PLAY OFF 3: Heltah Skeltah vs Cella Dwellas

A Battle to the Death Classic albums Clash and Say There's

Only One. Left we raid them.

Who's laid them? Discuss some men.

Debate and analyze the beats. And quote the lyrics verbatim.

When all is said and done, we. Put it to the boat and tell you

what you think is. 1. We going all linsel on the sound

of the whistle. Hello and welcome to Hip Hop.

Welcome up the podcast at Pitts Golden Age Hip hop albums

against each other in a contest to find the ultimate champion.

I'm your host, Danny Phillips and joining me as ever in the

flesh this time is the man Tim Westwood once described as his

inspiration, Steve Hitchcock. How you doing?

Did he really say that? He did say that, yeah.

When we had that little meeting, he.

Just speak to my lawyers, I think.

Yeah, I think you should. Yeah, in the flesh, this is.

Fresh first time recording this in person.

Free from the constraints of lockdown and zoom calls and all

sorts of stuff, this is. Historic.

It is historic, and it's historic in more ways than one

because actually this is the first episode where we're not

joined by James. It's also a sad moment.

Sad times, Sad, sad times. Yeah, we're not joined by James.

He's now working full time for True Score within their Qatar

office. But don't worry, he'll be back

in the future for some guest appearances.

Did. If the money man got to him, is

that what? Happened.

The money man got to him. They offered him something he

just couldn't refuse and it just all got too much and he needed

the money. Let's be fair, he sunk so much

into True score in the 1st place, I think he had to recoup

some of it. So yeah, not no James for this

one. You've just got me and Steve A2

man crew. So that's going to affect how we

choose our winner in this episode, but we'll explain that

in a minute. So yeah, how does how does hip

Hop World Cup the playoffs work? Well, in each episode we picked

2 golden age hip hop albums to compete against each other in a

Headtohead contest. Those albums might be chosen

according to a theme or just two random albums that we want to

talk about. For each album, Steve and I have

scored every track out of five, not including the skits, and

averaged them out to get an overall score for that album.

And this is the tried and trusted true score method that

Larry's now championing. We'll go through each album,

discuss the tracks, and at the end we'll use our overall scores

to decide on our winning album. Because there's only two of us,

we can't use the the more democratic voting system, so

we're going to have to go by the overall scores that each album

got, which is which is cool. We just add our scores together.

I don't know how I feel morally about using true score now,

actually. Has it tainted your been tainted

by tainted your view? It's like, is it sports washing

or maybe music washing, Larry, if you're out there listening?

Yeah, Larry, you have to explain all, but like that's what

happens when the money men get involved, you know?

Well, it's a good product to be fair.

So I. Mean.

It's served us well for two well.

One whole series. Are we getting it free still?

Yes, but our trial period is coming to an end very soon, so

when we're gonna have to start paying soon £500 a month.

But maybe we can get him to come back, do a few episodes and get

it like renewed. Yeah, absolutely.

Maybe you can do some makes rates for that.

So anyway, enough of the enough of the BS.

Let's talk about the album. So the two albums that were

battling out in this episode are nocturnal by Helter Skelter and

seller dwellers realms in reality both albums from 1996.

So this match up. This contest I chose this.

This was. My choice.

It's really interesting match up.

Yeah, well, the thing the the reason I chose them and.

On the most basic level is that I really like both of them.

Well, I like one more than another, but I'll come to that.

But they're they're good, solid albums from 1996, very of that

year. But mainly I wanted to talk

about Celo Dwellers, because we didn't quite make our regular

1996 episode when we did it in series one.

Which was a shame because, you know, I really wanted to talk

about it, so I wanted to do an excuse to talk about it.

And also the reason I chose these two together is that I saw

a lot of parallels between them. So for instance, both of them

were released in 1996, Both duos, both have a kind of a

mystical, eerie night time vibe about them in terms of their

cover art, the titles, the subject matter, music, lyrics,

just the overall vibe is very similar of these two.

I just thought it would be. A good idea to put them

together. Yeah and two albums I always

wanted to to buy when I was younger I think and I never ever

got around to to buying them or listening to them thoroughly.

So it was that to have the opportunity to go back and do

this it's been it's been really good.

I'm surprised your choices as well how to scout us because

it's a bit like bit harder than you normally like into.

Yeah, well, there are a few kind of smoother tunes on it.

Let's say that I think those are the reasons I bought this album

were, you know, some of the few of the tracks, the better tracks

on the album that I'd heard beforehand.

That had that sort of slightly smoother sound that appealed to

me, so I kind of knew I wanted it.

But also after the Smith and Wesson album to Shining,

obviously massive fan of the beat miners and Black Moon and

all that. So I had those two albums and

this was the next kind of album to come along from the Boot Camp

clinic. So I it was an automatic buy for

me and what I'll talk about these more, but obviously, you

know. The floor, the floor, Eskoshka

was, was the track that made me buy it.

Like properly made me buy it because it's such a good tune.

But we'll come to that and. I know we we can't keep talking

about Larry and his endeavors now, but do you think these two

albums contributed to his his like move to Qatar.

Do you think this may be like just broke him a little bit I.

Think it put him in a certain mindset.

I think he he started to listen to them and just said, do you

know what I need to I need to change.

This is too dark, too depressing.

I don't want to have to do this. Don't want to have to.

He's missing out, though. He's missing out.

Yeah, so yeah, we miss you Larry.

But anyway, let's. Oh, the other thing I wanted to

say, a general thing about 1996 hip hop, having listened to

these albums for this episode, is there's a very specific

sound. It sounded like to me like they

brought out a new batch of snare drums, like at the start of

1996. There's a very specific sound to

the snares I want to talk about because they sound so big and

crisp. It's almost like they.

The Snare Drum Council brought a new new batch of snares at the

start and they went right guys, these are the ones you're going

to be using this year. Have fun, because they just

sounded they're bigger and they just sound, they slap more and

they. I don't know.

I don't know what you think about that.

It's a bit of a random. Thought But no, that's more of

your line of expertise than mine, so I'm going to leave

leave that analysis completely to you.

I felt that both these albums were were really typical 96 and

maybe a little bit kind of like, I don't know.

Imitating a certain sound and maybe not quite achieving it,

but we'll talk about that a bit more.

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, yeah, definitely of of the

of the era. Okay moving on.

So as ever, to ensure everything is fair and aboveboard, we have

our official adjudicator, Adrian Childs with us in the studio.

Hi, Adrian. Hello.

Hello. Very well, thank you.

And later on we have a very special exclusive interview with

ex England goalkeeper and still England's most cap player and

huge hip hop fan. Peter Shilts, Shilts, Wow, he's

coming up later in the show. We got exclusive interview with

him, so please keep listening for that because it's going to

be absolutely sensational. Those big hands were good for

turntables. Exactly safe pair of hands.

So without further ado, let's get stuck into our first album,

which is Nocturnal by Helter Skelter.

World Cup, World Cup, World Cup. So Nocturnal is the debut studio

album by hip hop duo Helter Skelter, released on June 18th,

1996 on Duck Down Priority Records.

Production was handled by the beat miners Buckshot Shalique,

Sean J. Period Supreme.

E Swift, Lord Jamar and Sean Price.

So, Steve, but how did you become aware of this album in

the first place? Strangely I just remember seeing

it all the time in like HMV and just thinking that looks like an

album that I would like and then kind of getting to know hip hop

a bit more And some of the the acts that from from the boot

camp click and just I don't know just just always wanted to

listen to it but never really felt like I could I don't know

afford to buy it or. Just didn't know enough about

it, but didn't really know much about Rock and Ruck before doing

this episode, so it's been interesting to study them a bit

more. Yeah, absolutely.

What about you? Well, my, as I mentioned a

minute ago, my. Purchase of this album I got on

CD was based largely on Lafleur. Lafleur Eshkoshka, which was all

over MTVI used to see a video for it.

Really distinctive video of them sort of dancing against the

white background, I think it was.

I remember that very well. I used to absolutely love that

tune. And the other reason was that I

had Smith and Wesson's album and Black Moon love both of those

albums. So it was a natural progression

for me to want to hear this because they come rock and Rock

had appeared on, you know? To shine in.

I don't know if they're on Black Moon's album, but I'd heard them

before so and this was an automatic purchase and obviously

the beat Miners production because always big big fan of

their production style so had to have this album.

And it got really good reviews, really good like underground

reviews, didn't it as well. And so it was kind of like, this

should be an album, not that really appeals to me.

Yeah, absolutely. It does sound like a kind of a

an album that's up your street a little bit slightly harder,

slightly darker. Sort of thing.

So yeah, so that's how I how I came to it.

So should we get into the first track then Steve should you

start the the the intro and obviously standard practice in

the 90s for have a first track called Intro.

Obviously that's what they all had.

This one is called Intro. Here we come, let's let's play a

little bit of that for you. Shut down staff is in the house

bringing you this not turn LP not turnnal which means that

live life at night time they times use the flat screens for

the night crowd baby. In other words we see through

the initial things we trying to do so for this portion of the

album bring. Forth the rock.

This monster. OK, so that's the intro.

Yeah, I really like the intro. As soon as you hear, it's kind

of like, yeah, this is going to be a really good album.

I just like, you know that. It's quite chilled.

It's quite a bit funky. I just think, yeah, this is

going to be something that I'm going to going to enjoy.

There's a quote that's really quiet.

I don't know if if you probably would have picked up.

It says what the hell was your Dick doing?

Yeah, what the. Fuck is that?

I remember that. Yeah, yeah, that was a really

strange intro to an album. It's really, really quiet on

that. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Well, yeah, I I'm not a massive fan of this intro, you know,

there was some intros that really come in.

Punch you in the head, you know, explode onto the scene.

This one kind of seeps in gradually.

A bit more gentle. Yeah, a bit more gentle.

I think this beat's actually quite dull.

I think it's it's not not, not the best beat.

It kind of creeps in. It's not it doesn't kind of

hasn't got the energy that I'm looking forward to kick off an

album and it creeps in. But I guess that survived with

the album is summed up in this intro.

It's a kind of creeping yeah, you know.

Yeah, so it. Grows growing on you.

Yeah, yeah. Produced by Buckshot and Lord

Jamar. So Buckshot from Black Moon of

course and Lord Jamar from Brand Nubian, which is an interesting

combo. Yeah.

I mean it kind of sets sets out the stall for for the album and

you know it's not bad it's but you know I I wanted something to

grab you around the by the throat a bit more.

I true scored it so 3. Did you?

I gave it to. Did you?

Give it to. So yeah, Not, not, not up there,

not. There were some of the best in

trains. It's just solid.

Yeah, solid, solid. So moving on to track 2, which

is let the Brains blow so. What pussy.

Bring it on. So that's my strong.

So that one is let the brains blow.

Absolutely love this one. Yeah, I like this one.

Yeah, amazing. That sample is from a version of

The Look of Love. Isaac Hayes?

No, but back racks on actually, Yeah, but Isaac Hayes has done a

famous version of it. The cover of it.

Yeah, and it's another one. I won't, I won't sample snitch,

but it is. Yeah, it's a.

It's listed in the. Liner notes.

But it's a really good sample. All I can think of is like, Can

you imagine the minute when they stumbled on it, they found it.

So Oh my God, how's that going to sound?

It works really well, doesn't it?

It's really, really nicely produced.

Yeah, such a good sample. Infectious kind of gives it a

kind of a sinister, creeping vibe and very jazzy.

Yeah, and it sets. It's still again, isn't it?

I think that the first proper track on an album is always the

most important, so you know what you're getting from How to

Scouter from From This, From this point on, which I think is

pretty decent production. The thing that really annoys me

with most of the tracks on it, it's just the rapping, really.

Rapping just annoys me. That's interesting, yeah.

But that's that's interesting thing.

You say that because. Sean Price, one of the members

of his rock, I believe he's revered isn't he?

Or he was I'm sorry, sadly no longer with us.

But he's revered as a as a rapper.

I think he he late later on he became this kind of I don't know

if you know. I don't I don't know if that's

true. I think on the on the you know

this is the first I'd really kind of like properly heard

heard him you know rap and. Didn't think much of him really.

I I just think it's just a bit it's just a bit boring.

I'm just not not really sure what they rap about most of the

time and maybe because I don't listen, I've not listened to it

maybe as much as you, but it just isn't anything that kind of

grabs me. It kind of feels like this, like

you know, this is, this is, this is kind of letting the cat out

of the bag With how I feel, feel about this album.

Maybe a bit too early on, but it it feels like they're trying to

like copy cat some of that rapping that was around in that

time, like 9596, but they're just not interesting enough.

And therefore, they don't really like, have their own identity.

Yeah. So they're trying to be like a

bit more underground. But there's just, you know what,

what is their style? What are they really rapping

about? It's not, I don't know.

Yeah, Can you put your put your finger on it?

Not really. I mean, yeah, I have to say they

stand out to me as particularly amazing rappers.

Although I do think the Rockness monster has got a incredible

voice. That's one of these rappers with

a really deep kind of, yeah, he's got such a distinctive

voice. I think they probably got the

skills that I think maybe I'm talking about the lyrical

content. The content is actually I like

their voice, I like they they, they have obvious skill, but I

just think, what are they rapping about?

It just doesn't. This is no specific identity or

like flavor that comes through the album for me, and I think

this is a good example. I think I've wasted a really

well produced track. Like I said, a lovely sample.

Yeah, really good production, great beat.

I think they do it just as I think.

I think they rhyme, flow over the over it quite well.

This is something I find is that when I'm really feeling the

beat, when I really feel the production of the beat.

I remember the the, the lyrics and I the lyrics stand out more

to me and I remember them when the beats dull.

I couldn't tell you a single lyric.

From that, from any of the tracks, you know it's going to

have the beat first for me and then I'll remember that.

I remember the lyrics and I think that's why the better

tracks on this album have the best production, the music.

So therefore I appreciate the lyricism more, which brings us

nicely on to the next track. True score in the last one.

Are we going to talk? Yes.

Well, I gave this. I gave Let the Brains Blow 4 out

of five. I love it.

Yeah, I love that sample. A lot of it is based on the

production, the music, and. The other thing I didn't mention

then was the snare drum. It's got really, it's really

crystal metallic kind of quality to it.

I looked up what it was from actually.

Again, I won't say, but it was really like, it's such a great

snare drum and I think that I think that hooks, you know, All

right As well, the verse is pretty good.

So yeah. Four, it got a three for me.

Production was was was was stronger than the rapping, so

it's just getting a three. I hear you.

I hear you. OK.

All right. Well, that some kind of brings

us on to the next track, which is called understand.

Let's take a listen to that one. I'm in my lane gets blown out

the frame by the flips the relays look.

Who is this getting swift with this new Gellis equipped with

the lyrical gift of flip strips. People duck sick.

The one to touch with that rush and rock kick break boys bones

like Roy Jones decoys roll but they can't mess with.

OK, that's understand. And this is what you were just

talking about. The rap and the production go

really well together. Yeah, this is definitely one of

the high, high points of the album and it just it just

seamlessly all comes together for me thought it.

I thought it's really good track.

Yeah, yeah, this. This is my absolute unequivocal

favorite. Track on the album.

Favorite on the album. Favorite on the album.

This is. So I used to make compilation

mixtapes, type thing and this was the one I always put on.

Just just to me, it's everything I want in a in a hip hop track.

It's got the jazzy chords. It's got those.

The the drums. The drums, those, they've been

used so many times by the beat writers.

It's it's the what Noughts drums.

They're from the What Noughts tracks.

Why? Can't be the colors too.

And they've used them. Perhaps you've got every track

on to shine in. Yeah, this is, this was my

absolute favorite track and as you say because the beat is so

good, the music is so. Good.

The flow is so good, you remember and actually if you

analyze and listen to the lyrics of this one, it's so intricate.

They are absolutely. Doing such a great job in this,

yeah, that it just stands out so much.

Absolutely top drawer stuff. Yeah, I wouldn't argue.

This is just this is definitely, yeah, maybe that maybe the high

point that happened for me as well.

Yeah, 100%. So naturally I gave it five out

of five. Yeah, yeah.

I love this. This is one of my.

Whoa, whoa, hang on a minute. So five out of five is absolute

classic status? To me, this is this is one of

the my favorite hip hop tracks all time.

Wow. Another one on the next.

That that shocks me. Why do you reserve fives then

for like absolute like 5 in your ear?

Five has to be something that you know, Martians came down and

you would like right here is this is what hip hop is.

But I I would probably understand if it was aliens.

Yeah. But there's there's like 500

tracks that are better than that.

Not to me. Well, OK, yeah, there are better

tracks, but. It may upset you to know I only

gave her a three. I could, I could have, I could

have pushed the boat out a bit more, but I just felt.

Like for me 4, if it's a four, it gets on on one of my

playlists because I just want to keep hearing it.

If it's a three, I think it's a good track and I'll probably,

you know, listen to it once in a while.

But it won't be on a playlist. It's in between a three and a

four, so maybe I've been a bit harsh giving it a three, but

five? Yeah, but you must.

You have to remember. You have to understand that I

lived. I've lived with this track since

96, and I it's just one of my my perennial favorites.

So I love it so much. So yeah, it's for me, it's a if

there's a track that I absolutely love, it's getting a

5. It's not.

I'm not holding, but I'm not. My maximum isn't 4.

I can't argue with that. Yeah, like like the source, you

know they only give it to masterpieces.

But like 5, one of my absolute favorites.

I'll give it A5. I'm not, I'm not scared of doing

that, you know? Well, it's your true score.

That's my true score. Yeah, absolutely.

All right, so that brings us on to the next track, which is

called Who Dat. OK.

I think we don't need too much of that one.

Thoughts on that one, Steve? This is this is what I was

saying earlier. This album lacks identity.

You go from like to like. In my opinion, average tracks

and you get to this is just dull.

Absolute dull. The exact words I've got on my

notes. Let's just move on.

I gave it to you, and that's probably being generous.

Yeah, I gave it to you as well. It's another buckshot

production. He's really not doing himself

any favors on this album. Just a really dull, plodding.

Be just nothing. Don't like it?

Always skipped it. Yeah.

I don't think we need to dwell on this for too long.

Move on. All right.

So let's move on to another track called Sean Price.

Not. Sure, anymore more who is

knocking at my door? Of the people that I know acted

funny when Big Rock got some load.

But I don't care that my Parabellum fly fly.

OK, Sean Price take some balls to name a track after.

Yourself. Yeah, sort of thing.

I can imagine you doing hip hop album.

Well. Yeah, I mean this one.

I'm not really sure how this one made the cut.

I just think it's a really poor boring beat.

Yeah, it's it's similar to the last tracking.

I wonder where they tried to like link those two together to

think we're just going to take it a little bit down tempo here,

slow it down a bit, show off some of our skills, but it just,

it just falls flat on his face again for me.

Yeah, particularly, like you said, it's an eponymous track,

so you'd think this is where you're going to show off your

skills. It's not like, yeah, you know,

sounded like a rock or something, something that way.

You're just like, wow, this is amazing.

Yeah. And they're going to be wrong.

I mean the wrapping is perfectly fine on it and Sean Price wraps

well on it as as as does everybody including Illinois

who's. On this track, not quite sure

what he's doing these days but yeah, where did he come from By

you know they all they do their best on it but I just when the

beats this boring, it just just doesn't live long in the memory.

And that goes back to your previous point.

You have to have good production to have like good rapping,

really, don't you? Otherwise it's it's really rare

that you get, you know, crap production and fantastic rap

over the top. Yeah, the 2GO hand in hand.

All right, so that's another one I I gave that to.

I gave that to as well, yeah. Yeah, good lads.

I mean, I think we're in unison on that one.

It's a bit of a black hole, these two, these this group of

traps, I think, yeah, it brings us on to, yeah, the next one,

which is called Clans Posse's. Cruising clips The drama bring a

ringer rubber Say I buck shots with a steel tech will see.

With solos up. The soaking track, Ry.

Are you serious? I'm not OK.

I. Am serious.

I am serious Preach. I like it.

I think it's as an interesting be it bounces along quite

nicely. It's a bit more kind of up tempo

from those last two pieces of rubbish, nice little sample

underneath. This is definitely, I think I'm

going to say I think it is my favorite, favorite track on that

whole album. I can see that you're

disappointed in my choice. I'm not disappointed, just I'm

just trying to get my head round and try to understand but that

but that doesn't surprise me that one like this would appeal

to you more. I think we've got very different

sort of hip hop pallets I think. Yeah, but interestingly, on this

album, it's it's not like it's not particularly hard track.

