PLAY OFF 4: EPMD vs K-Solo

A battle to the death Classic albums clash and say there's

only one left. We raid them, who's laid them,

disgust. The 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 one we going all linsel on the sound of the

whistle. Hello and welcome to Hip Hop

World Cup, 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 is Steve

Hitchcock. How you doing, Steve?

I'm good, thanks. How are you?

Yeah, I'm good. Thank you.

Yeah, it's just the two of us again.

No, no, third wheel again this time though, Larry.

So we are. Yeah, just the two of us.

So this is the hip hop, World Cup, the playoffs.

In case you haven't listened to this before, just quickly

explain how it all works in each episode.

So 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 we want to talk about.

We'll go through each album, discuss the tracks and give each

one a score out of five, not including the skits, and then

we'll average them out to get an overall score.

Add our scores together and the album with the highest combined

score is the overall winner. So the albums we are looking at

in this episode, we're taking a trip back to 1992.

In what we're calling the Hit Squad Headbanger.

Yeah, you might probably guess what these two arms are from

that, but we are going for Kay Solo's Time's up against EPM D's

business, never personal. So yeah, I think we chose these

ones because they were well suited, came out in the same

year. Yeah, well this is a good pic

from you. I think because you had a good

selection of different tracks, different hours.

We could we could have chosen. And this was one that stood out

for me, I think as well, because because of the hit squad

connections and EPMD, who I like, I think you're not such a

big fan. Not massive, not all their

albums as someone like more than others.

Yeah, a few hits and misses in there.

Yeah, and K Solo who? Who I hadn't really kind of got

into him all. So I think you you've picked

some picked really good player. Fair done.

Yeah, thank you very much. Yeah, I thought it was.

It was nice. Both out in 1992, both from the

same stable, really similar amount of tracks, same amount of

tracks on both albums. K solos on business, never

personal. So yeah, just a really good one

to put against each other. So we're going to get into it

now as ever. To ensure everything runs fairly

and and it's all aboveboard, we've got our own official

Adjudicator, Adrian Charles with us again in the studio.

Hi, Adrian. Hello.

Hello. You are.

I'm very well, thank you and later on we have a very special

exclusive interview with an ex England defender.

Keep listening for that. I won't reveal who it is just

yet, but I'm going to. We'll reveal all later on.

He's. Someone big though.

Someone big famous England defender, famous England

defender. And very relevant.

Very relevant, Yeah. I mean, he's a massive hip hop

fan. I mean, that goes without

saying. All of our guests we have on

here are but just just completely relevant, timely.

And I was so lucky to get him. So look, look out for that one.

Later in the show, the two albums were putting up against

each other. The first one, EPMD's business,

never personal. Steve, how did you become aware

of this album in the first place?

Yeah, well, my journey with EPMD started with like you do with

some groups with their greatest hits.

And so I've never really kind of got into them when you know, in

like the early 90s, when they were, when they were really big

and that and they would need to get down a little.

Kind of a bit of a rabbit hole listening to that, to all their

old stuff and I think their late 80s, early 90s stuff is just

absolute classic. And like, this is an album as

we've kind of talked about, and it's got a couple of really

classic tracks on, but not one that I really was really

familiar with. So I was really interested to

just delve a bit more into this one and find out a bit more

about it. Yeah, absolutely.

With me. I mean I I I remember it coming

out of into this sort of stuff at the time and I remember

watching some of the videos. On MTV Wraps, I've got a lot of

my education in the hip hop world.

I kind of knew about it off the strength of three tracks.

There was some couple of other videos that were on there, like

Crossover. And what was the other one?

Head Banger, obviously, which I we weren't.

I don't want to talk about that yet.

But I have to say, like when I first heard it, I wasn't, I'm

not going to reveal anything, but I wasn't blown away by it.

Let's let's say, you know, it wasn't one of my favorite of

their albums. But but yeah, so I was kind of

there at the time, enjoyed the videos and the singles.

And yeah, this was an obvious, kind of obvious purchase.

But for previous shows, you're not a massive Epnd fan, are you?

So. No.

Well, I love business as usual from 1990.

That's one of my favorite. That is my favorite album of

this. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Brilliant. Album.

Yeah. And I just this one didn't quite

live up to that one in. But even though in many ways

it's very similar, there's a very similar sound.

And you know, I just didn't grab me like that one, but well.

We won't, you know. It's always so confusing because

they have business in all of their albums, so I'm like, which

one's which? Yeah, but yeah.

I was saying the early ones are the better ones.

Yeah. Can I just shock you?

I've never heard their early albums.

Is it strictly business? All right, hang on.

I'm gonna get struck off the hit part register.

You are. So it started with.

Hang on, one of my notes, yeah. Strictly business than

unfinished, unfinished business than business as usual.

Yeah, yeah, So I so I came into EPMD at business as usual in

1990 around the time I was by. It started to buy albums and all

that sort of stuff. So it was very much, you know

the one you come in at and these tends to be your kind of the one

you kind of know best. And I never went back and

explored the earlier ones really.

I mean, you know you got to chill and all that sort of

stuff. Yeah, yeah.

But I just it just Oh yeah, yeah.

But it was, it was just a little bit before my time.

But just a bit about this album, just quickly off of our good

friend Wikipedia. It was there for 4th Julia album

as we just alluded to, released on July the 28th, 1992.

On Def Jam Records, the biggest single off at the lead single

was Crossover, which was the biggest success, reaching nearly

reaching the Top 40 on the Billboard.

Hot 100. Yeah, massive irony there with a

title, but. Yeah, absolutely.

Yeah, we can come to that. The song is even says here that

the song is about keeping it real and not crossing over to

the mainstream, but became Apmd's biggest mainstream

success, the very dictionary definition of irony.

So yeah, that's the album 1992. Should we get into the album

then and start talking about the tracks?

Let's do it. The first track is called

Boondocks. Let's have a listen.

Coming straight from the boondocks.

When my two stops like Sasquat, you better slow down for some

stop. Not with the bebop.

Catch a Seahawk, yo. I'm swinging.

Wild G chill. Catch a speed.

Not crying out loud. So that's Boondocks, Steve.

I mean, let's get your initial thoughts on that one.

Is it as an album opener? Yeah, it's great.

I think as soon as you listen to that track, you're like, this is

an EPMD album. There's no mistaking it.

It's got that, like you wanted to be a little bit kind of like

underground, don't you? But with a little bit funk in

there as well. And it has that like slightly

like chaotic underground sound to it, which I kind of really

like. So for me, this is just like

brilliant. What a way to lead off the

album. Good work.

Yeah, no, I'm, I'm the same I'm. I think it's a really good

strong start to the album. I think it comes straight in, no

mess, no messing about, no intro, no like spoken word bit

as you would get with many albums straight in there and I

think. You need that in some albums,

you need you need some sort of tone to be set at the beginning.

But maybe you know if you come in with a track list, you don't

need it. Yeah, absolutely.

Yeah. And it's actually quite a simple

beat. Like it's, you know, certainly

when the when you come out of the hook into the verses, it's

literally like a break, like a break beat.

It's very simple, but it just gives them a bit of room to,

kind of. You know, show what they can do.

I think Eric and Parish both sound great on this track.

They really go go in hard, like if as an opening track they go

in properly, go in, yeah. Yeah, I definitely have some

criticisms of their rapping, but this I can't.

I have nothing to criticize about this track.

It's a solidly good track. Yeah, solidly good track.

Good, good hook. I mean it's, you know, the Hick

isn't very clever, but it's kind of that vocal sample on the hook

just gives it a kind of a. You know grandeur that you kind.

Of the Boondocks thing also links into their previous work.

I think there's a lot of kind of themes and content that runs

through all the EPMD stuff, which think again, this is what

you want from a leadoff track. You went, yes, I remember this

about about 18. They're always talking about the

Boondocks, yeah. The Boondocks, Yes, yeah.

Ever been to the Boondocks? Yeah, never going to go no

rubbish. Cool, Yeah.

So great start to the album. What we're looking at score

wise, True score. Well.

Absolutely. So force for production and

wrapping for me. So if there's a four, four

round, I think you know anything that that would make one of my

playlist I'd you know keep coming back this track.

Yeah, the easy solid force for me.

Yeah, I mean, I've gone 3 because it's not.

Yeah. It's not a kind of like, wow, I

wouldn't put it on a mix table and do you know I wouldn't.

It doesn't stand out to me. I.

Think that's the difference between.

Maybe some of our approach that sounds up.

I really like EPMD probably more than you do.

So for me it's like, yeah, classic, brilliant.

Like this. It's gonna, it's gonna score

through for me. I thought you would score

through. Yeah.

Yeah, and it's might come a bit of a theme, but we can talk

about that when we've got a few more tracks in.

But it's kind of like, yeah, there's there might be a few

threes on this. All right, let's move on to the

next track, now called Nobody Safe Chump.

And keep my mind open. The world's mass confusion is

mad gunsmokers for parks trying to get respect and you're

messing around and catch a bad one from Eric someone.

I'm serious, boy. But not to mean Jackson to also

have a 12 gauge shotgun for actions to chill back the hell

up and get a grip. Get off that thinking that

you're all out real quick like the rude boys say, that's what.

And all over your face, punk. Nobody say, Nobody say.

That's nobody's safe. Chump.

Never a truer word spoken. Nobody.

Nobody is safe. Are they really?

Certainly not if you know EPMD. So I mean this one, I think it's

quite a head nodder. As soon as it comes in, you kind

of like the way it bounces and nods.

That's that's complimentary as I'm going to get on it though,

really. It's a very simple loop.

Yeah, this is it. It's way too simple to strike.

It's like what what are you doing bringing this in?

Secondly, I mean your second track has to be a strong track

and it's like the first one is all the epnd and then all of a

sudden you just get this boring beat and it's boring.

The rap is dead boring. Yeah.

It's like the antithesis of the first track.

I I'm as you can probably say, I'm so disappointed in this

track. I tried to think what the true

score is going to be for this one, but yeah, it's.

Not good, no. I mean.

I'm not quite as down on it as that.

I did give it a three again. Yeah, I just think it's, I think

it's kind of like I just, you know when it comes in you kind

of I just nod my head and it's. So they do have like a

reputation that if the so that slower slower paced yeah.

Head nodding. Yeah tracks.

But it's just boring dad. I just, yeah.

No, I can't I. Can't nod along to that, I

think. I've been quite generous there

with the three. I think it's, you know, change.

