Double XX Posse - Put Ya Boots On LP

Big Beat (1992)

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 thirty 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.

Double XX Posse is a group that I didn't listen to back in the 90s.  I don't remember seeing them on Yo! MTV Raps, but in rereading old issues of The Source, I certainly see that they were advertised pretty heavily there for a few months at least.  Not entirely sure why I didn't investigate further, but for whatever reason, limited money or limited knowledge, those ads just passed me by and I din't think about them at all until decades later.

When I finally got around to listening to Put Ya Boots On, I was instantly mesmerized by the booming East Coast production.  It's rough and while not as funk driven as EPMD, I certainly feel similarities in the way this album sounds when compared to Long Island royalty.  

Lyrically, for 1992, this is really strong stuff.  It's hard to tell exactly how many different people are rapping on this album, but I believe there are two main MCs responsible for the lion's share.  Whoever is on the mic on whatever song you decide to play on this record brings the goods.  The lyrics are not what I would call complicated, but they are layered with well constructed rhyme schemes and patterns.  The pacer is fast and you get a whole lot of words per minute.

There's nothing pop or crossover friendly here, this is early 90s underground East Coast boom bap.  If you like that sound, this is an album that you definitely need to check out, but if you need something a little smoother or catchier, there may not be as much for you here.  For me, this is the total sweet spot of the sort of hip hop that tends to resonate with me the most.  It's the sort of album just begging for an expanded double LP 90s Tapes reissue.

Double XX Posse - Put Ya Boots On:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mBu9rv8VX0z4wwZXP8-iMVIGKMJ1XiQ5Q