Tag Archives: Not the 1s

hip-hop

Cuzzo D. of Not the 1s: Bad at Rap mix

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It takes a special type of dedication – a sick and twisted dedication – to seek out and collect bad rap for the past 25 years. Eric Steuer (aka Cuzzo D. of Not the 1s and also half of the great Meanest Man Contest) has done just that. There is no doubt plenty from which to choose.

Steuer has compiled a treasure/trash trove of some of the greatest worst raps you can imagine. It literally took everything in me to make it through Mr. T’s “I Am Somebody.” Not surprisingly, a few athletes show up on the mix (Darryl Strawberry and Ron Artest), but the real gem here might be Beach Boy Brian Wilson, who unbelievably tried his hand at rap with “Smart Girls” (produced by Matt Dike, no less). WFMU has the story on it here.

Says Steuer: “I’ve been collecting bad rap songs since I first heard Darryl Strawberry kick his endearingly wack verse on “Chocolate Strawberry” back in 1987. This mix is made up mostly of stuff from the late ’80s and early ’90s (the golden era of cynical, inept stabs at cashing in on hip-hop’s popularity), although I threw in a couple of newer terrible raps at the end, to keep things fresh & current. I just started working on the second volume of this mix, and my fingers are crossed that Denny “Average Homeboy” Blaze will record a drop for it (he turned me down for this one).”

Bad rap never sounded so good.

Download and/or stream the mix over at Dublab. The track listing is below.

1. DC Talk – I Luv Rap Music
2. Outlaw Posse (f/ David Faustino) – Brand New Star
3. Icy Blu – It’s Your Birthday
4. Mr. T – I Am Somebody
5. Darryl Strawberry – Chocolate Strawberry
6. Hulk Hogan and The Wrestling Boot Band – Beach Patrol
7. A to the D – The Renegade Jew
8. Dee Dee King (aka Dee Dee Ramone) – German Kid
9. Brian Wilson – Smart Girls
10. MC Skat Kat and the Stray Mob – I Ain’t No Kitty
11. Vanilla Ice – Havin’ a Roni
12. Biscuit – Biscuit’s in the House
13. Elvira – Monsta’ Rap
14. Dan Aykroyd and Tom Hanks – City of Crime
15. Surf MC’s – Can’t Get a Tan
16. 2 Bigg MC – High on Your Love
17. Joey Lawrence – I Like the Way (Kick da Smoove Groove)
18. Gerardo – My Name Is Not Rico
19. Aaron Carter – That’s How I Beat Shaq
20. Ron Artest – Michael Michael
21. Kids Hit Masters – Crank That (Soulja Boy)

hip-hop

Not the 1s (feat. Isaiah Toothtaker): Fly As Fuck

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flyasfuck

If we have learned anything in this age of Odd Future think pieces, it’s that rap takes itself too damn seriously. No, seriously. Lighten up.

Everyone could learn a lesson from Not the 1s’ Why You Cryin?, an eight-track offering of party-rap swagger (out digitally now on Gold Robot Records).

I mean, what is there to question or decipher when, on a track like Fly As Fuck (which we’re premiering here), you hear a line like this: “Rolling down the street / bumping Humpty Hump / out the fucking trunk / and it fucking thumps.” Coupled with bass-rattling production from Young L of the Pack and a guest verse from Tucson’s own Isaiah Toothtaker, Fly as Fuck flaunts a back-to-basics style that Not the 1s embrace throughout the album.

Check out a few more tracks, and download Fly As Fuck below.

RELATED:
I Used to Love H.E.R.: Mawnstr (Not the 1s)
Not the 1s: You Dress Like an Asshole

hip-hop, i used to love h.e.r.

I Used to Love H.E.R.: Mawnstr (Not the 1s)

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The 54th installment of I Used to Love H.E.R., a series in which artists/bloggers/writers discuss their most essential or favorite hip-hop albums and songs, comes from Mawnstr (born Alex Christidis), one-half of the party-rap rascals Not the 1s, whose eight-track debut on Gold Robot, Why You Cryin?, features production from the likes of Daedelus, Mexicans With Guns, Monster Rally, Young L and more. Shit is as fresh as it is funny. Highly recommended (and be on the lookout for a track premiere here very shortly).

Until then, peep the first single, with production by Lunice:

original gangsterIce-T, O.G. (Original Gangster)
(Sire, 1991)

Any time one of those “best emcees of all time” conversations jump off, one dude I never hear get mentioned is Ice-T. I always think that maybe it’s cuz he’s had so much success onscreen that people forget how raw he was. I musta been in third grade when Rhyme Pays came out, so all I remember was seeing the cover at the record store and recognizing him from Colors cuz that shit was huge at the time.

When I finally heard “6 ‘N the Mornin'” years later, I didn’t even know
who Schoolly D was yet. Aside from hearing some songs here and there, I really never copped an Ice-T record until O.G. came out. When I saw New Jack City, I was so juiced off “New Jack Hustler,” I couldn’t WAIT
for his album to drop. When it did, I instantly fell in love with that shit. O.G. was smart, hard, smooth and funny, all at the same time. This was a time where there was so much good stuff coming out, you’d have to make some tough decisions at the record store, too.

This tape had 24 tracks on it and was well over an hour, with no filler. It’s hard to go wrong with a James Brown sample and there’s plenty on there. There’s too many dope cuts to name, but some that stood out to me were “Bitches 2”, which is a hilarious story-telling rap about how dudes can be the BIGGEST bitches sometimes and “Lifestyles of the Rich and Infamous,” which gives you sight into his life as a rap star. (DJ Premier did a dope remix on the 12-inch.) “Body Count” introduces his
metal band of the same name, and although I wasn’t really into it, it was only one song and it seemed like every rap album had a token rock track at the time. On “M.V.P.s” he shouts out all the other rappers he’s down with, and instead of dissing Hammer like everyone else at the time was, he gives him his props and disses those that dissed him.

Finally, he closes it out with “Ya Shoulda Killed Me Last Year,” which is a speech against the war and the prison system. He also disses the Police, FBI, the DEA, Tipper Gore, “Bush and his cripple bitch!” Damn, I love this album! I actually grew up in the LA area so I’d see Ice at Venice Beach and I even saw him at Macy’s in the mall
once and he ALWAYS had at least one hot girl with him and always showed love to his fans. I eventually caught up with all his older material and didn’t feel like such a “new jack” anymore. I used to HATE LL so when I heard Ice takin shots at him on Power, I liked him even more.