Weirdos of old school rap, vol. 1

It's been a few weeks...

Recently, I've been listening to a lot of rap and hip hop. A lot of older stuff, because beats were better when sampling was more prominent, and that's all there is to it. If a newer track uses a sample, it's almost always a really simple one, utilized in an unoriginal fashion. That's not to say there's not good new shit out there, but whatever, there's enough people posting that kinda shit, so here's the old school:

First up, this weird-ass record from the Goats. These guys were active in the early '90's and often drew comparisons to the Beastie Boys, which I don't see. To me, it's kinda like other 'alt-rap' stuff like Cypress Hill, Tribe Called Quest, or maybe Del tha Funkee Homosapien, but a little weirder. This is like some kind of political concept album, but the dudes were too high to really make it work, so it's just a really weird collage. Definitely worth the listen, because of bangin' tracks like 'Got Kinda Hi.' Check it.

Tracklist:

1. We Got Freaks
2. Typical American
3. Hangerhead is Born
4. Watcha Got is Watcha Gettin'
5. Columbus' Boat Ride
6. R U Down with Da Goats?
7. Cumin' in Ya Ear
8. Noriega's Coke Stand
9. Got Kinda Hi
10. Unodostressquattro
11. Georgie Bush Kids
12. Wrong Pot 2 Piss In
13. Hip-Hopola
14. Leonard Peltier in a Cage
15. Do the Digs Dug?
16. Carnival Cops
17. TV Cops
18. Tattooed Lady
19. Tricks of the Shade
20. Not Not Bad
21. Rovie Wade, the Sword Swallower
22. Aaah D Yaaa
23. Drive-By Bumper Cars
24. Burn the Flag
25. Uncle Scam's Shooting Gallery

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Alright, next up are Cypress Hill affiliates FunkDoobiest. This is their debut album 'Which Doobie U B?' It's very much in line with the Hill's early discs and the first 2 House of Pain albums. If you know HOP, you've heard Son Doobie on 'House of the Rising Son.' These guys like weed. A lot. I'm sure you can tell that from the tracklist. Dunno much about this one, except that DJ Muggs produced it, so you know it rules right away. I've also heard a lot of other rappers (from Eminem to Ice Çube) name-check Son for how much porno he has, so maybe there's something to that...also, not sure, but I think these guys beat Snoop Dogg to the 'bow wow wow yippy yo yippy yay' thing...

Tracklist:

1. The Funkiest
2. Bow Wow Wow
3. Freak Mode
4. I'm Shittin' on 'Em
5. Who's the Doobiest
6. Doobie to the Head
7. Where's it At
8. Wopbabalubop
9. The Porno King
10. Uh C'Mon Yeah
11. Here I Am
12. Funk's On Me

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Last up, I gotta post something Beastie-related, due to MCA's tragic passing. This is a total bummer to me, as he's always been my favorite, and Beastie Boys was one of the few groups I really wanted to see live before I die. So, on that note, here's DJ Hurricane's debut solo record, 'The Hurra.' This dude was the DJ from 'Paul's Boutique' (the tour, not the record) to 'Ill Communication,' my favorite Beastie era. Apparently, he also rocks the mic pretty hard. This is also kinda like Cypress Hill (Sen Dog guests,) but with lots more live instrumentation, courtesy of longtime Beastie collaborators Mark Nishita and Mario Caldato, Jr. (who produced a bunch of the tracks on here.) What's more, the Beasties themselves turn up on two cuts ('Four Fly Guys' and 'Stick 'Em Up') and say some hilarious shit ('Cocaine crew say 'blowwwwww!'.) Good stuff. Dig it.

Tracklist:

1. Now You Do
2. Elbow Room
3. Four Fly Guys (ft. Beastie Boys)
4. Can We All Get Along
5. Feel the Blast (ft. Sen Dog)
6. Pass Me the Gun
7. The Hurra
8. Where's My Niggaz At
9. What's Really Going On (ft. L.O. and MC Breed)
10. Comin' Off (ft. L.O. and Tye Bud)
11. Get Blind
12. Pat Your Foot
13. Stick 'Em Up (ft. Beastie Boys)

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There. Hopefully that makes up for the weeks of absence. Enjoy.