No Kidding
Written 7/1/92 - 8/19/92 * Recorded 7/30/92 - 8/19/92, 45 minutes, 13 Tracks
Tape cover and tracklist (as recorded) :
Tracklist: (as put onto each copy made)
1. Intro (1:14)
2. G.A.R. (3:53)
3. No Kidding (0:49)
4. Gimme Da Rock (4:14)
5. Get It? (3:34)
6. Scream (3:30)
7. Snap, Crackle (3:15)
8. Don't Talk To Me (3:30)
9. Better Him Than Me (3:40)
10. Ladies & Gents (1:37)
11. Smooth Shit (3:23)
12. Nuthin' (4:40)
13. Shots (4:00)
Notes:
Ahh, the jammy that started it all...
You'd probably freak if you saw the recording setup for this album... I had my living room rigged at home, and I probably couldn't even duplicate it exactly like I had it. I ran a mic (which was taped to the top of the boom box) through the mic jack in my stereo, in which I also ran the beat-source tape or CD, and then out of the headphone jack I ran the output into the family stereo (into the tape recording deck) from which I made the master recording - all the while, balancing the boom box on top of the TV so the cables could all reach. Um, I think.
This whole thing kinda began on a whim... and over a few weeks, I went from screaming G.A.R. over a heavy volume track into headphones being used as a mic, to the setup I just described. [Incidentally, G.A.R. was the first song I ever wrote completely. That is, it had a beat that was tied to it (3rd Bass' Gladiator), with structure. Actually - Snap, Crackle was finished (recorded) first, but G.A.R. was written earlier.] Once I got it down... I became more serious. I recorded the songs as I wrote them, sometimes once every few days... There was no afterthought - if I wrote it, I recorded it. All tracks that were written made the album. Stan really supported the whole thing, and so did the people at work (the ones who actually believed me when I told them about it - that's how the title came about). I started naming the albums with two words and two words only, just as a theme to carry on throughtout my 'career' - and also because I correlated it with my name, which is two letters. It all makes sense in my head, so just take it at that. Ha! This was also the only tape to NOT feature any guests, even though Stan shoulda been all over this one... but he wasn't around all that much that summer. It became a tradition to include friends of mine on all future projects. And... I literally finished the thing about 2 days before I was to leave for my freshman year at Purdue. Luckily for me - I then got involved with the radio station down there, and learned to use the studio quite well.
I gave out a lot of copies of this one, and got some interesting responses... most of them positive, but they were basically all friends of mine, so I doubt they would tell me I sucked. Looking back... some of it is pretty bad, but there is a rawness about it that still moves me to this day. It was fun as hell to do, and it gave me some sense of accomplishment that I had created it and recorded it entirely on my own. Although, I took myself WAY too seriously.
This tape is full of profanity... a trend that would not continue indefinitely. But it is necessary to mention - I had a foul mouth (not that I don't now) and it seemed like all the songs were fairly vulgar. It was what came out, so I don't necessarily apologize for it, but I would later learn to express myself a little better.
I took myself so seriously, I even thought at the time that I had real skills. I actually sent 6 copies of this whole tape out to some record companies. I never got a response, though. There were at least 12 other copies made for friends.
Better Him Than Me - a song about Vanilla Ice.
G.A.R. - Gladiator Against Racists... inspired by an asshole I know.
Gimme Da Rock - me thinking I had b-ball skillz.
Snap, Crackle - ...but still no pop.
Nuthin' - strictly about me having writer's block - that's why the lyrics stop after the second verse.
Shots - mad props to my homiez!
Lyric of the album : "Just a few twists of my tongue and you're done, 'cuz I won - like MLK, I shall overcome" (G.A.R.)
Honorable Mention : "B-ball GQ playboy hot snots, quicken death and lose breath when I bomb shots" (Gimme Da Rock)
