Complete collection of Buckwild's works among the rare and remixes towards the end of the golden age (1993-1997). Buckwild at his finest: the production is basically raw, dark, jazzy, underground NY, almost always brilliant. There are two versions of "Life's a Bitch" by Nas and Az that are a masterpiece (the first one deserves) as well as those of Big L's "MVP" (both better than original) and many other top level artists including KRS, Busta, Finesse, Brand Nubian, Beastie Boys, Q-Tip, Ill Biskits, Keith, OC, Chubb Rock, Show & AG, Organized Konfusion, Guru, Tha Liks, Black Sheep, Special ED, and Rakim. 39 tracks divided in two CDs, they all deserve a spin, almost half are instant classics.
This compilation album is opened by "Mad Izm". Dark, tough, skeletal boom bap in the remix featuring East Orange, New Jersey hip-hop duo Channel Live, composed of Vincent "Tuffy" Morgan and Hakim Green, discovered by KRS-One in a track with the same Bronx Legend. Harsh drum, splendid beat with a sample from "Let's Stay Together" by Monty Alexander ft. Ernest Ranglin, the leader of Boogie Down Productions sounds pretty good, then Channel Live does the rest, good delivery, good track enhanced by the gloomy sound chosen by Buck.
This highlight of the whole double disk is followed by another pure classic cut, "Life's A Bitch (Remix #1)". The Diggin' in the Crates Crew beatsmith invents a dark, bleak, silenthillian boom bap, with jazzy, skeletal, pure underground elements, Buckwild creates something iconic here, AZ flows smoothness no longer on the jazzy grace of LES, but on the raw musical gloom composed by Buck and is a very obscure theme, unclear, which obscures the entire track, from AZ The Visualiza's first lines to his attack to the hook to the start and the delivery provided by Nas, while Sosa's delivery seems more positive, you have the distinct feeling that Nas' adapts to more to the beat than Buck, no doubt about it, he's good, he's really good. Obviously removed the handset of Olu Dara. What a job.
Track number three is a remix of Artifacts' "C'Mon Wit The Git Down". Hard drum, rough bass, lively slow piano keys sampled from "Holy Thursday" by David Axelrod, velvet rapping by El Da Sensei and Tame One, one stanza each, then Busta Rhymes rips the track with the last verse. The next tune is DITC, Buckwild remixes "Hip 2 the Game" by Lord Finesse, that drops bars with a velvet style over a dreamy rhythm invented by Buck, harsh midtempo drum, good bass, splendid keys, layered samples from Hugo Montenegro's "Dizzy" and Minnie Riperton's "Here We Go". "Pot Belly" by Lou Donaldson is the lead sample of the remix of "Word is Bond": Lord Jamar and Sadat X exchange short verses in back and forth over a simple, minimal, nice rhythm realized by Buckwild, hard drum, light piano keys, good tune. The sixth choice is a remix of Beastie Boys featuring Q-Tip: uptempo skeletal drum, tight bass line, tight and dusted percussions in loop, rough rhythm to support the lively rapping of Ad Rock, Mike D, MCA and Q-Tip, that continue to exchange few lines in back and forth.
"Scars and Pain" has a gloomy, scary, dark rhythm and uses a sample from "Pretty Blue" by Phil Upchurch, hard drum, shrill horns, distorted sounds, light guitar loop, Brooklyn emcee Jemini the Gifted One rips the cut with what his the title track of his debut EP in 1995. For whatever reason I can listen O.C. over there, this joint emanates classic vibes, "Word...Life" vibes. "Nights of Fear" is one of the finest tunes of the 1996 EP "Check tha Flava" by AK Skills, the drop three stanzas with a sharp rapping over a solid boom bap produced by Buckwild. Hard and metallic drum uptempo, rough bass, curious samples from Michal Urbaniak Group's "Inactn" to support the emcee in this four minutes. The next joint is another masterpiece in Buckwild whole catalog. "MVP (Remix #1)": Johnny Pate's cover of Isaac Hayes' "The Look of Love" sample brilliantly slowed down, slick and fresh piano keys, cautious bass in the background waiting, slow weak drum, violins trembling like leaves in the wind, Buckwild adds the xmas bells and doubles the drum, gives it heaviness, dust, dirt and urgency, gives it another tone and totally changes the look and mood of the sampled track. The rhythm breathes long, excellent choice. It's a dark boom bap, dystopian, skeletal, gloomy, simple. Then Big L enters and destroys the cut, he runs very well, fluid, dope on this well-conceived essential musical carpet.
