Spotlight: D&D Studios

I always contend that our artform came across hard in the 90's and had a very raw, cerebral appeal. from '92-'96, Hip Hop could be classified as "Hardcore"; a term that's usually reserved for heavy rock music with howling vocals and bar chords. You'd be hard-pressed to find anything "hardcore" in the realm of Hip-Hop today; reason being, if you ask me, is because of the artform becoming more popular and more watered down. I guess it all depends on what you consider "hardcore" ...To me, it goes beyond using extreme content, lurid subject mattter, and foul language. The hardcore hip hop of the 90's had thumping, complex beats, and for me, that's what gave the music hardcore sensibility.

One of the primary studios that happened to be churning out this style was the D&D. To my knowledge, there hasn't been a studio more prolific, which sat on E 37th street in Flatbush, BKLYN NYC. Known informally (and when I say informally, I mean I'm probably the only one who's ever used this tag line) as the house that Primo built, Everyone from hot underground MC's such as Black Moon and Jeru the Damaja to Jay-Z and Biggie have recorded here, the latter two obviously going on to reach iconic heights, not just within the realm of hip-hop.

From what I was able to dig up online, D&D lives on as DJ Premier's swan song; he purchased it outright and renamed it HeadQCourterz in 2003. It's a little tragic the amount of intel on D&D is few and far between, especially online. There's a couple of good vids online featuring Yo! MTV Raps roving reporter Fab Five Freddy on location, they can primarily be found here. Places like D&D have helped create a visual history in the evolution of our artform.

-Marty.

BREAKING: D & D lifer engineer is making a documentary...please lend your support at his kickstarter page if you can at The D&D Studios Documentary.

Album Review: Grieves "Together/Apart" (2011)

Over the years, Independent hip hop has done a great deal of re-imagination. The repertoire of kids in a skate park can be just as much NWA as Operation Ivy or Rancid; Many of the cats today crafting beats and rhymes are part in parcel of the progress of our artform.

Seattle's Grieves is a bit of a newcomer but is doing something far different than his contemporaries. He sings a lot of his hooks, and some of the tracks are all melodic vocal. This is a stark contrast to most of the heavy hitters that have encompassed the backpack era.

Opener "lightspeed" doesn't so much as charge out the gates as it lights the candle, as Grieves cautiously steps his way through his sometimes joyous, sometimes trite, suburban upbringing, and comes to with an addiction and failed relationship. Subject matter stays indelibly "emo"; the delivery is tantamount with Rhymesayers' labelmate, Slug, tightly declaring "FUCK YOU LUCY" within the confines of his earliest work. Grieves isn't doing anything that hasn't been done before here, but thanks to his approach and style, he makes it work. A few tracks later, "On the Rocks" treads heavily to new melodic ground, borrowing from influences that you might not expect from anyone on the RS roster.

The album itself does run a little long, the production begins to take chances on tracks like "Bloody Poetry" which blends infectious horns with a striking piano melody. "Prize Fighter" shows us a hardcore, everyman persona. Of the 16 songs on Together, 2 or 3 probably could've been cut. Producer Budo's bag of tricks is exciting at first, but does fall a little flat towards the end. His tracks are solid, but from a formulaic standpoint, they don't really change or evolve much. Even so, Together is still a solid release, if only because of the chances it takes and the ground it dares to cover.

-Marty.

Video: "On the Rocks":

Wugazi. (Wu-Tang X Fugazi Mashup)

Those of you that know me know and understand that while I love hip hop more than most things, I still have a lot of love for other genres, and styles. Honestly, I think the only way music can be categorized is by good and bad, and while this is a subjective arguement, I find it to be true in most cases. Musicians and bands from two completely different hemispheres can have much more in common than meets the eye, or even the ear.

When I was 13, I discovered the Wu-Tang Clan and couldn't get enough of the gritty rhymes and raw beats. When I was about 20, I discovered Fugazi, and I would find it to mirror my experience with Wu-Tang; it was some of the most raw, uncompromising music I had ever heard. From first listen, the Wu-Tang and Fugazi may sound like polar opposites, but if you peel back the old wallpaper you start to expose the wall of sound that both of these legendary acts share. I've found that after magnifying, Enter the Wu-Tang and Repeater both blow the doors off of convention and carry redefinition to another level. The walls that encompass this brick house that both of these acts reside can easily be found in either DC or Killah Hills. With this ethos, Wugazi was born.

Doomtree's Cecil Otter and Swiss Andy saw potential in a Wu/Fugazi mash up homage; I honestly treaded lightly when I first heard about this project a few weeks ago. I had first heard a Fugazi/destiny's child mash-up years back and remember thinking that it teetered the line of gimmicky and poorly done. I was scared that the Wugazi project would hit and miss. I think it's pretty safe to say I was dead wrong. These mash ups are more than something special, they are a historical document that not only solidifies both acts' prominence but bridges gaps. Hearing Ghostface's intro over the opening riff of "Last Chance for a Slow Dance" gives me chills.

The Wugazi final product reaffirms what I've been saying in numerous posts throughout onlyhiphopblog; Simply, music can be whatever you want it to be. The more things blend together the more we find out how much we have in common with one another, not just on a musical, but a human level. I remember saying once that 2011 is an exciting time to be alive, and it is, because regular people are realizing what they're capable of-and other regular people can see sincerity and craftsmanship and appreciate the hell out of it.

-Marty.

"Sleep Rules Everything Around Me":