SECTION ONE -- 1 HardC.O.R.E. Vol. 1, Issue 2 Table of Contents Section Contents ---- -------- 1 Contents 2 C.O.R.E. info 3 Trespass review - Movie 4 Trespass review - Soundtrack 5 ATCQ Article 6 Lyrics - Stranded on Death Row 7 Closing SECTION TWO -- 2 The C.O.R.E. creed We at C.O.R.E. support underground hip-hop (none of that crossover bullshucks). That means we also support the 1st Amendment and the right to uncensored music. How to join C.O.R.E. To become a member of C.O.R.E., just send your name and E-mail address to . And if you feel liking contributing article-wise to HardC.O.R.E., include it with your application. Or send me an e-mail note. I'll be on campus most weekends to work on HardC.O.R.E. and answer mail (plus read ALT.RAP) I'm audi 5 to my doghouse! "I say peace and Allah U Akbar" Lord Jamar-Allah U Akbar Asalaam Alaikum from MC Flash X SECTION THREE -- 3 Reviews - "Trespass", the movie from Rolling Stone -- Feb. 4, 1993 (reprinted without permission) Trespass Critics mostly dissed Walter Hill's hip-hop take on John Huston's Forties classic _The Treasure of the Sierra Madre_. Early box-office returns indicate audiences know better. _Trespass_ is an action powerhouse, brimming with high style and low cunning. The script, by Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis, is merely servicable, but Hill directs with a ballsy zest missing since the glory days of _The Warriors_ and _48 HRS_. In _Treasure_, Humphrey Bogart and Tim Holt dug for gold in Mexico. In _Trespass_, William Sadler and Bill Paxton find a map to a gold stash in a gutted Illinois factory. Bogie and Holt fought bandits, lead by the chilling Alfonso Bedoya. But Bedoya's a wimp compared with Ice Cube and Ice-T, playing crime lords who can draw a cellular phone (to close a drug dealer) as fast as a gun (to close an argument). It's a standoff until the violence escalates and Art Evans -- tops as a squatter modeled on Walter Huston's crafty old prospector in _Treasure_ -- gets the last laugh. Both Ices are dynamite, giving _Trespass_ the poetry and potency of rap. SECTION FOUR -- 4 Reviews - "Trespass", the soundtrack (Contributed by MC Flash X) (props given to K-Mello for not minding me running my review) Review scale : 6. Phat - Ten years from now this shit'll still be so dope! 5. Funky - Ownership is the difference between a mack and a mark 4. Fine - If your pockets are fat get it, but don't panic if you don't 3. Fair - It has some potential hits, and at least it doesn't stink 2. Flat - Somebody explain to me why this person even tried?! 1. Flunk - The ultimate diss... PM Dawn sounded better Rating : 4 out of 6 Highlights : Phat Gangstarr track AMG for the nine-three Lord Finesse wins again Sir MixALot rippin Lowlights : Of all the new P.E. songs... Ice-T is falling off Black Sheep - good song, but... King of the Street - not! Part two of the Trespass review special features this mixed bag of hip-hop songs. Some of these are destined to be underground hits, and others... well, ya moms always said if you can't say anything nice don't say anything. Which means I can at least skip reviewing the P.E. track. After all, we've all seen what the Source had to say about it -- "Gotta Do What I Gotta Do (is) surprisingly average. 'I gotta do what they don't like,' Chuck drowsily rhymes, 'Cause I gotta mic'. But at least the first track helps offset this dissapointment. Thankfully, Ice-T comes off on this track... something which I believe is entirely because Cube was there. Even so, Cube totally outshines his partner in crime. Here's a good rhyme (Ice-T) "This is my shit, my hood, my turf my gold, my grip, whatevah the fuck it's worth" And here's a great rhyme -- it looks good on paper, but you really have to hear Cube's intense pitch-shifting off-beat flow to get the feel. "Take a good look at my motherfuckin jack-up About to feel the wrath of a greedy ass cracker Pile of snow, so you know the hoes stand out Coming in my hood with his hand-out Tryin to get over on the black But the motherfuckin mack Will put a fuckin slug in his back And with the boom-ping-ping It ain't no thing to blast On greedy motherfucker that trespass" Don't get me wrong, T is good, and ya can't help putting these two together, but Cube owns this song lock, stock, and barrel. Anyway, you press the FF button to skip Public Enemy... while you're at it skip Ice-T with Daddy Nitro, a.k.a. "Depths of Hell". The bass is weak, the P.E. style whine is the worst attempt to use it I've heard yet, and Daddy Nitro sounds more like Baby BlastingCaps. If it comes to battle of the guest chatters, Cube's Don Jaguar would kick