Albums Gang Starr - One of the Best Yet (Discussion Thread)

[Sir Brehsington]

Of course there’s gotta be a pack of annoying ass bozo’s analyzing every fukking tidbit & suggesting what Premier should’ve/could’ve done, instead of just enjoying the music & the fact we got a gift of a new Gang Starr album.

Never fails. Fukk em.

In the words of former poster Big Biz:

ENJOY.

Salute Primo. RIP Guru.

 

[Kixx]

Dumb question but how is this a Gang Star album? They find old guru verses and lay them on the album?

 

[g-ice]

Dumb question but how is this a Gang Star album? They find old guru verses and lay them on the album?

Breh...Guru rapping + Premo on production = Gang Starr

 

[TheDarceKnight]

I'm surprised anybody thinks it sounds like original tracks. It definitely sounds like Premo pieced it together like a jigsaw puzzle, maybe it's only obvious to people who produce. You can tell from what sounds like reused or previously discarded hooks, changes in vocal quality and tone, Gurus verses sounding unfinished or demo quality in places.

Plus with the mixed quality of the beats it feels like a weak entry for Gang Starr.

Theres a few good songs, no way is it better than The Ownerz which has actual fully formed songs and consistent production.

I'll preface with a caveat that I do not think this is better than The Ownerz. And can't say I produce but I was an A&R for a couple well known producers and used to engineer. So I do have to say that I can absolutely here what you mean by it sounding spliced together in places. I mentioned I think that's a big reason for all the guest features as well as a couple of the really short songs.

However...I don't really think it takes away. Eddie Sancho (the head engineer at D&D) had a very signature "dirty" sound to the mix. To this day some artists (like Evidence and Currensy) will often seek out that D&D sound and get Eddie Sancho to mix certain songs of theirs (particularly ones produced by Preem or Alchemist.) I'd like to know if Sancho mixed this album or not.

But all of that is really beside the point that I don't think most Gang Starr fans will care. I can only speak for me, but I'm not listening to this with any comparisons in mind. I'm not thinking of Moment of Truth, or Daily Operation, or The Ownerz, or anything when I listen to this. I am listening to it less as a Gang Starr album and more as "collaboration album of to Gang Starr family to celebrate Guru."

To me that bolded description is what this album sounds like. And I'm more than fine with that. This feels like it was done out of love for Guru and Gang Starr, and not as a cash grab or a gimmick. They tried to make a cohesive album using what they had, and I can't imagine how they could've dome a better job. This sounds way better than I would've ever imagined if you told me earlier in the year that we were going to get this.

 

[TheDarceKnight]

Dumb question but how is this a Gang Star album? They find old guru verses and lay them on the album?

Premier was able to get Guru vocals from Solar. He may have had a few songs in the stash, but the majority of this was made with Premier building beats around Guru vocals.

Gang Starr - Guru on the rhymes and Premier on the beats. Premier produced the whole album, and brought in longtime Gang Starr affiliates such as Big Shug, M.O.P., Freddie Foxx, Group Home, Jeru, and Royce 5'9" to help round out the album and fill in the gaps. For the most part it really works well. There are only a couple moments on this album that don't feel super organic.

This is definitely one of the best albums of the year.

 

[Columbo]

Anyone got some mustard they could pass my way?

 

[MurderToCassette]

Man. Something about Hit Man has me

The hook. The line about clipping someone in the club and dancing right past them.



This song would be corny if done by anyone else but Gang Starr.

The fact that they got Q Tip of all people to waste his guest spot to just do a hook full of gun sounds is simultaneously and

 

[beenz]

Not sure if this has been posted, but this just came up on my YouTube feed.

 

[erker]

Dumb question but how is this a Gang Star album? They find old guru verses and lay them on the album?

Breh...Guru rapping + Premo on production = Gang Starr

Simple as that. People on here that can't put one and one together smh

 

[erker]

Dumb question but how is this a Gang Star album? They find old guru verses and lay them on the album?

So sorry Guru couldn't come back from the dead to drop some fresh lyrics for you.

What the fukk did you expect breh...


I am happy with every Guru/Premo scrap I can get.

 

[bigdaddy88]

3 songs in and Premo still got it


EDIT.. after a full listen this may be a AOTY contender

 

[The Dust King]

I'm surprised anybody thinks it sounds like original tracks. It definitely sounds like Premo pieced it together like a jigsaw puzzle, maybe it's only obvious to people who produce. You can tell from what sounds like reused or previously discarded hooks, changes in vocal quality and tone, Gurus verses sounding unfinished or demo quality in places.

Plus with the mixed quality of the beats it feels like a weak entry for Gang Starr.

Theres a few good songs, no way is it better than The Ownerz which has actual fully formed songs and consistent production.

the thing is from a producers standpoint what primo did was amazing

i heard a lot of the original material and preem rebirthed it. he really chopped and edited sh!t so proper and made bland verses sound palatable since guru barely gave solar his best

old/remixed guru verses = no ali shaheed feat

one of the best yet is about 30 min and half of that is guest verses and hooks

primo did a superb job of "stretching" the sound to make the guests apperences seemless, especially in songs where he has only 1 verse (most)

i also appreciate how he split the material into two albums instead of doubling down on what i assume is at the most half an hour of music (16 bars is roughly a minute)

it could even be less, could be like ten mins

i am not mad at the act of dripfeeding if this is the last of his art

Yea, ok. She's mediocre at best. Her verse on here was trash.

Her looks tho

nitty vs rapsody? hmmm

Dumb question but how is this a Gang Star album? They find old guru verses and lay them on the album?

according to solar guru was recording a gangstarr album between 05 and 09 and was going to reconcile with primo and solar was to have some involvement

primo sued and got some things back and had to pay for the rest

we now got 2 posthumous gangstarr albums.

 

[Flav]

I don’t know what the hell yall complaining about but this album is dope!

 

[The Ruler 09]

The track with Jeru is dope.

 

[Flav]

I'm surprised anybody thinks it sounds like original tracks. It definitely sounds like Premo pieced it together like a jigsaw puzzle, maybe it's only obvious to people who produce. You can tell from what sounds like reused or previously discarded hooks, changes in vocal quality and tone, Gurus verses sounding unfinished or demo quality in places.

Plus with the mixed quality of the beats it feels like a weak entry for Gang Starr.

Theres a few good songs, no way is it better than The Ownerz which has actual fully formed songs and consistent production.

This album sounds just like the rest of the Gang Starr albums just more features for a obvious reason.