It's probably one of the most upbeat, right?

More kind of, I don't know, unheld to Skelter tracks on the

album. Does that make sense?

Maybe that's maybe that's why I like it.

Yeah, maybe. I mean, yes, it has a different

feel to some of the other ones. I think it fits in quite well

though with with the other tracks, you know, even though I

don't like it, it does kind of fit in quite nicely and it does,

you know, it does a good job on the album.

It's produced by Evil D1 of the Beat Miners, who is one of my

favorite producers as we know. But I just didn't think this is

one of his better efforts. It just didn't get me going.

It's again, I found it quite dull.

I did quite like that little rattle sound in the background.

That kind of goes all the way through it.

I don't know if you noticed that, but there's a really nice

rattle that goes on. And the MMC's, yeah, the buck

and rocket flow well on it. Yeah, they do.

They kill it. In fact, they, you know, it's a

good versus really strong. But I just, again, I didn't

really dumb. Wasn't feeling the beat.

And it feels like it's something that rapping about something a

bit more interesting as well, you know, rather than, you know,

Sean Price and who's that? Yeah.

You know, like rappity, rap stuff, Just rapping for the sake

of rapping sort of stuff. There's actually, you know, some

of these have a good point to them, but unfortunately I think

you'll be very happy with me. I gave it to.

Well, I only gave it a three, but I think that's because I

there's a certain ceiling that I'd reached from this this

album, Right? Okay.

I think I could, I could probably.

Could I push it to four? I don't think it would be on a

playlist, but it's certainly a good song.

Now I'm going to stick with the three.

Okay, okay. All right, well.

For me, it perks up a bit now with the next track.

Yeah, because we are getting straight back into Danny

territory with a track called Therapy.

Let's have a little listen to that one.

Physical fam gave less than which added on the 80s anchors

ever through my and now we're getting somewhere.

Yeah so becoming clear. I always feel that I have to

play the rear till I was out of here.

That's when I flipped out and became.

Now you're talking. Can I can I just say, can I just

say something this this is, this is definitely a U track when I

was listening. So I was thinking, I almost

thought in my head like this is the reason that Danny likes his

album because he heard this one track first, which isn't true,

and then got into the album. It doesn't fit on the album.

It doesn't sound like any of the other tracks on the album.

Like, how did this get on there? It's like, you know, it's a

track about about a doctor. It would sound better on a

Doctor Dre album than a Health scout album.

Yeah, automatically fitted a bit more, Yeah.

Yeah, you're right, it doesn't quite fit on there.

It's a bit more of a smoother R&B flavored.

Yeah, track with the chords and yeah, it is a bit of a sort of

more, a happier sounding beat. But you know, naturally I love

this one. I like it.

I like. It it's it's near 1, isn't it?

It's definitely one of those ones, but but that annoys me

thinking none of the other tracks on this album are

designed to be like that. Yeah, yeah, it's it's kind of a

bit of a left term for the for the album I think it was this

was a I think it might have been a single, which is quite

natural. But yeah, I mean it's it's a

commercial sound you know, what can I say?

But maybe albums like this need one of these just to.

You know, get the sales up a bit and they need something to hook

it on. But I really like it and I think

they they do a good job. It's a good concept as well.

The, you know, one being the doctor, one being the patient

and female singer on the hook. Vinny and Mihika, she's on loads

of, she does the hooks on loads of Pete Rocks.

She sounds really good. On it, yeah, it's one of those

and you know memorable hook. So that always works for me and

it's, it's one of, I think. Four or five tracks produced by

Baby Paul, who is a member of the Beat Miners.

For me, those are the best tracks on the album and those

are the reason I look back, sort of funding this album for those

tracks for the baby pool tracks. Please don't tell me you gave us

A5. I didn't.

No, I didn't give us a 5. But but I was just baby Paul.

We produced like let the brains blow, understand the

Floralaflour therapy like those. To me, that's the.

The backbone of the album, those are the best tracks on the

album. He produced them all, so I

personally would have liked this album to have been produced all

by him, but. I think it would have made a

massive difference since the whole aesthetic of the album and

it would have just, it would have, yeah, fit together better.

They'd have sounded better. Got get rid of some of those

skippers, yeah. Absolutely, they should,

Definitely. Have done that.

You know, so therapy, Great track.

One of my favorites on the album and it really reminds me of.

Perfect match, but on the Cellar Dollar's album, which is.

Almost. It would almost be better on the

Cellar Dollar's album, perhaps. Perhaps, Yeah, Yeah.

OK, well, I gave it a four. Didn't give it A5.

Well, I gave it a three because there's definitely a ceiling.

You're an evil man. You need therapy.

It's better than that. OK, so that's therapy.

So let's move on to the next track, which is called Place to

Be. Businesses images up in your

mallet telling you the gesture You know what you say.

Y'all give my whoop y'all chest pains and cigarettes Specs Your

bottom dollar Don't move A swallow.

You're not promised to my robot. I promise you.

Why make your high pop your color?

Bonestone. So yeah, Place to be.

This one's produced by Shawn J, period, who's a legendary

producer in the Game, member of Down South.

Not a lot of people talking about Down South on Hip Hop

podcast these days, but I have that album Lost in Brooklyn.

Love it. But he produced tracks on that

he he produced tracks from Mad Skills, who we've discussed on

the podcast before, Artifacts, Bush babies, you know, name me

another podcast talking about Bush babies.

But yeah, unfortunately though, it's an average track, not one

of the better tracks for by him, I think.

And I think it marks the start of, you know, the downturn

again. I I kind of like the production

on this, but I I I honestly can't put my finger that there's

just something missing from the whole track.

And I I can't I can't say what it is.

Thought about it lots. I don't know.

Just like there's a little ingredient in there that's just

missing from being a really good track.

I thought it was average. I gave it three, but I but I

couldn't give you any more. Yeah.

Anymore on it? Yeah, exactly.

That tells you all you need to know when you struggle to find

anything to say about it. Yeah, it's an average track.

It's, that's what I've got. It's an average track.

Just a bit vacant. Nothing.

Yeah, nothing really. But, you know, I like Shaundrae,

period. But just sometimes, you know, we

all have bad days at the office. Yeah.

And this was one of them. OK, So let's skip on past to the

next one, which is called. Soldiers gone psycho.

And it sounds something like this.

While that was playing, Steve was shaking his head and making

a face. So let's find out a bit more

about. That it's just trying to badly

replicate some of that New York rap sound, isn't it?

From that? Just does a bad job of it.

It is. It's a bad track.

Yeah, yeah, not, not a not a good one for me.

And this is at this one is produced by Baby Paul again and

this was the kind of like his his weakest one on the album.

Just they should just rap about their own stuff, but a bit more,

bit more unique than just trying to sound like like Mob Deep.

Because they're not Mob Deep, they don't sound anything near

as good as Mob. Definitely not mob deep.

No, no, this is not a. Not a strong one.

I gave it three out of five. So this got for Me 2 1/2.

That's being generous I think, because I thought the production

was Okish. Yeah, yeah, that's that's fair

to me just again not not very memorable.

It's no understand. That's for sure.

OK, So that brings us on to the next track which is the

absolutely incredible, the square Triple R.

That's here, I hope. You're jokingly.

Well, let's see, shall we? Let's see what it.

Sounds like that karate destructor from that Boston said

commercial by hers. You know, be acting sweet like

ladies and if they try to play me Little Rock will come through

when wet your block. Like this Navy, this play my oh

point God the square key. For Steve, do you want to kick

start this one off? Yeah, it's it's definitely,

probably a little bit more kind of like forward thinking.

This track, if I'm being like generous, definitely sounds like

a track you might hear in 97. 98 So it starts slightly, slightly

different, but it's still not a good track.

Do you mean forward thinking to a time when hip hop is rubbish?

In your eyes, yes. Yeah, I I just.

It's a bit more upbeat. It's there's a bit, there's a

bit more to it being a bit more upbeat than the other tracks

that we've just gone through where they're just a bit dull

and a bit some of them are a bit slow and there's no, there's no

real identity. This one is a tiny bit better.

You think I just honestly, I've got in my notes.

I've got. This is just a hard no.

I just if I was doing a, you know, one side of AC-90 cassette

tape, this would be cut instantly.

This would not make the cut awfully cheap keyboards.

The hook does sound cheap, yeah? Yeah, it sounds cheap.

I did. You know, we are entering the

era of, you know, keyboard beats and people avoiding samples and

things like that. And you know, I can see what

they were going for, but it just sounds really cheap.

The hook's decent enough and the verses, you know, they they make

the best of it. They sound OK on it.

But I just it it really does nothing for me, this track at

all. It's exactly the sort of hip hop

production that I don't like. But I'm kind of pleased to hear

that because I think this, this album in the middle is really

poor, stodgy. It doesn't really go anywhere or

do anything. And I think you have the kind of

same feeling based on what you said about the last few tracks.

Yeah, I think it does. Well, maybe there's a couple of

tracks that come in a bit better, but yeah.

Oh yeah, I really. I thought that the album's

really starting to fall off around this, this point.

Yeah, you know, as if every now and again that would be a good

one to perk it up a bit and then kind of have a string of bad

ones. But.

Yeah, on most albums, particularly around this time,

you could guarantee that there's there's not much skipper or

filler, but this time there's just too much.

Yeah, but you know, we're being kind of negative around this

point of some of these tracks. But like none of this should

track from the fact that. These are two very skilled MCS

who are really delivering great stuff lyrically and in terms of

presentation. It's just it doesn't add up to a

cohesive enough package that makes us want to go wow.

That's definitely the word for me, having the cohesion, their

own identity. To really put forth something

that that wasn't was a bit different for that time.

Yeah, absolutely. So I'm afraid I only gave this a

one out of five. You gave it A1 by me.

Wow. I think for I could be generous.

Then I gave it a 2 1/2. A 2 1/2, Yeah.

Wow. I mean, yeah.

I mean, that's. I think that's more than it

deserves, but. Maybe a two would?

Have been there. All right, well, let's move

swiftly on then into the next tune, which is called the Wiggy.

I got the reference so chill chicken for by Tuesday chastises

with baptizes with blood from black guys when I slap God.

