LSD - Competent 1989

JVC Force - Strong Island ‘89 1989

Torch - Kapitel 1 (Future Rock RMX 95) 1995

Maceo Parker f. Fred Wesley, Pee Wee Ellis, MF Russ, SBG - Well U Needn’t 1993

Not many producers can claim to have partaken in their nation’s first full-length rap release on wax. Future Rock, born Michael Rick, did just that when he and brother Rick Ski (AKA Blackvinylmaster), DJ Defcon and MC KoLute put out “Watch Out For The Third Rail” as LSD (an acronym for Legally Spread Dope). Musically, Germany’s first rap longplayer combined the orchestral album approach of Public Enemy’s second and third, the hardcore stance of the Tuff Crew and of late ’80s UK releases, the funk worship of old school hip-hop, and the playfulness of what later would be known as the East Coast Golden Age. Only that German hip-hop was only just beginning to express itself on record (in English, of course), far from having reached anything resembling a Golden Age. The album was released in 1991, but clearly conceived in the years before (and thus released maybe a tad bit too late). The 2008 re-issue promotion called it ‘the production-wise most complex, elaborate and sought-after [German] hip-hop album containing over 1000 samples.’ True or not, the album’s musical and historical status is undisputed, although in this case the history takes slight precedence over the music. LSD deserve major credit for being the first ones to take the important album hurdle, and considering the DIY mentality of old school German (or European, for that matter) hip-hop, it doesn’t come as a surprise that they didn’t originate from any of the big cities that dominate today’s scene.

Doing hip-hop yourself was much different in the ’80s than nowadays when audio, background information and recording equipment are available at your fingertips. LSD recorded their music at home with a Yamaha TX16W sampler, a small keyboard, a Casio RZ-1 drum machine, and a TR-808, saving scratches and some of the raps on a Vestax 4-track tape deck and using the program Supertrack on a Commodore 64 as a sequencer. The recording was completed in a 16-track analog studio. Back then it took a lot of idealism and determination to put an entire album together, starting with investing your allowance in records to get behind the breakbeat mystery. It meant teaching yourself the basics of rap and hip-hop, having only a couple of records and deteriorating dubs of Wild Style and Beat Street to go by, scouring flea markets and occasionally even stealing records, piecing your first songs painstakingly together in the pre-sampler days, eventually making that trip to New York to see for yourself what it’s all about, etc.

LSD would soon part ways due to the ongoing differences between the two duos that formed the group. The split even resulted in Germany’s first diss track. KoLute and Defcon would continue as LSD Proton while Future Rock immersed himself in various projects. He helped coordinate and produce an early collaboration between German and American heads, KAOS’ “International Dope Dealers” (93), he was involved in the foundation of hip-hop label Blitz Vinyl and in the underground collaboration project Blitz Mob. He continued to work closely with fellow producer Fader Gladiator, especially for the latter’s group Die Firma. Future Rock also tried his hands at a more mainstream rap project in the mid-’90s as part of act Creme de la Creme. His solo albums include instrumental full-lengths such as “Future Rock Beat Bombs” (95/96) and “Dynamite” (05), and two compilations of his production work, “Produced by Future Rock” (98) and “Zurück in die Zukunft” (01). He still deejays (often together with his brother) and as a hip-hop activist of 20+ years represents the genre’s timeless openmindedness.

As a producer, Future Rock has made the expected progress, leaving the sample collages behind and emerging as a gifted musician with a incorruptible ear for soul and funk. In our audio section we start with the aptly named LSD debut single “Competent” from 1989 and a remix for the JVC Force classic “Strong Island” from the same year. The remix for Torch dates from the mid-’90s, “Kapitel 1″ being an essential German hip-hop song about the early days from fellow pioneer Torch of Advanced Chemistry. We conclude with a Maceo-led jazz rap rendition of a Monk standard featuring non-German rappers, Maceo Parker having already been featured on “Watch Out For The Third Rail.” (Think about that one for a sec.)

