I’ve had a pretty productive week
and things that usually bother me aren’t. I just feel chill and capable, kind
of like this next album.
Disc 737 is…. Step in the Arena
Artist: Gang
Starr
Year of Release: 1990
What’s up with the Cover? What a lovely photo from the 19th
century. You can tell it is from the 19th century because it has a sepia
tone to it and the two gentlemen depicted are not smiling. No one smiled for
photos back then.
Guru
is sporting a New Orleans Saints cap and DJ Premier is rockin’ the Minnesota
North Stars hat. The year this album came out wasn’t a great year for either
team. The Saints went 8-8 and lost in the first round of the playoffs and the
North Stars went 36-40-4 and also lost in the first round of the playoffs.
The
year after though, the Saints went 11-5 and the North Stars went all the way to
the Stanley Cup. We must therefore conclude this album’s release inspired both
teams to greatness. On a bittersweet note, Gurus’s Saints won the Super Bowl in
2009, the year before he died. I hope I don’t have to cut it that close with
the Dolphins.
But
I digress…
How I Came To Know It: My friend Casey introduced me to
Guru’s solo work through “Jazzmatazz” and when I found out he was originally
one half of the rap act Gang Starr I sought them out. I bought this album first
because it was the oldest one in the store, and I like my rap old-school.
How It Stacks Up: I have six Gang Starr albums, so obviously my first
purchase inspired me to more. In fact, I have since bought all six of their
albums. Out of their entire discography, “Step in the Arena” is my favourite.
Ratings: 5 stars
The beauty of “Step in the Arena” is in its simplicity;
lay down a beat, and then rap on top of that beat. If you do it this well you
don’t need the tricks used in so much modern hip hop music.
The smooth jazz feel to “Step in the Arena” leaves
plenty of negative space that if the album were made today would be filled with
some guest singer singing a pop hook. Instead Gang Starr trusts to the strength
of their beats and rhymes. They know they are that good. The empty space in
these songs let you properly appreciate how carefully chosen the beats are, and
how masterfully Guru will slide in and out of that beat as he spits his raps.
Style-wise Guru has a lot in common with LL Cool J
with his laid back style that feels like it is sitting back into the beat like it
was a leather easy chair. On “Step in the Arena” Guru is never better,
occasionally sitting forward to emphasize a particularly intricate series of
rhymes, like someone chillin’ in your house who leans in to tell you a
particularly interesting tale.
Guru spends most of the album boasting of his rap
prowess, but he also takes time out for social commentary on songs like “Who’s Gonna Take the Weight?” and “Just to Get a Rep.” Whatever he is
rapping about, he constructs his rhymes with patience and a natural instinct. I’ve
said on this blog many times that Rakim is my favourite rapper and I stand by
that, but Guru is a close second.
DJ Premier keeps it incredibly simple, with a drum
track and one or two samples at a time. It could be a vocal clip, it could be a
bass riff or it could just be a sweet demonstration of scratching but he knows not
to overdo it. There are lots of clever and innovative sound choices on “Step in
the Arena” but Premier knows not to blow his whole arsenal at once. He spreads
it out, sweet and smooth like strawberry jam.
I also appreciate how positive the message is on “Step
in the Arena.” This is an album that puts down the materialism other rap
artists are worshipping at this time. For Gang Starr, nice cars are nice, but
they are just things. The important thing is strength of character. They take
these positive messages and make them cool and interesting. Gang Starr teaches
you lessons in a way that doesn’t feel like you are getting preached at. Like
your big brother, they are good guys and they are cool, and you just want to be
like them.
The production on the album is a bit fuzzy, but the
songs are so good you easily forgive it and compensate by turning the stereo up
a bit. Also, at 18 tracks it is a bit too long, including a few short musical ‘filler’
tracks that the record doesn’t benefit from. That said, there are still a solid
16 tracks on this album and when I searched for the ones I wanted to cut I
could only find a couple of one minute filler tracks. These were so inoffensive
that they don’t harm the record’s overall flow.
I didn’t want to give this album 5 stars because I
haven’t rewarded Eric B. and Rakim with that honour yet, but I can’t find any
songs I’d do without on this album. In terms of their total career, Eric B. and
Rakim take the win, but I’m not denying Gang Starr props for this rap classic. Five
stars it is.
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