CHRIS LIVE AKA SHAKER SAYS: Following the late, great Notorious B.I.G.'s untimely demise, "Life After Death" in the Hip Hop world took on an increasingly decadent and theatrical tenor that bordered on the comedic, yet, produced some iconic music and visuals. Whilst Biggie's brainchild The Commission (a trifecta comprised of himself, Charli Baltimore and Jay-Z) never had the chance to drop what would have undoubtedly been recognized as the pinnacle of RICO Act rap, Nas's supergroup The Firm had to take a bite out of crime ... lol.
The Firm concept was name dropped here-and-there on Nas's "It Was Written" album and then formally announced ala the brilliant movie trailer-like audio intro on Foxy Brown's debut "Ill Na Na". Originally the group was to include Nas, Foxy Brown, AZ and a fresh-out-of-jail Cormega. Now, whether I forgot or simply never really cared, @ this time, I can't tell Y.O.U. exactly why Cormega was dishonorably discharged from the group. More or less, I subsribe to an entirely plausible scenario where Mega and Nas just bumped heads too many times in a struggle that would pit "Illmatic" talent against real nigga street codes. Nas was no longer the young phenomenon gazing from his "project window" @ the hustle that consumed his concrete Queensbridge kingdom (of which, by all accounts, Cormega was most definitely involved) and had instead evolved into being a "boss" in his own right. Whatever the H-E-Double-Hockey-Sticks happened, Cormega was out and Nature jumped right on in and rode this opportunity out until the wheels fell off.
The problem here is that the wheels fell off kind of early homie ... lol. Take 1 look @ the back of The Firm's album insert and you'll understand why - there were waaaaaaaaaaaay too many cooks in the kitchen my nigga. This album had more imprints than Ricky Hatton's face post fight ... lol. Everybody from Dr. Dre and The Trackmasters to the big homie Don Pooh had a hand in this album. Add Steve Stoute into the mix and the collision of egos and interests was too much to manage ... literally. Be that as it may, The Firm did drop some gems and, for better or worse (depending on whom Y.O.U. speak to), brought a fly ganxta Mafia-by-way-of-Hollywood social club aesthetic to the Hip Hop club. I mean, really, if Y.O.U. don't L.O.V.E. records like "Phone Tap" and "Affirmative Action", then, chances are that you're probably a fag ... lol.
The Firm album totally captures the unique confluenece of mob family values meets unabashed commercialism and over-the-top fashion whore consumerism that dominated much of the late 1990's Hip Hop scene; and it was all broadcast in brilliant Hype Williams directed Technicolor© splendor ... lol. Where the fuck are my O.G. Versace shades @ anyway? LOL. Good shit.
The Firm concept was name dropped here-and-there on Nas's "It Was Written" album and then formally announced ala the brilliant movie trailer-like audio intro on Foxy Brown's debut "Ill Na Na". Originally the group was to include Nas, Foxy Brown, AZ and a fresh-out-of-jail Cormega. Now, whether I forgot or simply never really cared, @ this time, I can't tell Y.O.U. exactly why Cormega was dishonorably discharged from the group. More or less, I subsribe to an entirely plausible scenario where Mega and Nas just bumped heads too many times in a struggle that would pit "Illmatic" talent against real nigga street codes. Nas was no longer the young phenomenon gazing from his "project window" @ the hustle that consumed his concrete Queensbridge kingdom (of which, by all accounts, Cormega was most definitely involved) and had instead evolved into being a "boss" in his own right. Whatever the H-E-Double-Hockey-Sticks happened, Cormega was out and Nature jumped right on in and rode this opportunity out until the wheels fell off.
The problem here is that the wheels fell off kind of early homie ... lol. Take 1 look @ the back of The Firm's album insert and you'll understand why - there were waaaaaaaaaaaay too many cooks in the kitchen my nigga. This album had more imprints than Ricky Hatton's face post fight ... lol. Everybody from Dr. Dre and The Trackmasters to the big homie Don Pooh had a hand in this album. Add Steve Stoute into the mix and the collision of egos and interests was too much to manage ... literally. Be that as it may, The Firm did drop some gems and, for better or worse (depending on whom Y.O.U. speak to), brought a fly ganxta Mafia-by-way-of-Hollywood social club aesthetic to the Hip Hop club. I mean, really, if Y.O.U. don't L.O.V.E. records like "Phone Tap" and "Affirmative Action", then, chances are that you're probably a fag ... lol.
The Firm album totally captures the unique confluenece of mob family values meets unabashed commercialism and over-the-top fashion whore consumerism that dominated much of the late 1990's Hip Hop scene; and it was all broadcast in brilliant Hype Williams directed Technicolor© splendor ... lol. Where the fuck are my O.G. Versace shades @ anyway? LOL. Good shit.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment