Section 1 -- One HardC.O.R.E. Vol. 1, Issue 5 4/3/93 Table of Contents (featuring...Guns 'n Lyrics) Section Contents Author ---- -------- ------ 1 Contents 2 C.O.R.E. info 3 R.Stone - Ice-T mc78+@andrew.cmu.edu 4 Review - Onyx juonsteve@bvc.edu 5 Article - Sellout U14864@UICVM.UIC.EDU 6 Lyrics - Go For Your Guns Kool G. Rap 7 Lyrics - Throw Ya Gunz Onyx 8 Article - Nothing commercial? juonsteve@bvc.edu 9 Update - Hip-Hop Exchange juonsteve@bvc.edu 10 Closing Section 2 -- Two The C.O.R.E. creed We at C.O.R.E. support underground hip-hop (none of that crossover bullshucks). That means we also support the 1st Amendment and the right to uncensored music. I'm audi 5 to my doghouse! "I got more rhymes than Madonna gets dick" KRS-One : I Get Wreck Asalaam Alaikum from MC Flash X Section 3 -- Three ICE-T'S DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE In Rolling Stone, by Alan Light reprinted without permission by the Mack...... A six-month struggle between the world's largest media conglomerate and the world's most controversial rapper reached a climax when Warner Bros. Records, a division of Time Warner, announced on January 26th that it was severing ties with Ice-T and refusing to release his new album, _Home Invasion_. The Split illustrates the threat record companies feel following last summer's protests over Ice-T's song "Cop Killer" and points to the probable death of hard-core rap on major labels. "Warner Communications has come up with he conclusion that they cannot deal with black anger," says Ice-T, who plans to release _Home Invasion_ on March 23rd on his own label, Rhyme Syndicate Records, to be distributed by Priority Records." The cops managed to scare this labelinto being afraid to allow people to do what they want to do." (Ironically, Priority's manufacturing and shipping are handled by CEMA, the distribution arm of another major music corporation, Capitol-EMI.) But while conventional wisdom holds that Warner Bros. simply dropped Ice-T from its roster, the official statement that the break was "by mutual agreement" seems closer to the truth. According to Ice-T, he wrote Warner Bros. a letter several weeks before the decision, asking for release from his contract because he felt that the company was damaging his integrity by asking for excessive compromises on the new album. Though Ice agrees that he was probably being pushed until he asked to leave, he claims to feel no animosity toward Warner Bros. "If you've got stock that sells for $1000 a share and all of a sudden it drops to $600 because there's some guy talking crazy," he says, "you tell that guy to get the fuck out of there." The saga began last fall, several months after Ice-T pulled "Cop Killer" from the album Body count, when he submitted the tapes for what would have been his sixth album on Sire, a division of Warner Bros. Since the "Cop Killer" controversy, all rap lyrics are now subjected to intense scrutiny by labels prior to release: Warner Bros. refused to release albums by Paris and Kool G Rap and DJ Polo in the last several months because of concern over inflammatory tracks. Ice says a Time Warner "crisis attorney" reviewed the tapes for _Home Invasion_ and requested that he drop one track, "Ricochet," for the line "got sticky sneakers from the blood of a shot cop." (The song had previously been released as a single to coincide with the 1991 Ice-T/Denzel Washington movie of the same name.) Ice was also asked to reconsider lyrics on tow other tracks. "The never said, 'Change it,' but they said they could be hot spots," says Ice. "Like 'We Don't think it's nothing, but the police could make it into something.'" He agreed to drop "Ricochet" and alter the other lyrics but suggested waiting until after the November elections to release the album. In the meantime, Ice recorded several new songs that were added to Home Invasion. When it came time to shoot a video for the first single, "Gotta Lotta Love," Warner again objected to a line. "I wrote, "G-A-T-E-S, and you better wear a vest,'" Ice explains. "They said, 'Damn, that't about [former LAPD chief Daryl] Gates, we might get in trouble,' so I changed that, too." By this time, the album had been delayed until February. In January, Ice submitted cover art that depicted a white youth listening to headphones, surrounded by the violent fantasies he is imagining. Warner Bros. Records approved the art, but someone in Time Warner' executive division turned it down. Ice was on tour when he got a call saying the cover had been rejected. "I couldn't believe it," he says. "This was the first time I really got mad." Still, he was willing to make one last compromise, offering to put the album out with a plain black cover. When the label requested a new design instead, Ice and his manager, Jorge Hinojosa, wrote the company asking of Ice could be let go. "We said, 'Ice-T's career is based on integrity,'" says the rapper. "The minute people feel that Ice-T is