Take Three: Darc Mind "Symptomatic of a Greater Ill"

"Give me time and i'll amaze ya..."

Once upon a time in 1996, X-Ray and MC Kevroc got together and formed Darc Mind. But for some odd reason or another, it could widely be regarded as one of the best kept secrets Hip-Hop had to offer. Kevroc's deep baritone delivery sounded like Aesop Rock got stuck in the 90s with Chali 2na's widely rhythmic flow, while Public Enemy collaborator X-Ray treated the beats like a jazz artist putting a twist on a standard; hard and rich drum breaks, interjected jazz chops, it was definitely a forgotten classic. After the album's release in '96, it then became out of print until Anticon re-issued the recording in 2006.

In a lot of circles, this album get's treated as the "...so you think this is dope? Well you haven't heard this" record, and rightly so; the album clocks in at no more than 40 minutes, and provides some of the most memorable hip-hop for years to come. Oh, and hi, this is Take Three. We give you three songs from a supposed classic, and you, the uninformed or unaware listener, takes a listen and form your own judgment. Sounds too good to be true, right? Well with TMB hitting past the 2000 post mark, anything's possible. Let's get started, shall we?

1. Visions of a Blur

The drums sound so naturally played, while the sinister bassline and respective guitar strum along eerily. Kevroc commands the mic like the host for the Twilight Zone, speaking in an almost conversational style, occasionally letting loose with a little tongue twist of a bar, but nothing too extravagant. This works well since the track is best serviced with its simplicities to make for quite the introduction.

2. Seize The Phenom

The Drum break used seems to have endless snares, the saxophone note that creeps in along with the sound of a pencil dropping, yet another great track. Kevroc's delivery over the track seems reminiscent of Digable Planets, but minus the jazz, he just is riding freely over the beat, all the while not sticking to one particular delivery. X-Ray balances the delivery of Kevroc with not only the sounds described at the beginning, but as a nice break between each verse you hear piano notes being stabbed, and not at random, almost measured in a Thelonious Monk sort of way.

3. Outside Looking In

Xylophones allow the soundscape to breathe as the drums provide the same boom bap blueprint, Kevroc once again serves as the orator supreme for this album's ending. But again, this isn't a normal ending for an album. Symptomatic of a Greater Ill serves more as an opening and closing argument forging as one; in the sense that the album makes a great case for just making great hip-hop music, and not succumbing to unnecessary details. It's very much an in-and-out sort of record, and for "Outside Looking In" to serve as the record's closer is that its the album's strongest statement.

Take Three: DJ Shadow "Entroducing..."

"....now approaching MIDNIIIIGHT!"

Now, I realize that this debut album from DJ Shadow debuted in 1996. But allow me to take you back to yet another story. It was the year 1999. We just got our first hookah cafe, and it was nearby a record store I frequented. They had never sold any vinyl (it would be about a year after that, that this store started finally getting used vinyl in) and I had always spent a majority of my paycheck there. Fast forward to my 19th birthday. We all went to the hookah bar nearby and it was filled to the brim with well-wishers all around. There were some gifts that were bought, but one of the gifts that intrigued me the most, was that a friend bought me a used copy of this record. Monday, when I went back on campus at the U of M in the Twin Cities, it was still days away until spring supposedly begun, and there was still blustery, cold air, and snow still rested on the ground. Regardless, at 8am, I arrived on campus and put on "Entroducing" in my headphones, and the album stuck with me for many years to come, as it did a lot of other folks.

Indeed, Josh Davis wanted to show us there was much more to hip-hop than just sampling. He made sampling what the violin was to orchestral chamber music, it was a means to create something beautiful, ethereal, emotional, a whole rush of feelings and then some. And looking back 14 years, it certainly has made its mark on music. Yeah, you know what time it is. Take Three is taking place, where we take 3 cuts from a classic record and unload 'em on you, the unaware listener and purveyor of music, and let you go free to explore. So yeah, let's do this like Brutus baby.

1. Changeling (Transmission 1)

Yeah, those harmonic organs at the beginning catch you off guard, then all of a sudden, you get layers added, one after the other, all in proper transitional phases. Don't think so? The jazzy drum-set swing, the occasional oft-kilter scratches, a richly looped bass line, a melodic acoustic guitar chorus, with a flute to complement. But there's also tons more to it, the hauntingly beautiful vocals and saxophone elements that strike around the 3 minute mark, the building outro which lasts for nearly two minutes until it sustains off to nothing, there's so much to this song that is well layered.

