Legacy Recordings

Atlanta sprung into the hip-hop universe on the backs of two kids named Kris who wore their clothes backwards. Mack Daddy and Daddy Mack rode a gimmick that played to teenagers who came of age on hip-hop records and MTV. Bouncing into the national psyche, “Jump”’s reggae rhythm crossed over both age and color lines. They tried toughening up their act with songs about misogyny and money worship, but nobody bought the hardcore sell. With cracking voices and sprouting bodies, they discovered the difficulty of getting through puberty in public.

(J. Dupri); Produced by Jermaine Dupri; Kris (Mack Daddy) Kelly and Kris (Daddy Mack) Smith, lead vocals; Studio 4 Crew: Trip Boyd, Jim (Jiff) Hinger, Rose Mann, Earl Marshall, Dave J., Heather Maressa, Frances Hogan, Manuel Lecuona, Kevin (K.B.) Bass, Lady G, Walt Bass, background vocals; music and programming by Jermaine Dupri and Joe Nicolo; Rec. Atlanta and Philadelphia, 1992. From Totally Krossed Out, Ruffhouse/Columbia 48710; P 1992 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.

Skinned to the bone, the Cleveland quintet of Layzie, Krayzie, Flesh, Wish and Bizzy Bone bought five one-way bus tickets to L.A., hungry for a recording deal. After a phone audition for West Coast godfather, the late Easy-E, they returned home, defeated but determined. Backstage at an NWA show, they crossed paths with E again, and seeing their freshness and promise, he signed them to Ruthless Records. Mixing musicality and harmony with an Isley Brothers melody line, “Tha Crossroad” blew up large. Surveying a ghetto world where souls are given to hope or sold into bondage, “Crossroad” chooses hope in a universe that chills to the bone.

(A. Henderson/S. Howse/C. Scruggs/B. McCane/R. Isley/O. Isley/R. Isley/E. Isley/M. Isley/C. Jasper); Produced by D.J. U-Neek; Krayzie Bone, Layzie Bone, Bizzy Bone, Wish Bone and Flesh-N-Bone, lead and background vocals; Rec. 1996. From E. 1999 Eternal, Ruthless 69443; P 1996 Ruthless Records

The Crossroads by Bone Thugs-N-Harmony

Descending from a long line of storytellers, Nasir Jones looks out on the world and sees a chilling urban landscape. Smart and perceptive enough to subvert his language, the sleepy-eyed, straight-up rapper became a street legend as a teenager from Queens. With his modern morality tales and portraits of communities decimated by poverty, his street narratives and word plays up the ante on sucka MCs who glorify thug life and its opportunity. An urban griot, his rhymes hold up a mirror to society and what it chooses to celebrate.

(P. Phillips/N. Jones); Produced by Pete Rock; NAS, lead vocal; Contains a portion of “It’s Yours” performed by T La Rock; Rec. New York, 1994. From Illmatic, Columbia 57684; P 1994 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.

The World Is Yours by Nas

The story of a boy and his radio begins in the 9-year-old hands of James Todd Smith. Weaned in New York City on video games, remote controls and an E-Mu mixer, he turned programmed loops and percussion into a right of passage. At 13, Ladies Love Cool James sent a homemade demo to junior moguls Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons. The tribute to his boom box is the essence of early rap: pared-down drum beats, scratching, blasts of electronic horns and punching vocals. L.L. was pure, in-your-face braggadocio. Sensual, athletic, stylish, innovative, he was rap’s first poster boy and superstar.

(J. Smith/R. Rubin); Reduced by Rick Rubin; L.L. Cool J, lead vocal ; Rec. New York, 1985. From Radio, Def Jam/Columbia 40239; P 1985 Courtesy of Universal Music Special Markets
I Can’t Live Without My Radio by LL Cool J

Philadelphia’s Will Smith grew up during the Sugarhill/Enjoy dawn of rap. At 16, he and DJ friend Jeff Townes reinvented themselves as DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, and enjoyed six years of soft-core rap success, with Smith landing his own TV sitcom in the process. When the movie roles began (1993), the duo ended—and so, for awhile did Smith’s rap career. He came out of recording retirement to
perform the theme to Men In Black and, buoyed by its success, Will released the pop-friendly Big Willie Style, which blew into the charts like a hurricane via the hit single “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It.”
Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It by Will Smith
or Buy the CD at LegacyRecordings.com.

Lead vocalist and co-founder of the Platinum-selling Gnarls Barkley as well as a founding member of the seminal hip-hop group Goodie Mob and the Southern musical alliance the Dungeon Family, Cee-Lo has been a busy man. His dynamic lyrics along with silky smooth gospel-tinged singing separate him from the pack. This collection, featuring collaborations with Ludacris, Pharrell, Timbaland, and T.I. among others, combines all of the essential elements from his career and establishes the road map to Gnarls Barkley.

Listen to “I’ll Be Around” by Cee-Lo on Rhapsody
or Buy the CD at LegacyRecordings.com.