Producer Profile: RZA (Part 1, 1993-1994)

After early work with the group All in Together Now Crew (with the GZA and Ol' Dirty Bastard) and one single with Tommy Boy under the alias Prince Rakeem, Robert Diggs (aka the RZA) formed the Wu-Tang Clan with 8 other members in 1992. The most noteworthy single from their debut 'Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)' is the classic cut 'C.R.E.A.M.' which this year was finally certified as a gold single having sold 500,000 copies on its own. The song samples 'As Long As I've Got You', a Stax single from the Charmels.

To cash in on the success of the Wu-Tang Clan, Cold Chillin' re-released the debut GZA album under the alias the Genius as well as released the RZA produced track 'Pass the Bone' as a single (RZA production is credited as Prince Rakeem). 'Pass the Bone' samples the heavily used Wu breakbeat 'Impeach the President' by the Honey Drippers and 'Smokin' Cheeba Cheeba' by the Harlem Underground Band produced by Paul Winley and famously featuring George Benson. The year also saw the release of Method Man's debut album 'Tical' which featured the single 'Release Yo' Delf' that interpolates the hook from Gloria Gaynor's 'I Will Survive' as well as samples Herb Alpert's 'Treasure of San Miguel' and Graham Central Station's 'The Jam'.

Finally, in 1994, RZA contributed production work and rhymes to the horrorcore all-star outfit the Gravediggaz's debut album '6 Feet Deep'. Their first single, 'Diary of a Madman', produced by the RZA, RNS and Prince Paul and featuring a guest verse from the Wu's Killah Priest, samples two cuts from crooner Johnny Mathis to extremely creepy results: 'No Love (But Your Love)' and 'Warm and Tender'.

Check back for our next look at the RZA's production discography.

The Lowdown:
Wu-Tang Clan 'C.R.E.A.M.'
from 'Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)' (1993) (MP3/CD)
The Charmels 'As Long As I've Got You'
from 'As Long As I've Got You' 7" (1967) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
The Genius 'Pass the Bone'
from 'Pass the Bone' 12" (1994) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
The Honey Drippers 'Impeach the President'
from 'Impeach the President' 7" (1973) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Harlem Underground Band 'Smokin' Cheeba Cheeba'
from 'Harlem Underground' (1976) (MP3/CD not available)
Method Man 'Release Yo' Delf'
from 'Tical' (1994) (MP3/CD)
Gloria Gaynor 'I Will Survive'
from 'Love Tracks' (1978) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass 'Treasure of San Miguel'
from 'Sounds Like' (1967) (MP3/CD)
Graham Central Station 'The Jam'
from 'Ain't No Bout-a-Doubt It' (1975) (MP3/CD)
Gravediggaz 'Diary of a Madman'
from '6 Feet Deep' (1994) (MP3/CD)
Johnny Mathis 'No Love (But Your Love)'
from 'No Love (But Your Love)' 7" (1957) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Johnny Mathis 'Warm and Tender'
from 'Warm and Tender' 7" (1957) (MP3 not available/CD not available)

Related Posts:
Rewind: Wu-Tang Clan 'Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)' (Part 1)
Rewind: Wu-Tang Clan 'Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)' (Part 2)

Producer Profile: David Axelrod (Part 4, 1972-1977)

Through the 70s, David Axelrod continued to record a series of albums and continued producing albums for Cannoball Adderley until his untimely death in 1975. This fourth look at Axelrod's career will cover his work with Adderley in the final part of his life, his work with Funk Inc., his solo work, and - as always - the artists who have sampled the songs from this era.

Cannonball Adderley's albums from 1972 are crate digger fantasies: the difficult to track down 'Soul of the Bible' and 'Soul Zodiac' yielded producers with ample samplable music. Biz Markie used a sample from Adderley's 'Soul of the Bible' track 'Make Your Own Temple' for his 'Groovin'' from 1993's 'All Samples Cleared'. RZA sampled Adderley's 'Aries' from 'Soul Zodiac' for Genius/GZA's epic 'Gold' from the previously reviewed hip-hop classic 'Liquid Swords'.