Now this one was produced by Mr. Walt, one of the other members

of the Meet Miners. I think he's the only one he

produced on the album. I'll just kick start by saying

it really reminds me of Heads Ain't Ready, the sort of Black

Moon and. Off the New Jersey drive

soundtrack, it's got that kind of languid head nod, kind of

gritty, funky feel to it, similar, similar style.

I'm sensing you don't agree. Yeah, I think the trouble for me

is by the time I came to write my notes for this and I haven't

heard like the last five or six tracks, I would it would just, I

was like. I can't go on.

This is just, yeah, this is another track now that I just

don't want to listen to. Yeah, it was like, so it might

note. The hard work.

My legs just say. Blah blah.

Interesting. There's nothing about this track

that I can write anything about. I'm really sorry.

There is no, it's great insight. I think it tells you all you

need to know. I think, all right well, I mean,

I, you know it's not a great one but it's got I like the drums.

I really like the drums on it. They're quite nicely.

Program I see. Chopped up.

Really. They make me the head nod.

I think it's a good head nodder. I think but.

Other than that, still a skipper.

Still a skipper. All right.

OK, well, I'll give it three. What did you give it?

2. 222 Very popular number for this album.

OK, so we're going to skip over the the skit getting ass getting

ass for obvious reasons, and we're going to move on to the

next tune, which we've discussed a few times already.

It's called. The flaw?

The flawless Skoshka. All

right, lots to say about this one.

What do you think, Steve? Well, this is your favorite

track, so you should probably go first on this.

Go on. Well, one of one of I think

understands my favorite, but this one is just absolutely

classic material. This is one of the greatest

potty cuts of all time, one of the greatest samples at the

first time I ever heard it used. It was such a great great

sample, great flip by catalyst. It's really smooth, great track.

Everyone on it brings our a game.

I think all the verses are amazing and yes, yes y'all and

all that by on the hook. I love that.

It's just so memorable. You can see why this was the big

single. I think it was one of their

first ones to ever break the Billboard charts.

I read somewhere what was it? Yeah, it was quite a relative

hit for them and just. Yeah, amazing track.

One of the reasons I bought the album in the 1st place.

And again, another baby pool production who I think he's the

MVP of this album. Definitely just just so good.

Yeah, so good. Yeah, yeah, I really like this

track. Yeah, I agree with everything

you say you say. Really.

I think it just, it's just so sad, isn't it, That the rest of

the album couldn't have this kind of flavor.

Yeah, to me, I think this I think this album would be in a

better kind of 6-7 truck EP. Yeah, yeah.

So I've got those 4 tracks in the middle.

We'd have been. We'd have been, yeah.

Half days. Yeah, like, like stray.

We've let the brains blow. Understand.

Yep. Therapy.

Yep. La Flo.

La flour. Yep.

So yeah, that would that would have done me nicely and I could

have just listened to that over and over.

Again, but maybe you're saying earlier because because there

was just so many different producers on this album that

that made it really difficult for them to.

Yeah, create something that was cohesive enough or or or

similar. Because I think of some albums,

if you get tracks like this, you just, yeah, I just give me more

of that, give me more of the of the same or similar if that's

that's what you're going to do. Just just keep churning those

out for me, please. That's that's what I need.

Yeah, variety isn't always a spice of life.

It's, you know, sometimes you want a consistent voice across

the whole album. It's one of the perennial

questions, isn't it? It's like, yeah, do you, do you

stick with one producer, Give it a cohesive sound, but maybe the

lack of variation? Or do you?

You know, do you go with a mixture?

Producers, sometimes you get an illmatic, sometimes you'll get a

nocturnal, you know, it's like, what do you do?

And sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

But I think it, yeah, didn't really work in this instance.

No, but this is a good track. This would definitely be on one

of my playlists. Yeah, 100% and mine.

So big Thumbs up for La Flo La Flour.

Now we're going to move on to a track called.

Prowl. Let's see what this one sounds

like. Many phrases, many ways you can

explain it. But on some rough touch I make

your famous so step. Don't stare there.

Cross this path. Be where representatives in foul

play Got the rip, Got the rip. That sound you heard was be

opening another can of lager. So yeah, this one is called

Prowl. Let's get your thoughts on that

one first, Steve. Let's see.

Yeah, sadly, I think as I've said in like so many of our

podcasts already, like for for me and album, I just love the

long players. I just love the when you can

just sit and just listen to the whole album.

Just think, yeah, it's great just getting this, the flow of

this album and it's really kind of sticking with me and by this

point I just bored of the album, you and you.

And then you just get something like this, just think, just can

we just have something at the end of the album?

That just leaves me with like a nice flavor in my mouth, like

when I go to listen to something else, think I'll come back to

that. Sorry, there's another light

down. That's all I can say is another

light down. That's a shame.

Yeah, do. You like this one?

I I don't hate it. I don't hate it.

I I I I said earlier that the other beat was the Mr. Walt's

only one. This is another Mr. Walt beat.

I like the sample. But obviously it's been used

elsewhere by Porter's head, Lalo Lalo Schifrin sample.

I think it's used better elsewhere.

Porter's head just killed it with that sample, whereas this

is a bit more dull plodding in terms of its use.

The drums just don't really add much to it.

And yeah, it's it's not brilliant, but the use of that

sample alone kind of elevates it slightly in my eyes, you know?

Again. It's an it's another one of

those, you know, the hooks on this album, you know, they're

very sort of low and kind of sinister and they just can

almost kind of undulate on the hooks, some of them.

And it's got that eerie low key feel.

And I don't know, it's just, yeah, like you say, it's a bit,

it's a bit dull, but but yeah, there's some redeeming features.

I quite like the beat, which is why I gave it a three.

So kind of very average. It's quite lucky, could have

been a 2, but I gave it through. No surprise it gets 2 for me.

Yeah, that seems to be your your go to number.

Yeah. People at home probably might be

listening to this and adding up the scores as they go and

realize what sort of overall score this is going to get.

But let's try and maintain some of the jeopardy.

OK, Let's go on to the next track now, which is called Great

Unknown, Which track 15? Let's have a little listen to

that one. I turn this upside down.

Watch me again. You get the picture with.

Yeah, I don't understand why y'all be there, Mr. Flipster.

I deliver Rock 9. OK, great.

Unknown. Now we're on 2 track 15 now I

imagine you're losing the world to live.

No, but actually this is the, this is the one tracker then.

So actually, yeah, you get a bit of variety.

It's a little bit kind of. Their style changes.

They've become a little bit more kind of singing.

And I'm like, yeah, I like that. And they're just, you know,

trying something a bit different.

This definitely, like, made me a bit more interested it.

It's not a fantastic track. I'm just saying it interested

me, whereas the others made me like, fall asleep.

Yeah. So actually they had a little

bit about it, this one, a little bit more about it.

Didn't mind. Did you like it?

No, I didn't. No, this was.

The Great Unknown is why this was included on the album in the

1st place. It's it's one of two beats by a

gentleman by the name of Shaleek who does the worst 2 beats on

this album. Both rubbish.

I don't like the bassline, it's really clumsy.

The vocal sample on the hook is I can.

I can see why it appeared and I can see why they used it.

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, again, I'm not quite sure

it fits. Sits quite right, I don't know,

just doesn't quite work for me. Maybe it's just the variety I

like rather than the quality. Maybe I just, I got to this

point and thought it's just a little bit different.

Work you up a little bit, Yeah. And again, I don't, like, think

the verses are bad. Like, you know, they're not

rapping. There's nothing wrong with the

rapping. It's just because I don't care

about the beat. I just, the verses don't go in.

You know that some people, what they look for in a hip hop track

is like, they're all about the lyrics.

They could be rapping over any beat.

But for me, it's got to be, it's got to marry up, it's got to be

hand in hand, it's got to be a cohesive package.

So yeah, this one, I got two. I just couldn't. 2 for me.

Yeah, just definitely not a great, great effort.

And then the last track on the album is called Operation

Lockdown, which was a very prescient ahead of its time.

Because we did a big Operation Lockdown for about two years.

But yeah, this one's called Operation Lockdown, produced by

E Swift of the Alcoholics that's have a little listen to this

one. That's word, Shawn.

Don't give a what if I've done They got Us in Snakes.

That's slither. And if you want to come test the

inflict up, I got your name, number, address, plus your

pitch. OK, I think we get the idea with

that one. Okay, yes.

As I said, it was an E swift beat Who's from the Alcoholics

at the. Producer Yeah, Lucky Swift.

Yeah, Lucky Swift. And it's a very kind of

Alcoholics. He kind of beat.

I could, I could really could picture this one sitting on

their Coast to Coast album, which was released the year

before. What is it doing on this album?

No, didn't fit for you. Just follows the same sort of

pattern we've been saying, saying all way through this

isn't it. It's just just a hodgepodge of

like trying to be an underground bit harder.

You know, New York album, but just not really achieving

anything, I don't think. And this is the same with this

one. Yeah, What is it?

What is it about this track? There's any good?

Yeah. I mean, to me, I think it had

the benefit of sounding like that Alcoholics album, which I'd

quite like, yeah. Tracks on there.

It's a recognizable. Sounds very swift, but yeah,

it's a bit repetitive. That harp samples quite nice.

I quite like the harp. It's a nice little sample, but

it's a bit repetitive. And nothing memorable about it,

it's just it's just meanders. It just kind of plugs along,

goes on and on. And another one of their kind of

sinister, deep voiced hooks. Yeah, we are the yeah.

And it's like just a bit tired of it by this stage and like,

yeah, yeah. It does tie you out this album.

It ties tiring. It takes.

So, you know, I think I put that on my notes as well as.

I like putting work into an album, right?

You know? And I've every time I listen to

Sam, I think, am I going to enjoy this a bit more now?

Because I've given it time to like, distill in my brain and

work. It's magic.

Like, yeah, I think it's probably got worse every time I

listen to it. Yeah, we are on the cusp of kind

of that era of doing like 20 track albums.

Yeah, they're creeping up and it is hard work getting through a

lot of these, honestly, you know, 1617 tracks.

I think there might be an outro as well, it just.

Yeah, especially when you're not, you know, listening to it,

evaluating it. It does get a bit much.

But I do think you know, this isn't this isn't one of the

worst beats on the album. All bus traps.

Oh, no, no, no. And the M Cs try their best to

bring it to life. You know, once again, the the

both of them, they they they do an admirable job.

