upstair's native tongue. Born and raised in Rotterdam, Holland, this San Francisco rapper has travelled throughout Spain, Suriname and Asia. While he raps
featuring
strictly in English, his diverse

The Black Radical MK. II's long-awaited, debut LP, The Undiluted Truth (Mango) is undoubtedly the most militant and politically aware British rap album yet released. This is some intense, no sell-out, supa-fonky shit. Inspired by the work of Malcolm X and the music of PE, the Radical explores issues like separatism, racism and misogyny, which few UK rappers have touched upon in such depth. The Radical's harsh voice tends to dominate but The Undiluted Truth is musically, as well as lyrically, tight with influences ranging from rock to ragga. Be sure to check out the stand-out tracks like "Ingland Is A Bitch," "My Radix Point" and "Sumarli." Son of Noise, an off-shoot of the top underground crew Hardnoise, are the latest signing to Music of Life records with a slammin' tune called "111 Justice." Over an infectious, haunting horn sample and a dope beat, an anonymous rapper takes no shorts, dissing other British rappers, major record labels and radio DJs who've sold out. In a more laid-back style are Dodge City Productions, yet another group to emerge from the vibrant London jazz scene which has already spawned the likes of the Brand New Heavies and the Young Disciples. On their impressive self-produced debut single, "Ain't Goin' For That" (4th & B'way), rappers Dodge and I.G. attack racism over a mellow, jazzy groove complete with guest vocals from Jhelisa Anderson. And listen out for more hype material from Dodge City such as "Come On People" and "New School Poetry." Ben Smith
product
to

musical influences run the gamut from pop and reggae dancehall to Pakistani ragga. On his richlyproduced, mid-tempo "Moving Upstairs" (Oxygen: 415/465-9807), you'll even hear a Spandau Ballet sample. Finally, a special shout-out to Twist for the San Jose's

MC

provocative "1-900-KKK" (Lethal

Beat) in which, over a back beat, he replays some really upsetting outgoing messages from racist groups

such as

WAR (White Aryan

"I recorded it to make people aware of this kind of underground stuff," he said of this disturbing cut which gives out actual numbers for you to call yourself to see just how fucked up some people still

Resistance).

are in 1991.
Billy

Jam

is

an

Irish-born,

a freelance rap journalist working in London. Send all British and American 60 Gloucester Crescent, London NW1 7EG. Or fax him at 071-482-7220.
is

based journalist,

DJ and VJ.

OaklandReach

him

at (415) 658-4293.

THE SOURCE

AUGUST 1991

'

d'9/>

COLD FRONT
Rap compilation
The storm has arrived - 12 slammin artists - 12 slammin tracks!
'

MAIN SOURCE* SWEET EBO

BASE POET* DREAM WARRIORS
K.G.B.*NU

BLACK NATION R&R

KISH*SONYAUVETOP SECRET

MAESTRO FRESH-WES* FRESH B

in stor&s
Available on Cassette,

now!
Disc,

Compact

and Vinyl LP

Reg TM

RECORDS
MAKIN'
For

IT

HAPPEN

more information contact Alexander Mair

in

Toronto

Fax (416)

532-9545

Executive Produced by:Johnbronski

CROSSOVER
"Why do you need

Brothers
From Another Planet
by

something to

describe

it?"

Kim Green
asks Don,

"It's just

music."

DEFINITION OF SOUND

and "hardcore" have no and rhythmic are more like it. Love and Life: A Journey With The Chameleons, Definition of Sound's debut album, is music made by rappers. With the relentlessness of rap's strong beats and heady messages accented by formal song writing and soul vocals, the album is orchestral magic. The key
"hype,"
place here. Melodic, poetic
to Definition of

To

discuss Definition Of Sound, I had to acquire a new vocabulary. The handiest superlatives used to
praise rap music like "dope,"

Sound,

is

realizing that they

The

11 -track

album borders on

R&B

at

are English rappers. Fueled by the

same

times, teeters on rock three times, but

the problem of not being able to accept different forms of music. If Black music
stations aren't picking us up,
it?"
it

frustrations of American youth, yet inspired by

England's inner-city landscape, the subtle yet crucial differences between Black Americans and the Black British become suddenly apparent.
Definition of Sound
is

always stubbornly maintains its rap power. vocal presence of songstress, Elaine Vessell, brings yet another Black, British

will

hurt us."
describe

The

"Why do you need something to

star to the forefront.

tracks.

Her

sultry renderings

are put to excellent use on five of the 1

The Don and

On

her songs, the rapping takes a

Kevwon, whose name was tailor-made for American accents to pronounce "Kev-1." Kevwon and The Don, both of West Indian descent, grew up in government subsidized housing at the outskirts of London. "We grew up listening to Sam Cooke and Nat King Cole and whatever our parents were listening to on the radio, but on our own we listened to 'nuff reggae," explains The Don. With a voracious love for American rap, Kevwon cites Bambaataa, Doug E. Fresh, Run DMC, Puba Maxwell and Tragedy as some of his
favorites. Oddly, those musical syles are not

backseat. "Everyone in this business has an

asks Don, "It's just music. Black people invented rock and roll, they've got to wake up and start reclaiming it. There's hardly any music that doesn't have a Black base." Kevwon adds, "We come over here, it's Black
stations,

present in DOS' music, only in their manner and speech. "Coming from an English perspective, we just make the music we like. I don't think our sound is completely a definable one, because we use so many different influences," says Kevwon. "Love and Life..." illustrates interior landscapes. An album devoid of harsh allusions to street life, it is equally compelling with its exploratory questioning of self esteem, hope and the duo's seeming
obesession: categorization. Insightful lyrics
like,

such egoists that we can't her do her thing," says Kevwon. Musical ears wil savor "Now Is Tomorrow," "Passion and Pain," "City Lights" and the reggae-rockin' "Reality." College-radio-aimed "Wear Your Love Like Heaven" and the psychadelic "Maura Jane's Cafe" are strange at first, but Definition of Sound even manages to wring the soul out of these crazy guitar-riffed, retro-rock tracks. Serious rap connoisseurs will favor the agile rapping and insightful lyricism of "Reality," "Rise Like The Sun," "Change," and "Time Is
ego, but we're not
let

concept.

