Some might agree with him while most will call him crazy, but CNN’s N.O.R.E. is ready to argue that he was the best rapper in the game in 1998.
In an interview on the ‘I Am Athlete’ podcast, the commercial half of the famed CNN duo said, “In 1998? Who was it? Me, DMX, Big Pun, Cam’ron. I was the hottest at the time I signed. And, other than DMX, I sold the most in my first week. DMX did 220[K], I did 163[K].”
1998 was a pivotal year for Hip Hop, teetering between gangsta rap and the “bling” trend, the top contenders in the game then are the current legends of the game now. Albums that were released that year include Jay-Z’s Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life, Big Pun’s Capital Punishment, DMX’s albums It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot and Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood, Lauryn Hill’s The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill and Outkast’s Aquemini. Was Noreaga’s debut N.O.R.E. better than all of the above classics?
Run The Jewels and Company Flow co-founder El-P is the latest guest on Talib Kweli’s The People’s Party Podcast, with co-host Jasmin Leigh. The two natives of Brooklyn, New York have plenty of history together, including Hip Hop For Respect. They were label-mates at Rawkus Records during an inflection point in both artist’s careers, making albums that galvanized an iconic underground Hip-Hop label that reached the mainstream. The two men relive some history from the mid-1990s when each hungry Hip-Hop artist found a home that was down to put out music by their respective groups. Ahead of the 30:00 mark, El-P remembers working at Lower Manhattan’s Tower Records with Co Flow band-mate Bigg Jus. Notably, some years later, Kweli recalls a job selling incense and oils outside that same Lafayette Street music store. El recalls Company Flow using Tower’s postage to ship demo materials to record labels. “We’d take our money that we earned there, and we’d go record at night,” he remembers of early songs like “8 Steps To Perfection” and others. The trio (also including New Jersey producer/DJ Mr. Len) had room on the 12″ recording. That birthed the eight songs on 1996 Official Records’ Funcrusher. “That was literally as simple as it was,” El says. “Why are we just putting a song and an instrumental on this piece of plastic? It’s gonna cost the same amount of money to put eight of these songs on here.” Talib Kweli Says The New Black Star Album With Madlib Is Done Talib brings up the years that followed. “[You and I] were signed to Rawkus at the same time. Black Star was more jazzy, melodic. We were in the same circles, in terms of crews, but sonically, not so [much]. Did you ever feel like there was a competition between Company Flow and Black Star? Because we were operating in the same spaces and sort of vying for the same fan-base, just different sides of people’s brain.” El responds with what appears to be a joke, “Nah. The only time I ever thought there was a competition was when you got to the B.D.P beat before me. I was like, ‘F*ck those dudes.’ I was mad about that one.” He is referring to DJ Hi-Tek’s “Definition” track for Black Star, which samples Boogie Down Productions’ “The P Is Free (Remix).” El continues, “I think my influences were really rooted in sh*t like B.D.P, and [Public Enemy], and Run-D.M.C., and old Schoolly D, and Fat Boys, sh*t like that, and Slick Rick—big, big Hip-Hop records with stabs. To this day, that’s kinda my thing.” Kweli then reflects, “Like, we weren’t as lo-fi as a Madlib, but it was definitely a warm, fuzzier thing that we were doing.” “For sure,” El agrees. “And that’s why it worked. That’s why we coexisted. Because, to be fair, it never felt like a competition. You were always doing your thing. The thing about that period of time, and that era, which was so special, is that there were so many people doing different sh*t. The ones that really stood one—the ones that ended up being some of the groups that we’d call defining of that era, I think Company Flow is included, and I knowBlack Star is, and I know there’s a couple others—everybody had their slot that they filled that created this picture. There’s a lot going on in this movement. There was. You remember the open mics and sh*t; everybody would get up and have a style, and everyone was into that different style.” Evil Dee Details What Led To The Demise Of Rawkus Records Talib continues, “For me, when I got to Rawkus, what was exciting about [the label] to me was [Missin’ Linx member] Black Attack was there, and Shabaam [Sahdeeq] was there, and Sir Menelik was there; I wasn’t familiar with Menelik, but