Analog Brothers - "2005"

Of course, what drew the normally sensitive indie types to Keith's profanity-laced paranoid rants in the first place was the production. Automator's tracks on the Dr. Octagon project gave the knapsackers an excuse to secretly snicker at the often shocking misogyny of Keith's lyrics. And what made those beats so distinctive was Automator's use of vintage synths, which were at the time all the rage in the world of avant-pop. At the turn of the century, Keith made this analog fetishism the centerpiece of the identity of his newest project: the Analog Brothers.

Keith here dubs himself Keith Korg, and his collaborators have similarly inclined handles: Rex Roland, Silver Synth, Mark Moog and Ice Oscillator, also known as none other than legendary proto gangsta-rapper Ice-T. Of course I was termendously excited upon first hearing about it, which happened when I spotted the advance single "2005 A.D." at Beat Street (where else?). It's a good track, fairly typical of Keith's style, but with less of the man himself due to the presence of the band's other MCs. Ice-T is curiously absent.

A few months later I picked up the full-length, Pimp to Eat, and was duly disappointed. Keith is clearly the best MC of the bunch, and it's far from his most inspired work. I listened to the album again before posting this, thinking I might turn up a hidden gem I had since forgotten, but "2005" is the best track. I was also looking for a track with both Keith and Ice-T, and I don't think there is one. The version posted here is taped off the single, by the way, but it doesn't differ appreciably from the album version.

One more interesting note: neither the 12" nor the LP bear a production credit. The whole band, perhaps? According to the group's AMG bio, Pimp Rex was the producer on Keith's previous Sex Style album and, given his position in the album credits, he seems to have some sort of central role in the group; it may be his work.

Buy it... on vinyl.

From my deck to you: Analog Brothers - "2005"

Kool Keith - "Girls Don't Like the Job"

Kool Keith. Where to begin?

After achieving notoriety in the early hiphop underground as the stand-out weirdo of the Bronx's Ultramagnetic MCs, Keith became the darling of knapsack hipsters a few years later as the voice of Dr. Octagon, a collaboration with producer Dan "the Automator" Nakamura in which Keith created the character of a psychopathic gynecologist/serial killer from outer space. Dr. Octagon was only the start of arguably the strangest solo career in hiphop history, encompassing dozens of personae and as many albums.

In 1999, following his relocation to Los Angeles, Keith released Black Elvis/Lost in Space, his first solo album for a major (Sony) and the first released under the name Kool Keith. The album is split into two halves, each a showcase for one of Keith's characters: the first is a space traveler, the second the undisputed king of hiphop. The album is worth seeking out for the liner notes alone, in which Keith thanks "Aaron Fuchs, for bringing a tape recorder to my shows, secretly recording them, and bootlegging my live shows"; "all you fake ass wiggers in the music industry acting like you grew up in the projects"; "all my porno star friends"; and "my celebrity fans", who include Bill Gates, Monica Lewinsky and Jerry Seinfeld.

This track is from the latter half of that album. In it, Keith describes his corporate empire, name checking numerous financial institutions, consummating real estate deals with Al Sharpton and founding a new NBA franchise, the Baldwin Hills Spacemen. At one point he can be heard ordering an employee to "fax yourself to China." Ah, the life of a deluded would-be CEO.

I bought this record new at Beat Street, but have never actually heard the album in its entirety. My copy is defective: side 4 is pressed on side 1, so I have two copies of the record's final side and none of its first. I never got around to returning it. The liner notes include a toll-free number for reporting defective merchandise, but it only led to a recording giving an address to which to send the offending product. Fearing I would never hear back if I mailed in my record (this being the days before the Consumerist), I didn't bother. Nowadays Sony still seems to own the number, but the recording just tells callers to complain directly to the retailer. Try it yourself: 1-800-257-3880.

Buy it... on vinyl.

From my deck to you: Kool Keith - "Girls Don't Like the Job"

De La Soul - "All Good?"

De La Soul may hold the dubious distinction of having the most albums either marketed or received as "comebacks". The anti-hippie backlash against their brilliant debut precipitated one of the most elaborate identity crises in pop history, resulting in the utterly unhinged follow-up. So their third album was their first comeback. But that one didn't do so hot, so Stakes Is High was a comeback too. The first AOI album was the comback from that and The Grind Date was the comeback from the second. And they're still goin'.

This one's from the first AOI. It's credited as "featuring Chaka Khan", and clearly her vocals forge the song's most immediate impression, but where's the love for Pino? Buried in the album's credits is the name Pino Paladino, and that's probably just where he wants it.

Paladino's resumé is jaw-dropping. He's one of those session guys who plays on a lot of slick, overproduced lite-FM stuff: Sting, Don Henley, etc. He recently played on the new Who album, arguably his highest profile gig to date. And still most music fans have never heard of him.