It's

power stations. ..it's an alien bugging us out. The stereotype

is so embedded in the society over here. musical apartheid. In the hypnotic "Rise Like The Sun," Kevwon raps: "To categorize should only emphasize/Your ignorance is not being able to realize/ My potential as an essential, better yet integral part of a plan that is global." D.O.S. is the beginning of rap's latest
It's

move

reincarnation; an

all

encompassing sound

that will most likely

come from the world's

most unexpected corners. These two rap of

quizotic visions with a cool, take-your-time
flow. Their imaginations are vivid

Running Out."
America's format-intense radio

and

for

programming make it nearly impossible for D.O.S and Love and Life to find a suitable place in this land. American rap afficianados
will be

them creating

scenic reality

is

the norm. The

confused by the drastic extremes that

this

album reaches. The blameless

group
like this,

versatility of a

however,

is

D.O.S. sound breathes with jazzy riffs, reggae rhythms and the soul of Elaine Vessell. Their lyrics range from dreamy esoteric poems like in "Dream Girl," to the hard hitting science of "Change": "Just listen.

only symptomatic of the true melting pot

influence that permeates most English

The wall has come down. Nelson

is

out/

Who

music. Across the board: Black and white.

would believe these lyrics could ever come out of my mouth/ In this lifetime, anything
can be
done... all
I

"Levitate gently... striving and striving/

The biggest disappointment

been, "In

in

America has

ask

is

little bit

of
to

just to stay alive in

make

it

worth

livin'/ it's

New York,

it's

not on

BLS

or

change."
That'll be the

you, you're depriving,"

show the group's thoughtful approach to seeking truth.

KISS, so it's not being pushed to the Black community," explains Kevwon. "America has

day when the need

define sound

is

none.

THE SOURCE

SEPTEMBER 1991

(A

s s

5?

X
9
(D
(0 0)
TOE SOURCE

SEPTEMBER 1991

ISHrciHI

EPMD
Parrish desert red 1989 Mercedes Benz 560 SEC approx. cost: $86,000 black onyx 1991 convertible Corvette ZR1 approx. cost: $60,000
-

Erick

J^

midnTigf

les'

Benz 300E

approx. cost: $48,050

mm MB

Vette doing about 125. My ears popped

I

was

o
*

ne time

me

and Erich were racing.

in the
I

and shit
about to

felt like I
I'll

was

fly.

never do

that shit again." PARRISH

mW far

::.:.^j

'

'

'

....

->,

W"

>{

.l

%.
SBSW~3I

r*%
'A
^
a

Eazy E
appr
cost: $81,000

ICET
black 1990 convertible Porsche 930 Turbo approx. value: $98,000
red 1989 Ferrari Mondial approx. value: $140,000
silver

Wjust bought this car after my 1990 750 got totalled. It's an eye catcher. As long as I've ten driving this one, I've seen only four others on the road. I like everything about this car."
9

d* m

w
'

1931 Ford Model A approx. value: $35,000

^0^^ ars are essential pimp fm paraphernalia. You got

*

m
4

to have cars if you're playing, that's part of the game. Plus, I'm richer than a

^^B^

motherfucker, so

you don't like it you can suck my dick. I got a gang of cars. I got Range Rovers and an off-shore boat. I had a lot of this
if

shit before

got into the rap

too."

game

TONE-LOC
silver

1988 convertible Mercedes 500 SEC four-seater, custom made

approx. value: $86,000

lBlm^Fi here are no great Lw stories with this car. mm This is not my 'story car.' I've had this car for three years and it is well-known, even if I'm not in it. Everybody knows whose car this is. I feel sorry for anybody that steals this car because they'll probably get beat up by strangers. It's just a little Benz. I drive this car like a bumper car I run into shit ail the time in it like it's a Pinto or something. Just a little Benz."

^^--Hr
",

r
-

Y
.

'
J
....

_..

'

DMC
$ni

midnight black 1987 Chevy Blazer 4X4 approx. cost: $25,000 nickname: "Big Black Blazer"

//i
f.

he truck

represents

DMC. It fits super-human image like an android

I'm like the
frr'mi

tor,

my boys call
Nigga." And

x
ie

A
*

souped tip, body^L n fuck around -ith'tiiy em. You nn <jo (o',i tub and
l

they'll
irf^,

Jb<^

HO til
.ipd
'

front .in

fcJ^

<j.ifmr .iron

system.
ibout
life.
I

E*{i*r,y

thing

me

is Uir*%pr ttoii

like 'big, strong-

Wk

things that cause

\itive

m
_%f
.jJMto

eneray.

7
f^"W :
.

v--

-"

HEAVY D
white 1991 Toyota Land
Cruiser approx. cost: $35,000

nickname: Monsta

PETE NICE
525i iceland green 1990 approx. cost: $38,000

BMW

towed two weeks ago, and I offered the person, this woman, a box of KMD records, a box of KMD t-shirts, like lOO t-shirts, $400 cash, and a Def Jam jacket, a brand new Def Jam jacket. And she turned it all down. She was like 'I towed Run-DMC and them, I towed KRS, and now I'm

it

'got

towin' you, fuck you'."

tf

'like this ride

'cause

it's

me. I had a vision of how I wanted to hook it up and I did itgot the
rims, got the tires, got the system, and painted it all white. When I'm riding around, nobody knows what it is, everybody has to ask me, what
is

different, nobody has it. It's big, it's roomy, it's fits

that?"

*H0T0 CREDITS: ALICE ARNOLD: HEAVY D MICHAEL BENABIB: EPMD !UE KWON: PETE NICE MICHAEL MILLER: EAZY E & ICE T SHAWN /IORTENSEN: TONE LOC DAVID PEREZ: DMC

RECORD REPORT

albums
Of The

New School
Rating: 4

Future Without A. Past

Elektra Production: artist, Eric Sadler, Stimulated Dummies, Backspin

adolescence and high school. From the problems of growing up ("Too Much On My
Mind"),
girls

extra push.

The tracks incorporate

It

jazz,

ragtime, funk, and rock.

must be hard to

("Feminine Fatt"), peer pressure

immediately to last month's "15 musthave albums" and replace the one you didn't like with the long-awaited debut from the Leaders Of The New School. Although they

Go

call

themselves "new school" there is something different going on here. The sound is like an old school group but with new school
sensibilities.

