There comes a point in the career of many rappers when the fresh new ideas start to dry-up, and before long they find themselves falling back onto their tried-and-tested old material and attempt to create an updated version. When guys like AMG start making songs like “Bitch Betta Have My Money 2001”, you know he running on fumes, and when a group like EPMD are reduced to cutting tracks like “You Gots To Chill ’97” for that fake reunion album, a move which proved to be as predictable as it was unnecessary.
As you might expect, there are a handful of exceptions to this rule. Athough KRS-One‘s attempt at updating “South Bronx” didn’t really come-off, he had better luck when he revisited another essential Criminal Minded selection for the Menace II Society soundtrack. Thanks in no small part to a top-notch Premier beat from one of his more prolific periods, “P Is Still Free” manages to follow-on from the original episode on some new-and-improved shit, rather than sounding like another tired remake.
Kool G Rap‘s update of his hilarious and – at the time – controversial poison pen letter “Truly Yours” (which was removed from many radio playlists after upsetting some over-sensitive types with his strong “anti-gay” lyrics) is not officially his own doing. Pete Rock actually recorded the ’98 version for his Soul Survivor LP, and wisely featured G Rap and Large Professor to add some verbal weight to his stabs at weak mixtape makers. With it’s slightly reworked version of Marley‘s original beat, the fellas each kick their own take on the whole “step off, bitch” concept.
KRS-One – “P” Is Still Free (Return of the Boom Bap, Jive, 1993)
Pete Rock feat. Kool G Rap & Large Professor – Truly Yours ’98 (Soul Survivor, Loud, 1998)
return of the boom bap is one of alltime greatest most slept on classics ever.. KRS never really made a better record IMO
I agree with DJ mad wax.I pretty much have everything he ever made,including stuff off his own label(Front Page)and he just straight killed it on that album.If you see the album art you’ll kinda understand what frame of mind he was in….Never heard the South Bronx remake though.KRS is in my top 5 greatest mcs of all time list.Try telling that to a rap fan born after 1980 though….
RBB will always hold a place in my crate. LOL at the You Got’s To Chill 97 track, I had forgotten how wack that was… Here’s one you forgot, I got this KRS 12″ (My Mind Is Racing) with Illegal Business (new remake) on the b-side which is horrible.
He remade “Illegal Business” as well? Bad move.
“Boom Bap” was cool, but to me the best album after “Criminal Minded” was “Sex and Violence”.
I agree. The Freddy Foxx shit on Sex and Violence is just crazy. Also Kenny Parker holds down the production like a pro. Is anybody familiar with Ms. Melodie? Does she have full-length lps? I have one 12″ from her from ’88 and I must say it’s pretty tight. I know her and Kris were married at some point, but for how long/and when?
Yeah she had an album. I used to have it, but got rid off it a few years back since it was pretty wack. The only track of hers that I liked was “It’s Fresh (‘Cause Ms Melodie Made It)” from the Word 2 Jive compilation.
I guess she must have been a good cook or some shit.
Peace to Poet dissing the hell outta that human dumptruck Ms. Melodie.
I’m in the “sex and violence” camp too. It doesn’t get much better than “we in there”, “duck down”, the title track and “ruff ruff” as far as post-“criminal minded” KRS goes, although i do really like “outta here” which is easily the best beat Primo gave him.
co-sign on sex and violence… my personal favorite. South Bronx 2002 is pretty tight if u can find it. More recently, the illegal business remake is even worse than the a-side “my mind is racing (vroom vroom!)”
Damn. What happened? Yeah, peace to Poet.
I’d have to agree that the Illegal Business remake is complete crap. He’s trying to give it a club sound and then force in some political lyrics and it sounds completely forced, but somewhere along the way, KRS forgot to include some political content to his lyrics. Sure he added the new “Diamond business controls America, the Oil business controls America” He somewhat goes into the Diamond business part a bit when he talks about rappers and all their material items, but he doesnt even go into Oil Business controls America. Not in true enough KRS style. I expect a whole of a lot more out of him. He doesn’t need to dumb down his lyrics for people to listen to them.