This day, one year ago http://www.acknowledgektl.com was born. Wow, that feels weird huh? It doesn’t feel like a year has past to me. The passage of time is a funny old thing right? I’ve someone had said to me that I’d be writing about my own site 3-4 years ago I would have laughed. You see I’m a different person to the one I was back then. I’ve had my ups and downs, been to a dark place and climbed back up to see the sun again. I’m not saying that it’s been a straight forward ride by any means but it has been a positive one in the end. Things are finally going in the right direction for me personally in many ways and the site is a big part of that. I’ll let you in on a secret that only a few know. I had set myself a goal/deadline for the site. If by Christmas last year I’d not had over a 1000 views then I would knock it on the head as a failed project. I had seen many much better sites/blogs out there and wasn’t sure if I could ever reach their level of success with mine. Now I’m not saying that acknowledgektl.com has arrived at those dizzy heights by any means but I’m damn proud of the 7000 plus views I’ve clocked up in one year. There is something very humbling knowing that a large number like that is made up of views around the world from the most obvious places to some very far flung spots that I wondered if they even knew what Hip Hop was. I guess I hadn’t fully grasped the reach and power of the super information highway. Well more fool me right? Consider me told. I’ve said before that I’ve been inspired by many people that I’ve come in contact with via IG, Twitter etc over the years. With out them I wouldn’t have had the balls to do this. I got a lot of love for them. They are all dear to me. I can never repay them for the support and encouragement they have given and continue to give me in regards to the site and my own personal life. So Thank you to the following: Mark Bijasa, Jimmy aka J57, Mark Ski, Chico, Bianca, The Boom Bap King, Danielle Hill, Claire & Kerry, Dolly Smalls, James Dickinson, Mat Rowntree, Ray West, Septic Breath, Booda French, Aerika McCants,The Brown Bag Allstars, Antony Pritchett, Shaun Wood, Mikey ‘B’ Brame, Jay Ogden, Lil Wayne Blacktin and of course my Mum and my girlfriend Helen. The pic above is of the awesome card Helen got for me to mark this special occasion. I’m truly humbled.
As we proceed to give you what you need in 2014 and beyond I guess now would be a good time to let you know about what’s coming up over the next few months right? Nah I think I’ll not say and keep you wondering about the gems that will be dropping. just know you’re gonna dig what’s coming next. All I say is that its gonna be some exclusive shit, some dope shit, some of that shit you need. As ever Knowledge will be dropped. Keep one eye fixed on acknowledgektl and I promise we’ll deliver the goods for your eyes and ears.
I’ve been fascinated with remixes for as long as I can remember. I think the first one I heard was Ice Cube’s “Endangered Species” remix from Kill at Will. I didn’t know what a remix was at the time, and when I heard the original on Amerikkka’s Most Wanted, I thought, “these are different. I guess that’s what a remix is.” Ever since then, basically going back a few years in the late 80s to the late 90s, remixes were the only reason for me to buy singles. And make no mistake, these are legit remixes, not 5 flavors of the month jumping on a hot song with a dj yelling “reeeeeeeeeeeeemmmmmmmmiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiixxxxxxxxxxxxx” over the exact same beat. These are not, also, homemade remixes uploaded to YouTube to try and fool you into listening to them. I’ve also found with remixes, I like them better as a song than the OG, but they wouldn’t fit with the flow of the album as well as the original. That is why, I guess, they are on singles. Anyway, these are by no means the best, just the top 10 I thought of and scrawled onto the back of a bill on my nightstand as I was drifting to sleep. From hip hop’s golden era, of course.
Didn’t think that one of the most laid back west coast singles could get more laid back? Domino’s West Coast Jazz Remix of his hit “Getto Jam” does just that. The xylophone is prominent on the chorus in this version, as is the saxophone. He continues the sing songy style that served so well in the original, but then adds rapping at the end to remind you “oh yeah, this was Genuine Draft from ‘Bangin on Wax’”. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH02JLuEtgc
Aside from having one of the best opening lines of any song I’ve heard, Cypress Hill’s “Illusions” Harpsichord Remix is also one of my favorites. It sounds, I guess, more traditionally hip hop than the original, with the beats, scratches and Mugg’s trademark static all included. The xylophone of the original gives way to the eponymous harpsichord. This has almost replaced the original for me, as the music sounds darker than the original which fits the theme of the album.