2. Midnight In A Perfect World

"The clock on the wall reads a quarter past midnight...." the voice shouts, while vocals and organs make their way, and then you get the drums of death delivered pleasantly, and not in an overpowering manner. Scratches make their way inside, but they are mere blips, just as the voice that is repeating "midnight" as well as the stuttered staccato of Gift of Gab saying "now approaching MIDNIIIIGHT!" Once again, Shadow does an excellent job of layering all the proper elements. Definitely one of the best night time songs ever. And if it's not part of your night time list, well then, this is all the more reason you need to put it there.

3. The Numbers Song

In a lot of ways, "Entroducing..." showcased the perspective of a producer, from a producer himself. Maybe in a lot of ways it could come off as egotistical, but few, if any people, have knowledge what a producer does to make a song stand on its own legs, and "The Numbers Song" is a perfect example of this, because you get a menacing funk drum break, along with distorted, deathly guitars to create this little concoction. You don't just get that either, you get tons of joined together funk samples with furious scratches delivered with passion, power and intensity. And everytime it breaks down, you'd swear its about to end. But it doesn't. This is probably the shortest of the previous two songs I listed, but it definitely requires an ear to pick up on everything.

Take Three: OutKast "Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik"

"The devil up in your grill, and you still won't even know 'em..."

Stupid admission time: prior to even knowing that rap came out of Atlanta, the closest thing I knew to rap coming out of the south was from Texas. Back then, Scarface, Willie D and Bushwick Bill came out with "Grip It! On that Other Level" which I still gravitate to as a great record out of the south. As a music fiend, I started joining CD clubs, holding memberships at Columbia House & BMG Music clubs while I was only 15 (many a Taco John's paycheck went to fund the habit). But behold, coming home one night from a full day at the part time job to find BMG's music selection of the month, which was OutKast's debut record. I had mulled over getting it while I was at Circuit City (my parents got a home theater system, I got Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) on tape, but the CD came in. My parents literally became frustrated with me to find the graphic on the CD itself, while I thought nothing of it. But what was on that CD, further blew my mind just as N.W.A. did about the West and Nas making me recognize the resurgence and dominance of the East.
OutKast's debut album, "Southernplayalisticadicallcmuzik" played like a jazz standard, long before the many innovations took place, and long before Andre 3000 and Big Boi started handling a lot of their own production, and their debut played very much with the intensity and focus of the east coast, while the flows drew from the west stylistically, their southern gentlemen drawl combined with their snarl on flows made for quite the debut. Take three once again takes place, this time choosing three cuts to unsuspecting listeners who either have not heard of Outkast, have not heard of their debut record, or both. Enjoy the ride.

1. Ain't No Thang

The loading of a clip, a beat that screams something of vintage west coast hip-hop, plus Andre & Big Boi trading verse for verse? It has all the makings of a classic battle track, while Organized Noize provides the eerie and neck-breaking beat. Obviously taking such a saying as "Ain't no thang but a chicken wing," then altering it to almost a sing-song like quality, shows Andre's and Big Boi's greatness on verses. You want a winner? You can decide whether you dig Andre's hungry stance when he says "Remember when we ran deep/remember at the party when we served them n****z dandy/they know not to test us, test me/do me, try me..." or Big Boi when he ends it with perhaps one of the coldest endings "I'ma kick you in ya ass/and your n***a gettin' pistol whipped," its a pretty dead even battle for those even testing the brothers from East Point.

2. Git Up, Git Out, Git Something

Trying to ask someone for patience and undivided attention for seven and a half minutes for a song, unless they are of the Hendrix nature or the song says something deep, are rare to try out. However, Goodie MoB and OutKast utilize the latter, all the while talking about life and its struggles, where Cee-Lo starts the song stating clearly "You need to git up, get out and get something/How will you make it if you never even try?" In the meanwhile you get the life stories of Andre and Big Boi, where Big Boi states "In a sense I was Rosemary's baby/but then I learned the difference between a bitch and a lady," while Andre "So let me take y'all 'way/back to when a n***a lived in southwest Atlanta, hey/y'all could not tell me nothin', thought I hit that bottom rock/at age 13, start working at the loading dock," its pretty much a worthwhile story of OutKast and Goodie Mob and their juvenile tribulations discussed almost with the author-like penmanship of American literature.

3. Crumblin' Erb

The slowly played bongos, the groovy bassline, and a moderate tempo help become the palette to speak on weed. Sure, there have been many odes to Mary Jane, and by the time this song came, rap had its fair share. But OutKast chooses to keep it comfortable, while Sleepy Brown croons the chorus. Both Andre and Big Boi have their fair share of quotables throughout the tune, "But still Andre got action/they sweat like Keith, outta my teeth," while Big Boi states calmly "Ten millimeters, count 'em n****a, fuck a nine/see I added a millimeter for all my n****z doing crimes and drive-bys." Call the song what you will, but your standardized weed anthem this is not.