Ultimately, the best of both schools are

effect,

in

as Busta Rhymes, Charlie Brown, and Dinco D flip lyrics at such an uncontrollable frenzy that at times it seems like this will be the last rap record ever made. Remember how those old Sugarhill 12-inches sounded like they were recorded in the middle of a party? This record delivers that long missing ingredient in these days of serious rap. From the first cut, "Case of the PTA" to the shoutouts, this album is a romp through

(Transformers"), to getting your first car ("Sobb Story"), the lords over nonsense show why they are a modern day version of the Furious Five. Except for one or two spots, this album jumps out of the box and forces you to keep up, especially on "Pinnochio's Theory," "Transformers," and "My Ding A-Ling." But with "Sound Of The Zeekers" the Leaders go for broke and show more flavor than Baskin & Robbins. This cut has more energy than every high school cafeteria, pep rally and school bus trip that you will ever experience. Musically, the leaders have stacked the deck in their favor. Not only are they involved with the production themselves (at times
outstanding), but they enlist the likes of Eric

make a track that can tame the bursting energy of the Leaders, but the job gets done as all the tracks get bumrushed like a substitute teacher. Much respect to the producers for their ability to come up with such original and refreshing beats. More than just a group, L.O.N.S. is a throwback to an era when brothers with golden voices and hearts of steel preformed live on stage without the benefit of prerecorded backing tracks. If you saw the video for "PTA" you know why they're the hardest working band in hip-hop who put on an incredible live show. You'd be wise to do the "east coast stomp" to your local record store and pick this one up. Don't worry about a late
pass.

"Vietnam" Sadler, Backspin (the vibe chemist), and the SD50's when they need that

REGINALD

C.

DENNIS

co-stars

in

the film) and are represented by two

jams, "Doin'

Good For Yourself" and the swingin' "718 Kit." Nice & Smooth contribute
show
"
I

with the funny and catchy, "Paranoia," to

RECORD RATINGS GUIDE

A HIP-HOP CLASSIC
-V

that they are taking

no shorts for their new

is

album. Another highlight

Shouldn't Have

Slick Rick's

to the scene and adds a change of pace with an uptempo Prince-

Done It." Newkirk makes his return

titled

->

-*

influenced track

"Small Thing."

On

the

SLAMMIN'! DEFINITE SATISFACTION

GOOD, WORTH CHECKING OUT

fit
i

Livin
Deff

Large
Rating: 3

r^Sfci nSti

"UMlju

(Soundtrack) Jam /RAL/ Columbia

Production: various

smooth tip, Alyson Williams belts out the lovely notes on "She's Not Your Fool." For the hardcore heads, Downtown Science freaks a James Brown horn loop on "If Was" and Terminator X chips in with "The Blues," featuring Andreas 13 kicking lyrics about hard times while Terminator scratches a Kool & the
I

Gang horn

break.

cut entitled "Love

Me" by

NEEDS HELP, DOESNT STAND OUT

the The Famlee (produced by Jam Master Jay), and a surprising collaboration between jazz
great Herbie
this effort. In the

frfrfr
TOTALLY WACK
The soundtrack for the comedy Livin' Large offers a good mix of talent from the rap, R&B, and dance realms. The Jungle Brothers make their return to the scene (Afrika Baby Bam also

Hancock and The Don round out swarm of Hip-Hop related movies primed for release, this soundtrack
shouldn't disappoint.

ATCO

THE SOURCE

SEPTEMBER 1991

fat.

N The Hood
Qwest/WB Records
Production: various Rating: 3.5

The soundtrack

good job

of

N The Hood does a showcasing the best of West

for

Boyz

Coast hip-hop as well as including some East Coast noise. Things are rounded out by some smooth R&B. This record is worth buying for side one alone. The album kicks off with Ice Cube's contribution, "How To Survive In South Central," with Cube and the Lench Mob playing the role of tour guides on the dark side, over a dope track. Next up, sample some slamming New Jack flavor on "Just Ask Me To," with Tevin Cambell on vocals, Al B Sure as producer, and Chubb Rock rippin the mic as the obligatory guest rapper. Yo-Yo's slamming "Mama Don't Take No Mess" and Compton's Most Wanted "Growin Up In The Hood" are followed by "Friendly Game Of Baseball" the
incredible metaphoric sermon on police brutality from the Main Source's classic debut, Breakin' Atoms. At this point you will probably need to catch your breath, and Tony! Toni! Tone! let you mellow out with a sweet slow jam entitled "Me and You." After the break, Monie

ATL became one of the most slept upon groups of 1990. Even with Dr. Dre going all out on production and firm backing by the rest of the roof-less niggaz of NWA, the group found themselves unable to duplicate the nationwide success of their boys. In '91 they seek to change that. This time out ATL gives us a sample of the flavor they will kick on their upcoming album with an EP that sports 6 new cuts as well as remixes of last years "Livin Like Hustlers." But unlike last year, the production does not always live up to expectations. Cuts like "Play Your Game" and "Dose Of The Mega Flex" rely too much on ATL's player reputation and not enough on solid musical production. The main themes pimps, ho's and mackin' get a little boring at times and do not showcase their abilities. But where those songs disappoint, cuts like "4 The Funk Of It" and "Wicked" show the talent that ATL is capable of. Both the subject matter (ghetto insight) and the production on these songs are both on target and well worth the price of the record. On "4 The Funk Of It" Cold 187um kicks it with a rapid flavor that has him sounding like a mix between Bootsy Collins and Curtis Mayfield. And with the smooth talking KMG accompanying him, no shorts are taken especially on "Wicked." "It's like roll on, roll on, row your ass up a river/ Behind bars you know its just us niggaz/ Niggaz who strived to survive but they fucked up/ Some of us stayed down, but others they lucked up/ But don't step on number two to become number one/ lay the path for others that come..." This song is definitely bumpin',
Instead,

melody show why he's one of the best (and most slept on) producers in rap. Whatever mood is needed, he creates it from the

blazing electro-funk of "Radioactive" to the

"Down To Science" (which uses the familiar "Headhunters" riff). The music avoids rap cliches and dares to be different. Some songs have "the noise," while others have a smooth "cold chillin" feel to them. The beats provide a solid foundation for whatever else is being placed on the track. Bosco Money has an indescribable rhyme style his cerebral, free-form rap has never really been done before. Bosco drops concepts for deep thinkers, then leaps into a bboy gangsta state of mind assuring that everyone is satisfied. Make sure to check out
quart-guzzling nuances of

MC

the slamming "This

scientific

Is A Visit," the mid-tempo gangsta lean flavored "Delta Sigma,"

and the
It's

lyrically

improvisational "Topic Drift."

hard to really compare

DS

to standard

groups and trends in rap, because they're definitely on their own mission. But they attempt to include something for everyone. There are all kinds of tracks on it (hard, mellow, sparse or crowded) and the lyrics are often thought-provoking. For those who want
to experience a

new view

in

rap,

DS

is

worth

checking out.

