The Pete Rock remix is historic. Essential, really. Like em both. I hear his version every week on The Audible, a fantasy football podcast where Cecil Lammy and Sigmund Bloom tell you bout the non-performing NFL players it's time to shut down. And, of course, there's the Nike ad. It's been one of the most influential hip hop tracks ever laid down.
If you can get with THIS: You can probably get with THAT: It's very rare that an official album full of original instrumentals gets released commercially. The beats from A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing are worth hearing on their own, so I highly recommend Silence Of The Lambs. The tracks are taken from the original master tapes, and the CD-on-demand from Amazon is lossless (not compressed).
Hip-hop had a pretty big impact on the pop singles chart in 1991, too, even though not all of what charted well was necessarily good. The previous year had a sprinkling of major pop-rap songs like "U Can't Touch This," "The Power," "Knockin' Boots," and "Ice Ice Baby," to name a few, but is seems like 1991 had quite a few more make the Billboard Hot 100 and get airplay on top 40 radio. Hip-hop songs that peaked at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100: "Set Adrift On Memory Bliss" by PM Dawn "Good Vibrations" by Marky Mark & The Funky Bunch Top 10 peaking songs: "Summertime" by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince (#4) "Play That Funky Music" by Vanilla Ice (#4) "OPP" by Naughty By Nature (#6) "Rico Suave" by Gerardo (#7) "Around The Way Girl" by LL Cool J (#9) "Wildside" by Marky Mark (#10) Top 20 peaking songs: "Now That We Found Love" by Heavy D & The Boyz "Do The Bartman" by The Simpsons (peaked on Hot 100 Airplay chart) "Let's Talk About Sex" by Salt-N-Pepa "We Want The Funk" by Gerardo (#16) "Mama Said Knock You Out" by LL Cool J (#17) "I'll Do 4 U" by Father MC (#20) "Ring My Bell" by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince Top 40 peaking song: "Do You Want Me" by Salt-N-Pepa (#21) "Deeper Shade Of Soul" by Urban Dance Squad (#21) "It's A Shame" by Monie Love (#26) "Pop Goes The Weasel" by 3rd Bass (#29) "You Can't Play With My Yo-Yo" by Yo-Yo feat. Ice Cube (#36) And then there were the dance/rap songs, like C+C Music Factory's hits and "3 AM Eternal" by KLF, which were all big in 1991.
Cool interview! I didn't really know about this album until many years later, although I was familiar with "Looking At The Front Door" from getting played on Yo! MTV Raps. I always loved the song, but none of the stores in my area carried Breaking Atoms, and I didn't get around to picking it up until it was way out of print in the mid-2000s. I have a bootleg/pirate that includes a bunch of bonus tracks as well as the original CD pressing. Fantastic album from start to finish! And it's the first time that world had ever heard Nas on an album.
"There's no reason for a record like this to be released. It has no place in our society." - former U.S. Vice-President Dan Quale 2Pacalypse Now by 2Pac dropped November 12, 1991.
Favorite rap albums from 1991: A Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory Organized Konfusion - Organized Konfusion Geto Boys - We Can't Be Stopped De La Soul - De La Soul Is Dead KMD - Mr. Hood 2Pac - 2Pacalypse Now Black Sheep - A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing Hard to think of singles, but off top: A Tribe Called Quest "Jazz / Buggin' Out" (video above is an all-time favorite) Geto Boys "Mind Playing Tricks on Me"
Ahhh yeah! Glad this thread is back. 1991 was a huge year for hip hop, it really felt like there was a great album that was coming out every week. Here is a nice mini documentary on the making of "The Choice Is Yours (Revisited)" by Black Sheep: Magnum Opus: The Making of Black Sheep's "The Choice Is Yours (Revisited)"
So many great albums of 1991, it's hard to list them all. But, this is one I still play regularly, brings me right back to being 12 years old again in the summer of '91.
This one just sneaks in to 1991, being released on December 31st! A great soundtrack with some of the best hip hop artists of the time. Various - Juice (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
I will definitely be bringing this one up again when we get to 1992, but you are correct that it just barely made the release schedule for 1991.
I like the debut album better, but this one does have some great tracks. I love the title track, and who can forget the funny skits like Al'z ABCs and Eye Jammie?
I love "The Cactus Album" too. Something with "Derelicts Of Dialect" really stuck with me through the years, I just think that I listened to it more over time that it's burned into my memory better than "Cactus". The skits are great, it really showed their sense of humor and as an audience we saw that they didn't take themselves too seriously.
Yeah, it gets in on a technicality. For all intents and purposes it is a 1992 album, I'm looking forward to discussing it also.
Some more favorites from 1991: Digital Underground - "This Is An E.P. Release" Ed O.G. & Da Bulldogs- "Life Of A Kid In The Ghetto" Kool Moe Dee- "Funke, Funke Wisdom"
I knew you were extremely busy, but, I was starting to wonder if you had simply decided to abandon the thread. 1991 Your top 5 favorite albums and singles from 1991...what are they?[/QUOTE] De la Soul - De La Soul Is Dead Ice Cube - Death Certificate NWA - Efil4zaggin And, unless i'm mistaken, Tone Loc also came out with his second album, which bombed. Out of these, the one I enjoy the most is "Death Certificate". He got a lot of flack for it because of a track where he addresses Korean shop owners.