not doing what he says, there'll be no more movies, no more nothing, 'cause then Ice will be a joke." The company quickly agreed to the idea of ending the seven- year-long relationship. Warner Bros. spokesman Bob Merlis says, "[Ice] was disgruntled, we knew it, and we didn't feel comfortable asking him to do more." The _Home Invasion_ tapes and cover were returned to Ice, and he was released from the two albums left on his contract. Ice-TV, the talk show that he had taped for the Time Warner subsidiary Home Box Office, has been shelved, though Ice has already been paid for the show. So Ice-T leaves Warner Bros. with five gold records, a completed new album, and a cash settlement reported to be in the high six figures. And for now, his feelings about he media giant are, at least publicly, positive. "Warner Bros. was a good ride," says Ice-T. "The made ma famous and put me in a position where I can start my own business. And they never rally disrespected me; they just go into a jam. For me personally, this is the best thing that ever happened." If Ice-T emerges from this deal unscathed, up-and-coming hard-core rappers may not be so lucky. His departure shows protestors that if they push stock-holders and attack the corporate image hard enough, even the biggest companies will back down. There is widespread concern that the hit will be felt hardest by artists without Ice-T's high profile. "It affects the next Ice-T's and Ice Cubes out there," says Bryan Turner, president of Priority Records (home of N.W.A. and Ice Cube and now Ice-T's distributor.). "That's sad--it's impacting on creative expression." "As a businessman, I understand [Time Warner]," says Russell Simmons, whose Def Jam Records first brought rap to major labels when it signed an agreement with CBS in 1985. "But any art dealers that don't support and protect their artists shouldn't be in the business. The artistic community shouldn't stand for it--the police didn't." Many insiders, though, feel that rap's return to independent labels will ultimately prove healthier for the music. "I'm very happy that corporate America is willing to divest itself of a $750 million industry," says Bill Stephney, a co-founder of Public Enemy and the president-CEO of the new Stepsun Music Entertainment (distributed by Warner through Tommy Boy Records). "But I've always though the relationship between hip-hop and major labels was an untenable situation. You've go artists calling white people 'devils' on white-owned corporate labels--it makes no sense." "When it gets to the level of PR, sales and dollar figures," adds Turner, "if you were looking at it that way, how could you not agree with [Time Warner]?" Stephney concludes that while rap's return to independent labels could ultimately be a positive change, it will require a new attitude for the music to survive. "Indie labels must develop political wisdom, which they haven't been willing to do," he says. "They need to stand strong and be savvy about defending themselves. Warner Bros. hasn't pressured [Stepsun] so far, and I don't think we'll be compromised, but if we feel that we are, we'll have to leave them." Regardless of its implications, the immediate winner in the Warner Bros/Ice-T divorce is undoubtedly Ice-T. "I completed the arc within that particularly system," he says. "At this point they could give me the suit, the executive position, the TV show, but to do that you've go to change how you talk. "Right now, we're in the middle of an educational war," Ice adds. "And there's no time to have people like myself, who other people consider soldiers, being told what to say. I ain't with that. I'm moving on." Section 4 -- Four Review - Onyx : Bacdafucup By MC Flash X Review scale : 6. Phat - Ten years from now this shit'll still be so dope! 5. Funky - Ownership is the difference between a mack and a mark 4. Fine - If your pockets are fat get it, but don't panic if you don't 3. Fair - It has some potential hits, and at least it doesn't stink 2. Flat - Somebody explain to me why this person even tried?! 1. Flunk - The ultimate diss... PM Dawn sounded better Beatz : It falls very exactly between Fine and Funky, which will be explained Lyrics: Very Funky, but six outta six for explicitness. If you are in the least bothered by bitch/ho/nigga lyrics, skip this one Rating: Overall, it gets a funky, but not as high a Funky as Geto Boys Side One: Side Two: *Bacdafucup Onyx is Here Bichasniguz Slam Throw Ya Gunz Stik'N'Muve Here'N'Now Bichasbootleguz *Bust Dat Ass Shifftee Atak of Da Bal-Headz Phat('N' All Dat) *Da Mad Face Invasion Da Nex Niguz Blac Vagina Finda *Getdafucout *Da Bounca Nigga Nigga Bridges As you had probably already guessed, Bacdafucup is just a short intro, not a full length song, but it has a nice background and sets the tone well. 'Move back motherfuckers, the Onyx is here Bacdafucup, bacdafucup' Then we roll straight into Bichasniguz, which isn't saying much, and doesn't have the best beat of the whole tape, but overall is a fine cut, and won't have you reaching for FF. Another good 'Intro' to Onyx. 'Bichasniguz I'ma have to pull your skirt up That's the word up, you're gettin hurt up... Move back motherfuckers, the Onyx is here My name is Sticky Fingers I'm the nigga in your nightmare Forget the crowd cheers, I live off fears It's the beast in me' Co-incidentally, Sticky Fingers is my favorite rhymer off the group. His voice has a ruff but smooth edge and his lyrics always seem to be on point even when the beat or the crew aren't. Anyway, without further adeiux, Throw Ya Gunz is in the mix. Since I got the lyrics here, why say any more? Except that it is PHAT, lyrics, beat n all! Here'N'Now is another one of those Fine songs, the songs that make people say 'All Onyx songs sound alike'. Once again, it's not bad, it doesn't stand out on the cassette though. 'The niggaz can't get it, the niggaz ain't got it I been a bald head since the age of 10 Cause I'ma ruthless crook, and I'm wanted in Brooklyn' Anyway, the short spot 'Bust Dat Ass' is actually worthy of note cause it has a bassline that probably would've worked for a whole joint and the call and response is pretty damn funky. But anyway, onto 'Attack of Da Bal-Hedz', another standout cut. It has a great funk feel spiced with some ill style horn samples and some lyrics I just love. 'What's the matter with my brain I can't think clear, oh it's the hair Run and get the razor gotta make it disappear There! Now I got an open mind' How can you front on lyrics like that? And then the next full song, Blac Vagina Finda, just keeps it rollin. 'I'm just one, stinky, kinky, slim not slinky Fiddle with your clitoris pop your pussy with my pinky... The perverted motherfuckers is at it again Fuckin with a skin, fuckin with a skin' I'm gonna skip reviewing the rest of side one and side two with one exception... for two reasons. One, only one other song really stands out to me. Two, to reimphasize my point that while this album is not wack, and no song dips into wackness, it just doesn't vary enough. Still a good tape though. Anyway, I will just quickly mention Slam, because as one witty ALT.RAP soul just said, it does. As for the lyrics -- 'Slam, says Onyx, says Onyx Let boys B-Boys... I come across with the pure, Unsure, unaldurated, uncut, raw, disgusting, busting, you wanna touch it too hot...' Et cetera. I guess on rereviewing this tape, average is about all I can say. But if you heard 'Throw Ya Gunz' and liked it I would recommend this tape. PEace yo! Section 5 -- Five Subj: Who's The Real Sellout? "You're a sellout!" "Why you sold out?" "You have fallen off, damned sellout!" Accusations like this are thrown throughout the Hip Hop community. But who is truly a sell-out? Is a hip-pop artist a sell-out? Is a gangsta rapper a sell-out? The best way to determine whether or not a person actually is a sell-out is to first, define the meaning of the word "sell-out." To me, a sell-out is someone who either: A) Pretends to be down but doesn't know jack about true hip hop, B) Establishes a true hip hop base, and abandons it for mainstream success, C) Promotes and foments ideas that are dangerous to the Hip Hop community and rap fans as a whole,or, D) Is a blatant hypocrite. By using this criteria, a sell-out can have more than one definition. For example, under (A), a person like Marky Mark can be called a sell-out. His "rap" roots only trace back to the Stank Kids on the Block, and when he fronts like he's a hardcore artist, he's only selling himself, and his talent (and lack thereof) to the highest bidder (Calvin Klein, anyone?). Arsenio Hall fits in this category as well, because he never demonstrated an appreciation for true hip hop, just what happens to be popular at the moment. He proved his ignorance of hip hop when he failed to acknowledge that Heavy D has an entire album out. Under (B), an artist like LL Cool J can be classified a sellout. He came out as one of the hardest rappers around, and he flexed with the best of them. Unfortunately, LL wanted to go pop. And the more he tried to cross over, the softer his songs became, culminating with one of the worst songs in history, "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf", performed, of all things, for a DISNEY compilation. LL was too "pop-ular" to shoot the video for "H.E.A.L Yourself", and his contribution was easily erased. It's one thing to cross over (Heavy D is the best example) and keep your base, but it's totally different when an artist feels that he is moving "beyond" Hip Hop, when it's Hip Hop that's accelerating past HIM. Run DMC is another example, and when they performed "Ghostbusters" and "Wrestlemania", that signaled the end of their underground influence on Hip Hop. Fortunately, LL and Run-DMC are coming full circle, and are preparing to show the world that although they may have fallen off, they are not to be slept on. From