Perhaps not one of the greatest of all time, but a personal favorite. No song, other than Warren G’s “This DJ” reminds me so instantly of ‘94 than Cube’s “You Know How We Do It” Remix. Advertised as “featuring K-Dee” it doesn’t really, but does have an extra verse by Cube. This version, produced by Cube, is a little slower and less traditionally g-funk than the original, but makes up for it in laid backness. It still has the synth whine, just less so. Incredibly, rap was so big that the original and the remix both had videos. Fittingly, the remix video maintains most of the same images as the original, but is still different.
All of the singles from the Chronic and Doggystyle had remixes to them. That this “Let Me Ride” Extended Remix is so incredible, and not even my favorite out of that group, is a testament to how dope Dre was at that time. I don’t really know where to start. Listed as a club remix, I instantly thought of all the classic Death Row videos that always had a large group of people in the clubs. At 11 minutes it certainly could be used for that. The song starts off with George Clinton crooning, and the synth whine kicks in a little harder than the original, accompanied by horns. However, the real first gem you get on this comes in at 1:39, where the chorus was supposed to be, but a young in demand Snoop kicks some bars! I was playing this in my car when that happened, and I had to pull over and rewind. Snoop wasn’t doing any features at the time between the Chronic and Doggystyle, but here he is. And he comes in again, for the next chorus for more verses. By the time the lyrics are done with, and Daz has contributed more rhymes than Snoop (?) it’s almost an afterthought. After the regular chorus comes in and fades out in horns, it slows down to a stop to hear Dre and Half Dead distortedly talking and then some metal style guitars kick in to ride out the beat a few more minutes. Very much in keeping with the original, and yet very much different.
The best Death Row remix, is, in my opinion, the Laid Back version of Snoop’s “Gin and Juice”. I don’t know really how to express my affection for it, other than it has an ethereal quality to it, like it should be composed and played in the clouds. Certainly, there is still the g-funk whine, with some bells added, and what seems like echo on it. It seems to fit Snoop’s voice, and subject, a little better than the original. When I heard it, it seemed like the long lost puzzle that instantly fit perfectly to complete the song, it deserving the lush instrumentation and long ride out at the end. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFo3uTpDk2k
MC Eiht’s “Streiht Up Menace” Remix is my favorite remix of all time, of all that I’ve heard. It has been so for more than a dozen years, and nothing really comes close. The original, with it’s relaxed bass and keys, is reflective, and sorrowful. The remix, changing only the music and delivery, is vengeful. Perhaps that’s why I like it better. The remix samples “Night Crawler” from Bob James and makes it aggressive, especially the keyboard. The bass is fuller as well and more explosive, with horns where the chorus would be. DJ Slip and Willie Z are to be commended on producing such an excellent remix, one that only recalls the original in lyrics. In doing so, it becomes a completely different song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqP_Fkxdt90
“Streiht Up Menace Remix” is not the only incredible remix to come out of the Menace II Society soundtrack. E A Ski’s remix for Spice 1’s “Trigga Gots No Heart” is also one the best I’ve heard. Like “Streiht Up Menace”, it makes the song more aggressive in it’s execution. I guess it doesn’t hurt that there are various gunshots during the chorus. But the main reason is the bass isn’t slowed down like on the original. The original had a plodding bass and a synth whine to complement, the remix takes the whine and adds a faster, harder hitting bass to it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4aAxOah3jY
“Bush Killa” from Paris kind of took a backseat to Body Count’s “Cop Killer” and Sista Souljah during the ’92 election cycle. Because it is more complex than most hip hop that can be vilified, and didn’t fit the gangsta style that was at the forefront at the time, it’s forgotten. But this remix isn’t. It’s 8:30 of lyrical pinpoint criticism and chaotic music. The remix begins with the musical style that dominated the second part of the original, with added scratches, samples, screams, drums, guitars and vocals. It’s a mess, in the best possible way, expertly adding to the urgency of the song. Paris has kindly compiled all of his early remixes, b-sides and unreleased songs on “The Devil Made Me Remix”. It is, like all Paris releases, well worth the money. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rl471qTVS6g