His bass work here is just what you'd expect from a player of his stature: tasteful, note-perfect and above all deferrent to the track's lead elements, in this case the vocals. Listen closely to the way he keeps subtly mixing it up throughout the track; it's definitely not looped.

Bought this one, again new when it came out at Beat Street. Just fell for the hype, I suppose. You know, brilliant return to form, etc. I remember this album being exceptionally well marketed. Truth is, 3 Feet might be my personal favourite hiphop album of all time and every De La album I've purchased since has just been in futile pursuit of that first thrill. I suppose I'm hardly alone in that respect.

Buy it... on vinyl

From my deck to you: De La Soul ft. Chaka Khan - "All Good?"

I didn't mean for this week to be a requiem for Beat Street, but I can't help it. That's where I bought most of my hiphop vinyl for the past ten years or so. I could keep going with more hiphop tracks next week. Do I... do I need to do Kool Keith week? I mean, do I need to do Kool Keith week? I think I do.

The Beatnuts - "Props Over Here"

There's a good reason the Beatnuts are best known for their production work on other people's records: even on their own albums, the tracks far outshine the vocals. Not that they're slouches as MCs, but they're nothing special. The beats, on the other hand?

As far as killer bass lines go, the 'Nuts first EP and first two full-lengths are an absolute gold mine. This cut's off the self-titled one (also known as Street Level). I have no idea whence they lifted it. No sample credited, natch.

Bought this one new at Beat Street as well. I think I have all the Beatnuts LPs from the 90s, and I'm pretty sure I got them all new at Beat Street. You are missed.

Buy it... on vinyl.

From my deck to you: The Beatnuts - "Props Over Here"

Smif-n-Wessun - "Wrektime"

Whither Boot Camp Clik? How did these guys fall through the cracks? Still kicking around, apparently. If their legacy was this one bassline (no sample credited; I don't recognise it but that doesn't mean it's not lifted), that'd be plenty. It's not of course, but still.

Boot Camp's mid-90s heyday was largely overshadowed by the dominance of the like-minded Wu-Tang Clan. But where the Clan found their initial success as a group before branching out into solo projects, the Clik released their individual (actually, smaller group) albums before the big group effort. Which flopped, basically. And that was pretty much it. Oh, they're still releasing albums. But no one's really listening like they used to.

While Black Moon's Enta da Stage is widely considered the cream of the Boot Camp Crop, I'll take Smif-n-Wessun's Dah Shinin' any day. Besides the killer tracks (DJ Evil Dee and Mr. Walt each produced about half; Walt did this one), MCs Tek and Steele are rhythmic savants of the best kind, wandering back and forth over the beat. On this cut they sound as though they're experimenting with different cadences for the refrain and never quite settle on one. Their lyrics reflect a similarly confusing identity: are they blunt-toting thugs or knapsack-friendly consciousness-rap types? Both, sort of, and possibly the only act ever to successfully straddle that particular divide.

Following a threatening letter from a certain firearms manufacturer, T&S rebranded themselves as the Cocoa Brovaz and released a follow-up three years later to little notice. They garnered renewed interest for their illegal-sample-heavy underground single "Super Brooklyn", but never released an album to follow it. They changed their name back and finally put out another record two years ago, but I've never heard it. Still, its makers may have faded away, but Dah Shinin' stands the test of time.

Bought this one new at the mighty Beat Street in Brooklyn USA, greatest hiphop/R&B record store in the universe. R.I.P., baby.

Buy it... on vinyl.

From my deck to you: Smif-n-Wessun - "Wrektime"

Charles Mingus - "Orange Was the Color of Her Dress; Then Silk Blues"

Mingus Plays Piano is a curious record, the type that a rock artist could never get away with, but from a jazz artist is a treasure. The title is as literal as you can get: it's just Chazz at the piano, noodling away, playing whatever pops into his head. The mic even picks him up scatting a bit in the background, as though he's just sketching out ideas. Piano isn't even his main instrument and he's still a captivating player.

I included this track primarily to make a point about how silly record collectors can be. It's taped off a double LP entitled Great Moments With Charles Mingus (no doubt), a poorly annotated cheap-o reissue consisting of the indispensible Black Saint and the Sinner Lady and Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus albums in their entirety, plus, just because there was space left on the records, a few tracks from Piano. I can't find any details about the record online; Mingus's official discography doesn't even mention it.

Mingus's Impulse! records are generally priced at a premium, but this one's got a tag for $7.99. I can't remember where I bought it, but rest assured it was purchased somewhere in New York, where either of its primary component records would be considered a bargain at twice that. And there's no way Piano would get stickered under ten either. All of which raises the same question that all premium-priced original-issues hint at: are you collecting baseball cards, or do you just love music?

Buy it... on vinyl.

From my deck to you: Charles Mingus - "Orange Was the Color of Her Dress; Then Silk Blues"

So next week, in honour of Mingus being such a killer bassist, I'll post a few hiphop cuts with killer basslines.