what I've heard so far, the circle is now becoming complete. I would classify an artist like PM Dawn under (C) because true, his music was never "down" to begin with, his attitudes are dangerously "Uncle Tom." An artist that has an audience like his should not go around accusing Blacks of being lazy, shiftless and opportunistic welfare bums, because SOMEONE out there might take him seriously. In his case, he's not selling out Hip Hop, he's selling out his own RACE, and that is infinitely more dangerous. Maybe KRS 1 should invite ol' Prince Be to a seminar on knowledge of self and the Black community. Maybe then, Prince Be could learn some respect for his forefathers and foremothers. Under (D), artists who violate their own philosophy are classified. In this case, their music may or may not come into question. For example, Rakim, probably the dopest lyricist this side of the universe, is a hypocrite for endorsing St. Ides. Why would a so-called "muslim" and a member of the 5% Nation promote poison that's only being sold in the Black Community? I would also place Hammer here, because he promotes Christianity while having Black women shake their butts in tight biker shorts. If an artist is going to promote a philosophy and try to teach others, he should at least lead by example. Female artists who shake their butts for videos fall in here, too... especially Oaktown's 357. They want people to take them seriously as artists, yet they strut around half-naked pouring honey all over each other. These sisters are selling out Black women as well as selling themselves. Hopefully, we can find ways to rid hip hop of the sellouts, because all they do is compromise a powerful art form. And until we do, we all have to keep our eyes open, because the sellouts are everywhere. Peace, The Minister of Rage Section 6 -- Six Lyrics : Go For Your Guns Kool G Rap and DJ Polo Verse One: Niggaz in the street that I diss right You better get this right These days what the fuck is a fist fight Pitch and puttin niggaz in headlocks When I can lick off shots and put they ass in a box Cause if you steppin to me tryin to throw a right hook Bitch is lookin to get your motherfuckin life took Cause I can't wait to be a niggaz fate So while you lift weights I'm liftin lite-ass nickel plates So if you wanna misbehave nigga I'll have to kick it to the motherfuckin grave digger Yeah motherfucker you heard it Dude wanna let walk talk shit nope you talk your ass murdered Niggaz are bein the Karate Kid But I'll be in prison doin a motherfuckin body-bid So you can take all that Rocky shit home Sylvester Stallone ain't shit against Al Capone Cause I ain't got no patience or energy For motherfuckers and punk-ass suckers that wanna enter me Step up and play me like I'm soft Bitch I don't knock motherfuckers out I'm knockin motherfuckers off Leavin the scene like Machine Gun Kelly Two to the head about four cross the belly Steady givin niggaz the runs Fuckin clam put your fists down and go for your guns Verse Two: You punk-ass niggaz better hop or chill Cause my glock can kill twenty motherfuckers with boxer skills That's how I put a niggaz head out The murder scene needs more than Visine to get the red out And I don't give a fuck if you know Judo Cause I'ma blow your motherfuckin ass to Pluto And when I blast the trey niggaz pass away Puttin the glock to your silly clown ass you gay So all you niggaz with the jokes (Is everybody ready?) Well dibbida-dat's all folks Cause nigga you don't want the nine to go (boom) Niggaz like Tyson woulda died a long time ago Run out of luck with a slump for you sucker ducks No more percussion be another motherfucker bucked Gettin all rumps in stuffed up boots Hell no, I'm givin motherfuckers burial suits Your little T.K.O was A.O.K. My way is R.I.P., niggaz are D.O.A. Dead on Arrival So nigga you better come with your gun if you want survival >From the Mac-11 It throws out real fast so the motherfuckin track severed I ain't kickin niggaz buns If it's a bitch I'ma wetta you better go for your guns Verse Three: Rollin up on niggaz wearin wigs Cause I gotta cig for you nigs and all you motherfuckin pigs Kool G Rap's a bad decision Fuck front page I'm puttin niggaz on television I got heart kid if you want we can throw it out But you ain't got no heart motherfucker when I blow it out Straight out your back Cause you got attacked by the mack let's see you black belt dat Bitch'll bein doin some pushups, and get ambushed up And put in a box all squooshed up So motherfucker be a learner Cause I can't hit or wrestle a niggaz without pullin out my burner So when a motherfucker to fight You fuck around with G and you'll be fightin Death tonight So you don't wanna get loose G Cause I'm givin more flat lines to niggaz than loose-leaf So come on Bruce Lee Yo I'ma show you who the motherfucker is with all the juice G So if you wanna intimidate A nigga like me, great, will make your fuckin head disinigrate