Rewind: Diamond and the Psychotic Neurotics 'Stunts, Blunts, and Hip Hop' (Part 1)

After the dissolution of his early group called Ultimate Force, Diamond D and the D.I.T.C. crew debuted in 1992 as Diamond and the Psychotic Neurotics with one of underground hip-hop's classic LPs: 'Stunts, Blunts and Hip Hop'. This three part blog post will cover the sample sources (and man, are there a lot of them) for Diamond D's epic.

On the 'Intro' track to 'Stunts, Blunts', Diamond samples folk rocker James Taylor's 1967 album 'James Taylor and the Original Flying Machine''s album cut 'Knockin 'Round the Zoo'. Diamond also produces the cut 'Best Kept Secret', the oldest track on the album, by sampling Booker T. and the M.G.'s 'Green Onions', Three Dog Night's rock cut 'I Can Hear You Calling', Kool and the Gang's breakbeat cut 'N.T.', and Johnny Pate's title track to the 1973 soundtrack of the movie 'Shaft in Africa'. On 'Sally Got a One Track Mind', Diamond D samples 'Sparkling in the Sand' by the Tower of Power and the classic Skull Snaps break 'It's a New Day'. Showbiz (of Show and A.G. fame) and Diamond D produced the cut 'Step to Me' by sampling the Delfonics' soul classic 'Ready or Not (Here I Come)' and 'Fight Back' from Solomon Burkes' cut from the 1972 soundtrack of 'Cool Breeze'. Lakim Shabazz and Diamond produced the Psychotic Neurotics classic 'F--- What You Heard' with samples from 1970's Donny Hathaway self titled album cut 'Magnificent Sanctuary Band' and John Handy's 1977 song 'Alvina' from his album 'Carnival'.

Check back for part 2 of our look at 'Stunts, Blunts and Hip-Hop'.

The Lowdown:
Diamond and the Psychotic Neurotics 'Intro', 'Best Kept Secret', 'Sally Got a One Track Mind', 'Step to Me', and 'F--- What You Heard'
from 'Stunts, Blunts, and Hip Hop' (1992) (MP3/CD)
James Taylor 'Knockin 'Round the Zoo'
from 'James Taylor and the Original Flying Machine' (1967) (MP3 not available/CD)
Booker T. and the M.G.'s 'Green Onions'
from 'Green Onions' (1962) (MP3/CD)
Three Dog Night 'I Can Hear You Calling'
from 'Naturally' (1970) (MP3/CD)
Kool and the Gang 'N.T.'
from 'Live at P.J.'s' (1972) (MP3/CD)
Johnny Pate 'Shaft in Africa (Addis)'
from 'Shaft in Africa' (1973) (MP3/CD not available)
Tower of Power 'Sparkling in the Sand'
from 'East Bay Grease' (1970) (MP3/CD)
Skull Snaps 'It's a New Day'
from 'Skull Snaps' (1973) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
The Delfonics 'Ready or Not (Here I Come)'
from 'The Sound of Sexy Soul' (1968) (MP3/Import CD)
Solomon Burke 'Fight Back'
from 'Cool Breeze' (1972) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Donny Hathaway 'Magnificent Sanctuary Band'
from 'Donny Hathaway' (1970) (MP3 not available/CD)
John Handy 'Alvina'
from 'Carnival' (1977) (MP3 not available/CD not available)

Producer Profile: DJ Premier (part 2, 1991-1993)

Following his work on the debut Gang Starr album and the Wild Pitch label, DJ Premier continued to produce some excellent beats through the early years of the 90s. This post will cover some of his highlights from 1991-1993.

Gang Starr will undoubtedly be covered in more detail in the future, but one of Primo's classic productions from 1991 cannot go unmentioned. 'Lovesick' from Gang Starr's album 'Step in the Arena' features fantastic use of the Delfonics' soul anthem 'Trying to Make a Fool of Me' in addition to the Young Holt Unlimited's 'Ain't There Something Money Cant Buy'. In 1992, Primo produced 'Here Comes the Heavster' from Heavy D and the Boyz' album 'Blue Funk'. The track digs deep in the jazz crates for Charles Mingus' 1956 cut 'A Foggy Day' from 'Pithecanthropus Erectus'. Premier produced 6 tracks from 1993's 'Return of the Boom Bap' by KRS-One. On 'Outta Here', Premier samples drums from James Brown's excellent 'Funky President (People It's Bad)'.

Be on the look out for part 3 of our look at DJ Premier, whose productions in 1994 include to of hip-hop's most widely revered albums: 'Illmatic' and 'Ready to Die'.