Following three jazz-funk albums in the early 70s overseen by Rudy Van Gelder, Funk Inc. turned to David Axelrod to produce their fourth album titled 'Superfunk' (which has recently been re-released by the fantastic BGP label, link below). 'Superfunk' is a source for Eric B. and Rakim's 'Keep 'Em Eager to Listen' which samples Funk Inc.'s cover of 'Message from the Meters'. Brand Nubian samples 'Goodbye, So Long' from 'Superfunk' for their single 'Hold On' from the 1994 album 'Everything is Everything'. Funk Inc. recorded one more album in 1974 with David Axelrod, the currently unavailable 'Priced to Sell', whose 'God Only Knows' was sampled by Black Sheep on their 'A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing' track 'La Menage' with Q-Tip. Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, Busta Rhymes, and Redman all appear on A Tribe Called Quest's 'Steppin' It Up' produced by Jay Dee which samples another Axelrod produced track: Cannonball Adderley's 'Leo: Rosebud' from his 1974 album 'Love, Sex and the Zodiac'.

David Axelrod's out of print 1977 album 'Strange Ladies' is also a highly coveted piece of vinyl that's been sampled by hip-hop's finest. Lauryn Hill's 'Every Ghetto, Every City' from her 1998 album 'The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill' samples Axelrod's 'Tony Poem'. Two years later, Inspectah Deck sampled 'Terri's Tune' for Ghostface Killah's 'Stay True' from 'Supreme Clientele'.

Axelrod recorded three more albums following 'Strange Ladies' as his acclaim quietly grew in hip-hop production circles leading to a high profile release on Mo' Wax Records in 2001 and rediscovery of his work by a new audience. Look for further posts about Axelrod, his production work, and his sample credits on this blog.

The Lowdown:
Cannonball Adderley 'Make Your Own Temple'
from 'Soul of the Bible' (1972) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Biz Markie 'Groovin''
from 'All Samples Cleared' (1993) (MP3/CD not available)
Cannonball Adderley 'Aries'
from 'Soul Zodiac' (1972) (MP3 not available/Import CD)
Genius/GZA 'Gold'
from 'Liquid Swords' (1995) (MP3/CD)
Funk Inc. 'Message from the Meters' and 'Goodbye, So Long'
from 'Superfunk' (1973) (MP3 not available/Import CD)
Eric B. and Rakim 'Keep 'em Eager to Listen'
from 'Let the Rhythm Hit 'Em' (1990) (MP3/CD)
Brand Nubian 'Hold On'
from 'Everything is Everything' (1994) (MP3/CD not available)
Clean Edit: 'Hold On'
Funk Inc. 'God Only Knows'
from 'Priced to Sell' (1974) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Black Sheep 'La Menage'
from 'A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing' (1994) (MP3/CD)
Cannonball Adderley 'Leo: Rosebud'
from 'Love, Sex and the Zodiac' (1974) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
A Tribe Called Quest 'Steppin' it Up'
from 'The Love Movement' (1998) (MP3/CD)
David Axelrod 'Tony Poem' and 'Terri's Tune'
from 'Strange Ladies' (1977) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Lauryn Hill 'Every Ghetto, Every City'
from 'The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill' (1998) (MP3/CD)
Ghostface Killah 'Stay True'
from 'Supreme Clientele' (2000) (MP3/CD)

Bonus Beats:
Funk Inc.'s 'Message from the Meters' is, of course, a cover of 'Message from the Meters' by the Meters. The original Meters version is also a sampleworthy piece of 70s funk like much of the Meters discography: it was sampled by Matt Dike of the Dust Brothers and Michael Ross for Tone Loc's 'Loc'in on the Shaw' from 1989.

Related Posts:
Rewind: Genius/GZA 'Liquid Swords' (Part 1)
Rewind: Genius/GZA 'Liquid Swords' (Part 2)
Rewind: Ghostface Killah 'Supreme Clientele' (Part 1)
Rewind: Ghostface Killah 'Supreme Clientele' (Part 2)
Rewind: Ghostface Killah 'Supreme Clientele' (Part 3)

Rewind: GZA/Genius 'Liquid Swords' (Part 2)

Welcome to the second part of our look at 'Liquid Swords' by GZA/Genius, released on this day in 1995.

