Winter Warmers: Random Fuzz Posted by Junior

Loose Joints: Is It all Over My Face (Larry Levan Mix) From: Larry Levan's Classic West End Records Remixes [West End, 1999] Mustafa Ozkent Orchestra: Burcak From: Genclik Ile Elele [Finders Keepers Reissue, 2006] Genya Raven: Little By Little From: Goldie Zelkowitz [Janus, 1974] Mauruce Cultier: Joe From: Joe 7" [197?] Ashantis: Safari From: Disco Play [Harmony 1977] The Jaz: I'll Smoke You From: To Your Soul [Capitol, 1990] The pale fingers of winter are now eagerly gripping these shores as my day is plunged into various shades of grey and the temperature rarely seems to get above absolutely freezing. Couple the general lethargy this brings on with a resoundingly bastard of a workload over the last couple of week and I've been struggling to find the time I needed to update the site or go through my records. In these times of trouble a solid soundtrack is always required and my weapon of choice for this period was an eclectic fix of the weird and the wonderful. The only required criteria was basslines to rattle my brain, beats that wouldn't quit no matter what, and just enough happy vibes to break through the cold barrier and let a little sunshine through. Since these tunes did a sterling job of getting me through and because my brain is still too pickled to work to any great extent I thought it was only decent that I shared the love with you, the Ear Fuzz readers. Enjoy. First off we have Larry Levan's take on Loose Joints provocatively titled Is It All Over My Face. A brilliant piece of funky disco, what always got me with this track is the way the vocals sweep in and out of the instrumentation, almost like an afterthought to the rhythm. Off the beaten path and fuelling it's own particular route, it's still one of the most unique tracks from this period that I know off. Next up, with enough breaks for any head to comprehend, is the rare as they come Mustafa Ozkent Orchestra. Now reissued on Finders Keepers, this album always reminds me of the previously featured La Formule Du Baron album in that its style and production seem to have been channelled from an entirely different age. Just listen to Burcak and and see what you think but it certainly does the job for me, I think I hear cowbells too.... You can find more about this album with a nice write up by Andy Votel here. Right, what next? Hows about some Betty Davis style funk rock from Genya Raven? Already ten years deep in the industry by the time of this release due to her work in various group, Genya goes for broke on this album and absolutely destroys the mix of original and cover versions on offer. Just as with Ruth Copeland, the power of the conviction is outstanding on this long player. Little by Little is a great stop start roller as Genya sleazes over the top. Highly recommended. Back to the dancefloor with Afrofunk legend Mauruce Cultier. As far as I know this cut, Joe, was never released on any of his albums (or at least any that I could find) but it's a fantastic tune. Fading in with the band already in full swing the track feels more like a live jam session than a prepared track and is all the better for it - the enthusiasm and energy of the band translating brilliantly to the vinyl. Movin on to something a little bit more laid back as the Ashantis finish off their extremely upbeat 1977 release Disco Play (does what it says on the tin) with this controlled and impressive piece of smooth groove that gets in the rhythm from the off and stays firmly there at all times. Animal noises apart, I love the little instrument solos that fade in and out over the ever resilient bassline. Finishing things off, some fast rap from 1990 in the form of I'll Smoke You off The Jaz's second album. Probably most famous these days for launching the career of a reasonably famous rapper named Jay-Z this album is actually a more than decent slice of turn of the nineties rap in it's own right with The Jaz displaying his linguistic abilities over a bit of JB. I'm a sucker for fast rap at any time and this is smooth, slick and expertly executed. Now that's the winter gloom dealt with, bring on the music.....