The Lowdown:
Gang Starr 'Lovesick'
from 'Step in the Arena' (1991) (MP3/CD)
The Delfonics 'Trying to Make a Fool of Me'
from 'The Delfonics' (1969) (MP3/CD)
Young Holt Unlimited 'Ain't There Something Money Cant Buy'
from 'Soulful Strut' (1968) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Heavy D and the Boyz 'Here Comes the Heavster'
from 'Blue Funk' (1992) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Charles Mingus 'A Foggy Day'
from 'Pithecanthropus Erectus' (1956) (MP3/CD)
KRS-One 'Outta Here'
from 'Return of the Boom Bap' (1993) (MP3/CD)
James Brown 'Funky President (People It's Bad)'
from 'Reality' (1975) (MP3 not available/CD not available)

Rewind: Notorious B.I.G. 'Life After Death' (Part 3)

Welcome to part 3 of our three-part look at the Notorious B.I.G.'s album 'Life After Death'.

Puff Daddy, Steven Jordan, and the Hitmen sample the late Delfonics single 'Hey! Love' from their fourth album 'Tell Me This is a Dream' for Biggie's album track 'Playa Hater'. The same production team sampled Liquid Liquid's NYC breakbeat anthem 'Cavern' (previously covered in depth on this blog) for the hit single 'Nasty Boy', complete with one of hip-hop's nastiest intros. Biggie's 'The World is Filled...' with Too Short and Carl Thomas features the use of one of my favorite, unusual breaks: Asha Puthli's 'Space Talk' (not so easy to find, so I'm surprised you can download it from Amazon) from her 1978 album 'The Devil is Loose'. The track's production is credited to D-Dot and Puff Daddy. The Wu's RZA makes a late album production appearance on the track 'Long Kiss Goodnight' and samples Wu-stand by Al Green's excellent 'Green is Blues'-era cover of 'The Letter'.

Released only a few weeks after the Notorious B.I.G.'s murder, the double album debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts and amassed a string of hits. Some verses from Biggie would appear later that year on Puff Daddy's solo outing 'No Way Out' and in the decade proceeding Biggie's death, no less than two terrible cash-in projects were released with unearthed verses and guest vocalists (1999's 'Born Again' and 2005's 'Duets: The Final Chapter'... lets hope it's the final chapter). Despite additional albums produced after his death, the Notorious B.I.G.'s legacy is complete with his two studio albums - two of hip-hop's most endearing works.

The Lowdown:
The Notorious B.I.G. 'Playa Hater', 'Nasty Boy', 'The World is Filled...', and 'Long Kiss Goodnight'
from 'Life After Death' (1997) (MP3/CD)
The Delfonics 'Hey! Love'
from 'Tell Me This is a Dream' (1971) (MP3 not available/CD)
Liquid Liquid 'Cavern'
from 'Optimo' (1982) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Asha Puthli 'Space Talk'
from 'The Devil is Loose' (1978) (MP3/CD not available)
Al Green 'The Letter'
from 'Green is Blues' (1972) (MP3/CD)

Five On It: August 2008's Essentials

Five on It #3 - another month, another five essential breaks you need to have in your collection.

This month's top five begins with the Philly soul stomper 'Ready or Not Here I Come (Can't Hide from Love)' by the Delfonics which appeared in part 1 of our look at 'The Score' by Fugees. On this blog's first post covering the tracks produced by Large Professor, Average White Band's drum heavy 'School Boy Crush' was mentioned (and it will undoubtedly show up in the future). Marlena Shaw's 'California Soul' and David Axelrod's 'Holy Thursday' were both featured in the coverage of Quasimoto's 'The Unseen' album (in parts 2 and parts 3 respectively). Finally this month, the baddest of all bad mutha tracks - James Brown's 'The Payback' as used by Pete Rock. One unbelievable part of the mythology of 'The Payback' is it was turned down for inclusion in the movie 'Hell Up in Harlem' for not being funky enough. What could be funkier?

The Lowdown:
The Delfonics 'Ready or Not Here I Come (Can't Hide from Love)'
from 'The Sound of Sexy Soul' (1968) (MP3/CD)
Average White Band 'School Boy Crush'
from 'Cut the Cake' (1975) (MP3/CD)
Marlena Shaw 'California Soul'
from 'The Spice of Life' (1968) (MP3/CD)
David Axelrod 'Holy Thursday'
from 'Songs of Innocence' (1968) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
James Brown 'The Payback'
from 'The Payback' (1974) (MP3/CD)

BONUS CUT:
'Ready or Not Here I Come' is interpolated by the Fugees on their hit 'Ready or Not', but the opening of the song is actually sampled by Timbaland on Missy Elliott and Da Brat's 1997 hit 'Sock it 2 Me'.

