DITC Records & Nature Sounds offer a special Independence Day Treat from hip-hop legends O.C. & AG.
Legendary hip-hop MCs return to quench the thirst of hip-hop fans. The album, freshly titled Oasis is executive produced by Show (of Showbiz & AG fame) and features stellar production by Lord Finesse, E. Blaze, and Statik Selektah. Oasis is set to hit the streets worldwide this Fall, for now, please enjoy their lead single!!!
Download “Put It In The Box”
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The first few bars from O.C. sealed the deal for me. I need this when it is released. Good ish Kev. O.C. is F’in man.
O.C. is by far my favorite rapper not named Jigga or Nasir
I told Kev about 2 months ago that there was a time I thought O.C. was one of the best out….around the time “Jewelz” came out. I was hooked on “Word Life…”
couldn’t agree more with you, Thomas. the classic status of “Word Life” is undeniable, but I also feel that people don’t know what they’re missing if they don’t have a copy of “jewelz” somewhere. To me, that album is one of those that best embody what many headz (particularly those about my age) consider the best period in rap (roughly 94-95); other albums would be anything Premier (who then was at the peak of his form) blessed (Group Home, Jeru). early Boot Camp releases… you get the idea. Now “jewelz” was in constant rotation back then too, I remember cats going bananas over “My World”. After that, OC kinda fell off, which is a shame, really. I think what happened was that he tried to get more mainstream appeal when the game changed around 96-97 with the arrival of pop rap à la Diddy, which explains why “Bon Appetit” fell disastrously through with critics (the collabo with Jay-Z illustrates my point); he tried to gain new fans but failed and lost a lot of his old ones in the process. It could have worked, and OC might have got on the Rocafella bandwagon for example (while still being loyal to DITC) and become a radio name, but as it went, he was doomed to remain a legend of a golden era who should get a lot more credit than he does. That “Star Child” thing he did a few years ago was quite good though.
Thinking about it, it kinda saddens me when I think of the entire DITC: back then, they were a name in rap that held the same, if not even more, respect than the Wu , they were like an All-Star team, a “who is who” of rap, what with AG, Big L, OC, Finesse etc. If you saw a record in the store with any of their names on it, even if it was only one featuring or production credit, you knew you had to cop it. Nowadays, I doubt any of the younger generation even heard the name. it’s kinda sad what happened to its members too: they’ve all fallen way below the radar, except for fat Joe, who’s achieved mainstream succes but hardly represents DITC any longer. Big L passed. The production skills of Diamond, Show and Finesse are not in demand any longer. And AG and OC, who are like your Favourite MCs’ favourite MCs don’t even feature on other people’s records. It’s a shame, all that talent… a DITC revival, anyone?
Tommylux, I couldn’t have said it any better. I remember buying tapes just because a certain rapper or producer were on the album. Those days are long gone. It’s a shame that D.I.T.C. didn’t get “Big” because they had it all…they were right there with Wutang, Boot Camp, I would put Def Squad up there as far as people that would destroy the mic. 94-95 was great in terms of music. I would extend the time frame just a little from ‘93-’97(part of) that great music came out. New York or for that matter great east coast music came out during these years….”Goodfellas” Skillz dropped a good joint, GZA, Ghost, Rae, Nas, Big, O.C., Lord Finesse, etc…I’m probably missing a few.
Once Puff got a hold of the game it was a wrap…he and Bad Boy changed the game…made just about everyone change the way they looked at rap/hip-hop from a business stand point, what type of tracks people were putting out, video’s, etc. Now I don’t think all of that was bad for hip-hop (and I don’t think that Puff ruined hip-hop), but he changed it. Look at Jay’s 2nd album…he made Jay change up from his first joint.
Anyway….I’m waiting for this new joint between O.C. and AG. Now I need to find my tape of D.I.T.C.’s first joint…anybody know where I can cop the CD…I know I can find it on the net, but want the CD…Goodfellas to.
yeah, what you say bout Puff is true, he definitely changed the game, but not necessarily in a bad way. When we were kids, we used to knock him all the time cos he came across soft and not pop. let’s not forget it’s Puff who brought us Biggie, and that’0s the very reason I couldn’t stand Biggie in the beginning either, cos I didn’t approve of his more radio-friendly joints and all the furs and shiny suits bull. but years later, when my mind was more open and the “timz and hoody - standing on the corner - backpacker” image had practicially disappeared , I almost kicked myself for having slept on his amazing albums. That’s why I also hated Jay at first, cos I only knew him from radio joints like that with Foxy, “Can I Get a”, “The City Is Mine” etc., but again, years later I “rediscovered” reasonable doubt and really feel his skill.
What Puffy did is “commercialize” hip hop in the sense that he made it more accessible, so that not only tough street guys could feel it, but also little MTV-watching girls. And it’s this apprroach that’s become the dominant one - many “purists” might still not feel too happy about it, but let’s not forget it’s allowed a lot of people to make a lot of money, not only Puffy and the majors
yeah, Goodfellas… classic! I still feel it that much I even wore a T-shirt of it last year! Imagine me running around with that, nobody knowing what the hell I’m on about…
Great discussion, I agree with what all of you have said so far! O.C’s “Jewelz” came out right around the time I started producing and writing, and that album was a major influence both lyrically and productively. Front to back, that album was a beautiful listen - even the teaser instrumentals (ESPECIALLY that CHUNKY D.J. Muggs-esque beat before the title track)…I copped Bon Appetit and was pretty disappointed, I had been a big D.I.T.C. fan as well.
I have the D.I.T.C. album, I don’t remember where I copped it but it is a pretty good compilation.