This was a re-release of producer Jay Dee's (AKA J Dilla, R.I.P.) first successful group consisting of emcees T3 and Baatin. Originally released in 1996, it was a small sample to what would become the Detroit sound.
(Little known fact: The cut 'Players' was a battle song aimed at Eminem's posse D12)
The Look of Love
Players
Before Dangermouse blew up on the pop scene, he made a fantastic album with NY rapper Jemini the Gifted One. Jemini suffered the disappointment that so many up and coming emcees face in the mid-nineties after the deaths of 2Pac and Biggie, having his debut album shelved by the record companies who wanted more dumbed down, gangster-image dance records.
But as luck would have it, London-based producer Dangermouse was a fan of his work and contacted Jemini to show him some of his beats and offered to collaborate on a project. Their product was one of the best throw back albums of the 2000 era. Jemini features a high pitched voice with infectious hooks while Dangermouse layers the grittiest, chopped up drum breaks over lush, orchestrated samples.
Ghetto Pop Life
Medieval ft The Pharcyde
Although graffiti is one of the four elements of hip hop, it always tends to be at the bottom of the list of rapper's song topics just below "party joint" and "chicken heads".
Enter the Artifacts, a dynamic group who wrote THE definitive hit song about getting up in the brick city. Hailing from New Jersey, Emcees El da Sensai and Tame One have unique styles that reflect off their affiliates EPMD and Redman (who also produced half the album), carving their own niche in hip hop's golden age. Their debut album, Between a Rock and a Hard Place is littered with heavy drum loops, dissonant jazz samples and complex rhyming verses.
Wrong Side of da Tracks
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