Thoughts
Videos. I used to love rap videos. Like really really really love rap videos. Nowadays I could be hard pressed to check out a video from an artist no matter how much i like them. The video doesn’t really do anything for me anymore like it once did. For me, rap videos were the only way to access music that was otherwise inaccessible in Saskatoon in the late 80’s and early 90’s. Like there was a time in my life where I would not ever miss Rap City on Much Music. Probably for a good ten year run. From the Days it aired once a week on Thursday’s to the the 5 days a week expansion of the show. I think I first started watching in 1990. I was hooked it was the best. I, like so many, used to tape the videos to watch all week until the new episode aired. Sometimes if a new video hit that I loved like Pete Rock and CL Smooth’s TROY, I would watch the original broadcast, then the replay at night then wake up early for the third repeat at like 6 am. That was a common occurrence for me and I know most of you reading this of a similar age have similar stories whether you grew up in Canada or the United States. I am unfamiliar with European rap video shows but I am sure they existed and were super dope too.
A 14 year old me in 1992 was literally crushed when I bought Das Efx’s debut album Dead Serious and They Want Efx was not the version that appeared in the video. I still remember distinctly going into the record store and buying the tape and putting it on in anticipation of the The Want Efx to drop and being so let down when it did. That was when I learned the tough lesson about video versions of songs. I had heard Public Enemy’s Bring The Noise but the video version with Anthrax before I heard the version on It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back . I Preferred the version on this album without Anthrax as I hated anything that was not rap. So here was an instance where the album version was better then the video version. I don’t mind it now as I am more open to other forms of music even though rap reigns supreme.
One of the most frustrating things was not being abe to get the music featured on the broadcast. In the early days they had a 12” single feature on Rap City and the were simply not available. Also there were so many incredible Canadian Rap Videos like The Maximum Definitive - Jungle Man, Halfsize Giants - First Love, Things Change, Redlife - Whos Talkin Weight, Ghetto Concept - E-Z On Tha Motion to name a few but the infrastructure in distribution and support from retail was simply not there to support these artists and make them household names in a larger context of the Canadian music scene. This was such a lost opportunity and i think really hurt Canadian Rap.
I remember seeing Frek Sho’s Patience (thanks Rove for the upload) video for the first time on one of my High School common rooms tv monitors. Mphasis and I saw it and were blown away I don’t think the volume was on but we were intrigued by the visuals as this didn’t quite look like the other videos they played at the time. When we got home and watched a later version off the broadcast and our suspicions of this being the best were confirmed when we finally heard the lyrics and beat. Such a great memory.
I think videos had more of an impact then because of the shared experience of videos. Often they were watched with homies and if not they were discussed at length the next day. The limited access made them special as you couldn’t watch them on demand like now. You had to endure the good with the bad and take it all in . It was part of the game. The anticipation of what might come on next was next kept you engaged right to the end.
There were other shows on much music that featured weird rap videos like Much East and Much West were you would sit through the whole program of shitty regional music ,I had zero interest in, in the hopes to see a Hip Club Groove or a Sebutones video. It was worth it every time though when you caught one of those gems.
Culturama vhs/dvd series was super dope. It was a chance to see a bunch of great indie rap videos all in one place. Things that were sort of rare and harder to find. I know this seems crazy but prior to YouTube blowing up everything wasn’t on it or readily available at your finger tips on your phone like nowadays. I still like to throw these DVD’s on. I like that they were curated by someone. I wish there was a twitch channel or something that curated rap videos in a similar fashion. I would probably tune into that. I know I can just watch this videos but there is something like listening to the radio about having someone else curate them the playlist that I really appreciate.
Do videos have relevancy in 2022? They used to drive album sales and were critical to to commercial success of an album. However these days I am not so sure what their relevance or purpose is in this ever complicated and evolving music landscape.
Record 1
Welcome To The True North - Various Artists
So this record is a nice surprise. It is from a new label Type A Records, which as stated on their instagram is “a Canadian hip hop record label in the business of producing vinyl records” which is something I can get behind on a lot of levels. I think I saw a repost in Navi The North’s instagram about the record so i followed the tags and sent a message to get in on the preorder. It was free shiping and the record was very resonably priced so I placed the order. Things are already off to a great start. The album is great and features some legendary Canadian mc’s like Thrust, Frankenstein, Tough Dumplin and Mindbender (YOTMB). The instal standout tracks fro me are Shut-em Down Remake by Frankenstein and a Posse cut produced by Navi the North called Superheroes featuring Tough Dumplin, Hyperbole, Thrust, The Riksha and Mindbender. I am excited to see how the label grows and what the future has to hold as this is a great first release! Looks like a Tough Dumplin album is next.
