Rewind: Diamond and the Psychotic Neurotics 'Stunts, Blunts, and Hip Hop' (Part 3)

Welcome to our third and final look at Diamond and the Psychotic Neurotics' 1992 album 'Stunts, Blunts and Hip Hop'.

Diamond D samples a couple hits for 'Confused', cutting up King Floyd's excellent single 'Groove Me' and the 80s joint 'Intimate Connection' by Kleeer (which sounds a lot like "internet connection" - you'll hear it). On the posse cut 'Pass Dat S---', which includes some early raps by Fat Joe, Diamond samples the Ohio Players song 'Pride and Vanity' from 1973's 'Pleasure' and Rare Earth's Motown rock joint 'Keep Me Out of the Storm'. Q-Tip joins Diamond D on 'K.I.S.S. (Keep it Simple Stupid)', which samples fusion rock group Weather Report (who yield a lot of samplable cuts, take note)'s 'American Tango' from their 1974 album 'Mysterious Traveller'. On the title track for 'Stunts, Blunts, and Hip Hop', Diamond and the Psychotic Neurotics use a sample of Billy Cobham and George Duke Band's 'Almustafa the Beloved' from the 1976 album 'Live on tour in Europe'. Finally, on 'Feel the Vibe', Showbiz and Diamond D sample Lee Dorsey's huge break 'Get Out My Life Woman', Brother Jack McDuff's 'Hold it for a Minute', and Earth, Wind and Fire's 1970 song 'Bad Tune' from their self titled debut album.

'Stunts, Blunts and Hip-Hop' yielded three singles and peaked just outside of the Billboard R&B / Hip Hop top 40. Big L and Fat Joe, who both contributed to the album, would achieve greater acclaim due to the album's underground success. Though Diamond D would produce for a slew of acts following this album, including Fat Joe, he would not record a follow up solo outing until 1997's 'Hatred, Passions and Infidelity'.

The Lowdown:
Diamond and the Psychotic Neurotics 'Confused', 'Pass Dat S---', 'K.I.S.S. (Keep it Simple Stupid)', 'Stunts, Blunts, and Hip Hop', and 'Feel the Vibe'
from 'Stunts, Blunts, and Hip Hop' (1992) (MP3/CD)
King Floyd 'Groove Me'
from 'King Floyd' (1973) (MP3 not available/CD)
Kleeer 'Intimate Connection'
from 'Intimate Connection' (1984) (MP3/CD not available)
The Ohio Players 'Pride and Vanity'
from 'Pleasure' (1972) (MP3/CD)
Rare Earth 'Keep Me Out of the Storm'
from 'Back to Earth' (1975) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Weather Report 'American Tango'
from 'Mysterious Traveller' (1974) (MP3/CD)
Billy Cobham and George Duke Band 'Almustafa the Beloved'
from 'Live on tour in Europe' (1976) (MP3/CD)
Lee Dorsey 'Get Out My Life Woman'
from 'The New Dorsey' (1966) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Brother Jack McDuff 'Hold it for a Minute'
from 'Getting Our Thing Together' (1968) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Earth, Wind and Fire 'Bad Tune'
from 'Earth, Wind and Fire' (1970) (MP3/CD)

Rewind: Mos Def 'Black on Both Sides' (Part 2)

Welcome to our second look at Mos Def's 'Black on Both Sides'.

Ayatollah produced the beat for the Talib Kweli and Mos Def team up 'Know That'. The track samples 'Anyone Who Had a Heart' from Dionne Warwick's Burt Bacharach and Hal David produced 1963 album of the same name. Mos Def's excellent track 'Brooklyn' uses a sample from Roy Ayers' Ubiquity project's 'We Live in Brooklyn, Baby' in addition to David Porter's 'I'm Afraid the Masquerade is Over'. Marley Marl's 'The Symphony' posse cut is the source for DJ Etch-A-Sketch's beat for Mos Def's 'Habitat'. Finally, Mos' track with Q-Tip 'Mr. N----', produced by D-Prosper and Mos Def, samples Ramsey Lewis' 'Sun Goddess' and Gil Scott-Heron's 'A Legend in His Own Mind'.