'Liquid Swords''s second single was the RZA produced 'Cold World' and features a fantastic use of the Dramatics' ballad 'In the Rain'. The track also samples Stevie Wonder's 'Hotter than July' album cut 'Rocket Love'. GZA's 'Shadowboxin'', the album's final single, samples Ann Peebles' 'Trouble, Heartaches, and Sadness'. A sample of Three Dog Night appears on GZA's 'Investigatve Reports' by way of their 1974 album 'Hard Labor' and the track 'I'd Be So Happy'. The album's closing track and the only track not produced by the RZA (this track was produced by Wu associate 4th Disciple) is 'B.I.B.L.E. (Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth)' which samples an early Ohio Players track titled 'Our Love Has Died' on their pre-breakthrough album 'Pleasure'.

'Liquid Swords' has, in time, become a platinum selling album and is often cited as being one of the best hip-hop albums of all time and is the high water mark for albums released by Wu-Tang members.

The Lowdown:
GZA/Genius 'Cold World', 'Shadowboxin'', 'Investigatve Reports', and 'B.I.B.L.E. (Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth)'
from 'Liquid Swords' (1995) (MP3/CD)
The Dramatics 'In the Rain'
from 'Whatcha See is Whatcha Get' (1971) (MP3/CD)
Stevie Wonder 'Rocket Love'
from 'Hotter than July' (1980) (MP3/CD)
Ann Peebles 'Trouble, Heartaches, and Sadness'
from 'Straight from the Heart' (1971) (MP3 not available/Import CD)
Three Dog Night 'I'd Be So Happy'
from 'Hard Labor' (1974) (MP3 not available/Import CD)
The Ohio Players 'Out Love Has Died'
from 'Pleasure' (1972) (MP3 not available/CD)

Rewind: GZA/Genius 'Liquid Swords' (Part 1)

After gaining underground cred with the rap group All in Together Now with his cousins and later Wu-Tang collaborators RZA and Ol' Dirty Bastard, Gary Grice signed a record deal with Cold Chillin' Records and debuted with 1990's 'Words from the Genius' as the Genius. Three years later, the Genius broke out as the GZA on the debut album by the Wu-Tang Clan, 1993's triumphant 'Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)'. GZA's second album would follow in 1995 and would become a hip-hop classic. This two part post will uncover the sample sources of GZA's album 'Liquid Swords'.

The album's lead track and highest charting single (breaking only halfway up the Billboard 100) is 'Liquid Swords'. The RZA produced monster heavily samples Willie Mitchell's 'Groovin'' (as well as 'Mercy Mercy Mercy') and also nicks Al Green's 'That's the Way it Is' from his 1976 album 'Full of Fire'. 'Duel of the Iron Mic' samples 'I'm Afraid the Masquerade is Over' from David Porter's concept album 'Victim of the Joke?' released in 1971 on Stax. 'Living in the World Today' samples an early Bar-Kays track called 'In the Hole' from their album 'Gotta Groove'.

Check back for the second part of our look at 'Liquid Swords'.

The Lowdown:
GZA/Genius 'Liquid Swords', 'Duel of the Iron Mic', and 'Living in the World Today'
from 'Liquid Swords' (1995) (MP3/CD)
Willie Mitchell 'Groovin'' and 'Mercy Mercy Mercy'
from 'Solid Soul' (1969) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Al Green 'That's the Way it is'
from 'Full of Fire' (1976) (MP3/CD)
David Porter 'I'm Afraid the Masquerade is Over'
from 'Victim of the Joke?' (1971) (MP3 not available/ CD)
Bar-Kays 'In the Hole'
from 'Gotta Groove' (1969) (MP3/CD)

BONUS CUT:
It's a new day in America this morning. Good looking Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Florida. Lee Dorsey 'Yes We Can'.