Three years have passed, when the Flavor Unit releases a new compilation and a lot has changed within the collective.
The core of the group was born in the late eighties, when some guys enjoy freestyling on The 45 King's breakbeats in its basement in New Jersey. Even just understanding the composition of the collective isn't easy. According to Lakim Shabazz, the crew originally consisted of Apache, Double J, Latee, Lord Alibaski, Nikki D, Queen Latifah, 45 King, the brothers Taheed and Jamaheed, and himself. Double J meets cousins Apache and Latee at school. Chill Rob G also meets the two cousins at school in Jersey City and only joins the Flavor Unit afterwards. With them, there would also be Markey Fresh, but he has never officially been part of the collective.
The group actually doesn't exist, it's single acts doing their thing, until Queen Latifah gets her first album deal by signing with Tommy Boy. Before her, Latee had agreed on a single with Wild Pitch (1987), and after her, Lakim Shabazz will also get contracts for an album with Tuff City (1988), Markey Fresh for a single with Jive (1989), Double J signs for a single with 4th & Broadway (1989), Lord Alibaski has a contract for a single with Tuff City (1989). Apache waits and signs in the early nineties for an album with Tommy Boy / Warner Bros., following the success of his hit "Gangsta Bitch". In the following years, Naughty by Nature, Black Sheep and other acts also join the Flavor Unit.
In 1990, The 45 King put together a compilation of nine songs: Lord Alibaski is the main performer with four solo tracks, Apache is present four times and Lakim Shabazz and in three songs, of which only one soloist and one made together with Apache. The first song is a posse of the Flavor Unit, "Flavor Unit Assassination Squad": this cut should be the collective's answer to "The Symphony", created by the "rivals" Juice Crew. The song is performed by Apache, Double J, Queen Latifah, Lakim Shabazz and Lord Alibaski, however, sees the absence of some of the best spitters of the Flavor Unit, Latee and Chill Rob G, who wanted nothing to do with the owner of Tuff City, the label that released the compilation. In the following period, The 45 King falls into the spiral of drugs and squanders a quarter of a million that Warner Bros. had given him as a budget in a production deal. The reins of the Flavor Unit are taken over by Queen Latifah and Sha-Kim, who together found the companies Flavor Unit Management and Flavor Unit Entertainment, with the aim of sharing the profits with all crew members.
In 1993, the second compilation was released. Queen Latifah, Apache and Latee are the only original members of the group to participate, while Lord Alibaski, Chill Rob G and Double J are replaced by other members of the collective and affiliates: in addition to the aforementioned, participating in the album D-Nice of Boogie Down Productions, Bigga Sistas, The Almighty RSO, Leshaun Williams, Cee Uv Da Blakmarket, Brooklyn Assault Team, Freddie Foxxx, Nikki D, Rottin Razkals, Groove Garden, Naughty by Nature and Zhané. The group is credited as Flavor Unit MC's on the title track, a posse that includes Treach of Naughty by Nature, Chip-Fu of Fu-Schnickens, Freddie Foxxx, Queen Latifah, Heavy D and D-Nice on a dry boom bap jazzy production and decent of the same D-Nice. The remix extended at the end of the album adds the contribution of Bigga Sistas, Leshaun Williams and Cee Uv Da Blakmarket.
The album is poor, generic, boring, confusing and the constant alternation between solid and ridiculous songs makes it annoyingly erratic. Also, it's a flop, it doesn't sell many copies. Half of these guys are making their debut and the fact that the production is done in part by amateurs, doesn't help. There are some D-Nice beats, some Kay Gee beats, few moments of real interest to the casual listener: Freddie Foxxx and Treach stand out among the top performers, Latee, Nikki D and Apache are honest, Queen Latifah is good, the posse is ok, when the CD start to lose the "flava", it falls, buried by weak and mediocre solutions: the negative performance of Leshaun Williams and Cee deserves to be underlined, in what is certainly one of the worst songs of the year, if not something beyond. The rookies disappoint more or less everyone and when you have reached the end of the album without expecting anything, the best song arrives, which is performed by Zhané, debut rnb duo: "Hey Mr. DJ" is a pleasant dance song masterfully performed over a fresh beat and soon becomes a gold certified worldwide hit, which launched their career and still today is considered one of the best dance tracks by specialized magazines. Ultimately, the whole disk isn't essential, not recommended. 6/10.
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