CyPReSS HiLL`s "IV"...

I kind of slept on this joint when it first dropped back in 1998, heard a few tracks & seen some music videos, but didn`t hear their entire 4th album. So when my homie RuSTy KNuCKLeS offered to lend it to me I decided to give it a spin. Overall it`s a decent listen, Cheech & Chong even make a lil` cameo appearance in the skits.....LoL, the beats are handled by DJ Muggs & he does a great job supplying the backdrops for B-Real & Sen Dog`s hazy smoke~laced lyrics...

After giving the album a good listen it`s safe to say that the first half of it will really satisfy ya especially if you dug Cypress Hill`s first few albums. They spark things off with "Looking Through The Eye Of A Pig", B-Real does a great job with the lyrics. He really takes the listener on a journey, you feel the self loathing, fear & paranoia of a crooked~ass cop workin` the beat. It kind of reminded me of "Bad Lieutenant", you know the 1992 movie with Harvey Keitel...

There`s a good number of fast~paced, aggressive songs on the album like "Checkmate", "Riotstarter" & "Nothin` To Lose". The beats remind me of Bomb Squad production from the early 1990`s, Muggs did a great job on `em! Of course there`s some good ol` Weed anthems for the smokers out there, "Dr. Greenthumb" (peep the video here) & "High Times"...

Out of the 2 tracks I DiG "Dr. Greenthumb" more, but "High Times" is still a decent track. I just like the beat on "Dr. Greenthumb" more, it`s nice & hazy. It`s also got a comical lil` info~mercial that happens just before the track begins. Cypress Hill affiliates Chace Infinite & Barron Ricks make a few appearance on the album, as well as West Coast veteran MC Eiht...

Barron Ricks has a good cameo on the album though, he`s featured on 5 tracks in total. Aside from his affiliation with Cypress Hill I don`t really know anything about him. He has sort of a Prodigy from Mobb Deep vibe, but less gun~talk & he`s more on the battle rappin` tip. The only downside is that he doesn`t really switch things up too much so it`s kind of boring after a while. Chace Infinite however rips the hell outta "Feature Presentation", in my opinion he outshines everyone else that`s on the track with him...

There`s a few tracks on here that are so~so to me, "Steel Magnolias" & "Dead Men Tell No Tales", but the last track "Lightning Strikes" is the only track that I didn`t like. It`s probably the Limp Bizkit~vibe, I just couldn`t really get into it. However "Tequila Sunrise" (Peep the video here) the album`s first single, is some smooth Latin DoPeNeSS! Overall "IV" is a solid listen, not quite as CLaSSiC as their first 2 albums, but definitely worth a listen so go on & check it out...

Cypress Hill - IV

Label: Ruffhouse

Released: 1998

1. Looking Through The Eye Of A Pig

2. Checkmate

3. From The Window Of My Room

4. Prelude To A Come Up {ft. MC Eiht}

5. Riot Starter

6. Audio X {ft. Barron Ricks}

7. Steel Magnolia {ft. Barron Ricks}

8. I Remember That Freak Bitch (From The Club) {ft. Barron Ricks}/ Interlude Pt. 2

9. (Goin` All Out) Nothin` To Lose

10. Tequila Sunrise {ft. Barron Ricks}

11. Dead Men Tell No Tales

12. Feature Presentation {ft. Barron Ricks & Chace Infinite}

13. Dr. Greenthumb

14. 16 Men Till There`s No Men Left

15. High Times

16. Clash Of The Titans/ Dust

17. Lightning Strikes

N`JoY...

LiL` KiM`s "NoToRiouS K.i.M BooTLeG"...

New links added as of 10.25.2021... 

 

 

Back again y`all with some ish that I missed out on when it first dropped back in 2000. My homie DiRTy KooL AiD had this kickin` around his crib, he actually found it while doing some good ol` Spring cleaning....LoL, who says it doesn`t pay off? Since I hadn`t heard it before I decided to borrow it so I could share it with the rest of y`all. Figured that there`s probably a few folks out there that haven`t heard this BooTLeG version of Lil` Kim`s "Notorious K.I.M"...

From my understanding the songs on here are mainly left~over tracks from the recording sessions for "Notorious K.I.M"; the retail version of the album that was sold in stores, online, etc. It makes for a decent listen, especially if you`re a fan of the Queen Bee. The only down~side about it is that it`s not of the greatest quality, sound~wise. A lot of the tracks sound like they were ripped from a cassette & a few were on the low~side volume~wise, so I made some adjustments to the tracks in an attempt to make `em sound a little bit better than they did -- ensuring not to do anything that would take away the original sound too much...

