DJ Premier and GURU’s third LP isn’t the most stripped-down rap album you’ll ever hear – it’s a veritable smorgasbord of sounds in comparison to the likes of the first Schoolly-D album or anything from Rick Rubin era Def Jam – but considering the technology and resources that they had available to them, Daily Operation is very much a statement about how to do more with less. While Pete Rock stringing together banks of samplers to create the intricate symphony of horns, bass, and loops that is Mecca and the Soul Brother, Keithy E.E. and Preem were stripping back the layers of paint and seeking the beauty of simplicity. This shouldn’t be viewed as a rejection of those incredibly ambitious efforts of their peers, but more an attempt to distill the formula down to its bare bones.
In terms of Gang Starr’s extensive catalogue, Daily Operation occupies that awkward space between the impact and marked improvement that Step In The Arena demonstrated and the perfection of the formula that is Hard To Earn, which is thematically a clear continuation of the same concepts (‘The Planet’ and ‘Speak Ya Clout’ serving as the second instalments of ‘The Place Where We Dwell’ and ‘I’m The Man’ respectively), while other fans herald Moment of Truth as the definitive statement of the duo’s powers.
In spite of all of this, Daily Operation remains as the most intriguing musical statement that the group made over the course of six albums. Released at the beginning of a period in hip-hop where cheap gimmicks competed to capture the attention of a rapidly growing rap audience and the likes of Fu-Schnickens and Das-EFX were busy tongue-twisting themselves onto the charts and major record labels were throwing recording contracts at anybody with a Walker Wear skully and Pelle Pelle leathers, Gang Starr’s third album joined Boogie Down Production’s Sex and Violence and Lord Finesse’s Return of the Funkyman as the last gasps of a particular brand of New York rap.
Whereas Finesse moved onto a richer, more atmospheric sound and KRS appropriately sought-out DJ Premier’s talents to win back a waning audience, it was the measured minimalism of Daily Operation that proved to be the most convincing argument for a bare bones production technique. With several of the tracks stripped-down to just loud drums, piano stabs and scratch hooks, there is a deliberate aesthetic at work which may seem a little simplistic but is in fact carefully calculated. Much like editing a film, the power is often in what is left out – reduction theory.
Many of the songs feature direct nods to the rap’s glory days, whether it be snippets of drum machine beats from ‘P.S.K.’ and ‘Paul Revere’ or vocal grabs from BDP, Stetsasonic and LL Cool J. The opening salvo, ‘The Place Where We Dwell’ conjures the same basement party atmosphere that KRS and Freddie Foxxx captured with ‘The Original Way,’ with a startlingly raw drum break kicking aside any ideas of radio-friendly compromise.
GURU is in rude form here, as he tackles a broad range of topics with a self-assured flair for getting right to the point, even going as far as to defend his affection for booze during a time when drugs and drinking were still the exception rather than the norm as far as the public image of rapper dudes was concerned. Elsewhere he addresses politics, relationships and the music industry with the same focus as he scolds sucker MCs, solidifying his position as one of rap’s most consistent wordsmiths.
The final song on the LP, ‘Stay Tuned,’ encapsulates everything that the album stands for. It’s brutally sparse, with the barest of drums and keys accompanying GURU’s echoed vocals and a slightly eerie television presenter scratched in to break-up the verses. As with many of the tracks before it, it plays as a wholesale rejection of the one-upmanship culture of loop digging and record fairs that was beginning to permeate the scene – a sort of ‘fuck your loops, we’ll use fractured sounds and still come off!’ Think of the running water heard on ‘2Deep’ or the pulsating Space Invaders sound effect that drives ‘The Illest Brother’ – using everyday ‘found’ sounds to drive the point home.
By the end of 1992, Dr. Dre changed the rap landscape forever as The Chronic ushered in a new style and sound that put synths at the forefront for many west coast and southern producers, but Gang Starr stuck to their guns and continued to refine the blueprint they laid down here on the following LP to good result. By that time in 1994, the crew had spawned Jeru and the Group Home and Premier was the ‘go to’ guy for that rugged street sound for the likes of Biggie and Nas. But nothing could recapture the moment that GURU and Premier thumbed their nose at the rap status quo and took it back to the basement that very first time.
the pure of this album is what fascinates. the voice of guru about these pure beats. after the jazz influence, native tongue, westcoast etc. it was nice to get this pure rap and sound. i think it’s their best album. return of the funky man and sex and violence are masterpieces too.
My favourite Gang Starr album, and arguably their best. What a year 1992 was – Return Of The Funky Man and Sex & Violence both classics like you say, and so many other great LPs from that year. ’92 could be the most underappreciated year of the Golden Age.