Kane is by far one of the most requested MC’s people always suggest, no demand, we cover. And we couldn’t be more thrilled that Kane blessed us with an interview.

We initially planned to talk to Kane about recording his classic 1988 debut, “Long Live The Kane” but it quickly dawned on me that we should make the most of our time with Kane, so instead of setting up a future interview to discuss his other classic album “It’s a Big Daddy Thing”, let’s just knock it all out at once.

Thankfully the most influential and finest rapper of all time was in for the trip down memory lane. Needless to say we couldn’t wait to hear Kane talk about creating some of the genre’s most defining songs. I know, neither can you, so I’ll skip the overview of Kane’s career and let him tell you in his own words.

Check out Big Daddy Kane!

-Alex

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Written By Alexandra Phanor-Faury
Shot & Edited By Maria Sandoval
Photos By Marc Bushelle
Graphics, Illustrations By GMD Three

Listening to Cormega talking about the complex relationship between commerce and art, you can’t help but wonder about the nameless artists who weren’t as fortunate as he was when it came to standing behind their work in the face of outside pressures. “There was no other choice but to do it for self,” he explains.

Cormega first entered the hip-hop consciousness as a sort of mythic figure in Nas’ “One Love” off the Queensbridge rapper’s debut, Illmatic. Before we ever heard Cormega’s voice or flow, we knew of him. Following his stint in jail, impressive turns on a slew of mixtapes, a verse on Nas’ “Affirmative Action”, a spot on Nas’ ill-fated, super-group The Firm, and a highly coveted deal with hip-hop’s premier label, Def Jam, Cormega showed great promise. The anticipation for his solo debut reached fever pitch. Unfortunately, none of the above would ever transpire for the Brooklyn born MC. A dangerous cocktail of industry politics and shady business dealings would find Cormega with no deal and his recorded debut, The Testament, shelved.

“I was so mad about my situation and at everyone who was holding me back that I made The Realness.”
In 2001 his official debut, The Realness, would finally be released on Landspeed Records. Despite having been recorded in only one month, Cormega’s seemingly rushed effort proved to be as good, if not better, than his scheduled Def Jam debut. The Realness was a fearless, poignant and enthusiastic middle finger to all the haters. Cormega had risen through the ashes to produce a classic on his own terms.

He came into our world with a big chip on his shoulder and who could blame him? Life had dealt the MC some blows and just when his career was about to take off, everything crumbled. But doling out bitter verses at foes wasn’t the end and be all of Cormega, thankfully. On The Realness, Cormega pushes for more. His journey on The Realness encompassed a contrasting, aggregation of emotions from nihilism to nostalgia and back again. The album opens up with a ferocious intro announcing Cormega’s arrival on the hip-hop landscape and closes with a touching ode to love ones who’ve passed away.

The menacing and gritty hood tales Cormega recounted could have come across like recycled street parables, but here Cormega proved that in the right hands such images can take on a new life and trigger an emotional response from jaded listeners. It’s the moment where Cormega is most vulnerable and sincere that lifts this effort above the elementary rhymes of his peers. Lyrically, The Realness does not disappoint and with the help of Havoc, Alchemist, Ayatollah, Big Ty, Jay Love and Sha Self, Cormega’s sentiments are perfectly matched with a patchwork of esoteric instrumentals that speak as loudly and vividly as Cormega’s introspective lyrics. Again, Kevin’s got the samples covered here: http://kevinnottingham.com/2009/01/01/cormega-the-realness/

Check out what Cormega has to say about recording this classic album.

-Alex

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Written By Alexandra Phanor-Faury
Shot & Edited By Maria Sandoval
Photos By Marc Bushelle
Graphics, Illustrations By GMD Three

In the soundtrack to the movie of my life, the college years, Jeru the Damaja’s The Sun Rises in the East would undoubtedly make the cut. For the start of my freshman year, this CD (remember those?) was in constant rotation swallowing my closet-sized dorm room whole with unadulterated, gritty New York hip-hop. It was just what the doctor ordered for a home sick, shy freshman from New York who spent much of her first month at school in her room blasting music to the dismay of my hall roomies who gravitated more towards the local DC sound of Go-Go music.

The Sun Rises in the East was like a comforting friend from back home, even if it couldn’t walk with me on campus or eat with me in the overwhelming cafeteria, Premier’s pounding beats and Jeru’s vocal gymnastics were always  playing (thanks to my walkman. If you heard this album when it dropped, you know what those are).

In fact the first night I hung out with the crew of girls, who would later be some of my closest and dearest friends up until today, the DJ was spinning a number of songs off this album. He kicked off his Jeru set and as soon as the horns from “Da Bitches” came out of the speakers, as if we’d planned it, we all let out loud screams before heading in unison to the dance floor. I knew I had found my kind of girls.

I still listen to this album today, and I still love the hell out of it, not just cause it’s attached to a period in my life but because it’s truly well, a classic. I’m still amazed at the extraordinary chemistry Premier and Jeru had going on The Sun Rises in the East. Premier had already made a name for himself with Gangstarr and as the architect of some of hip-hop most impressive beats for a slew of MCs, before he recorded with Jeru. While  a good Premier beat can do wonders for most MCs, when the relationship is reciprocal, like with Guru, Nas, and Jeru, the result is magical. Here Premier was pulling away from the jazzy samples and loops he perfected with Gangstarr by stripping the sound and infusing a heavy dose of boom-bap break beats. This album was, in my opinion, some of Premier’s finest work.

1994’s The Sun Rises in the East finds Jeru exploring the tension between good and evil in a larger context and how it applies to his own life with a urgency that came from growing up too fast in East New York, Brooklyn. The album is overflowing with sonic details of urban life (sneakers hitting the pavement, sirens, train’s snaking through the city) with instruments and samples taking on lives of their own.  You can find the original samples here.

It was evident from the time Jeru dropped the hip-hop anthem, “Come Clean” that this MC was contributing something new to the genre on the heels of West Coast hip-hop’s dominating run. The single was sparse and odd. Is that a leaking pipe, I hear? It was unlike anything before it and it helped resurrect underground, East Coast hip-hop. Jeru destroyed the record with his fierce commanding flow, imagination, and mastery of the English language.

ClassicRhymes.com got a chance to hear from the MC who can “rock a rhyme with just statik” about recording his stellar debut. Check it out! Peace.
-Alex

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Written By Alexandra Phanor-Faury
Shot & Edited By Maria Sandoval
Graphics, Illustrations & Photos By GMD Three

Following in the footsteps of hip-hop protest music gods Public Enemy, Brand Nubian on their debut questioned the status quo, spoke out about the absurd hypocrisy of our social institutions, stuck their middle finger out to politicians, encouraged self-awareness, and like Eric B & Rakim embraced the teachings of the Nation of Islam.

They rhymed about these hot button topics over a dizzying patchwork of samples borrowed from rock, funk, reggae, folk, soul and jazz to create a sonic wonderland. One For All was produced by Brand Nubian themselves along with Skeff Anslem and Dante Ross, who signed the group to Elektra records. (At the time none of the samples were credited on the album, but today you can find the original samples compiled on Grits and Porgies.)

Who can forget the Roy Ayers “Everybody Loves The Sunshine” melodic sample on “Wake Up,” or the hypnotizing bass from Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians’ “What I Am” that birthed the classic “Slow Down”- hands down one of hip-hop’s most recognizable intros.

Along with DJ Alamo, the guys on more than a couple of occasions squandered their studio time studying and picking apart whatever vinyl they’d unearthed. Keeping track of samples wasn’t always easy.

Despite their strong ideologies, I never thought Brand Nubian’s lyrics were dogmatic or preachy on One For All. It helped that the guys expanded their subject matter beyond the state of the Black community. Having fun no matter how shitty the world around you was inextricably tied to seeking knowledge and understanding on One For All.

Brand Nubian had a talent for volleying between social consciousness and witty braggadocio rhymes seamlessly in one breath. It made them more accessible and down to earth than some of their contemporaries.

No real hip-hop head at the time was without this one on heavy rotation. One For All earned the then famed Source magazine five mic seal of approval. But only one year later the group had broken up with Puba going solo. Brand Nubian would reunite in 1998 and release a number of acclaimed group and solo efforts.
Nineteen years since releasing One For All, Brand Nubian sits down with ClassicRhymes.com to reminisce on the recording of the album.
Check it out! Peace.

-Alex

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