RONIN RO

and you can't ask for better microphone

teamwork.

Compton's Most

The EP
moments, but

is
it

not without it's shining does not measure up to last

Wanted
Straight Check'n
Production: DJ Slip,
e

Love kicks a new jam called "Work

It

Out"

which leaves no doubt that she is the world's fastest female MC. Side two is somewhat weaker, but features new tracks from Too Short, 2 Live crew, and

year's effort. Keep an ear open for the album. In light of the success that LA rappers like Ice have enjoyed, let's Cube, DJ Quik and hope ATL doesn't get lost in the mix.

Em

Orpheus/Epic

NWA

Unknown DJ
Rating: 3.5

CKK i
While

REGINALD

C.

DENNIS

more R&B from Qu\ncy Jones, Hi-Five and Force One Network. All in all, this album is a diverse collection featuring many flavors to
please anyone Black music.

who

enjoys various styles of

SMOOTH

a lot of groups are claiming to be "gangstas" these days, most of them couldn't hang if you put 'em on a meat hook. Compton's Most Wanted are not in this category. Sure, they're gangstas and all that, unlike other groups but there's a difference they deliver their lyrics with a little more

thought.
Eiht huffs and puffs on some cuts, but appears to be a conscientious brother who ultimately refuses to glorify Black on Black crime. He's not locked into that "bitch/ho/kill your brother" attitude. Instead he discusses it to instigate change. He delivers his lyrics in a manner that's smooth like Rakim, and hard like Cube. The instrumentals range from classic "Quiet Storm" smooth, to hardcore, and show versatility. The production by DJ Slip and the Unknown DJ earns props, as the two throw in transforming smooth anything they can find riffs into an aural battle zone. The well-chosen samples compliment the tracks, and echo the lyrical messages. Their "intro" starts things off with enormous beats, jazzy riffs and numerous sound-bites from recent West coast rap releases (including their first album). "Still Gafflin'" uses Kane's break (from "Smooth Operator"), and compares the L.A.P.D to the

MC

overall

Downtown Science
Downtown Science
Def

Jam /RAL/ Columbia

Production: artist
Rating: 3

Above The Law

EP
Ruthless/ Epic Production:

Bosco Money and Sam Sever have a debut album that may be ahead of its time.
The music they make ranges from 80's synths to breakbeats, to jazz to other-worldly samples and live instruments. Sam (who provides the beats on most of the cuts) has been around the block a couple of times, and proves he ain't new to this by unleashing

wmm

Rating: 3

Last year when these brothers exploded out of the chamber with "Murder Rap" you'd have thought they would be major contenders.

some

Sam

slammin' tracks. Sever's arrangements and sense of

THE SOURCE

SEPTEMBER 1991

Ku Klux Klan. He calls a harassing officer "The Grand Dragon" while denouncing gang violence. "Growin' Up In The Hood" (which is on the Boyz N Tha Hood soundtrack) is similar in tone (but not content) to Cube's "The
hit

Product." The riffs are smooth and the lyrics hard. "Straight Check'n 'Em" (the title
is

track)

West Coast "Murdergram"

(LL), but
It's

samples the Kurtis Blow classic, but comes off on a totally different tip, telling the story of a basketball superstar who thought he could skip his education and ends up pushing a broom when he busts his knee. Another choice cut is "Get Bizzy", on which Greyson, Slick Rick, and yes, Vance Wright all rock the mic over a "Sex Machine"
loop. Vance Wright's production style is pretty simple and straight forward, and many of the samples will sound familiar, but the beats are consistently funky and will provide ample head bobs and booty shakes.

with rawer lyrics and dirtier

drum sounds.

takes time to dis little bit about who he is. "Drive-by Miss Daisy" uses the "papes" beat (from a Tribe Called Quest), but enhances it with improvisational piano playing, gunshots, screams and car screeches. On this cut, Eiht
Eiht

uptempo and raw, as the comp, and say a

MC

SMOOTH

examines the mentality of a drive-by assassin, and shows he has a conscience by denouncing this form of hostile psychosis. "Can Kill It?" is a slow Isley Brothers groove that has Eiht
I

discussing

infidelity

with

one of
it

his

women.

It's

works. As a whole, the Straight Check'n 'Em album should appeal to listeners who want some well-thought out hardcore rap boomin' outta their decks.

not Teddy Pendergrass, but

Smooth
;i

Hip Hop Junkies"

Def

Jam /RAL/ Columbia

Production: artist
Rating: 4

RONIN RO
This past winter Def
dollar free

Jam made some

million

agent signings and added

EPMD

Royal Flush
976 -Dope
Yo! Records Production: artist

and Nice & Smooth to the team. Combine that with the likes of LL, Third Bass, and PE and

EKE
Although they
Jersey, Royal Flush
originally
is

Rating: 3

you've got the strongest starting five in the league. With "Hip Hop Junkies," Nice & Smooth have put up their first jumpshot and they have definitely scored. Greg Nice and Smooth B trade off rhymes
old pros with their signature style Greg Nice comes loud and direct while Smooth B creates intricate verses with a mellow tone. On "Hip Hop Junkies," Nice & Smooth combine a hard beat with some smooth harmonies sung by Pure Blend (they sang on "Funky For You") while verbal ballistics are dropped. The "Bedford Park Mix" is the mix to peep on this joint. The mix uses some piano notes and guitar licks laid over the "Substitution" beat to instantly make your head nod. The "Spanish Fly Mix" uses the same track while Nice and &
like

come from New

Greyson and Jason

Suveatin

Me Wet
Records

duo born out of the exploding Texas rap scene. With the Geto Boys and O.G. Style currently occupying the spotlight in Texas, these brothers are
a rap

Atlantic

Production: DJ Vance Wright Rating: 3

debut album Vance Wright and Slick Rick introduce us to two more members of the crew, and anyone who liked Rick's first album should enjoy this one. With Vance on production, Greyson and Jason come off with nothing new or mind blowing just simple, funky, hardcore New York hip-hop. In case you're wondering, Lord Greyson is
this

determined to make some noize in '91 Royal Flush came off hard on the mic with a full shuffled deck of fonke tracks and lyrics that
provide a solid production for the duo to
ill

on.

