Can we revisit Black On Both Sides for a second?

[bordeaux]

Quality is a dope album and I'm even fine with saying it's great but I think it's a clear step below Train of Thought, Black on Both Sides, and Black Star.

I gave it a solid 3.5 or maybe even 4 mics at the time, but those other 2 I named were both easily over 4.

i think its a really strong debut. he isnt the rapper or artist mos is but still, at least a 4 for me. very well put together.

 

[TheDarceKnight]

RE was pretty good but after hearing BOBS I expected more tbh. It wasn’t even Hi Tek at his best if you ask me

In Hindsight I think Hi-Tek was kind of in his Dilla bag for RE.

A lot of the beats on there sounded a lot like what Dilla (or I guess he was still Jay Dee then) was doing at the time IMO.

 

[cheek100]

True classic front to back

 

[I love Latina women]

Rawkus was on fire in 99-2001. Then all of a sudden it was over

Yeah, by like 03', it was basically over.
I think they were officially defunct by 04' if i remember correctly

 

[BmoreGorilla]

You know what i think happened, i think he just got disillusioned with the business side of things and the way hip hop was going
Yasiin seems like an artist's artist
Like, he's all about his craft and the culture and i think when things shifted more and more (both the culture and the business) he lost interest in the music
Look at the time he took off between albums from Black On Both Sides to The New Danger, at least 5 years and i think acting became more of his outlet then

He was really kind of a trendsetter too. If it wasn’t for BOBS I don’t think you get albums like Electric Circus or College Dropout

 

[TheDarceKnight]

Yessir man
Back when the underground was this special movement that felt so pure and golden

Yep. Right after this I started going up to college radio with my homie K. Slack from The Thyrday that produced. Havoc was his favorite producer and that's also the time I got put onto all the Mobb Deep remixes and rarities. That's when I started getting into producers and not just rappers. From that point on I started following Havoc, Alchemist, Hi-Tek, DJ Premier, Pete Rock, and I started learning how to really get deep in the liner notes whenever albums dropped.

just had a birthday yesterday. I'm feeling old reminiscing on all of this but also blessed to be coming of age at such a dope time in music.

 

[PlayerNinety_Nine]

Rawkus was on fire in 99-2001. Then all of a sudden it was over

My memory might be failing me - - but I feel like the wheels came off when they switched distributors.

 

[I love Latina women]

He was really kind of a trendsetter too. If it wasn’t for BOBS I don’t think you get albums like Electric Circus or College Dropout

Yup, i agree, 100%, bruh

 

[TheDarceKnight]

He was really kind of a trendsetter too. If it wasn’t for BOBS I don’t think you get albums like Electric Circus or College Dropout

I'd add The Listening to that list. Phonte was highly influenced by Mos Def. I used to describe him to people as a down south version of Mos Def and Black Thought back before The Listening came out.

I never asked him outright but I believe strongly that Phonte singing was at least partially influenced by Mos. I wanna even say that 9th Wonder and Phonte became friends because one saw the other reading a Source magazine with Mos Def on the cover and they struck up a convo.

 

[FunkDoc1112]

Mos was on track to becoming a GOAT

 

[TheDarceKnight]

My memory might be failing me - - but I feel like the wheels came off when they switched distributors.

I don't remember the reason either.

The Say Yes single from Saigon with the Contraband b-side was the last thing I remember getting from Rawkus and then they were just sort of...gone. I remember being hyped too because I thought Saigon was gonna release a debut album on Rawkus.

Also wasn't Kanye almost signed to them? I'm surprised he didn't. That would've been a dope fit for him but maybe the wheels were off by then.

 

[I love Latina women]

Yep. Right after this I started going up to college radio with my homie K. Slack from The Thyrday that produced. Havoc was his favorite producer and that's also the time I got put onto all the Mobb Deep remixes and rarities. That's when I started getting into producers and not just rappers. From that point on I started following Havoc, Alchemist, Hi-Tek, DJ Premier, Pete Rock, and I started learning how to really get deep in the liner notes whenever albums dropped.

just had a birthday yesterday. I'm feeling old reminiscing on all of this but also blessed to be coming of age at such a dope time in music.

Word, I hear that.
Hi-Tek is so nice, man. That brother is so talented.
I remember at that time i was getting heavy into Dilla, by the time Common dropped Like Water For Chocolate in 2000.
Dilla's production was damn soulful, it was just like, "damn, this just sounds so good"
of course i'd remember listening to the music he produced for Tribe and Pharcyde but Dilla had really found himself when he did Slum's Fantastic and Com's LWFC


edit

I just remembered this, i bought Slum's Fantastic Vol. 2 from Tower Records back in the day!

 

[BmoreGorilla]

I'd add The Listening to that list. Phonte was highly influenced by Mos Def. I used to describe him to people as a down south version of Mos Def and Black Thought back before The Listening came out.

I never asked him outright but I believe strongly that Phonte singing was at least partially influenced by Mos. I wanna even say that 9th Wonder and Phonte became friends because one saw the other reading a Source magazine with Mos Def on the cover and they struck up a convo.

Oh yea definitely the Listening. We could prolly think of more. I wouldn’t be shocked if Mos Def influenced Drake

 

[BmoreGorilla]

My memory might be failing me - - but I feel like the wheels came off when they switched distributors.

Which is crazy becuz they were starting to come into their own right when the internet was

 

[BmoreGorilla]

Word, I hear that.
Hi-Tek is so nice, man. That brother is so talented.
I remember at that time i was getting heavy into Dilla, by the time Common dropped Like Water For Chocolate in 2000.
Dilla's production was damn soulful, it was just like, "damn, this just sounds so good"
of course i'd remember listening to the music he produced for Tribe and Pharcyde but Dilla had really found himself when he did Slum's Fantastic and Com's LWFC


edit

I just remembered this, i bought Slum's Fantastic Vol. 2 from Tower Records back in the day!

I actually smoked a blunt with Hi Tek back in 2000 after a show. We had just saw RE, Common, De La, and Pharoah Monch. We were pulling out the parking lot and started smoking when we saw. Hi Tek crossing the street.

We pulled over like “yooooo it’s Hi Tek “

He came over and dapped us up and smelled the weed. He was like “smells like y’all got something good going on over here “

We asked him if he wanted to hit it. He was like cool “I ain’t got shyt to do till the after party”. He hopped in the backseat and passed it around with us