During the second half of the '90s, it seems a lot of hip-hop crews, who had previously only been affiliated by name and not by much in the way of proper collaborations, all finally got round to releasing full-length group albums. This happened with The Firm, Westside Connection, Tha Eastsidaz, and of course Def Squad, which is the group I'm going to be writing about today. Def Squad consisted of three members, one of which had actually been bothered to think up of a proper rap name - I mean, who the hell bothers with that? Not Erick Sermon and Keith Murray, it seems, who alongside the legendary Redman made up this motley bunch, who, despite having appeared all over each others albums in the early and mid-'90s, took until 1998 to get a full length group project out. The album probably wouldn't have happened at all if it wasn't for their weirdly successful cover of Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight", a song that charted so well that if Def Jam (the group's similarly titled label) hadn't commissioned an album, then they may as well have shot themselves in the foot, and then the face for good measure.
Despite the fact that the lead single was a cover, something that is barely seen in rap if ever, hip-hop heads still had high hopes about this album - and no wonder. Redman was coming off of one of the most impressive three album runs in the genre's history, Keith Murray had been making waves for himself in the hip-hop community through some very good albums on Jive Records, and Erick Sermon was right in his beat making prime - I mean, have you heard Muddy Waters? And, predictably, the album was almost entirely produced by E-Double, with Redman being worryingly credited as the producer for the skits - if there's one thing he does not excel at, it is the art of making an interlude humorous or entertaining, as most of the Muddy Waters skits prove. Still, this album looked pretty damned exciting at first glance, especially as it contained features from Biz Markie, Too $hort and close affiliate Jamal, a man who remained highly underrated throughout the '90s when he was active in the game.
Most probably thanks to anticipation generated by the cover of "Rapper's Delight" (rather stupidly titled "Def Squad Delite" on the album version), this was the highest charting project of any of the three's respective solo careers, something I'm sure most readers are sincerely surprised at, as they most probably hadn't even heard of the thing before today. This album charted at no. 2 (!), which even beats out Red's Platinum selling Doc's Da Name 2000, released later this year, and also went Gold, which is more records than Keith Murray sold solo in the entire remainder of his career (probably). The project was quickly forgotten about, though, which suggests that perhaps the only reason for it's success was the radio-friendly cover song. It could also suggest, of course, that people stopped buying the album in stores because of that shitty album cover, but that's just a theory.
So, is this album one worth remembering? Well, I think I'll be the judge of that, thanks.
1. Shower (Intro) (prod. Redman)
One of the weirdest rap album intros I've ever heard, and also one of the stupidest. I mean, what is even going on here? And what in the fuck does this have to do with an el niño?
2. Check N' Me Out (prod. Erick Sermon)
Over a pretty standard late '90s Erick Sermon instrumental, the three MCs prove themselves to be entirely competent at their chosen industry. Redman delivers an energetic and memorable verse to start, as well as a catchy hook, and despite him having a slightly annoying voice on here, Erick Sermon's lyricism is top notch too. Keith Murray comes through with the weakest verse on the track, but he still performs amicably. Overall, a pretty good way to open up the album. "We stick a muthafucka!!"
3. Countdown (feat. Lil' Jamal) (prod. Erick Sermon)
Gotta fill up this damned space to make the post look good now. Uhh... ahh, forget it.
4. Full Cooperation (prod. Erick Sermon)
5. Ride Wit' Us (feat. Too Short) (prod. Erick Sermon)
Later taken directly off of this album and chucked on Keith Murray's It's a Beautiful Thing project the next year. Also notable for being the first track without any Erick Sermon vocal contributions (that might be him on the hook, though). Too Short sounds tremendously obnoxious on here, and the other two rappers need something a lot more energetic than this lo-fi beat to really shine. A swing and a miss. The hook sucks balls too.
6. Lay 'Em Down (Skit) (prod. Redman)
Bloody useless skit. Well, what did you expect?
7. Rhymin' Wit' Biz (feat. Biz Markie) (prod. Erick Sermon)
The second song in a row to contain a misspelling of the word "with" in the title. Apparently spurred on by the success of their cover single "Def Squad Delite", the group decide to do another reworking of an old school classic - Big Daddy Kane's "Just Rhymin' Wit' Biz". This time they do at least contribute new verses I suppose - I say "they", but Erick Sermon was apparently too busy trying to come up with a proper rap name to appear on this track - he is once again absent from proceedings. Redman's bars "I walk with a sumo attitude, acrobatical, mathematical" are pretty hilarious, and the beat is obviously classic, but this song's decision to copy another track causes it to lose a lot of replay value. One cover was enough, guys!
8. The Game (Freestyle) (prod. Erick Sermon)
The three go back-and-forth over an excitable old-school instrumental, and the results are pretty funky, if slightly too gimmicky if you ask me. Still, if this was actually a freestyle, then I'm pretty impressed with the results.
9. World Announcement (Skit) (prod. Redman)
Redman would take until 2010's Reggie to stop including stupid skits. That's 12 more years of Redman skits. Help.
