95' was probably the last of my formidable hip hop years. before Wu-Tang Forever but after Illmatic. Not quite Life After Death, but waaaaaay after De La Soul Is Dead. The artform was rising to an artistic and productive peak at an alarming rate....bear in mind we were just a stones' throw away from what I like to refer to as "the dark times"...I choose not to say much about post '99 material (sans the underground) just because there's not much to say. If you were there, you know, and if you weren't, you've seen what T-Pain looks like...which is probably why you're reading this.
Which brings us to Anthony Cruz, a.k.a AZ..who nearly stole show when he rhymed on Nas's track "Life's a B*tch" off of the now hip-hop classic Illmatic. After appearing on a few more tracks throughout the duration, it was clearly evident that the world was ready for A's solo debut. His delivery was that of a surefire brooklyn/queens MC....unlike his contemporaries, his flow was high and nasal. One of the things I enjoyed about this era of Rap (especially the east coast material) was that it didn't really matter what your voice sounded like, it was all about your delivery and if you could hang lyrically.
Supposedly this record goes hand in hand with Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx under the short-lived "Mafioso" sub-genre. while the subject matter is the close, Linx is more of a concept album that has a continuous story line/production, while Doe or Die is a set of hardcore vignettes set to production that differs greatly track to track.
The production boasts some great names, Pete Rock, Buckwild, (who have been already mentioned a few times within the friendly confines) as well as L.E.S., who would supply Will Smith w/ the beat for "Gettin Jiggy With It" (No Lie. look it up on wikipedia.) Solid production from all camps involved gives this record a really dreamy, catchy, feel...there are several harp samples on this record, and while that sounds dumb, somehow it's not. Pete Rock's "Rather Unique" sounds like his subtle ode to DJ Premier, with layered drums and a keyboard sample that's a little buried in the mix...L.E.S.'s "Sugar Hill" was the first single and has a soft, bouncy, mid-tempo R&B feel to it...with a one Miss Jones singing the hook. Remember seeing the video for this song on Rap City all the time in the mid 90's.
AZ's career would take a few more years to peak, while not being as prolific as he could've been, still found a way to get nominated for a grammy in 2003 for the track "The Essence" ..a duo which him and Nas knocked out together from 2002's Aziatic. Kind of funny he returned the favor from the Illmatic days and it ended up working out....I miss the days when MC's helped each other and collaborated. It's highly unlikely Hip-Hop as a whole will ever give birth to anything resembling Doe again...I understand music must progress, and even with the downfall of our artform there are still giant steps being made; It still makes me a little sad.
-Marty.
Biblio:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AZ_%28rapper%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doe_or_Die
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