I've ranted in previous posts about the lo-fi banality of most Rap-A-Lot Records excretions and while these are technically no different, they do benefit from one of the sleaziest marketing campaigns seen in the early 90's. Rap-A-Lot at the time was riding big: The Geto Boys were back on their label (after being torpedoed into the mainstream via Rick Rubin) and they had just dropped their platinum We Can't Be Stopped. The 'Boys were hot and producer James Smith wasn't about to let that ember go out lika soldier - introducing the Baby Geto Boys, better known as Too Much Trouble. First off, their debut album cover (which not only looks ridiculous but I think is the only album cover in history that advertises another band's name more times than that group that actually recorded the album) has me wondering is anyone over 13? Maybe the midget - good ol' Bar-None - who will probably go down as the worst fucking rapper in history - has some voting rights. Yeah, I get it... he's the white dwarf antithesis of Bushwick Bill (press releases blame massive crack abuse by his mother during pregnancy) but the completely harmless ball python around his neck comes off as more sad and silly than shocking. And his skills suck so bad he's regulated to a sorry two or three lines a song... absolutely fucking pathetic. The "real" Getos phone it in on "Only The Strong Survive" to fulfill some contractual obligations but it's the rest of the album that will truly impress in that awful low rent kind of way. The Baby Getos rappers actually have a bit of primal skill - the epic "Mother Fuckin' Thugs" is unreal - their liberal profanity blows any other shit out there during that era away. Beats are sadly sampled, the drum machine is pure version 1.0 - it's awful but amazing at the same time - the primitive shit Too $hort wishes he could still pull off.
Which brings us to the next year's Player's Choice. Is it just two of the guys now? Looking at the record cover it looks like there's been some midget-to-doberman conversions but who the fuck knows, the voices sound completely token and if it wasn't for the 60-second "Bring It On" the first side of the album would be nearly forgettable. Side B is a different story - fat sluggish beats permeate throughout -"Red Light Victim" has a cool "Mind Of A Lunatic" vibe to it and flows tight. The rest of the tunes slow it down even more and while there is probably nothing for the historical rap archives, "Let's Get It On" is a cool tune to ghetto blast around your local suburbs just to piss off all those repressed local white folk. Enjoy.
Which brings us to the next year's Player's Choice. Is it just two of the guys now? Looking at the record cover it looks like there's been some midget-to-doberman conversions but who the fuck knows, the voices sound completely token and if it wasn't for the 60-second "Bring It On" the first side of the album would be nearly forgettable. Side B is a different story - fat sluggish beats permeate throughout -"Red Light Victim" has a cool "Mind Of A Lunatic" vibe to it and flows tight. The rest of the tunes slow it down even more and while there is probably nothing for the historical rap archives, "Let's Get It On" is a cool tune to ghetto blast around your local suburbs just to piss off all those repressed local white folk. Enjoy.
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