Album of The Week

Album of the Week- Tupac’s “Me and Against the World” By DJ Daggash  Our Album of the Week was released on 14th March, 1995, while Tupac was in prison but recorded when he was awaiting prison sentence. It is Tupac’s most introspective album. The album is Tupac’s best album, in our opinion. Though “All Eyez on Me” was more successful, commercial wise. Me Against the World debuted at Number 1 on Billboard and held that position for 4 weeks. It was certified double platinum (sold over 2m records) and got nominated for the Best Rap Album at the 38th Grammy Awards. Tupac’s thought on the album is insightful: “Me Against the World was really to show people that this is an art to me. That I do take it like that. And whatever mistakes I make, I make out of ignorance, not out of disrespect to music or the art. So Me Against the World was deep, reflective. It was like a blues record. It was down-home. It was all  my fears, all the things I just couldn’t sleep about. Everybody thought that I was living so well and doing so good that I wanted to explain it. And it took a whole album to get it all out. It’s explaining my lifestyle, who I am, my upbringing and everything. It talks about the streets but talks about it in a different light. There’s a song on there dedicated to mothers, just a song I wrote for my mother. And it digs deeper like that. I just wanted to do something for all mothers. I’m proud of that song. It affected a lot of people.”[1] Apple Music’s description of the album is equally interesting: “On his third album, the stressed-out California poet turned a critical eye from his bleak surroundings to his own conflicted psyche. Me Against the World marks 2Pac’s official shift from gangsta to philosopher, sacrificing none of the rebellion. He imparts bittersweet brotherly advice over glossy G-funk (“Young N****z”), spits sincere thug love ballads (“Temptations”) and dodges haunting premonitions of his own death on the bluesy “So Many Tears”. And then there’s “Dear Mama”, the best rap song about moms ever made.” This album means a lot to me, it’s the closest to my life’s mission statement: courage, love, living your truth, love of mother, awareness of mortality. I met the album in 1995 and we are still good buddies. One of the most socially conscious and impactful rap albums.  “If I Die 2night” gave me courage and fearlessness: “a coward dies a thousand deaths/a soldier dies but once” would give balls and liver any day. “Dear Mama” is timeless. The song would give you goose bumps, if you have any feeling for your old girl. “So Many Tears” is the kind of track you want to listen to when the times are hard and you are reminiscing on your struggles. “Can You Get Away” is the best side guy and comforter anthem. “Temptation” is an accoster/apprehender/toaster inspiration “Tell me baby are you lonely? Don’t wanna to rush ya, I could only help you if you let me…”. And, “It Ain’t Easy” is a very soulful song: “I take a shot of hennessy now I am strong enough to face the man/…Phone calls from my niggas from the other side, two childhood friends just died/a damn shame/when would we ever change? …My baby mama got a mind full of silly games/and all the drama got me stressing like I am hopeless”. I can go on. The whole Album is packed full of gem. All 15 tracks are good. No dud track.  In sum, the whole album is about “keeping it real” regardless of the challenges of life and having fun along the way. Be true to yourself.  It touched on every major aspect of life: struggles, love for mothers, romance, and advice to the young ones to drop the guns. [1] Tupac, Karolyn Ali and Jacob Hoye, 2003, Page 166

This is the maiden edition of our Album of the Week series. We plan to consider old school albums with at least 3 classic tracks in each album. These songs will meet at least 2 of the following thematic criteria: love, battle, socially conscious, tribute and remix/party. Our 1st Album of the week is Queen Latifah’s Black Reign(1992) with us highlighting 4 classic songs: U.N.I.T.Y., I can’t Understand , Just Another Day, Weekend Love. Less popular but tight tracks include “Mood Is Right”, “Listen 2 Me”, “Superstar”. The whole album deserves a second chance.Admittedly, there is a bias in picking the album for our debut: it’s to overcompensate for underestimating Latifah’s catalogue of work and sleeping on her musical talent. Not only does she rap but she also sings! Latifah sings her own hooks and choruses often adding reggae infused melodies and harmonies. She’s also a serious battle rapper. Some would have sweet and fond memories of some of her songs: Fly Girl, U.N.I.T.Y. and her line inn “I want to be Down” Remix with other female rappers. Her diss song “Name Calling”. I go into trance when I hear “instinct leads me to another flow”.We hope you enjoy this Album as much as we do. The album “Beats the Norm”.