On

They may not be breaking new ground, but

they've created a hard sound ripe with familiar beats. Their loud and hyperactive delivery is reminiscent of and the Geto Boys. The

NWA

Smooth
In

flip lyrics in is

Spanish.
a can't miss jam with beats

best example is the title track, "976-DOPE," a slammin' track that pulsates with a funky bassdrum and a crackling snare over a loop of Parliament's "Flashlight." They also rip the mic

short, this

yet another Slick Rick soundalike. In fact, he sounds more like EST from 3XD than Ricky D, and he has a very hard, almost gangsta style. Some tracks like "I Don't Play" are basically run of the mill braggin and dissin, but just like Slick Rick, Greyson is at his best when he plays the role of story teller. "Laura's Gotta Boyfriend" is an X-rated fast paced jam where Greyson pays the price for letting his bozack overtake his brain. "Livin Like a Trooper" uses the "Love's Gonna Getcha" formula, describing the life of crime from the criminal's perspective over James Brown's "Payback." Although there are many heads flown on the album, Greyson and Jason seem to be conscious of their image, and they try to make it clear that they are not promoting violence. On tracks like "Livin Like a Trooper" and "Intoxicated" Greyson does a good job of providing constructive messages without compromising his hardcore style. "Basketball"

NOT

on "Non-Stop,"

smooth but hard groove

II

and rhymes that are (in the words of Smooth B) "stronger than ammonia." Get ready for Nice & Smooth's slamdunk when they drop the album in late August.

from Curtis Mayfield's "Freddy's Dead" and a hardcore Soul Soul drum loop. Check out the skills: "Bust it/ You ain't a mack daddy/ You a McDonald Ronald Reagan beggin'/ Wavin' and shavin' like Magic Johnson, Charles Bronson...."
riding a sinister bassline

REEF

They change gears when

socially

it

comes

to

conscious

realities that affect

and go deep into the Black community with

lyrics

songs
life in

like "I Never Made 20," a story about the drug trade, to the fierce story-line of
in

"Watch Out For The Plant." Royal Flush has a sound that can please many ears because their tracks are fat, taking influences form both NY and LA. It is an ear
police brutality

La Soul
"A Roller Skating

Jam Named 'Saturdays'"

Tommy Roy
Dave Morales Rating: 4

opener, so lookout for the Flush.

Production: artist, remixes by artist and

BIGB

On

the

new album, Dove has

a line,

"Tommy Boy wants

another 'Say No'. ..huh'"

trying to stress the fact that they're not trying

THE SOURCE

SEPTEMBER 1991

MP
yyy
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make commercial R&B (Rap 'n' Bullshit) songs to please their label. What was wrong with "Say No Go?" That shit was cool a little pop but still came off. De La's strength is in their ability to make a record with pop appeal still sound fat. And they've done it again with this jam. No disrespect, but this just might be
to

backup singers "oohing" and "ahhing" behind Biz's unmistakeable rhyme style. Biz fans should run to the store for this one and prepare for his new album entitled Need A Haircut, which features more of Biz's harmonious singing voice.
I

another 'Say No.'

REEF

"Saturdays"

is

bound

to

blow up

in

the

Queen

Latifah
Tommy Roy

clubs but mind you, this isn't a club record it's a rollerskating jam fully equipped with a sample from Chic's "Good Times," the classic
rollerskating record.

"Fly Girl" b/w "Nature of a Sista"

Production: Nevelle, Louie Vega Rating: 3.5

The beat

is

real fast but

crazy funky. De La's "Ladies Night Decision Remix" is boomin', and the house/club music remixes are OK, but thought De La was kinda
I

anti-house these days. Lyrically, they kick their patented style of

flow 'n' speak about how everyday is a Saturday for them. Q-Tip makes a fat guest appearance on "Saturdays" and then freaks it on the freestyle cut with the same beat "What

Many consider Latifah to be the dopest female out. Her slammin' debut LP caught crazy rek nationwide but surprising as it may sound, the album didn't even go gold. In order

MC

LL Cool
"Six Minutes

Yo
are

Life

rek with

Among others catching La on the "What Yo Life..." track Phife, Dres of Black Sheep, and
Can
Truly Be."

De

Superstar.

MATTY C

raw form, fans must support an MC with the skills and talent that Latifah has. Don't talk about how wack mainstream hip-hop is getting and then go dub a second generation copy of All Hail the Queen or Brand Nubian's All For One from your homeboy. And don't buy that counterfeit
for hip-hop to maintain
its

true

Of Pleasure" b/w "Eat 'Em Up L Chill" Def Jam /RAL/ Columbia

artist,

Production: Marley Marl, co-produced

by

remixes by Marley Marl Rating: 3

bullshit either.

For "Fly

Girl,"

Latifah has brought

in

more R&B type production sound with some male vocalists and a more sexual attitude. "Fly

Del Tha Funky

has the ingredients for a hit crossover rap record even though the new sound is different from her "Wrath Of My Madness"
Girl"
flavor.

Homosapien
'Sleepin

On My Couch" b/w "Ah One Two, Ah One Tivo"

Elektra Records Production: artist, DJ Pooh
Rating: 4

EKKH
Get ready
for

the B-side, Latifah flips a more complex Her Flavor Unit accomplice Louie Vega hooked up a fast hardcore track that blends nicely with her rhyme style. Latifah rips the mic correctly showing she can still shoot the gift with thought provoking lyrics and a swift
flow.
delivery.

On

Riding the wave of success from the platinum-plus album Mama Said Knock You Out, Uncle L gives us another shot to the eardrums with "6 Minutes..." and "Eat 'Em Up..." The single offers both the LP versions and two new remixes and instrumentals. "6 Minutes..." has been transformed from a slightly dull album cut, to a catchy R&B flavored track that is both highly listenable and danceable. "Six Minutes..." should hopefully be blowing up on daytime radio by the time you read this. Marley's production is on target

once
to

again.

something very funky with

is in

MATTY C

the debut single from Del. Rolling hard with Ice

Cube and The Lench Mob, Del

good

company, but this is not your typical hardcore record from South Central LA. Del has an offbeat and humorous style combined with a clever and catchy delivery that separates itself from the current crop of MC's and crews.
"Sleepin
crib: "Its

Biz Markie
ie

On My Couch"

explains

how

Del

What Comes Around Goes Around"

might find the "Eat 'Em Up..." remix of a letdown. The original version is hard in lyrical and musical content, while the remix is softened up with the "Around the Way Girl" bassline and a touch of raggamuffin chatting in the chorus. There's nothing wrong with the remix, its just that with the radiofriendly A-side, you might have expected L to come hard for side B.

