Although DJ P.F. Cuttin and MC Outloud initially formed their alliance as far back as 1985, it was not until ’96 that they realised the full potential of their union, releasing one of the finest albums in the latter stages of hip hop’s second golden era: ‘Blah, Blah, Blah’. It is rare that I unequivocably recommend an album on From Da Bricks, but if you have a penchant for big bangin’ beats and dope rhymes then you would be hard pushed to find anything better within the genre that is not already widely known. This is pure hip hop in its undiluted state: a DJ/MC team that paid their dues, threw together some choice snares and samples and recorded a straight up banger at D&D Studios, one of the homes of the genre. Don’t let this fool you into thinking that this means the group are simply the purist’s choice: this is high quality material that will appeal to anybody who holds an interest in the genre. Can you tell that I’m a fan of the album yet?
If you are new to the group then your most likely point of reference will be their breakthrough single ‘Danger’, the Jeru sampling banger that recently cropped up on Jazzy Jeff’s ‘Hip Hop Forever II’ mix. This cut epitomises hip hop of the era and is a worthy representative of the album as a whole, which consistently delivers with crisp snares, big bass kicks and well chosen samples. There really isn’t a bad cut on ‘Blah, Blah, Blah’ and it is definitely an album that is best enjoyed in its entirety. If I had to offer a criticism, it would simply be to state that the crew are better off on the slightly more upbeat cuts; the slower songs lack the immediacy of the more uptempo numbers.
Outloud’s mic skills work well with the production, although the lyrical content is nothing revolutionary. Still, his delivery carries the subject material well: it is a confident and engaging flow that complements the beats rather than detracting from them. To be perfectly honest, given my tendency to focus on the production as opposed to the rhymes, Outloud’s flow almost constitutes another instrument for me in these songs, merging into the overall sonic effect. Bottom line, it’s dope.
Whilst having a look for some video material to add to this post, I stumbled across a recent interview with P.F. Cuttin that highlighted the strife that hip hop is currently facing. Speaking in the back room of a club where he’s put on a set, he explains his selections in relation to the industry today.
Although I can understand that the man deserves to get paid, it may well be this defeatest attitude which is now holding the culture back. I mean, if you are going to state that ‘85% of the records I play in the clubs, I hate them shits’, you can’t exactly hope to re-engage the audience that he is explaining are no longer present in the club scene. Perhaps hip hop may be dead after all. Anyway, if you’re interested, there are another two sections to this interview that you can catch on YouTube.
Don’t let P.F.’s negativity get you down. If hip hop is struggling today, there are still plenty of fine examples from the past to savour and enjoy: ‘Blah, Blah, Blah’ is most definitely one of them. Cop it, forget about the crisis of the culture and remember what quality mid ’90s hip hop was all about.
FROM DA BRICKS 