Our Album of the Week is “The Score” by the Fugees. It was released on 13th February 1996 and it was a studio rap album made for everyone. The album topped the Billboard 200 and went platinum six times by October 1997!    “The Score” was recorded in Wyclef Jean’s uncle’s home in a studio called the “Booga basement”. It contains a lot of political rants, pop culture references, soulful vocals and spiritual musings, and many more. Our personal faves from the track include; “Killing Me Softly”, “No Woman, No Cry”, “Ready or Not” and “Fu-Gee-La”. In ‘Killing Me Softly’, the Fugees bring Roberta Flack’s 1973 soul classic into the hip-hop era. The song was huge in the U.S and in the U.K and made Lauryn Hill a superstar. In the U.K. it became the top-selling single of 1996. Without the context of the affair between Hill and Clef, it’s a lovely cover that maintains the spirit of the original while taking the material in new directions. When listened to now, after the subsequent revelations about their romance, it’s doubly deadly. “No Woman, No Cry” is very much Jamaica meets Jersey (being a Bob Marley Cover), complete with lyrics about stolen cars and street-corner drug deals. “Everything is gonna be alright,” Clef sings, his accent shining through. “Fu-Gee-La” is where Lauryn adds soulful toughness, swiping the hook from Teena Marie’s 1988 hit “Ooo La La La” and making it hers. It offers ghetto philosophizing from Clef, self-affirmations from Lauryn, and dependability from Pras.  “Ready or Not” was a U.K. chart-topper and one-time favorite song of former president Barack Obama! It’s another example of the Fugees going the divide-and-conquer route. Some other Fugee tracks outside the album that no one can get enough of; “Nappy heads”,  a single released in 1994 from their debut album “Blunted on Reality”. It is considered as one of the best songs during that period ( if you know, you know) . It was their first entry on the Billboard 100 and topped at No 1 on the Billboard dance chart!  “Boom Biddy Bye Bye” Remix, a fantastic remix of the Cypress Hill “Boom Biddy Bye Bye” and the iconic voice of Lauryn Hill stood out. “Vocab”, the third single from the group’s debut album, “Blunted on Reality” was co-produced by Pras and Wyclef and it is best-known for its remixes, which were both co-produced by Salaam Remi and the Fugees. The song peaked at number 22 on the Billboard rap chart in 1995.  This album was heavily intertwined in the daily routine of hip hop, reggae and soulful music lovers in Lagos and even made more individuals aware of the group’s talent.

DJ Daggash Ready to Die is the debut album by the late Great Rapper Known as The Notorious B.I.G., but fondly known by his cult followers as Biggie Smalls. He was born Christopher George Latore Wallace on 21st May, 1972 and assassinated 9th March, 1997. The album was released on 13th September, 1994, by Bad Boy Records and Arista Records. Largely produced by Sean “Puffy” Combs, Easy Mo Bee, Chucks Thompson and DJ Premier. The partly autobiographical album tells the story of the rapper’s experience as a young criminal, and was the only studio album released during his lifetime, he was murdered sixteen days before the release of his second album, Life After Death, in 1997. “Ready to Die” was reported to have peaked at number 15 on the Billboard 200. Three singles were released from the Album: “Juicy”, “Big Poppa” and “One More Chance”. In April 2018, Ready to Die was certified 6x Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It has been ranked by many critics as one of the greatest hiphop albums as well as one of the greatest albums of all time. Rolling Stone ranked it number 134 on its list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and Time included it on its list of the All-TIME 100 Albums. I bumped into the Album through its 1st single “Juicy” in a music video either on MTV Yo Rap or BET (Can’t really remember which one) in 1994. My fondest recollection was that of Puffy in a Lakers Basketball top dancing like a moron as if his life depended on it. Indeed, the album meant the world to Biggie, Puffy and the East Coast. Biggie was trying leave the crime life, had a baby to feed and his mum was ill, according to him. Puffy had just been fired from Uptown Records and decided to test the waters on his own. Whilst, the West Coast was dominating the rap scene with back to back commercial success from Chronic to Doggystyle. Ready to Die brought the East Coast back from a commercial success standpoint. It was rated ahead of Nas’ “Illmatic” as the Rap Album of 1994 by “The Rap Year Book” and, “ a master class in “paranoia, depression, death contemplation, the unfamiliarity of legitimate success and the intersection of all four of these things” by the said Book. With a total of 19 tracks without any filler track, I struggled to pick the best 7 tracks. Sadly, I had to leave out well know tracks that I love like “One More Chance”, “Unbelievable” , “Who Shot Ya”, “Suicidal Thoughts” and many others. Such is the top quality nature of the whole album. Some of the tracks were autobiographical in nature particularly his life on the streets: “Things Done Change”, “Gimme the Loot”, “Machine Gun Funk”, “Everyday Struggle” and “Warning”. “Things Done Change” was about life getting more violent and less laid back. “Gimme the Loot” was about the life of an experienced armed robber and his rookie underling. Biggie was rapping for both of them using different voices. The story telling was exceptionally vivid and brilliant. “Warning” is about treachery. I struggled with identifying who was better between him and Method Man on “The What”. No question, the track was dope. He went into the love crooner mood in “Big Poppa”, “One More Chance” , “Friend of Mine”, “Me and my B**” and others. I have been listening to the album for about 26 years and I am not bored. It’s definitely one of Rap’s greatest albums. It’s an incredible album. Enjoy.