I think, well, I'm not going to change, but like, you know, I

think it's. I do think it's a sort of a

continuation. I do think it's very much there

is. Their star is.

I do. Think it's?

Yeah, but I agree. It's within their style, but I

think you can't go from Boondocks.

Really strong EPMD style and sound and a lovely lead into

this really weak track. I think.

I think I have to have something in and out, starts really well

or ends really well, can't jump around.

I just don't like this track, no.

Fair enough, Fair enough. OK.

So in terms of true scores, what would you give it, Steve?

Just straight twos 2, two overall, 2 for rapping, 2 for

production, so straight two I'm afraid that's.

Quite harsh. It's quite It turns out nobody

is safe from my. Scorn, yeah.

From your scoring. OK, cool.

Well, that's nobody's safe, chump.

So let's move on to the next track, which is Can't hear

nothing but the music. Rap wizard from the Boondocks.

MY2. Knock watch.

Been on the course. Brain lock with no whip.

Brass smooth like shaft. Breaking bones in the rat zone.

Chill. Get smoked mad fast.

Can stop us some bugging because we're tripping.

Can hear nothing but the music. I'm slipping.

Can't knock them off the music, I'm.

Slipping can't hear nothing but the music.

Steve, can you hear anything else but the music?

Do you know what? I wish I could only have heard

the music on the track and not the rapping.

Really. That is honestly how I feel,

because I think, again, you know, it's such a great epmdb.

Again, it's it's really funky, Some great horns on there, but I

think Parish just kills the rapping.

Not in a good way. Honestly, I'm not.

I think this album is really let down by those two tracks.

It does get better for me after this, but for me, yeah, they.

They I don't know. I don't know.

I've never made Lamb. So I don't know how you like

putting out together to make it kind of yeah and put together

but for me great lead track and then two really poor ones but

the production this one I think is really good.

Yeah Eric done a great great job on this one but the but what is

it about the rap that's that's that we can say this positive.

I don't know. Yeah, I think they've got a very

distinct star. It's not the most sort of

dexterous of lyrical stars, is it?

They're very, they're very straight down the line.

They don't show off. I think Paris Smith, yeah, he's

not a particularly great rapper. Would you say he's like, he's

just thoroughly average? Yeah.

He's you can't criticize. Him in any way.

Because he, you know, there's nothing about his rapping that's

that's it's bad, but also it never really elevates beyond

average. No, I think, I think that's

absolutely right. When you're talking about Paris

Smith, I think Eric Sermons a bit more charismatic rapper.

I think he there's almost a kind of A at times as a kind of a

bumbling. Yes, but he's he's really good.

Because he's the producer. But there's a kind of more of a

like a lovable amateurishness about his style.

Yeah, but. Because.

He's producer. Give him a bit more like

exactly. And he'll throw in like things

like he does in this track, like the Rocky, you know, like Rocky.

I love that, you know. And so I think I personally, I

love Eric Sermon as a rapper and a producer.

Paris Smith is just not not for me.

He never has been. He's never grabbed me.

Yeah. He kind of works well in the

dynamic of these two sometimes, you know, in some of the tracks.

Yeah. But when?

When the track is dull, yeah. He's.

Kind of dull too, yeah? That's it, isn't it?

There's nothing back him as a rapper that can elevate A weaker

track, which sometimes you just you need.

And yeah, and on this track, his rapping brings down a.

Production. Yeah, but nice, nice use of the

word retard in there though, which is quite.

It's always good to see. Yeah, obviously, different time,

different time, Very different time, Very different time.

Yeah, there's a. Redman track line coming up a

bit like that later well. OK, but yeah.

Just on the productions that on the B it's very much of its time

you that uses the Skull snaps break which is like you know I

think most EPMD tracks either use the the Skull Snaps break or

the popper was too by Joe Tech you'll know what I'll talk about

in a minute but it's those are staples of EPMD production yeah

they've used them over and over again he.

Does get a lot of criticism for that and for just using a lot of

George Clinton. And stuff as well.

I mean, I think, you know, when you put it in every single track

you produce, you know, and certainly on that Redman album,

you know, every track's got a George Clinton Parliament

Funkadelic example. But yeah, it works, doesn't it?

It does. And it may be.

I know he loves that and it's a tried and trusted method.

But you know, there's. Something comforting about me

since when you know you've got a producer that's going to give

you that. I mean, I like it, but.

I can see why people were criticizing in the way that you

just said you know, but I kind of like and that's why I love

what the album as well which also came out in this year.

What mental year for for albums like their squad certainly like

Redman Que solo this one credible.

Yeah. Really solid work.

Yeah, really, really good. Well, well, well done.

Hit squad. Yeah, in 1992.

So let's go on to the next track, which is called Chill.

Make us sound crazy ill when I perform.

Yeah, check. 1-2 Mike Supreme. EB&E, The Rap American Dream

Team. The E Double Duffy.

No joke. You can't see me.

Even with the microscope. A massive dope fucking who's

deafer? Yo, We're not expressed.

That one is called Chill, and we've already know that they

like us. So you know that you got to

chill and now this is just straight up chill.

So good advice. So go on then.

Let's have your thoughts on this one well.

Yeah, well we said already that they like a slow down beat.

It doesn't always work for me, but on this track I think they

know it. This is this does everything it

says and it's in really nicely produced slow flow that the

wrapping works really well on this so.

I think this is actually one of the stronger tracks on the

album. Yeah, I kind of agree with that.

I think. I think it's a nice change of

pace. But you know, because the other

ones are a bit bit more up tempo I think, but this one kind of

slows it down a little bit. I love that sample.

The main. Example that runs all the way

through it. They do it well that as well,

but also they're doing. I don't know what that's from,

but it's really good and it's quite distinctive as well, but.

Distinctive, yeah. Really simple.

And again, you know they kind of do what they do lyrically,

vocally, they it's just an EPMD track, you know into play.

But the. Marriages are better on this

track than the than the track two and three.

Which? Yeah.

Yeah, bounces along nicely, so I gave it three out of five.

Again, You are so it's just so three.

This album is SO 3. So that when we get to the end,

that is definitely my assessment.

It's definitely a really average, solid album without

getting ahead of myself. But I gave this four this, this

is definitely this track. Yeah, this is on a playlist for

me. This is this is something I want

to keep going back and listening to.

OK. Fair enough.

Yeah. No, I can see that.

I can see that. Right.

Are you ready for the next one? This is a little track.

You might have heard of it. It's called Headbandner.

Drink the boom boxes myself. Knock from blocks as I show in

bus grills. You take snapshots of a maniac

dressed in black around abstracted.

You play me too close. I don't like Jesse James.

The hell with the bitches in the.

That's headbanger. So much to say about this.

Oh. My God, I don't.

There's any going to be any surprise that this is not only

the best track on the album, but also one of my favorite hip hop

tracks of all time. It's absolutely brilliant.

This passes the alien. Test that we've got about if

someone lands on a planet, Yeah, and you want to know what hip

hop is, You play them. Play them.

Headbanger. Oh.

Yeah, it definitely going on the Alien playlist definitely goes

on. My kind of.

All time greatest hip hop mixtape compilation, whatever.

How high is it? I mean, there's no hierarchy.

It would it would be on there, but it would.

It's a good opener isn't it? But no it would be quite in the

middle somewhere because there are lots I prefer.

But it is it's one of the elite. It's pop track.

It's absolutely. Classic.

It's jewel. It's the jewel in the crown on

this album. Best track on their hands down.

Yeah, one of my all time favorites.

It just gets as soon as that beat comes in nick and it goes

and it gets the blood flowed. As soon as it comes in, it's

like the chorus, A shouty chorus that really works, yeah.

It's a really simple, clear premise.

The headbunger, right. It wants to get you going.

It wants to get you moving. Yeah, right.

And every MC on this track go in hard and they deliver some of

their best verses. They do.

They absolutely do. Paris Smith.

Actually sounds pretty. Yeah, I know.

Just thinking that because we just played it in the clip, it's

like, God, this, this is the same guy is this.

This is him at the top of his game, yeah, and Eric Sermons

sounds great on this as well. They both sound fantastic.

So what's like they're trying to outdo each other?

Well, so one of the things I was gonna ask you is like when you

get get when you first listen to a Travis as a rapper, you know,

Eric Sermons playing this to you, do you immediately think,

Oh my God, this is just an amazing beat.

I've got to come with my best rhymes.

I've got to come with my best, my best, like rapping.

Or they just got lucky, I think. Well, it must be that it's like

you hear that beat, you're going to want to do your best stuff on

it. And especially if it's a posse

cut like this is they're all going to be on it going toe to

toe with each other and then and you've got Redman on there.

You know case owners will be going right.

I'm going to need something pretty special this.

I've really got pulled out of the bag.

And I'm the same for Paris. He does.

He does. I mean, we we, we have to go

into his album next. But you know, I think this is

his best verse over. Yeah, by example.

Oh yes, 100 percent. But the best verse, best verse,

best verse. Redman 100% was like, it doesn't

matter what they do these there's no topping this bit,

this verse. And in particular, I mean the

cerebral palsy. Yeah, exactly.

I mean, it is so inappropriate. Yeah.

And that sort of thing. We get you canceled.

Maybe now nowadays, but it is so memorable and it's like it's.

The creativity isn't it. It's just the genius to think of

that and just just, yeah, go, Oh yeah, to do that.

Yeah, yeah. I might have to edit that bit

out. But yeah, but yeah, it's it's

just, it's just a breathtaking, breathtaking, lyrical

performance by Redman. And it's one of those, you know,

when you the tracks, you know every word.

It's one of those. And his verse especially, it's

just such a breathtaking track, such a breathtaking verse.

And he has. To go off last because no one

can follow that. Yeah.

And I don't know what else you I mean in terms of the, I mean you

can understand why they've all gone in so well on it or they

sound so good on it because the B itself is so good.

But if you actually analyze it, it's quite simple.

It's literally like the baseline.

You know, and it just does that. They use the the Joe Tech's Papa

was two drums as they often do and there's impeach the

president in there as well. Really solid, really simple.

But just for some reason it's the the alchemy works of

everything. It comes together and then I

remember seeing obviously the video on MTV wraps and it really

captured the mood of the track. There is Warehouse, you know,

and they're all one after the other coming in, the cameras

swinging around. Brilliant.

