“Mentally Mad” has to rate as one of rap’s greatest ever b-sides. Any single with the outstanding “Funky” as the main attraction has already earned it’s keep, but throwing this shit on the flip seals the deal. Hearing Chuck Chillout mix the intro of this track for about five minutes before dropping in the vocals on his old Kiss FM show was the closet thing I ever had to a religious experience back when I was a kid. The beat should be played at speaker-melting levels to enjoy this hardcore “future shock” experience to the fullest.
Lyrically, Ced Gee and Kool Keith are prepared for all out war against all you germs, as Keith warns: “I love static, I got a automatic/if a sucker don’t believe? Touch my pocket – pat it, just feel the steel barrel!” while no topic is safe from Ced’s ramapage “Our government – they lack efficiency, in Iran and the Persian Gulf!” he yells, before telling us that although he “might rip off your jaw”, he’s “down with Jesus, call me his apostle!”.
As with many of his Ultra Lab masterpieces, Ced constructed the track for “Mentally Mad” using some samples that may seem familiar these days (but were ground-breaking at the time), and once again the science behind his drum programming and sequencing produces another dose of South Bronx funk that’s so far ahead of it’s time that it still hasn’t been matched to this day. DJ Moe Luv turns the insanity levels up a notch with his high-octane scratching, and by the time the horn section bursts onto the scene, hip-hop perfection has been attained.
Ultramagnetic MC’s – Mentally Mad (Next Plateau, 1987)
Hip hop perfection, indeed.
I can’t really add anything other than that it’s probably my favorite Ultramagnetic track.
Hip hop perfection, indeed.
I can’t really add anything other than that it’s probably my favorite Ultramagnetic track.
well said brian beck from wisconsin.
i’m tellin ya NOW! this shit is near the pinnacle for me.
Just fyi: I think this has to be Ced Gee Part 13. You already had Part 12 a week ago or somethin’.
Ced Gee may use some “well worn samples”, but damn each track has its own unique place in Ultra map of serious hip hop cuts.
Thanx for all the trax with Ced Gee! most of them I have never heard of – but one thing I note is that they all (together with all Ultramagnetic songs) stand out as 100% fresh and as hard as ever. He really produced some classic material.
Genius!
– Denmark
I agree with Robbie: Ced Gee’s “South Bronx funk … so far ahead of it’s time”
Yeah, this is definitely a favorite of mine. You quoted the part that always stands out in my head from Ced Gee, that’s my joint! I always thought Kool Keith says, “touch my pocket Padded” tough…
damn..this tune back in the day,like the 1st ultra lp,fucking blew me away,me and my mates used to play it over and over,it was nothing like anything else…the beats,rhymes…then i got the 12″ with this on the flip!..it was all over geez…fucking dope!!!!!!
uk stand up!
The Funky/Mentally Mad 12″ is by far one of the best hip hop vinyl joints of all time! Ultra was super far ahead of the pack… racing into the future like Logan’s Run. Word!
Thanks for all those Ced tracks man!
Great stuff!
The “G” stands for great man/reaching my apex/the more I climb/some rappers hate that/twist and change the way I re-arange your brains/ cause I’m the Delta!!….. Ced-Gee “Delta Force One”
Ced was the true pioneer of the SP-12 drum machine/sampler!! That machine had only like 7 seconds of sample time and he managed to pull off “Criminal Minded” and “Critical Beatdown”. He deserves recognition in Hip Hop’s hall of fame just on the strength of those two albums alone. He was definatly the first brother to really chop samples up and flip them and I don’t really remember hearing a true constructed bridge in a rap record before “Ego Trippin”. Also he was grabing abstract noise sounds and creating a funk out of them (Mentally mad, Ease Back, Break North) and “Critical Beatdown” by inventing chops!! His production influenced everyone from his brethren “Scott La Rock” to the Bomb Squad, to dance music kings “Prodigy”.
I see all these fake vh1 and Def Jam hip hop specials and they intentionally try and erase Ced and the rest of Ultra from the history books. How in the hell can you be in New York in 86-89 and go to clubs like Latin Quarter and the Roof Top or even listen to Kiss FM’s Red ALert and Chuck Chill out and not hear and Ultra Record?
I WOULD HATE TO THINK WHAT KIND OF PERSON I’LL BE,HADN’T I LISTEN TO ULTRA,MY WHOLE WAY OF THINKING IS DIFFERENT…DO ANYONE HAVE THEIR CHUCK CHILLOUT PROMO(THE ORIGINAL”chuck,chuck chillout,kiss fm”)
i had many wonderful nights listening red alert cutting ultra magnetic records back and forth on kiss fm and then flipping over to wbls to hear what marley marl was playing! ultra magnetic revolutionized a style that was way before its time. i love reading the comments prior to this one cause it shows a great respect for the music and gives it longevity to become classics.
YEAH HOT PANTS WAS IN THERE, YEAH THE DRUM KICKS SNARES. THE GUITAR RIFF AND HIGH HATS CAME FROM SISTER SANCTIFIED NOBODY PUT IT TOGETHER LIKE CED DID….BUT THAT FRENETIC THAT WHISTLE BLARED THROUGHOUT IS STILL UNEARTHLY. THAT’S MY FAVORITE HIP HOP SONG TO MY GRAVE. THE SHIT CED WAS TALKIN’ ABOUT IN THAT LAST VERSE IS PLAYING OUT RIGHT NOW. THE REASON WHY THAT SONG IS PROBABALY ONE OF THE ILLEST EVER MADE WAS BECAUSE OF THE SCIENCE, ACTUAL FACT/FICTION , SOCIO GEOPOLITICAL , METAPHORICAL AND PSYCHOTIC SHIT THAT THEY BOTH DROPPED ON THAT TRACK. AT THAT TIME CED WAS AS LYRICALLY STRONG AS KEITH. MY PERSONAL FAVORITE OUT OF THE TWO ,,AND A NIGGA AINT EVEN A FAN.
No! Contradiction! I am a fan of UltraMagnetic and the Diabolical Biz only Lmao!