More heat from the vaults! Welcome to the second installment of Back in the Day: Cassingles. For more background on the cassette-single era, check part one of this fabulous blog. For those in the know, onward and upward!

(As an aside…in order to do justice to these dusty diamonds, I hooked up my cassette deck and started playing some antique hits. Due to the evidently high-powered rotors on my deck, one of my irreplaceable cassingles took a bullet for the team…but more on that in part three. The end result is this–I just got back from Target, where I got a knock-off Walkman (AM/FM/cassette) for ten bucks. It lacks auto-reverse, but it does have a fast-forward button! If you want to rewind, though, you’re gonna have to flip the tape and throw it in FF, then flip it back. Anyway, I threw out the headphones because, according to a sticker affixed to the ear-piece, the cord was coated in a carcinogenic substance that was a hazard to my reproductive health. Pardon my French, but fuck that. I plugged in my shitty over-ear studio cans instead and let the cassingles play. Not only is the motor not strong enough to snap my tapes, but this is truly the way that shit was meant to be heard. For me, analog tape played through headphones will always be the real sound of rap music. I just needed a reminder.)

First off, we have a classic, classic cassingle from 1996, the Chino XL “Here To Save You All in ‘96″ sampler. New Jersey’s Chino XL (nephew of P-Funk keyboardist Bernie Worrell) was kind of slept on in the final analysis, and, at the time he came out, a number of cats were trying to come with a similar style, regardless of who the innovator may have been…in fact, one of the songs on this tape (”No Complex”) would appear to contain an Organized Konfusion dis (disses–real or perceived–abound on this cassette, including the line “I’m trying not to get fucked, like Tupac in jail” which lead to Pac taking verbal shots at Chino on the ferocious “Hit ‘Em Up”). There’s no denying that Chino and Pharoahe Monch shared a certain sound and approach to the rhyme at the time. Pharoahe may have come out on top, at least in terms of popularity and world recognition, but this cassingle proves that Chino was always a lyrical force to be reckoned with. Stripped of the controversy that surrounded Chino at the time, this tape is almost better now. It’s a perfect snapshot of mid-90’s punchline-heavy East Coast rap shit. Plus it features messages of praise (much like De La’s “Stakes and Potatoes” sampler) from guest spitters such as Ras Kass, G-Rap, KRS One, the Artifacts, and Kool Keith. Snippets of inspired radio freestyles round out the tape (my favorite was KRS and Chino rhyming on what is probably the Wake-Up Show over the beat for “Who Shot Ya”). Interspersed with full or partial versions of “No Complex”, “Riiiot!” (feat. Ras Kass), “It’s All Bad”, “Thousands”, and “The Shabba-Doo Conspiracy” (feat. Kool Keith…this is one of the best song-titles of all time, and it contains pearls of wisdom from Keith such as “remember all the camouflage Tampax”), the bonus material pushes this one into the upper echelon of quality cassingles. So why didn’t Chino blow up? Maybe it’s because, for every line like this–” I write the songs like Barry Manilow/I like my sugar brown like Hugh Grant, fuck D’Angelo!”–there’s another one like this–”I explore a woman’s vaginal region like Lewis and Clark!” That kind of thing just never goes over well. Regardless, fans of ‘96-era lyrical mastery should definitely check out Chino XL and his debut album, “Here To Save You All”.

Next up, we have another beast from the East. In 1996, Company Flow dropped the Funcrusher EP and basically changed the game overnight. With ridiculously hard and abrasive beats, “crazy-ass-space-shit-that-don’t-even-make-no-sense” flows, can-control wordplay, and a minimalist lo-fi aesthetic, that EP (and the Funcrusher Plus long-player that followed it) reminded folks of what real raw rap shit was about. Company Flow’s whole style has been absorbed so entirely by modern urban electronic music that it’s hard to explain how different this sound was when it came out, especially since the group spawned so many followers and copycats. A call to arms for basement producers everywhere, the impact of this material continues to be felt today.

Which brings us to 1997’s “8 Snippets to Perfection” cassingle. Purporting to offer “dusted flashes from the Funcrusher Plus LP”, as well as “the independent representation of what MC’s can and should be”, this snippet tape is just that–snippets of “Population Control”, “Tragedy of War”, “Blind”, “Vital Nerve”, “Krazy Kings”, “Collude/Intrude”, “Last Good Sleep”, “Infokill II”, and “8 Steps to Perfection”. But it also has a hot live-performance intro, plus a dope DJ outro called “Apologies from the Juggaknotz”. If you weren’t up on Co Flow back then and you got your hands on this tape, your head probably fucking exploded. It was like hearing Wu-Tang Clan for the first time in ‘93…you just knew rap music would never be the same. And you were right.

