Normal Bias » 1991

Raw Deal: November 14, 1991; Sounds of the Underground: November 15, 1991

laze — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 03:18:32 +0000

Here’s 45 minutes of Raw Deal from November 14, 1991, probably from 10:05-10:50pm. Some highlights include an EPMD St. Ides commercial, a heavily-echoed commercial for The Funhouse (a club in Philly) that assures partygoers that “all problems are resolved,” a nice remix of the Fu-Schnicken’s “Ring the Alarm,” some ill live Naughty By Nature (was this ever released on one of their albums?), an odd for a Naughty By Nature/Black Poets/Zulu/Courageous Chief show, and a shout-out to “A chickenfoot in the circle” (?!!). This is a particularly inspired set from Easy-M, even with the occasional table skips. Lots of energy here.

Side B is 45 minutes of “Sounds of the Underground,” presumably from the same night (technically the next morning since the show started at midnight).

A.Z.: “Street Wise”

laze — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 23:03:06 +0000

This marks the first out-of-print commercial release posted here on Normal Bias, and it’s a pretty rare one, as far as I can tell. It’s a solo album by AZ, but not the AZ you’re thinking of. This is the 80s Harlem gangster Azie Faison who also recorded with the group Mobbstyle. AZ and two other Harlem compatriots, Alpo and Rich Porter, were portrayed in the 2002 movie Paid in Full and a documentary titled Game Over. I won’t go too much into the back story here, but it is pretty interesting stuff, so read up.

While this record is more interesting from a historical perspective than anything else, there are still some standout tracks worth checking. And there’s something about the dark, low-budget nature of this tape that gives it a feeling of gritty realness that you’re not going to find in any so-called gangster rap of today.

A few tracks worth mentioning:

“What’s Going On Black?” has vocal samples from Chuck D and… is that Phil Collins?
“Last Days” is a bizarre, yet engrossing, 7-minute posse-cut epic about the coming apocalypse with one emcee that sounds a lot like Ced-Gee. This track has perhaps the most confusing anti-gay message ever recorded:

Man on top of man, I can’t understand,
Me, myself, I’m not a fan.
Throw ‘em all in the garbage can, ’cause they trash,
Who like it in the ass.
To each his own, you choose who you wanna bone,
God bless the child that have his own.
“Gangster Shit” was a minor hit, and with good reason. Featuring a guest shot by Pretty Tone Capone rhyming over the same loop that the Kings of Swing used on “Nod Ya Head To This.”

“Street Wise” was released on Espionage Records, which was located at 470 Lenox Ave, now home to the Lenox Terrace Podiatry Group.

AZ: “Street Wise”
Espionage Records, 1991 (est.)

Track listing:

Street Wise
What’s Going On Black?
Last Days
I Rock
What Does It All Mean
Another Contract
Gangster Shit (Re-Mix)
Don’t Dis Nobody
(The D.L.)
To Be Continued…
I Rock Again

Download (92 meg)

Raw Deal: July 18, 1991

laze — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 21:43:29 +0000

This tape kicks off with a drop by Ice-T and, later, features perhaps the laziest-sounding drop ever courtesy of KRS-One. This episode comes not too long after this previously posted episode where Easy M, G, and Tony D were still in transition from “Club Crush” to “Raw Deal.” Here, we’re firmly in “Raw Deal” territory. The date is an estimate, but for you nerds who want to know how I calculated it: G discusses having just seen Boyz ‘N the Hood, which came out on Friday, July 12, 1991 (via All Movie Guide). In addition, he comments about how Almighty & KD Ranks’ “Trenton Where We From” will be available “very soon.” According to the All Music Guide, it was released on Tuesday, July 24, 1991. There’s only one Thursday between those dates, and that’s July 18.

Sometimes, I wish I had just labeled these tapes better.

So, the music. On side A, there’s some good local NJ hip-hop from Willingboro’s own Courageous Chief as well as an unreleased track (as far as I know) from KMC and Insane Poetry titled “No Title for This.” There’s also the great juxtaposition of a St. Ides ad and an alcohol/drug awareness PSA. Side B suffers from some occasional static (I wasn’t always listening live when I was recording a show), but has an interesting news report midway through and ends with a solid set of dope Trenton hip-hop courtesy of Tony D, including tracks from the Too Cool Posse, Almighty and KD Ranks, and an unreleased one from Tone himself with Rahzii Hi-Power . There’s also an incredibly dope St. Ides ad from Rakim on side B and my favorite Courageous Chief track, “Russian Roulette.”

You’ll note some occasional cutting out. I cut a song or two and some commercials as I was recording to save space. This was more common with later shows, as I had built up recordings of many of the songs they’d play from week to week. Of course, looking back, I wish I hadn’t, but hey, I was a broke high school student and had to pay for the blank tapes. Had to save space somehow.

Enjoy.

Side A [ download ]:

Side B [ download ]:

Club Crush/Raw Deal: June 13, 1991

laze — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 21:32:36 +0000

I’m going to start with a 90-minute tape I converted to MP3 of an old WPRB episode of Club Crush/Raw Deal (they were going through a name change at this point in time) from 1991. I have probably a hundred tapes of this show and am trying to digitize them all. This was, by far, the most important and formative radio show from my younger years. Every Thursday night, I’d call up my friend and we’d flip on 103.3 to check out what Easy M, G, and Tony D had in store. They always played great local hip-hop as well as national-level stuff, and even some reggae.

The show was hugely influential to me… it shaped how I structured my own shows when I got to college and taught me that, hey, it’s OK to dig deeper than what mainstream radio gives you.

Enjoy this great collection from 16 years ago.

Side A [ download ]:

Side B [ download ]: (check out ~6 minutes in for a great example of what was happening in NJ hip-hop in 1991):