Best Decade Tournament - 90s - Numbers wins!

[PryTo]

Ice Cube fell off years ago, but in his heyday, he was probably the single most important rapper around. He was the primary lyricist and lead rapper for N.W.A., penning the rhymes for the group’s legendary debut. Feeling that he was being financially shortchanged, he left the group and went solo. N.W.A. recorded one more record and collapsed, with producer Dr. Dre also leaving for financial reasons. Upon departing N.W.A., Cube immediately issued a killer solo debut, produced by the Bomb Squad, best known for their work with Public Enemy. His second record, Death Certificate, however, was a game changer.

Death Certificate is probably my second favorite rap album of all time, coming in juuuust behind Paul’s Boutique. Nearly every track is a winner. The production is stomping but it was Cube’s lyrics and delivery that made him a superstar. Cube was never a gang banger or a drug dealer or anything like that. He grew up in some proximity to that sort of thing, but he was really not of that world. But his abilities as a storyteller are about as good as they come.

This track really highlights Cube’s genius as a storyteller. In the song, Cube assumes the persona of a young rapper growing up in a gang-infested L.A. neighbhorhood. He’s hanging out on the corner one afternoon, minding his own business, when a drive-by shooting takes place. Everyone runs. Cube doesn’t realize it at first, but he’s been shot. He blacks out and wakes up in an ambulance, headed for the L.A. county hospital, “where niggas die over a little scratch.” From here, he tells the tale of having to navigate the hospital bureaucracy while bleeding from a gunshot wound. “Yo nurse, I’m getting kind of warm/Bitch still made me fill out the fuckin’ form … One hour done passed/Done watched two episodes of MASH.” To make matters worse, the cops show up to question him about the drive by shooting, assuming that since he was involved, he must be a gang member. He’s handcuffed to the bed. Cube swears to the officers, “I don’t bang, I rock the good rhymes/And I’m a victim of neighborhood crime.” He continues to wait. “I need to see an MD/And ya’ll motherfuckers giving me the third degree.” A great storyteller, Cube pushes the tension further and further. Will he make it out of the county hospital alive? A great writer, he offers vivid details and keen insights. “Look at the waiting room. It’s filled to the brim like the county jail day room … Since we poor, the hospital moves slow.” You’ll have to listen for yourself to find out how things end.



Ice Cube – Alive on Arrival

[stip]

definitley a few songs here I'll need to listen to. But I'm calling it early tonight

[BigRedLedbetter]

Ice Cube Predator album all damn day!

[epilogue]

Might as well get this one out of the way. If you thought for one second this wasn't happening, then, well, you probably don't know me very well.



Alanis Morissette - Uninvited

[epilogue]

And we'll go with my other favorite lady of the 90s.



Liz Phair - Never Said

[numbers]

Bundy is going to kill my chance of picking again before I go to bed, I just know it.

[Birds in Hell]

Neil Young and Crazy Horse - 'Safeway Cart'

[BigRedLedbetter]

And we'll go with my other favorite lady of the 90s.



Liz Phair - Never Said

Is Jenny Lewis your favorite lady of the 2000s?

[Birds in Hell]

DCT and Birds, if my turn comes up, go ahead and pick. I'll get around to it soon enough and my picks are safe (I hope). Don't want to hold up the line.

I've PM'd PryTo but I'm not positive if this means he'd be happy for us to keep moving back to Heathen now Joey and I have made our picks.

[LetMeSleep]

I'm sure PryTo won't pick this one.

Bark Psychosis - Eyes & Smiles

[LetMeSleep]

Oops maybe.

[numbers]

DCT and Birds, if my turn comes up, go ahead and pick. I'll get around to it soon enough and my picks are safe (I hope). Don't want to hold up the line.

I've PM'd PryTo but I'm not positive if this means he'd be happy for us to keep moving back to Heathen now Joey and I have made our picks.

He had us skip him both turns last time.

[Birds in Hell]

Yeah, you have a point.

Big Red, back to you.

I have picks for stip and ABNorman.

[PryTo]

Beastie Boys had a huge hit wit their debut album, but quickly fell out of favor as their frat-rap shtick got old. They went underground for the second album, 1989’s Paul’s Boutique, which was brilliant, but sold about twelve copies. But those twelve copies (I had one of ‘em) were passed on via word of mouth and by the time the Beastie returned with 1992’s “Check Your Head,” they had generated a huge underground buzz. That record was perfectly suited for the alternative/grunge nation, blending old-school hip-hop, funk, and even punk rock.

In many ways, the followup, 1994’s “Ill Communication” was the sequel to CYH. (A critic once called it something like the greatest “treading water” record of all time.) The format was basically the same, blending the Beastie’s rap leanings in with punk and funk and a few other things. Probably the Beastie’s biggest talent (besides hiring outstanding, boundary pushing producers) is trading rhymes, rat-a-tat, finishing each other sentences and doing so with a genuine sense of fun and exuberance. No track represents this better than “Get it Together,” where the Beasties collaborate with A Tribe Calle Quest frontman, Q-Tip. Q has one of the great rap voices of all time. He’s not much of a lyricist, but it doesn’t matter because everything he says just sounds great. The production here is standout, too. If you can’t bounce your head to this track, seek medical attention.



Beastie Boys featuring Q-Tip – Get it Together

[PryTo]

And we'll go with my other favorite lady of the 90s.



Liz Phair - Never Said

I this song so much, but the whole album is fantastic. Not sure how you narrowed it down to one song. Just about all of 'em rule. Awesome pick!

[BigRedLedbetter]

Counting Blue Cars - Dishwalla

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AVSF4npeJ8

[Theodore Bundy]

Culture Beat - Mr. Vain

[Norah]

Beastie Boys had a huge hit wit their debut album, but quickly fell out of favor as their frat-rap shtick got old. They went underground for the second album, 1989’s Paul’s Boutique, which was brilliant, but sold about twelve copies. But those twelve copies (I had one of ‘em) were passed on via word of mouth and by the time the Beastie returned with 1992’s “Check Your Head,” they had generated a huge underground buzz. That record was perfectly suited for the alternative/grunge nation, blending old-school hip-hop, funk, and even punk rock.

In many ways, the followup, 1994’s “Ill Communication” was the sequel to CYH. (A critic once called it something like the greatest “treading water” record of all time.) The format was basically the same, blending the Beastie’s rap leanings in with punk and funk and a few other things. Probably the Beastie’s biggest talent (besides hiring outstanding, boundary pushing producers) is trading rhymes, rat-a-tat, finishing each other sentences and doing so with a genuine sense of fun and exuberance. No track represents this better than “Get it Together,” where the Beasties collaborate with A Tribe Calle Quest frontman, Q-Tip. Q has one of the great rap voices of all time. He’s not much of a lyricist, but it doesn’t matter because everything he says just sounds great. The production here is standout, too. If you can’t bounce your head to this track, seek medical attention.



Beastie Boys featuring Q-Tip – Get it Together

Fuck yeah. It'll be very hard to vote against any team with this song. My favorite Beasties tune and one of my all time favorite songs.

[Birds in Hell]

Culture Beat - Mr. Vain

[bart]

...A Tribe Calle Quest frontman, Q-Tip. Q has one of the great rap voices of all time. He’s not much of a lyricist, but it doesn’t matter because everything he says just sounds great.

Oh for fuck's sake.