10. Can U Dig It? (prod. Erick Sermon)
The hook on this song was actually later sampled in Busta Rhymes' song "Strap Yourself Down". That's pretty interesting. Also, the back cover lists this as "Can U Dig It?", but the booklet names it "Can You Dig It?". Maybe the person in charge of the booklet did it in protest of the stupid text speak rappers used to (and still do) incorporate into their titles. The beat on this one definitely sounds a lot more 1998 than the last three songs, and therefore this track definitely feels much more like a Def Squad cut, which is a good thing. Keith Murray's final lines of "you suckas, no good, insecure back barnyard sewer rat eating motherfuckers!" are easily some of my favourites on the entire LP. Pretty damned good track overall.
11. You Do, I Do (prod. Redman)
The only actual song on here to be produced by Reginald Noble himself, and you can't really tell - this could have easily come from the brain of mr. Sermon. The verses themselves here are fairly entertaining, but the chorus is weaker than a frog's arms, and as such, this song is pretty underwhelming as a whole, and there's another stupid skit on the end too. I did like the little scratch of "boodahhh" during Keith's verse, though.
12. Ya'll Niggas Ain't Ready (prod. Erick Sermon)
Oooh, this goes hard! The beat on this track is smooth as a muh-fucka, and despite what you may initially think upon hearing the instrumental (which doesn't fit the sound of this album at all), the three stooges of Def Squad all manage to perform some pretty interesting and diverse flows over the chilling synths. The lyrics themselves aren't the artist's best, but this one is all about the flow, and the performances are all admirable in that area. And DAMN that beat is good!
13. Say Word! (prod. Erick Sermon)
Over a fairly chilled out instrumental, the three give us some fairly solid verses that admittedly don't provide much diversity from the rest of this LP. I'd say that Redman has the best verse here, as I always like it when rappers say the word "Gabanas" - I don't know why. The track is nothing too special otherwise though, and isn't the use of exclamation points in song titles reserved for Busta Rhymes?
14. No Guest List (prod. Erick Sermon)
Good lord, this hook is bad. The preceding skit sets up this track that's themed around a party with "no guest list" (who would have guessed?), and in this skit is the sound of a bouncer screaming "miss thing! There is no guest list tonight" in the most obnoxious way possible. Guess what part of the skit they chose to make a chorus? The verses are good, but I can't cope with that hook, man. As Jay-Z would say, "on to the next one!".
15. Babies Father Committee (Skit) (prod. Redman)
Please never write a skit again, Red. Please. For the sake of us all.
16. Def Squad Delite (prod. Erick Sermon)
The infamous cover of Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight", and the main reason why this album came to fruition in the first place. The cover itself sounds fun, and the three MCs add an interesting flavour to the original song, but ending things with a 7 minute redo of a 1980s track is yet another factor that's going to heavily decrease the replay value of this thing. Still, an admirable attempt at a cover, with Redman being the absolute perfect rapper to deliver Wonder Mike's classic food-related verse. Not bad.
While it isn't super impressive as a whole package, El Niño is still a fairly fun group project, and a good addition to the catalogues of the three starring artists. There's an interesting mix of late '90s Erick Sermon funk beats (also seen on, for example, Doc's Da Name 2000 and Blackout!) and old-school throwback instrumentals on here, and while the latter do work to an extent, it's the former that tend to provide the best backing for Red, Keith and E. These types of beats usually end up working into the best tracks on the album, such as "Full Cooperation" and "Can U Dig It?", both of which feature excellent flows over really nice instrumentals. I mean, I wouldn't call anything outside of "Ya'll Niggas Ain't Ready" (a massive banger) astonishing, but most of this LP is solid, and if you expected any more from this trio of typically unserious and fun rappers, then you were probably setting your hopes too high - this album is just about having fun with the mic. Outside of some of the weird old-school tracks, which often severely lack in replay value, the main issue definitely would be hooks - they start off well in the first section of the album, but as we get towards the latter half songs like "You Do, I Do" and "No Guest List" are damned near ruined by annoying and/or uninteresting hook work. As for the rappers, then - well, Red is predictably the best, being exciting and energetic all throughout this thing, but Keith Murray also works surprisingly well over the decidedly more modern instrumentation than what he's used to. Erick Sermon isn't particularly exciting, but even he never dips below "alright" on here, meaning that he doesn't ever drag things down.
Would I recommend a listen? Well, not necessarily. If you're a fan of strictly mid- '90s boom-bap, then I probably wouldn't recommend you listen to this - instead, I would recommend you broaden your taste a bit, but perhaps not with this release straight away. If you are a Redman fan who enjoyed Doc's Da Name 2000, though, or a Keith fan who perhaps enjoyed It's a Beautiful Thing, or just an E-Double fan full stop, then I would say you should definitely check this one out, and you'll know by the very first track whether you'll like it or not anyway. Personally, I think this is a rare instance of an album with a crappy cover that actually sounds good. Definitely a potent release.
Best Tracks: Check N' Me Out, Countdown, Full Cooperation, Rhymin' Wit' Biz Can U Dig It?, Ya'll Niggas Ain't Ready
Worst Tracks: You Do, I Do, No Guest List
If you would like to read some posts about Redman, click here. I am yet to write anything else about Keith or E, but maybe I will as soon as they bother to think of actual rap names? Just a thought, guys!
Image for "Countdown" single taken from Discogs
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