Monday, June 26, 2006

Common Sense : Can I Bust (from Soul By the Pound 12")





Common Sense & Ynot : Can I Bust (Relativity, 1993)

SLurg : Amis de la poesie (Radio Pomme)




This is a very special record. Sure, that's the record that got me open to Common Sense but that's not the only reason. Ten years ago I had this radio show and I had made a little intro with many different samples. I had a competition where the listeners had to guess all the samples that made up the intro (I upload an old intro, but now that I think of it, it was from another season). The prize for thewinner was they could pick up any record from my collection.

I really didn't think anyone would win, but I really had a few devoted listeners ! So Mrs Aguerguan won and she pick up this 12". Years later I managed to find another copy, and now it's worth 50$ on Ebay !

Monday, June 19, 2006

Fresh Gordon : My Fila (from The Fresh Commandments 12")





Fresh Gordon : My Fila (Tommy Boy, 1986)

Fresh Force : She’s A Skeezer (Sutra, 1986) (fixed)


You could have been the worst prick in the world, there was something that people just didn’t do in 1986 : diss Run DMC. They were sitting on top of the world with their third album in 3 years, working with the best producer of that time, touring all around the world and yet they still had rspect from the street. Sure, they had a long running beef with Grandmaster Flash, but cared about him in 86 ? So the thing at that time to create a buzz was answer records. A record wasn’t really popular if it didn’t generate an answer record. Sometime answer records were on the same label, like No Show that was on Reality, the same label that put out The Show (but of course Salt & Pepa’s Show Stoppa was on Pop Art). So My Adidas was such a hit at that time that it spawned a few answers.

Fresh Gordon of The Choice MC’s also known as Gordon Pickett was a musician and engineer who had a minor hit with Feelin James in 87, and later hooked up with Salt & Pepa who he help recording Push It. Fresh Gordon was so afraid to be seen as a hater that he had to pout a disclaimer on the record sleeve to say it wasn’t made to disrespect Run DMC. On this B Side he was trading rhymes with The Jazz, later known as The Jaz, later unknown as Jaz O.

Another group who was trying hard to surf on the success of My Adidas was this duet of Chris Martin and Chris Reid who made a song where they had Charlie Casanova making same exact beat, had MaleyMarl cutting the same scratches and their were using the same flow line for line, but with totally different lyrics. I think it was less of an answer record than a simple rip off. Those two rappers really didn’t have much skills, and their later carreer under the moniker Kid & Play proved it.

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Bérurier Noir : Sur les toits (from On a Faim 12")





Bérurier Noir : Sur les toits (Bondage, 1988)


Bon, j'avoue j'ai un peu déconné avec le dernier post sur Bérurier Noir. Balancer un sujet comme ça sans même évoquer Radio Pomme et Asile Rock en particulier, c'était pas correct. Ayant grandit dans les années 80 à 50 km du premier disquaire et de la moindre salle de concert le 101.1, puis 91.6, représentait un petit îlot de culture ET de contre-culture.


Je me souviens notamment avoir écouté pour la première fois Sur les toits dans une émission spéciale, peu de temps avant la sortie du dernier album de Bérurier Noir. A l’époque je m’étais fait la réflexion que bien des gens dans le rap auraient du prendre exemple sur eux, tant pour le réalisme de leurs textes que pour leur attitude intelligemment intransigeante.