Clear Blue Skies of America Posted by Kevin

Juggaknots: Clear Blue Skies and Clear Blue Skies (remix) From: re:release [Third Earth Music, 2003] First, I just want to let you all know that I have a couple Halloween posts over at Eclectic Grooves including Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids Halloween and Hallowe'en Spooky Sounds. Also, I plan to have a Halloween podcast up sometime in the next day or two that you will be able to listen to and download here. Before getting into today's post, I want to reflect on the importance of this upcoming U.S. presidential election. I will be the first to admit that I don't like to mix politics with music, but I feel that these times call for something that stirs things up and gets people thinking. We are approaching one of the most significant elections of our lives. I realize that not everyone who reads Ear Fuzz is from the U.S. , so this election might not directly affect you. I do, however, firmly believe that making a positive change in America can translate to positive changes throughout the entire world. If we don't want our freedom and democracy taken away from us, we need to stand up and fight for what's right. The U.S. political regime of the past eight years has carelessly squandered an exorbitant amount of money on a senseless war driven by our country's dependence on foreign oil and greed. I for one have had enough! Please take the time to seriously think about voting this year, and vote for the candidate that you truly believe will take this country in the right direction. Thank you for listening! About a couple weeks ago, I met up with a DJ friend of mine who said he had some hip-hop that he thought I would dig. This is the same friend who has an encyclopedic knowledge of hip-hop samples so I was down for giving it a listen. My friend said that this song accurately depicted what it would be like to listen in on a conversation between a white boy catching flack from his father about his choice to date a black woman. As I was listening to him, I could tell by the expression on his face that he was very passionate about the message in this song. I couldn't wait to hear it for myself so I could understand why he was so drawn to the message of the song. The group in question is the Juggaknots and the song is called "Clear Blue Skies". When I first heard the Juggaknots, I quickly dismissed them as gangsta rap and moved on. Suffice it to say that I couldn't have been more wrong about them. Only special music has the ability to touch and move you in ways that you didn't think were possible. As the words poured out of MC Breezly Brewin's mouth, I found myself hanging onto every one of them. I'm not ashamed to admit that the words coming out of my speakers literally brought tears to my eyes. I can't say that about many songs at all, let alone something from a hardcore hip-hop group. But the message was as clear as blue skies- We live in a world where some people are so close-minded that they would deny someone the opportunity to be happy if it went against their core beliefs. In the beginning of the song, the father confronts the son about walking down the street with a black woman. The son responds by asking him what the problem is with being with a black woman, since his dad has never struggled with black people in the past. The father then responds by using a racial slur about his girlfriend and then comparing his situation to "Tom Willis and the Jefferson's show". The son tries to reason with his father about this and explains that "this woman's taking care of both my mind and my body". Then, the father retorts with the fact that he understands that a black woman's body is built to be sexually active in addition to racial comments about her name being "Shanana or Shaquana". After several more back and forth jabs, the powerful chorus aligns all the dots : "So that's your vision of perfection- That's your clear blue skies through those clear blue eyes- Which seem to make you think your better-But instead of simply sinking to the level of your thinking-I'll be ghost." This song is undoubtedly one of the most eye-opening, insightful characterizations of the underlying racism in this country that I have ever heard. I am posting the original downtempo version of "Clear Blue Skies" as well as a remix that has a thumping beat with David Axelrod-styled orchestral flourishes. I don't have any information on the samples used on either one of these tracks, so if anyone can shed some light, please do. I hope you enjoy the music as well as the message.

Halloween Horrorcore: Ganksta N-I-P Posted by Junior

Ganksta N-I-P: Horror Movie Rap , Psycho and Damned Shame From: The South Park Psycho [Rap-A-Lot, 1992] Following on from The Dude's topical Halloween mix, here's some more unpleasantness to get you in the mood for tricking and treating. Ganksta NIP is often attributed as the first example of the nineties craze of horrorcore, the horror influenced hip hop sub genre which probably enjoyed most fame around the time of the first Gravediggaz album. While the Gravediggaz debut is a classic slice of hip hop the horror aspect of it pales in comparison with the evil on show on Ganksta's debut album, South Park Psycho. They may have rapped about it but with Ganksta you start to believe it. Truly one of the most chilling rap albums I've ever come across, the combination of unnerving off key production and Ganksta's venomously delivered tales of slaughter, cannibalism and general evil make for hypnotic but uneasy listening. There's no playful "They're coming to get you Barbara" on offer here, this is the kind of music you'd expect to hear if they ever hooked up Leatherface with a sound system in his abattoir. I didn't want to make things too unpleasant so along with the gruesome Horror Movie Rap and Psycho I've also posted up Damned Shame, one of the greatest state of the nation rap tunes from the early nineties, a worthy accompaniment to G. Rap's Streets of New York and a real mind garden classic for me. Enjoy and apologies that the cheapest link I can find to but this is $85 - no TPing of my house please.