Take Three: Nas "It Was Written"

"There's one life, one love, so there could only be one king."

There are some things I find hilarious day by day. Take into account this fact: people were actually disappointed with this album. Granted, most of us hip-hop heads were spoiled by mad releases the year Nas came out with his sophomore album, It Was Written (Reasonable Doubt, ATLiens, Stakes Is High, Hell on Earth, Illadelph Halflife, I could go on and on...). But long gone was the raw and brash production on Illmatic, and its lyrical focus traded in well written street tales for more mafioso styled themes. Whether or not that was a good or bad thing depended upon how Biggie and Junior M.A.F.I.A. affected your listening habits. For those who listened closely though, the detail was never lost, nor was its knack for storytelling. Sure, we all hate the fact that Trackmasters and Dr. Dre (many people I know were still confused about Dr. Dre and Nas together, and were expecting WAAAAAYYY too much) gave a little bit more polished efforts on the production side, and many questioned Steve Stoute's involvement with Nas, which would later rear its ugly head shortly after Puff had issues with some controversial footage in "Hate Me Now" off the I Am... album. But regardless, this was still a stellar sophomore effort by all accounts, and a hell of a lot better than sophomore releases after it.

So after all that spiel, another installment of Take Three is taking place. Take Three is an attempt to choose 3 cuts to give to a listener who may not either be familiar with the work of an artist, or the specific releases of an artists. Without further dudes (Peter Griffin, can you dig it?) let's get this thing underway.

1. I Gave You Power

Seems like everytime I hear about Nas, or about the best Nas cuts ever recorded, there's always a few that seem to grab my attention (I heard someone once include "You Owe Me" in their top 10 Nas cuts ever, weird). I continue to be surprised by the omission of "I Gave You Power," because it was everything that rested in Illmatic brought back for one tune. One of the lone DJ Premier productions that made the album, Premier draws in stark piano notes, and hard-hitting drums, while Nas personifies himself as a gun and his travails as this weapon. It's rich in its depictions and detail, has a stellar yet fucked up ending (jamming in his owner's hand, and being elated about having control, until another owner picks him up), and all the while, Nas weaves this tale intricately about his owner's rise to fame, and the macabre mentions of his own melodramatic treatment recieved as the gun. If there's some reason this tune isn't in your "Best Nas Cuts Ever" list, well then, that needs to change.

2. The Message

You might remember hearing a piece of this tune in the video for "If I Ruled The World (Imagine That)" and being like "where the hell can I hear all of this?" Granted, upon first listen, its a trickster of a tune; a lot of people upon release of the record didn't think it was the strongest introduction to It Was Written, but once they saw the video for "If I Ruled The World (Imagine That)," folks that hearlded Nas in the Illmatic days thought he was going off. Hilarious how this song works, and the trick that was played. We were listening to the introduction to It Was Written that whole time and didn't even notice the correlation. Regardless though, this is still a strong introduction, not only for the shot it took at Notorious B.I.G., but once again, Nas's battle stance is unfazed, and every word is delivered as clearly and bravely as it could be.

3. If I Ruled The World (Imagine That)

This song probably got the most mixed reaction in the world when it was chosen as the single for It Was Written. Sure, Lauryn's on the hook, how come not a verse? What's with Nas and this positivity shit? In the grand scheme it was a smart choice, and very well written song, still is much better than "I Can", right? Digressions aside, using Whodini's "Friends" as a backdrop to think about the ways of the world and what would change if Nas ruled it makes for a great song. And damn it, if Lauryn's voice on the hook and breakdown isn't heavenly, there's something wrong with your ears.

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Take Three: Kool G Rap "4, 5, 6"

"It's a damn shame, what I gotta do just to make a dollar..."

Kool G Rap is a legend in our minds and his own right. The man knew how to tell a good street story, and balance that with a verbal acrobat ability regarding multisyllabics and diction. This album is very much a crowning achievement because Kool G took what he already knew from such classics he delivered as "Streets of New York," and pretty much put that into a changing rap world that was getting more of an organized crime sensibility. In turn, "4, 5, 6" (common winning combination in Cee-Lo or dice) provided some of the apex of Kool G's creativity, in an album that largely followed up his separation from DJ Polo. If nothing else, this is Kool G's mastery of street/mafioso rap.
As usual, let's break down three selections. Take three is a chance to take albums that are already familiar and regarded highly in rap, and deliver three tracks from one album to open a new listener's ears to that said classic. So without further adieu, let's get it started (absolutely no Black Eyed Peas).