Ah - I clearly didn’t read that post properly. Done
1 Like
Yeah - Power was a proper piece of school contraband.
I did kinda enjoy Power, mainly because Ice T is a big personality and makes it a fun ride. But this falls in the category of most 80s hip hop for me. The flows and basic beats just remind me of Vanilla Ice or whatever as that was my exposure to this sound. This somehow seems way more dated than NWA or Too $hort or anything like that coming out around the same time too. Most of all I don’t find much to enjoy musically.
Idk, I’m comfortable in that I’m never really gonna get a lot of golden age hip hop. Was good fun but can’t really imagine going back to it.
1 Like
Made a similar post about Eric B and Rakim in a previous thread, but at least on those records you got the advanced rhyme schemes going on. Those old school flows just remind me of white dads rapping on 90s TV sitcoms and stuff 
think this is true, like it’s widely accepted that he’s a legend but nobody really talks about him / listens to him much. this might be the reason why:
still love it though. people rapping over really 80s sounding synths is one of my favourite things and think that all comes from when I first heard drama. the synth is so fucking obnoxious on that song, can totally see why someone would hate it but man, I love it. high rollers might be his best song? i’m your pusher and the title track are both top tier as well
2 Likes
love his rapping on high rollers. perfectly old school. pretty much a hookless track like a lot of these, not much time put into making timeless choruses.
the drama synth is hilarious and indeed awesome. i like how during the verses it’s just one note.
3 Likes
I unfortunately agree with most of this. It’s definitely around this period and ealier where my interest wanes a bit. I think the music is culturally significant and paved the way for a lot of stuff but in terms of pure sonic enjoyment this is 1 or 2 degrees removed from my favourite rap music and I find it hard to enjoy it as much more than a historical document and snapshot in time that led to some of my favourite music. There’s some stuff from around this time (Kane, BDP, Special Ed) that I enjoy but I find it hard to get into Ice T in particular.
It’s funny that you say it’s more dated than NWA because I’ve randomly been getting back into Eazy-E lately (maybe subconsciously due to that mad Newhaven news story) and this album feels a bit thin on quality and memorable raps compared to Eazy Duz It imo
Doesn’t help that all of my first interactions with him were as a reality TV star so it’s hard to respect his music any more than I respect a Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince LP
1 Like
30 years on and a lot of this stuff is sounding better and better to me … but I’ve generally fallen into this same thought pattern over the years.
maybe we shouldnt judge these mid late 80s rappers by their albums so much? worrying about crafting the perfect album didnt seem to be the focus until years later. like i may not rank bigger and deffer by ll cool j in my all time top 50 but its got a few songs i listen to just as much as anything else. feel that way about a lot of these lat 80s albums, ice t falls into that.
too shorts beats sound so good those will never age 
1 Like
Fuck, this is just reminding me that the first time I heard Too $hort I was way too high on ecstasy. What a way to hear him first!
1 Like
Drama was defs one of the ones I enjoyed most. Felt like an early techno/hip hop mash up, which seems ahead of the game.
I don’t want to be harsh on this one. I’ve just sadly never got along with this era and mainly like listening to these records to get schooled and learn the roots. Have had many stoned sessions with mates where they’re like “really you don’t love this one”, particularly with earlier 80s records, and I made my peace now haha. It’s a bit of hip hop history though and in that sense it was a great pick and I enjoyed my run through and seeing everyone reminiscing
1 Like
you should give OG a go sometime. don’t want to promise that you’ll deffo like it as a lot of your criticisms of this are probs true of that too I think, but it is a bit less dated sounding. also, it has the greatest sub 1 minute rap song of all time on it
2 Likes
Really enjoyed my first run through this. High rollers and pusherman are both class.
Can completely understand why this wouldn’t click with people. Its preeeety basic. But my kind of basic. Excellently obnoxious guitar in personal too.
1 Like
interesting sub-thread
2 Likes
pyrex vision and this are the other contenders I always think of
1 Like
counting this as less than a minute:
1 Like
J-Live – The Best Part
Released 2001. Production details here
This week’s pick courtesy of @littlebirds
3 Likes
Here is what @littlebirds had to say:
When it comes to boom bap, J-Live is probably one of the most underrated to ever do it. I mean, I kind of get it. He came out a nerdy looking guy with glasses rapping over kinda typical NY bapping beats well after its peak. He wasn’t really doing anything new, but the subject matter and depth to his lyrics is on a level way beyond most of his peers. And what he does do… damn he does it well. The Best Part is the best example of that. You’ve got big name producers on here that he never really got the chance to work with again. Pete Rock, DJ Premier, Prince Paul, 88 Keys. The beats aren’t flashy but they all knock hard and perfectly fit his impeccable flow. This is just one of those albums I think if it was released half a decade earlier it’d be seen as up there with the all time classics. Basically dig all these tracks, but special shout out to Epilogue, which is one hell of a great album closer.
1 Like
Nice. Listened to this on the way in today. Aged really well IMO. Always kept an eye out for him after liking Hush The Crowd, which was on the b-side of some 12", then I didn’t hear much from him, then I remember a bootleg of this album coming out which was one the first things I got off Napster. Having a read now and it looks like he had label issues and bootlegged it himself. Interesting.
Agree what you say about timing. Even though we’re taking about a pretty narrow timeframe he seemed to miss his window as he had quite a traditional sound. By the time the late 90s rolled around, he possibly wasn’t weird or gritty enough for what the indie crowd wanted? Dunno. I do remember this album being very popular though, especially with the Scratch crowd in London.
Great pick though - enjoying revisiting. 
1 Like
This was great to listen to while packing up boxes for moving this afternoon. The only song I had heard before was the DJ Premier produced title track which follows the fantastic classic primo style but the whole album is great. I think I need to listen to it another ten times to really appreciate it. I enjoyed revisiting Ice-T last week but I probably won’t bother listening to Power again in a hurry but I can see myself putting The Best Part on heavy rotation.
The whole thing does feel out of time for 2001 and I see what @littlebirds was saying about it but now that it’s 18 years later, does that really matter? I like the fact that he was still a middle school teacher while he recorded this.
2 Likes
It’s worth adding that it was set back by label issues for 3 years and had it been released in 1998 it would have felt more current. Fits in fairly well with Gang Starr’s Moment of Truth, for example, which for me is a quintessential release from that year