Throwing big words around has become a trend in recent years, as new jack rappers – lacking in flow, breath control and any kind of style in general – attempt to distract listeners. It wasn’t always that way though. There was a time when T La Rock and the Treacherous Three made a name for themselves as dope MC’s with the most advanced vocabularies in the game. While many of their contemporaries were satisfied kicking that same old shit, T La brought brag-rap to previously unheard-of heights through his combination of brainiac wordplay and staunch, confident delivery that was equally adept at rocking crowds as it was keeping fingers on the rewind button of the boombox.
To set-off this T La Rock special, I’ve got a few snippets of the “Lyrical King” putting it down live on stage in Long Island, and a performance on the Red Alert show. Both are from 1985, collected by Tapemaster One for his essential When Hip Hop Was An Art… CD’s from a few years back. You’ll notice that a few of these rhymes eventually turned-up on “Breaking Bells” a couple of years later. Raw rap at it’s finest.
T La Rock w/ DJ Louie Lou – On the Kool DJ Red Alert Show (When Hip Hop Was An Art… Volume 1)
T La Rock w/ DJ Louie Lou – Live In Hempstead, L.I. [Part 1] (When Hip Hop Was An Art… Volume 2)
T La Rock w/ Greg Nice – Live In Hempstead, L.I. [Part 2] (When Hip Hop Was An Art… Volume 2)
where can i get those ‘when hip hop was an art’ volumes? still available??
this shit is truly classic btw.
does anybody have that on a warpath lp?
“It’s yours” was Rakim before Rakim was Rakim.
“Lyrical king” lp is slept on.
I think only a small number of those “When Hip Hop…” CD’s were made, I have no idea if they’re still available.
I’ve heard “On A Warpath”, it’s mostly Todd Terry beats. I think there might have been one decent song on there though.
“Lyrical King” is great, despite the fact that it contains one of the worst skits ever recorded (“Live Drumming With The Country Boy”).
Lyrical King is awesome – but spot on about that skit. T La Rock is also one of the nicest guys in rap. Me and my man Greenpeace went up to his house a few years back and spent time sat on his bed listening to stacks of dope unreleased cuts. I definitely have that article if you want it, Robbie
For sure, Drew. Send it to [email protected]
Thanks.
i have that on a warpath lp and shit is no good.. so you’re not missin out
Just to let y’all know, T La Rock is a good friend of mine……….yep T La Rock’s lyrical skillz and lyrical influence (ask LL Cool J) is HUGELY SLEPT ON
Definitely classic!
T. La Rock is one of the best MC`s ever.
The “Warpath” album, when it came out in 89 I guess, I was quite disappointed.
The artist himself said in that interview on Jay Quan`s site, that he didn`t know, that sleeping bag had put it out in England. That cover was wack, too.
But as far as the other stuff from T.L.A.R.O.C.K., it`s truely amazing.
I really liked that track with Percey Pee, too.
By the way: I´m looking for his tune “Nitro”.
A friend of mine from Berlin told me about an album containing unreleased stuff from the lyrical king. Does it really exist?
Peace
Al,
You can find “Nitro” here.
There was a “Lost Tapes” album released a few years ago but I never got a copy. I’ve heard it wasn’t all that good anywa
Nice to hear those old recordings.
Unfortunately I’ve never heard the ‘On A Warpath’ album. Back then it was available here in The Netherlands, but the cover looked wack and it got bad reviews. I loved (and still do) the track ‘Flow With The New Style’ though, so I got the 12″ instead. A couple of years ago I was looking in the bargain crates of a record store and someone else found the album just before me and took off with it. That was the only copy they had. I think I’ll order it somewhere online, because I’m still curious, even if I’ll probably get disappointed. Perhaps someone can let me hear it on mp3 first?
I must admit that I do like some of the early Todd Terry stuff. His music was a nice mix of House and HipHop. I guess Fresh/Sleeping Bag Records believed with Todd Terry they had found someone who could replace the left Mantronik.
On a warpath was a solid Lp, Todd Terry had a lot of beats at the time and was able to formulate his sound to hip hop. I really think the collapse of Fresh records ruined T La Rock’s career. he was not able to bounce back after that.
That t la rock on Kiss is from my original Kiss tape,i recently made a better recording of it from the original D90 so if anyone wants a better recording,mail me at-
Also check out my website/message board,i`ve a section for oldschool radio/live sessions etc,with more from my tapes like this!
Oldschool Genius.co.uk
THIS IS RAKIM’S LYRICS FROM “THE PUNISHER” BROKEN DOWN TO A LEVEL TO SHOW YOU HE’S THE BEST PERIOD THEN YOU TELL ME WHO’S THE BEST MC PERIOD…HE WAY BEYOND THERE MENTAL OR SPIRITUAL THINKING PERIOD…
THE MIND WILL PUNISH THEM BECAUSE THEY DONT UNDERSTAND IT…..
IF YOU CURSE ME IT AIN’T NO MERCY…
GIVE THEM A AUTOPSY …..
THEY KILLED BY A VERSE OF ME….
