Guilty Pleasures

A few months ago I shared with you my security blanket, this month I'm going to share with you some of my guilty pleasures.

Everyone has a few albums in their collection they've been questioned for liking or you might even question it yourself. Maybe it's an album that received lukewarm reviews or an album you flat out know is bad. Maybe it's an album most people have grown out but regardless you still appreciate the fuck out of it.

I have a few of these in my collection and I have no problem admitting they are some of my most listened to albums. The first one is what I like to think of as the ultimate summertime soundtrack. Ill and Al were far from dope lyricists but they had swagger and even though this album only has 12 songs, it centers around three standout tracks and the rest were either remixes or they switched some of the lyrics around to make them appear like different tracks.

I remember hearing "Where My Homiez?" (click for video) play constantly on Yo! MTV Raps and every time I'd have to stop what I was doing to watch it. When I said Creep Wit Me was a great summertime album I meant it.

Whether you took a ride down Fulton Street or A1A this was the ultimate backdrop. I distinctly remember taking those late-night trips to Denny's with the crew after a night of partying & bullshit. I remember the weekend excursions to the beaches rockin' the Nike visor cap (as seen worn by Al in the video) that became popular in the summer of '94 or how right before a game of b-ball we'd get amped to "Creep With Me" (title track) because the Snoop sample was the definition of perfection. I remember making the quintessential date night mixtape that had both "Summertime (It's All Good)" and "I'll Take Her" featuring Brian McKnight on there.

Yeah, Ill Al Scratch were the shit and Creep Wit Me is my guilty pleasure for sure.

[click image to download]

Next up is an album that most of us probably grew out of by 1996, but not me. What's crazy is that when the album dropped (1994) I was in 10th grade and I remember thinking how dope this little kid was but now after doing some research I found out the kid is actually older than me.

Shyheim aka The Rugged Child was born in '77, in Brooklyn. His affiliation had everything to do with his semi-success in rap as he was considered the youngest Wu-Tang Clan affiliate in the game. If you remember back in '94 the Wu phenomenon was absolutely crazy. Also having Ghostface Killah as your cousin couldn't hurt either.

Shy moved to Staten Island from Brooklyn living in the Stapleton Houses, where many Wu members lived. At the age of 14, Shy recorded his debut "On & On" for Virgin and months later the album, AKA The Rugged Child dropped. All but one track was produced by RNS. Many may not know about the RNS and that is the way he likes it. He's never been into the spotlight but that doesn't mean he didn't deserve it. RNS has worked with other Shaolin artists such as UMC's, GP Wu, King Just and RZA's Gravediggaz. It's also been mentioned serval times that RNS was the one who taught RZA the art of production.

AKA The Rugged Child is an album I thoroughly enjoy and even though I'm three decades old and cannot stand listening to kid rappers, I'll never turn my nose up to some Shyheim. He might have been young at the time but unlike many kid rappers Shy had some great tutelage and never came with those infantile raps.

So if you're new to the album I suggest you give it a shot. Some of my favorite cuts are On & On, One's 4 Da Money, Napsack, Here I Am and Headpiece. I've also added some b-sides and remixes for your listening pleasure. --Philaflava

WHAT ARE YOUR GUILTY PLEASURES??!!??!

Shaolin Style (Remix)

The Top 10 Tracks I've Produced by LG

For those that don't know LG aka The LG Experience is the man behind many classics you probably weren't aware of. He has produced for Big L, 2Pac, Nas, Ill Al Skratch, Boogiemonsters and Big Daddy Kane just to name a few. He also happens to be the brother of one of the greatest producers of all-time, Easy Mo Bee.

LG was down to guest blog this week and give us his top 10 list along with a breakdown for each track. Some of the shit you're about to read is pure gold. You can't ask for much more than this so if you're a fan of Rakim Told Me then you'll appreciate some of these details.

10. Don't Shut Down On A Player- Ill Al Skratch (New Jersey Drive Soundtrack)
I did this beat after watching a pre-screen of the movie New Jersey Drive.They filmed that flick in Brooklyn, so I made some shit that sounded like home.

9. The Weekend - Dave Hollister (maxi-single)
My nigga Teddy Blend was managing Dave and hit me wit an accapella to see what I would do and they was feelin that shit.

8. Pass Pass Le Oinj (Zenith 98) - Supreme NTM

I did alot of beats for Supreme NTM, but this is one of the tracks I was really feelin. I don't know what they was saying( hey rhyme in French) but I could tell they had a flow.

7. Earth,Wind & Fire- Big Daddy Kane feat. Shaqueen & AB Money (Veteranz Day)

Kane gave me a CD wit some dude playin acoustic guitar and said do something with that. I played the beat for him the next day and he went crazy!! It's probably about ten different records being used on that beat.

6. One Love(LG Main Mix) - Nas
I did this remix after an Ill Al Skratch session, so I just had my peoples Ken Staten sing the hook. He also sang on Where's My Homies.



5. Nigganometry - Canibus (Can-I-Bus)
When I did that beat I didn't have the original Willie Hutch joint. I took that shit straight off The Chronic.

4. Lyrical Gymnastics- Big Daddy Kane (Daddy's Home)

I did this and the album title track for Kane right after he left Cold Chillin to go to MCA. He was feeling Where's My Homies, so I used the same sounds for this beat.