Record 2
PremRock - Load Bearing Crows Feat
Load Bearing Crows Feat is PremRocks first solo release on the now powerhouse BackwoodzStudios label. The self produced track Prairie Burn is my jam. Anything Aj Seude is on these days is a must listen fro me such an incredible mc and his verse on Joel Osteen does not dissapoint. I really enjoyed the Henry Canyons solo release Cool Side of The Pillow so it was great to hear a feature from him on The Shortest Story Ever. I saw PremRock rock it with the homie Fresh Kils in New Haven almost a decade ago in a DIY spot that I brought a 30 pack of beer to for the show. He was really dope live and I have been a fan ever since. This album is great from front to back and I am excited to hear what is next from him.
Top 5
Billy Woods - Aethiopes (Kitz Willman pick)
Foolish Immortals - Illustration (Epic pick)
sign one - signal to noise 5
Pasquale - chadiohead
Touch & Moves - 1984
Classic Material
Public Enemy - It Takes A Nation Off Millions to Hold Us Back
I was 13 years old and in grade 8 in 1991 it was three years after the release of this album when I walked into a record store in a Red Deer Alberta Mall and picked it up. It was not in a long box but it was in one of those plastic long box tape cases they used to put tapes and cds in so they would fit in and record bins. I remember staring at the cover for what seemed like an eternity. It has the picture if Chuck D and Flava Flav behind bars with Chuck rocking the Raiders Starter jacket and hat. I was like these guys look so cool and what ever is on this record I need to hear. I didn’t have much money in those days so i had to made the decision to buy the tape or eat lunch, so naturally I made the right choice and I bought the tape because rap music is forever and lunch comes and goes. A little back story about how I found myself staring at Public Enemy tape in the middle of Alberta. I played trumpet in elementary band and in grade 7 was invited to play in an area concert band made up of musicians from 4 elementary schools in my neigbourhood. We practiced Thursday mornings at like 7 am before school. the trip that year was to festival in Red Deer Alberta. At this time these flats of juice with peel back foil tops were all the rage when it came to fundraising and I hit the streets hard and sold a truck load of that shit to be able to go on the trip.
Anyways back to the record at hand. The intro Countdown To Armegeddon may be the best opening for an album ever. The first time I put my headphones on and listened to the tape and heard the air raid sirens and Flava Fall saying the revolution will not be televised and the whistles and crowd in the back ground just set the perfect tone for what was about to come. Don’t Believe The Hype was my jam. It just spoke to me like nothing had before. “My 98 booming with a trunk of funk” was a mesmerizing line to me. I know it sounds dumb now but I was like what is a 98 and how do I get one. It was years before I made the connection that the 98 was in reference to type of Oldsmobile car. Rap was funny like that with references to things that I didn’t have a knowledge of but what captivated me was the energy, the beats, the aggression, they realness, the authenticity and the challenging of my world view. The horn in Night of the Living Base head was perfect for a track about the crack epidemic. I don’t think I fully understood what they were talking about at they time but I knew it was important if they were giving it attention. This was the genius of Public Enemy and the album. It set me on path for the rest of my life and I am forever grateful that day in the mall in spring of 1991.
Closing Ramblings
New shirt alert!!
I have two new shirts up at Stylesmakefights.ca One for my radio Show You Know The Rules designed by the homie Aiden Searle and the other fro my dj crew The Stone Cold Party Rockers with the homie Rove designed by the homie Awol One. Also the homies at Audio Recon have some dope new shirts too
I host two weekly radio shows Third Verse on CFCR 90.5 fm in Saskatoon Saskatchewan every Wednesday 9 -10:30pm CST and You Know The Rules on UMFM 101.5 in Winnipeg Manitoba every Sunday Night 10-11pm They are pretty great and you should check em out.
Also i got some cool shirts, poster and hats in the Ugsmag Shop if you want that fly shit.
**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