"Rock On" is a remix of Funkdoobiest, hard drum uptempo, ethereal keys, robust boom bap, fine rapping by the group, that samples are the same of several Buckwild remixes, with Les McCann's "The Harlem Buck Dance Strut" and The Cannonball Adderley Quintet's "Together", among others. That McCann song is sampled yet in the Artifacts cut and even in the next track, "A Better Day" by Ill Biskits. The main sample is Surface's "Closer Than Friends (12" Jazz Version)", dusty midtempo drum, splendid beat for this hidden gem here, it's a pearl of rare beauty, the Petersburg, Virginia rappers deliver in a velvet way over this soundscape, nice chorus, pleasant track.
If there was ever a need, the remix of Grand Puba's "I Like It" shows that Buckwild is a genius. One of the greatest and most talented producers to ever appear in hip-hop carves directly for the Maestro Henry Mancini for build the rhythm, "Here's Looking at You, Kid". Xmas bells, hard dusty perfect drum, slick keys, robust bass in the background, unlike the original track, here Grand Puba is joined by Sadat X in what sounds like one of the last Brand Nubian dope cuts. Reservoir Dogs appears on "Back To Berth": sample from the Greek hip-hop group Vivalona's "Ston Kosmo Mou", wonderful soulful beat, minimal hi-hat, hard drum, obsessive loop of few keys. Over this raw boom bap, the group spits properly. The remix of Kool Keith's "Yo Black" boasts a sample from Quincy Jones' "Aftermath": the mood of the solution created by DITC producer is dark, spectral, the drum beats hard, the bass is deep and tensive, every second that pass the drum seems to beat harder, the leader of Ultramagnetic MCs is at home over this kind of music and pulls out a masterpiece.
Buck takes a sample from "Como Quisiera Decirte" by Los Angeles Negros to build the rhythm of F.A.T.A.L. Fountain's "All About Warz": sound of vinyl crackling, hard drum uptempo, splendid synths, deep bass, rapid rapping by the guys in what remains one of the two songs ever released by the group. "This Is All I Really Know" by Patrice Rushen is the musical backdrop for Omar Credle's hymn to weed "Burn Me Slow": beautiful soul sample, piano keys, heavy drum, hi-hats, rough bass, OC spits slowly over this musical carpet. The Remix of "One Little Indian" is composed by layered samples from "Guitar Blues Odyssey: From Roots to Fruits" by Quincy Jones, Bobby Hutcherson's "Montara" and "Sierra". Dope boom bap, robust bass, elegant piano keys, perfect drum, Little Indian drop bars along with The Foreigner as guest. Chubb Rock drops bars over a nice boom bap provided by Buckwild in "What A Year": rough bassline, good hi-hats, solid drum, smoothness rapping executed by the Crooklyn Dodgers MC, essential track. Mike Zoot is the last artist of the disk one with his "Live & Stink": bouncy rhythm, good hi-hats, light drum uptempo, cheerful and easygoing sounds, fast rap by the emcee.
The disk two starts strong with Organized Konfusion's "Bring It On" remix: splendid xmas bells, bleak, dystopian soundscape, hard perfect drum, the dreamy rhythm transports you to another place, then after twenty seconds the boys bring you back to earth. There's a wonderful contrast between the harshness of the drum and the calm mood released by the sample (not casually the track is named "Valium", by Michal Urbaniak Group). Prince Po and the group The Ill Rahlos (uncredited) screams on the chorus, reciting a hook that seems to have no end, the mic ends in the hands of Pharoahe Monch, the kid drops one of the most undervalued stanzas of the whole nineties in hip-hop with an untouchable style, Prince Po closes the track, is among the finest of the whole double CD.
The next track sees another DITC moment. "You Know Now" is a remix of Showbiz & AG piece, with samples you already heard on this compilation album. We've McCann and Johnny Pate songs. The tune is similar to that of Big L's "MVP #1", inside Andre the Giant drop three verses, the comparison with the other DITC rapper cannot hold up. The track number twenty-two is a solo by Bushwackass, "Caught Up In The Game": sample from Hubert Laws' "What a Night", xmas bells, tough drum, nice samples, the trio from Flatbush rules over this musical carpet. "Respect The Architect (Remix)" is a piece with Guru and Bahamadia: sample from "Witch Doctor's Brew" by the funk band Magnum, harsh boom bap, xmas bells, severe drum, sweet keys in loop, solid bass, there's an interesting contrast between the hardness and roughness of the rhythm chosen by Buckwild, the sweetness of the loops and the monotone voice of the Gang Starr emcee, and in turn creates a contrast also with the atypical delivery of Bahamadia, amazing tune.
