Thoughts
Over the last couple of weeks I watched both The Little Brother and the Dres documentaries. I enjoyed both a lot, but I am sucker for any rap content and especially in the documentary form. I hadn’t heard much of anything about either of them other that they were released. If you are in Canada the Little Brother documentary is on YouTube and the Dres documentary is on Paramount+. Spoilers coming if you have not seen them scroll on by to after the movie posters.
I watched the Dres one first, as I was an insane Black Sheep fan when they dropped. I didn’t realize that most of the premise of the Dres documentary was him working on and the trial and tribulations that go along with making a posthumously produced album by J DIlla. I am not by any stretch the biggest Dilla fan, he is not a producer that ever resonated with me for the most part. Don’t get me wrong I have enjoyed the beats he has produced but he is just not someone I get excited about. I know that this is hip hop blasphemy to state publicly. However, I do acknowledge his importants in advancing this culture and his iconic status amongst many. He just doesn’t touch Premier or Pete Rock in my opinion. Those are my guys. If I was younger I would probably be saying Lebron is the best and not Jordan. I look at it that way where I saw the greatest to ever do it when they were doing it. It was such a weird look for Dres too be chasing this album and It felt super weird and disingenuous for the most part, it rubbed me and others in the documentary the wrong way and think there is some merit in that. The other main thing is the falling out with Mista Lawgne and I will leave that for you to watch. Dres seems luck a super awkward uncle but has a good heart and just wants to keep contributing in this culture.
I was never a big Little Brother Fan. When they dropped, I was super super deep into the underground and they were too conventional for me at the time and I didn’t think they had anything really to offer me as I had heard all the best to do it rock that style. However, watching the documentary has really turned me into a fan. I really enjoyed their origin story as a group and their upbringings. It really gave me some context. I honestly thought they were a New York rap group. It turns out I really knew very little about them and I am really losing some hip hop cred with this paragraph but I also didn’t realize 9th Wonder was in the group. I hear you screaming at me through the computer right now, trust me. Like I said, It turns out I know very little about them. The documentary makes 9th Wonder seem like a herb, he declined to be in the documentary so I will continue to think he is a herb. When they started talking about the “Boards” aka Message Board Communities, that really hit me and brought back a flood of memories and emotions. I really loved that era of rap and connecting with wild characters around the world in those communities! It also made me feel old, hahaha. I really enjoyed this one and it was my favourite of the two and I was left thinking Phonte and Rapper Big Pooh are super awesome and people I would like to be friends with. Now I need to stop sleeping, catch up on their discography and put in that work. Shout out for name dropping Encore and Z-man!
Record One
Gemini The Gifted One - Scars and Pain
Another sure shot 90’s Tapes release was an instant cop at like 6:12 am. Like all 90’s tapes releases where like 80 % sell out within a few hours, you have to make an instant decision. Cop it now or live without it. I know I have said this before but I wish I could get every release they drop but sometimes I already have it and most other times the money was spent on other records. If it doesn’t spark that instant cop feeling then I let to ride. This was a really exciting one for me. I loved the two Gemini The Gifted One singles that Knowskills had for Bkrooklyn Kids and Funk Soul Sensation. He used to play them all the time on Third Verse when they came out. I have inherited those 12” from him and they are highly regarded in my collection. This is not really an album per-say, it is like an EP combined with a maxi single. There are the seven songs on record 1 and then remixes and “tributes” on the second record of the songs. I am not familiar with the term “tribute” in this connotation but I am going to gleam that it means they are remixes made specifically for this release. I could be wrong but that is my best guess. I am really happy I have this record in my collection. My Jam is Brooklyn Kids.
Record Two
Miilkbone - da’ miilkrate
Another 90’s Tapes Release this week, a record that I copped as an add on to break up shipping charges over two records was this one from Miilkbone. I fronted on this record when it dropped back in the day as it had a real corny aura around it. I was still growing and learning but I kind of associated white rapper with Vanilla Ice at the time and thought they were all wack by default. That was a sign of the times for sure. When this initially dropped I passed on it. I went back and checked it out to see if I was missing something and the beats were really dope and I liked the vibe of the record. Topically it is super cliche but the beats make it work. I am glad they still had some in stock and I copped one. I think the fact that it was still in stock, probably meant there were others who felt like me about it back in the day. My Jam is Keep It Real. Shout out to 90’s Tapes for quitting the coloured vinyl pressings and returning to the classic black look! 2 for 2 this week!