Above the Law has many fine remixes, but the best of the bunch is definitely the “100 Spokes Fresh On D’s Remix”. Named so, for it’s liberal use of Mantronix’ “Fresh is the Word” from 9 years earlier, it still keeps the buzzing bass but makes everything else uptempo. This is actually better, as Cold 187um in particular seems held back on the original, but this version lets his energy match the music. KMG, of course, sounds dope on any version of this song (and there is another, the Cold 187um Remix). As with many ATL songs, it appears on the surface as a “don’t fuck with my car or me” song but it is more. Since I only deal in the physical realm with music, if you find the single this is on, grab it as it also has the aforementioned Cold 187um remix, instrumental to this remix, and a remix by Mac and AK of “Killaz in the Park”. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyxjDH7XBOY
One of the greatest songs of the 90s, Celly Cel’s “It’s Goin Down” hardly feels like it needs a remix. It has one, produced by Tone Capone and One Drop Scott, on the 12″ and it’s the kind of remix when you hear it, you think “there’s something different about that from the original, but I don’t know what”. It’s not wildly different than the OG, but just enough. The keys are flush in the remix, and the bass seems to hit harder. Overall, a nice complement to the original. Not to be confused with the remix on his subsequent album “The G Filez” with Mack 10, E-40, B-Legit and Rappin’ 4-Tay. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtnPIodV3WA
Watts, CA’s Kam is hard to describe. He can dabble in the gangsta side of things, and be proficient at it. His main forte is militant/conscious rap, from both a personal and societal level. The first time I heard him, he was sandwiched between Threat and WC on the legendary “Color Blind” track from Cube’s “Death Certificate”. You may have heard his song, “Every Single Weekend” in the background as Cube and co. were speaking on if god was a bitch, quazars and shit in a classic “Boyz N the Hood” scene. One thing’s for sure though, you will not get him confused with a pink flavoured rapper of a similar name.
Less than two years after “Every Single Weekend”, and a year after his turn on the “Get the Fist” single (alongside Cube, MC Eiht, Yo Yo, King Tee, Threat, J-Dee, and B-Real) he dropped his debut album, “Neva Again”. Funnelling the rage and revolution in his mind through the lyrics and the music, it’s a chaotic masterpiece that takes you through the large and small of life. The two singles from the album, “Still Got Luv 4 Um” and “Peace Treaty” are two of the more palatable radio songs (obviously), celebrating the better times of growing up and the more recent gang truce. The rest of the album, between questioning American holidays, going after those content with their lot in life, and pork, is NOI influenced militancy at some of its best. Clocking in at less than an hour and having only one guest verse (Cube, on “Watts Riot”) it’s a West Coast classic that fits in the Death Certificate/Guerrillas in tha Mist line.
“Neva Again” was released in early ’93, when music and lyrics like that still had a chance. By the time his next album “Made in America” came out two years later, it (like Paris’ “Guerrilla Funk” album) used some classic g-funk beats to get the message across. In fact, Kam says he was “waking Black people up over gangsta beats” on the Battlecat produced single “In Traffic”. The production on this album is a classic West Coast dream, that couldn’t even be made up it would sound so ludicrous: Battlecat, coming off of Domino’s and Dazzie Dee’s albums, produced 3 tracks, DJ Quik in the “Safe + Sound” era made one, Spice 1 producer E-A-Ski did two, Big Hutch aka Cold 187um produced one track in the “Uncle Sam’s Curse” vein, “Death Certificate” alum Rashad Coes goes for one, Warren G contributes the most laid back of the bunch, and longtime Kam collaborator Jess Willard rounds out the rest with three. Just take a minute to re-read that lineup, and think of the era. As with “Neva Again” Kam only has a few guests, including MC Ren and Dresta. The beats though, wouldn’t have the impact without the lyrics. It did sound a little odd that the beats weren’t used for classic g-funk subjects, but it made for a dope pairing. His lyrics focused on his allegiance to the Nation of Islam, a constant theme, speaking on gang violence not from preaching but from watching it up close, old friendships gone sour and a day-in-the-life recitation. His baritone voice commands the authority it seeks, and matches well across the production laid out for him. Once again, one of the best lyrical and musical documents of the time, this time fitting in more with the g-funk melodies than the urgency of his previous release.
