Dr Octagon - Dr. Octagon CD

Though the sleeve notes of DJ Shadow's exhilarating long-playing debut speak of his devotion to "vinyl culture" and "sample-based music" (a guide of which is contained within), it's all just double-speak for hip-hop. Undoubtedly, this is the musical culture that lit up the life of young Cali-boy Josh Davis, inspiring him to construct these vocal-less, found-sound collages. Not the hip-hop that a dime-a-dozen MCs have turned into a cartoonish, excess-filled formula, but the ...

This is the defining album of East Coast crime rap, which was largely established by the Brooklyn-based Boot Camp Clik of MCs. ENTA DA STAGE is a classic in its genre, featuring deep-in-the-crates beats by DJ Evil Dee (who continues to have a presence in New York's underground hip-hop scene), lurid street imagery delivered by MCs Buckshot and 5T and a flavor forever reminiscent of early-'90s New York. As much a ...

With their second album in 1991, they became serious contenders for Public Enemy's (until then) undisputed crown as hip-hop's cultural leaders. However, where their debut was propelled by a disparate array of samples, The Low-End Theory was built on a stricter musical doctrine - its spine provided by bebop jazz. Though jazz-rap crossover would become a staple of popular music in the mid-90s (Gang Starr, Jazzmatazz, etc.), this album played ...

As the title indicates, THE SUN RISES IN THE EAST is one of a handful of albums (also including Nas' ILLMATIC, Mobb Deep's INFAMOUS, and Black Moon's ENTA DA STAGE) that put the East Coast back on the hiphop map. West Coasters Dr. Dre and Snoop had stolen the spotlight with THE CHRONIC back in the summer of 1992. Jeru helped to usher in a renaissance of true-school rap. SUN was ...

When the Pharcyde burst onto the scene in the summer of '92 with its brilliantly disconnected grab bag BIZARRE RIDE II THE PHARCYDE, it seemed at first an innocuously enjoyable, goofy if somewhat lightweight disc. However, it would swiftly become clear that there were deeper waters stirring within the Pharcyde's rhymes and rhythms, and that the group's style was unlike that of those who came before. The main distinction came in ...

Estranged from Dan the Automator, Kool Keith turns to the booming-bass and seething-synth production of Kutmaster Kurt with yet another maniacal alter ego on FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED. After icing Dr. Octagon on the intro, Dr. Dooom boldly brings it to virtually every rap artist alive on "No Chorus" and then goes on a masterfully murderous ego trip, nonchalantly transporting body parts past housing project cops while chewing raw steak ...