Absolutely brilliant. And perfect in 92 that's this is

just like, yeah, you know captures that moment.

So, so well, yeah, absolutely. It's so 92.

It's so hit squad. If you had to pick one track,

yeah. To represent the hit squad,

yeah, this is it. Probably their best track.

Best track. Absolutely.

Go on then. What did you give it?

Five. Yeah, I was going to say because

sometimes we have these conversations.

You get, oh, I love it, I'll give it 3 1/2, give it four.

Easily A5. Yeah.

No, this is a 5. Every day, All day full.

Track. Yeah, really, really good.

OK, so from that amazing peak to the next track which is called

Scratch, Bring it Back Part 2, Mike, Doc.

Bring it back. Compromise.

Bring it back. Comfort wine.

Now about the rec shop is the man with the plan.

God damn. Yo, watch me slam, taking the

baseline, freaking my line, squeezing my Reebok pumps and

crisscross, then jump way behind the track so I sound smooth and

rugged. Pumped before the head squad

Yoda. So notably, that's the only

track on the album not produced by Eric Parrish.

It's produced by DJ Scratch and Scratch.

Bring it back. I don't really like this one.

Why do you like it? Yeah.

Because I think if it's so nice to have to head bang, it's still

a head nodder. I have to say my head, my neck

was going. There was a yeah, I thought I.

Thought I was gonna like this against my better judgment, but

yeah, I was just. I always thought this was a like

a come down after the head banger.

I just thought anything. It's gonna be a come down, but I

think it is still. It still gets your head nodding.

I really like the the samples on it.

But I I was thinking like if you if you had Headbanger at #2 on

this album and you had this one at 3, I can this album would

sound completely different. It would be way better album.

Just rearranging the order. Yeah, completely different feel,

I think, yeah, I think maybe Headbanger a bit earlier maybe,

but I don't think this is doing any favors being earlier.

We're. Better than tracks two and three

at the moment, No, not for me. But yeah, I hear you.

But I just, yeah, it's just just not a not a great, a great

track, just a bit dull. It's nice, like they switch up

at the end there, the beat changes.

Yeah, I like that about 2/3 of the way through, and I like that

as well. It's a bit of like creativity.

I do like a beat switch. There's there's, there's like.

It doesn't happen very often. It doesn't happen very often.

But I can name, I could probably name a couple and I like it when

they do it. Yeah, but.

It's you've got to be brave because so often that you just

go wrong with it. Why have they done that?

Yeah, yeah. But when it works, it works

really well. And I think of the two beats on

this track, I think that's the second one's better.

Yeah. Yeah.

And Parrish kind of goes in on it, which is, yeah, yeah, he's

really good on it, quite hard and yeah, it.

Does come off well on that. So a bit of a mixed bag for me,

this one, but I've given it a two because it's just not.

Yeah, not up to scratch, I'm afraid.

What have you given it? I've given.

It four that's just shows how different we are.

Yeah, in many ways it does. All right.

Well, that's that's agreed to disagree.

One for that one Okay. So let's go on to the next

track, which is one of the singles crossover.

Let's see what that sounds like. Let's get up.

Let's get down with the hardcore.

Fuck the hardcore sound. Let's get with this Nacogdoches

fuck material. So simple.

When I rock with the instrumental, who am I?

The Green Eyed Bandit that is the ironically titled crossover

which having to go at people who crossover and then crossover

themselves with one of their biggest singles or the biggest

single of this, I wonder if. That was intentional.

I can't. I can't quite work it out every

time I think. They mean for it to be so big or

did they want it to stay underground.

Yeah. I mean you have to think that

any the goal for anything you release is to be big or to be

successful and they must have thought maybe this would maybe

maybe they wanted it to to get the message out.

It's like a like a Infinity loop kind of like they've they've had

to be successful to get the message out but in doing so they

have to go against everything they believe.

I don't know, but it's, I don't care to be honest with you

because it's a really good track.

I love this track is obviously as I said earlier, it's one of

the ones that they used to play on MTV Wraps.

So I remember the video and love that Roger Troutman sample.

The vocode on the hook works really.

Well, doesn't it? It does work really well, yeah.

And you know, it's it's just a great, a great vocal, great bit

of vocoder and the beat and you know the verses is pretty dope I

don't think. You can like fault the

production in this track. I think this is like.

Up there with some of Eric's best production.

I know it crossed over and probably isn't underground as

some other stuff I like, but yeah, like for me this, this

gets top marks for production. Yeah, that's an it's a good,

big, good production and they they they flow really well on it

and the theme of the track really comes across, you know,

artists that crossover or sell this sell themselves to

crossover. I think that's the difference.

I think Eric and Paris haven't sold out to do this.

This is a very much an EPMD track that just so happens to

have been successful relatively. Yeah, yeah.

It's good subject matter for them to rap about, which they

don't. Ways doesn't always work for

them because I think sometimes they want to be like quite

gangster and doesn't they're not really gangster enough to be as

hard as that and as underground as that.

Yeah, but this kind of works quite well for them.

Yeah, I think they can hold their head up high and think you

know we haven't been hypocritical here we've you know

this would be just done what we always do but it just happens to

have been successful but but. You gave it a three, but I gave

it a three. And I don't know why, because I

used to love it, and I knew it really well before I bought the

CD. So, like, why don't I give it a

three? Maybe it's like I'm judging it

on the, you know, would I have put that on a mixtape scale?

I don't know. So for me.

Is like average. It's good.

You're not gonna skip it. Yeah, four is like.

What you've been describing, it's just like, yeah, I don't

think I liked it. I always liked it.

I didn't think I liked it enough to put it in the 4-5 bracket.

That's the thing. But I did, you know, it was the

one of the reasons I bought it in the first was it never loved

it, you know? But it is, it is good though.

So yeah, What did you give it? Yeah, you gave it four, Yeah.

It's. This is always going to be one

of their greatest hits. Always going to be one that

you'd like to hear. Maybe you're right.

Maybe. It's when you could get tired of

if you listen to it too much because it's a little bit too

yeah, possibly. I think maybe.

I think maybe. I think possibly.

What it is is that after the chorus and it goes to the verse

bit and the beat on the verse is yeah, yeah, just.

Doesn't quite give you enough. Doesn't quite give me enough.

I know You know what sort of hip hop I sort of gravitate towards.

Yeah, that makes sense anyway. But that's that's Crossover, the

next track that we're going to hear it now is a cool coming at

you. Let's have a listen.

Yes, returns the last dragon balls.

The fire back to attack and shop like barbed wire.

The rough fucking near human black alien must fall compared

to when Israeli and I rock a shocker.

New style parkour. The profile a bust, The cap for

the buff. Wow.

I'm back in the fact. How's that?

I'm not telling Riley, but I'm swinging like a new Jack.

You know me say. That's a good line.

I'm not telling you rightly but I'm swinging like a knee Jack.

Love that. So just quickly just hearing

that as remind, reminding me what is one of the good things

about this album is how they use bits from other hip hop tracks

as hooks so the heat will up. Bring it back.

Come Rwand and then you've got this one.

Hum min come in at you from Cypress Hill.

Yeah, yeah, I love it when they do that.

And and it kind of sticks in your head.

And yeah, I really like that. I hadn't.

Noticed that, but that's true. Yeah, for some of the other,

they've got some dust effects on other tracks as well.

I think from Remember I Cut Yeah effects.

On this track. But I'm sure that they that

that's up with Summer as well. Yeah, yeah I think you might be

right. But but yeah, I mean like I

again I don't this isn't a standout for me.

I don't really. I never liked this one apart

apart from the use of the type of hill hook.

I just it. It just seemed like a really

standard kind of EPMD fair. Quite a boring beat, uninspired.

I agree it's standard EPMD. Fair, but not boring.

I think it's just you get you're getting good EPMD quality.

Yeah. And I and you get a bit of DAS

effects as well. So yeah, I must say I did like I

love that effects absolutely loved as effects and I I hadn't

before we did this. I hadn't listed this out quite a

while and I forgot they were on it.

Yeah, and it's a surprise. Every single time I hear them

come in on a track. I think this is so good.

Their style is so original. They were copied a lot.

I mean, you know, imitation being the sincerest form of

flattery. Everybody was doing that after

they they after EPMD camp, After Does effects came out.

Yeah, but never bettered, but never bettered.

And every time I hear them do it, I am in awe.

Like, this is so clever. Yeah.

And it's a good verse on this track, yeah, yeah, I just love

it. I love the, I love the way they

weave in pop culture references and all this stuff and they're

just so the they're interplay and they're, you know, it's so

good. Anyway, however, that said, I

only gave it to So you. Gave it to.

I gave it to sorry, I've I've. I don't know.

Maybe it's because of the beat rather than the of lyrics, but I

just, I couldn't give it anything more than a two, so.

I definitely biased. I thought the production and

this was better than the rapping, so I gave it 3 1/2.

OK. We're doing half marks.

No, 3. Then if I had to go for

something, I'd go, yeah, stick for three, Yeah.

Yeah. No, I I'm happy with two.

Yeah. I don't know.

I just two. Says to me that you this is this

is a disappointing track but you you've got standard EPMD beats,

yeah? Average wraps, yeah.

And that's affects. Surely that's going on there

too. Well, it's a three.

I mean, they're three at best, but I just maybe I was in a bit

of a mood when I was doing the scoring and I just, yeah, but

it's never been one that I've loved anyway.

So I yeah, I'm. Happy.

We're getting to the point where it is starting to slide a little

bit and that's that also I think plays into your minor thing

actually I've got. You know, the classic tracks

have gone, so I've got nothing to look forward to now.

No, absolutely. Yeah.

And I think there's, you know, fatigue sitting if you're sat

there scoring them and listened to them critically.

If it when it comes on and you just listen to it as an album,

maybe I would be more. Receptive, but but yeah, no,

it's it's not, it's not bad enough for me.

So let's get on to the next track, which is called Play the

Next Man. Like you're fronting my rag.

A muffin. Come on, help me with something.

You're like me. I can't tell by the wicked

actions. I want to rock with you like

Michael Jackson. Eric.

What's? Slow down, baby.

You're not seal. So while you're acting crazy, I

want to be your man. The whole non sounds cute.

Us bugging out and that's not gonna boot.

But you you want to go out and start cheating and hanging stuff

like new kids every day on weekend thinking I'm stupid.

Girl, you must be bugging the boy.

You mess up. What is my cousin trying to keep

double with the OK, that was play the next man.

