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.
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.
fuck lord jamar
ReplyDeleteOpio dropped a fantastic album last year, Vulture Wisdom vol.1 ...
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