They they rap well. You know some.

They rap well, but again I just think that the lyrical concept,

there's nothing and they think Oh yeah, that's that's so that's

quote quotable or interesting or.

Yeah, yeah. All right, well, that brings us

to the end of the album. I think there's an outro as

well, but it just plays the same.

What did you score that one? Beat I gave up on three,

actually. Did you?

Yeah. So just average kind of middle

in, probably lucky, not lucky not to get to.

What did you score? The Fleur?

The Fleur, by the way? 5.

I knew you were going. To say, why would you give it

anything less than that? It is.

It's just, it's not classic status.

I know that. I know you've already talked

through your rationale. That's disgrace.

But it's it's such a great track.

It's like it's one of the best it's.

Not one of the best would agree to disagree on that one.

Yeah, I mean, yeah, I I love it. But you know, we've got, we're

coming at it from different. Yeah, you've got some, you've

got some nice memories of of this album.

And I I was really hopeful that this was going to be an album

that I really liked because I wanted to listen to it as an

album that I that I hadn't put any time into listening to my

kind of album. But it just didn't work for me.

All right. OK, Well, that kind of brings us

the end of the album. We won't reveal our overall true

scores for that album yet. We'll do that at the end when we

add it all up and decide on our winner.

But yeah, let's move on to the next album after this short

break. Hi, welcome back to the playoff

between Helter Skelter's Nocturnal and Saladuela's

Realms. In reality, both from 1996.

So we've been through Helter Skelter's album.

Made it through. Yeah.

I feel we knocked them quite badly, but we did.

We still gonna give them some respect.

Release we did. It's still worth a listen.

Worth a listen and I feel bit bad because I did kind of say

that it's been the albums I really like back in the day.

But you know, it turns out I didn't quite like it as much as

I perhaps thought I did. But yeah, still worth a listen.

But we're coming on now to the second album, which is Realms

and Reality by the seller Dwellers.

It's their debut album released on March 26th, 1996 through Loud

Records Legendary label. Mostly produced by Nick Whiz

Love Nick Whiz and it was a critical success, not much of A

commercial one, unfortunately, only making it to 160 on the

Billboard 200. Thank you Wikipedia for that

little summary. So, Steve, overall thoughts,

without going into any kind of detail, overall thoughts on this

album and how did you first become aware of it, That sort of

thing. So yeah, this this is.

This is your influence. So there's there's there's quite

a few tracks on here that made it onto mixtapes that you you

gave to me, you're Welcome and was really an album I think I

should have bought and I didn't and I and I yeah, never really

got round to it. So it's really good to be able

to to listen to the whole of the album and I think it did take a

bit of work. This album did take a bit of

work to to. Start to like it, you mean?

Yeah, yeah. To kind of get into it and and

appreciate it and. And yeah, well, we go through

the tracks and I've got some kind of like more views to share

as we kind of go through really. Yeah, no, absolutely.

Yeah. It's kind of a slept on album.

It's not one of those that you hear talk about talked about

that much. Yeah, it's one for the heads in

the heads know this this album. But it's kind of not you don't,

you know, it's not it makes those top 100 lists, but it's

kind of, you know, not never at the top end.

Yeah, I think that there's there's there's quite a few hits

on it. There's there are also some

misses. I think that's why it doesn't

get like. The as much success as you

probably wanted to. Yeah, I think, yeah it's another

one of those perhaps few too many tracks.

So it goes on for a bit long, but there is a kind of a good

quality going all the way through it.

But let's let's let's delve into this one.

I mean I personally few thoughts I I love this the album I'm

going to put my put it out there and mostly because of the

production of Nick Whiz who I think is one of the like the

most underrated. Producers of the mid 90s like he

he did a lot of stuff that I kind of liked.

You know, he's not, he's not talked about a lot, but.

Famous. I think a lot of my love for him

was based around this album, to be fair.

So yeah, great jazzy beats and lots of good verses, but let's

let's get into it. So the first track we're.

Going to This is definitely a more of a Danny album.

Yeah, 100%, yeah. Let's start to go through it

track by track. Then this first one is called

Advance to Boardwarp. Let's hear what that one sounds

like. Reading at the railroad in his

porch. Waiting for his brother to come

in on the iron. Can it be so simple?

Playing in my rental on Oriental Ave. passing through

Connecticut. Got to get the firmware just to

visit Matt like in the clink. I'm back for stolen nature

snatching lit Saint Charles place.

Let me check Bigger and master a.

So that was called advanced the boardwalk.

Now I want. To know straight away what did

you give this at 54? A4.

You gave those how a scout attracts 5.

There's two how a Scout and this one only got 4, so.

Yeah, I do love it. But this is this is like a this

is this epitomizes rap way better than those how it scout

attracts the the the the the production here is great.

It's got a classic beat. It's this it's the the rapper

here is is fantastic. Everything fits together.

They flow on that we talked. You know earlier about the two

two things going together goes beautifully together.

This is, this is a banger. Absolutely, yeah.

And there's a banger and there was a case for it being a five.

I just think there were other ones in this track on this

album. Sorry that I knew were going to

be fives and. It just it's not quite up there

and calibrated. It yeah, kind of.

It's not quite there with them, although I absolutely love this

one. It's a great opener.

It's great when that first chord hits the 1st when it comes in,

yeah. I love it.

It's just such a great track is. It's the first and only hip hop

track about a ball game perhaps. I think it's a great concept,

great concept. The lyrics really delve into

that, you know, American. Version Which which label was

this? Loud.

Yeah, this I think this is on like a loud sampler that I had

and I think it was one of the lead off tracks and then I

remember this to thinking this is a really quality track.

I think you probably did. You probably did it as a kind of

mix tape as well. But yeah, I think this is one of

the standout tracks from from 96, I reckon.

Oh, definitely. Yeah.

No, I love it. It's a really good one.

Proper head nodding beat. Just good sampling.

Great chords, catchy hook. The hook is incredible.

Yep, Yep. And they sound really good about

it, because I don't they. Yeah, it's such a good and that

that baseline as well when it comes in and it's like you know

makes you speak of. Shape.

Believe you only gave. There's a four.

Any games of the five. Yeah, I'm starting to regret it.

I think one of the things that this track does emphasize about

the cell of dwellers is the chemistry they have with each

other. Yeah.

Yeah. Argon Phantasm.

The Toolman. The Toolman.

Toolman. Love their chemistry, love their

interplay. They kind of work really well on

the record together. And again that they're not

dissimilar to how a scattering that one of them's got.

They've got that kind of deep voice and you've got the other

one who's kind of a kind of more playful, lighter voice and they

just, but it's so much more appealing to me.

Into the seller dweller's yeah style then then how it scale,

yeah. It's played right?

Yeah, it really does. I just.

I just love. I love the way it works and that

the hook is so memorable. It's such a great track.

I really probably should have given it 5, but.

Yeah, you're regretting that now.

And you? I'm a.

Little regretting that a little bit.

Yeah, I I gave it a four. I mean it's it's not quite

classic states for me. So it's a it's definitely, you

know, do you get to the top of the play?

I gave it a four. But oh, you talking about that?

But yeah, but five for me has to be.

Absolute classic. Right, Okay.

This would. There are other tracks in 96

that would be higher up my playlist than.

Got it. Yeah.

All right. Well.

Great start to album, great start to.

Album Really good start to album Okay.

So we go from track one, which is Advanced Boardwalk.

We go to Mystic Freestyle. Let's hear what that one sounds

like. I construct and create and if I

concentrate can sometimes elevate and levitate to height.

But the brain is confusion when I'm snoozing.

The image is illusion. I view the planet Earth.

For what it's worth, OK, that one's called Mystic Freestyle,

Steve. Does produce my megahertz as

well. Yeah, there's a few on here by

megahertz. Yeah.

Is that somebody you, you. He was.

He produced a lot of lot of tracks like.

Like more kind of underground stuff at the end of the 90s and

early 2000s, which really liked, yeah, So this is a weird track

because I like it, but I like, I don't like where it fits on the

album. No, it goes from Advanced to

Boardwalk to this. And I've got I, you know, I've

got this thing about albums should fit together and there

should be that kind of long player thing, yeah.

It's it's a weird it's not a track to.

Because it's not a track 2. It's not a track two and it's in

the kind of a banger sandwich in between one advance the

boardwalk and perfect match that and it's got like, yeah, it's

not a track two. If anything it should be later

and you just go 1-2, punch advance the boardwalk and

perfect match, yeah. Or just put something harder in

A2. Or move perfect match match to

two. Yeah, but it yeah, it just it

just doesn't fit. It's a.

Strange, strange track, Yeah. Megahertz is, is.

One I'd I'd never heard of. This is the my only sort of

experience of his beats. And yeah, it's just a strange

one to put a track #2. But I do quite like the the

little flute sample. It's quite eerie, quite unusual

and you know, it's appealing. It's got it's got, like the

title suggests, it's kind of a freestyle.

It's there's no subject matter. It's not quite hard enough or.

Thumping enough compared to advanced, it was just just jars

of me, but I still like. It.

Yeah, I know. It's a good one.

OK, so yeah, what? Did you give it?

I gave it a three. Just.

To give it a three. Middle and average kind of

track, but definitely not a track two.

If we were evaluating the sequencing of this album, I

think maybe, you know, we'd have a.

Few words to say, let's have some words it.

Yeah, OK, so we move on now to track 3, which is perfect match.

Because first this fat man tried the Sun beaming Federation

scheming, but you was clocking dibiasi.

Must have been daydreaming, waiting online, wishing she was

all mine shooting the gift James did.

Just the whole now. This is such a good track so

much. It's got everything, hasn't.

It it's got everything. I just it's just it's not only

my favorite on this album, it's one of my all time favorites.

Is it? Honestly, I love this track so

much. So so for me it's yeah, it's got

a it's got a lovely sample yeah. Good rap good content lyric.

What they're rapping about is in is is interesting flowing it

really well. Everything kind of jealous

together and that hook is just that singing is just yeah,

dreamy. Oh, absolutely.

It's a very, again, a very commercial sound, just like

Therapy on the Help us get our album.

But it but it. Works though, but it works.

It's just everything. Everything clicks on this track.

Yeah, yeah, you've got. You know the winter sadness

sample, which you just cannot fail with that.