So Steve, your thoughts on that one?

I've. Got very much to say about this

track. It's just there isn't really

much much to say. I mean, it's got a nice, like

singing sample for the chorus, but I don't know.

I can't say that it's one that I'd skip, but I also can't say

it's one that I'd like have anything really say about it.

It's a pretty. I don't know.

Yeah. Las a track?

I reckon it's not exceptional, is it?

I think it's, I mean, it's in terms of the subject subject

matter. It's one of the another one of

those watch out for Shady women standard kind of, yeah, like

women and like they're out to get what they can get.

Sort of track seems to be one on every album in this era.

But yeah, one on every. EPMD I'm yeah, but it's kind of

nice. I like, I like it when they have

a kind of a theme or a concept that they they're going with.

So this song is actually about something, you know, I mean it's

like I I quite like that rather than just sort of doing a bit of

rapidly rap and just rapping for the sake of it.

They actually got a focus quite like and I actually think the

beats quite good. I think it's a good up tempo,

funky track. Yeah.

Good samples like you say, a good the the female vocal sample

on the hook really works well. There's a lot of those in this

album. The actual is.

That sample, is that like Studio recorded, you think?

Yeah, I think it's a sample. I think it would be a sample.

Yeah. I just think it would like a lot

of the hooks on this. They've got this really good

kind of catchy vocal sample that they use and that they're really

good at that. But yeah, I mean nothing

remarkable. Nothing remarkable at all about

this, right? No.

So what did you give it? I did give it a three.

I think it's because I couldn't find it.

I kind of. I think I wanted to find fault

with it because, you know, it's a bit Plaza, but I couldn't no,

so give. It a three, yeah.

Yeah, many ways that's worse than it being a bad track.

It's not unremarkable. So yeah, let's give it three

because yeah, I I gave it three as well.

It's kind of like it's another mid like I like it.

It's good up temper. I quite like it's it's not a

difficult track to get into. It's very immediate.

Yeah, but I. Happily listen to it in the

background. Probably won't make any.

Yeah. So no, you wouldn't skip it.

It's not a skipper. Yeah.

So yeah, I'm with you on that one.

All right, The next track is called.

It's going down. Let's see what that sounds like.

It's going down, yeah. Back to the picture of the

scene. It's me, Eric Sermon, my M16,

just in case, you know, a fight broke out.

I can just chill. Pull out the smoke I want No

grill, no charcoal, no fluid. Act like both Jacks and I can

just do it. So yeah, that's it's going down.

I remember this one, I had this one first on the Juice

soundtrack, which was an absolutely legendary soundtrack

from around this era. In fact, there's quite a few

tracks and some of our like other episodes that have been on

other albums that were actually also on this Juice soundtrack.

Really great, great soundtrack that was.

And this. I knew that from that from that

soundtrack, really good Marvin Gaye sample on the hook and just

hearing this track just whisks me back to that time of this

album, but also the Juice soundtrack.

And you know, so I like this one.

I. Like this one?

Yeah, yeah. It's good, yeah.

What? What?

What? What do you like most about it?

So again, it's a bit slower tempo isn't it?

But it yeah, it has like you're going to be able to tell me this

better, better, I think then then I can describe it myself,

but. Has a slightly different field

tip than the normally EPMD track.

It almost feels like it's more like of a West Coast hardcore

underground track. But I can't quite like, yeah, I

can't quite fix in my brain who I'm thinking this could have

been produced, produced by rather than Eric 7.

Yeah, I mean it. It's got that kind of feel to

it. I think the Marvin Gaye sample

on the chorus helps that quite laid back, quite kind of soulful

maybe because. There's just no George Clinton

in it. Yeah, maybe they went Marvin

Gaye instead. But yeah, it is a slightly

different time. When it was earlier, we came out

earlier than the album, the rest of the album.

So maybe that had something to do, that maybe it was part of a

different sound. Different.

Yeah, but and again. Maybe that's the thing with this

album is just the coherence just isn't there.

Like maybe some, like some of the earlier albums, those

classic albums, they all all the tracks kind of bound together

quite nicely. Yeah, more similar.

Maybe this one just doesn't jump around, just jumps around too

much. Yeah, yeah, maybe.

I think is another example of kind of another tick on the

break V8Z as well the another the mountain long red break

underneath. It's like the amount of times

they use these, these samples. But they work.

They use them because they work, but and we like them.

We like them exactly And we can identify them.

It's yeah, it's it's a good track.

I remember loving it on the Juice soundtrack.

By the time this album came out, I kind of knew it well enough.

It's a nice addition. I can see why they put it on.

But yeah, it's another 3 for me. Yeah, this was this was

definitely at one point A2 for me.

But it's grown and grown and grown.

It's it's a solid 3 for me as well.

Yeah, it's. No, it's no Know the Ledge Is it

from also from the Juice soundtrack.

I don't have to get back into that sound right now.

Yeah, some. Great stuff on there.

Great stuff on there. OK, so yeah, so let's move on to

the final track of the album, which is called Who Killed Jane?

First thoughts to work. The second thought to stay home.

Who went to roughness sign violent reach for is not mill.

Partner started smiling. Shut up Molly.

Turn around and kick their mouth shut.

Keep the neighbors caring as he reach for his man.

Cuff through on the braces to increase the pain.

Thinking to myself, Damn. Who killed Jane?

Who killed Jane? Who killed Jane?

Who killed Jane? Who killed James?

Chuck Shuffle Chuck. Jane.

Who killed Jane? OK, Who Killed Jane?

A nice continuation of the Jane saga of the EPMD albums.

It's with a nice twist. Somebody killed her, thank

goodness. Yeah, I'm not gonna lie to you.

I didn't fully understand the whole Jane thing on these

albums. I know it's like a story thing.

They run through all the albums, but yeah, it started on the

first time, didn't it? Yeah, And it has a slightly

different, like, twist on each one.

And they drive me around the bend.

I'm just like you don't. Like them?

No. I think they're absolutely

nonsense, but I have to say straight away that actually I

can tolerate this one, right? This one actually isn't a

skipper. All the other ones are like I

have had enough of Jane and same as you don't really understand

why you yeah. You're glad she was killed

anyways. She does come back there, yeah.

But yeah, so it's it's this one is actually perfectly OK.

It's just, you know, the other Jane tracks that do my head in.

Yeah. No, I would.

I yeah. Again, I agree.

I like this one. I like the beat.

It's another use of the Joe text break.

I like the bassline, nice and grimy, funky guitar in it.

It's just a classic EPMD production.

And yeah, I like the twist to the to the ongoing story and I

love with, I don't know if it's in this one but they talk about

as you got haircut like Anita Baker.

Jane haircut like Anita Baker. But yeah, it's.

Decent track, Decent way to win the album?

Yeah. So I'll give it a three.

Yeah, I gave it a three. I think it's the only Jane track

I will ever give a three to. Yeah.

Well, yeah. Nice.

OK, cool. So that's the end of business.

Never personal. We do the scores.

Of both overall scores at the end.

Yeah, cool. All right.

So we're going to move on now to K solos times up also from 1992.

So the second album in our playoff, the hit Squad

Headbanger from 1992, is the album Time's Up by Kay Solo.

It's the 2nd and final studio album by American rapper Kay

Solo. It was released on the 2nd of

June 1992 on Atlantic Records. Production was handled by Sam

Snead, EPMD, Pete Rock and Kay Solo himself.

So, yeah, overall thoughts on this one, Steve, And how did you

become aware of it in the first place?

I think through you actually. It's not an advent that I

listened to loads and loads. It's been really nice to kind of

revisit it because she's, it's pretty decent rapper and and the

producers on this album are like, you know, people would

have been like falling over themselves to get production

like this back in 1992. So, yeah, well, you know, we'll

probably discuss a bit more about it as we go into some of

the tracks. Yeah, absolutely.

This was one that I had. I borrowed off someone.

I think it was my first introduction to it, somebody at

school obviously, and I recorded it and it fit nicely onto one

side of AC-90 tape. So that's obviously have a lot

of these things that perfect. And so I had it on cassette like

and I would listen to it loads and those nose on cassette.

And I never actually owned it on CD until I bought it recently on

CD, but I always had it on. Tape and I was that was one of

these kind of albums that I had on cassette and I stopped

listening to them because I didn't have a tape player

anymore, you know what I mean? And then and then you remember

them and you go, oh God, I'd love to have that character of

coming back and listen to it so. I I sort it out on CD, managed

to find a copy and yeah, and it just took me right back when I

sort of started listening to it again.

I think there's a slept on album.

He's underrated, I think. Definitely.

It is like, I mean two albums and it's slightly puzzling why I

didn't have more. It is a bit, yeah.

I mean, I don't know if there's any reason why this was his

second and final album, but I guess, you know, rappers just

fall out of favor and you never really know what the business is

going to throw up. But let me talk about some

tracks. I've got some theories about how

things could have been different within Hit Squad if he'd been

utilized in a different way. Yeah, yeah.

I mean, he's not, you know, he's not one of the best rappers, but

he's bad. And yeah, that's.

Our yardstick that's going to be that's the measure.

That's going to be the thrust of my argument in a minute, yeah.

Yeah, but it is a really slept down.

I know. I don't hit anyone talking about

it. It's never mentioned.

And yeah, it's sort of and it's it's it's weird.

The weird thing about it is, is the kind of the line line of

producers, one of whom is Sam Sneed, who you would go on to

later be part of the death row camp and produce.

You better recognize if Murder was a case, which is really

weird, and you wouldn't know that from this sound that he's

got here. You know, it's weird.

It's a far cry from the latest stuff.

So yeah, this was always kind of one of those, one of those kind

of hidden gems that I like to sort of always used to play and

like feel like it was, you know, my album that barely anyone

likes. Everyone else is sleeping it.

Definitely, absolutely. And so the first track on time

is up is called. I can't hold it back.

Here is. Break it

down. Yeah, I.

Can't hold it back. First track on the album

produced by Sam Sneed. What are your thoughts?

Well, I don't know if I'm going to sound like a scratch record

here because I talked on the previous album about with EPMD,

about the importance of like having some good leadoff tracks

to get into. Like the theme of the album,

like this one just comes straight in with this.

And it's like already it's like, I don't, I don't understand why

this is leadoff track. It's like you do need an

introduction, even a little skit or or you know put some really

strong tracks first. So I think K Setter is letting

himself down by putting this just, it is just thoroughly

average track first. I mean doesn't really

necessarily sum up him or his style or even like kind of the

production of the album. And so I don't know.

