Lagwagon - Trashed (1994) [Santa Barbara]

1. Island Of Shame
2. Lazy
3. Know It All
4. Stokin' The Neighbors
5. Give It Back
6. Rust
7. Goin' South
8. Dis'chords
9. Coffee And Cigarettes
10. Brown Eyed Girl
11. Whipping Boy
12. No One
13. Bye for Now

Artist : Lagwagon
Label : Fat Wreck Chords
Date : Jun 20, 1994
Single : ?

Review :

Lagwagon has always been labeled as the stereotypical Fat Wreck Chords band. With a sound similar to that of NOFX and many other bands on that label (i.e., galloping pop-punk, harmonized vocals and a start-stop rhythm), these guys have been unfairly judged as another carbon copy California band -- but Lagwagon has a more mature, structured sound in comparison to a lot of the bands on the aforementioned label. With their second album, Trashed, it's pretty obvious that they've grown up lyrically as well. The opening track, "Island of Shame," deals with the isolation of having a disease in a narrow-minded small town. Along with some of the more serious songs on Trashed, there are an equal number of tunes that reflect a more playful side. For example, "Goin' South" talks about the frustrations of getting lost on the way to one of their shows: "We're heading south on the north bound/Our wheels might as well be square." Then there's their rendition of Van Morisson's "Brown Eyed Girl," in which they butcher this classic in a way that makes it ten times more enjoyable. This album should appeal to the 15-year-old skater in all of us.

Mike Daronco (All music guide)

Still G-funkin' rating

Lagwagon's Myspace

Poor Righteous Teachers - New World Order (1996) [Trenton, NJ]

1 Who Shot The President? (Intro)
2 Miss Ghetto
3 Word Iz Life
4 Allies featuring Fugees
5 New World News (Interlude)
6 Gods, Earths and 85ers featuring Nine
7 My Three Wives (Skakyla Pt. III)
8 Wicked Everytime
9 N.A.T.O. (Global Cops)
10 Conscious Style featuring KRS-One
11 Culture Freestyles (Interlude)
12 They Turned Gangsta featuring Brother J & Sluggy Ranks

13 We Dat Nice

14 Hear Me Out (Interlude)
15 Fo Da Love Of Dis
16 Dreadful Day featuring Junior Reid
17 Sistuh (vocals by Turiya Mason)

Artist : Poor Righteous Teachers

Label : Profile
Date : Oct 1, 1996
Single : "Word Iz Life".
Chart : #57 Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.

Bigfish rating

Still G-funkin' rating

Rodney O & Joe Cooley - Fuck New York [Los Angeles]

1. Y.F.N.Y
2. U Don't Hear Me Tho'
3. Why Must I Be Like That
4. What Really Goes On
5. Chase The Bass
6. The Jammy
7. Sit Back (Listen To The Rhyme)
8. Back In A Minute
9. Sounds Of The Underground
10. Hump For The Blvd.
11. California Cruiser
12. Wake Up New York
13. Somethin' Funky 4 U
14. U Don't Hear Me Tho (Radio Remix)

Artist : Rodney O & Joe Cooley
Label : Psychotic
Release Date : 1993
Single : "U Don't Hear Me Tho"
Chart : #9 Heatseekers, #50 Top R&b/Hip-hop Albums.

This Los Angeles rap trio was formed by Rodney Oliver and Joe Cooley with "General" Jeff Page, and debuted in 1989 with Me and Joe. Though not a sales hit, they scored enough underground attention with such singles as "Everlasting Bass" and "Cooley High" to land a deal with Atlantic. Their label debut was Three the Hard Way in 1990, but it didn't do much better. They also issued a Nastymix album Get Ready to Roll. ~ Ron Wynn, All Music Guide

Rodney O's Myspace
Dj Joe Cooley's Myspace

Still G-funkin' rating

The Pharcyde - LabCabinCalifornia (1995) [South Central, L.A.]

1 Bullshit
2 Pharcyde
3 Groupie Therapy
4 Runnin'
5 She Said
6 Splattitorium
7 Somethin' That Means Somethin'
8 All Live
9 Drop
10 Hey You
11 Y
12 It's All Good!
13 Moment In Time
14 The Hustle
15 Little D
16 Devil Music
17 The E.n.d

Artist : The Pharcyde

Label : Delicious Vinyl
Release Date : Nov 14, 1995
Singles : Drop, Runnin', She Said.
Chart : #17 Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, #37 The Billboard 200.

The Pharcyde's Myspace

Bigfish rating

Sean Price - Monkey Barz (2005) [Brownsville, BK]

1 Peep My Words
2 One Two Yall
3 Onion Head [feat. Tek]
4 Fake Neptune [feat. Buckshot, Steele, and Louieville]
5 Heartburn
6 Shake Down [feat. Starang Wondah and Steele]
7 Mad Mann
8 Brokest Rapper You Know
9 Boom Bye Yeah
10 I Love You (Bitch)
11 Bye Bye [feat. Buckshot]
12 Spliff N Wessun [feat. Rustee Juxx and Rock]
13 Jail Shit [feat. Rock]
14 Monkey Barz
15 Slap Boxing [feat. Rustee Juxx and Rock]
16 Rising to the Top (Grand Theft Auto Theme Song) [Bonus Track]

Artist : Sean Price
Label : Duck Down
Release Date : May 31, 2005
Singles : Boo Bye Yeah.
Chart : #46 Top Independent Albums, #70 Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.

Review:

Having lost its distribution deal with Priority, Duck Down Records, the home of New York's Boot Camp Clik, was at a low point around the turn of the century. BCC member Ruck's predicament did not fair any better. However, during the mid-2000s, he became one of underground hip-hop's MVPs under the name "[he] chooses to be called when [he's] in front of his moms," Sean Price, and Monkey Barz was vindicating proof of that fact. On this first installment of Duck Down's "Triple Threat" campaign, a collaborative effort with Justus League producers 9th Wonder and Khrysis, Price guides you on a journey of wit, humor, and grime. His deep, commanding voice on the opening track attempts to set a solemn tone for the rest of the album, even though the actual tone of Monkey Barz fluctuates from dead serious to slapstick nonsense. "Fake Neptune" has Price spitting filthy rhymes ("How you gonna sh*t on me/After I let you sh*t on me, freaky deakay") over a beat that does sound like a bootleg version of the Neptunes-produced track by Birdman and Clipse, "What Happened to That Boy." The real question posed is whether or not he can deliver with Justus League productions; the 9th Wonder-produced "Heartburn" offers the best answer. 9th composes a delicate, steady beat with hard drums, a husky bassline, and a beautiful soul sample, and yet Price's "courting" (more like repelling) of his love interest basks in his hardcore image. That peculiar contrast, which is representative of the album as a whole, makes Monkey Barz that more intriguing. Even more captivating is the title track, a rhyme session of jungle rap acrobatics in which his lyrical modus operandi -- the stop-and-flow delivery of clever rhymes and non sequiturs -- is epitomized: "We Mighty Joe Youngin' it/Thuggin' it/Straight from the jungle my brotha/My ni**as, Banana Republican/Orangutan slang/Chewbacca, not proper/Tube socks full of rocks plus the cops watch us, yo." Price clearly knows his strengths. His charisma alone can hold any song together and definitely stands out on tracks like "Jail Shit" where the production is less than stellar. The sexism expressed in some of his lyrics can be a bit off-putting, but by the end of the record, he will still have you chanting the ad libs along with him, "Sean P"!

by Cyril Cordor (All Music)

Bigfish rating

Still G-funkin' rating