I'm sendin niggaz to Bedrock Look out for the red dot Or get your motherfuckin head shot Niggaz are dialin 911 You little bitch niggaz go for your guns Section 7 -- Seven Lyrics : Throw Ya Gunz Onyx Intro: Take em up, take em up, bring em up dead Shine em up, shine em up, shine a bald head One cut, two cut, three cut, four Your, mind, is on the ground Onyx! (echoes) Verse One: It's time to get live, live, live like a wire I set a whole choir on fire Rolled up on the grill shot skills skills In a frill, the crowd dissed me, they gettin crispy Ha, ha hah hah, and we do it like this (undecipherable) Cause they can burn in hell shit for all that I care You need a bald head the dreads dead as they fear Stick up assassin, shockin new reaction These fuckin niggaz shoulda made the whore madder Onyx is wreckin shit, slip slide step quick Slip on a clip (undecipherable) The shit they write is black and white, but mines got mad color Ain't that right, my bald brothers? Word up, raise it up, we're rollin with the crew that don't give a fuck So throw ya gunz in the air, throw ya gunz in the air Buck buck like you don't care Verse Two: Uh-oh, heads up! Cause we droppin some shit On your (undecipherable) Keep your eyes open in the fight, I'ma swell em The hardcore style, rowdy n wild, hits I'ma sell em To all competition slide back then listen I'm kickin all that, shit to the doormat Claimin it's domain cause mad pains Blood stains, long range got gats! Crazy clips, I sink ships, cuttin faces like a pirate I've never caught a flood, for the mad shit that I did Heard, you got the word so observe I shatter and splatter bodies that blows to buck nerves Open, I always leave my barrel smoking Throw ya gunz in the air And buck buck like you just don't care Just throw ya gunz in the air And buck buck like you just don't care Just throw ya gunz in the air And buck buck like you just don't care Just throw ya gunz in the air And buck buck like you just don't care Verse Three: Ahhh, I hate your fuckin guts, and I hope that you die Sticky Fingers, the name, and my life is a lie Cause I'm havin a bad day, so stay out of my way And what the pistol packin people say you better obey Just in the nick of time, I commit the perfect crime Rip my heart, from my chest, throw it right into a rhyme Don't feel pain cause it's all in the mind And what's mines is mines, and what's yours is mine Don't fuckin blink or I'ma rob your ass blind Onyx, is rippin shit, I got the tech nine So what the farmers got boy buck buck buck buck It's like a catastrophe, fuckin with me G I'm a bald head with a kinfe, I want your money or your life So, so, so, so? So throw ya gunz in the air And buck buck like ya just don't care Just throw ya gunz in the air And buck buck like you just don't care Just throw ya gunz in the air And buck buck like you just don't care Just throw ya gunz in the air And buck buck like you just don't care Outtro: We're the motherfuckin Onyx And we don't give a flying motherfucking fuck Ay yo DS man we gonna come get you out of jail man Fuck that, yo DS we coming man, we got the bail We got the bail, we gonna break you out man Fuck that, yeah, we the fuck up out of this bitch Section 8 -- Eight Article : Nothing commercial Just thinking about something ironic, as I was listening to Naughty by Nature's 'Hot Potato'. Freddy Foxx says 'Yeah, nothing commercial about this'. Anybody else see the irony? 'Hot Potato' is one of the ruffest cuts on there, so it won't get played on the radio. But Naughty by Nature is the group that brought hip-pop fans into the fold of nasty rap with their debut, which increased the market and desire for ruff and rugged hip-hop. So by saying it's not commercial, he is indicating that on the underground, the DL, it will be large, which is exactly what the market wants and why NbN debuted at number three it's first week on Billboard. Any thoughts on this? If enuff comments are received Re:this article, I will post a followup on the article including them. Section 9 -- Nine Hip-Hop Exchange Update Just taking a quick second to remind everybody that the Hip-Hop Exchange as proposed by DJ Tagline is active and in full effect. We have three active members, with a total of six, many of whom are just getting involved. I would like to encourage those out there who have a song they want to get but can't find to contact me, as I have become a sort of middle man. I can hook you up with others in the exchange who can supply you a tape with that song, in return for something from you they are looking for. As I have discovered, this works very well, and the more people that join, the larger the potential hip-hop library! Section 10 -- Ten Closing That's all for now. The next issue may be a little more in depth, but I think this one turned out OK. Let me know what U think of course... I am alwayz here. Thankz again to Tyrone Ellison and Michael Carnevale for their dope contributions, and I'm audi 5000!