Uncle_Fester
10-30-06, 12:14 PM
The House that Billy Ocean Built
It’s been said before: **** Jive/Zomba / I sell nose candy Willy Wonka.
But let’s step back for a minute. Between The Clipse’s heavily delayed and critically fawned about Hell Hath No Fury (set to drop 11/28, for really real this time, I’m told) and the poorly publicized and out of leftfield announcement that UGK is scheduled to drop on December 19th the Clive Calader corporation might just **** around and drop the two best rap albums of 2006. Or at least the two best rap albums about cocaine. And needless to say, amongst us hipster carpetbagguers the two best coke rap albums are the de facto two best rap albums. And yes, I’m ignoring the inevitability that one or both of these records won’t be out released until 2010. But since I’m an optimist, I’ll turn and walk with this.
I’ve also come to terms with the fact that neither group will sell for **** outside of their built in fan bases. Along with Flock of Seagulls, under promoted rap albums with local and cult followings were Jive’s bread and butter before the late 90’s teenybopper boom turned them all from billionaires to multi-billionaires. They signed acts with local followings, didn’t put an ounce of promotion into them and got them on BET. And, if Q-Tip is to be believed, they were ripping all these acts off too.
But their roster was un****witable. Probably the best legacy of any rap label outside of Def Jam. Jive ushered in the first wave of pop rap, signing groups you could take home to mom like Whoodini and Fresh Prince. They kept the luster on Kool Moe Dee’s cazals and kept KRS sane. They put out Keith Murray records even though he was using big words n’ ****. They gave more national shine to the bay than all the MTV Jams My Block Reruns, signing up every half decent friend or relative of E-40, Too Short or Del. And most of them put out good to great records. Tribe Called Quest, Pac, Mystikal, Schoolly D, Spice 1, Steady B, etc., etc., etc.
Of course the knee jerk response is to say **** them fools, they can’t promote rap. And I can’t really argue that. The last two UGK albums didn’t even get a single video from Jive. Unforgivable, especially considering the “Big Pimpin’” buzz. But let’s be honest, many of these acts - Extra Prolific, The Mossie, Ant Banks - didn’t have an ounce of crossover appeal. Jive got their records onto the racks at Tower’s all over the country. Where I will buy them for 75% off in a few weeks. And at the same time - and this seems to be working to UGK and Clipse’s advantage even now - they did not meddle with these projects in the least. They let their artists run with their vision and a gang load of classic rap music was the end result. I can’t really defend them as a marketing force in the hip hop world, but their creative record stands for itself.
My point is scream **** Jive, if you must, but respect their catalog.
Greatest Rap Albums on Jive:
1. Schoolly D - Saturday Night The Album (1986)
2. Too Short - Born To Mack (1987)
3. Boogie Down Productions - By All Means Necessary (1988)
4. DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince - He’s The DJ, I’m The Rapper (1988)
5. A Tribe Called Quest - Low End Theory (1991)
6. Spice 1 - Spice 1 (1992)
7. Souls of Mischief - 93 Til Infinity (1993)
8. E-40 - In a Major Way (1995)
9. 2 Pac - Me Against The World (1995)
10. UGK - Ridin’ Dirty (1996)
Barry: please let me add Hell Hath No Fury and Underground Kingz to this list in the near future.
http://xxlmag.com/online/?p=5708
It’s been said before: **** Jive/Zomba / I sell nose candy Willy Wonka.
But let’s step back for a minute. Between The Clipse’s heavily delayed and critically fawned about Hell Hath No Fury (set to drop 11/28, for really real this time, I’m told) and the poorly publicized and out of leftfield announcement that UGK is scheduled to drop on December 19th the Clive Calader corporation might just **** around and drop the two best rap albums of 2006. Or at least the two best rap albums about cocaine. And needless to say, amongst us hipster carpetbagguers the two best coke rap albums are the de facto two best rap albums. And yes, I’m ignoring the inevitability that one or both of these records won’t be out released until 2010. But since I’m an optimist, I’ll turn and walk with this.
I’ve also come to terms with the fact that neither group will sell for **** outside of their built in fan bases. Along with Flock of Seagulls, under promoted rap albums with local and cult followings were Jive’s bread and butter before the late 90’s teenybopper boom turned them all from billionaires to multi-billionaires. They signed acts with local followings, didn’t put an ounce of promotion into them and got them on BET. And, if Q-Tip is to be believed, they were ripping all these acts off too.
But their roster was un****witable. Probably the best legacy of any rap label outside of Def Jam. Jive ushered in the first wave of pop rap, signing groups you could take home to mom like Whoodini and Fresh Prince. They kept the luster on Kool Moe Dee’s cazals and kept KRS sane. They put out Keith Murray records even though he was using big words n’ ****. They gave more national shine to the bay than all the MTV Jams My Block Reruns, signing up every half decent friend or relative of E-40, Too Short or Del. And most of them put out good to great records. Tribe Called Quest, Pac, Mystikal, Schoolly D, Spice 1, Steady B, etc., etc., etc.
Of course the knee jerk response is to say **** them fools, they can’t promote rap. And I can’t really argue that. The last two UGK albums didn’t even get a single video from Jive. Unforgivable, especially considering the “Big Pimpin’” buzz. But let’s be honest, many of these acts - Extra Prolific, The Mossie, Ant Banks - didn’t have an ounce of crossover appeal. Jive got their records onto the racks at Tower’s all over the country. Where I will buy them for 75% off in a few weeks. And at the same time - and this seems to be working to UGK and Clipse’s advantage even now - they did not meddle with these projects in the least. They let their artists run with their vision and a gang load of classic rap music was the end result. I can’t really defend them as a marketing force in the hip hop world, but their creative record stands for itself.
My point is scream **** Jive, if you must, but respect their catalog.
Greatest Rap Albums on Jive:
1. Schoolly D - Saturday Night The Album (1986)
2. Too Short - Born To Mack (1987)
3. Boogie Down Productions - By All Means Necessary (1988)
4. DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince - He’s The DJ, I’m The Rapper (1988)
5. A Tribe Called Quest - Low End Theory (1991)
6. Spice 1 - Spice 1 (1992)
7. Souls of Mischief - 93 Til Infinity (1993)
8. E-40 - In a Major Way (1995)
9. 2 Pac - Me Against The World (1995)
10. UGK - Ridin’ Dirty (1996)
Barry: please let me add Hell Hath No Fury and Underground Kingz to this list in the near future.
http://xxlmag.com/online/?p=5708