Nas - Illmatic

In 1992 Queens resident and 3rd Bass member MC Serch was busy transforming into EP (executive producer) Serch, having recently undertaken as his newest project a young skinny kid from the Queensbridge projects, located just a short ride across money making Manhattan on the 59th St Bridge, but otherwsie worlds apart. Known as one of the city's toughest projects, QB also has spawned many of hip-hop's elite, starting with the likes of Marley Marl, MC Shan, Roxanne Shante and the Juice Crew in the early 80's, moving through to Capone and Noreaga, Nature, Cormega and Mobb Deep in the '90's.

And then there was Nas, the 19 year-old prodigy who started appearing on tracks, most famously Main Source's 'Live at the BBQ,' and Serch's 'Back to the Grill,' showing that perfect combination of distinctive, instantly recognizable, world weary vocal timbre, narrative talent, and infectious, confident style that only the best MC's possess. Serch had himself a jewel, a once in a lifetime talent (thanks Q-tip) that no doubt would have emerged successfully on his own, but nevertheless was carefully and quickly ushered into the limelight with the success of Illmatic.

Illmatic is a hip-hop purist's holy grail, the ideal synthesis of music, rhythm, and gifted MCing. To make a brief analogy apropos to this site, it was like the perfect combination of terroir, grape variety and winemaking ability. Even further, a vinous equivalent to Illmatic might be putting together and marketing a case of Loire (Loire representing hip-hop here) wine: 3 bottles each of Huet Vouvray, Luneau Papin Muscadet, Olga Raffault Chinon and Clos Roche Blanche Cot.

OK, back to the music. Four of the best producers of the sample based school of hip-hop beat production were set to task to patch together the perfect canvas to inspire and complement Nas. And that they did. Many consider the contributions made by Q-Tip, Pete Rock, Large Professor and DJ Premier to be amongst their most inspired work.

Opening with a brief cinematic interlude, then segueing into the Subway theme from Wild Style, the album begins with Nas and others ad-libbing a hangin' out in the hood type scenario, with Nas' observing that 'Niggas don't listen.' From there, Nas slides into the character of a money hungry, drug dealing resident of a New York ghetto, trying to take care of himself. With lines like 'Beyond the walls of intelligence, life is defined,' and a refrain such as 'I never sleep, 'cause sleep is the cousin of death,' this is some serious, serious writing. Delivered with perfect timing in Nas' inimitable voice, this is MCing of the highest order. Combinining a keen narrative sense with an intensely personal autobiographical perspective, Nas hits homerun after homerun, perhaps culminating with 'One Love,' a letter to an incarcerated friend, updating him on what's going on in the hood, and set to a mellow, jazzy, vibraphone based sample from the Abstract (Q-Tip), who also lends his voice to the chorus.

Never before had a hip-hop record been so anticipated and hyped by the masses as when Illmatic was released. In this rare case, the hype was to be believed and justified. Illmatic is easily one of the three best hip-hop records of all time and amongst the best records released in the 1990's. It remains one of my favorites of all time.

The Producers on Nasty Nas

Check out this promo, featuring the big four producers who worked with Nas on his breakthrough record. Any guess on what my next album review will be?

It ain't hard to tell....

HUSKER DU - ZEN ARCADE

Released in July 1984 on SST Records, Zen Arcade won instant critical praise for its blend of hardcore, enduring melodies and boundary pushing aesthetic. In other words, this was not your older brother's hardcore - far from it. Easily the most important record from Husker Du, many people rightfully call it a visionary work which would, seven years ahead of its time, lead to the commercial predominance of power pop and so-called alternative music (remember MTV's 120 minutes, then later the more mass marketed 'buzz' video selections?) Between their formation in 1979 and breakup in 1987, Husker Du's work essentially paved the way for everyone that followed, from the Pixies to Nirvana, Dinosaur Jr to the Gin Blossoms.

I'll always look at Husker Du as one of those rare personal discoveries, not something recomended by friends or my musical mentor, older brother extraordinaire Michael Manekin. As I recall, I was thumbing through a copy of Alternative Press, reading a Bob Mould interview as he must have been promoting the debut album from his second band, Sugar. I think I was 13 or so at the time. Shortly thereafter, I purchased a copy of Husker Du's last album, Warehouse: Songs and Stories, and from there would buy each of their other studio records.

Zen Arcade is an important record. Clocking in at over 70 minutes, the double LP is ambitious in length alone, in a time when most albums were significantly shorter than they are now. There are standard two minute hardcore tunes, proto indie rock pop songs, a solo acoutic guitar and vocals song, as well as a whole lot of distorted, fuzzed out guitar, feedback and tape loops. It adds up to quite a powerful listening experience, one where I often times have a tough time sitting still and listening; the record has always caused me to get up and walk around, or in the case of yesterday's listening during Grant Hart's brilliant, intensely melodic 'Somewhere,' literally get up and take a break from listening. The melodies in songs like 'Broken Home, Broken Heart', 'Chartered Trips' and 'Whatever' seem to be hard-wired in my brain and are unforgettable.

A concept album, Zen Arcade touches on themes such as disillusionment, failed relationships and an inability to live a fulfilling, stable life. Though I paid little attention to the lyrics when I first discovered the record (not a huge loss, as one of the album's flaws is the poor, low level recording of vocals). What I was focusing on more was Bob Mould's disturbed growl, Grant Hart's anguished yells, Greg Norton's impressively steady and accurate (even at supercharged tempo) bass playing, and plenty of Mould's punk meets rockabilly guitar heroics. In between there was the high pitched repetitive calls in 'Hare Krishna,' the slow, spooky, churning tape loop driven 'Tooth Fairy & the Princess" as well as the album's closer, the fourteen minute avant jazz inflected opus 'Reoccurring Dreams.' Once again, not just another hardcore record.

Zen Arcade shows what can happen when a talented, dedicated band masters their chosen genre and reaches outside of it, in this case laying the foundation for a completely new style of music to come.

Oh, I highly recommend that you check out long-time Rolling Stone correspondent David Fricke's review from February 1985. He pretty much nails it.