I was familiar with Kool Keith, and Company Flow was there. Y’all established it before we got there.” “I feel like Rawkus co-opted this whole ‘independent as f*ck’ thing.” El responds, “I think that Rawkus certainly recognized it, and I think they had the ability to do something about it.” El says that Company Flow came up with the mantra while hand-designing artwork at a kitchen table using glue-sticks. It would eventually become a moniker in the late 1990s and early 2000s Rap underground. Kweli recalls being introduced to Rawkus co-founder Jarret Myer, who produces The People’s Party through then-Fugees affiliate John Forté. “I remember Jarret and Brian [Brater], these two white guys from Brown University, they came to the hood—they came to Crown Heights, and John Forté was there. Everybody was rhyming their ass off; everybody had a blunt and a 40 [ounce beer]. Everybody was trying to get a record deal, rhyming their ass off. At this point, I don’t even think that they had y’all yet. I remember John Forté being like, ‘Why ain’t you rappin’?’ I’m like, ‘This indie label sh*t? I’m trying to get to a major.'” The Reflection Eternal and Black Star co-founder continues, “A short two years later, now my girl is pregnant, now I lost my job. Mos Def [aka] Yasiin Bey comes to me, he’s like, ‘Yo, I think I’ma do a single with these Rawkus dudes.’ I’m like, ‘Jarret and Brian?’ He’s like, ‘Yeah; they gave me some money.’ I’m like, ‘They gave you some money? [Laughs] How much money they give you?’ My whole thought pattern changed.” El-P, J-Live & Breeze Brewin Rap At Fat Beats’ Grand Opening (AFH TV Video) “Meeting those guys, it was very interesting, and I think Jarret can attest to this. Basically, we were having a moment in the underground, but we had very quickly—through people like Stretch & Bobbito—we had started to get a lot of attention, just from the little music that we had put out.” An assortment of major and independent labels took an interest in the New York-New Jersey trio. “Rawkus were the ones who said yes to what we thought it should look like. We were like, ‘We want to do this, and we want to own the masters. We want a 50/50 deal. And we don’t want to promise more than one album, ’cause we don’t know how it’s gonna work out. At the time, these were ludicrous thoughts. At the time, there was no [artist leverage]. We went into these guys’ offices and said the same thing that we’d said to other [labels, and they agreed]. I think that was a really genuine place for us to jump off with that sh*t. Because if they’re in that head-space where they respect that idea, and they’re willing, also, to give us money, then these guys are serious. So when you say the co-opting of the [‘independent as f*ck’ mantra], I think what they did was they [finalized] or expanded the thought. We had the thought of ‘independent as f*ck,’ the thing that became a rallying cry in our collective. We helped define that attitude.” El expands, “There was no independent record label system for dudes like us. Either you were on a major or you just were going around to different places freestyling—Washington Square Park or Nuyorican [Poets Café]. There was no middle-ground. Rawkus became the first step for a middle-ground. [They were] the first people to recognize and say—and they felt the same way that I did, politically—’this stuff actually has a monetary future. We can actually sell this, and not take this and try and change it.'” He expounds that the label offered a step apart from the politics and nepotism of the old-guard label system. El-P and Company Flow broke from Rawkus. El launched Definitive Jux Records, another heralded 2000s imprint. Juss created Subversive, and Len opened his Dummy Smacks company. Talib, who remained with Rawkus until the label was sold, has co-founded labels, including Blacksmith and Javotti Media. While both El and Talib criticized their former label on wax at times, they seemingly look back at the imprint’s positive qualities more than 20 years after signing. 10 Things You May Not Know About Rawkus Records (Audio) Elsewhere in the interview, El-P describes Zack De La Rocha living and recording with him in the days following the Rage Against The Machine breakup. He also remembers Def Jux, and confirms that Rick Rubin is not producing Run The Jewels’ fourth album. Last week, Talib Kweli confirmed that Black Star’s sophomore album, which is reportedly produced by Madlib, is completed. Talib Kweli Rocks A Rawkus Records In-Store At Fat Beats (AFH TV Video)Videos from Rawkus Records-era Talib Kweli and El-P are available at AFH TV. We are currently offering free 7-day trials.
