O.C. on People Saying “Jewelz” Was A Sellout Record & Half of “Word…Life” is From Demos (Full Interview)
- Thread starter IronFist
- Start date
Art Barr
INVADING SOHH CHAMPION
Y'all nikkaz flodge'n heavy in this thread.
This is why I wrote reviews.
Jewelz is a ditc album after they started selling out. Starting with diamond d and his horrible Second album. Which Also similar to jewelz. had the same overly dope bait and switch bs style of that ditx wannabe jiggy era's first single. Then to pull the rug from under the listener. After they removed the packaging. To experience ditc making records culturally juxtaposed from what they originally were. Same here except this time. It's my world rocked and again...it was the first song after the fall of quality music in 1996. available on streaming on the first site.
to exclusively attempt to market hiphop online as a review site. To then turn from review site to marketplace organically. In that hiphopsite.com eventually failed as a marketplace. As the records in what would become the sales spike era. Eventually the low quality culture release in rap. Suffered in quality, release to release. is why hiphopsite.com is not even around anymore.
For people to suddenly try to cape. When this album was definitely made in the ditc lost their way on maiors era. before show and ag had to re-right the ship. From the long sales burn releases of their vinyl re-entry in the era. If not for that vinyl re-entry. Ditc had hit such a snag. They were in danger of not drawing anymore culturally at that time. Even signaled by the releases on major for ditc and their affiliates. Ditc had horrible quality on lp's on majors. for them and their affiliated after the fall in quality of music in rap in 1996.
So for people to have amnesia. Is one of the reason we are where we are. Simply because y'all give passes to the detriment of this culture and eventually its business as well. By not keeping it true.
Keep it true.
I hate to say that jewelz is a wack album but it is and I will not flodge about it. Not then and not in retrospect.
Respect your wallet, hiphop culture and yourself. Keep it real. Keep it true
Art Barr
This is why I wrote reviews.
Jewelz is a ditc album after they started selling out. Starting with diamond d and his horrible Second album. Which Also similar to jewelz. had the same overly dope bait and switch bs style of that ditx wannabe jiggy era's first single. Then to pull the rug from under the listener. After they removed the packaging. To experience ditc making records culturally juxtaposed from what they originally were. Same here except this time. It's my world rocked and again...it was the first song after the fall of quality music in 1996. available on streaming on the first site.
to exclusively attempt to market hiphop online as a review site. To then turn from review site to marketplace organically. In that hiphopsite.com eventually failed as a marketplace. As the records in what would become the sales spike era. Eventually the low quality culture release in rap. Suffered in quality, release to release. is why hiphopsite.com is not even around anymore.
For people to suddenly try to cape. When this album was definitely made in the ditc lost their way on maiors era. before show and ag had to re-right the ship. From the long sales burn releases of their vinyl re-entry in the era. If not for that vinyl re-entry. Ditc had hit such a snag. They were in danger of not drawing anymore culturally at that time. Even signaled by the releases on major for ditc and their affiliates. Ditc had horrible quality on lp's on majors. for them and their affiliated after the fall in quality of music in rap in 1996.
So for people to have amnesia. Is one of the reason we are where we are. Simply because y'all give passes to the detriment of this culture and eventually its business as well. By not keeping it true.
Keep it true.
I hate to say that jewelz is a wack album but it is and I will not flodge about it. Not then and not in retrospect.
Respect your wallet, hiphop culture and yourself. Keep it real. Keep it true
Art Barr
Heavy_Handz
Superstar
Nobody is going to argue that Word…Life is by far a more impactful album that rocked the streets when it dropped. That album will forever be revered by true Hip-Hop fans worldwide. But for you to call Jewelz wack is just not true on any level you wanna paint. I’ve never been a person who ever changes the reality of the past. I don’t have the energy. Go ahead and replay the Intro, My World & War Games back to back to back to start off the album and explain to me how in the hell did O.C. sell out. That’s bullshyt! That shyt was knocking so hard in 97! Definitely one of the better albums of the whole year. I don’t know about you but I didn’t want to hear Funcrusher Plus for what it’s worth.
Tommy Gibbs
Superstar
i agree. the album was dope then and it's dope now. I think 1997 was a pivotal year of what was to come for hip hop and not in a good way. Jewelz was dope. He hit a rough patch for a while, but his last 4 have been hot
facts that is a production gem
Awesome Wells
The Ghost of Jack Tripper
Truth.
People forget, O was about to sign to Roc-A-Fella in '97, while recording this album. And was actually making records with Hov. So his creative process, and how his records sounded, started to shift. For a lot of people, Jewelz was their first time hearing him, so they think this is his best work. He said himself that he was trying to make more records for radio and joints girls would like, so it's clear that he intentionally wanted to sell more records.