shit all over the place. I don't know what is wrong with T... he was once the articulate rapper of 'Lethal Weapon' and 'Freedom of Speech', but somewhere after "O.G. Original Gangster" he fell off hard. Must've spent too much time trying to be heavy metal headbanger... Two tracks this weak? Are you ready to sell this tape back to the stor for half price? Don't give up yet, cause it's about to get a whole lot better... it's time for MixaLot to start rippin. I know some of y'all think he's too pop, and that his flow is goofy, but HELL with it! I like him! Any man who makes a song like 'Hip-Hop Soldier' gets props in my book... and 'I Check My Bank' may be his best song yet. Or, as Mix says, "When your platinum niggaz start dissin Record companies think your missin But I'm back, I'm back, I'm back and I gotta bigger gat" And the sentiments of this song are very much on target "A word to the bouregois fuck all y'all..." Now this one might cause some disagreement, but that's nothing compared to what I'm about to say about Penthouse Players Clique. Now, I'll agree with anyone that that first album was weak (I only liked 'Explanation of a Playa on the last one) but for whatever reason 'I'm a Playa (bitch)' clicks with me. It's not so much the lyrics, so I won't quote them, I think it's more the funky track and the hook of the chorus. 4.5 out of six. Last but not least on side one is 'On the Wall' by Black Sheep. A good song, but the track is so muddy it distorts Dres lyrics... here is some I can make out "Yo it's not easy at the top Which is why we play the back Not to say that we don't shine In fact, to be exact It's a one-sided coin Gotta know how to flip it..." And so on... it's better than 'I'm a Playa' but still only a 4.5 Let's just fast forward from here on out and mention the few cuts left that I like (remember the don't say anything rule?) 'Gotta Get Over (taking loot)' by Gangstarr is phat. The track is destined to be a classic (as all Gangstarr tracks are) and the hook is my favorite "Makin moves I'm never fakin cause the loot is for the takin" 6 outta 6 here! It slams! Even slow Gangstarr jams still kick shit! Okay, the two cuts I want to mention are as follows. First is Lord Finesse 'You Know What I'm About' which as K-Mello already stated is a slamming track. Forgive me, but why does everybody sleep on him? Not only is he good on this track, but I even saw him freestyle hard on YMR! THis brother ranks tops in the underrated dept. And, if you heard the Juice sndtrk., you will understand the Chorus "Knockin niggaz off, knockin niggaz out You know what I'm about" 5 outta 6 on that one, and last but not least on my least is WC and the Maad Circle's 'Quick Way Out'. "I'm looking for a quick way out motherfucker" Why quote all the lyrics? This one you should hear for yourself... falls somewhere between a 4.5 and 5 but I haven't decided which. In summary - If you like these groups get it, if you like West Coast flava get it, but if you do at least be careful not to get the censored version. PEace and I'm out. SECTION FIVE -- 5 Tribe Called Quest Interview from RapSheet magazine Feb 1993 pg 16-17 By Gerrie E. Summers (reprinted without permission) ------------- If you have difficulty trying to fit A Tribe Called Quest into a neat little category, you're not alone--they have a problem with that too, and frankly would rather not have to deal with the question. "We get asked that question every year and every year we have the same answer," Tribe's Ali says dully. "We cannot describe our music." "It's just there. It's just music," says Q-Tip. "It's just some hip-hop, you know. It's hard to catagorize it," and besides, "when you put yourself into a category you limit yourself." One reason that Tribe may be difficult to categorize is their change in styles between the first LP, _Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm_--an East Coast underground hit--and _Low End Theory_. Instead of recording _Instinctive Travels Part II_ or abandoning hip hop for a more profitable path, Tribe switched gears. "The first album was more of a learning experience," says Phife, "and when the second album came around, we know what we wanted to do. We had good control over [the production]. As long as it feels good when it hits, we don't care how other people think." Sure the jazz thing was in effect on both albums, but Tribe definitely flipped the script in some other areas. Where the first one was abstract and esoteric, with personal lyrics only the group could understand, the second was more street accessible. While the rapping styles on the first were plain, the second