DJ Pooh’s “Bad Newz Travels Fast” is, in my opinion, an underrated gem just past the edge of the West Coast dominance of the time. It includes Tray Deee, Threat, Bad Azz and the Lowlifes, and Mista Grimm, but what gives it it’s heft, and “oh shit” moment, is Kam. Contributing three tracks, this could easily fit as an addendum to “Made in America” or as an EP of its own. No matter how you view it though, it is Kam at his most biting, as Ice Cube found out. The standouts are the somber and reflective “Who Cares” about the state of young people in his neighborhood. It’s not a diatribe, but a statement of how lost kids are growing up. The fact that it channels Marvin Gaye’s “Inner City Blues” 20+ years after the original adds to the sense of despair. “Whoop Whoop” though, is what got people talking. Taking the 1997 Ice Cube diss award (previous winners being Cypress Hill and Common Sense) Kam just goes in! What had previously been subtly alluded to on “Made in America” was now front and center, alleging Cube stole the W hand symbol, that his wife wears the pants in the Jackson household, that he took his stories and history, and fuck Pat Charbonnet (Cube’s then manager) for good measure! The fact that this was on longtime Cube producer DJ Pooh’s album made it all the more interesting, and it’s hard to believe there was actually a video made for this. These three songs bookend a 4 year creative stint that saw lyrical and musical growth at each stop.
By this point, I would be remiss if I didn’t bring up Kam’s penchant for guest appearances. He kills each one, in the same way and tradition that Tray Deee and WC do. What makes them dope is that he is himself in each one, not bending to the flavor of the month or trying to be someone he’s not, and that’s what makes them memorable. For instance, on the track with Lynch and C-Bo off of “Blocc Movement”, I can remember his lines, but not the others. On “Maintain”, he perfectly compliments BG Knoccout and Dresta, and on “Westside Driveby” with him, E-A-Ski and MC Ren, his verse is what compels you to rewind it. It would be pointless and time consuming to list his greatest guest verses, but here are some of my favourites: George Clinton’s “Paint the White House Black”, “Can’t Break Me” off of Hard Truth Soldiers Vol. 1, Foesum’s “Doin It on the Coast” and “Eastside Stories”, E-White’s “In the Middle of the Night”, “Bulworth”, Paris’ “Ain’t No Love”, Glasses Malone’s “Therapy Sessions”, the West Coast version of Nas’ “Where Are they Now”, “The Re-Birth” with Mausberg, “Keep On” with Crooked I and Sly Boogie, “The Ill Shit” with Cube off of Erick Sermon’s “No Pressure”, Quik’s “U Ain’t Fresh” and “Keep the P in It” and many more.
By 2001, he released his third, and sadly, most recent solo album “Kamnesia”. Like the title indicates, it perhaps is best forgotten. It’s not by any measure a bad album, but him having the discography that he does, it is the weakest link. It has some dope tracks that always end up on compilations or soundtracks, like “Benefits”, “Where I Come From” and “Wardance” but it also has some songs that just don’t fit. Like the Jazze Pha songs fit as well as, I guess, Jazze Pha songs on a Kam album. They just don’t flow together. He needs to be on some Boogiemen, or Big Hutch style beats. He was supposed to drop an album on Paris’ Guerrilla Funk Records, which would have been a perfect match beat wise and ideologically, but that never materialised. My hope, always getting crushed by West Coast hip hop, was further beaten when the Snoop Dogg presented group Warzone never released anything. Consisting of him, Goldie Loc and MC Eiht, they recorded enough for an album but nothing was ever released, at least properly. There are songs and compilations of songs floating around the internet, so it is available as files. He even put up a 35 minute EPK on his YouTube channel that is worth checking out. Most recently he put out an album called “Fruit Pruno” with his brother Yung Bruh and Jasiri X, but all I can find is a download of it, so I haven’t heard it.
Kam debuted at a time when West Coast hip hop was ascending. It would have been easy to go the gangsta route after the militant one, as starting your album off with a skit from Scarface would have been more profitable than part of a Farrakhan speech, but Kam always stuck to his conscious. Which may not be yours, or mine, but true to him. And that’s to me, what impressed the most. In an era when almost every rapper I know has changed their style, their music, or their beliefs to maintain some level of popularity, Kam has steadily been who he was when I first heard him 23 years ago.
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