Havin Thangs The Southern Way : Big Mike Posted by Junior

Big Mike: Havin Thangs and Playa Playa From: Somethin' Serious [Rap-A-Lot, 1994] Here today with some southern rap to welcome in the sun and wash away the weekend cobwebs. Big Mike first hit the scene with fellow rapper 3-2 as part of the Convicts who released their classic but only album in 1991. He then went on to replace Willie D for the Geto Boys long player Till Death Do Us Part in 93 before the shit hit the fan and Wille D came back into the fold. However, this didn't stop Big Mike and he finally released his debut solo album in 1994 titled Somethin Serious. Packed to the rim with classic southern beats and fluid rhyming, it's an album that never fails to get appreciation when it's given a moment to shine. Havin Thangs is an absolute sure fire classic. Produced by and featuring Pimp C it's as good as pretty much anything UGK released during that period with its thumping drums and screwed funk production. Epic and stunning. Playa Playa is more on the down slow with it's soulful strings and blunted edge but again maintains that southern flow so crucial to the sound of the album. When I was loading the songs up to the computer to post I did a double check when I saw the date on the back of the CD and it said 1994 - hard to believe this music is now 14 years old when it still bangs as hard as ever. Mike's follow up Still Serious is also definitely worth having and I see he's still releasing to this day though I'm oblivious to how decent his recent stuff is. Any knowledge please let me know. On a side note and as a heads up, we're about to launch a new project on the Fuzz in the next day or so that is going to hopefully exploit the interactive aspect of blogging in a way not seen before. I'm very excited about the possibilities this will open so keep an eye out for it in the coming days and look forward to your feedback.

G Funk Era? Posted by b

Warren G: Super Soul Sis, This is The Shack, Runnin' Wit No Breaks From: Regulate... G Funk Era [1994, Def Jam] Whew! Been a while. A lot of good music coming through the Fuzz lately. Hopefully this fits in ok. This past Memorial Day weekend, I joined some friends in an exercise of unabashed music geekdom: we sat down to collectively determine the greatest album of all time. The process began a month in advance with an invitation to 20+ people. Ultimately, 11 people chose to "compete" by nominating their 10 favorite albums into play. I won't get into the inner-workings of the final voting/selection process; but, it involved 3 days of intensive listening, steady drinking, discussion, and a dash of politicking/vote trading. Exhausted, we eventually declared Abbey Road the victor (this was an English language classic rock crowd). Why the story? The whole experience was surprisingly soul-searching: As I prepared my 10, I found myself ruthlessly cutting out favorite records for so many reasons (one "weak" track, too esoteric to fly with the other voters, didn't resonate as much with my current state of mind as it did back in the day, etc...). In the end, I was surprised to name Warren G's Regulate... G Funk Era as the sole Hip Hop representative on my top 10 list. As a start-to-finish listen, it slipped past: Illmatic, 36 Chambers, Ready to Die, The Infamous, Southernplayalistic, Da' Shinin', Doggystyle, Chronic. When it came down to it, I realized that not only do I listen to Regulate more than any other Hip Hop album, but that I listen to it more than many albums of any genre. And now, as I attempt to further my Hip Hop education- a good portion of which has come from this very blog and its blogroll - by reading Nelson George's Hip Hop America, I ask myself: Is this the type of cross-over selection that would elicit a collective groan from most Hip Hop purists? Is it aging gracefully into classic status? Is it a West Coast footnote? Just where does Regulate stand in the Hip Hop canon?