Rewind: Fugees 'The Score' (Part 1)

One of 1996's most widely acclaimed and commercially successful albums is also one of the most densely produced albums of the year. Fugees' sophomore album, 'The Score', led with three charting smash hits, repainted the landscape of pop and hip-hop with dark atmospheric beats that feel like a humid, murky swamp.

'Ready or Not' was the third single from the album, and though not as big of a hit at the time, the track is now one of the album's classic cuts. The chorus is an interpolation of the Delfonics classic 'Ready of Not, Here I Come (Can't Hide from Love)', an essential slice of Philly soul. 'Ready or Not' also includes samples from 'Django' by the Modern Jazz Quartet, 'God Made Me Funky' by the Headhunters, and most strangely 'Boadicea' from Enya's new age feel good album 'The Celts'. Like whoa.


The tense deep album track 'Zealots' has a quick vocal interpolation of 'I Only Have Eyes for You' by the Flamingos. The album's first single, the Salaam Remi produced 'Fu-Gee-La' features an interpolation (anyone see a pattern?) of Teena Marie's 1988 single 'Ooo La La La' from her album 'Naked to the World'. The song additionally samples Ramsey Lewis' hit '(If Loving You is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right'.

Check back for part 2 of 'The Score'.

The Lowdown:
Fugees 'Ready or Not', 'Zealots', and 'Fu-Gee-La'
from 'The Score' (1996) (MP3/CD)
The Delfonics 'Ready or Not, Here I Come (Can't Hide from Love)'
from 'The Sound of Sexy Soul' (1968) (MP3/CD)
Modern Jazz Quartet 'Django'
from 'Pyramid' (1959) (MP3/CD)
Headhunters 'God Made Me Funky'
from 'Survival of the Fittest' (1975) (MP3/CD)
Enya 'Boadecia'
from 'The Celts' (1986) (MP3/CD)
The Flamingos 'I Only Have Eyes for You'
from 'Flamingo Serenade' (1959) (MP3 not available/CD)
Teena Marie 'Ooo La La La'
from 'Naked to the World' (1988) (MP3/CD not available)
Ramsey Lewis '(If Loving You is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right'
from 'Funky Serenity' (1973) (MP3 not available/CD)

BONUS CUTS:
Here are two cuts to diversify your Fugees medley at the clubs: Sly and Robbie's remix of 'Fu-Gee-La' (which is the only reason to own the lamely packaged Fugees 'Greatest Hits' album, trust me) and the 12" mix of 'Ooo La La La' by Teena Marie. Have fun.

Rewind: Nas 'It Was Written' (Part 2)

Continued from out last post, this is the second half of my examination of Nas' 'It Was Written'.

The Firm's first official appearance landed on 'It Was Written''s mid-album track 'Affirmative Action'. Although the ill-fated team-up of Nas, AZ, Cormega, and Foxy Brown was one of hip-hop's most talent squandering fiascos, the beat jacked from Otis Redding's 'Hard to Handle' courtesy of the Trackmasters and Dave Atkinson is a killer. 'Life's a B----' producer L.E.S. joins the Trackmasters for 'Black Girl Lost', which plunders 'Starlight' by Stephanie Mills. L.E.S. also produced 'Suspect', using a sample from Chuck Mangione's 'El Gato Triste' from his album 'Land of Make Believe'.

The shining star on 'It Was Written' appears at the very end. Nas and Lauryn Hill scored a major hit with 'If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)', produced by the Trackmasters and Rashad Smith. Lauryn's chorus takes cues from 'If I Ruled the World' by Kurtis Blow and 'Walk Right Up to the Sun' by the Delfonics. The best is jacked from Whodini's electro single 'Friends'. When all of these sources came together, 'If I Ruled the World' sounded both dated and brand new. The track still stands the test of time as one of Nas' finest mainstream moments.

The Lowdown:

Nas 'Affirmative Action', 'Black Girl Lost', 'Suspect', and 'If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)'
from 'It Was Written' (1996) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edits: 'Affirmative Action', 'Black Girl Lost', 'Suspect', and 'If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)'
Otis Redding 'Hard to Handle'
from 'The Immortal Otis Redding' (1968) (MP3/CD)
Stephanie Mills 'Starlight'
from 'Whatcha Gonna Do With My Lovin'' (1979)(MP3 unavailable/CD unavailable)
Chuck Mangione 'El Gato Triste'
from 'Land of Make Believe' (1973) (MP3/CD)
Kurtis Blow 'If I Ruled the World'
from 'America' (1985) (MP3 unavailable/CD unavailable)
The Delfonics 'Walk Right Up to the Sun'
from 'Tell Me This is a Dream' (1971) (MP3 unavailable/CD unavailable)
Whodini 'Friends'
from 'Escape' (1984) (MP3 unavailable/CD unavailable)