"I even got soul in my penis"

Grand Daddy I.U.- "Sugar Free", "Somthing New" and "Soul Touch"
Smooth Assassin, Cold Chillin' Records, 1990

In 1990 Grand Daddy I.U. had cats shook with Smooth Assassin. NYC radio showed I.U. -a Queens born, Long Island raised rapper that had a silky rhyme flow- love rotating "Sugar Free," because the song had that modified-new-jack-swing sound that exploded between `89 and `92. Teddy Riley can be praised (or blamed) for new jack swing when Riley, Aaron Hall and Timmy Gatling formed Guy, but without new jack swing and Eddie Murphy movies (Harlem Nights, Boomerang, The Distinguished Gentleman) there is no reason to remember that period of time*.

After his brother, DJ Kay Cee, convinced him to make a demo, I.U. was signed to Cold Chillin' Records. I.U.'s association with the Juice Crew (Big Daddy Kane, Biz Markie, Kool G Rap, Roxanne Chante, MC Shan, Masta Ace and Craig G) gave people an idea of his capablities. Smooth Assassin dropped and emerging NY rappers saw a glimpse into raps' future that placed clever rhymes ahead of showmanship and gaudy clothing.

"Something New" is genius. In 1966 James and Bobby Purify hit number six on the pop charts with "I'm Your Puppet," a classic from Muscle Shoals songwriter/ producers Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham. Thirty-four years later Cutmaster Cool V and Biz Markie loop "I'm Your Puppet" and a generation of teenagers get down to a loop their parents sock-hop'd to. Lyrically I.U. wrecked the competition with punchy lines that bounce with Markie's drum pattern and float over "I'm Your Puppet's" piano keys.

"Soul Touch" is NY scratch rap before Gang Starr blew up. I.U.'s brother Kay Cee provided the cuts and probably found the chorus sample. I.U. is great on this track. Line after line he commands rap cliches before they could be called cliches. "I got soul in my ankles, soul in my hips, soul in my back and soul in my fingertips, in my shoulders and in my wrist, I even got soul in my penis." OK it can be argued those are some lame lyrics, but the man raps, "So let the soul be heard, `cause it's preferred and that's word to Big Bird," in the same song; again, I.U. had this on record way before anyone else.

I.U.'s second album, Lead Pipe, came out in 1994 and it has a gang of classics like "I Can Do Dat," "As I Flow On" and "Represent." Coincidently tomorrow there will be a second I.U. post on my other blogsite Coincidently I just posted those tracks on my other blogsite, Inebriated Coffee Cup... umm yeah, coincidently. Add Grand Daddy I.U. to the MySpace list.

*Not true. Michael Jordan's first three-peat was between `90 and `93.

FYI: I asked Grand Daddy I.U. (via e-mail) about these tracks and he answered my questions. I was really interested in where these tracks were made. He had written that Soul Assassin was recorded at Power Play Studios in Queens and engineered by DJ Doc of B.D.P. fame. I've always wondered what I.U. stood for, well it's his real name. He said the lyrics were a relfection of how he felt and how he vibed off the production.