It's the first time I heard it used in a hip hop.

It's amazing, the bass line, that kind of sub bass sound

really, you know, shakes the speakers, drums are crisp

slamming the hook, you know, as you say the the female singer on

the verse. It's a good story rap as well.

You know they're talking about their travails with the other

the, you know, the opposite sex, which is always a good subject

matter for attracts exactly my kind of hip hop.

Very 1996, just right up my street, you know, that's sort of

more smoother commercial, jazzy sound, love it.

And for that reason it's a 5 out of five.

Thought you'd say that. Yeah, it's on.

All my it was on all my next. Steps.

But you know I couldn't I I I haven't given it A5.

I don't think it is A5 for me because.

Get out. Because it just isn't maybe my

style, the style that I like, but I can see it is.

It is like. I I can't criticize it in any

way, so maybe I should give it A5.

I gave it four. Obviously this it's on heavy

rotation. Don't get me wrong, I'm I'm not

surprised in any way that you didn't.

Give it 5. Because I know it's not, you

know, you really your style of hip hop, but I just yeah, it's.

Mine. There's not a couple of tracks

like on the album, but I I don't know whether I'd probably rather

play Advanced to Boardwalk. Over perfect match just because

of my preference of what I like to listen to.

Yeah, no, I hear you. OK, so that's perfect match

done. Let's do the next track which is

called Medina style. Name ain't Sanford and you ain't

got no sons. Don't play me for Grady.

My trickle finger bench is 380. No need for jaw tapping.

Or scrapping. I'm from Brooklyn, so I'm

original gun class. I get Mad dramatic Jim Like

automatics. When I'm beat you, I pick.

Some way. So that's Medina Star, another

megahertz beat. Head not A.

Head not a Yeah, it's really another quirky 1 interesting

sort of fiber phone sample. I think that's what we're

dealing with. I didn't like this try to start

off with no. It was definitely a grower.

Talk me through it. Well.

I don't know. I haven't really got much to say

to be honest. Just a sort of just sort of a

nothing kind of nodder that doesn't really go anywhere.

It definitely was one we'd start off with.

I thought I'd just, yeah, one skip.

But now I'm quite happy to listen to it.

It only I only gave it a three, OK, So I'm not saying it's

fantastic, but yeah, you know. It's really the hard way.

I do like the line. I did more Robin than Givens,

which was quite nice. I always liked that line, but

yeah, I gave it a three. I like the sort of quirkiness of

the beat. It's not one of the better ones

on the album. It's not one of those that comes

on and you go yeah, and you do the ugly face, but it's

certainly, it's decent enough. So yeah, I gave it a three.

So. OK, cool.

Alright, so let's go on to the next track now, which goes by

the name of Recognize and Realize.

Here it is. My Jerry G then I got my GED

Mama trunk flipping cuz I got left back.

Didn't know I had the skill for this record point track.

Now the whole damn block is trying to sound like me cuz I am

see. OK, so in my notes for this one,

I've got great track. Nick, Quiz strikes again.

But then that isn't reconciled with the score I've given it.

Yeah. So I don't really know what's

going on there. I do like this one and it's kind

of got it had single written all over it, but I don't think it

was a single when I did my research.

But but yeah, I like it. You know I think start it's

thoroughly average, thoroughly average.

I think it's it's got that classic mid 90s sound in both

the the the, the, the production and the wrapping with those

those little little some. What is?

What is that thing that's pinging off in the background on

time? Yeah, whatever that is.

Yeah. So, you know, I don't really

want to complain about it, but it didn't.

It didn't do anything for me. No, you seem quite upset about

it. Is that well?

Yeah, because you get like those absolute classics at the

beginning, advance to Boardwalk and, you know, perfect Match and

Medina Star's Not too bad. And then this is.

Kind of starting to think now, Oh my God, is this, I'm going to

start letting me down. Is it going to just become a bit

kind of like, blah? Why didn't Medina style mark

start of that? Like I thought that's the one

where you would have gone on this is I'm going to let me

down. Like recognize realize picks it

up again. It's got good energy.

So at this point in the album, it's like make or break time,

isn't it? You're thinking is this going to

be an album that I missed in the mid 90s that was that was

something a little bit different?

And actually it's getting to this point now and thinking, I

can see why this was a bit kind of like, you know, critically,

few people liked, some people liked it commercially, didn't do

very well. It's because it is a bit hit and

miss. There's nothing distinctive

enough coming through for the whole album to make it, make it

good enough. Yeah, that's fair point.

Fair point. Yeah, is, you know, if I think

with a bit of judicious editing, I think a lot of these albums

could have been really tightened up and it could have been

absolute classic masterpieces, but.

Yeah, they just, they just, they put them all in and.

Yeah, because it's a it's a formula, isn't it in the day

like can you can you, can you get your formula right.

Can you get, you know into a certain kind of pattern of of of

what what we can expect and it's just jumped around.

How can how can you go from advanced to world, it's a

perfect match and then then have, you know recognize and

realize forgot it was cool. Yeah.

No, that, that's it. All right.

Well, that's fair enough. I gave it three.

Yeah, sort of average kind of score. 2 1/2 so.

Yeah, bang in the middle. Okay, Cool.

Well well, let's move on to the next track, which is called Sell

a Dollar's, another self referential track.

This is the Sean Price of this album.

Let's see what this one sounds like.

No politics. No democracy or space Odyssey

2001. No more automatic guns.

Just lays the ones I'll be throwing planets and guns from

beneath the cellar. Comes the original Voila with X

amount of styles. Matt like the X bow.

Well, it is the Sean Price of the Sam, isn't it?

Because it goes down tempo, it slows everything down and it is

dull. It is quite dull, isn't it?

Really. Yeah, I I did.

I'm not a fan of this one really.

I mean, even though it's kind of a typical Nick whiz beat, it's

got those big drums and the deep sub baseline and spooky samples.

I quite like the the sample of the laughing child that goes for

it, which is quite. Yeah.

Yeah. That is true.

Yeah. Yeah.

Atmospheric. It's got a decent hook.

Open up your ass and who do you see?

But again, not one of my favorites.

It doesn't quite hit the heights of some of the earlier ones.

Advanced the boardwalk Perfect match.

There's nothing, there's nothing that kind of resonates to me on

there that I I enjoyed. Really.

No, Maybe it would have been better as an instrumental.

So yeah, again, I gave it a three I.

Think I've got 2 for me. Middlin 2.

Wow. But hopefully we can have a bit

more success with the next track, which is called What's

the plan? Every time I speak ish I

freakish CD What we're coming with that unique I don't sweat

it. Automatics embedded Then my

waistline takes while I hang with cats that do cry 2 knots

like Larry fish. Burn the deep cut off boot die.

Shoot ya. Knock off your future dream.

Hey, what's the plan, Steve? What's the plan?

You know what, I like that. It's definitely one of the best

tracks down where the beat and the flow go really nicely

together, those. Horns are really nice.

They sound really good on this track and it works.

Yeah, I totally agree with you. I love this one back in the day.

I absolutely love this one. That jazz piano sample thing

they use is incredible. I absolutely love that the horns

coming in as well with the delay on them.

Just really work and when obviously in the verses when the

the the filtered bass line I just I love that that's.

One of your favorites. It is one of my favorites on

this album. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

It's it's. I love the production style.

This was the sort of hip hop that I was always looking for.

They're sort of like obscure jazz samples, tinkling piano and

and the and the verses just fly on it.

Like you say like, yeah. Really wrote together.

Not a great hook, but. Like the verses, it just works

well as a package. It just all comes together.

So I really like this one. And there's a shout out to Tim

Westwood at the end of it, which hasn't aged well, which.

Put that in my notes. But you know, little did we know

what he was, what he was up to then.

But but yeah, no, a good one. This is a solid one.

So I gave it a four. Yeah, I can stretch that far.

Gave it 3 1/2. OK, you're a hard man to please.

Yeah, but I think what I'm always doing when I listen to

these albums, I'm trying to calibrate them against the other

96 albums that we did. And it definitely doesn't reach

the heights apart from a few of the tracks of those other

albums. So I'm so reluctant to give them

fours. Definitely never A5.

Absolutely. Your Yeah what?

Out of interest, what songs have you given A5 to?

Good question what What ones would be a 5 for you?

Like Mass Appeal or? You know most attracts on

Illmatic or Unbelievable by the tourist BIG.

Those are those you know mob deep shook ones.

You know those are those are those are fives.

Those are things you're going to you can't disagree those are

fives. Well, no, I don't disagree that

they're fives. But The thing is you.

I don't want to use received hip hop wisdom to guide what should

be fives for me. Like I don't want to just give

shook ones A5 because that's what the hip hop community

large. Think strict ones is.

For good reason. Yeah, and I'm not saying I

wouldn't give it five. What I'm saying is I have my

fives like they're fives to me because.

You're fives. Everyone else is 3.

Yeah, well, yeah. And then the album cuts.

I just really speak to me, but they're just not the.

Ones you're in a different metric to everyone else's.

Metric, but I think it's a better metric.

You can't go throw any fives around, Danny.

I just, I just, I'm looking. I'm looking for something for my

hip hop, but the hip hop community at large.

Doesn't agree with or isn't looking for, you know?

But there we go. And the same with films as well.

I'm the same with movies. I like movies that nobody else

likes. You just like being a rebel.

Yeah, I just. Anyway, let's not get bogged

down in that. All right, The next one, the

next track on this album is called Good Dwellers.

Let's see what this one sounds like.

Me, the ends, the bands bust, the skin That all come together

when you roll like the good 5094 pop in my red shirt guest chick

twisting up my dreadlocks. It was a nice day.

I was listening to Mary J Blige, The Four Wrong Girl, what was

surprised and what's on my cellular.

Banger. Yep, just the Beats and the

Rhine bounce along so nicely together on this track.

The hook like it. Yeah, no, I this is a another

banger for me on this album. Love the sample they've used.

Les McCann. Go on and cry.

Just one of my favorite flips of that particular sample.

It was released as a single. Just great.

Just a great track. Just one of those that comes on

and you go oh this yeah, this one you just it's like.

Nosing his head straight away. Yeah, yeah.

It comes in and you like. Let's go deep then at the start

and it just, it rolls from there and it doesn't stop till the

end. It's not one of these you have

to like, really work to get through.