I'm just, again, I'm just a bit frustrated that it's leading off

in this way. No, I love this one.

I absolutely love this one. I don't get that at all.

I mean, it's a really, really good way to start the album.

I love the way it just kind of comes in like the other, like

the EPMD album, you know, break it down and it comes straight

in. I love that sample they use on

the chorus, but it's really good.

Like, just a great way to kick it in.

I just don't think it fits the rest of the album though.

It's just. It's a bit more up tempo, a bit

more energetic, What is it? But I don't.

I I can't explain it. I I think like all of my

favorite or best albums that there is a kind of a theme or a

there's a keysiveness all that goes through every single track

that starts by making a statement right in the beginning

either yeah something they say or something they do or or the

production and and this this just I feel lets the album down.

That's just my thing. Not a strong.

Start for you. Just not a strong start.

Interesting. All right.

We'll have to. Another one will have to agree

to disagree, I think. I just think it's a really

commanding way to come in. Probably gave it a three no?

Gave it a four, I gave it a four.

I love it. I think it's a really, really

great start to the album Comes right in, doesn't mess about a

command and vocal performance from Kay Solo.

There's a lot of points in this album where he doesn't deliver.

I find him a bit kind of monotonous, but this on this

one, he's really engaged. Great lyrics.

And it's like the beat itself. Yes, it's another A-Z of breaks.

You've got Impeach, the President and Atomic Dog in

there, overused breaks. But I just love that chorus

sample and I love it's just stuff where that's where it

comes in. I just.

I gave it three. So you didn't like it, Dislike

it that much, But I just just being in my ballet, I think

about, you know, albums. Give it.

Yeah, needs to grab you both throat right from the off.

Yeah, no, I get that. OK, cool.

Right. Well, let's let's move on to the

the next track which is called Letterman.

I'm. The Incredible

Letterman KEBIMMADISONDE. I'm the Incredible Letterman

KEBI. MAD.

His attempt to become a superhero.

So this one is produced by Pete Rock.

So as you know, yeah, you can as soon as it starts.

As soon. As it starts, you can tell it's

a Pete Rock production. It's typical early Pete Rock.

I'll say it's an early Pete Rock production.

So it's a bit more kind of simple and a bit less kind of

jazzy than his latest stuff. It's, it's.

But it's, you know, it's clearly a Pete Rock Sound.

Brilliant Pete Rock. Yeah.

Funky. Loads of horns.

Yeah. And it's the same year as Mecca

when the soul brother came out as well.

Yeah. So you can kind of hear him

warming up for that. Yeah.

What do you think? Well just you mentioned in Mecca

and Sobre this, this. Well, one of the points I wanted

to make on the podcast was like I do think Caseo is is a really

good rapper and actually he sounds really good on on this

Pete, Pete Rock track and you know I have to scored this one

quite highly. Like what would what would it be

like? What would the world be like if

like you know CL Smooth wasn't like Pete Rocks rapper and yeah

it was Pete Rock and K Solo. Yeah, I reckon like they because

obviously they produced, you know, CL Smooth produced some

amazing stuff for Pete Rock, but it wasn't the best rapper was he

kept CL Smooth C. L Smooth was an acquired taste.

Yeah, yeah, he was. He was really good.

I don't know. I'm just maybe pondering, maybe

not. Definitely agreeing in my head

that it's true. But I think maybe K So could

have been a better match with Pete Rock.

Yeah, I'm not having. I'm not having K Solar and Pete

Rock, but I do. I take your point that a better

rapper than CL Smooth with Pete Rock would have probably been

better. As is proven every time Pete

produces for a good. Yeah, yeah.

Rapper, rather unique, AZ Nas, The world is yours.

All those sorts of things, you know, I think.

Yeah, I think CL Smooth. I think it's probably why I

prefer Pete Rock as a producer for other people and remixes

rather than his own. Yeah, because he's a premium

producer with premium rappers and you get like a top product,

whereas with CL Smooth, not quite as good.

What about with EPMD? Like if it was like Eric Sermon

and K Solo, would that be a better group duo than Eric

Sermon and Parish? Well, you get.

A taste of it on here because Eric's produced a couple of the

tracks and those are some of those sort of better tracks.

So I think perhaps, yeah, Eric Sermon and K Solo would work as

a duo. I reckon as a universe that

exists, yeah, it could. Be EKMD, Ekmd.

That could have worked alright Eric.

And I reckon, yeah, it would be. It would be interesting to like,

I don't know, visit that universe and to see if he could

be a more successful rapper. Yeah, having those breaks with

those two producers more than he gets on his only two hours that

he's done, yeah. Possibly he might have blown up

a bit more, but. And what's the thing with

Letterman? That's just his like, name,

isn't it? He just spells out his name.

I'm. Yeah.

KK Kevin Madison's his real name, KVI Anime DISON.

So that's like and it the the idea is that he's becomes a

superhero that spells everything I do.

I mean, I think it's a really good concept.

I think it's quite clever and he shows real lyrical dexterity to

actually spell out the words I do kind of struggle to keep up

with like, you know, when you're listening to it, I'm like, what

did he say? I have to like rewind it.

So what was that? And I have to rewind it.

Like when he spells out some of the names of the girls he's

talking about and stuff, you know, that's quite good, isn't

it? Because it gives you something

to want to read, listen to a track.

Yeah, like, you know, it's. Rewind ability.

I have to work hard to workout what's going on, Yeah.

It's rewind ability. I've got exactly that.

He makes you work for it, you know.

You know it's not. He's not, you know, can't just

sort of sit back and you know, you gotta concentrate.

Yeah, you gotta concentrate. So, yeah.

And and spelling out stuff is always a winner in hip hop

track. So yeah, no, I really like this

one, which isn't probably reflected in my 3 out of five

score. But wow is that 3 is a good

score from you. Yeah, Well, guess what?

Go on. Four for me.

Four. Yeah.

Wow. It's.

An exalted track, this must be to get a four from you.

But no, I think I didn't give it in the fours and fives because I

do think it's just a little bit repetitive.

The beat is just a bit Samy all the way through.

I don't know. It's just a bit, yeah, it might

be a bit of roast into glasses thinking, no, it's it's a Pete

Rock beat. It's classic Pete Rock beat.

And yeah, yeah, ask me in any year's time, I might think,

yeah, what was I thinking about? Yeah.

If I was doing the Best of Pete Rock compilation, I don't think

I'd put this one in there. But but it's still a decent,

decent track. Which brings us on to the next

track on the album, which is called Long live The Fugitive.

Cop stopping one of the block with my girl in my car and found

out I'm queso local fugitive now known as a rap star.

I put the car in the park and next the cop is the trouble.

They said license the registration refuge in their

both the double in my jacket. I reached in before I heard the

sound. They grabbed the sticks and the

game like. It's not OK.

That's Long live the fugitive. We said, Long live this track,

Steve, we're sendling shot. Mercifully.

Do you think so? It's produced by Kay Salo.

Do you think he was trying to sound like Eric Sam on his

track? Just that slow trying to sound

quite funky, but slow sound. Maybe, yeah.

I think he was just. I don't know what he was

thinking because I don't realize this isn't.

I don't like this one at all, but I thought it was OK.

Yeah, I I I've got no beef with this track.

I don't know if he's trying to. I mean, I don't think it's a

very out examiny track really, it's just.

I don't really know what the point of this track is.

I never have. I just.

Here's why I don't really like it.

It just, it feels like a glorified skit.

A glorified interlude. It's very short, a bit

pointless. It's a simple loop as well, the

same one that De La Soul used for Mini Polar Pistol on Santa

Funkadelic sample and it just all feels a little bit like,

lazy. I can't disagree with that, but

I I think it works OK. Yeah, so it's track.

Three though. Yeah, you put like, why aren't

you putting all your best stuff? Trap 123 boom boom.

Things like already. Yeah, I know Put.

Your best stuff up front, you know, this could have been an

outro, yeah, Yeah. I think track one's OK and track

two is strong. I could forgive a short track in

in hit three, yeah. All right.

What? So, so you give it three.

I'll give it, yeah, give it three.

I'll give it two. I just it's not.

It's just not necessary. But continuing the prison theme,

we move on to premonition of a Black Prisoner.

Let's have a listen to what that sounds like a.

Judge couldn't budge. The black vote served another

brother. Top of that.

I couldn't budge. My face was brown.

So was hammer slammed down and hit a brown desk.

My court case put to rest. They grabbed my records crack.

So 31. He got 5 to 15.

Job well done. Another behind the wall because

the white ball hit the 8 ball. Game over.

That's all. Pope was lost as I toss.

They really. Like that Joe Text break, don't

they? It's really on every single hit

score track. But that was a premonition of a

black prisoner produced by Sam Sneed.

You better recognize. What were your thoughts?

So, fun fact, he so he did spend some time in prison and he's

trying to sound tough. I'm not sure he kind of comes

across particularly tough, which is the trouble I love.

That trying to sound tough, but he he he apparently tried to

give himself credit for teaching DMX when when they were in

prison together. His style?

Which? Really.

Yeah. That's amazing, of course.

DMX, Steve. Pulling out the trivia, what is

your favorite rappers? Oh, I.

Love DMX, but no, I think it. I think it's just a bit boring.

Yeah, I can't fault, you know, So Steve's production, you know,

that's that's that's perfectly acceptable.

But yeah, no. But can I ask you a question?

Then it Is this the best? What's the best prison song,

Best prison hip hop song? Oh, you put on the spot that is

a. Bit on the spot because I don't

know what mine is. Go on one.

Love by Nas by Nas. It's got to be the best prison

song. I've got vision.

I can't. I can't think of this.

I can think of one that there's a there's a video from MTV Raps.

Yeah, sort of prison. It's not 1 Love.

Maybe we should do a prison track episode, like a prison

song episode. We do that.

We put all the best prison songs against each other to find the

ultimate prison song, I think, if there's enough comments on

Twitter and Instagram. Yeah, then we do that.

If there's a clamor for it, you listeners out there, if you want

us to do the best prison song episode, let us know in Twitter

threads if you use it or whatever.

But just. Yeah, let us know.

We will do that. We'll do the research.

Yeah, we'll. Do the research.

Cool. Yeah.

I mean for me this one I think of it 3.