Anatomy of a Sample Part 2- Shake Your Rump Posted by Kevin

Beastie Boys: Shake Your Rump From: Paul's Boutique [Capitol Records, 1989] Alphonse Mouzon: Funky Snakefoot From: Funky Snakefoot [Blue Note, 1974] Harvey Scales: Dancing Room Only From: Hotfoot: A Funque Dizco Opera [Casablanca, 1979] Ronnie Laws: Tell Me Something Good From: Pressure Sensitive [Blue Note 1975] Paul Humphrey: Super Mellow From: The Drum Session [Inner City, 1979] Alan Moorhouse: Soul Skimmer From: The Big Beat Vol.2 [KPM, 1970] Rose Royce: 6 O'Clock DJ, Born to Love You and Yo Yo From: Car Wash soundtrack [RCA, 1976] Funky 4+1: That's the Joint From: That's the Joint- 12 " single [Sugar Hill, 1980] James Brown featuring Afrika Bambaataa- Unity Part 6 From: Unity-single [Tommy Boy, 1984] Afrika Bambaataa and the Jazzy Five- Jazzy Sensation From: Jazzy Sensation- 12 "single [Tommy Boy, 1981] The Sugarhill Gang- 8th Wonder From: 8th Wonder [Sugar Hill, 1981] I posted the first installment of the Anatomy of a Sample series in August, so you can read about that here. Today I am exploring the samples that the Dust Brother's used on Beastie Boys "Shake Your Rump" from Pauls Boutique. When Paul's Boutique was first released it was slept on by most of the hip-hop heads because it was nothing like Licensed to Ill. The Dust Brothers were true visionaries in the sampling game circa 1989, but they were undoubtedly influenced by the chaotic sample-heavy production of the Bomb Squad on Public Enemy's landmark recording It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. I'm not 100% sure about this, but it's rumored that Paul's Boutique contains more samples than any other hip-hop record in history. "Shake Your Rump" contains thirteen samples alone, so I can only imagine that the entire record is tipping the scales at over one-hundred samples. The Dust Brothers artfully juxtaposed rare jazz drum breaks with old-school hip-hop and funky soul to craft the sample masterpiece "Shake Your Rump". I will now take you on a journey through the various samples from "Shake Your Rump". Fasten your seatbelts cause it's going to be a bumpy ride! During the opening seconds of "Shake Your Rump" the listener is assaulted with a spastic drum break taken from the first couple seconds of Alphonse Mouzon's fantastic funk-inflected jazz tune called "Funky Snakefoot". This immediately segues into another drum break taken from the five second mark of Harvey Scales disco classic "Dancing Room Only". However, It seems that they removed the instruments in the foreground and slowed down the beat for the sample. After this, a chicken-scratch guitar taken from the opening seconds of Ronnie Laws cover of" Tell Me Something Good" is sped up to match the upbeat tempo of the track. Then, at about the twenty-six second mark, the conga drum beat from the opening seconds of Paul Humphrey's jazzy "Super Mellow" is used to spice up the track. Next, the first couple seconds of Alan Moorhouse's rippin' drum beat from "Soul Skimmer" is sampled at the 37 second mark of the track. Finally, the Funky 4 Plus 1's "That's the Joint" is sampled at the 39 second point of the track and it segues right into mutated scratching over a deep bassline that is taken from Rose Royce's instrumental track "6 O'Clock DJ". This goes on for about 15 seconds and then the bassline from the beginning of Rose Royce's funk-tastic "Yo-Yo" slightly slows down the tempo before the "Funky Snakefoot" chicken scratch guitar makes another appearance. Then, the drum breaks from the beginning of the track are reincorporated into the mix and at the 1:33 mark, a vocal sample is taken from the 1:40 mark of James Brown and Afrika Bambaataa' Unity Part 6 (This is the part where Bambaata says "Shake Your Rump-Ah"). Next, at the 2:07 mark the Dust Brothers fuse the opening bars of Rose Royce's "Born to Love You" with background ambience and electronic handclaps taken from the 5:04 point of Afrika Bambaataa's "Jazzy Sensation". After this, a short vocal sample is taken from the 1:53 point of Sugarhill Gang's "8th Wonder" where they proclain "Hoo Hah Got Them All in Check". Finally, the Dust Brothers close out the track deftly by reintroducing Afrika Bambaataa's "Jazzy Sensation" sample and integrating it with the drum beats from Paul Humphrey's "Super Mellow". There are probably a couple samples that I have missed, so let me know if you spot them. This concludes the anatomy of a sample for Beastie Boys "Shake Your Rump". I hope you have enjoyed the ride.