Album of the Week- (Rap Joint Lagos and DJ Daggash) The Rap Joint Lagos Album of the Week is “The Infamous” by Mobb Deep. It was released on 25th April, 1995 and is the second studio album by the American hip hop duo. The album debuted at number 15 on the US Billboard 200 and number 3 on the Top R&B/HipHop Album charts. Defined by evocative melodies and lyrics the album deals with inner crime in the city neighborhoods and has been occasionally referred to as dark & haunting. Mobb Deep is arguably my favorite Rap Group. I was introduced to them by my home boy, Goat Head, in 1996. And, I got hooked by one of their interludes, the 2nd track on the Album(the Infamous Prelude. Whilst, Prodigy was running his mouth with a lot of violent threats, I was captivated by his self awareness when he said: “I know very well I could get shot, stabbed or fucked up too, whateverI ain’t “Super Nigga”, I’m a little skinny motherfuckaIt’s all about who gets who first, thoughYou know what I’m sayin?” Both Prodigy and Havoc are quite small in stature but their brand of gangsta is very graphic and relatable. “Shook Ones Part II” is the lead single of the album and also a promotional single of the group’s single “Shook Ones” in 1994. The narrative is taken from the perspective of inner city youths struggling for financial freedom and territorial warfare. Who loves Mobb Deep and forgets the line: “I got you stuck on the realness” ? Rolling Stone magazine placed the song on its list of The 50 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs of All Time. The beat of the track is off the hinges and has been sampled times over in many songs both rap and R & B (https://thesource.com/2017/11/02/10-songs-sampled-mobb-deep-shook-ones/). The best song where it was sampled was “The Roof” by Mariah Carey. I can die for the Song and it’s remix. “Give up the Goods” featuring Big Noyd, was significant in its own right. It was the first time the world heard the popular phrase that every Queens native fears, even today. “Temperature Rising” featured R&B singer Crystal Johnson, was written in the form of a letter to an associate that is hiding from the police. The song was crafted in the same storytelling mold as “One Love” and “Warning”.   ‘Up North Trip’ rip has a sample of the “Spinners – I’m tired of giving and details their state sponsored vacation in one of New York penitentiaries. This is basically a reminder that all of their actions will produce consequences. In ‘Trife Life’ Mobb Deep brought tales about their “trife life” chronicling the trials and tribulations of life in the hood. Lots of vivid storytelling and imaginative hood scenarios. ‘Q.U.-Hectic’ contains a sample of “Kitty With the Bent Frame” by Quincy Jones. It has its dramatic keyboards which are typical for the album while the emotive horn stabs are more at home on this album. ‘Drink Away The Pain’ was produced by and features Q-Tip. The song personifies dangerous addictions. Prodigy and Havoc compare their love for alcohol to infatuation with a woman. This album has been credited with helping to redefine the sound of hardcore hip-hop and is widely regarded as a cornerstone album of New York hardcore rap. There is simply no single album of the golden age of 1990s New York rap that sums up the location and era like this Album. Without a doubt, a classic Rap Album.

The Rap Joint Lagos Album of the week is “Funkdafied” by Da Brat. It was released on June 28, 1994 and is the debut album of the American rapper. Funkdafied debuted and peaked at number 11 on the Billboard 200, and topped the Rap Charts and Top R&B album chart and sold over one million copies, making her the first solo female rapper to go platinum. The album was preceded by the first single, “Funkdafied“, released on May 13, 1994. The single went Platinum in August and then the album went Platinum in January 1995. “Funkdafied” remains Da Brat’s most successful single and is her only single to have been Certified Platinum for shipments exceeding one million copies, earning the certification on August 16, 1994. By the end of the year, 800,000 copies had been sold and It reached No. 37 on the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1994 as one of the year’s most successful singles.  Youtube Link :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfpR9jKy0IQ “Give It 2 You” is the third and final single released from Da Brat’s album. It earned a gold certification from the RIAA on June 14, 1996. The original version borrowed its drums from the Mary Jane Girls’ “All Night Long” and featured a keyboard melody highly reminiscent of Warren G “This DJ.” It was the remix featured in the video release, however, which truly sent the song over the top. Youtube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFLt1lhbtKM “Fa All Y’all” is the follow up to Da Brat successful single “Funkdafied”. The single was released in September of that year, and although it did not match the success of “Funkdafied”, the song nevertheless became Da Brat’s second top 40 hit, reaching No. 37 on the Billboard Hot 100, where it spent 12 weeks. The song featured backing vocals from Xscape member Kandi Burruss, as well as Jermaine Dupri, Raven-Symoné and Manuel Seal, Jr. and was written by Da Brat and Dupri and produced by Dupri.  Youtube Link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lkAUMHypM0 This album is one to be reckoned with, being that it sets the standard for solo female rappers to push themselves and their craft. It was a great start to a beautiful career for Da Brat, as her first album already went platinum.