Throwback Thursday #22- 7/22/10 Guest Host: Joey Esq

Hey kids, welcome to the first official edition of “Throwback Thursday”; the column where I take you on a musical trip down memory lane. I’m Joey, your guide on this auditory expedition, or as I’m known in some circles “The King of The Old School” (those circles being contained entirely within my own head). The topic of today’s column is Rap Attack. For those that don’t know (since I’m pretty sure they were a regional thing), Rap Attack was a series of cassette mix tapes that were sold at local “mom & pop” music stores – pour a little out for Music Station on Crossbay Boulevard – as well as at car washes, and by roving street peddlers and Asians on subways. The cassettes had a bootleg red paper liner that listed the songs, and also featured these great little “hip-hop related” clip art. Things like marijuana leaves, guns, cars and my favorite, a miniature scene of guy behind a counter with a cash register getting robbed at gun point. The figures were restroom-style stick figures and the image was hilarious. I wish I could still find mine, because I would have loved to scan it for you.

Rap Attack was mixed by someone named Double T, about whom I could find no additional information… despite doing a solid seven minutes of internet research. Oh well, whoever he was, us kids who were teenagers in the 90’s owe him a debt of gratitude because Rap Attack was a great way to get all the hot songs of the time in one spot, and many a rap attack tape found its way into the tape decks of newly licensed drivers during that time. The best thing about them was because they were mixed, there were way more songs crammed on these things than would fit on a normal album or even if you just recorded Hot 97 and edited the commercials. They were like 94 minutes long!

The particular tape I’m gonna bring back to you today was Rap Attack #13, which judging by the songs on it, came out in late 94 or early 95. My own personal memories of this are from a little bit later, because this one was in my regular walkman rotation when I was taking the A Train to NYU in like 97-98. It’s kinda funny, because the songs were nostalgic for me even back then, and now they’re downright sublime. I listened to this tape so many times that I’m doing this article entirely from memory (I told you, I can’t find my tapes). This album definitely influenced my appreciation for hip-hop, because truth be told I was late to that party. It’s not that I hated hip-hop as a young teen, but I definitely pretended to… I was a douche and just HAD to be different. But that’s a story for another blog. Anyway, here’s some songs off of Rap Attack #13… the sound track to my daily A-Train trips, and maybe to some part of your youth as well…



Funkmaster Flex & The Ghetto Celebs (Charlie Brown, ODB & Biz Markee) -




This song is just pure hip-hop fun and was off a Funkmaster Flex single that made the mixtape rounds that year. This is what hip-hop should be, three great MC’s spitting over a Funk Flex beat. Made me respect Biz Markee as a something more than a novelty act.

Mobb Deep - Shook Ones Part 1:



Pure fire from Mobb Deep. This is rare in that was only available on mixtapes and didn’t make it to the Infamous album. Not as famous as Part 2, but still sick and just as guaranteed to get the club to jump off.

Tha Alkoholiks - Daaam!!!:



Off their second album, Coast II Coast, this is just more fun hip-hop. Great beat and crazy lyrics. I miss music like this.

Raekwon the Chef, featuring Ghostface Killa - Heaven or Hell:



Pure Wu-Tang right here. This one threw me, and almost made me doubt my memory because it’s off Raekwon’s classic Only Built for Cuban Linx album, which came out in August of 1995… which would mean either my timeline was off or this song wasn’t on Rap Attack #13. Thanks to the magic of the internet though, I found out that Heaven or Hell was released as a 12” single in October of ’94.

House of Pain - Legend:



Off an EP released in late 94 of the same name, the one thing I have to say about this song is that it proves that House of Pain is better than Jump Around and it foreshadows some of Everlast’s solo stuff later on.

Scarface – I Seen A Man Die:



The first single off the Diary which came out in December 1994, this song is deep, soulful and shows Scarface’s ability as a storyteller.

Jeru Da Damaja – Can’t Stop The Prophet (Pete Rock remix):



Ok, so back when I was a hip-hop hater, I used to make fun of the way Jeru spelled his name. so of course, a few years later, he would make me feel like a dick because this song blew my mind. Jeru’s storytelling is downright evocative. He’s definitely one of the most slept on MC’s out there and if there was any justice he’d be way more popular than he is.

That’s gonna do it for now, I’m tired and I’ve given you more than enough of a taste of Rap Attack #13. If you want more Playa’s Anthem by Notorious B.I.G. and Get Down by Craig Mack were also on the tape. I’m not leaving their videos out for any particular reason – unless you count pure laziness. Anyway, check back next week even if hip-hop’s not your thing I’ll be covering all genres of music as Throwback Thursdays continue…