3. Out On Bail(Original Version) - Tupac
This song was supposed to be on the Me Against The World album, but it didn't make it. My brother Easy Mo Bee & AB Money took me up to Pac's Hotel to play some beats for him. He took the first track that came on and said let's record it tonight. Eminem remixed it for Loyal 2 The Game and chopped Pac's words to make it sound like he was saying Em, he was really saying LG.

2. I'll Take Her - Ill Al Skratch feat. Brian McKnight (Creep Wit Me)
I did this beat on some radio type shit cause we knew one of the r&b artists on Mercury was going to be on it. Originally it was supposed to be Joe on the song.


1. Where's My Homies - Ill Al Skratch (Creep Wit Me)
I remember hearing Mr.Cee, who lived in my building cuttin up Playing Your Games on his show with Mr. Magic on 91.5 in NY. After that I had to fuck with it. Coincidentally, Mr.Cee was the one who broke the record.



Honorable Mentions:
Strange (Stranger Mixshow Mix) - Boogiemonsters
I did this track by just muffling the change in Playing Your Games(Barry White). We all did that a lot back then. I also produced 3 songs on the album with Derek "LA" Jackson who the Boogiemonsters were signed to at the time. Derek produced the album and had an incredible keyboard player play all the instruments. We all know him today as Scott Storch.


Dr. Feelgood - Ill Al Skratch Feat. Greg Nice, Nine, M.O.P. & Kid Capri
I did this track in Al Skratch's crib. Nobody believes me when I tell em that beat is Hangin On A String By Loose Ends. Kid Capri got on it because Al Skratch knew him from Uptown. Nobody knew that nigga Al Skratch was a crazy DJ.

The Most Prominent Member Out The Group (Pause)

Everybody wants to be Mick or Paul, but it doesn't always work out that way. Sometimes the group's core isn't always the lead-- take Lars Ulrich or Pete Townshend for example. And sometimes a group gains very little notoriety all together, but below are a few rap groups that we hold near and dear and their most prominent members.

Fu-Schnickens

Let's be real for a second: Fu-Schnickens had 3 members and most of us only recall one. While they had a few hits like "True-Fu-Schnick," "La Schmoove" and the Shaq laced "Whats Up Doc," Chip Fu was the only talent out the crew and arguably a better Das EFX impersonator than Skoob or Krazy Drayzy. Chip Fu is still trying to make a name for himself appearing on various projects and most recently the Nas' "Where Are They Now?" remix. Meanwhile somewhere at a Gray's Papaya you could probably find the other two members Moc Fu and Poc Fu sharing the grill duties.

Answer: Chip-Fu

Brand Nubian

We all know Puba was the best and there is no question "One For All" is their magnum opus, but the one guy who never quite got his props was Sadat X. Mr. Murphy is responsible for keeping this group relevant past 1990. He won't ever beincluded in discussions for the best rapper, though one could make a valid argument that he should be placed somewhere in the Top 40. Sadat X had more than just a voice, he also had a likeability factor that is extremely rare these days. He was witty and more importantly provided the much needed balance to the Nubians. Many people don't realize just how great "In God We Trust" or "Everything For Everything" are and on both albums Grand Puba is M.I.A.. Without those albums you wouldn't have Brand Nubian today and for that Derek X is the most important member of Brand Nubian. Because after all, aren't most of us trying to forget about Lord Jamar after we awkwardly saw his cock in HBO's Oz?

Answer: Sadat X

Ill Al Skratch

If you ask me both Ill and Al Skratch are the sample people because they both said the same shit. If it wasn't asking us "Where My Homiez?" it was telling us to creep with them or letting us know they were that Brooklyn/Uptown connection. Don't get me wrong, I fucking love "Creep With Me" as I think it's one of the better stupid simple summertime albums we had in the 90's, but neither of them are winning Rhyme of The Month anytime soon.

Answer: It's a wash!

The Artifacts

Do I even need to go into detail about this one? Tame One is the reason The Facts were great for two albums. In fact, I'd go ahead and say T-Ray deserves to be the 2nd most important member out the group. While El Da Sensei was a nice compliment to Tame, neither were able to duplicate success once the group split. El has dropped several solo albums that most people equate to lyrical NyQuil and Tame has dropped several albums/mixtapes that all have showed promised but lacked one or two things---production and El Da Sensei.

Answer: Tame One

Organized Konfusion

See "The Artifacts" with Pharoahe Monch playing the role of Tame One and Prince Poetry as El Da Sensei.

Winner: Pharoahe Monch

Souls of Mischief

A-Plus, Opio, Phesto & Tajai make up the group. They've dropped 4 albums to date. One being a must-own and the others being a must-download at your own risk. When you think about it SOM were rather vanilla. But if you had to pick one as the best it has to be A-Plus simply because he produced most of their hits, including "'93 Til Infinity." I still wouldn't be able to pick one out in a police line-up.

Winner: A-Plus

Lords of The Underground

The L.O.T.U.G. were pretty big for a minute with the help of Marley Marl, K-Def and Pete Rock. "Here Come The Lords" may have not aged well but there is no denying that it was afavorite among many of us. I just wish they stopped making music after "Keepers of The Funk" in '94 because their last few albums made it extremely difficult for me to enjoy "Funky Child" or "Chief Rocka." Was I the only one who was duped into buying "Resurrection" in '99 featuring a cameo by Da Brat? No thank you guys. Stay the fuck retired please.

Winner: DoItAll if only for his cameo appearance in the series finale of The Sopranos.