Sooperman Lover Lives…

GENERAL    By Gotty™ on May 10, 2007 at 12:44 pm

Words by C. Hannibal Smith

“I blow ya minds like Kurt Cobain/ the block is hot like little Wayne…”

A friend once told me that Brick City a.k.a Newark, NJ, is one of those cities where griminess isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Unlike the trendiness and polish of New Yorkers, dudes from Newark relish that unkempt dangerous look that causes some people to cross the street to avoid walking past them. And speaking of New York: N.J. is not N.Y. Watch the Sopranos, they’ll let you know.

Still, New Jersey and the Bricks, have played an important role in American music, especially hip-hop.

But for all the musical cache names such as Ice-T, the Fugees, Chino XL, Naughty by Nature, the Outlawz, Joe Budden and Queen Latifah garners for the Garden State, only one name really and truelly holds it down among real heads: Redman. Most people would say that Ms. L Boogie, Lauryn Hill (another Newark area resident) was New Jersey’s gift to the rap game, but where’s the production? Four albums worth of material in like 10 years? Really only two of them shits being due.

Already working on his 8th album (Muddy Waters 2), Brick City’s Reggie Noble is probably one of the greatest rappers alive. He’s a ghetto comedian in the vein of Red Foxx. He might not have the pop culture significance of a Lil Wayne or a Jay-z, and he may not be as gifted as a Nas. But for what it’s worth, Red has been in the game too long and flipped his aggressive, witty, humorous yet hardcore wordplay too consistently to be considered anything other than “great.” Plus, longevity (Redman’s smash first album came out in 1992) is something so few rappers can attain in this day and age. For every Nas or Jay-z, there’s a bunch of characters out there who make you ask “what ever happened to dude? He was nice.” Call it a disconnect from your core audience (young men) or call it getting your grown-man on, or simply falling the fuck off. I can’t call it. I just know some dudes are fly by night and some are here to stay.

On his latest album Red Gone Wild (released in March) Redman returns with a super solid effort, following his 5-year old Malpractice, which was so-so at best. Whatever the case, when you pass a certain age, say 30, and you still command people’s attention with tough lyrics and a sensibility that shows you always keep your earpiece to the streets, then you my man, have made it to the next level.

The stunning thing about Reggie Noble is that despite the fact his name is known about as widley as a Cypress Hill or a Jay-z in most circles, he’s not a name you see cracking plantinum often or even knocking radio. It’s his wit that makes him special. A witty rapper with a “I don’t fuck around” in-your-face style, but always with the ability to make you laugh. Similar to an Old Dirty, just not as abstract with it.

Redman’s gift of wordplay must’ve been evident to Erick Sermon when he saw the Newark native rhyming in a New York club, and quickly plucked him to join the Hit Squad. Red later appeared in a couple of EPMD bangers, most notably Headbanger, which was like his “Live at the BBQ“. And it’s funny how you see the similarities in the rap game. Redman’s association with E. Sermon is not too different from Snoop’s connection to Dr. Dre. A case of a super producer finding a talented newcomer who goes on to be a weed smokin superstar.

But where Snoop is the poster boy for West Coast G-Funk and America’s fascination fear of the black gangster pimp, Red is more fluid. You rarely if ever see the man’s name in a headline or being caught with the herbs, and that’s probably because he doesn’t roll with a coterie of off duty cops or gang bangers. Don’t front tho, Red can be dangerous and he does travel with an off the hook entourage, as can be seen in this undated clip from who know’s where. Red’s mellowed out a bit, but I hear his shows are still off the hillznick.

Redman’s personality has no doubt influenced dozens of rappers out there. Even Eminem name-drops Red on his short list of favorite rappers. And when you listen to Marshall spit, you can hear some of that same flavor: sharp wordplay, metaphors and self-depricating rhymes.

“My lyrics like Hong Kong Phooey, raw sushi / You get done quicker than niggaz in horror movies”

His promo mixtape for Red Gone Wild is probably one of his best mixtapes to date. In Live from the Bricks you hear Red back in true from, spitting wild and crazy lyrics that rhyme flawlessly.

His freestyle over the “My Love” beat is a weed high attempt at something that characterizes most of his work out side of Muddy Waters, his crowning achievement.

On “Brick City Champion,” he rhymes over the Lost One’s instrumental:

“I’ve got my Airs tied up, I’m too grown to have ‘em loose / I seen how 2pac took Radimez juice…They say keep your enemies close, friends closer / I say fuck em all they can fry from the toaster…”

He goes on later to lament:

“I don’t say I’m the King, cuz every nigga say they the King they get done/ Like Run DMC were the Kings , they took one/ An even Rodney King got jumped/Off the Cush, I ain’t getting punked…”

And for his flare at knowing about modern day culture, a little aside that really stuck out for the internets heads: “You got the wrong guy, can’t nobody take my space/Not even online, I just do it…”

If Rhymefest is the Blue Collar rapper, then so is Redman. His power lies in his connection to his own hood, as his ability to relate to everyone elses hood. There’s no fakin jacks when it come to this dude, as evidenced in the most popular MTV Cribs eppy when Red give a walkthrough of his crazy looking condo.

“Dog, in my Dutch a whole lot of bud/End up in Jersey now, a whole lotta Bloods / So when you get here, show a whole lotta love/Or leave shot up, robbed and thrown out of truck…”

When Redman came out in the early 90’s, Newark was pretty crack plagued environment. I only know that because I went to high school in the middle of Newark from 1990-94 and it was a survival test just to hit that bus stop. Car thievery and drug dealing were all the rage back then, well, and pretty much still are.

