Vital Signs
Written 8/2/94 - 3/1/95 * Recorded 11/10/94 - 3/2/95 (20.5 hours in studio)
54 minutes, 16 Tracks (+5), Featuring Jay-Sun, Mike D., SoySos, Rob G and MiSfiT
The songs written but not recorded were "Anybody" "Underdog" "If I Were You" "Reach The Point" & "25 RPM (pt. 1)".
Notes:
All kindsa crazy guest stars and 54 minutes of OB funk. Yep, it's all here... I was so amped from working with the reel machine for the last tape that I actually recorded the first track for THIS tape on the same day that I finished Two Reel! The total recording time (including time home for Christmas) took nearly 4 months... Then Now & 2 Be (with Mike D) was written over the summer and would have been on Two Reel if he had made it down to PU sooner, but it ended up on here in all its glory. Heh... it was hella fun. I was hoping Stan could come down for Back 2 Back, but once again it was put on hold... so I mixed this tape up with lots of guests (also knowing I wanted to fill up a 54 minute tape, so lots of different voices would help). Jason Waldon comes in for the intro (and he would even be out of school, accidentally, when the tape was finished), Mike D, Rob G & MiSfiT all drop verses, Dr. J makes some noize... and Dan Nishimura and Mike Hutt kinda sorta do backup vocals on one track. Chaos. Gotta love it.
This tape started too soon, I think. The first side is maybe my best complete side of any tape. But the second side is lacking good material... Step Aside, Conscious Nonsense & I Ain't Trippin' '95 were all last minute additions. I don't know why I thought I could improve Trippin'... and that Step Aside thing was a bad idea from the get go. It already had built-in backing vocal s and I had to fit my own lyrics on top of them. Just completely wrong and I shouldn't have done it. Anyway... Even 25 RPM & Tri-Flex are kinda weak. The Live & Direct Part 2 wasn't TOO bad but I probably should have stopped at part one. The first side, however, has some OB classics. The Jugular, Pass It, Keep Bouncin', and I fucked around with Live & Direct (overdub) and Oooh That's Nice, where I got mental with some crazy voices.
The Jugular (another one of Stan's favorite tracks) also uses an overdub, and all sorts of other extra mixed in crazy shit. I recorded an episode of ER once, and a couple times they talk about OB [ya know... the Obstetrician (sp?)] and I transfered it to tape and then slowed it down. I then played it on two different channels in two different speeds, slightly overlapping each other. All the while, I looped a CL Smooth lyric ("to the jugular") and mixed that all together in the begining while the beat itself kicks in... anyway, when you listen to it, it comes from all over the place and sounds like mad shit going on. And I love it... it's probably my favorite thing I ever did on any of these tapes (as far as mixing and looping goes). I also overdubbed Keep Bouncin' and added that cool loop from Quest's Midnight Marauders LP. I think that song is one of my best in terms of just straight having fun. Pass It was an all out MC fest... MiSfiT droppin' fat rhymes and Rob G doing his thang and Dr. J adding his crazy comments. Fun, fun... Shawn had a cold, but he was a true soldier and we all had a blast. We did it the Saturday before finals week.
Only about 11 copies of this tape were made... All of those unrecorded songs pretty much sucked... I thought the cover for this tape was pretty nice, too. Definitely the best cover I ever designed. Don't you think? In 2004, this album was digitized and the CD featured an outtake of Pass It as a bonus track.
The Jugular - mostly about various Zoo Bullshit. I'm going for the kill... Where the hell is OB?!
Then, Now, & 2 Be - Me and Mike reminiscing about the time we've spent together being harassed by cops, chasing girls and playing tennis (not necessarily in that order)
Whizut? - a satirical play on the whole trend of saying things with the "iz" in the middle.. ya know, shiznit, on the rizeal, etc... I think it's damn funny, myself
Pass It - It being the mic.
25 R.P.M. - Rhymes Per Minute - go ahead, count 'em
Triflex - one song with 3 different beats, hence the title - I tried to rip a totaly different verse with each beat...
No Application Necessary - we get the job done.
Brooklyn Or Bust - my ode to the big apple... paying homage to the city where it all started... Dan and Mike try to keep up with me and add some backing vocals.
Conscious Nonsense - that pretty much sums it up!
Underdog - a tribute to everyone's favorite cartoon caped canine... yup. Do you wonder why I never recorded it?
If I Were You - ...I'd understand my boundaries and get lost till someone found me...
Lyric of the Album : "Some folks talk a lotta shit but they're gameless, when I'm on the mic I'm servin' suckas like a waitress" (Pass It)
Honorable Mention : "Listening to me you're getting shocked like a puzzle box, knick-knack cliques are getting rocked when the beat drops" (Live & Direct)
Guest MC Lyric of the Album : "His name was OB... he was an MC... with funky rhymes all in his head, do you remember what he said?" (MiSfiT, Pass It)