Who’s next? Ah, yes. Tommy Boy’s “TB4″ label sampler. “Invading your area” in 1996, this tape of full-length songs featured staples De La Soul, a post-Ruthless Records Above the Law, and a soon-to-be less-relevant House of Pain. Many others make appearances, including then-newcomer Big Noyd, rude boy Bounty Killer, and Wu Tang’s Master Killer (maybe they’re related) . Here’s the tracklisting…

Side One:

Big Noyd “Usual Suspects” (probably produced by Havoc)…pretty hot. I say “Don’t avoid the Noyd”! Ha ha ha…hrrm.

De La Soul “Itsoweezee (Hot)”…one of many stellar singles from their fourth album, “Stakes is High”. A perfect summer joint…the cherry Kool-Aid cover of this 12-inch is one of the all-time greats.

House of Pain “Fed Up”…unfortunately, not the much-better remix featuring Guru over a flip of the “Just to Get a Rep” beat. This original version was a single from their third album, “Truth Crushed to Earth Shall Rise Again”, and it’s no “Jump Around”. Regardless, the dissolution of House of Pain would lead to bigger and better things for lead-rapper Everlast, who went on to reinvent himself as a sort of rap-rock balladeer…reviving his career with great success.

Bounty Killer “Eyes A Bleed (RZA Remix)”…notable for being a Bobby Digi beat (an extra-hot commodity in ‘96), as well as for the guest appearance by Master Killer. I think it’s safe to say that he’s not the Clan’s sharpest sword, but I guess he handles his own here.

Mac & A.K. “Can I Strike Through?”…representing the funked-up Bay shit that was prevalent at the time, this song is hella proper (despite, perhaps, the crooning on the chorus), and it was first released independently on Mac & A.K.’s hard-to-find “Westbound (For Riders Only) the EP”. With its slinky guitars and bass, this cut has the same vibe popularized by albums like Too Short’s “Get In Where You Fit In” and the Click’s “Game Related”. Shine up the scraper and ride to this one.

Side Two:

Above the Law “Evil That Men Do (Remix)”…the original is on their ‘96 album “Time Will Reveal”, but I don’t remember if the remix was exclusive to this tape (and possibly the 12-inch). Either way, the remix is way hotter. Smooth gangsterism from Pomona’s own Cold 187um and company. By the way, if you think your rap-name is as hard as “Cold 187um”, you’re wrong.

Oran “Juice” Jones feat. Stu Large “Players Call”…yes, the same Oran “Juice” Jones who brought you angry-boyfriend/stalker classic “The Rain” does it again! This is actually pretty tight, since it utilizes the same music as Common’s “Penny For Your Thoughts” (off his debut album “Can I Borrow a Dollar?”). Plus it has Stu Large. To which I say: “Who large?” Now go watch the video for “The Rain”, which is amazing. To quote the Juice, “You’re dismissed.”

Rashun & Skeeta Ranx “Weed Life (Remix )”…sung to the tune of”Street Life”, but it’s about weed! Get it? One of two songs on this tape (along with the Bounty Killer joint) promoting Tommy Boy’s “Big Blunts” dancehall series, this may be my least favorite song on the whole sampler. Oh, well.

De La Soul “Dreams of the Funky Towel”…the real gem on this cassingle. De La’s “Dreams…” could only be found on the soundtrack for the forgotten film “Joe’s Apartment”, a movie about, um, singing cockroaches (and starring the fat kid from “Stand By Me”…you know, the one who married Mystique). In fact, it appears that the soundtrack may never have been released. So was this cassingle the only way to own that cut in ‘96? For me it was. This is a textbook “loosie”, a random non-album song that you really had to hunt down if you wanted to bag it for your collection.

Globe & Whiz Kid “Play That Beat Mr. DJ”…rounding out our sampler is this b-boy favorite from 1983, as featured on “Tommy Boy’s Greatest Beats”. If you use the term “old school” to refer to shit like Biggie and Tupac and the Chronic, you need to check yourself. This shit is old school.

And with that, I’ll take my leave. Stay tuned for part three, when we’ll find out the identity of the mystery tape that my cassette deck destroyed this morning! Plus, we’ll look at more sampler madness, including Loud’s ‘97 street-sweeper, “The Set-up”. Until then…

Put it on tape and in the city I test it,

Grip Grand

Posted by Grip Grand on Tuesday, January 8th, 2008 at 7:44 pm.