“Dis Iz Brick City” is off the Red Gone Wild album offers the typical ode to Newark, NJ:

“Violence sell but I ain’t a violent male/but if you violate, I play the violent well…From Bricks to Park Hill/Don’t be like Zoolander waitin for that blue steel to be shown on your grill…”

The E. Sermon produced “Rite Now” delivers a lilting Al Green sample that hangs over the beat, not a stretch given how deftly the Green Eyed Bandit handles his soul singer sampling.

“A nerd from Lamda Lamda Lamda in Atlanta now / Back when a gram was ‘bout 15, my 16s were tighter/ Than Lee jeans and Gloria Vanderbilt…”

A few references you’ll most likely hear about in Redman songs:

PPP (Pack Pistol Posse): I don’t think this is a real outfit, but Tame 1 claims to belong to it.

Branson: I don’t know. I’ve shared bags of trees cut into pizza-slice like wedges with a Buddah insignia stamped on it. My friends claimed it was Branson, basically a weed spot with that ultra ultra goodness.

Stedman Graham:For some reason, Red likes to name drop Oprah’s boyfriend. Like he’s stealing her cheese or something.

The Philly Blunt: “How to Roll a Blunt” was on Red’s first album. Although Phillie are way passé and Vanilla Dutch Masters are the way to go (If you live out East, that it…if not get a Swisha). Red basically did a big ass commercial that initiated blunt rolling into our culture.

Korean: “Blow Ya Mind” also off the classic Whut? Thee Album has Red rhyming in the language most preferred my store shop owners: “Chu ri ka pi kyura mulla kara / Nu gu nya nada na na nun Redman / Na bo da challan nom hana do upda / Yi sae sang cheil eu na nun Redman, my man…”

[ Get away, get off me, get lost] /[ Who am I, I am, I'm Redman] / [ There's no one better than me]/ [ The world's BEST is REDMAN, my man]

But check out Redman’s catalogue if you’re unfamiliar and peep his new album, v. solid:

Newer tracks like “Pimp Nutz” just draw you in.

Jackin Bob Marley’s “Sun is Shining” for the weed inflected: “Blow Treez” is pretty sick when it comes down to it.

The piffalicious-ness that is. Redman’s lines give way to his genius. He’s fun, he’s witty and he’s hard. He chooses some mean beats, too.

In typical TSS fashion, we put together a nice little collection of Red tracks in the form of a this three disc set. If you’re well-versed in Brother Noble’s work, this may be a good for you to roll with…

TSS Presents Redman-Respect_My_Fresh_v3 (3 Discs) (Tracklisting Included)

 

 

You know us. We can’t do a little. We have to do it big when we undertake the task of showcasing an artist who’s had a noteworthy career. And, Red was no exception to the rule…

So below, you’ll find enough Reggie Noble to hold you down for months to come. Tell a friend to tell a friend…

Albums

Redman-Whut_Thee_Album-1992

Redman-Dare_Iz_A_Darkside-Retail-1994

Redman-Muddy_Waters-Retail-1996

Redman-Docs_Da_Name_2000-1998

Def_Squad-El_Nino-1998

Method_Man_And_Redman-Blackout-Retail-1999

Redman-Malpractice-Retail-2001

Redman-Red_Gone_Wild__Thee_Album-2007

Mixtapes

DJ_Smooth_Denali-Whos_the_Greatest_MC_Vol_7-2004

Gutta_Muzic_Presents_Redman-The_Doc_Is_In-2004

Redman-Ill_at_Will_Mixtape_Vol.1-2004

VA-Gilla_House_Presents-BC_4__Straight_Outta_Lo_Cash_(Ill At Will Vol.2)-2004

Redman-The_Best_Of_Redman__1992-1999_-2002

VA-DJ_Mister_Cee_The_Best_Of_Redman-2002

Redman-Respect_My_Fresh_v3__Bootleg__CD1-2007

Redman-Respect_My_Fresh_v3__Bootleg__CD2-2007

Redman-Respect_My_Fresh_v3__Bootleg__CD3-2007

Singles

Redman-Ill_Be_That-Promo-1998

Redman-Put_It_Down-_Promo_2007

Redman-Rush_Da_Security-_Promo_2005

Redman-The_Saga_Continues-2004

Redman – Time For Sum Aksion-1993

Redman-Tonights_Da_Night-1993

Rok_One_Feat_Redman-Beat_Up_The_Bouncer-Promo-2004

Beyonce_Ft._Redman-Naughty_Girl__Eric_Sermon_Remix_-Promo-2004

Cypress_Hill-Throw_Your_Hands_In_The_Air_Remix-1995

Iam_Feat_Method_Man_and_Redman-Noble_Art-2003

Keith_Murray-The_Rhyme-Reissue-2004

KRS-ONE-5_Boroughs1999

Method_Man_and_Redman-I_Will_Not_Lose__Promo_-2004

Redman_And_Gorillaz-Gorillaz_On_My_Mind_-2002

Redman_And_Method_Man-How_High-_-1995

Redman_Ft._K-Solo-Its_Like_That__My_Big_Brother_-1996

Redman-Blow_Your_Mind-1992

Redman-Can’t Wait-1994

Redman-Dat_Undaground_Shit_EP-Promo-1995

Redman-Gilla_House_Check-Bootleg-2005

Redman-Lets_Go-_Promo-2006

Redman-Archives-2000

Redman-Put_It_Down_Bw_Gimmie_One-2007

Posted in GENERAL, STRAY SHOTS