Search Reviews:
 |
> Artist: Breeze
> Title: 'It Ain't Funky No Mo''
> Label: Hollywood & Vine
> Year: 1992
We have been cruelly shorted of Breeze material. Breeze jumped into the game with just one tight album, a handful of remixes and guest appearances (with King Tee and his crew, The LA Posse), and then just as quickly jumped back out. Nas brought him back for the West Coast remix of 'Where Are They Now?' But that didn't really answer the question of: where the Hell was he all the rest of that time? Well, this rare indie 12" goes at least some way towards answering that question and addressing the shortage of his material.
This seems to be the only release from Hollywood & Vine Records, which I'm guessing was The LA Posse's own label. It came out in 1992, which is little before the big independent hip-hop 12" boom, and three years after Breeze's stint with Atlantic. And he comes kinda different here.
The first thing you'll notice is that his flow is slower and more relaxed. Especially on the opening song, you could be forgiven for not recognizing him at all. It fits with the much more serious and somber subject matter of this record, though. And it's clearly a conscious decision, since he sounds more like his old self again on his 1994 verse on King Tee's 'Free Style Ghetto'. I have to admit to feeling an initial disappointment that he sounds different here; but once you get used to it, it fits and it's all good music.
The lead track is 'It Ain't Funky No Mo'' co-produced by Muffla (one of the two heads from the LA Posse) and Breeze himself. Like Breeze's flow, the track is also on some slow funk, but with a surprisingly neck-snapping drum track. The music is thick and layered (the instrumental version they've also been good enough to include could nearly stand on its own), and there's an almost constant vocal sample crooning in the background. But it still manages to keep a backseat to Breeze's rhymes, which is fitting since this 12" was clearly produced just 'cause Breeze had something to say:
"Braggin' you're a gangster, claimin' how you did a jack;
You're every bit of wack and you still ain't considered black.
You're just a hoe; don't you know your label's pimping you?
You bust your back every place that they sent you to.
Making them a grip every place you take your group;
Your album's going gold and they claim you still ain't recoup?
But you claim you got a lawyer...
Who plays the role;
And waiting for the first chance...
To sell your soul.
Where's your manager who promised you the growth days?
He jetted with your credit and now you're jammed out both ways."
Hazard we a guess that he didn't leave Atlantic on the best of terms?
And the tone doesn't get any lighter when we flip this one over. The next track is called 'Black Owned', and the title alone should tell you that this is more in line with Kam or Threat than anything off Breeze's debut. It's again co-produced by Muffla and Breeze, and while Breeze's voice sounds a bit more like his old material, the beat is still clearly in a rougher, grimmer mood - though again, the drums are still funky and old school, almost upbeat compared to the rest of the music. I could see a lot of fans being put off by this one ...talking about slavery, the riots, not falling for the white man's 'okey-doke' "Japs making snaps off of blacks buying X hats", etc. will certainly scare some people away; but the overall message is clearly meant to be uplifting (albeit in an angry, racially exclusionary sort of way).
Finally we end with 'Bad Press', this time co-produced by Breeze and DJ Mel-O-Dee. You can tell this one's produced by a DJ, despite him never going into "let me showcase my turntable wizardy" mode, what with the samples being constantly rubbed into the track. There's a surprisingly DITC-style jazz sample on the hook, and the drum track is a dope reference to his classic distorted "LA Posse" beats. He also rhymes a little faster on this one. So there's all that plus a vocal sample on the hook taken from his first album intro, but don't think Breeze is letting up the bleak subject matter, "It ain't cool when we start to claim 'Cop Killer;' but it's cool when you killed a black drug dealer. What's the difference when they both act like criminals? I guess when it comes to blacks, the loss is minimal."
It certainly would've been nice to have a more basic, skill-flexing "Pull a Fast One"-type song, too. But Breeze clearly had an agenda this time around; which you've gotta respect. Especially since, even though it might not've been what you were hoping for or expecting when you bought a Breeze record, it's dope.
The sad part is that the bottom of the label reads, "from the forthcoming Hollywood & Vine LP 'BLACKBALLED," which would never see the light of day. But at least there's this... if you can find it.
> Reviewed by: Werner
> Title: 'It Ain't Funky No Mo''
> Label: Hollywood & Vine
> Year: 1992
We have been cruelly shorted of Breeze material. Breeze jumped into the game with just one tight album, a handful of remixes and guest appearances (with King Tee and his crew, The LA Posse), and then just as quickly jumped back out. Nas brought him back for the West Coast remix of 'Where Are They Now?' But that didn't really answer the question of: where the Hell was he all the rest of that time? Well, this rare indie 12" goes at least some way towards answering that question and addressing the shortage of his material.
This seems to be the only release from Hollywood & Vine Records, which I'm guessing was The LA Posse's own label. It came out in 1992, which is little before the big independent hip-hop 12" boom, and three years after Breeze's stint with Atlantic. And he comes kinda different here.
The first thing you'll notice is that his flow is slower and more relaxed. Especially on the opening song, you could be forgiven for not recognizing him at all. It fits with the much more serious and somber subject matter of this record, though. And it's clearly a conscious decision, since he sounds more like his old self again on his 1994 verse on King Tee's 'Free Style Ghetto'. I have to admit to feeling an initial disappointment that he sounds different here; but once you get used to it, it fits and it's all good music.
The lead track is 'It Ain't Funky No Mo'' co-produced by Muffla (one of the two heads from the LA Posse) and Breeze himself. Like Breeze's flow, the track is also on some slow funk, but with a surprisingly neck-snapping drum track. The music is thick and layered (the instrumental version they've also been good enough to include could nearly stand on its own), and there's an almost constant vocal sample crooning in the background. But it still manages to keep a backseat to Breeze's rhymes, which is fitting since this 12" was clearly produced just 'cause Breeze had something to say:
"Braggin' you're a gangster, claimin' how you did a jack;
You're every bit of wack and you still ain't considered black.
You're just a hoe; don't you know your label's pimping you?
You bust your back every place that they sent you to.
Making them a grip every place you take your group;
Your album's going gold and they claim you still ain't recoup?
But you claim you got a lawyer...
Who plays the role;
And waiting for the first chance...
To sell your soul.
Where's your manager who promised you the growth days?
He jetted with your credit and now you're jammed out both ways."
Hazard we a guess that he didn't leave Atlantic on the best of terms?
And the tone doesn't get any lighter when we flip this one over. The next track is called 'Black Owned', and the title alone should tell you that this is more in line with Kam or Threat than anything off Breeze's debut. It's again co-produced by Muffla and Breeze, and while Breeze's voice sounds a bit more like his old material, the beat is still clearly in a rougher, grimmer mood - though again, the drums are still funky and old school, almost upbeat compared to the rest of the music. I could see a lot of fans being put off by this one ...talking about slavery, the riots, not falling for the white man's 'okey-doke' "Japs making snaps off of blacks buying X hats", etc. will certainly scare some people away; but the overall message is clearly meant to be uplifting (albeit in an angry, racially exclusionary sort of way).
Finally we end with 'Bad Press', this time co-produced by Breeze and DJ Mel-O-Dee. You can tell this one's produced by a DJ, despite him never going into "let me showcase my turntable wizardy" mode, what with the samples being constantly rubbed into the track. There's a surprisingly DITC-style jazz sample on the hook, and the drum track is a dope reference to his classic distorted "LA Posse" beats. He also rhymes a little faster on this one. So there's all that plus a vocal sample on the hook taken from his first album intro, but don't think Breeze is letting up the bleak subject matter, "It ain't cool when we start to claim 'Cop Killer;' but it's cool when you killed a black drug dealer. What's the difference when they both act like criminals? I guess when it comes to blacks, the loss is minimal."
It certainly would've been nice to have a more basic, skill-flexing "Pull a Fast One"-type song, too. But Breeze clearly had an agenda this time around; which you've gotta respect. Especially since, even though it might not've been what you were hoping for or expecting when you bought a Breeze record, it's dope.
The sad part is that the bottom of the label reads, "from the forthcoming Hollywood & Vine LP 'BLACKBALLED," which would never see the light of day. But at least there's this... if you can find it.
> Reviewed by: Werner
