Welcome back to the CD Odyssey, “Bruins eliminated from the playoffs” edition. Argh. Hockey is now dead to me for another year. In a few weeks, the automatic appearance of this blog in your email will also be gone, so remember to save to your favourites.
Disc 1481 is…. Here Come the Lords
Artist: Lords of the Underground
Year of Release: 1993
What’s up with the Cover? DJ’s DoItAll, Mr. Funky and Lord Jazz have their game faces on. This cover features way too many fonts, the largest of which should be known as “Unfortunate Tattoo Choice”.
How I Came To Know It: A former coworker Adrienne put me onto these guys, as part of an ongoing exchange of music recommendations. Technically, this one came originally from Adrienne’s partner, who put me onto a bunch of nineties rap acts through her.
How It Stacks Up: I dig two of the Lords’ four albums, but so far I only own this one. As a result it can’t stack up against anything, but I like its chances to finish at #1.
Ratings: 4 stars
“Here Come the Lords” has everything I like in a rap album; great flow, intricate rhymes and nice clean production to showcase the first two things.
The record is representative of rap at this time, by which I mean awesome. Rap was never better than in the early nineties, and while there is still great rap coming out today, this era is loaded with classic acts. Not that I would have known that at the time. I came to rap very late, and it wasn’t until my friend Spence piqued my interest in the early oughts that I paid it any attention. My gateway was a mixed tape Spence made of all the original versions of rap songs that Rage Against the Machine covered on their classic record, “Renegades of Funk”.
There were no Lords songs on that record, but there easily could have been. The Lords’ style hits hard and would have translated well to RATM’s rock/rap crunch. They variably reminded me of House of Pain and Cypress Hill (both of whom get referenced). With their talent for passing the mic from DJ to DJ, they also made me think of the Beastie Boys. While they don't directly reference the Beasties, the opening track has a lot of brass monkey references.
While all three DJs have their own unique flow, they all drop their lines hard at the end of the beat. I found when I was moved to groove along (which was often) their style had me throwing fingers down in front of my pelvis more than they inspired fist pumps in the air. It just feels like you are getting more and more down, but never falling off the edge of the funk.
Like a lot of rap bands there are more than a few jazz samples, but the Lords never let those jazz elements drag down the thump of the beat. Instead they provide musical flourishes that smooth out the tunes and give them depth. The samples are all well placed, and like a lot of great rap records I kept hearing hooks, beats and basslines that I knew from throughout the great history of music, all beautifully repurposed. Back in rap’s golden age, bands were more much more likely to stitch multiple samples into something entirely new.
In terms of highlights, the record has many. “Flow On” samples the awesome bass line from the Floaters “Float On” to great effect and also has some killer guest verses from associated acts Kid Deleon and Sah-B. “Chief Rocka” is the album’s biggest hit, and it is easy to see why. The flow is incredibly fast and complex, with a beat that is undeniable. Like most of the songs on the record, it is replete with clever references and rhymes. One of my favourites:
“I'm the, Chief Rocka, so I guess I am in charge
I freak it with a twist so you'll boom it in your cars
I'm the, one with the flow and the grip like G.I. Joe
I snatch, I grab, and then I grab the dough.”
While the record is a bit too long (15 tracks, and over 60 minutes) and does an imitation of Michael Jackson going “hee-hee!” at least one too many times, there isn’t a lot of bad things to say about this album. It is awesome. The Lords are not remembered as widely today as some early artists, making this record a discovered treasure to people like me, and a long-loved classic by those in the know.
Best tracks: From Da Bricks, Funky Child, Check It (rmx), Grave Digga, Flow On, Chief Rocka, Sleep For Dinner, What’s Going On?
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