Some

be a

bit

Judging by his current success, "Six Minutes..." and "Eat 'Em Up..." should
continue the trend for "the future of the funk." This single packs some smoove summer
flavor.

has to deal with brothers freeloading at his cool to have a friend over every now and then/ But gotta have my space and don't wanna see their face/ Like every single day of the week/ Talk is cheap/ You better find yourself another place to sleep." The music is straight-up funk. Del and DJ Pooh have put together a fat mid-tempo beat
I
I

Cold Chillin' /Warner Rros Production: artist, co-produced by Cut Master Cool V
Rating:

GREGC

combined with plenty of funky horns, live piano and they even recruited George Clinton's exbackup singers to handle the chorus. The production style creates a heavy P-funk/70's
vibe with a definitive 1990's hip-hop groove, suitable for the dancefloor or the benzi box.

Side B's "Ah

One Two, Ah One Two"

showcase
is

yields similar funk-filled results that

Del's unique rhyme style that

unlike anything

you're

hear from the West Coast. Fat beats and swift rhymes form the basis of what might be defined as D-Funk something new
likely to

for '91.

Get with

it.

REEF

Biz has certainly kept himself busy these days by doing production on albums for Grand Daddy I.U., Kid Capri, and Diamond Shell, but don't even think summer '91 will go by without the "inhuman orchestra" making heads nod and jeeps thump. Biz's long awaited return picks up where "Just a Freind" left off and should do well for him. The storyline for "What Comes..." uses the "Vapors" formula in his true looney style, Biz rhymes about the high school cutie who never gave him the time of day and how nobody expected him to amount to anything. As we all know, Biz gets large and everyone sweats him simple yet effective. The Biz is a master of making hit records where it doesn't really matter what you say, but rather how you

Prince

Rakeem

"Ooh We Love You Rakeem" b/w

"Deadly Venom" & "Sexcapades " Tommy Roy Production: artist, Easy Mo Ree
Rating: 3

flow.

The trademark

Biz

slooow and "fonkee"

it

This debut single from Prince

Rakeem
'n

offers

beat with

is

present, but this time

is

embellished

the listener two flavors: soft

side, "Ooh..."
is

hard.

The A-

some R&B

flavor courtesey of female

slow paced jam with Rakeem

THE SOURCE

SEPTEMBER 1991

total. The rhymes are whiney chanting by some adoring females becomes monotonous. However, the next two joints, "Deadly Venoms" and "Sexcapades" hit hard like income tax. Using a taste of the classic "Substitution" beat and a heavy bassline, Rakeem proceeds to flow wit' some rhymes on "Deadly Venoms." "Sexcapades" presents part of the drum beat from Sly Stone's "Stand," some guitar and an organ hook. Produced by Easy Mo Bee, this is the jam to peep (with 5 different mixes to choose from). Prince Rakeem flows, and definitely proves he has skills on the mic.

rhyming about his prop

Kim and Hass

that'll

unleash two refreshing jams

cool, but the

have kids nodding heads. "Blue Cheese" has catchy uptempo flavor that is highly danceable. The lyrical styles are post-De La: complex and metaphorical, yet they still
flow.

can listen to him "grab the mic and kick it like Jackie Chan," like he did so well on "Sound Of The Underground." Teaming up with fellow DU

member DJ Fuze and

calling

themselves

Raw
full

Fusion, they test the solo market with a three

"Any

Way The Wind

cut single that gives you a taste of their

Blows" has two

flavor.

ATCO

slammin versions. The first offers a partially sped up "Substitution" drumbeat, and a loud bass section, smoothed out by a singing chorus. The second version still has the same beat and the singing chorus, but the groove is picked up with an organ loop. This slamming debut is one of many from Wild Pitch, the label who've brought out underground champs such as Gang Starr, Lord Finesse, Main Source, and Chill Rob G to

"Throw Your Hands In The Air" is a fastpaced cut that deals with the topics of chillin', close calls with the police, 7-1 robbers and larcenous females. DJ Fuze is behind the beats throwing in all sorts of scratches and cuts. He gets the job done, but never goes buck wild like
1

we know he can. "Do My Thing" is more like as Money definitely does his as he tells his
origin story

it

name

a few.

Add

the

UMC's

to the

list

of

talents.

m
ATCO

over a DU-sounding bassline and snare-heavy hip-hop assault. With much props given to the pioneers of both the old and new schools of rap, Money takes us on a journey that starts with his early days of hip-hop and ends with the world wide success of Digital Underground. "1989 'Dowhutchalike' dropped/ The US wasn't pleased, overseas it went pop/ But we finished the LP, attitude healthy/ Shit!

The UMC's
"Blue Cheese"
b/iv

The earthquake

"Any Way The Wind Blows"

Wild Pitch Production: artist, RNS
Ratin9!

Raw
Air" hlw "Do

Fusion
Inches"

#&&$

35

"Throw Your Hands In The My Thing" l"12

Hollywood Basic
Production: artist
Rating: 3

hit, Lord please help me." Strong performances like this will go a long way in catapulting them out of the shadow of DU and into their own. The Third cut, "12 Inches," was a little too

whimsical for

Straight from the underground, a New York-based duo called The UMC's step up front with an impressive debut. Rappers Kool

me with its repeated use of the "12 inch" double entendre. But Raw Fusion proves that they will be a group to watch in the months to come.
REGINALD C DENNIS

Fans of

Digital

Underground's Money B

A7 ALEXANDER O'NEAL-phoio.bl

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THE SOURCE

203-322-7008

SEPTEMBER 1991

Yomo &
bliv

Maulkie
Atlantic

"Glory" X-Perienced?" "Are You

Records
Production: DJ Yella Rating: 3.5
family strikes hard

&$&i
The Ruthless
handling the beats
it

looped over the track, live bass, and quick scratches. Yella makes sure to keep the bottom heavy, so the whole track is ready for the low-rider. "Are You X-Perienced" is a bugged out instrumental jam that is strictly for the blunted. Check Yomo & Maulkie's debut for strong rhymes and fat beats West Coast
lick that is

some

style.

with the debut single duo of Yomo & Maulkie. With

once again from the Oakland-based

REEF

NWA's DJ

Yella

sounds

like

these brothers

mean

business.

is a high-intensity political tirade directed at the American flag as a symbol of

"Glory"

King compilation album. This time, Double J is going out for self with his brand new single. As far as the production is concerned, it's cool but not mindblowin'. Both tracks display beats that hit hard and to the point but they lose energy as the groove rides on. Double J's rhymes are straight-up New York hardcore snappin necks with a deep toned voice and rough delivery. "...Caddy" hits you hard with a fast paced beat that is heavy in the bass department, while "Manslaughter" uses a James Brown horn/guitar loop. Double J has the skills but the beats need some variety to keep the ear.

