He`s not like us π...
My introduction to Akinyele & his music happened around 1995-96 when he was buzzin` with that "Put It In Your Mouth" joint. Eventually I went to the Music World store at the Billings Bridge Mall & copped the cassette EP for $9.99. My homie from New York had been sending me mixtapes with Akinyele`s music so I had to cop it when it was available in Canada. I can`t even lie tho, I was really hesitant to cop the EP for a few weeks because I felt that the price wasn`t worth it! I mean you only got 5 tracks on this EP, especially when I could have copped a full album on cassette for just a couple of bucks more at $12.99. However once I had told my boys about my purchase & we all swapped our newest cops with each other things weren`t so bad because I was able to dub 7 albums in exchange for my newly purchased EP. I`ll always love that pre-digi cassette tape era! π Anyway from what I know about Ak` he`s been in the Hip Hop game since at least 1991 where he had a guest appearance along with Nas on the classic Main Source song "Live At The BBQ" from their "Breaking Atoms" album...
By 1993 he released his debut album titled "Vagina Diner" thru both Interscope Records & Atlantic. I`m sure I`ll eventually get to that album, but what we`re talkin` about today is Akinyele`s "Put It In Your Mouth" EP. I`ve decided to give it the HeRBaN DeLuXe VeRSioN touch for your listening pleasure, it was long over-due y`all! Things open up with the oral sex anthem from `96, the title track "Put It In My Mouth" featuring Kia Jeffries. The song blew the fuck up! I mean in the Western World how could an oral sex anthem not be successful right?!! For those that wanted to get a perspective from Kia Jeffries just peep the DJ Vlad interview below...
I can't even lie, as a horny teenager in the late 1990's that "Put It In Your Mouth" joint was most definitely a tune that was a part of my Teenager Life`s Soundtrack. π So I was honestly surprised that they didn`t have a music video of some sort for this huge of a song. I mean aside from a little cameo at the start of the "In The World" video that`s all there was. Opening up the EP with "Put It In Your Mouth" was the only logical way to do so. I mean they would have been complete fools if they didn`t use the buzz off that song!! The addition of Kia Jeffries on that joint only made it that much better because not only was is a sexual anthem, but you had both Men & Women being represented on it! Chris Forte produced this joint. He`s done some songs for LL Cool J ("14 Shots To The Dome" era), but I`m probably guessin` that this song is his most recognized tune...
I split the little interlude/skit before the actual song kicks off & begins titling it the "Prelude To A Robbery [Intro]". During this intro or whatever you really want to call it this kat named "Big Stan" pulls up & recruits a woman to help pull off a robbery. Then the Dr. Butcher produced joint "The Robbery Song" kicks off. The beat`s solid & provides Ak` with a solid back~drop for his stick-up lyrics. Something humorous to note; the homie "Big Stan" not only does he self~snitch for some reason around the 3:05 mark on the song π but we also learn that he`s living by a moral code. "Just remember official-professional stick-up niggas never murder no woman or children & I`m out..."
Next up is the DJ Enuff & Jiv Pos produced "In The World" featuring Complexion & Kia Jeffries. It received a music video, unfortunately by today`s standards it`s pretty much like any rookie YouTuber`s basement video. Aside from the rappin` in front of a green~screen ish that`s really all you get, well there is the "Put It In Your Mouth" intro at the start. Perhaps that took up all the budget πeither way it`s definitely 90`s as hell. The song itself is pretty solid, much better than the music video that`s for sure! The beat`s a great foundation for the track, while the hook by Kia Jeffries just completes the song! Her Vocals are so smooth yo!!!
Up next is the actual song that more than likely probably potentially truly carried this EP sales~wise seeing as how it actually got a full music video. πThe lovely Frankie Cutlass produced "Fuck Me For Free"/ "Love Me For Free" featuring Complexion. I`m going to have to say that this tune would probably obviously also end up on my Teenaged Years Soundtrack, more so because everyone that I was hangin` with at the time was sadly on that tip. So far from rich, just not tryin` to get played out of our pennies dealing with a beeyitch!!!π
Then well......there`s this whole weirdo Puffy party type of Intro to the "Thug Shit" track. I`m not exactly sure about the type of drugs that were utilized during that Intro, but there most mutha fuckin` definitely was something used! πSo I just had to separate it from the actual track. Can`t even lie, with the tape I used to fast~forward the fuck outta that ish which usually led to me skipping a bunch of the song as well, gotta love them Walkman days! π One listen to that Intro is all you`ll ever need & even that is probably too much, trust me yo! I could be trippin`, but doesn`t it sound like Puffy`s on the scene @ about 0:24 on the Intro sayin` "Remix" & a few seconds later "Let`s Go!"? Also @ 0:41 "Hero", "Remix" @ 0:45 & "Let`s Go" @1:03. Maybe in some Bizarro World type of way he was taking a shot at Puffy at the time? I don`t know, either way that whole thing is fuckin` weird! πRemember me mentioning the fact that I used to fast~forward that Intro? Well...I never truly listened to the beginning of "Thug Shit" or I would have caught the fact that they`re basically rappin` about kidnapping & gang~rape`N a chick at the start of the song.πI mean I could be misunderstanding the start of the song, but I doubt it! For those wondering because the beat was DoPe as fuck, it was produced by EZ Elpee...
