Happy 30th Anniversary to Special Ed’s second studio album Legal, originally released July 19, 1990. (Note: select sources alternatively cite July 31, 1990 as the album’s official release date.)
A few lifetimes ago, I worked as a grant writer. At one point, my supervisor gave our entire team a self-improvement book with hopes of inspiring us to be better employees. I forgot the title and the author long ago, but its central thesis stuck with me: Rather than expending energy on improving your areas of weakness, people are better served working to get better at what they’re good at doing.
I often wish rappers would follow this advice. Too much stock is put in being a well-rounded artist, when most of the time, I just want to hear good music. Though this book was released in the late ’90s/early ’00s, Edward “Special Ed” Archer follows its ethos to the letter on Legal, his second album, released 30 years ago. He improves on his strengths, resulting in the best album of his career.
Special Ed earned attention as a young prodigy with his debut album Youngest In Charge (1989), creating some of the most memorable songs of the era. Tracks like “I Got It Made” and “Think About It” ooze with Ed’s unique sensibilities. The remix of “I’m the Magnificent” (which appears on Legal), rounded out as solid of a slate of singles as any album released at the time.
Youngest In Charge may have scaled higher commercial peaks, but Legal is the better album overall. At 10 tracks and running a little under 40 minutes long, Legal is sleek and efficient. On Youngest In Charge, Special Ed experimented with other musical styles, with varying degrees of success. Ed trims most of the fat on Legal, playing to his strengths, finding his groove, and riding it for the duration of the project.
The album’s title celebrates Special Ed turning 18 and becoming a “legal” adult. However, adulthood doesn’t dampen Ed’s off-kilter sense of fun or his quirky, unorthodox delivery. He excels the most at either recording mid to up-tempo braggadocio tracks or spinning wryly humorous narratives. Ed is a slightly left of center LL Cool J, and Legal is the equivalent of his Bigger And Deffer (1987), without the corny love song.
Though Howie Tee still handles the majority of the album’s production, Ed also serves double-duty, working behind the boards on some of the album’s best songs. On the two turntables, Ronald “DJ Akshun” Williams provides the scratches throughout Legal, bolstering every track he appears on. The lyricism, production, and DJing all come together to create an album that still has tons of replay value three decades later.
Special Ed proves he’s a gifted rhyme stylist and storyteller that doesn’t take himself too seriously on “The Mission.” The album’s first single plays like a mash-up of a James Bond flick and an episode of Mission: Impossible, as Ed resolves to hunt down the fiendish Lu Chin Chen for stealing his rhymes. Though Mr. Chen’s “Tiger Style” is formidable, it proves no match for Ed’s own “Flatbush Style.”
“Come On, Let’s Move It,” the album’s second single, is the most emblematic of Legal’s overall flavor. Howie Tee puts together an undeniably head-nodding track, mixing samples from Bobby Byrd’s “I Know You Got Soul” with Belle Epoque’s “Miss Broadway.” Ed bobs and weaves across the track, rapping, “Straight from the heart, sending a shock to the brain / To the hand on the pen and then flaunt the fame / And fortune, suckers I be scorching and torching / On and on to victory, me, I be marching.”
Special Ed continues in this vein with songs like “Ya Not So Hot” and “I’m Special Ed,” using stream of consciousness rhymes over jazzy tracks. “Ya Wish Ya Could,” produced by Ed, features his finest lyrical performance on the project. He “shows [his] full versatility” as an emcee over a sample of Johnny “Guitar” Watson’s “Superman Lover,” stepping on and off the beat, connecting words and phrases in unorthodox rhyme patterns. “So step out the way or get stomped,” he boasts. “You’re soft and off, I'm on time with the rhyme, I'm prompt.”
“Ready 2 Attack” is Legal’s most aggressive track. Originally appearing as a B-side to “I’m the Magnificent,” it fits in well with the album’s energy. Howie Tee crafts a track that deftly mixes “Where Do I Go?” from the Hair soundtrack with The Politicians’ “Free Your Mind,” while Akshun’s furious scratches lend to the song’s urgency. Ed gives his most lyrically ruthless performance, stating, “People say ‘new jack,’ what jack? / You wanna get slapped, Jack? Or get flipped like a flapjack? / I’ve been rocking rhymes and I been rocking mics / Ever since you was on BMX bikes.”
Special Ed shares mic time with his family and crew on the posse cut “5 Men and a Mic,” featuring Coolie Man (Ed’s brother Drew), 40 Love, Little Shawn, and DJ Akshun. A drum loop from Tom Scott’s “Sneakin’ In Back” runs the length of the track, while the sample switches up for each emcee. Though Ed is as dope as expected, Little Shawn kicks a memorable verse, rapping, “You know a lot of rappers talk junk / And yes, on the mic they flunk ’cause Little Shawn got funk.” However, Akshun comes close to stealing the track, giving a strong yet overlooked lyrical performance by a DJ. He raps, “At first, I put your rhymes to a hold, stop / Go for your jugular vein, take out your voice-box.”
Albums as efficient as Legal are hard to come by. Even as there’s been a rise in the less than 30-minute release, few fire on all cylinders as consistently as Ed’s sophomore release, cruising with little wasted movement.
Special Ed is an idiosyncratic emcee who hasn’t received enough credit. He established himself with his distinctive character, creating an album that is weird and fun and strangely accessible without sounding compromised. Hip-Hop definitely misses a presence like his.
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