Black people have been oppressed in this country. Yomo & Maulkie deliver their sermons with bold authoritative voices, each showing rhyming skills: "Finest of the last, can you dig feel and we're this?/ To say what the hell ruthless/ Times have changed/ Hate remains/ Since the age of twelve all I've felt was pain/ By the dawn's early light/ America's situation is not bright/ No matter how much they ignore me/ They can't 'cause can say burn old
I I

how

However, hardcore fans won't be too

Double
"If It Ain't
4th

disappointed because his rhymes are dope, so stay tuned for the album.

BIGB

A Caddy, It Ain't A
&
Broadway/Island
Production: artist Ratin 9 2 - 5
s

Car" bliv "Manslaughter"

frfti

Record Ratings are determined by

editorial staff vote

glory."

Yella's production

is

reminiscent of Straight
live

Outta Compton

s nesiK: SING
with crisp beats, a
guitar

Double J is a new rap soloist who appears on the slammin' "Flavor Unit Assassination Squad" featured on the latest DJ Mark the 45

f*r*jvi 3WS
Aug Aug mid Aug mid Aug mid Aug mid Aug mid Aug late Aug late Aug late Aug late Aug
early
early
late Sept

L E S
"That's The

Marley Marl
Craig

"Symphony II" b/w "Drop OfA Dime'9 "Smoothing Out The Rough Spots" b/w "Take The Bait"

Cold Chillin/Warner Bros.

Atlantic

Powerule

Way It Is"

Poetic Groove/Interscope
Capitol

SchooUy D

"Where Did You Get That Funk From?"

"Korner Groove"
"Jazz"
"Mistakes,,,"

YBT
Tribe Called Quest
Slick Rick

SOUL/MCA
Jive

Def Jam/RAL/Columbia

Mellow T

"So It Shall Be Written"/ "Life In The Fast Lane"

Tommy Boy
First Priority/Atlantic

MCLyte
D-Nice

"When In Love"
"25

Ta Life"

Jive

The Don

"Big 12-inch"

RAL
Strong City/MCA

BusyB

"You Should Be

My Baby"

ALB
Black Sheep
Cypress Hill

U M
Self Titled

S
early

A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing

Daddy's Little Girl
'

Aug

Mercury/Polygram
Ruffhouse/Columbia

NikkiD Funkytown Pros Naughty By Nature

Boo-Yaa Tribe

Reaching A Level Of Assaaai nation

mid Aug mid Aug mid Aug

late Aug late Aug late Aug late Aug late Aug late Aug

Def Jam/RAL/Columbia
Peace Posse/Island

Naughty By Nature

Tommy Boy
Island

Good Times, Bad Times

Nature Of A Sista

Queen Latifah Nice & Smooth

Schoolly

Tommy Boy
Def Jam/RAL/Columbia
Capitol

Hip-Hop Junkies

Biz Markie

How A Black Man Feels I Need A Haircut

For Your Steering Pleasure
Soul Food

Cold Chillin/Warner Bros. Cold Chillin/Warner Bros.

Delicious Vinyl
First Priority/Atlantic

Marley Marl

early Sept
early Sept

Def Jef

MCLyte
Tribe Called Quest

Act Like You

Know

mid Sept
end Sept end Sept
early Oct

The Low End Theory

Jive
4th

Double J
D-Nice

The Hitman
To The Rescue

& BWay/lsland

Jive

BusyB
House Party

Thank God For Busy Bee

mid Oct mid Oct

Strong City/MCA

Soundtrack

MCA

THE SOURCE

SEPTEMBER 1991

'

>^

so

to

list

%;

\
F,.,
(

DEF J EPS

NEW ALBUM DROPS SEPT. 3RD! INCLUDE5THE FON-KAYNEWCUT5 "HERE WEGO AGAIN",
"GETUP4THE GET DOWN"

AND^FASHOSHOT"
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PRODUCEDBYDEFJEF,DJMARKTHE45KING, DEVASTATIN,MATTDIKEANDMICHAELRO$S

If you

want

to go looking for a publishing

you divide your pie into two equal pieces, one known as the writer's share and the other known as the publisher's share.
deal, first

publisher will help your career in return for a piece of your publishing, here are the different ways publishers divide up the publisher's share for different types of publishing deals:

by Neil Harris
Writer's

FIG
Publisher's

3.

TYPES OF PUBLISHING DEALS.

Share

Share

a)

CO-PUBLISHING DEALS:

THE ABC'S
OF MUSIC PUBLISHING
(

In these types of deals, the publisher gets 50% of the publisher's share, and the artist

50%

50%

PART ONE

keeps the other 50%. This is the most common type of deal today. If you enter into one of these deals, expect the publisher to do all the paperwork regarding the copyrights, to hunt

couple of months ago

we ran down

the

basics of copyrighting your songs.

NOT TO BE SOLD

TO BE SOLD IN PUBLISHING DEAL

This time out, we'll try to scratch the

FIG. 2

surface of other music publishing issues, which comprise a large part of your potential income as an artist. In this first part, we'll talk about some basic concepts. Next month, we'll set you straight about the dollars
involved.

THE WAY A PUBLISHER BREAKS

DOWN THE OWNERSHIP OF A SONG.