It's just such a great track. I'll give it a four, though it's

not it's not a five, you know you'll be pleased to hear.

Very pleased to hear. Yeah.

But you know, I just, I just think it's great.

It's a great crime rap, good storytelling, great interplay.

They come in and out together. Yeah, I can't criticize this

track. I didn't.

I didn't give it a four, though. You can criticize this.

Track I'm regretting. I'm regretting it.

I'm thinking, why didn't I? Because as soon as it came on I

was like nod in my head. It is, yeah, yeah, so I'll give

it. I'll upgrade it to 3 1/2.

Well, we can't do it now. You've committed.

We don't do half marks either. We don't do half marks.

Well, you're just going to have to live with that.

You're going to have to live with giving it a three.

I gave it a four. It's just so good.

And the hook is great, just everything about it.

I'll stick to my thread, actually think I think maybe

still not good enough to get onto a 96 playlist for me.

Yeah, fair enough. OK.

All right. So we'll move on to the next

track then, which is called. Hold you down.

But that was years ago. Now another note MC be living

off the issue. And that's for real though.

Had dreams of being down with the hit squad.

The Dwellers is forever and now we the issue.

God, if Shorty's hassle me, no one puts name Cassidy, call me.

The Hey, let's hold you down, Steve.

Yeah, this. It's one of my I've scored this

more highly than the other. Some of the other tracks

actually, mostly because the production.

Yeah. I don't know.

You're better at unpicking the production than I am.

Did you what? Did you score this?

Three out of five, and you gave it three with three.

That's good for you though. Yeah, maybe it's a bit maybe

because it's a bit harder on the production.

It's a little bit kind of bit more mysterious the the rapping

doesn't quite flow as and join up as well as some of the other

tracks. But I still, I still like it.

Yeah. It's got an appeal.

It's got appeal. I can hear why you might like

this one. Yeah, it's definitely more.

It's definitely harder, more up my streak.

Yeah. Massive drums.

Yeah. Everything.

Yeah. Yeah.

This. I mean, it was, it was one I was

kind of sometimes skip, but it's not terrible, you know, or

anything like that. It's just not.

It didn't, it wasn't like, you know, that kind of jazzy stuff I

like. But, you know, sometimes skip

it, sometimes I was in the mood for it, sometimes I wasn't, you

know. So it's decent, you know, I give

it three out of five, but. Not just not the sort of beat

that I gravitate towards, but good verses though, you know,

they flow in it nicely. So yeah, decent one.

So it kind of comes up to a three for me.

What'd you give it? I gave it 3 1/2.

You know, yeah, you all keep doing half marks.

Well, yeah, Because I think it's because I know I probably should

give it a four. Yeah.

If I really like it, yeah. But I feel like I recalibrated

knowing that the album overall isn't.

Isn't a four album. Yeah, and be, you know, I should

be a bit more. I should be a bit fair.

Yeah. No, fair enough.

Fair enough. All right, cool.

So let's hold you down, Okay. Let's move on to the next one,

which is called Realm 3. Steve.

Yeah. Here we go.

Let's see what that one sounds like.

Hey the cleric dead people crawl out of craze when the cat 3

enemy must be juvenile cause my mind is week.

I seek psychiatric prints to help so.

See, I would always skip that one as well.

Yeah, good. I'm glad you said that.

I was a little bit worried then, as you're nodded head.

I just think this is. There's a there's a lot of like

mid 90s tracks that appear lots around that, that sound like

this. They are just too slow, They're

too dull, they're too boring. There's just nothing like

bouncing enough in them, I think.

Yeah. Can we just can we skip on from

this one like? Not a lot to say, but would you

give it? To.

Yeah, same here. I'll give it to.

That was. I think that's generous as well.

Yeah, on the same page with that one.

Oh yeah. It's just dull.

Again, just just just dull. It's a.

Witch Doctor and Lord Digger production, which is the guy who

from the Master Race camp. And like as an album for like

for me, compared to Howard Skelter, Howard Skelter has a

really stodgy middle with it's just nothing really good.

This is kind, there's just so many ups and downs in the middle

of this album. It's kind of like, I like that a

bit more. And then it goes down a bit and

it's like. That's a really good point

actually. Yeah, it's kind of like it's one

of those. It probably why it didn't.

Achieve the kind of critical success it should have.

Exactly. Could have because it kind of it

goes from down to up to up to down and sort of the consistency

isn't there. And again, it's another symptom

of having so many tracks on your album, you know, if you tighten

it down to a tight 10. They've got more records out.

Yeah, probably. All right.

Well, yeah. Again, so we agreed on that one

isn't a great one. Let's go to line for line, which

is the next track. Let's see what that one sounds

like. The scientist packed appliances

to wipe out alliances to play a pressure.

I get small drawers in the dresser I went to with the paw

shotgun. The block runs like for the

scrub. So where where a glass hardware.

In I'm going to guess. Do you like that one?

Yeah. Yeah.

Nice. To run a better for cash, to see

who serves. Yeah, great, I think a sample.

I think when you when you when you choose a sample that you you

use as your hook you have to choose really carefully and I

think this is this works really well you know and great

complimentary break one but yeah it's a bit more upbeat.

I like that again bounces along really nicely and and they flow

on it really well. I would say this is Yeah one,

one of my other favorite tracks on the on the album.

Yeah, no, I couldn't disagree with any of that.

I. Gave this a four.

Did you? Yeah.

My God. I just.

I just gather my thoughts. Yeah.

No, I like this one. It's quite a simple but

effective beat. Yeah.

And a great rake on sample, as we said.

So. Yeah, I I I like this one.

I think I gave it three though, so not quite as keen on it as a

bit hush. Yeah, but I think I do.

I do like it. Little bit repetitive, dare I

say, but a good solid head nodding 90s.

Hit the feet. Yeah, decent.

Yep, can't argue with. It.

Yeah, No, absolutely. So yeah, we're kind of on the

same page with that one, but the next one and.

Then, sadly, we go to the next one.

Well, there you go. Put your cars in the tailor.

I think this one's called worries.

I think Steve's got some worries. # blows full channel

from the roof top. Then you trouble like Tupac,

like 2 Glocks for dumb dogs and hollow tips.

Some swallows, others get grazed, others burn and cars in

the blaze. Bro, so I've.

Got no worries with the wrapping.

I think the wrapping is average, but no, you know it gets a three

out of five for the wrapping. Just that beat, right?

It's just boring, isn't? It.

No, just tinkles along, but. You're going to disagree?

No, no, I'm. Just keen to hear what you've

got to say about it. I just yeah well I I've put the

the beat is interesting. It's interesting.

Yeah, but it it just annoys me. Just it just there's nothing.

I think when you have a beat like that, it has to kind of get

in your ear and you have to kind of like think, Oh yeah, like

that, but. No, just not what's.

Interesting about it is just. Well the the sample that kind of

xylophone, kind of busy kind of xylophone moving all around the

track and. It just moves nicely and I don't

know, I just quite, I just quite liked it, The beat, the

production. If I'd have stumbled on that

sample, I probably would have been quite proud of.

That I guess the similar thing with both albums is there's no,

there's not, there's no cohesion between tracks, we think

actually I can see a pattern where they've chosen like, oh,

that sample is similar to the last one, they've got a

particular style that's stuck to.

Where does that fit and compare to the other tracks now?

Like, I've got a real, I've got a real thing for this.

Just yeah, how does an identity? It's quite similar to like

what's the plan and Mystic freestyle and Medina style.

They've got that kind of. Completely different to advance

the boardwalk and you know, perfect match and.

So what you're saying is basically you could have split

it in off the album. They could have released two

albums. Yeah, like, I don't know, 10 on

like 9 on one, I don't know, 9 on the other.

All the good ones in the first one.

Yeah. And then yeah, save these for

the second one. I mean, I don't know enough

about how they put an album together and how you choose

those tracks. So there is some coherence.

But who was advising them saying actually here's here's stick to

your tracks. Like advanced the board.

That's the thing that people are going to want to listen to.

Yeah, You know, can you produce more tracks?

Well, it was rather than. Worries Steve Rivkin that Loud

records probably, and he obviously didn't advise me very

well. I think you could probably cut,

you could have cut this down to a tight 1011 track and you would

have had an absolute classic that would have been remembered

a lot more than it was. But because of the album length,

yeah, they do themselves my favorite.

Yeah, because I think we've both said all the way through this

album is that you can't. The rapping is you can't vote

it. You know it's it's not.

They're not brilliant, but they're interesting.

They flow really nicely. Stuff they rap about is mostly

mostly good. So they've got the kind of

lyrical skill and the producers have obviously stepped up for,

you know, like you say, probably 2/3 of the album.

So yeah, I think you're right. Cool, okay.

So just remind me what you give that one again.

I've forgotten and all that chat.

Three. I gave it while you while you

look yours up. I gave it 2.

Two. OK.

Right. OK.

Well, let's move on then. We've got the next track is

called we got it hemmed, Steve. Yeah.

Well, yes. Oh no, you're not going to.

I like this one. So let's go.

Come on, let's hear it. Alright, so what's wrong with

this one then, Steve? So there's probably nothing

wrong with it. I did give it to 2 1/2, so bang

in the middle, yeah. But I I guess there's always an

overriding sense for me. Like by the time you get to this

point in the albums, you need something to kind of really kind

of pick you up and it's just. This album starts really well,

has its ups and downs, and then for me and you get to this point

here, it's just like, it's just not good enough.

There you go, it's just not good enough.

It's just not good enough at this time.

The album, when you want some, you need a four at this point,

don't you? To think it's going to carry you

to the end of the album. It's funny you should say that

because I keep this one a four. I'm like, I love this track that

OK, so that sample with the flute, that's sort of minor key

kind of jazzy flute sample that's right on my alley.

It's quite drums. They they really move it along

like they're really good drums. But they're not interesting

enough. The flute sample is is like a.

That's a. That's a lazy effort, isn't.

It's just nothing. There's not a lot to it, yeah.

Not a lot to it, yeah. But it just had that kind of

mood and the energy and the tempo that I kind of like for my

hip hop and another catchy hook. You know, You know, it's like

that. We got it.

And then you'll never get the. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I'll give you that definitely. I think it's probably why I gave

it 2 1/2. Yeah.

Just right. It's just right in the middle

for me. No, OK.

