Attic Beats

Attic Beats 007 - Recorded September 8, 2005

First thing’s first: if you’re easily offended, you’ll want to breeze right by this episode. Normally I don’t worry about the goofy “warnings” about naughty words, but since the show has been relatively clean to this point, it’s worth mentioning here. Not only does this show feature a track with more instances of the F word than any other song I can think of, but it contains some seriously mysogonistic, offensive, violent lyrics. And that’s exactly why I loved this stuff in high school!

This week’s theme is Houston hip-hop from the early-to-mid 90’s released on the Rap-A-Lot label. Rap-A-Lot is a profoundly influential label, bringing the world the likes of the Geto Boys (and each of their respective solo careers), Devin the Dude, and long-forgotten artists that have since passed away like Seagram and Big Mello. The Houston sound was as gritty as it got. No holds were ever barred, from interlabel beef to necrophiliac fantasies by a one-eyed dwarf to shit-talking female emcees that held their own against the men.

As I put this nearly hour-long show together, I realized how much I was missing, so a follow-up will be necessary down the road a bit. Keep in mind this is not meant to be a complete look at the Houston scene at the time and I left out some absolutely critical tunes (”My Mind’s Playing Tricks On Me”). Rather, it’s meant to give some insight into a piece of hip-hop history from an area of the country that’s often overlooked, even today when southern rappers are getting more attention than ever.

Lots of song notes are included on the click-through.

Click through for the playlist.

• (ab) Dance Floor (instrumental)… Raheem [1988]
  I realize 1988 isn’t part of the mid-90s, but I had to include this one since it was the first Rap-A-Lot track I was exposed to. I remember seeing it on Yo! MTV Raps and being astounded by it, including Bushwick Bill in his role as a dancer. The video played back-to-back with Stezo and, somehow, it didn’t seem out of place. Dig the great Eddie Kendricks sample.
• Catch ‘Em Slippin’… OG Style [1991]
  As I mentioned earlier, there was always some sort of interlabel beef going on at Rap-A-Lot. Here’s one example, where OG Style returns fire at Raheem after he took shots at them. It’s not a particularly strong dis track, but the beat is pretty dope.

• Death in the Arena… Raheem [1992]
  This one ranks right up there with Kool Keith’s “Pluckin’ Cards” as the dis track that targets the most people. Raheem takes shots at (deep breath): N.W.A, Monie Love, L.L. Cool J, 3rd Bass, Royal Flush Posse, B2, Too $hort (”how is he funky when I compare him to honkies?”), KRS-One (I think?), EPMD, Rob Base, MC Shan (”used to be a rapper, now the brother’s a rock fan” - referring to Shan’s drug problems), Big Daddy Kane, former labelmate Intelligent Hoodlum (in a dis also directed at A&M, he says “they couldn’t kill a soldier, so they wounded a cub scout”), Janet Jackson, Vanilla Ice, King Tee, and Candyman.

• (ab) Straight from the Clarke (radio instrumental)… Bone Hard Productions featuring Big Mello [1992]
• Straight from the Clarke… Bone Hard Productions featuring Big Mello and everyone else in Texas [1992]
  We need more eight minute long posse cuts.
• Fuck School… The Convicts [1991]
  You know, for the kids!
• Fuck ‘Em… Geto Boys [1990]
  I can’t think of any other track that drops as many F bombs in such a short time span as this Geto Boys classic. When I was in high school, I actually made an edited version of this where I dropped out every curse word. As you can imagine, it wasn’t easy.
• (ab) I Ain’t With Being Broke (instrumental)… Geto Boys [1992]
• Born Killer… Scarface [1991]
• Wanted Dead or Alive… Too Much Trouble [1992]
  The “Baby Geto Boys.” Not exactly Rap-A-Lot’s most proud moment in terms of marketing, but the crew put together some really great tracks, like this gem.
• Put Cha Lips… Odd Squad [1993]
  Incredibly offensive (to those that don’t like sex talk), but incredibly brilliant in its delivery. If you take it tongue-in-cheek, it’s hard not to admire this one.
• Bring It On… Geto Boys featuring 2Low, Seagram, Too Much Trouble, 5th Ward Boyz, Odd Squad, Ganksta Nip, DMG, Lord 3-2, and Big Mello [1993]
  This is like the Rap-A-Lot Hall of Fame right here. Another extended posse cut that delivers around every corner.