The album received high reviews, respect from the underground, and modest chart success. Mos Def would not record another solo effort until 2004's 'The New Danger', which signaled a dramatic change in his music. Check back for more coverage of Mos Def as well as Black Star in future posts on this blog.

The Lowdown:
Mos Def 'Know That', 'Brooklyn', 'Habitat', and 'Mr. N----'
from 'Black on Both Sides' (1999) (MP3/CD)
Dionne Warwick 'Anyone Who Had a Heart'
from 'Anyone Who Had a Heart' (1963) (MP3/CD)
Roy Ayers Ubiquity' 'We Live in Brooklyn, Baby'
from 'He's Coming' (1972) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
David Porter 'I'm Afraid the Masquerade is Over'
from 'Victim of the Joke?' (1971) (MP3 not available/CD)
Marley Marl 'The Symphony'
from 'In Control, Vol. 1' (1987) (MP3/CD not available)
Ramsey Lewis 'Sun Goddess'
from 'Sun Goddess' (1973) (MP3/CD)
Gil Scott-Heron 'A Legend in His Own Mind'
from 'Real Eyes' (1980) (MP3 not available/CD not available)

Producer Profile: J Dilla (part 3, 1998-1999)

Dilla, along with Q-Tip and Ali Shaheed Muhammad, continued their production as the Ummah by producing A Tribe Called Quest's 1998 album 'The Love Movement'. The lead single 'Find a Way' barely made a dent into the top 100 and although 'The Love Movement' peaked as #3 on the Billboard album charts, it didn't make much of a mark on the ever-changing landscape of hip-hop. 'Find a Way' begins a trend of odd, recent sample choices for Dilla - it nicks from Towa Tei's solo hit 'Technova (La Em Copacabana)' from only three years earlier. An album track from 'The Love Movement', 'His Name is Mutty Ranks', samples Aswad's 'Not Guilty'. A year later, Q-Tip would drop his solo album 'Amplified' with a heavier hitting single produced by Tip and Dilla: 'Vivrant Thing' (which samples portions of the Barry White produced 'I Wanna Stay' by the Love Unlimited Orchestra).

The Ummah lent production to Heavy D's second and final solo album in 1999 titled 'Heavy' (does production from the Ummah seem like the kiss of death to anyone else?). 'Listen' from 'Heavy' is typical of the Ummah style from the era. After the dissolution of the Ummah, both Q-Tip and J Dilla joined the loosely defined production collective known as the Soulquarians. Another artist from the collective is the Roots' ?uestlove. The link led to Dilla's production credit on the Roots' 'Dynamite!' from their critically acclaimed 1999 album 'Things Fall Apart'.

Check back for part 4 of our look at Dilla's career, including production work for Common, Erykah Badu, and De La Soul.

The Lowdown:
A Tribe Called Quest 'Find a Way' and 'His Name is Mutty Ranks'
from 'The Love Movement' (1998) (MP3/CD)
Towa Tei 'Technova (La Em Copacabana)'
from 'Future Listening!' (1995) (MP3 not available/CD)
Aswad 'Not Guilty'
from 'Live and Direct' (1983) (MP3 not available/CD)
Q-Tip 'Vivrant Thing'
from 'Amplified' (1999) (MP3 not available/CD)
Love Unlimited Orchestra 'I Wanna Stay'
from 'Music Maestro Please' (1975) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Heavy D 'Listen'
from 'Heavy' (1999) (MP3/CD not available)
The Roots 'Dynamite!'
from 'Things Fall Apart' (1999) (MP3 not available/CD)

Producer Profile: J Dilla (Part 2, 1996-1997)

Following the limited success of 'Runnin'' by the Pharcyde, J Dilla (then, as Jay Dee) scored his second single 'Stakes is High' for De La Soul. 'Stakes is High', like 'Runnin'', was not initially successful but is now seen as one the essential mid 90s East Coast singles. The trademark laid-back beat for 'Stakes is High' is cut partially from James Brown's 'Mind Power' from his landmark album 'The Payback'. Dilla met Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest through Amp Fiddler in 1995, leading to the formation of the Ummah with Ali Shaheed Muhammed and Tip in 1996. One of the Ummah's most notable production credits is on Janet Jackson's 1997 single 'Got Til It's Gone', which famously interpolates Joni Mitchell's 1970 hit 'Big Yellow Taxi'. Though the actual production credits are still argued, the liner notes claim the producers of 'Got Til It's Gone' are Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, but many hip-hop fans contend that the beat is obviously by the Ummah.

