The Nappy Diatribe

"Dwyck": Gangstarr featuring Nice and Smooth

HumanityCritic: Please pardon the hyperbole for a moment, but this is the song I'm going to place in a time capsule for the sole purpose of forcing the future history book writers to accurately state what real Hip Hop was during my lifetime. Full Disclosure here, when it comes to any song produced by DJ Premier, I'm a bit biased, I even think I'm on record as saying the man can cure cancer - that being said, "Dwyck" is one of those infectious head-nodders that makes you want to go to your nearest religious building and forcibly backhand a random clergy member. Just hearing Greg Nice's voice makes me want to break out and do the Wop, Guru's line "I get more props and stunts than Bruce Willis" is a motivational line I've told myself in the mirror every morning since this song came out, and Smooth B's verse just makes me want to do smoke street grade horticulture and just start freestyling.

DanTres: What made this posse cut stand out is that it is such a party favorite. Everyone gets up to this one. This is a very hard thing to do. Very few have duplicated the success of this joint. The first thing we should note is that here are two groups that are pretty much from two different genres of hip hop music. Gangstarr did that gritty, underground stuff with a sprinkle of black consciousness while Nice and Smooth did straight party favorites.

HumanityCritic: The video for this song stands out as well, they all seemed to be having one hell of a good time on that Atlantic City boardwalk, and even though the women in this video were wearing bikini's, it is the epitome of class compared to the women in video's nowadays.(Jesus, I'm starting to sound like an old man) With groups like Nice & Smooth, and an act like Biz Markie as well, they proved that you can bring a light hearted approach to Hip Hop and still not come across as a fucking minstrel act who is purposefully compromising their lyrical integrity.(Yes, this was a blatant shot at 95% of the stuff played on the radio)

DanTres: It was Guru, however, who murdered the track. Despite the ill lyrical verses, it still rocks the party. This track is a clear demonstration that someone can make a dope lyrical gem that rocks a party without compromising anything. No wack R&B chicks. As a matter of fact, if you notice there is no hook. Ask anyone what the name of this track is and most of the time, they won't be able to tell you what it is.

"Grand Finale": D.O.C. Featuring N.W.A.

DanTres: I was not really checking for the West Coast heads until D.O.C. Dropped his classic album, No One Can Do it Better. It was the last track on that album that made me really go back and check out the first N.W.A. Album. I guess the D.O.C. Made everyone step up their game. Each and everyone did, even Eazy E. I was never into that gangsta posing stuff but I appreciated this track cause each MC just ripped it without the gangsta imagery. It was just lyrics.

HumanityCritic: I love NWA, but the main reason why their arrival on the Hip Hop landscape didn't provide the same shock to my consciousness that so many others had felt during that time, was mainly because artists like Too Short and Ice T had already given me a brief glimpse at how treacherous a terrain certain cities in California were. Listening to this, despite all the lyrical heavy lifting that Ice Cube did during his tenure with NWA, what always gets lost in the mix is how fucking nice MC Ren was. Also, as someone who has ghostwritten for MC's only to hear them mercilessly butcher my words with their nonexistent flow, I always feel the urge to at least give Eazy E some points for delivery. Which is pretty hard for me to admit, being someone who solemnly subscribes to MC Lyte's "Do not say shit until you write your own rhymes" school of thought.

DanTres: Even though the D.O.C. Was originally from Texas, this track really made me start to look at the left coast differently. Mind you, if you were to play this track at any spot, you will get different looks from different folks. I don't know too many people that rocked that D.O.C. Album and this was never released as a single. Nonetheless, it was still dope and not too many posse cuts can come close.

HumanityCritic: While people will forever ponder on the types of MC's Biggie and Tupac would have become if they had never met their untimely demise, a more pressing inquiry to me is pondering in what ways the D.O.C would have shaped Hip Hop if he had never been in the accident that severely damaged his voice. I know that he's been a prolific ghostwritter, but I'm just saying.. Anyway, "No one can Do it Better" is a bona fide classic and one of my all time favorites, along with this Posse Cut.