It's a dark beat as I said uses the popper was two drums just.

Yeah. Just a very middle of the road

kind of track. Unremarkable but but but paints

a picture helps paint the picture of this album.

You know and if you as what you say he's been in prison fair

play to me. You're going to want to talk

about it, aren't you? I give it three.

So yeah, down in the middle. Cool.

OK, so the next track on the album is called Sneak Tip,

produced by Sam Snead. Let's see what this one sounds

like. Yeah, just went out, man.

We gonna bring them back? Definitely.

We definitely gonna check it out.

I was in my house looking out of that was sneakers that I went

through and ask my momma she could buy me your new pair of

sneakers to school. She said they watch your sister

and after I full shop, I give you 50 bucks and you can go to

the foot like a spot. I watch my little sister.

Yeah, just like she told me. Mom gave me the $50 she said she

owe me. I'm going to the store, OK?

Right. It's that sneak tip.

I'm gonna start off with another question.

Is this the Best Song about magic sneakers ever made?

No. What is then?

Maybe. Another one.

You can't keep putting me in a spot like this.

No, I know now I'm joking. But but you know, it's it's I

It's a weird, bizarre concept for a hip hop track, isn't it?

Why is it appearing in 92 if if this is in the 80s, you'd be

like, Oh yeah, this is groundbreaking.

It's like, yeah, I can imagine a night 8889 people would be like,

yeah, this is really interesting.

It's really great. Yeah.

But 92, when you're getting like what?

It's the year of like the chronic and stuff, isn't it?

It is, yeah. It's just like.

Come on K So like that one's pretty but your ideas up.

But yeah, it's I just yeah, it's it's a little bit cringe in

places. Massively cringe, Yeah.

It's a weird, bizarre concept Wizard of Oz kind of riff.

The, the, the, yeah, the beat and the wrapping are just three

or four years out of date. Yeah, you can imagine something

like Slick Rick maybe doing this, but he might have done it

sounds. Like a Slick Rick tale, doesn't

it? Yeah, a little bit, yeah.

Or like gangster's fairy tale type stuff, You know, like,

yeah, it's from that school of kind of like concepts.

Childish kind of concept hip hop track and it kind of works in

places. I think the beats really boring.

I think it's repetitive. It just goes one note all the

way through and I think what is in this, this brings I'm going

to say this now. I was going to say this later on

but about his rapping style and it's really like comes to the

fore on this track. He kind of he's a good MC and I

like his style, but he does try and cram in quite quite a lot.

He overdoes it a lot. He tries to cram those and those

words in and stays on one level and his his delivery is quite

monotone and he stays on one kind of plane for a lot of it.

And he's trying to be too quick and he's trying to be too

clever. And I'm wondering if that's part

of the reason why he wasn't more celebrated or revered.

He wasn't quite. He tried too hard.

Yeah, well, maybe he didn't try hard enough because I think at

that time there was. So he's a little bit political.

He's he's he's kind of good at that kind of consciousness rap,

but. Nowhere near as good as his

contemporaries, no, That's the thing.

He's just just below the bar on on on, kind of where he needs to

be. So yeah, it just doesn't quite

pitch as high as everybody else, basically.

Yeah, yeah. You can sense he's trying to

make statements. He's trying to make points about

the political system and the prison system, all that sort of

stuff, having experienced it, but doesn't quite have the

platform, the gravitas. It's.

Either regurgitating stuff that people have redone, or it's just

not The content just isn't strong enough to, yeah,

Reverberate enough with the listener.

Yeah. So what did you give this one?

2, 22 That's harsh. I give it three.

I didn't think it was bad enough to merit a kind of a sub three

score, but this wasn't it's. At a place it's boring.

It's a skipper. 2 is a skipper. Two's A skipper.

You skip that, would you? Yeah, Yeah, every time.

I probably would let it play because it's only like a 44 / 45

minute album. And I just, you know, there's no

need to skip. Life's too short.

Oh, too short. Yeah, absolutely.

When you're busy leading busy lives like we are.

All right, Fair enough. So, OK, so you've gone from one

you hate. And we're gonna move on to

another one. I'm gonna get.

I'm gonna put my neck on the line here.

I'm gonna say you like the next one.

And the next one is the baby. Doesn't look like me.

Yeah. The baby that yeah didn't look

like me. The baby that yeah didn't look

like me. The baby that yeah.

Didn't look like me. I was dealing with this girl

that I used to go with. She wrote me a letter telling me

that I got her pregnant. For some reason I thought it was

true, so I went through all the things a man with the child

supposed to go through. We broke up six months ago when

now she's having the baby. I'm hoping it's the voice of

Wacker, name Solo. OK, that track is the baby.

Doesn't look like me. So Steve, this is something you

can sympathize with. You've got children all over the

all over the country, all over the place, Am I right?

Do you like this one? Yeah.

You're right, yeah. Yeah.

How can you not like this? It's irresistible it.

Is it's like Eric sermon and K solo at their glorious best.

I mean Eric sermons chosen a lovely lovely catchy loop here

and it was interesting cuz what you were just saying about like

K solo like trying to fit a lot of syllables into his rapid it

kind of works on this you know it Yeah.

It's not like. No, I always put it like

classic, classic. But definitely, like just above.

Really good. Yeah.

Just above. Really good.

Above average. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah.

No. I'm I'm I'm with you I'm with

you this this is my favorite track on the album.

Yeah. Produce your best track on the

album 100% produce. Bray X sermon.

Very typical of his style and just grabs you right from the

start. Really good loop.

But it's quite it's quite it's like simple the the the samples

he picks you know they're like it's a mesh of 80s R&B and hip

hop classic break beats underneath you got the five

steps, break underneath good samples but it's just it's it's

got that intangible quality to it that magic dust.

You know that when it comes in you just know it.

It just grabs you. The.

Production, the production, everything.

Yeah. And the contest is that that

classic hip hop thing, isn't it? It's like, you know, just just

like you would never think about.

Yeah, about that stuff that he's rapping.

No, but he's obviously, it might be something he's experienced

and it's. Obviously something that's

really close to his, to his and his experience.

Exactly. And that's why it's kind of

delivered with passion. You can hear it.

He knows he's talking about something.

He might maybe knows it's very compelling.

I love the story. I think it's really good.

I just, yeah, I really love it and it's got a really catchy

hook. But I've given it a four out of

five rather than a five, yeah. Me too, because there's an

aspect of it that is a little bit the production.

Is it? Yes, it's really like catchy,

but it's a little bit lazy as well.

Like essentially it's an 80s R&B track with really well known

breakbeat underneath it. Yeah, yeah.

And it's quite simple and I can quite I can understand how it

was made. As as rapid production was

becoming more complex, more hardcore.

This track is still quite soft and easy on the 100 percent.

Yeah, so. You can get quite tired of it

quite quickly which is, yeah, yeah, I totally agree with that

Eric. So we did not have a habit of

certainly when he was producing stuff from other people, just

kind of taking some real shortcuts.

It's like a it's like a sample under a really well known break

beat. Maybe, maybe we're looking back

on that now in hindsight, judging it harshly, but other

people have done it better. Yeah.

And if you were if you were listening to this in 1990, your

mind would be blind. Oh 100%.

But yeah but we are. We're being hard.

But on this album is a standout is fantastic track really good.

K So. Is best ever track easily I

think. And yeah, one of the people

most, most familiar with. Yeah, absolutely.

And yeah. It's a track you have to listen

to. You have to listen to it.

This is a sort of a compilation track for me.

And you gave it a four, right? Yeah.

Did you say? Yeah, yeah, I wanted.

To give it a bit more, if you. I'd give it 4 1/2 if you let me.

But no. Yeah, no, no half.

So hey, no half. Step in.

OK. So yeah, I'll get it for as

well. All right, the next one, from

really high highs to possibly low lows, we're going to move on

to the Formula House Party produced by Parish Smith.

Moving fast. Wants me to steal my harbor,

make it hit the subjects. I kick the points in the.

The grassy so that was the formula.

House party in brackets. Thoughts.

This is really hard hard track to to describe because I really

like the I really like the the the drums on this.

I really I really like the beat and it's like if they could have

experimented a bit more with this kind of like style a bit

harder. I think case solo could sound

really good on this. I don't think it quite comes off

I I can't like, I don't hate it. I don't dislike it.

I think it's a taste of a direction.

They could have gone down a bit more than the kind of funkier,

easy listening stuff, definitely from the track before.

So I don't know. I just wish.

I think case studies sounds good on a harder drum beat like that.

And it's interesting that PMD is it's like produce, like even the

producer, How did that happen? Yeah.

Did he get like that was this little treat, you know?

Yeah, they let him work. Really hard this year.

So let you produce them for case.

Just one though. Just one.

Yeah, just make it really good. And I don't know.

Yeah, so it's it definitely sounds different to the rest of

the album doesn't it 100%, But I.

Reckon you're going to hate it? Worst track on the album. 100%

worse track on the album for so many reasons.

Well, as you say, produced by Paris Smith, who's not one of

hip hop's more celebrated producers.

As his debut solo album Shady Business will attest, it's

absolutely awful. It's really bad, and to the

point where, like, our mate bought it and I didn't even

bother copying it. It was just really bad.

You just. Knew from the first listen.

Yeah, it was just not. It was not even worth copying.

It wasn't worth the the tape. That from Scott's Matt.

It was who will come to you later, but yes, it was so worst

track on the album. A tedious extended intro fake

nightclub scenario takes too long to get going in the 1st

place, which is like a really bad start.

And then when it does kind of eventually get to the track,

it's just that sort of live performance kind of shtick just

doesn't grab me. The beats drab.

It's really like it's hard. I think it's drab.

It's just there's nothing to it. And like, it's hard.

I like. The hardness to yeah.

And it allows him to kind of go in, go off on it.

And to be fair, I mean, it really highlights him as a

rapper quite well, you know? But I just think underneath the

beat, underneath him just doesn't really do anything for

me. And yeah, it's just kind of like

the worst track on the album for me.

And I would always skip this one.

Yeah, it's not a skipper for me, but yeah, it's not.

It's not strong. Yeah.

What would happen if the Green Eyed Bandit got his hands on

that and just took the drum beat and made it a little bit

funkier? Would it have worked?

Probably, yeah. Probably would have worked.

It would just snip, snip that intro off, give it a proper beat

underneath, and then let him wrap it properly in the studio.