In addition to breaking into the charts with the Ummah, Dilla was still trying to launch his own group, Slum Village. Slum Village, though not making an impression on Q-Tip at first, toured with A Tribe Called Quest in 1998. Due to problems with their label A&M, their 1997 album, 'Fan-tas-tic Vol. 1' was never officially released until 2005 (five years after the sequel was released). 'Fan-tas-tic Vol. 1' gives insight to Slum Village in an early stage and offers up some early Dilla beats. 'Forth & Back', in particular, shines with a sample from Herbie Hancock's 'I Thought it Was You'.

In a future post of this blog, we'll see Dilla's stock rise with Ummah's production for ATCQ's 'The Love Movement' and the formation of the Soulquarians.

The Lowdown:
De La Soul 'Stakes is High'
from 'Stakes is High' (1996) (MP3 not available/CD)
James Brown 'Mind Power'
from 'The Payback' (1973) (MP3/CD)
Janet Jackson 'Got Til It's Gone'
from 'The Velvet Rope' (1997) (MP3/CD)
Joni Mitchell 'Big Yellow Taxi'
from 'Ladies of the Canyon' (1970) (MP3/CD)
Slum Village 'Forth & Back'
from 'Fan-tas-tic Vol. 1' (1997) (MP3/CD)
Herbie Hancock 'I Thought it Was You'
from 'Sunlight' (1977) (MP3/CD)

Producer Profile: J Dilla (Part 1, 1995)

In 1992, after early cassette tape noodling and the formation of the rap group Slum Village, James Yancey (better known as J Dilla, though then known as Jay Dee) met veteran Detroit producer Amp Fiddler who let Yancey use his equipment to make beats. Only three years later, Dilla had production credits on over a third of the Pharcyde's sophomore album 'Labcabincalifornia'.

'Labcabincalifornia''s most notable single was the sublimely low-key Dilla produced 'Runnin''. Though it was largely ignored at the time of it's release, 'Runnin'' is one the Pharcyde's undisputed classics, thanks in large part to the way Dilla flipped samples from 'Saudade Vam Correndo' by Stan Getz and Luiz Bonfa. The brazilian samba sample adds a hazy touch that works perfectly with Pharcyde's laid-back West Coast style. Dilla also produced the album's first single, 'Drop', which appears on the b-side of 'Runnin'', making for a double loaded and infinitely necessary vinyl single.

One of the most oddball footnotes in Yancey's career, circulated widely the day after his untimely death in 2006 via email, is his beat for modern rock artist Poe. 'Fingertips' from Poe's 'Hello' features a deep and echoey drum track from Dilla, matched with a distant big band sample.

In 1996, Amp Fiddler would introduce Yancey to Q-Tip, leading to production for A Tribe Called Quest's 'Beats, Rhymes, and Life' and the formation of the Ummah. Keep it locked here as I look at more of Dilla's history in a future installment of his Producer Profile on this blog.

The Lowdown:
The Pharcyde 'Runnin'' and 'Drop'
from 'Labcabincalifornia' (1995) (MP3/CD)
Stan Getz and Luiz Bonfa 'Saudade Vem Correndo'
from 'Jazz Samba Encore!' (1963) (MP3/CD)
Poe 'Fingertips'
from 'Hello' (1995) (MP3/CD)

BONUS CUT:
'Runnin'' by the Pharcyde was remade in 2003 by Mýa and the Pharcyde and retitled
'Fallen', which failed to break the top 40. I hope Dilla got his money for this one.