Underrated / Underhated #2

Yup, we’re back with another instalment of the divisive column where we pour cold piss on an album you probably cherish but you’re wrong.

Underhated: Kool G Rap – 4, 5, 6

Think of Kool G. Rap’s career as being like the 110 metre hurdles. But instead of hurdles it’s all sharks. This motherfucker clears ‘em all every single time. The Kool Genius of Rap had already showed he might be past it with 1992′s ‘Live and Let Die’ LP, which was an ultimately fine but blatant attempt to ride some West Coast coattails, but this first solo effort confirmed our worst fears. What is it with legendary rappers with DJ’s who can’t really scratch and don’t really produce either? Rakim performed a similar trick with Eric B – split up with him and, rightly, accused him of doing nothing – and his career hasn’t been anywhere near as good since. We’re not sure DJ Polo, based on his solo career, can do anything at all, but at least G Rap was on his game when he was around. Here he’s starting to flounder although, compared to what he’s done since, it’s actually the best album ever. When did he go from being a dope rapper with a number of topics but, ultimately, a brag rapper, to being a crime rhymer? We know the game changes, but his tedious tales of guns, drugs and street warfare were interesting for about 1 verse in 1993. If we have to hear any more of his faux Italian trife life tales, we’re gonna start drowning it out with ‘The Polo Club’. We’re looking forward to any new Kool G Rap project as much as we want another Tragedy Khadafi LP. Here he’s still showing flashes – ‘Fast Life’ with Nas is a nice tag team, although not really comparable to the latter’s hook-ups with AZ, and ‘It’s A Shame’ enjoys a lush production from the short-lived Naughty Shorts. T-Ray and Dr. Butcher hit a few of the right notes too. ‘Take ‘Em To War’ is an ostensibly superb Axelrod-fest, but it’s hamstrung by a woeful verse from the perennially overrated spaz MF Grimm. Who told him he could open a track? B-1 slaughters him on this. Grimm’s still banging on about his ‘chance’ years later. Listen, you’re not as good as G Rap (even the rubbish G Rap we’ve got now), you’re not as good as Doom. You were lucky to be on their shits. Shut up. “Quantities of entities enter me evilly”? What kind of shit is that? Really shut up.

To be fair, in the vast range of awful G Rap LP’s, this isn’t among the worst. It’s short. Nas and B-1 are good on it. However, it contains all the seeds of what would make him such a dismal artist later – crime obsession, second rate guests (MF Grimm), contemporary production picked from the second or third tier. It’s quite a fall from having prime Marley or Extra P behind the boards to getting Naughty Shorts to handle your shit.

Acceptable:
Kool G. Rap – For Da Brothaz

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Unacceptable:
Kool G. Rap – Ghetto Knows

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Underated: Rated X – And Then Came…

Eagle-eyed vets will know we bigged this album up back in the ‘old media’ days. So we don’t need to say too much about this. To summarise: This is the only good thing they ever did (although we also recommend the 3 12″s this album gave birth to). They seem to have an unhealthy obsession with sampling breaks you’ve heard a thousand times before. We can’t believe it took until 1990 for the ‘Law of Groovity’ to be discovered, but these guys did it – credit where it’s due. They’re not the world’s best MC’s. But that doesn’t matter because, as we’ve said before, you can’t fight the feeling. And that feeling is that, indisputably, this is better than Kool G. Rap’s ’4, 5, 6′. It’s also better than lots of other things, namely: Either of Biggie’s LP. All of Jay Z’s LP’s. Anything the rapist Tupac ever did. End of.

Acceptable all the way:
Rated X – Swift Lift Vocalist

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Rated X – Be Cool To Your Girl

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Rated X – Movin’ On Up

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