It follows Tha Liks' "DAAAM! (Remix)". Hypnotic hook and unsettling rapping over Buckwild somber boom bap with a beautiful sample from Cal Tjader's "Morning Mist", slick piano keys, livable drum, scratches for the chorus, velvet rapping by the group, dope track. The group Street Smartz performs "Problemz": sample from Jorge Dalto's "I've Got You on My Mind", boom bap with hard drum, solid bass line, good vibes. Sadat X, Lord Jamar and Grand Puba spit on "Rockin' It", harsh drum, rough bass, tight beat for this Brand Nubian joint. "MVP #2" is a classic. Buck's ethereal boom bap, which creates a perfect musical carpet for the masterpiece of Big L's debut album, which flows fluidly and ethereally like never before on this flawless, jazzy, dark, but also cheerful production thanks to that piano and those little Christmas bells in the background. Wonderful. Great performance by Buckwild who established himself as one of the best producers in the game by delivering one of his best career productions for the Big L hit, perfect.
The producer pulls out layered samples from Ahmad Jamal's "Ghetto Child" and Michael Jackson's "I Can't Help It", with a touch of Kool & the Gang for the hook, to build the rhythm of "North South East West (Remix)". Black Sheep on the mic, hard drum, raw bass line, good musical carpet for the Queens duo. "Story of My Life" has a Ahmad Jamal Trio's "Dolphin Dance" sample, the Brooklyn emcee Jemini The Gifted One spits with a regular flow, clean rapping over this timeless production, jazzy, tense and dark, impressive cut, what an effort. The chorus has its own well-conceived value, however with the second remix it's exceeded but even this is to be appreciated and is approaching, perhaps it crosses, that one Lord Finesse had originally made. "You Can't Front" is a track by Diamond D feats Lord Finesse and Sadat X, over a dark beat produced by Buckwild and Diamond. Sample from Herbie Hancock's "Do a Thing", gloomy vibes, robust bass line, hard drum, few piano keys in loop, nice joint.
"Life's a Bitch (Remix #2)" by Nas and AZ is another highlights of the whole double disk. Gloomy, jazzy, essential boom bap, accompanies happily hopping the flowing and smoothness delivery of AZ, the beat's happy, cheerful, with a sample from Grover Washington, Jr.'s "Mister Magic". Buck places us a piano scale for Sosa's chorus, wonderful, then the loop of keys continues on Esco's verse in the first few seconds before leaving it to the festive boom bap; Buck creates something wonderful for this classic, it cannot overcome the original of LES — which in its simplicity creates something timeless and difficult to improve — but it's worth listening to, it deserves.
Sadat X's "The Lump Lump (Nubian Remix)" has a tight boom bap, sample by Intro's "Love Thang", rough bass line, livable drum, livable hi-hats, rough keys, the rapper is joined by Lord Jamar and Grand Puba. Special Ed's "Lyrics (Remix)" boasts a ghostly and obscure mood, harsh midtempo drum, cautious piano keys, spectral sounds, layered samples from Donny Hathaway's "Vegetable Wagon" and Quincy Jones's "Slam City". The 95' remix of Channel Live's "Mad Izm" presents a dystopian, dark, bleak production, sometimes silenthillian, excellent drum, solid bass line, excellent gloomy delivery by Channel Live, nice cut, sample from The Cannonball Adderley Quintet's "Painted Desert". Buckwild remixes Lace Da Booms' "Cut That Weak Shit": splendid sad piano keys, bass line in background, light drum uptempo, the Brooklyn MC Lace Da Booms is joined by Kwaze Modoe and Royal Flush to create this robust track. Omar Credle is one of the names who has most closely linked his artistic career to Buckwild, and returns with "Love Child". Beautiful boom bap jazzy with soulful sample from The Dells' "I Hear Voices", excellently managed between background and hook, good pattern of drums, solid bass line, perfect soundscape for OC that exploits the shot and sends the cut in the classic mold. What a joint. Among the best in OC catalog, it's a pity not to have listen it on one of his albums.
The Diggin in the Crates Crew producer invents a spectacular flawless remix of one the most iconic tracks of the God MC in the solo version: for "Guess Who's Back", Buckwild creates an incredible musical carpet, dark beat, stretched, reminiscent of the jazzy of the early nineties, dystopian, hard drum, robust bass, samples from Barry White's "Where Can I Turn To" and from "Soft Machine" by M C to give a dark twist to the rhythm, on the hook there are scratches of Premier, and background even darker and more tense, Rakim runs on a magnificent eclectic bridge. Greenslade's "Sundance" is the sample of Reservoir Dogs' "The Difference": tight boom bap, skeletal drum, solid bass in background, raw rap by the guys on this 1996 cut. The last choice of the disk is "I Be (Remix)", Mystidious Misfitss on the mic: the underground rap group from Brooklyn spits over a sample of Barry White's "You're the One I Need", hard drum, robust bass in background, the trio delivers with energy here.
The product is a 39-track marathon of almost three hours, published by Ground Floor Recordings in 2007, easily one of the greatest hip-hop tapes of the season. It's a testament to the fact that this guy was one of the best hip-hop producers of the early to mid-nineties, in case anyone forgot.
Rating: 9/10.
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