Before you go out and look for a publishing deal, put the half of the pie known as the writer's share in your pocket. It is yours; never sell it. The writer's share is meant for the writer not for negotiation or selling, to anyone. Not a manager, not a publisher nobody. Don't be a sucker. Now that that's settled, let's take the half of a song known as the publisher's share and think about getting a publishing deal. Before we do this, I'd like to pass on a bit of information that someone once told me: "If you don't need the money, hold onto your publishing. You'll be happier later." Indeed, the main reason to do a publishing deal, and give someone a piece of the publisher's share, is an advance of cold, hard cash. Publishers

down to collect all the money that the songs earn, and to actively work to try to earn as much money from the songs as they can. Also realize that the publisher, even though they only own half of the publisher's share, can usually do whatever they want with your songs to make money from them. If you want more control make sure you get it on paper.
people

Music publishing is the business of buying and selling songs, as opposed to buying and
selling records. Songwriters (and producers)

b)

ADMINISTRATION DEALS:
20%
for

In administrative deals, the publisher will of the publisher's share in doing all the paperwork and collecting all the money. They won't control your copyrights, but they won't work hard to see that your songs make money either.

take 10 to

are compensated for their creative input to the

exchange

songs themselves; that is, they receive money songs in addition to performing them. Assuming that you haven't relied heavily on recognizable samples from other records, or sold your publishing rights, as soon as you write a song you own the whole copyright associated with it. If you feel the song is something you are going to play for other people, you should register it with the copyright office to protect yourself and claim the ownership of the song. Remember, the copyright of the song is worthless if it never appears on record, in a film, or plays on the radio. But if you plan to make records that work, you've got to be down with the basics of publishing deals. If you write a song yourself, you own the whole song. If you share the writing with others, you have to divide the ownership of the song between all the writers. Usually the way it is done is to give the writers of the music half of the ownership of a song, and the lyric writers the other half. For the sake of illustration, assume the two halves form together to make a pie.
for writing the

c)
share,

FULL PUBLISHING DEALS:

all

The publisher takes

the publisher's

can also give you money for demos, shop your songs to record companies and other artists, put up additional promotion money for your records, place your songs in movies, TV, and commercials, and hook you up with other
writers and producers. Look for a publisher

and the writer keeps nada. These aren't done as much anymore. You'll usually get more money from a full deal, but remember you are giving a large chunk of your songs up, not to mention usually all control. In the 90's,
publishing
is

too valuable to

make

these deals

attractive to

many

artists.

Next month

we'll attach dollar signs to the

these things well. They can be just as important in the long run as the size of the bag they are offering up front. But remember: you are giving up a piece of your song in return. If you don't need the money or the support now, you'll get to keep all of the publishing income later. If you need the green, or believe that a
all

who does

different types of deals and concepts we mentioned, and discuss other basic money issues everyone should know about publishing. Until then, peace and good luck to all.
Contact Neil Harris at 15477 Ventura Sherman Oaks, CA, 91403.

Blvd., Ste. 300,

PUBLISHER'S SHARE
Writer's
Publisher's

(a.b.c)

Lyrics

Music

keeps

gets

Publisher gets

ALL of publisher's share

100%
Publisher's get

10% 20%
-

-*

FIG

1.

THE SONG

A.

co-publishing deal

administrative deal

C.

full

publisher's deal

THE SOURCE

SEPTEMBER 1991

unsigned
SIR ESSENCE DON

As

the hype builds around the upcoming Unsigned Hype compilation album (soon to go into production), the tapes continue to pour in and the competition is gettin' thick! This month Sir Essence Don flipped the flyest material. His lyrics have a unique flavorhe creates suspense in his rhymes and displays originality in his cadence.

but the beat stays hard. Ess Don's

man Lord D

gets the

job done on production and definitely

Ess Don's tape consisted of two solid cuts. The first, "Sweet Like Sugar," tip toes nicely on that fine line between a hardcore rap and song with some mainstream appeal. Ess adds in a nice Bum- diddely-dee flavor to his rhymes and the music is mellow,

knows how to hook up beats. The second cut, "Live From NY," is more of that pure raw hip-hop. The beat is combo of a the sped up 45 King beat from Lakim's "Pure Righteousness" and the
"Atomic Dog" beat. Ess flips the mic with authority. Don't Sleep! To check him out call his manager Frank Donalds at (718) 469-2312. coordinated by MATTY C

Rainbo Records has a special deal for you on 12-inches: one hundred records are now only $599 complete. For more information, see their ad on page 57.

COMPILATION ALBUM FEATURING THE BEST UNSIGNED RAP GROUPS FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY
FOR THE NEXT TWO MONTHS, THE SOURCE WILL BE ACCEPTING TOP QUALITY DEMO TAPES FROM ALL UNSIGNED RAP GROUPS. MONTHLY WINNERS QUALIFY TO APPEAR ON OUR UNSIGNED HYPE COMPILATION ALBUM TO BE RELEASED IN FEBRUARY 1992.
SEND YOUR BEST QUALITY DEMO TAPE TODAY TO:

594

BROADWAY, SUITE 510 NEW YORK, NY 1 001

(PLEASE,

NO PHONE CALLS)

ALL TAPES MUST BE SUBMITTED BY SEPTEMBER 1, 1991. ALL PREVIOUS WINNERS ARE AUTOMATICALLY SUBMITTED. PLEASE LIMIT YOUR TAPE TO YOUR THREE BEST CUTS.

THE SOURCE

SEPTEMBER 1991

THE LAST

WORD

11

I s
cr

tr

Q z <

COMING

IN

THE NEXT ISSUE OF

THE MAGAZINE OF HIP-HOP MUSIC. CULTURE

mi

n.
ft

POLITICS

OCTOBER

Marley Marl
Some
him "the Quincy Jones of rap," and it's true: you can't
call

H.E.A.L

White Rappers
Look on MTV,
in

KRS-One has started a new record label, Edutainer Records, and the

enjoy hip-hop without enjoying the

listen to the

radio-

first

release

is

a multi-media

funky New York sound of prolific super producer Marley Marl. We'll talk to the man and see the infamous Marley House Of Hits that has churned out slamming tracks for LL Cool J, Kool G Rap, Biz Markie, MC Shan, Master Ace, Biv Devoe, and many more.

wake of Vanilla Ice there's a whole new slew of white rap artists who are trying to make a name for themselves. Which ones
the
are really talented and which ones

project called H.E.A.L. Human

Education Against Lies. We'll explore the people and philosophies that are making this project work.

on the avenues for mass appeal? Are white rappers getting preferential treatment on our airwaves?
in

are trying to cash

THE SOURCE

SEPTEMBER 1991

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.AND
llii
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KICK

RH Y Ml E FOR THE
i^%.

TH e. n e w S ingle featuring Master Ace, Craig g, Big Daddy Kane, kool G Rap and Little Daddy Shane
PRODUCED AND MIXED BY MAR LEY MARL, THE PRODUCER BEHIND SLAMMIN' HIT :HEAVY D, AND THE BOYZ AND B.B.D.
From the album

Control Volume U Jrara'ManmillMil"** 8 "'^

in

ARTrST tAAHf

**+*.

"The particular name of

I've often

this

queen

is Latifah

been classified as a feminine teacher

culture and

TbmmY
-ROY)

Collectively captured the heart of a nation

Love

my

show

appreciation..."