had the trio kicking styles in all types of directions. And while the samples on _Low End Theory_ may not have been clearly recognizable to many rap fans, the beats were crazy--not dance, not jeep, just plain hype. Along with the Jungle Brothers and De La Soul, fellow members of the Native Tongue posse, Tribe helped open up hip hop to another level, one of adventurous experimentation that has been continued with groups like Das EFX and Arrested Development. Experimentation has been an uncertain road to take in hip hop, where followers often have a confused definition of what is truly hip hop and hardcore. Groups like PM Dawn and even De La Soul's hip hop legitimacy have been put in question, especially when the mainstream embraced them. PM Dawn never wanted to be labelled as a hip hop or rap act, and De La, who suffered from an image problem caused in part by the acronym D.A.I.S.Y. (Da Inner Sound Ya'll), succumbed to the pressure by recording a more "hardcore" follow-up to their critcally acclaimed _3 Feet High and Rising_ called, not suprisingly, _De La Soul Is Dead_. Thus far, Tribe has not had this problem. With "Scenario," they attracted mainstream white America without making the hip hop crowd ill. But Tribe did not crossover, a new audience crossed over to them. "Going commercial or crossing over is changing your music style," says Ali, "and 'Scenario' is just a street raw record. It's just that different kids are opening themselves up to hip hop a little more. So the real hard stuff is making it. It's going real mainstream, so we're just keeping it the same, keeping it street." Although introspective Tribe-like hip hop slowly rose in the world of rap, the biggest trend in '92 was still gangster rap. "Everybody's just on the gangster tip. Everybody's got a gun in their hand," says Ali. Q-Tip adds, "Everybody's talking about shooting somebody and how bad they are. Actually they probably would think twice about shooting somebody if they had to." Q-Tip also notes that many acts are cropping up that are inspired by Das EFX and their vocal style. The impact of female rappers, however, has been on the decline for awhile. An influx of female rappers in the mid-'80's made most of them nothing more than exploited novelty acts, though Q-Tip allows that Lyte is the best female rapper. "You know why women don't really come off in rap?" Phife begins, "Because women always stress the point that they are women." Although he understands a female rapper's need to prove that she is a legitimate rhymer in a male-dominated field, gender shouldn't factor in the makings of a skilled MC. "You're supposed to be an artist. So if a woman just came out and just rhymed and did her thing without addressing the fact that she's a female in a man-dominated business, she'd probably get a lot further." Q-Tip agrees. "Lyte doesn't address that shit and she's the best one because she looks at herself as an MC...Women support hip-hop more than men do, because guys don't buy albums. Girls go out and buy shit and they buy tickets to the shows and that's why Lyte is so popular. She addresses herself as an MC and women spectators want to be entertained just like a man wants to be entertained." For 1993, Q-Tip predicts that Large Professor, Nasty Nas and again, Naughty By Nature will be large, while the subject matter for most rap will be darker. "As the economy and society gets more and more wretched we'll keep hearing more and more dark music." Tribe can't, or won't predict what the next Tribe album will be like. But the pressure is on. "We get a lot of pressure, but what you got to do is keep checking yourself," says Q-Tip, "and the pressure is good pressure because it make you try that much harder to do well. It's not that we try to set out to do better than our last effort. We just try to make good music and that pressure just keeps us in tune to that, so we don't get pushed off the trail." ----------------- Tribe's third LP, _Midnight Marauders_, is slated to come out early this year. (Ed. Note -- NOT!) Tribes's top 3 albums of the year: Q-Tip: Das EFX / Dead Serious Pete Rock and CL Smooth / Mecca and the Soul Brother Diamond D / Stunts, Blunts & Hip Hop Ali: Pete Rock and CL Smooth Diamond D Das EFX Phife: Showbiz & A.G. / Runaway Slave Redman / Whut? Thee Album EPMD / Business Never Personal SECTION SIX -- 6 Stranded on Death Row by The Dogg Pound (contributed by MC Flash X) Intro : Bushwick Bill Yes, it is I says me And although me By morning three, cause they're weak (laughter) Yes, yo!, I'm in the house now for sure Because I wanna talk about the hearts of men Who knows what