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Reviews of new releases from Puff Daddy
and The Fall.
"You can hate me now/But I won't stop now."--Puff Daddy
The epithet "hater" has flown out of folks' mouths so much
lately the word grates through my earhole. The term was
initially used to describe those who speak ill of successful
artists, but now-adays, it seems everyone who grabs a mic
complains about people hating on them. It's laughable to
listen to cats at show after show rant and rave against
"the haters," when their music isn't even hot enough to
move the crowd. The term's been taken far from its original
meaning, but that doesn't mean that there aren't artists
truly being hated on by the jealous. Currently, Puff Daddy
is the one everyone seems to despise. Before his sophomore
album, Forever, even dropped, dudes on the airwaves
were dogging Puffy out, squealing that the joint sucks because
it "isn't original."
Those ignorant of hip-hop's history fail to realize that
blatant biting has always occurred: Ice Cube let everybody
know that he was "Jackin' for Beats"; the No Limit Soldiers
fluctuate between imitating 2Pac and the Dungeon Family;
Jay-Z's shine has been polished by Wu-Tang slang. By now,
there should be no surprises about Puff's steez--take a
hit we all know and flip it into an even bigger hit. Still
the most hated, P-Diddy responds to critics on this second
joint, enlisting the services of top hip-hop names from
Cee-Lo to Nas to Busta Rhymes to fatten the album.
Puffy pokes fun at his lack of MCing skills--"Even if I
don't write it /I recite it well"--on "Fake Thugs Dedication,"
a track featuring Redman gettin' wild over MC Lyte's "Paper
Thin" beat. The eeriness of D-Dot's production for "Real
Niggas" matches the Notorious B.I.G.'s verse and hook, reminding
you of the senselessness of his death. The first two singles,
"P.E. 2000" and "Satisfy You," show Puff Daddy at his best.
With R. Kelly lacing the hook for "Satisfy You," Puffy turns
Club Nouveau's "Why You Treat Me So Bad" into a piping-hot
love jam, making headz forget about the Luniz' previous
sampling of the same song. Hurricane G's feminine growl
prepares the ear for Puff's simple rebuttal to his detractors
on "P.E. 2000," a highly amped cut that failed to receive
consistent radio airplay in Portland. Puff Daddy should
be commended for rearranging PE's "Public Enemy No. 1" into
a bona fide rump shaker, not hated because he knows what's
nice. My boo said it best: "If you don't have anything nice
to say, don't say anything at all." Now that's some wisdom
for all you out there drinking haterade.
H.V. Claytor
Jr.
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The
Fall
The
Marshall Suite
(Artful)
Of related
interest: Gang of
Four, Brainiac, Wire
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One morning in April 1998 found Fall frontman Mark E. Smith
stewing in a New York City jail after allegedly assaulting
his girlfriend. Just the night before, his entire band had
quit onstage.
Now, little more than a year later, a brand-new lineup
has released the best Fall album in a decade. Starting with
two guitar-heavy sing-alongs, Smith divides his talents
between ballads, sound collage and the expected noisy bombast,
often fitted with over-the-top synth drums. The Fall's incessant
output of recordings and high import-only prices have made
buying every release (and rerelease) an endeavor left to
the truly dedicated, but this record--along with last year's
Levitate and Smith's 1998 solo album, Post Nearly
Man--is really worthwhile and adds needed cohesion to
the Fall's willingness to experiment. The Fall has perfected
an ambitious synthesis of garage rock, synth programming
and increased studio production in a record that should
provide die-hards with a kick in the ass and newcomers with
an excitingly swallowable entry point into Smith's wonderful
and frightening world.
Jay Sanders
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Willamette Week | originally
published September 15,
1999 |
