TOWN LOVE is an online art museum dedicated to celebrating the vibrant past and present of Northwest Hip-Hop. You can browse by artist or browse by year.

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Tag: M.A.S.

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A film about Northwest hip-hop from

Checkmate

After recording three albums in six years, Save Me in 1999, Crown Royale in 2003, and The Rebirth in 2004, Seattle rapper Gangsta Nutt was ready to go even higher. He assembled a star-studded guest list and dropped the epic double-CD Checkmate as his second album of 2004. Coming in at 31 tracks, Checkmate might be the longest album ever from a Seattle rap artist.

Standout tracks on disc one include “Ten Toes,” which gives the listener a dramatic contrast, hard lyrics set to a soft and sweetly gentle beat. Nutt admits that life, “Got me heavy on some real s***, my mind on some meal s***, I’m living to die, so I’m on some murder, death, kill s***.” Somewhere around the halfway point in “It Goes Down” (featuring Yukmouth) I started involuntarily nodding my head and really catching the vibe.

“Heavy On My Mind,” “Bout That Drama,” and “Dangerous” are solid gangsta cuts which explain Nutt’s perspective through his confessional lyrics. His gravelly voice somehow captures the urgency of living in the streets day to day. “A petty-a** beef took him from his wife and kids,” goes a sorrowful line from “Heavy On My Mind.” One of Nutt’s achievements on Checkmate is the desperate conviction with which he performs his lyrics.

The pleasant and melodic “Listen To My Demo” (featuring Budder) describes how difficult it can be to get a foothold in the constantly shifting music industry, especially for someone trying to escape a former life of crime. “All I Ever Wanted” is a celebratory cut about material success. “All I ever wanted was a plushed out crib, with a super bad b**** in my plushed out whip,” dreams Nutt in the chorus.

The last track on disc two, “King Of 206” might be my favorite on the album. The beat has sinister bounce, while the lyrics brag and boast. Gangsta Nutt had accomplished all he set out to, but as he phrased it on one of his early hits, there is always “mo to grab.” I gotta give a shout out to RC The Trackaholiq who produced much of this album. The beats on Checkmate will rattle your trunk or your living room, and that’s a promise.

In 1982 according to legend, producer Quincy Jones considered almost seven hundred different songs for Thriller. Eventually Jones recorded thirty songs and then picked the best nine for the final record. To me that’s more fair to the listener. To be honest, Checkmate is a little exhausting, and a few of the songs probably could have been left off. But for those who have an unlimited appetite for gangsta tales, this double album will be the answer to their prayers. Written by Novocaine132

Checkmate was created in and features appearances from:

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A film about Northwest hip-hop from

Resurrection

Tacoma rap group Criminal Nation dropped albums on Nastymix Records in 1990 and 1992, then took a six year break. Their 1998 album Resurrection shows four members on the cover wearing black and white KISS-style face makeup. The four rappers listed in the album credits are Darren “D-Rob” Robinson, Derrick “Bumpy” Pleasant, Cleatus “Clee-Bone” Brooks, and L. Mosley. These names are familiar to fans of The DCP Organization, who dropped their own full-length album in 1993.

“Intro” opens with local celebrity DJ Kun Luv broadcasting his own imaginary “KKUN” radio station. He rolls out the first song “Criminal Love,” which samples the melody to “Candy” by Cameo and features singing by Katrina Stephens. “Stand The Rain” is next, featuring Messiah from Tacoma group Black Caesar. It has an intimidating vibe, telling other crews to back off. The song is produced by Eugenius who handles a majority of the album’s beats.

Track four is “Take A Flight” which starts with an announcement on a jet from Sea-Tac to Portland. “Take your time do it right,” the MC tells his out-of-town date, “because in the morning you gotta take a flight.” This one is a low key party, produced by Mass Productions, one of four that he contributed for Resurrection.

The album continues with Criminal Nation trying to prove they are the best, and establishes their rap legacy for Tacoma. Highlights include the sparkly but repetitive track eight “Demons Dwell” featuring Andre “Drekno” Simmons and Art Dog. Also notable is “Fortune Over Fame” produced by Luno. “I keep it hotter than Hilltop blocks,” goes a line from this groovy song.

The last track is “That’s Fo Sho.” This upbeat party track reunites founding member of the group MC Deff with his original musical partner Eugenius. Overall Resurrection doesn’t resemble earlier Criminal Nation material, mostly because of major personnel changes. Written by Novocaine132

Resurrection was created in and features appearances from:

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Where Ya Goin Wo?

Local Seattle music video director and rap fan Deven Morgan produced a short but informative interview series in 2014 called Do The Math Podcast. One guest on the show was legendary Seattle rap figure Samson S, who shares many of his favorite 206 rap projects, including his thoughts on Where Ya Goin Wo? by Tacoma’s Wojack. Samson explains how Wojack always wants to give him new stuff, but Samson only wants to talk about how dope Where Ya Goin Wo? is. You can find it on Youtube at the one hour and thirty-two minute mark.

Wojack had released albums in ’90 and ’92 as a member of the group Criminal Nation, but instead he teamed with producer M.A.S. who created all the beats for this solo 1997 side project. As Wojack puts it, “I made a subtraction, and got rid of all that wack scratching.” After the intro, the first cut is the spooky-sounding “To The Brain,” which turns out to be the answer to the question posed in the album title. “To The Brain” is one of the strongest tracks on the album, it creates a sinister mood which matches Wojack’s lyrics perfectly, and the chorus is a ready-made call and response. It’s one of those times when rapper and producer find a real synergy. Another hit is “206,” a fun, all-purpose, g-funk jam, equally appropriate for bumping in the ride, dancing in the club, or just chilling at home on the couch smoking a blunt.

Parts of Where Ya Goin Wo? devolve into misanthropic themes that don’t seem to go anywhere, for instance, the gloomy “No Escape” shows a man trapped in his own madness like the Steppenwolf. “Shootin Up Your Crew” is full of desperate nihilism, “Unloading clips off in your face, I guess I’ll be crucified by these demons trying to keep me in my place.” But when the album is at its best, it showcases a very talented wordsmith not only trying to expand his brand, but also taking risks by experimenting with his style and content. One year after Where Ya Goin Wo? there was a Criminal Nation album titled Resurrection which came out on Ocean Records, but according to the credits, Wojack is only featured on one track. Written by Novocaine132

Where Ya Goin Wo? was created in and features appearances from:

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