  A few of the tracks on this BooTLeG were previously released; either on a mixtape, an album or as a B-Side on a single. "Chinatown" is actually from DJ Clue`s "The Professional Part 2" album & "Rockin` It" was featured on Funkmaster Flex`s "The Mix Tape Volume IV: 60 Minutes Of Funk". "Queen Bitch Part II [Rmx]" featuring Jay-Z with Biggie on the hook is from Lil` Kim`s "How Many Licks" 12 Inch promo single...

"No Body Do It Better Than Us" featuring T-Boz & Diddy is from the 12 inch single of the same name. "Revolution [Original Version]" is off some mixtape, so unfortunately there`s a lil` yellin` thru the track from the DJ. Aside from the 5 tracks mentioned I believe the remaining 7 joints were meant to be a part of the retail "Notorious K.I.M." album. For whatever reason they were omitted, maybe it was due to sample clearance issues or maybe they just decided to take the album in another direction. So there ya have it, a few unreleased Lil` Kim tracks for y`all Queen Bee fans, enjoy the tunes...

Lil` Kim - Notorious K.I.M Bootleg

Label: N/A

Released: 2000

1. The Queen {ft. Diddy}

2. Queen Bitch Pt. II [Rmx] {ft. Jay-Z & Notorious B.I.G.}

3. Diamonds {ft. Kelly Price}

4. Bad Girl {ft. Ru Paul}

5. Good Time {ft. Lil` Cease}

6. Revolution [Original Version] {ft. Diddy & Grace Jones}

7. Rockin` It

8. Nobody Do It Better Than Us {ft. T-Boz & Diddy}

9. Makes No Sense {ft. Tanya Stephens}

10. Chinatown {ft. DJ Clue & Junior M.A.F.I.A}

11. Queen Bitch Pt. II [Demo Version] {ft. Diddy}

12. Hold On [Demo] {ft. Mary J. Blige}

BaCK~uP LiNK...

N`JoY...

Too $HoRT`s "iN The TRuNK" [12 iNCH]...

Some good ol` Too $hort for y`all today, taking it back to 1992 with this post. There`s 2 reasons why I`m sharing this one with y`all. The first one is simple really; I`m a BiG fan of $hort Dog, but I haven`t heard too many of his 12 inch singles. As a young buck all I heard was Too $hort`s albums, you know the cassettes & then later on the CD`s. So when I do come up on a 12 inch of his it`s kind of iLL for me because I get to hear a few of the more obscure joints. I`m sure that I`m not the only one....LoL, the second reason for sharing this one is because DJ Premier did some production on this single, a fact that may be surprising to some of y`all HiP HoP heads...

On the production side of things Ant Banks, DJ Premier, Pee Wee & even Too $hort deliver some decent bump`N beats. The only track on this 12 inch that I had heard previously was the Too $hort produced "In The Trunk" since it`s from his 1992 album "Shorty The Pimp". I actually enjoy the LP Version more than Ant Banks` "Trunk O` Funk Mix", but Bank`s version is still on the funky tip. One thing that I noticed, on the label of the 12 inch it lists Ant Banks as the producer of the "In The Trunk [Glove Compartment Street Mix]", while DJ Premier is the producer of the Radio Mix & Instrumental. My guess is that it`s a simple mistake & DJ Premier should`ve been given credit for the Street Mix. Another great thing about this single is that you also get "I Ain`t Nothin` But A Dog [Live Rmx]", it`s a bit on the obscure side -- at least to me it is....LoL, anyways that`s enough ramblin` go on & check the music out...

Too $hort - In The Trunk [12 Inch]

Label: Jive 
Released: 1992

A1. In The Trunk [Trunk O` Funk Mix] (Prod. by Ant Banks)

A2. In The Trunk [LP Version] (Prod. by Too $hort)

A3. In The Trunk [Glove Compartment Street Mix] (Prod. by DJ Premier)

A4. In The Trunk [LP Instr.]

B1. In The Trunk [Radio Mix] (Prod. by Ant Banks)

B2. In The Trunk [Glove Compartment Radio Mix] (Prod. by DJ Premier)

B3. In The Trunk [Glove Compartment Instr.] (Prod. by DJ Premier)

B4. I Ain`t Nothin` But A Dog [Live Rmx] (Prod. by Pee Wee)

N`JoY...