Early this morning, ScHoolboy Q released his first solo music in nearly three years. Following 2016’s Grammy-nominated The Blank Face LP, “Numb Numb Juice” marks a loud and proud return. Groovy Q wasted no time with the visuals to the song, which clocks in at less than 2:00 in length. The single is produced by an ensemble including Hykeem Carter, DJ Fu, as well as Nez & Rio. In the video, Q pays homage to the late 1990s Hype Williams-era visuals. He offers his best recreation of The Notorious B.I.G. and Puff Daddy’s “Mo’ Money, Mo’ Problems” set. With the shiny red suits and the backdrop that many on social media have compared to the inside of a cheese grater, Q delivers his bars with a close associate. He raps to the camera with flare. He pauses to dance, smile, and flail his arms, just like the Bad Boy family, Missy Elliott, Will Smith, and so many others did in the late ’90s. Common & Hype Williams Release a Visually Stunning Short Film for Kingdom (Video) Other sets in the Dave Free-directed video include an elaborate mansion with a pool. In a robe, the Los Angeles, California MC dances as he lives the good life on the property. Sequences also include a glow-in-the-dark homage to Hype’s Belly feature film (and references to its characters, played by Tyler, The Creator no less). Other scenes find Q counting big bills, orchestrating martial arts on a helipad, and rolling down red paint on the highway. Early on, he also smokes up as a guest on The Joe Rogan Podcast. ScHoolboy Q is having the most fun as he ramps up for an anticipated fifth album. Back in 2016, Nas used Belly as an inspiration in the video for DJ Khaled’s “Nas Album Done.”
Few artists can claim to have had as prolific of a mixtape career as Waka Flocka Flame. While the Atlanta, Georgia representative is often recognized for his Trap beat ear and boisterous delivery, he can sometimes unload a track that shows a deft lyricist who often downplays his talent or gets misunderstood by some listeners.
Back in 2014, Waka bodied a multitude of Hip-Hop instrumentals. First, he reworked J. Cole, and at the end of the year, made a “Jackin’ For Beats”-style “5:56.” Now comes Waka’s sarcastically-titled I Can’t Rap, Vol. 2 (embedded below). The latest freebie from the “No Hands” hit-maker sees Flocka tackling a multitude of instrumentals. A highlight comes when the MC originally from Jamaica, Queens taking a slice of D’Angelo’s “Devil’s Pie,” as produced by DJ Premier.
From mimicking D’Angelo’s mumbling under the beat that rapper Canibus reportedly passed on, Waka makes a 20-year-old gem his own for two minutes. “Slice of the ‘Devil’s Pie,’ you can ask D’Angelo / I got big balls, the same size of a cantaloupe / I’m sick wid’ it, ’bout to hit ’em with the antidote / B*tch, you can suck my d*ck, where did my manners go?,” before the rapper speeds up his flow to recall a youth of gang-banging, not caring what others thought, and always ready for that action. “F*ck a slice, my ni**a, I want the whole pie though / I want a pot of gold and a ribbon in the sky though / When the bullets fly, I seen the realest ni**as die though / Next thing you ask yourself: ‘where did the time go?’” As the song winds out, Flocka jokes that he can’t rap.
#BonusBeat: Waka Flocka Flame’s full I Can’t Rap, Vol. 2 mixtape:
Few artists can claim to have had as prolific of a mixtape career as Waka Flocka Flame. While the Atlanta, Georgia representative is often recognized for his Trap beat ear and boisterous delivery, he can sometimes unload a track that shows a deft lyricist who often downplays his talent or gets misunderstood by some listeners.
Back in 2014, Waka bodied a multitude of Hip-Hop instrumentals. First, he reworked J. Cole, and at the end of the year, made a “Jackin’ For Beats”-style “5:56.” Now comes Waka’s sarcastically-titled I Can’t Rap, Vol. 2 (embedded below). The latest freebie from the “No Hands” hit-maker sees Flocka tackling a multitude of instrumentals. A highlight comes when the MC originally from Jamaica, Queens taking a slice of D’Angelo’s “Devil’s Pie,” as produced by DJ Premier.
From mimicking D’Angelo’s mumbling under the beat that rapper Canibus reportedly passed on, Waka makes a 20-year-old gem his own for two minutes. “Slice of the ‘Devil’s Pie,’ you can ask D’Angelo / I got big balls, the same size of a cantaloupe / I’m sick wid’ it, ’bout to hit ’em with the antidote / B*tch, you can suck my d*ck, where did my manners go?,” before the rapper speeds up his flow to recall a youth of gang-banging, not caring what others thought, and always ready for that action. “F*ck a slice, my ni**a, I want the whole pie though / I want a pot of gold and a ribbon in the sky though / When the bullets fly, I seen the realest ni**as die though / Next thing you ask yourself: ‘where did the time go?’” As the song winds out, Flocka jokes that he can’t rap.
