Happy 25th Anniversary to Beats & Lyrics (Industry Hip-Hop Compilation: Issue One), originally released November 18, 1997.
A lot of underground hip-hop fans don’t know how good they have it these days. I often honestly have no idea what separates a “major” record label from an “independent” one anymore, but today, when an underground artist decides to release an album, it’s not that hard to find. The day of its release, an album by a lesser-known emcee or crew can be available across literally a dozen or more different streaming services.
If they so desire, artists of every stripe can sell both digital and physical copies of their material through their own websites or a myriad of third-party websites, from Bandcamp to Amazon. Throughout the late 2000s and 2010s, many label reps sifted through the Soundcloud pages of up-and-coming artists, running algorithms based on plays and followers to determine which acts they should sign.
Back in the 1990s, when you wanted to hear regional underground hip-hop, you had to put in some work. There was no digital music scene, for all intents and purposes, and not every artist had the funds to put out physical copies of their releases. Even those who did had to battle for shelf space at record stores in their area. You’d have to buy their tapes (yes, cassette tapes) directly in person or through any local record store that was willing to stock their material. Or occasionally on Al Gore’s Internet.
There were a scant few reliable online outlets to purchase music, including ATAK (later known as TrueHipHop.com), where I spent a considerable amount of money during my early twenties. Let me tell you, ordering $50 worth of underground tapes from a website in 1997 wasn’t like purchasing merchandise from Amazon in 2022. Most people do the latter as instinctively as breathing these days, but a quarter of a century ago, online shopping required nearly equal amounts of bravery and trust.
Hence Beats & Lyrics (Industry Hip Hop Compilation: Issue One) felt like the proverbial breath of fresh air when I first heard it. Released 25 years ago, it seemed to directly appeal to my musical sensibilities like few compilations have since. The album features a collection of songs by members of just-beneath-the-surface hip-hop crews, as well as a couple other largely beloved hip-hop acts. It was a great showcase of what West Coast hip-hop had to offer at the time. And I could find it at both Amoeba Music and the Virgin Megastore in San Francisco.
Beats & Lyrics was put together by Eric “Kool DJ E.Q.” Thomas. The Las Vegas-based DJ and producer had been recording music for a while and had become a respected turntablist. He eventually started his own Industry Records imprint, gaining distribution through Nu Gruv Alliance. If there is a loose theme for Beats & Lyrics, it’s that many of the tracks examine the inherent shadiness of the music industry and the phoniness of those who are willing to sacrifice their artistic integrity for fame.
The first single from the compilation, “The Unseen Hand” by Souls of Mischief, touches on this territory. The Hieroglyphics crew takes up much of the album’s real estate, with members appearing on nearly half of the full-length tracks. By late 1997, it had been more than two years since members of the groundbreaking Bay Area-based collective had put out any widely distributed material. They had launched their own website and used it in part to distribute self-released material to their fan-base.
“Unseen Hand” sonically signified a different direction for the four-man group, as Opio hooks up a track based around keyboard grooves and eerie waves of sound. It would serve as an entrée to the group’s evolving sound moving forward, as you can hear the beginning of the production styles they would utilize on their forthcoming projects.
Hiero members Del the Funky Homosapien and Casual appear on “Three MCs,” the album’s other single and lead-off track. They’re joined by Likwit Crew heavy Xzibit, recording a great under-the-radar posse cut. The song is one of a few on the compilation produced by Kool DJ E.Q. himself. Each emcee’s unique vocal presence makes for a unique concoction, as all three give memorable performances. “Got a Full Metal Jacket of rhymes compressed to manifest under pressure,” Casual raps. “Cas' style a lyrical treasure, nevertheless I get fresher.” The three solo emcees’ chemistry together on this track made me wish that they would collaborate to record an entire project together.
“Help Me Out,” a Del solo endeavor, is different than much of the material he had released in the past. It’s a madcap track that runs over five-and-a-half minutes long, with Del delivering three lengthy verses over a densely packed beat, loaded with swirling horns, keys, drums, and scratches. Though his fourth solo endeavor Both Sides of the Brain (2000) was still three years away, “Help Me Out” provides a clear view of where Del’s production proclivities were headed, forgoing the funk or the CTI-esque jazz samples that characterized his previous releases. Del’s delivery is even more unorthodox than ever, cobbling together winding flows and rhyme schemes. “Me and my playmates, we talented hip-hop paladins,” he raps. “Paddling the charlatans / Knowing what we are to them / Makes us try hard to win.”