Heavy_Handz
Superstar
It’s still funny to me that on Bonafide Jay asked him if he wanted a verse & O.C. Was like nah man just the hook is cool
Still a head scratcher to this day and partly reason why his 3rd album was a dud
Bonafide & Half Good, Half Sinner were dope! I don’t understand why those two tracks were thrown in as bonus tracks on that album. The rest of the album was weak as hell. Why didn’t the album sound like those two tracks? Didn’t make any sense. This was the album for me that he completely lost his way.
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It Was Written...
Awesome Wells
The Ghost of Jack Tripper
It’s still funny to me that on Bonafide Jay asked him if he wanted a verse & O.C. Was like nah man just the hook is cool
O had another joint with Tone Hooker called "Crew Love", and Jay only did the hook.
He supposed to sign, but I forget why they said it didn't happen. They were rolling together a lot back then.
Whips-n-Chains
Chi
I prefer Jewelz but I do think it’s been overrated. Someone r said it’s in the level of Ready to Die and Reasonable Doubt, which is pretty absurd to me.
I’d put it on the level of Dah Shinin’ or Nocturnal
I’d put it on the level of Dah Shinin’ or Nocturnal
Tommy Gibbs
Superstar
you've got to think that RD at the time wasn't considered a great album. In my area, damn near the whole city slept on it. I guarantee you that you will not meet 20 people the rest of your life with an original copy of Reasonable Doubt with the gun art on the cd and 2 dots above the Y on the cover. People didn't catch on to RD until Def Jam repressed it after Hard Knock Life. RD was initially released on Freeze Records thru Priority. Aint no nikka was a single on def Jam for the Nutty Professor soundtrack. There aint a Def jam symbol on the original pressing of RD.
Yep It was a street album with one single for the radio and Nas was called a sell out lol
Digital Omen
All Star
What was happening in 96-97 was the transition from the "ruff, rugged, and raw" boom bap sound and aesthetic of the early to mid 90s to the jiggy era of the late 90s. That's why De La was bytchin on Stakes is High about R&B bytches on your hook...everyone was doing it because Hot 97 had taken over and become the # 1 station in NYC (no, not the # 1 "urban" station. The # 1 station period). If you weren't getting played on Hot you were getting dropped.
The jiggy vibes were coming in with Bad Boy leading the charge. The Roots made the What They Do video and of course they're gonna deny it to their grave but we all knew it was a shot at Biggie. Jeru, Nas, Wu...all the big "real Hip Hop" acts were fighting the shiny suit army but they had already lost that battle.
That's what was happening when Jewelz dropped. All the "real heads" were mad at the R&B chickenhead on the hook single, the blatant Hot 97 formula. I remember DJ Khaled brought O.C. down for his promo tour and just a couple hundred heads showed up. Club half empty and shyt. That shyt's gotta be demoralizing for the artist but he still performed a solid set.
That was the problem. O never stood out from the crowd. He was never wack, but didn't have that charisma that stars have. So he was in the lyrical miracle lane ever since Organized Konfusion. Anyway, girls heard the single and liked it, danced along and all but there was nothing else there for them. Besides, Mase was ruling that lane at the time.
Then the nail in the coffin were his own words "I'd rather be broke and have a whole lot of respect" he said that shyt and it became a prophecy
The jiggy vibes were coming in with Bad Boy leading the charge. The Roots made the What They Do video and of course they're gonna deny it to their grave but we all knew it was a shot at Biggie. Jeru, Nas, Wu...all the big "real Hip Hop" acts were fighting the shiny suit army but they had already lost that battle.
That's what was happening when Jewelz dropped. All the "real heads" were mad at the R&B chickenhead on the hook single, the blatant Hot 97 formula. I remember DJ Khaled brought O.C. down for his promo tour and just a couple hundred heads showed up. Club half empty and shyt. That shyt's gotta be demoralizing for the artist but he still performed a solid set.
That was the problem. O never stood out from the crowd. He was never wack, but didn't have that charisma that stars have. So he was in the lyrical miracle lane ever since Organized Konfusion. Anyway, girls heard the single and liked it, danced along and all but there was nothing else there for them. Besides, Mase was ruling that lane at the time.
Then the nail in the coffin were his own words "I'd rather be broke and have a whole lot of respect" he said that shyt and it became a prophecy
Whips-n-Chains
Chi
You’re 100% correct. RD has however aged incredibly well. I’m not even a Hov fan, outside of random songs, RD and BP1 is the only album I still play from him.
I don’t throw the classic word out there that much, especially when something is classic just bc a lot of time has passed. Jewelz or Doe or Die or Nocturnal or Tical are solid 4/5 or 4.5 efforts but not true classics.
Heavy_Handz
Superstar
Hov tried to get M.O.P. Signed as well but they were loyal to Relativity. M.O.P. & O.C. on the Roc woulda been slick.