Sam Sever
January 6th, 2006 by mattmatical
Tricky Tee - Leave It To The Drums 1986
Oran ‘Juice’ Jones - Pipe Dreams 1989
Downtown Science - This Is A Visit 1991
Sam Sever and the Raiders of the Lost Art - Words Of Wisdom (They Don’t Know) 1995
With information once again being relatively sparse, we best point you to this highly recommended interview at Baghat Vinyl. There you will learn how Sam Sever came to programm the drums of Run-DMC’s “Is It Live” from “Raising Hell,” an album this blogger holds in the utmost highest regard. We also assume that you already know Sam’s most crucial work with 3rd Bass, so we’ll try and maneouvre a bit around “The Cactus Album” and “Derelicts Of Dialect.”
So let’s start with Sam Citrin’s first official production gig, as found on the Tricky Tee 12″ “Leave It To The Drums” b/w “I’ve Got It Good” from 1986. Tricky Tee was no MC Tee and Sam was no Kurtis Mantronik (for reference, check Tricky Tee’s Mantronik-produced “Johnny The Fox” from ‘85), but “Leave It To The Drums” is certainly a song title fit for a hip-hop blog like ours and musically it should give you a clear idea of the era this aspiring producer came up in, editing by Chep Nunez and all.
Sever soon hooked up with Def Jam, where he was not only involved in 3rd Bass, but also got to produce Oran ‘Juice’ Jones’ “Pipe Dreams,” the ultimate statement on crack addiction from the soul side. The early ’90s marked Sam Sever’s ascent to artist status as he formed the duo Downtown Science with rapper Bosco Money. Their self-titled album rests on the obscure side of the Def Jam discography but has my complete approval both in the musical and the lyrical department. The “Wall”-sampling “This Is A Visit” hints at what these guys were on, but is just as likely to mislead you.
After both 3rd Bass and Downtown Science disbanded, Sever continued to work for Def Jam coming up with for instance the excellent “The Rapsody (In J Minor)” by Pete Nice & Daddy Rich and Nikki D’s “Lettin’ Off Steam.” In 1993 he released a couple of party breaks on Big Beat (some of which you can hear on his MySpace page) and closed the final LONS album with the monstruous “Spontaneous (13 MC’s Deep!)” Then came his MoWax phase, with according to this interview 12 songs being submitted to James Lavelle, but only a couple of them seeing a release, among them the b-side to his “What’s That Sound (Fucked Up Sound)” single, “Words of Wisdom (They Don’t Know),” words by the way courtesy of one of the Last Poets and apparently applicable to hip-hop to no small degree: “Record company is the pimp, artist is the ho, the stage is the corner, and the audience is the trick.” [Note: Blame the blogger for the skip, it occurred while ripping from vinyl.]
The previously mentioned extensive interview confirms what the name-drop in KRS-One’s “Out For Fame” lead me to believe - that Sam Sever also did a little bit of graf. For now please enjoy Sever’s musical subway art.
www.samsever.com
Posted on January 6th, 2006 by mattmatical 
Thanks for the kind words and support!
Peace & Love… Sam
sammyATsamseverDOTcom
January 6th, 2006 at 11:36 pmGreat post. I always loved Sam’s style. That Raiders of the Lost Art single is one of my fave Mo Wax moments ever. I’d like to hear the other 10 or 11 tracks that were submitted to that drip Lavelle…
January 7th, 2006 at 8:21 pm“Leave it to the drums” is such a dope tune and the cover with T waring the stupidwack/dope Houston Rockets tracksuit is the shit.
Sam Sever is an unsung hero of this shit without a doubt. All praises are definitely due.
January 8th, 2006 at 7:10 pmMan, i forgot about Downtown Science. They never got their due. Sam’s production was ahead of it’s time at that point in Hip-Hop. I remember being mesmerized by “Room To Breathe” but no one else was feeling it. Ten years later, it became an underground oldie cut in L.A.
Sam has the skillz fo sho.
La.
January 9th, 2006 at 10:13 pmi wonder where that 12″ with room to breathe is… i used to play that a lot.
peace.
January 10th, 2006 at 11:00 pmtim
after listening to “This is a Visit” posted here, I went out and found Downtown Science’s “Big Yellow 12-inch.” Hot production. Thanks for putting me on to that track.
January 14th, 2006 at 12:47 amSorry to post this in a non related placed, I couldn’t find your contact info anywhere. I am recruiting for a digital record label that is looking for a variety of positions. I thought you may be interested in being an A&R. Below are the details:
A digital record label is being created to take advantage of the internet in ways the established music industry has so far been incapable of. It is being formed on the premise that the internet allows the independent label to truly compete with the majors.
This is a startup venture that will experiment with innovative techniques such as using the networks usually reserved for pirated material to release our music. New outside the box ideas are welcomed and encouraged. While the long-term goal is to be profitable, there is no current funding for this project. If you choose to be a part, it is strictly on a voluntary basis for now. However, you will be getting in on ground level of something groundbreaking.
The label will focus on Hip-Hop and Electronic music. E-mail: recruit@email.com to apply for any of the following positions. Briefly let us know why you are interested in the position, and what skills or attributes you can bring to it. We are looking for:
A&Rs- Responsible for scouring the net for the best unsigned artists. This position will routinely check Myspace, Soundclick, GarageBand, and GorillaMusic for new artists. They will also search through web forums that have artist communities.
Web developer- As a digital label, our web presence is extremely important. A web developer with a great design aesthetic is needed to create a cutting edge page with any community building features you think will benefit the label. Ie. Forum, blog, rss feed, media player, ect.
Graphic Designer- Graphic design work such as logos and album art are key components to a professional product. This position will be responsible for creating these elements as well as assisting the web developer.
Digital Street Team Head- This position will be responsible for compiling and updating a list of web forums whose topics are music related, or whose membership aligns with our target markets. This person will be responsible for recruiting a team to become a part of these forums and post information about our artists. The team will fully disclose that they are affiliated with the label in all posts. The street team can be recruited from any source including current members of each web forum.
Audio Engineer- The engineer will be responsible for finalizing our releases and creating promotional content. They will ensure that the final tracks from the artists are properly mixed and mastered, re-mixing and mastering the tracks if need be. They will also be responsible for creating promotional audio content such as podcasts.
Packaging- This position is responsible for converting the final tracks into various formats and tagging them with information. They will package the files together, readying them for distribution. Experience with enhanced podcasts and XML code is a plus.
Distribution- The distributor will play a vital role in the success of this label. Free content will continually be released to gain exposure for our artists and label. This person will need to create a network of places that will make our content available and/or play our music. Music sites, net radio, and blogs are possible examples. Contacts in the scene such as channel and site ops, and ftp admins, is a huge plus. Knowledge of spreading files through bittorrent and P2P is also helpful.
January 18th, 2006 at 9:30 pmSam Sever made hip hop worth listening to.
February 26th, 2006 at 7:08 pmSam is the freakin’ man. Much respect!
March 9th, 2006 at 2:25 pmGreat reading, keep up the great posts.
April 7th, 2006 at 5:40 pmPeace, JiggaDigga
Yo Sam,
May 8th, 2006 at 12:30 pmThis is your sister, and you are loved!!