RCA (1993)
Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo! MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for twenty-five plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.
This one is definitely a deep cut from my youth. I'm not entirely sure where I first heard of Rumpletilskinz. It had to be either from Yo! MTV Raps or The Source, but I think it was probably Yo! The reason I think that is because when I was hunting for this LP I learned that the group was affiliated with Leaders of the New School. If I had read about it in The Source, that's something I would have probably known at the time, but it was news to me when I found out recently.
It isn't surprising though. While I would classify Rumpletilskinz as being a bit more 'rugged' than Leaders, they clearly have similarities, particularly in the way the lean on gang vocals to spice up their rhymes. Another group that they remind me of a bit is Das Efx. Not because they're using the 'diggity' flow or anything like that, but they have a mood that feels similar and the beat also have a little bit of a grimy sound to them.
I don't remember loving the Rumpletilskinz album back when I bought it in '93. It's clearly not one that I spent as much time with back then, but listening to it now givers me a whole new appreciation for what they were trying to do. It's really good golden era hip hop. Strong beats, solid rhymes and a throwback to a time where even a group on the margins could end up with a major label deal and a video on Yo! MTV Raps.
Rumpletilskinz - What Is A Rumpletilskin?:
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