Download: A Salute To Album Tracks That Could Have Been Singles [90s Edition]

Twenty rap album deep cuts from the nineties that could have made great 12″ releases if they’d been given the chance.

Download: A Salute To Album Tracks That Could Have Been Singles [90s Edition]

Track listing:

01. ‘Medicine’ – Show & A.G.

The best demonstration of the paired-down sound of the second Show & AG full-length, this cut finds Andre The Giant riding a pounding snare, while a menacing, guttural loop bubble beneath the surface while we’re treated to a brief return of Showbiz to the vocal booth!

02. ‘Spell It With A J (Yes, Yes Jorge)’ – Kurious1

This Mighty V.I.C.-era Beatnuts production sets off A Constipated Monkey in fine form, offsetting a snapping stand-up bass riff with an abrasive vocal snippet while Jorge flows like Jameson.

03. ‘Ragtime’ – Brand Nubian

This one got a lot of radio play down here on account of that catchy guitar loop and energetic vocal performances from Puba, X and Jamar.

04. ‘Snake Eyes’ – Main Source

A powerful opening to Breaking Atoms which somehow was passed over for ‘Peace Is Not The Word To Play’.

05. ‘Boon Dox’ – EPMD

Absolutely blew the bloody doors of the hinges with this opener. Up there with ‘Straight Outta Compton’ as an all-time best first track off an LP.

06. ‘Footprints’ – A Tribe Called Quest

Eff an ‘El Segundo’, this was the jeep beat that had everyone bugging when it dropped.

07. ‘Straight Jacket’ – The Beatnuts

Top three Waterfall Rap, no question.

08. ‘The Extinction Agenda’ – Organized Konfusion

There’s so much going on in this song that it still impresses to this day.

09. ‘O-Zone’ – O.C.

Why Wild Pitch put ‘Born 2 Live’ out over this will be debated by scholars thousands of years from now.

10. ‘All Black’ – Big L

L raps like he’s just discovered someone had stolen his last beer from the studio fridge, while Lord Finesse serves up a beat that will haunt your nightmares.

11. ‘Raw Hide’ – Ol’ Dirty Bastard feat. Raekwon and Method Man2

This track is a like a bad dust trip, with music that sounds like it leaked out of the ninth depth of hell while ODB is at his most demented, topped off with some prime mid-nineties AIDS jokes.

12. ‘Queens Lounge’ – The Large Professor

This is what the ‘Shook Ones’ beat might have sounded like if Xtra-P had hung around for the second album with Hav and P.

13. ‘Gather Round’ – Diamond D

Diamond going for broke over a hard break is why everyone loved his first album so much.

14. ‘Gotta Get Up’ – Black Sheep

The best song from this misunderstood sophomore project, Dres murders this incredible track with effortless confidence.

15. ‘Checkmate’ – Akinyele

This song encapsulates everything great about rap music.

16. ‘The Realest’ – Mobb Deep feat. Kool G Rap

This is why Rawkus drove a truck full of money to G Rap’s door to sign him.

17. ‘Cheesy Rat Blues’ – LL Cool J

The first song to flip the beat later heard on the ‘Scenario’ remix, Cool J shows a lot of self-awareness as he plays the roll of dude who fell-off after having pulled himself back from the brink of obsolescence. Easily his funniest song.

18. ‘Black Bastards’ – KMD

The part about seeing Corin Nemec from Parker Lewis Can’t Lose try to rap still cracks me up.

19. ‘Guillotine (Swords)’ – Raekwon feat. Inspektah Deck, Ghostface Killah and GZA/Genius

Using a skit beat for a full song became pretty common at one point, but who can blame ’em when it sounds this good?

20. ‘I Get My Thang In Action’ – Method Man

This and ‘Bring The Pain’ were the catchiest tunes from Tical, yet somehow this one didn’t get the shine it deserved.

1. This was the b-side to the ‘Uptown Shit’ single [↩]
2. There was a promo single of this, but no video that I’m aware of [↩]