Real Words, Real Life

O.C.: Time's Up and Let It Slide

From: Word...Life [Wild Pitch, 1994]

There's a famous story about Martin Scorsese's adventures at the Oscars. Apparently one year little Marty turned up and found that his seat had been marked as a previous Oscar winner, the reason being that he could have won the award so many times that the organisers assumed he must have got the statue at some point or other.

A long and unnecessary tale yes, but similar still to me and O.C.. I've been digging his music for so long that I'd just assumed that at some point or other I'd done a post on him. However, trawling back through the archives, it appears not. Therefore to start making amends on this let me present you with O.C.'s debut album - Word...Life, the forgotten classic of 1994.

O.C. made his recording debut at the top of the chain guesting on Organized Konfusion's Fudge Pudge before dropping his debut longplayer to widespread acclaim. Despite this acclaim for the debut and his follow up album, Jewelz, (expect a post on that shortly) O.C. is still more of a name spoken by rap fanatics than the general public.

Mainly produced by D.I.T.C. stalwart Buckwild, the album featured a variety of imaginative loops that were clearly drawn from the Diggin In The Crates style of sampling. This top level production merges beautifully with O.C.'s superior rapping skills as he shows his preference for complex rhymes, matching three syllable rhymes on the beat.

That's what I consider real, in this field of music
Instead of puttin brain cells to work they abuse it
Non-conceptual, non-exceptional
Everybody's either crime-related or sexual

Time's Up is probably the most well known track from the album with it's relentless bass line and O.C. spitting his deceleration of war. They are few things better in rap than an MC at the top of his game calling out the opposition over their lack of performance and this is near as good as it gets.

Let It Slide displays Buckwild's imaginative use of samples and a great example of storytelling by O.C. Take a moment to stop and appreciate the flow of this man, it truly is something special.

Unfortunately this album still hasn't been reissued but, with the recent flurry of interest in 90's rap, it can only be a matter of time now, surely?

Brazillio has kindly pointed out that the album has been reissued which has just made my Friday and helped wipe some of the hangover I'm currently experiencing from too much beer and too little good football by the England team. Link to purchase updated above.