Future Rock’s MySpace

Future Rock’s homepage

Future Rock on discogs (possibly incorrect entries on the artist)

Video clip for LSD’s “Competent”

Comptons Most Wanted - Hood Took Me Under 1992

Intelligent Hoodlum - Grand Groove 1993

On August 10th we lost another godfather of hip-hop, Isaac Hayes. After James Brown and George Clinton he is possibly the third most sampled artist in hip-hop history. An artist search of the sampling database www.the-breaks.com produces an impressive list that most likely still misses a few entries. But like the aforementioned musicians as well as contemporaries such as Curtis Mayfield or Marvin Gaye, Hayes was more than just a convenient provider of musical components for beatmakers. As an innovator of black music, he was a lead figure in the artistic and socio-political background that rap music fed from.

Whether it’s his seminal score for Shaft and the Oscar-winning “Theme from Shaft,” the epic and symphonic dimensions he added to the soul format and the way he managed its emancipation from white middle class America, his early exhibitions of spoken vocals, his songwriting achievements, the intimate and at the same time cosmic quality of his music, an acting career that reflected the profound respect for him - these aspects make Isaac Hayes a figure influential to hip-hop and rap music beyond the bits and pieces of his compositions that went into rap tracks.

Nevertheless, it is only right that we showcase two instances of rappers being inspired by Ike’s moods, both originating from the early ’90s. First we have Compton’s Most Wanted MC Eiht deliverying a gangsta’s biography in “Hood Took Me Under” (production: DJ Mike T) over a cinematic rearrangement of “Walk on By,” then Tragedy AKA the Intelligent Hoodlum mourns loved ones in “Grand Groove” (production: K-Def) over the wistful piano of “Ike’s Mood” which Biz Markie earlier put his stamp on with “Make the Music with Your Mouth, Biz.”

Soul Sides on Isaac Hayes

Caveman - I’m Ready 1991

Caveman - Streetlife (The Principle Remix) 1992

The Principle feat. Silent Eclipse - Reality 1993

Chances are, if you’re not familiar with largely forgotten UK crew Caveman, you have never heard of a hip-hop producer named The Principle. In 1991 the trio released a classic slice of European hip-hop (if underappreciated in its country of origin) called “Positive Reaction.” All tracks were cooked up by The Principle, who did a superb job with thick funk- and jazz-based grooves that still offered enough elbow room for young gun MCM to manoeuver through with uplifting lyrics delivered in a vocal tone reminiscent of New Yorkers D-Nice or Master Ace. The pumping “Victory (Remix)” which lead the chase was their “Fight the Power,” while mellow compositions like “Cool (Cos I Don’t Get Upset)” and “Desmond” offered a break from the more uptempo tracks. Not to forget the “Be Thankful For What You’ve Got”-sampling instrumental “The Dope Department” or the epic “Introduction to a Caveman.” The most surprising sample selection came in the form of the anthemic “I’m Ready,” which made compelling use of Jimi Hendrix‘ “Crosstown Traffic.” While Caveman didn’t make any major noise in the US despite being signed to Profile Records, The Principle got to remix Black Sheep’s “Try Counting Sheep” for their 1991 single of the same name.

Caveman’s musical approach deviated somewhat from the radically hardcore attitude of their countrymen, without embracing pop aspirations. But in 1992 they came back distinctly harder with the sophomore “The Whole Nine Yards… And Then Some.” For some reason, however, The Principle seemed to be in the process of leaving the group, contributing only two productions to the album, both undertitled as ‘The Principle Remix.’ “Streetlife (The Principle Remix)” set the bar high with an incredibly dense rhythm section illuminated by jazzy horns and a discrete Crusaders vocal sample.

The Principle re-surfaced in 1993 with a remix for Run-DMC’s “Ooh, Whatcha Gonna Do” and in the same year even released an EP under his own name featuring rapper Silent Eclipse AKA MCD (who unlike MCM was not afraid to rap in a British accent). “Reality,” extensively sampling Guru and KRS-One, is in my memory one of the last moments when political rap and funky beats formed a perfect marriage. Sadly, it was also the last time I heard from The Principle. According to one internet forum he became a devoted Muslim and burned all of his records. Now there’s a way to go out as a hip-hop producer.

The Principle on discogs

“Positive Reaction” write-up at RapReviews.com