isbell@athena.mit.edu (Charles L Isbell) (06/18/91)
What up, G? Here's some New Jack stuff for ya.
This time: _Release The Pressure_ by Criminal Nation
Next time: _One for All_ by Brand Nubian
_Breaking Atoms_ by Main Source
(and after that all the new stuff by De La, Terminator X, and the
other 500 things coming out in May)
Catch Ups: _Fear of A Black Planet_ by Public Enemy
_Seminar_ by Sir MixALot
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Distinctiveness: Now here's an interesting question. The rapper sounds like
NWA's Dre, their cover looks like the cover from that early
NWA album, but that surely aren't talking about the same
things and the sounds are very different.
Dopeness Rating: Dope--. The songs vary from Almost Dope to DopeDopeDope.
Rap Part: NotQuiteDope-. The lyrics are respectfully tight, but
these guys are no PE.
Sounds: Dope. This isn't hard-edged like Bomb Squad, but it's hardly
relaxed or slower stuff. There's some of the harder 70's
and early eighties stuff sampled here.
Message: Street Knowledge with a Pro-Black sprinkle on a track or
two.
Tracks: 12 tracks. 50 Minutes.
Profanity: It has that obscene sticker, but it's fairly tame. I'll
point out the appropriate tracks if I can so you know what
you can play around your little sister. They've been
compared to NWA and Ice Cube, but with less "motherf*ckers"
and no "b*tches."
Much of the following in-depth background history is taken from Greg B who
recommended this CD to me. If I get it wrong, pardon me.
Despite the twelve or so people on the front cover, Criminal Nation
appears to be just MC Deff and DJ E. They hail from the same area as your boy
MixALot (Tacomma, near Seattle). In fact, they share the same label: NastyMix
Records. The group was originally known as America's Most Wanted,
but in a moment of inspiration they evidently realized that so was everyone
else and changed the name. They must have done this after they recorded some
tracks because the rapper will often refer to the group as AMW.
Let's pop in the CD.
The first track, "Positively Funky," is exactly that. It's a nice start for
the album, being a nice jam, if a bit repetitive. The first thing I noticed
was that MC Deff sounds just like NWA's Dre. I swear, they have the same
voice. In general, he speaks a bit faster and the sounds that Criminal Nation
uses are usually faster, but they leave the same tone on the microphone.
"Let the beat flow is a brand-new proposition
and those who don't want to listen
don't know what they be missin'."
If the first track was a nice start, then "Black Power Nation" would
have been even better. This is probably the best of the tracks on the
CD. It's hard and the lyrics flow very well. There is a very
effective use of a sample from Zap (right? The band that Roger is
from--they always filter their voices--you know who I'm talking about).
He's being very serious on this track, but you can't help but dance to
this one. Its real problem is that it's too short.
"The power to unite the whole Black race
for the future
because the past has been erased."
Onwards. From here we meet "The Right Crowd." On this track, Deff
disses rappers who choose to write raps for what he calls the "right" crowd.
In other words, the pop rappers who pander to some lowest common denominator
in order to get pop airplay. The lyrics are a bit more noticable here than
the sounds, unlike "Black Power Nation." Don't let that fool you, while
somewhat more subduded, the sounds are still funke. It's at this point that
I first noticed something that is more obvious in later tracks. More on
that later.
"Who has the nerve to criticize the music?
Those who lack the talent to learn and use it"
MC Deff moves from talking about others to talking about himself in
"Insane." This is a fast track with some nice backbeats and a very
good chorus. Criminal Nation is no MC Mallet, selling a chorus
and a bridge, while neglecting the lyrics. Still, the lyrics aren't
quite up to snuff with the sounds.
"Stock up on whatever you need
Cover your ears boy 'cause they'll bleed"
"I'm Rollin'," like "The Right Crowd," uses more subduded sounds in
the background. This is one of the weaker tracks on the CD because
the sound doesn't move you and the lyrics don't inspire you to memorize
them. Luckily this doesn't continue in "My Laboratory." The sounds
get faster and the lyrics become memorable. There's a repeated low whine
in the background that works somehow and the breaks sound really nice.
"My laboratory's where I write all my dope recitals"
Deff follows this with "Violent Sound." This track, like the other ones
that do well, has nice sounds that are just a bit better than the lyrics.
This doesn't appear to be an accident. This track is too short, also.
"Damn, out of my way and the punk who produced ya
hand me the mic so I can lyrically abuse ya"
Oh, BTW, it as at this point that the tracks include a few "motherf*ckers"
and whatnot. Not very noticable, but I promised to warn you.
MC Deff gets to "Release The Pressure" on the title track. It doesn't start
off all that well, but by the end of the first minute, we get into a nice
track. This is one of the few tracks where the lyrics outdo the sounds.
"This is America, boy, and I'm a free man
Black Power comin' from the man who don't give a damn
about the government and what they say
The radio don't like my songs?
They don't play."
This doesn't last too long as "Definitely Down For Trouble" brings in some
very nice mixes. The lyrics don't get worse, but the sounds get better.
Hmmmmm. Notice a trend?
"The only weapon we use is an amp."
And what about "Criminal Hit"? Nice sounds. The lyrics manage to catch up
with the sounds on this one. And it was a nice leap because the sounds
are really good here.
"F*ck what the media says--they can't judge me.
And if you don't know me, don't even try to budge me."
"You and the cops can go to hell.
This is a criminal hit, the Black man will prevail."
Only two tracks to go: "Mission of Murder" and "Take No Prisoners."
The first is a return to a more subduded sound, while the second is
more like the rest of the tracks: fast sounds that are just ahead of the
lyrics.
"Suckers are docile, knowin' a nigga is straight hostile"
In short, this album is more dope sounds than dope lyrics. This doesn't
mean that the lyrics are weak, merely that they often are overshadowed.
There are some rappers, more like one-hit wonders, who luck up on this
dope sound for some song, mix in an incidental lyric or two and have this
big hit for one summer ("It Takes Two" and "Power" more recently come
to mind) but can't sustain much. The good rappers, of course, consistently
come up with dope sounds and dope lyrics. Where would I put Criminal
Nation? Somewhere between those two extremes, but closer to the "good
rappers" side. This is a good album, well worth having.
Since I hardly know anyone else who has this CD, I'll conclude that most
people just haven't heard of them. I wouldn't recommend these guys over
Laquan or Paris, but while you're picking up everything else this weekend,
you might want to give these guys a try--they're pretty good.
But that's just one Black man's opinion--what's yours?
Peace.
"The main thing I like about New Yorkers is that they understand
that their lives are a relentless circus of horrors, ending in
death. As New Yorkers we realize this, we resign ourselves to
our fate, and we make sure that everyone else is as miserable as
we are. Good town."
-Kyle Baker, Why I Hate Saturn
--
Don't just adopt opinions, | \ / | Charles Lee Isbell
develop them. | \/ | Homeboy from hell, living axiom and
------------------------------| /\ | anonymous absolute ruler of the cosmos
MIT has no opinions to adopt. | / \ | isbell@athena.mit.edu, isbell@ai.mit.edu