Public Enemy
Yo! Bum Rush The Show
1987, Def Jam
Picture it: Def Jam Recordings, 1987. The label is riding high on several fun party jam singles released from the Beastie Boys' debut the previous year. LL Cool J has just released his Bigger And Deffer album which spawns the huge hit single ballad "I Need Love." Though Simmons and Rubin had released Slayer's Reign In Blood, on the hip hop front nothing could have really prepared listeners for what was about to drop on Yo! Bum Rush The Show. While Cool James certainly had lyrical chops exhibited on tracks like "I'm Bad," Chuck D was basically the anti-LL. Forget the sensitivity of "I Need Love." Chuck wanted to tell you about a so-called "Sophisticated Bitch." And while Flava Flav may have been the group's theatrical hype man, he was miles away from the frat-boy silliness of the Beasties. There's no time to party when you're concerned with having "Too Much Posse." Public Enemy's debut isn't perfect. But it is a fully formed mission statement. This was a group with a defined personality. Nothing sounded like PE before PE, and this goes for their debut single, appropriately titled "Public Enemy #1" with its long droning notes. Chuck D and secret weapon Hank Shocklee developed the Bomb Squad sound on this record, kicking things off with "You're Gonna Get Yours" featuring skittering layers of sounds and Terminator X scratching cars skidding out. As if the crunchy guitars of "Sophisticated Bitch" weren't heavy enough, PE got Vernon Reid to come in and do a face-scorching solo. While the record has its moments of minimalism, it is largely influenced more by musique concrete than the old two turntables and a mic. While it's not the masterpiece that the string of follow-ups would be, Yo! Bum Rush The Show is required listening for those interested in just how game-changing a debut album can be.
Cypress Hill
Cypress Hill
1991, Ruffhouse
Cypress Hill's self-titled debut was a surprise hit thanks to the inclusion of "How I Could Just Kill A Man" in the movie Juice. And for good reason. Cypress Hill is an exceptionally confident record. In fairness the group had spent nearly three years working on it, so perhaps it shouldn't be shocking that they had enough time to really perfect their sound. But that's the point. Like 'em or not, they sounded very different from anything else in 1991. Off the bat absolutely nobody sounded like B-Real's nasally assault on your eardrums. But somehow it worked when weighted by Sen Dog's booming low end. But the real star of this album is DJ Muggs. He created a well defined niche that when you hear it can only be described as Cypress Hill's own. The funky bass grooves, the obnoxious horns. Opener "Pigs" is a brilliant nursery rhyme style take on the classic "Fuck The Police" track, but things don't stay so light-hearted. Dig the tracklist as it progresses from there: "How I Could Just Kill A Man," "Hand On The Pump," Hole In The Head." It's violent stuff. The record isn't perhaps as flawless as early adopters make it out to be. Sen Dog is severely under-used for instance. Mugg's interludes here fit the mood, but don't add much to the sequencing. And there is a tendency to be a little monotonous with the upbeat drum breaks during some patches. Yet much of that is outweighed by the good merits. Mugg's fantastic samples are a high point, be it "Duke Of Earl" or the same track that A Tribe Called Quest sampled on "Vibes And Stuff." And there's also those moments when the group slow themselves down enough to actually feel as stoney as they often talk. "Stones Is The Way Of The Walk" and "Latin Lingo" are two high points with lower than average BPM's for this record. Somehow taking it slow seems to actually accentuate the hyper-intensity of some of these tracks. Plus, I always love when rappers are sure enough of themselves to release albums without relying on guest-shots, so props there. While I don't fully feel that this is the classic that it's often referred to as, I do think it's an impressive debut of one of the more unique groups to ever gain a sustained level of attention in the mainstream.
Three 6 Mafia
Da Unbreakables
2003, Hypnotize Minds
The sixth (or seventh, or like 20th depending on how you count them) Three 6 Mafia album is one of those albums of theirs that completely defines the sound of their post-horrorcore work. In a way it's almost a stereotypical Three 6 album with it's creepy club bangers and the hopping from sex, drugs and violence themed tracks. There are only a handful of songs here that I'd call absolutely great. "Bin Laden" is a definite stand-out for instance with its gloomy beat and the sound of crickets (seriously, crickets) on the chorus that just add to the scary nocturnal atmosphere. While a bulk of the album has a bit of a same-ness to it all, that's not necessarily a bad thing. For one thing there's not a single track I'd say was bad. Basically everything here is damn good. Those few great songs however do much to make the really good stuff feel lesser. But all in all it's a solid record that would serve as a fantastic soundtrack to a night of debauchery. And while the 19 tracks may feel a bit long, remember that this is the sort of album meant to be thrown on in the background at a party and allowed to simmer for a long while.