evil lurks within them But lets take a travel down the blindside And see what we find on this... Path... Called... Verse One : Korrupt Stranded on Death Row, so duck when I swing my shit I get rugged like brawl head wrecks with fat tracks that fits The gangsta type, what I recite's kinda lethal Niggaz know, the flow that I kick, there's no refill I'm murderin niggaz, Yo, and maybe because of the tone I kicks my grip, the mic and kick shit Niggaz can't fuck with So remember I go hardcore, and slam Nuff respect like a sensei, ba-bash like Van Damme So any nigga that claim they bossin What don't you bring your ass on over to Kris-Slaus Slausson Take a walk through the hood, and we up to no good Slangin on things like a real ho G should, I'm stackin and mackin and packin a ten so When you're slippin, I slip the clip in But ain't no steady tripppin Cause it's Death Row, rollin like the mafia Think about whoopin some ass, but what the fuck stoppin ya Ain't nathin but a buster I'm Stranded on Death Row for pumpin slugs in motherfuckers Now you know you're outdone Feel the shotgun, Korrupt inmate cell block one Verse Two : RBX No prevention from this mention of sorts Your're a victim, from my driveby of thoughts No extensions, all attempts are to fail Blinded by the light, it's time you learn braile >From the lunatic, I death like arsenic When I kick up wicked raps That the grain will hit the scratch With treachery, my literary form will blast And totally surpass the norm Not a storm, zero, make it, many storms When I'm vexed, I fly leg necks and arms In this dimension, I'm the presenter And the inventor, and the tormentor Deranged, like the hillside strangler MC mangler, tough like Wrangler I write a rhyme, hard as concrete Step to the heat and get burned like mesquite So what you wanna do The neverator RBX, cell block two Verse Three : Rage Rage, lyrical murderer Stranded on Death Row And now I'm servin a lifetime sentence There'll be no repentence Since it's the life that I choose to lead I plead guilty On all counts let the ball bounce where it may It's just another clip into my AK Buck em down with my underground tactics Facts and stacks of clips on my matress Bed frame thereUs another dead pain Layin lain with the shame, whoUs to blame Me, the lady of Rage On when IUm comin from the D-E-A-T-Hin R-O-W takin, no shit So flip and youUre bound to get dropped ItUs 187 on motherfuckers donUt stop Handcuffed as I bust thereUll be no debate ItUs Rage, from cell block eight Verse Four : Snoop Doggy Dogg And yo steppin through the fog And creepin through the smog ItUs the number one nigga from the hood Doggy Dogg Makin videos, now I stay in Hollywood Bustin raps for my snaps now they call me Eastwood Dre is the doctor and my homey little nigga Warren G is my hand and my hand's on the trigga Shootin at the hoes with the game that I got Sent to death row cause I wanted to make a quick one servin my rocks And I'm still, servin for mines, peace To my motherfuckin homies doin time In the pen and the county jail Moppin with your blues on, mad as hell And you say yeah fuck the police And all the homies on the streets is all about peace And it's drivin the cops crazy But ain't nuttin but a black thing bay-bee, uhhh I'm not flaggin, but I'm just saggin I betcha don't wanna see the D-O double G And you can't see, the D-R to the E Or my motherfuckin homey D.O.C. You know you can't fuck with my motherfuckin DJ That's my homey and we call him Warren G Yeah, and you don't stop Doggy Dogg break em down with the motherfuckin DoggPound That's the only way we'll beat em man We gotta smoke em, then choke em Like the motherfuckin peter man It's like three and to the two And two and to the one Cell block four peace Doggy Dogg's done Outtro : Bushwick Bill Yo, now you know the path I'm on You think you're strong, see if you can travel on Cause only the weak, will try to speak Those who are quiet, will always cause riots There's three types of people in the world Those who don't know what happened Those who wonder what happened And people like us from the streets that make things happen! SECTION SEVEN -- 7 I would once again like to thank everybody for their support of this project. If you have any comments on the newsletter or other things you believe C.O.R.E. should do, feel free to let me know. One thing I would like to remind everybody was that the original idea was for HardC.O.R.E. to be "very creative with articles 'n shit". I've got commitments from a few people, but the more, the better. I hope we can turn this into something really unique in hip-hop. Thanks again y'all, and I'm audi 5!