So back in the day my cassette EP would have ended with "Thug Shit", but I wanted to extend this into an HeRBaN DeLuXe VeRSioN so that`s exactly what I did yo! You`re very welcome!! And that welcome gets you some extra AI stripped Vocals & Instrumentals, some songs from 12 inch singles, mixtape rips, as well as a few tracks that were recorded around the same time as this EP, but for whatever reason went somewhat unreleased. So tracks 8-17 are the AI stripped Vocals & Instrumentals for those wondering. I added "Love Me For Free" off the 12 inch single, but I also used AI to strip out the Vocals for it. The Sadat X collabo` "Loud Hangover" is from a 12 inch single, I believe that it`s produced by Funkmaster Flex. However the Vocals & Instrumental for the track were AI stripped. The Clean/Radio Version of "Loud Hangover" came from the 12 inch single as well, but the Vocals were stripped by AI. The "Loud Hangover [All-Star Rmx]" featuring Sadat X & Yvette Michele is from another 12 inch single. The Vocals & Instrumental are AI stripped tho. The "I Wanna Be Down [Wop Rmx]" a.k.a. "Ya Gotta Go Down" featuring DJ Doo Wop, Fat Joe, Prettyboy Floyd & Lord Tariq is a cassette rip from DJ Doo Wop`s "95 Live" mixtape. I used AI to strip the Vocals & Instrumental for that joint, a hilarious play on Brandy`s "I Wanna Be Down"...
The lovely woman appreciation Kool G. Rap collabo` "Break A Bitch Neck" along with it`s remix came from the Eastern Conference Unreleased Hits compilation that dropped in 2004. However "Break A Bitch Neck" was originally set to be released as a part of a 4-track joint thru the legendary DJ Stretch Armstrong`s Liberty Grooves label way back in 1995. For whatever reason aside from about 10 test pressings it was never released, so you can just imagine how sought out them joints must be! The other 3 tracks that were on it are some rare gems indeed; the "Break A Bitch Neck [Instr.]", "No Exit Pt. II" & the previously mentioned Doo Wop produced "Ya Gotta Go Down". I believe that Large Professor is the kat that produced the original version, but as for the remix? I couldn`t tell ya who did that beat unfortunately. Feel free to school me it ya know yo! The Vocals & Instrumentals were of course stripped using AI...
"Freaky Deaky" is a joint that was ripped from a cassette of DJ EV & Stretch Armstrong`s mixtape "Back 2 Back". I know that Akinyele`s rockin` this joint with someone else, but I can`t figure it out exactly. E-Boogie? DJ EV?? Anyway I can`t call it yo. School me y`all! Then there`s "Freaky" from the previously mentioned Eastern Conference Unreleased Hits compilation which is slightly different from the mixtape version because this one features CJ Moore. Next up is a radio show promo that Ak` recorded for The Stretch & Bobbito Show on WKCR back in 1996, it`s a tape~rip so excuse the quality. "Hit It From Behind" is another unreleased song that was originally set to be featured as the 5th track on Frankie Cutlass` "Politics & Bullshit" album, but for whatever reason it was only ever featured on the "Politics & Bullshit [Promo Cassette Tape]"...
"Stay Strapped" is a Dr. Butcher produced joint that was originally featured on a 12 inch released in 1997 which also features MF Grimm, Kool G. Rap, Big Chuck & CJ Moore. It would later be featured on the 2005 MF Grimm compilation "Scars & Memories" re~titled "AIDS". I stripped the Vocals & Instrumental with AI just like the rest. "In The World [Large Pro Mix]" is another song that I grabbed from the previously mentioned Eastern Conference Unreleased Hits compilation, you know how I got the Vocals & Instrumental...
When I set out to do this lil` HeRBaN DeLuXe VeRSioN project I didn`t plan on it ending up with 52 tracks. π It just seemed like every time I`d attempt to conclude it I`d end up finding another song or my homie DuSTy CRaTeS would hook me up with an unreleased joint. With all that being said I can finally feel confident in the fact that this is a solid enough effort to include most of the material that Akinyele has out around the time of the original release of the "Put It In Your Mouth" EP, just consider it the Super Deluxe Ultra Version πN`JoY y`alll!!!