'Superdope!'

By Mosi Reeves

IT HAS TAKEN me nearly 10 years, ever since he produced Mary J. Blige's first joints, to say this, but I can now admit that Sean "Puffy" Combs is a seriously dope artist. I saw him on Rap City the other day with his supergroup Three the Hard Way, and the video for "Let's Get It (Make This Money)" (Bad Boy, www.badboyonline.com) was so fly, as it showed G. Dep, Black Rob, and Puffy posing fresh and bold against a series of black interiors while a hypnotic beat reminiscent of wind being sucked out of an esophagus unraveled all over their party rhymes. Puffy and his Bad Boy crew are far from a purist's vision of hip-hop, but their unmistakable style can only be described as b-boy.

I was only too happy to experience "Let's Get It" as an accompaniment to its badass video, because listening to it unadorned by images would have raised too many questions in regard to originality. I did buy the latest Third Sight single, "Zodiac Killer" backed with "Smegma in D Minor" and "Will I Get Shot by a Dope Fiend" (Disgruntled Records). I was fairly impressed with the Murderdeathkill EP, but I never imagined D-Styles would devise a beat as malicious as "Smegma in D Minor," an aural hip-hop noir reminiscent of Black Moon's Enta da Stage. Then again, my surprise could be from hearing a song so dope I stopped intellectualizing on what the song meant for hip-hop or what new styles Third Sight were inventing and simply enjoyed their music. Lyrically, Jihad, in accordance with his name, is on some revolutionary shit; his freestyles, only once interrupted by D-Styles stabbing out "oh, fuck!," drive the track with murderous personality. It ends with a scratch exhibition by the former Skratch Pikl that's similar to his electro routines on the Phantazmagorea EP (Galactic Butt Hair, www.thudrumble.com), his first solo endeavor and a precursor to the upcoming album of the same name.

But just as I can't imagine spinning Three the Hard Way on my turntable at home, it seems unimaginable that any club DJ would risk alienating a crowd with "Smegma in D Minor," if only because of its name (which refers to the mental lubrications secreted in response to D-Styles's sonic mechanizations). Then again, outside of an abstract hip-hop club like Down There at 26 Mix or Circuit Breaker at Fuse, you're unlikely to hear something so dark in a live, social setting. Peace to all the real DJs out there unafraid to play off-kilter shit.

Here's a more palatable suggestion: Edan's "Drop Some Smooth Lyrics" backed with "Ultra '88 (Respect Due)" (Humble Mag Records). "Ultra '88" finds Edan doing an admirable impression of Kool Keith. Fun! Closer to home, there's the fun-loving Mission and "Home" backed with "The Come On" (Om Records/PUTS Records, www.missionhip-hop.com). Check for the A-side, produced by People under the Stairs' Thes One, for a creamy instrumental to rap your wack-ass rhymes over.

On the incognito tip, look out for Canadian DJ Serious's "Popped" backed with "You Know Me" and "The Enlightening" (Audio Research, www.audioresearch.net). I haven't seen it in local stores, but the breakadelic beats, chock-full of fat loops, make it a solid find. You'll have little trouble finding the latest Stones Throw opus, a split single featuring Cut Chemist's megamix "Bunky's Pick" backed with Madlib's "6 Variations of 'In the Rain' " and a '70s softcore version (Stones Throw, www.stonesthrow.com) of the Dramatics' original hit by Billy Wooten. There are lots more, but I'm running out of space. Man ... it's good to hear cats stepping it up again.

Send all products and gewgaws in care of the author to the San Francisco Bay Guardian, 520 Hampshire, San Francisco, CA 94110. Comments, tips, and disses should be directed to mitigate26@hotmail.com.

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