Then maybe, yeah. We'd have all been happy.

We'd have all been happy, but as it stands now, this isn't This

isn't for me. So yeah, two out of 5/2.

I gave it 3/3 so you were a bit more.

I feel like I've been way more generous than you this evening.

Yeah, I think you have. I think you've been, yeah,

certainly very generous to that one because it's just a.

Spoiler alert, I I'm not going to be so generous.

The last four tracks. Interesting.

OK, well, let's get on to those. And let's go to the next track,

which is called Who's Killing Who?

Feel my open dreams right In black Americans eyes.

But in the future, no Big Brothers.

The way that somebody would be. Don't respect one another.

Been healthy one another will destroy one another.

And that's what they bought my brother.

You killing me. And I'm killing you and stopping

next yourself. Out of the black dream come true

we got to change the reflections of the majority of you will go

mirror or black America. Tell me he's killing cool black

America. Tell.

He's killing the truth, Steve. So that's the next track.

I've got one question for you. Who's killing who?

Blacks killing blacks? Exactly.

Black on black crime. But he's not like, I just don't

get any like like, I don't know passion or strength of feeling

from him from this track. There's so many other political

rappers that they would do this and this is, this is his

problem. I just don't buy into his.

Into his I. Don't know his whatever it is

that he's trying to gender. Yeah, his agenda.

Yeah, well, not necessarily his agenda, but his way of

presenting his agenda to the masses through his, through his

rap. It just doesn't.

It doesn't grab me. Just.

I just think, OK, so this hearing him do this wouldn't

stop you murdering somebody else?

Not today, no. No.

Yeah, I think you're right. I mean it's it's a well worn

subject, isn't it? The black and black crime thing,

they're all doing it. But I think, yeah, like you say,

other other rappers might have done it better, like Paris Ice

Cube, How you think? Of the passion you get from both

of those rappers and believable passion.

Yeah, and like, because they live it, you know, they're

actually, they're advocates and they want to well, I'm sure

case, case I didn't might might live it too, but yeah.

But just doesn't come through some it just it just does.

Just doesn't grab, doesn't grab me, no, but I do.

It's quite nice to, you know, have a, as I said earlier, like

have a focus of a subject matter to actually focus towards

account and talk about this subject and it does it well.

I don't think it's a particularly bad track and I

quite like the beat as well. I really like the beat actually.

It's quite an emotional beat to suit the subject matter.

Really soulful and actually samples Barry White's original

version of its only love, which was later covered by which UK

based Blue Eyed Soul band? No idea, simply Red And I only

favorite groups. Yeah, one of my favorite groups.

And I only realized that through my research for this podcast and

I only realized it. I was delighted.

I just for some reason it escaped me that the simply Red

version was a cover. But anyway, but it samples the

Barry White version so that's cool.

So yeah. So stick him in the production

then so you get like you know the last track was was PMD just.

Quite rough underground beat. You've got Pete Rock going off

first you've got you've got you've got Eric Eric Sermon

producing some really good tracks.

I think one of the problems with this album is that there are too

many producers with so many different styles that just

doesn't knit together. This track is love.

The production is this track is love.

It's so full. Yeah, nice.

But there's no, there's not enough kind of commonality for

me throughout the whole album. Whereas if you get when you get

any PMD album. You know what you're going to

get. It has a pedigree that you're

going to get through through pretty much every track.

It's going to be really, really, you know, really consistent,

really distinctive. I just wonder whether I feel

like I'm fighting for case earlier because I think you

could do better. That's kind of like my feeling

all the way through listening to him.

If you just had one producer through the whole of an album,

would we be thinking differently about him?

I think you probably would. I think you'd be looking at a

much more revered album. I think it always works when

when you've got one album, one vision, one producer and it's

consistent throughout one sound. Those are always the albums that

I think are best. There are exceptions.

Illmatic, the rule. Yeah yeah but that's careful

beat selection. But I do think generally the

rule is 1. Producer you know look at doggy

style. Look at The Chronic.

You've got one producer having a disparity of styles.

It just it it it doesn't work as well typically.

I think you're absolutely right and I think this is probably

what's harming this album maybe. I know you've got a lot produced

by Sam Sneed. He's produced like the vast

majority of these, and his sound is fairly consistent.

Yeah. Yeah, his tracks are, but they

don't necessarily dovetail into the other ones.

Yeah, exactly. Yeah, you'll get like a few good

Sam Sneed tracks, then you'll get the Parish Smith one, and

then you'll get, you know, somebody else.

And it's, yeah, it does harm this album, I think.

But I wonder why? He couldn't get like a

consistent like producer just to come out for him.

Well, you think maybe Eric Sermon do the whole thing or let

Sam Sneed do the whole thing and maybe you would have got a bit

more of a consistent quality product all the way through.

But no, it wasn't happening. But anyway, that's who's

kidding. Who do we do the scores?

Yeah, I gave it 2, two. Wow.

I'll give it a three on that one.

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

household Made. I'm sure you've got a lot to say

about this one, Steve. You know what I'm saying?

Solo Back in effect, 1992. Stepping back in here.

Yeah, yeah, check it out. So me 92, you're red.

You know what I'm saying? When you tell this one story

about all these girls, you say when you young brother seemed to

don't believe us. So I guess I'll start by telling

him a story. When I was young, when I but

never mind. Probably for the best maybe.

Oh, you don't like this one then?

No. Because no problem with the

production, Nice little funky number.

But the the the problem with this track is that it is just

not believable or interesting. Like, OK, if you're going to

tell me about shagging your household mate whenever he was

like 12 or something like that, make it more interesting.

There's, there's, you know, there's so many good.

Like fairy tale, imaginary, I don't know.

Or you know really good narrative, hip hop, hip hop

tracks. Like He really bombs on this.

I think so. It doesn't ring true with your

experiences of. And I didn't shag in the

household. Maybe that's probably why.

Maybe that's what it is. It's touched a nerve it.

Didn't reflect my own experience.

I think he's just talking nonsense, OK?

Does it? Did he really have a household

made when he was? I don't know.

I don't know. It just doesn't fit with, you

know, the rest of the album. Again, I think the issue I have

is that you, when you have like a large tail and you have hear

it from someone like Notorious Big or Snoop Dogg or Slick Rick,

it entertains you. Yeah, You know, there's nothing

to think. Oh yeah, yeah, I can.

I can like Chuck like that. Or, you know, that's just such a

big story that it's just unbelievable.

There's nothing in this tail that makes.

Interesting. Not interested at all.

No. I mean, they're like, it's like

a sex rhymes. It's a sex rhyme, isn't it?

But it's quite PG. So you can imagine, call G rap

doing something like this, but really going in like proper.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, proper, like disgusting.

That's. Really great describing it.

Yeah, the PG version of Yeah, sex thing.

I do think I'm a bit sort of less negative about it than you.

I do think it's some solid storytelling.

I do think it's quite, quite a good little tale, you know, And

the beat itself, I like the beat.

Very funky, crunchy funk samples as I've written down here.

Very. It's very early 90s.

It's very typical of its time. So the beat's awesome.

I do. But I do think that the the kind

of the storytelling is fairly decent.

But yeah, maybe he doesn't go in hard enough, maybe he doesn't go

far enough. If you're going to do it, do it

properly, maybe like get a bit cool G wrap with it, Yeah, yeah.

But I think overall the package I've given it a three out of

five. It's a good Samsung production.

Yeah, the production, I'm not going to, I'm not going to

criticize the production. If you could, if I could give

the wrapping A2 and the production three, I'd be happy.

But yeah, you won't let me do that.

So no, it's a 2 for me, yeah. It's a two, OK, Yeah.

No, I think 3. You know, it doesn't jump out.

It doesn't stand out for me. But it's a decent little tune.

And yeah, I think three's fair for me.

All right, We're getting towards the sort of tail end of the the

album. Now we've got another track here

called Rock Bottom. Let's have a listen to this one.

Que solo back in here for 92, throwing it into the curb.

That's Rock Bottom produced by Eric Sermon.

That's quite a low key Eric Sermon beat.

Quite simple, but quite typical of his sound.

Quite murky and grimy and kind of, you know, simple hook, but

rather unremarkable rhymes. Yep, it's a bit mid all round,

really. Another one of these kind of

like mid tracks. They don't jump out, but it's a

good example of case solo, a good example of Eric Simon.

I like it. It's just not outstanding.

Yeah. It's a bit too slow and slow and

a bit too dull and particularly at this point the album where I

think you need to have a strong finish.

I think to make to an album, to think actually I want to come

back and listen to I'm all the way through again, but.

You know, it doesn't help that I don't like the previous few

tracks. Yeah, so I'm I'm going into this

track thinking I need so much pick me up.

It doesn't pick you up because it is just quite down tempo and

downbeat and and there isn't anything interesting case I was

rapping about. So it's not not a winner for me,

yeah. The lyrical content, The actual

subject matter of the track, not.

Yeah, I think I kind of. I kind of get what he's what

he's doing. He's talking about when he was

his lowest, but I do think it's quite a nice clever

juxtaposition with the next track in terms of themes and

subject matters. But this one is, yeah, I mean,

it's just a bit not. It's just not not.

The script, yeah, it's not the script.

Great way of great way of putting it.

Feels like a filler. You didn't give it a three.

Please don't tell me you gave it a three.

I did because it's just it's. Just so different from your

scoring. Yeah, But it's The thing is,

it's not bad, but I don't love it.

So it's it's so mid. It's just middle.

It's average. It's right in the middle, like

K. So he doesn't do anything wrong.

He wraps on it. Eric Sermon does one of his one

of his beats. It's the same.

It's not bad. Like it's better than, you know,

90% of other producers. But it's not brilliant.

Yeah. But for my metric, it's a it's a

skipper because it's not good or not good enough.

It it would, yeah. It wouldn't survive the the

whole 3 and a bit minutes, yeah. No you so it.

Gets a 2 from me. You can oh blind me.

OK Yeah. Well that, I mean, yeah, but

that fits in with what you've been saying and I can, I can

tell you to understand it. I just didn't think it was bad

enough to merit that that sort of two treatment but you know

whatever. But yeah, that's sort of jumping

onto the sort of opposite end of the spectrum with the next track

of a kind of a contrast is a track called King of the

Mountain. Let's have a listen to that

check. It out.

Set my room crock of my milk brains.

It took me 16 months to write to the world My name.