Los Angeles-based hip-hop heroes The Pharcyde contribute the DJ EQ-produced “Funny Style: Part One” to the compilation. Though still signed to Delicious Vinyl at the time, the group was in flux, as Fatlip had departed the crew due to creative differences. “Funny Styles” is likely the first time the two-man configuration of Imani and Bootie Brown appeared on record, with Slim Kid Tre being mysteriously M.I.A. Imani and Bootie Brown do a solid enough job holding things down, admonishing the shady characters of the rap biz over a fairly straightforward chopped piano sample. To my knowledge, neither The Pharcyde nor Kool DJ E.Q. has released a part two to this track.
The compilation also features a pair of tracks from the Living Legends collective. The crew of unique emcees had been making noise in the Bay Area underground scene throughout the early to mid-1990s, grinding to sell their tapes to put together the funds necessary to tour the world. Tracks from the collective frequently extolled the virtues of releasing music independently and assertively, but at the time their bread and butter was their stage performances.
When Beats & Lyrics was released, the crew’s success was becoming impossible to ignore, increasingly capturing the attention of music industry reps and audiences alike. As someone who owned most of their tapes and had seen the crew perform live dozens of times, the prospect of them taking things to the next level was an awesome proposition.
During this period, the Living Legends vanguard was ostensibly led by the Mystik Journeymen, who make their statement with “Black Sands,” a dedication to aspiring superstars who lack the ability to connect with a live audience. “Presentations of exceptional nature require stage presence, knowledge of crowds and a little know how,” PSC calmly asserts, clowning rappers obsessed with cursing at the Soundman and grabbing their crotches while performing. Sunspot Jonez gives one of his memorably close-to-unhinged verses, telling the tale of Ned, an aspiring King of Hip-Hop, but best known for “grinding some pre-written freestyles, getting at some freaks, holding an empty bottle of Cristal.”
“Nowyouno” is a Living Legends posse cut, as both members of the Journeymen are joined by Grouch (who produced the track), Eligh, and MURS. It’s a dedication to the importance of the grind to achieving success. Grouch keeps things simple on production, freaking a keyboard groove over a solid drum track. He contributes a memorable verse as well, musing, “I yearn for sounds of bliss so brisk you can’t ignore them / And the more men who listen, the smoother my mission flows.” But it’s MURS who steals the show, contributing a marathon final verse where he releases a barrage of potent stanzas. “Now ninety-nine percent of these motherfuckers out now don't know shit about sellin' they own tape,” MURS declares, “But give these n****s a deal and they bad as Superman without the cape.”
Beats & Lyrics features a trio of tracks from prominent members of the Project: Blowed/Heavyweights collective, Aceyalone and Abstract Rude. On a compilation largely defined by its musical minimalism, Abstract Rude’s pair of offerings stand out. Frequent Rude-collaborator Fatjack has rarely, if ever, opted for low-key production, and he crafts two would-be epic tracks for Beats & Lyrics in the form of the majestic “Torn” and the contemplative “Sityouweightions,” two meditations on the direction hip-hop music will follow moving forward.
Aceyalone’s “Fortitude” is relatively reserved compared to other releases by the emcees. Acey is known for the complexity of his delivery and his off-the-wall imagery, both of which he displays on this track. His nimble verbal gymnastics pair well with Punish’s low-key production. “Yeah I got that glow, you know when lights illuminate?” Acey raps. “When the atoms and the molecules accumulate, I fumigate.” Aceyalone was the only emcee on Beats & Lyrics who would go on to be affiliated with Nu Gruv Alliance, having parted ways with Capitol Records earlier. He dropped a pair of products through Nu Gruv over the next few years.
The late ’90s through the mid ’00s would see the release of many subsequent independent compilations, some featuring artists from the same camps, others focusing on other independent acts and scenes. Two “sequels” to Beats & Lyrics would follow in fairly rapid succession, including Beats & Lyrics 2 (1998) and Process of Elimination (1999), each spearheaded by Kool DJ E.Q. Both have their interesting moments, but both also lack the spark of the original. The third compilation was filled with tracks already released through other labels.
Beats & Lyrics is the best compilation of its kind, capturing a specific moment in time, and focused on showcasing a specific type of talent. Amidst the wave of jiggy and flossy material flooding the market, it was a great reminder to hip-hop heads that if you searched just beyond pop radio, you could find the music that would appeal to your tastes. And that variety kept hip-hop thriving.
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