I TOOK THE KID AND CUT OFF THERE EYELIDS…..(NOT MEANING CUTTING THEM OFF PHYSICALLY BUT SPIRITUALLY).. (IF I CUT OFF YOUR EYELIDS YOU CAN’T CLOSE YOUR EYES WITHOUT EYE LIDS, SO YOU CAN SEE AT ALL TIMES WHAT COMING AT YOU IN ALL ANGLES WEATHER IT’S MENTAL,PHYSICAL, OR SPIRITUALLY BUT YOU HAVE TO BE AWARE OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS, NOT SLEEPING WALKING IN THE MENTAL OR SPIRITUAL)…
KILLING THEM SLOW SO THEY CAN SEE WHAT I DID….( NOT MEANING KILLING FOR REAL BUT KILLING THERE SO CALLED IMMATURE IDENTITY OF WHO THEY ARE SO THEY CAN GIVE BIRTH TO THE REAL SPIRITUAL IDENTITY FROM GOD WHICH HAS ETERNAL LIGHT AND INSIGHT WHICH IS WITHIN ONESELF)…
IF THEY DONT UNDERSTAND WHAT I SAID I’M PUSHING THERE EYEBALLS WAY TO THE BACK OF THERE HEAD SO THEY CAN SEE WHAT THEY GETTING INTO …..
THE PART OF THE MIND THAT THEY NEVER BEEN THROUGH..
THE JOURNEY IS COMING CAUSE YOUR GETTING SENT TO, A PLACE HARDER TO FIND, BUT IT’S ALL IN THE MENTAL….
I RUN A BRAINSCAN TO LOCATE YOUR GAME PLAN….
WHEN I’M THROUGH WITH YOUR BRAIN YOU AIN’T THE SAME MAN….!!!
DID YOU LOSE YOUR MIND OR GOT LOST IN THE MIND….
BUT THIS AIN’T THE LOST AND FOUND BECAUSE YOU CAN’T FIND YOUR FOUNDATION…IT’S COASTING…DRIFTING IN SLOW MOTION … YOUR FROZEN…
LOOKS LIKE ANOTHER MURDER IN THE MARDI GRAS…B!!!(IF YOU THINK YOU THERE MENTALLY AND YOUR LIGHT WHICH IS WISDOM, KNOWLEDGE, AND UNDERSTANDING FROM GOD AND YOU NOT INTUNE WITH LIFES INSIGHT YET THEN YOU MIGHT AS WELL CONSIDER YOUR MENTAL AWARENESS MURDERED …THAT’S WHAT IT MEANS..)
TOO LATE TO SEND OUT A SEARCH PARTY ….
ONCE YOUR OUT OF YOUR HEAD THEN YOU CAN’T GET BACK…
I GIVE THEM A MAP BUT THEY STILL GET TRAPPED….( I GIVE THEM DIRECTION BECAUSE I’M RIGHTEOUS BUT THE IGNORANT GET MENTALLY TRAPPED …GET IT YET…)
PREPARE THE CHAMBER…THE TORTURE IS COMING UP….
WHEN YOU TRIP THROUGH YOUR MIND AT THE END YOU WILL FIND IT’S THE PUNISHER….(REMEMBER I SAID THAT YOUR MIND IS THE PUNISHER NOT THAT IM THE PUNISHER..(YOUR MIND BECOMES YOUR OWN ENEMY)…(THE MIND TAKES X-RAY’S SO LISTEN CLOSELY)…
MY INTELLECT WILL WRECK AND DISCONNECT YOUR CEREBRAL CORTEX THEN CEREBELLUM IS NEXT…
YOUR CONSCIENCE BECOMES SUB-CONSCIOUS….
SOON YOUR RESPONSE BECOMES NONSENSE….
YOUR LAST WORDS BECOME BLURRED… MUMBLED THEN SLURRED…
THEN YOUR VERBS WHICH IS YOUR ACTIONS BECOME NO LONGER HEARD….
THEN YOU GET YOUR LUNGS FRIED SO GOOD YOUR TONGUES TIED….
THEY TRIED TO SWING OR HANG WITH ME IN THE MENTAL BUT THEY HUNG TILL THEY DIED….( DIED MEANING ETERNAL MENTAL AND SPIRITUAL DARKNESS)…
I LEAVE THEM IN A MAUSOLEUM WHERE YOU CAN SEE THEM ….
BECAUSE I GOT A SPIRITUALLY AND MENTALLY DEAD PEOPLE MUSEUM….
WHEN I CREATE THEM….I CREMATE THEM AND COMPLICATE THEM….YOU CAN’T SAVE THEM…THERES NO ULTIMATUM…!!!
THERE MENTAL DARKNESS LAYS AROUND LIKE BODY’S BURNED TO ASHES….
WITH THE VICTIM’S NAME IN SLASHES….( MENTALLY SCARING THEM FOR LIFE )….
I GOT A LONG LIST AND I’M GONNA GET EVERY ONE OF YA…!!!
BEWARE OF THE PUNISHER….!!! (BEWARE OF YOUR OWN MIND AND SIRITUAL AWARENESS IN YOURSELF THAT’S WHAT IT MEANS)….
YOU A SLAVE TO WHATEVER MASTERS YOU…..WHEN DEALING WITH ANY TOPIC OR SITUATUION IN THIS LIFE…
REMEMBER OUT YOUR MOUTH YOU A SLAVE TO IT, BUT IF IT’S KEPT IN YOUR HEAD YOU CAN LEARN TO MASTER IT….!!!
CONSTANT ELEVATION…!!!