Curtis Fisher is one of the pioneers of the entire hip-hop genre, everything here tends to elevate and highlight his legendary position within the game, border on swagger: from the cover, to the title track, to the braggadocio lyrics, all heavily recall the good times of the old school game.
Fisher began to rapping between South Bronx and Harlem in the late 1970s, after attending a party where the DJ was Kool Herc, deciding to follow in his footsteps. He writes some lyrics and has his own book of rhymes when, around 1979, he's approached by Sylvia Robinson, manager of All Platinum Records, a label in decline and in financial crisis: however, Fisher rejects Robinson's offer, since her label has a reputation for not paying artists and cheating them.
All Platinum goes on the hunt for other young rappers who can make a single and runs into, among others, Big Bank Hank, a waiter who sings Fisher's songs while working: this guy borrows Fisher's rhyming book, already known in the local scene with the names of Grandmaster Caz and Casanova Fly, and goes to the Robinsons' studio to record the single "Rapper's Delight" with other guys, which has part of the un-credited lyrics of Grandmaster Caz.
During the early 1980s, Caz is one of the main protagonists of the soundtrack of the film "Wild Style" (1983), and continues to release singles both as a solo artist and with his group Cold Crush Brothers, until releasing an album in 1988, when now the sound of hip-hop has already changed several times, while Fisher and his boys have lagged a bit behind the early old school years. The lukewarm reception received from audiences and critics convinced the group not to publish further projects, while Caz continues as a soloist and in 1992 comes out with his solo album, after more than 15 years of career.
The title track has a simple boom bap and a soul sample, it's a sufficient instrumental that is an intro to the project; "I'm a Legend" features a minimal and simple jazzy boom bap, with a lean, syncopated drum machine, functional chorus, and smooth, slow delivery. In the third track, Caz offers a simple hardcore slow delivery on a simple production, hard lo-fi boom bap. The next two cuts are decent, jazzy boom bap with lean syncopated drum machine and slow syncopated delivery; "Ain't Nothin 'Changed" has a faster drum machine and a female sample on the hook. Production collapses badly in "Ducksauce", with an annoying, cheap and simplistic beat.
The next two tracks feature other simple, jazzy productions with a slow syncopated delivery. "Need to Know the Flavor" sees Caz struggling to keep up with the beat, a jazzy boom bap with quick skinny syncopated drum, here the veteran MC chooses a slow syncopated but urgent delivery, with functional chorus and jazzy bridge with sample sax. The LP ended with a feat featuring Prince Whipper Whip, hook sung, skinny syncopated drum machine and Fisher's slow syncopated bare delivery on scratched jazzy rhythm, in one of the less successful choices of the entire album.
Distributed by Tuff City, here, he offers good rapping and mainly braggadocio lyrics, while the production made entirely by The Might Maestro, features several old school vibes even if it seems to try to update, with little success. It's a decent and honest album, but the best of Caz is somewhere else, between the old school compilations and the "Wild Style" soundtrack.
Rating: 6/10.
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