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)

Producer Profile: J Dilla (part 6, 2004-2005)

With J Dilla's reputation for heavy beats growing and a series of releases on his own, Dilla was able to place beats on some high profile projects. This post will cover snippets of his 2004-2005 output that include three of his highest profile productions.

In 2004, Blue Note Records enlisted producers to remix tracks from their back catalog. Dilla remixed Brother Jack McDuff's 1969 track 'Oblighetto' for 'Blue Note Revisited'. Jack McDuff's original track appeared on his sought after album 'Moon Rappin''. Also in 2004, Dilla landed a beat on De La Soul's first album in 3 years: 'The Grind Date'. The album contains two beats by J Dilla (three on the international version), 'Much More' (which was famously featured on 'Chapelle's Show') samples parts of Shuggie Otis' 'Strawberry Letter 23' (which would become a hit for the Brothers Johnson, but would never be bested) and L.T.D.'s 'Love Ballad' from 1975's 'Love to the World'. In 2005, Dilla contributed two more beats to Common's latest album 'Be', which was produced entirely by Kanye West with the exception of Dilla's tracks. 'Love Is...' utilizes Marvin Gaye's 'What's Going On' B-Side cut 'God is Love' to great effect.

During this same time period, reports of J Dilla's illness started to recieve press. By the end of 2005, Dilla was confined to a wheel chair as a symptom of TTP. On February 10, 2006 died - only three days after the release of his opus 'Donuts'. Our next look at Dilla will cover his final and posthumously released production work.

The Lowdown:
Brother Jack McDuff 'Oblighetto' (Dilla Mix)
from 'Blue Note Revisited' (2004) (MP3 not available/CD)
Brother Jack McDuff 'Oblighetto'
from 'Moon Rappin''(1969) (MP3/CD not available)
De La Soul 'Much More'
from 'The Grind Date' (2004) (MP3/CD)
Shuggie Otis 'Strawberry Letter 23'
from 'Freedom Flight' (1971) (MP3/CD)
L.T.D. 'Love Ballad'
from 'Love to the World' (1975) (MP3/CD)
Common 'God Is...'
from 'Be' (2005) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edit: 'God Is...'
Marvin Gaye 'God is Love'
from 'What's Going On' (1971) (MP3/CD)

Related Posts:
Producer Profile: J Dilla (Part 1, 1995)
Producer Profile: J Dilla (Part 2, 1996-1997)
Producer Profile: J Dilla (Part 3, 1998-1999)
Producer Profile: J Dilla (Part 4, 2000)
Producer Profile: J Dilla (Part 5, 2001-2003)