Classic Material
KRS-one - Return of The Boom Bap
This album dropped in the fall of 1993, I was in the 10th grade. I never owned a KRS- One or BDP album to this point. I had only really heard what I had seen on TV for videos. For whatever reason it just was not in my wheel house at that time. However, things were about to change real quickly for me. The day started like any other day of high school really. I was was on the the way to my second period class which happened to be English. The location was key for this. We had portable classrooms that were attached to the main building of our high school. They were pretty much permanent. I don’t remember them adding or contracting any during my time there.
I was walking to Ms. Bare’s class. She was a really sweet lady. Everyone really liked her and she related really well to students who were considered “outcasts” or the “bad kids”. She always had time for them and made time for them. I really respected her for that and remembered that. She could connect with any student on some level. She was like one of those teacher they would spot light in an after school TV special or something like that. This was not common in that era from my experience. Years later I would find myself doing my student teacher internship at a High School here in the city in the early 2000’s and she was a teacher at that school. We would often have lunch together in the teachers lounge and chat. She was so helpful and encouraging during my 4 month internship. She was still that same amazing teacher.
On my way to the class I ran in to M.Phasis who was at his locker. I stopped and saw what up as usual and asked what he was listening to. He said check it out and took his headphones off and gave them to me to check out and handed me the cassette case. It was Return of the Boom Bap. It blew my mind. I instantly fell in love with it. It happened to be in the middle of the first verse of the DJ Premier produced Outta Here. I was like holy shit this is insane. It was at the time the best rap song I had ever heard. Everything from the cuts to the sample to the drums to the bass line to the lyrics, delivery and energy were mind blowing. This song has been one of my all times favourite song for the last 30 years. Everytime I hear it, I am instantly transported to the carpet lined portable hallways of my high school.
The bell rang, but I didn’t care, I was never late for class but I also had never heard Outta Here. It was like nothing can drag me away from listening to this song. I was only about 20 feet from my class. Ms. Bare, would always poke her head out into the hallway as she would talk to students as they passed her class between classes. She saw me and asked me if I was joining the class today. I told here right after I am done listening to this song, she said okay and somehow understood the importance of that moment for me. Maybe she could see the pure bliss and enjoyment on my face and was like I can’t interrupt this. After I was done I ran to class and sat down. Nothing was said, it was just understood.
Closing Ramblings
As always, thank you for reading and for the feedback!
**legal disclaimer all records and songs were run through the RAP NEST 5000 SUPER ANALYTIC COMPTROLLER MACHINE that is certified by the I.A.A.R.R.A (International Association of Analytical Rap Recordings Analysis) in layman’s terms, it means the machine is never wrong.
Catch you next week with more thoughts from the rap nest.
Peace
-chaps
I'd be willing to briefly get Paramount+ to watch the Dres and Biz docs.
I found myself tearing up at the part where Phonte and Pooh are watching the adulation come through for their May the Lord Watch album in the hotel lobby. The doc answered a lot of questions for me as far as 9th goes. Deciding he's a herb is a proper assessment. Great producer, not the greatest dude.
When Dilla passed, I found myself having to reassess how I felt about him. He came in at awkward points in the timelines of The Pharcyde and ATCQ, and I think that colored my perception. That said, "Runnin'" and "The Jam" are undeniable classics to me. I would've felt like a liar if I was seen rockin' one of those "Dilla Changed My Life" shirts back in 2006, but I can fully recognize how dope he was. All in all, I'm a Preemo guy just like you. :)
It is worth adding Paramount + for a month to watch both of those. I was not ready for the Biz documentary, heartbreaking. It rattled me for a couple days.
I really enjoyed that part when they were in the hotel lobby. I am glad they got to experience that and share it with each other. That would be such a surreal experience.
I agree with everything you said on Dilla. I would be faking jax wearing that shirt. I was just so far into the underground then that he wasn’t on my radar in that era.