Two more years almost went by before, but picked up from Mike

and recorded another hard album of my thoughts and premonitions.

And the last part of me is solo to the world.

Takes records and CD's Football. Free solo.

So that's King of the Mountain in the last track on the album

produced by Sam Snead. Let's have it then.

Steve, what do you think of this one good album closer.

Is he the? King of the Mountain.

We'll find out later, but I don't think this track does

anything to move the needle on whether he's King of the

Mountain. Exactly.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I I think, I probably feel more

like you did with the last track.

This is like there's there's nothing on this track that

either excites me or disappoints me.

You know, my needle is firmly, firmly in the middle here.

I think if anything the production is probably better

than the wrapping, but I don't know.

No problems with with the kind of content and and and the wrap

here. It's a nice slow ending, but

nothing to worry about. You like a nice slow ending that

you Steve. Yeah.

No, I'm. I'd like this one better than

Rock bottom. I think it's.

I think it's a good album. Closer.

Yeah. And I think it's a nice sort of

companion piece for the previous track and it's another life

story song. You know it's like a right rite

of passage for rappers. They have to do that kind of

arm. I used to be poor and they used

to you know live on food stamps and now look at me, you know I'm

I'm releasing an album that was sold about 20 copies.

But no, it's this that's been. Talked about in like 2023.

Well, that's true. It's it's left a legacy.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, it won't be too unfair on it, but but yeah,

it's kind of like most rappers had to go through this.

Kind of like, here's my life story.

This is what I've been through and I think that sequence is

quite clever. But rock bottom and then this

one. I think that's really that's a

really good way to end the album.

I like the beat, another Marvin Gaye piano baseline sample.

Good storytelling and I I really like that used to the Run DMC

and the King which Pete Rock went to do as well on Down with

the King on There 1993. I'm down with the.

King. Yeah.

Really nice. Sam Sneed produced this one, so

it's another good kind of track from him.

Yeah, I definitely. Didn't realize how much he kind

of produced outside of like death row records.

So yeah, revelation to me. Yeah I did.

And you wouldn't guess it from this album would you But what

you were going to do later on not they had it was prolific on

death row. He did, you know, you better

recognize, and his album was kind of shelved.

So the good thing, Yeah, really good.

But But yeah, I think this is a decent way to end it.

I've I've gone with a three. Yeah, not not not amazing, but

but decent. A decent closer.

Yeah. So that brings us to the end of

Time's Up by Case. So yeah, it's time to see who's

won and this is going to be really interesting.

So yeah, we'll be back after this short break and we're going

to break it down and see see which albums won.

OK, so now that dust is settled on our playoff battle, it's time

to decide which one is the winner.

And as there's any two of us, it will have to be decided using

the true score system. So which one got the highest

combined score of both of us? So what we're looking at for

EPMD then, Steve, what did that go overall from you?

Well yeah, so like I think another kind of decent album

from EPMD. Not as good as that kind of

first three albums, but the pedigree was definitely still

there. Some good stand out tracks and a

handful of like good ones, but there were a few that were kind

of a bit of a bit of skipping. You're probably not going to

want me to say this, but I have given.

I've gone for half marks here. I think I have to controversial,

yeah. It gets 3 1/2 OK, which?

Is, you know, just in between like average and good, I'd say.

OK, Yeah. Did you average out the scores

over the whole what? You gave it all.

That's what it came out at 3 1/2.

That's fine. As an overall score, Yeah.

Decent. That's decent.

Above average, Yeah. Probably a bit higher than I

thought when I when I would, you know.

When I was going through my notes.

So yeah, three and half might does feel maybe a bit generous,

but that's true score. That's a yeah, she's a cool

mistress. True score, but an accurate

mistress, you know? Well, my score really does kind

of reflect the middling nature of the album in that it wasn't

ever really one that I loved but didn't hate.

So my true score average worked out was 2.9.

OK yeah, so slightly below average headband.

I couldn't raise it. That five out of five for

headband. We couldn't kind of bring it up

enough. There were too many kind of mid

tracks on it. So yeah, 2.9 for me.

So are you going to add these up?

Oh yeah. We're going.

To throw these down and add them up, we This is as you can tell,

this is a very well prepared podcast and we've done all the

all the groundwork beforehand. You are listening to Hip Hop

World Cup, the playoffs, where Steve's just calculating the

overall score for Epmd's business, never personal.

It's 2.9 + 3.5. I don't really see that's just

5.63.23.2 combined. That's.

The average, Yeah. No, we don't want an average.

We want to add it. We want a combined score.

I could have added that. Without using my phone.

Combined score? Yeah, so 6.46, .4, I promise you

out there in listener land, we will get this right one of these

days. This part of the it's.

Because Larry hasn't, like, let us use the whole true score

package. Yeah, yeah, It's behind a

paywall we've got. We're not paying for it.

OK, so 6.4, right? Yeah, 6.43 PMD.

OK, so we're going to move over to K solos.

Time's up. Now.

I calculated this using some very sophisticated algorithms as

three out of five overall for me again, yeah, but which .1?

Better than EPMD? Again, though what?

I know, right It doesn't compute, but it's Again, it's

just the very definition of mid. It's like didn't do enough to

make it an outstanding album. Some really high points.

The baby doesn't look like me. I can't hold it back.

And I think what's happened is that I've looked at this album

with a little bit of rose tinted glasses.

Feels like it cuz I always. This is why I wanted to do this

one, cuz I always loved this album.

It was on my list, yeah, yeah. Yeah.

And then when you actually go in and analyze them, a lot of the

times they're not actually quite as good as you thought they

were. Yeah.

So I think that's what's happened here, but three out of

five? Yeah, because I think this is,

this is definitely an album that slept, and I think people should

definitely listen to this. If you're listening now, go out

and definitely have give it a go.

Oh, hundred percent. Because it's it is largely an

anonymous album. People will say Kay who, but you

know it's it's definitely worth listen.

Yeah, so, so I came at 2.92 .9. Yeah, so it's almost.

A reverse. A reverse, Yeah.

A flip, Yeah. So.

So what did you say? So I said 3.

Three knows. Yeah.

So. It's 5.9 5.9 so.

EPMD wins, so EPMD wins. Rightly so.

I did not. I did not see that coming

because Kay Solo was the one was my favorite of the two albums.

Yeah. As the scores, Yeah, yeah.

And I just thought you'd like that one more as well, but.

If it's far more as far more pedigree and you can, you can

tell, yeah. Because even even though Parish

Smith isn't the best rapper, there's there's, there was two

absolutely amazing tracks on that, which which elevates it.

And you know, whenever you've got an album, I think it's got

absolute classic tracks that stand out above everything else

that you're always going to be on.

So, well, yeah, yeah, I guess. I think, yeah.

And I think thinking about it is probably is the better album.

I think that's and that's a fair outcome.

So there we have it. EPMD business never personal.

Our winner for this episode. It's in the books case closed.

If you want. If you wonder which is the

better album of these two, you can stop stop now because that's

that's it. So yeah, so Epmd's business

never person who is our is the winner of our hit squad head

banger and someone who is no stranger to banging heads is our

is ex England defender, not Terry Butcher.

Terry Butcher who famously carried on playing in in a World

Cup qualifier in 1989 with a horrendous head injury blood

pouring down his England shirt in that iconic photo.

And Terry joins us now on the line.

Hi Terry, Great to have you here.

That's good to be here now, Terry.

You famously banged your head in that Italian 90 qualifier, but

as a massive hip hop fan yourself, I want to know what

hip hop album makes you bang your head the most.

I've not been asked that for a fact.

Terry. My wife.

Are you there, Terry? Hello, Terry.

I didn't realize it would be Terry, but that's that's so

obviously. Terry can't.

I just want to try and get him back now on the line.

Terry, you there? Dragging off and the foot.

Maybe if you've got Kerry Sampson's, Find him Kenny

Sampson. Yeah, he might have had a more

reliable satellite link. That's a real shame.

I wonder what? He would have said Terry, what

is the best head banging album of all time?

It's a good question. I mean, the best head banging

track of all time is Head Banger.

Honestly, yeah. What's the best heads of the

album? That you nod your head to 36

Changes Bang Your Head by Grave Diggers.

That's another great track. That's not an album. 36 Chambers

Yeah, 36 Chambers is a good Head Bang album.

We'll never know what Terry Butcher would have thought they

will be because of our technology has let us down once

again. What are we going to do?

I don't know. It's just like it's almost

becoming a bit of a joke now. He is a bit of a joke and he's

been waiting for over an hour for us to talk to him as well.

That is such a shame. All right, never mind.

Maybe we'll get him on for a future episode.

Definitely. All right.

Well, with that disappointment out the way, sorry, Before we

go. Yeah, Very.

Important, very important, very important announcement.

We had our first ever piece of correspondence on social media

from one of our listeners. We're.

So, so pleased. We're so pleased somebody

actually out there proved that somebody's listening to us and

we know you're out there because we've got 35 followers on

Spotify. There's 35 of you.

If you're one of those 35, please let us know you're

listening. Send us something from social

media at Hip Hop World Cup and hundreds.

If not thousands of views listens.

Hundreds. Thousands.

But yes, they're out there. People are listening.

So please let us know on social media if you, if you like this

show. But yes, we had our first piece

of correspondence from our good friend Scobs met so we just

wanted to give you a shout out scobs.

Thank you for the message. And he, he gave us a really,

really good idea for a future episode.

We're going to keep under outs for now because it's it's it's a

good one. But we want to get him in the

studio for it or we want to get him on the line for it.

So keep your eyes peeled for that.

We might actually go back up to three people so we can go back

to the Troy and trusted vote system.

But yeah, look out for that in the future.

Thanks Gobs for that. But all that's left for us to do

now is to ask you what you thought of our winner in this

playoff. Do you agree?

Disagree. Whatever you want to say, please

share your thoughts on social media or just yeah, if you want

to tell us about nice Hip in general, share your thoughts on

social media at Hip Hop World Cup, Twitter, Instagram, and now

Threads as well. We're on threads as well.

I don't know how you I don't understand Threads but we're on

there. If you want to find us, just key

us in at Hip Hop World Cup and yeah, let us know.

But for now, thanks for listening and join us again for

the next episode. Peace.

Baby's not yours. Ladies and gentlemen, just a

damn high World Cup. Just a damn high world.

Cup. Just a damn high world.

Cup, World Cup, World Cup. Yeah, let's do that, Yeah.