I just expect more. I just, I just, I can't get away

from that kind of overall aesthetic of the album at this

point. I'm just I'm expecting more when

it's not delivering. Well, that's fair enough.

All right, so without further ado, let's move on to the next

one. This is Good Dwell as Part 2,

sort of a rare hip hop sequel. Let's hear what that sounds

like. So let's get deep, deep, deep

into the tech tech dwellers on the remix.

I'll show you how we let jet skis in Hawaii.

The Nyc's so unlock rocks and stones.

Brim tims and brims keep. Me.

Dipped I'm with three boats on the shore of 1/4.

Yeah, I just think this it's not a bad track, but it is

pointless. Pointless to do to have done a

second part of it when the first one's so good.

Yeah. What does it add?

What does it add it? It's not.

It's not better. It was.

It's definitely not as good as part one.

Yeah. There's nothing interesting

enough to kind of drag you into it, particularly in the album.

So yeah, I'm sorry, this is where I feel let down.

Yeah, well, it's. I think, I think it's quite a

nice companion piece. With the original, it's kind of

got the same similar feel. Yeah.

Whether you know whether it was necessary or not is a

discussion. Yeah, they obviously felt it

was. They had more story to tell.

So yeah, I think, yeah, I quite liked it.

It was always nice to all sort of compliment to the original.

I like the way the kick drum rolls and what they've done with

the beats. It kind of was a bit different.

I'd never heard much like that before.

I just thought we moved along nicely and I just always it's.

Not being overcritical because it just.

I think it should finish off the album a bit better than it does,

isn't it? Yeah.

I I always let this one play. I just, I thought it was quite a

nice sort of bonus thing to have on there, but fair enough.

I gave it two and a. Half to reach their own.

Just please don't say you gave it 4.

I gave it three, actually, because I didn't like it that

much. Yeah.

No, that's fair. No, I'm not.

I'm not an animal. Yeah, so I gave that one three.

Now I'm going to move on to the outro.

I did include this in my scoring.

I didn't. Didn't you?

So obviously doesn't matter because we both, you know, take

an average. But I did because I thought it

was enough of a track and I wanted to talk about the beat as

well, which is OK. Yeah.

Yeah, quite interesting. Here we go.

Let's just listen to the outro. Stretch on Bobby 40, Love

Underground, Real World, Black Moon and the Detroit four to

five match these day. Enough Bob drops.

OK, so. It's basically standard kind of

out there. Yeah, yeah, Listing every rapper

they know, everybody in the industry they know.

But the beat is great. It is great.

It's a really good beat and I think it was a waste to use it

as the outroer they obviously didn't.

They produced themselves as well, I.

Really like the beat and I think it was a bit of a waste not to

use it as a track, but obviously they couldn't come up with

anything for it but as they. What would you think they were

thinking? They were thinking our mates

will like this better if we if we if we lay down their names

over our own beats rather than use it as a as a proper.

Track. I mean, I think like if we can

like waste this beat on an arbitrary that just shows how

many beats we put to choose from.

Yeah, I don't know. But it was.

Yeah, I like it and I like the beat.

It sounds just like One in a Million by Pete Rock in Seattle

Smooth, which they say in the track as well, which is quite,

quite funny. Yeah, not essential.

I only give it two out of five, but I just wanted to.

Mention that it's, yeah. Because it was wasted as a

outro, like is it B. If it had a pretty small track I

would have loved it. Yeah.

So yeah, so that's that one. And then we come onto the final

track on the album. This was the bonus track on the

CD. Called Land of the Lost, which

was their very first single. Yeah, from 1994.

Let's have a little. Listen to that one.

OK, another witch Doctor in Lord Digabee.

What do you think about? This one.

Yeah. Well, this.

So this was like you said, this is bonus, This is, this is I

think the track that kind of launched their career.

This is a really kind of popular track.

I don't know, I'm confused by it.

I'm not really like that familiar with the track.

I kind of like it and I can see its appeal, but it doesn't like

kind of fit the style of the rest of the album.

It's kind of like, OK, if that if that kind of style had been.

Similar on all the other tracks. Would I have liked the album in

the? Because I do like this album,

Yeah. In the kind of same way, Yeah,

so I don't. Know it's funny because you I

just the first note of my things is it's that debut single from

Nightly 4. But it fits this album

perfectly, kind of suits the mood of it.

Oh you reckon? Yeah, no, I really do.

I think it's kind of, it's got that kind of jazziness to it.

Bit mystical, bit bit eerie, bit off kilter.

Yeah, yeah, but maybe more off kilter and eerie and harder than

the rest of the album or most of the tracks they have.

Yeah, yeah. And I think the beat, I think

like, you know, Argan Phantasm give a kind of good account

themselves on it. I think the verse is pretty

decent, and they obviously did. It was good enough for them to

sort of earn an album deal off the back of.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I thought it was a decent,

decent track. So yeah, I gave it a free.

I gave it three as well. Yeah, good.

It's it's it's not. I think it is.

Some people consider a classic. It's not a classic.

I don't think it's a classic, no, but it's a, it's kind of

nice way to end the album. Nice touch to put it on there,

you know, to include it. So for the fans.

For the fans, cool. Well, that brings us to the end

of the album. All that's left to do now is to

talk about our winner, Which scores Our scores, yeah, And

which one's the winner of these two albums, which we'll do after

these messages. Hi, welcome back.

So now the dust is settled on our playoff battle between

Helter Skelter and cellar dwellers, it's time to decide

which one is the winner. And as there's any two of us, as

I mentioned earlier, it have to be decided using the True Score

system. So which of the two albums got

the highest combined score? So to do that, let's first talk

about Helter Skelter. Yes.

So what did you give helter skelter overall?

It got two and a half 2.5, which seems to me higher than it

deserved. So if you were just off the top

of your head. Scored it out five as an album.

Two, I'd give it 22. I think I saw it 2.

There's a couple of banging in there that's elevated it then

obviously. I think because I gave, yeah,

gave some threes and three and a halfs and two and a halfs, I

think that sounds yeah, I think yeah, the spread there isn't

isn't far from 2 1/2. So you've, so you've given it

to. 2.5. 2.5 So in the source, let's say that would have been A

would have gone rounded up or down.

That would have been a three, but.

God about three would be it. Probably would have been a

three. I don't know what I actually did

get, but. But yeah, so so you've got two 2

1/2. I gave it 2.93.

Mine worked out as 2.93 out of five.

So scores on the doors I have to scale to.

Add that 2.52.95, is 5.4 really 5?

You're listening to Hip Hop World Cup.

After a few beers. Yeah.

So what's what did it get overall is?

That right 5.45. 5.45. Because you did.

A You can't get more than five. Oh, yes, you can.

Yeah. Because we're adding them

together, aren't we? Yeah.

Yeah, we should have. We should have practiced this

beforehand. Hold on a minute.

Danny's getting the calculator. Out.

Let's get a calculator out. Right.

Go on, Hit me. What was it?

2.5. Yeah, plus 2.935.43.

You were right. So Helterskelter scores 5.43 out

of 10. So moving over to seller

dwellers, let's have your overall score.

What did you give out? Five. 2.8. 2.8 Okay so I gave it

3.25. Okay, quite close.

So. Let's go there.

I do have to my head 6.05. 6.05 No calculator involved, so there

you have it. Seller dwellers is our winner,

but not by much. I was really surprised.

That really does surprise me. Yeah.

I think seller dwellers should have won by more, yeah, but

maybe that's why true score is so important to the this

industry, because it's the fairest way of deciding.

Absolutely. That's why it's making Larry so

much money over there at Guitar, because it's just the only way

you can get accurate knowledge about the Best Hip Hop albums.

It's it's the only way. Yeah, I mean, I'm surprised like

the the true score overall for seller dwellers is.

My mine was 3.25 but if I was like saying what would I give

it? Yeah, top of my head source 5M

scale. I've given it like a four.

Which you? Yeah, like me.

Would I? Probably, Yeah, Yeah, yeah.

I was one of those albums I just love, so I just did it

automatically to think. So I would definitely go back in

this the Senate one of those album, but I won't go back in

this to help us go to, right. In fact there's no, there's no

tracks in that album that are on.

I've made it to Oh no, the flyer, the flyer will get on

there. It's playlist worthy.

Yeah, it's place worthy, but on the Salado time, I think there's

there's probably at least four or five tracks in there that are

on a playlist already because you know, it is has it ups and

downs, but it's a good album. Yeah, absolutely.

Well, there you go. That's all you can say.

You know, it's, yeah, it's our winner.

So Salado is our winner and one person will be very happy about

that is our special guest, legendary England goalkeeper and

still our most capped player. Peter Schilton, who joins us on

the line now. Hello Peter.

Good morning, John. Now, Peter, you've you've never

made a secret of your love for Golden Age hip hop, and a lot of

the players from the Italian 90s squad have talked about how

you'd play Onyx and Spice One in the dressing room to get them

piped up. But who would you say was the

safest pair of hands in the hip hop world?

Are you there, Peter? Hello.

Hello, Peter. Oh no, no, the dodgy line.

I thought we'd sorted this. I honestly thought we'd sorted

this. Maybe with some of Larry's money

now, he could sort us out. With some you could, you know,

sponsor us. Sponsor US high tech satellite

link. Yeah.

I'm so disappointed by that. I've been prepping for that

interview for a long time. I'm sorry about that.

Everybody out there. We can't bring you that

interview with Peter Shelton, but perhaps we'll get him on

another show. Okay.

So I guess all that's left to do now is to ask you out there what

you thought of our winner Sal, as well as Rams and Reality.

Do you agree? Disagree.

What are your thoughts on the album in general?

I'd like. To know Larry's views as well.

Yeah, I'd like to know Larry's can.

You hit us up. Larry, hit us up on Twitter or

Instagram at Hip Hop World Cup. Let us know what you thought of

the album or anyone else you're. The first person to comment

ever. Yeah, yeah, honestly out there.

Somebody please let us know. You're listening.

The first week, I know you're listening.

You know you're out there because we see the figures.

So please, if you've listened to this, if you joined it, please

tell us. Drop us a line on Twitter,

Instagram, at Hip Hop World Cup and we'll reply with a like and

A and a retweet or whatever. But yeah, until then, thanks.

Thanks for listening. And join us again for the next

episode. Peace.

World Cup, World Cup, World Cup, World Cup, World Cup, World Cup.