DSD:Fugees/Mad Skillz

Reminisce about the golden era of hip-hop.

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Choose the winner.

From Where???.
17
43%
The Score.
23
58%
 
Total votes: 40

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TheBigSleep
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DSD:Fugees/Mad Skillz

Post by TheBigSleep »

Image

Tuesday, February 13th, 1996.

Two LPs: Fugees' second and final, off Columbia / Ruffhouse and (Mad) Skillz' debut, on Big Beat.

Pick your favorite and / or the best album, doesn't matter.

Previous Dropped Same Day(s):
Enter the 36 Chambers vs. Midnight Marauders.
Guerrillas in tha Mist vs. Runaway Slave vs. Stunts, Blunts & Hip Hop vs. Whut? Thee Album.
'93 'til Infinity vs. 187 He Wrote vs. Return of the Boom Bap.
Blowout Comb vs. The Diary vs. (Twista's) Resurrection vs. Word...Life.
Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous vs. Rollin' Wit' Dana Dane vs. Return to the 36 Chambers.
Ahmad vs. Ill Communication vs. Nuttin' But Love vs. On the Outside Looking In vs. The Sun Rises in the East.
The Ablist vs. A Prince Among Thieves vs. The Slim Shady LP vs. Street Cinema vs. Things Fall Apart vs. War Zone.
Da Hood vs. Doe or Die vs. KRS-One vs. Last Chance, No Breaks vs. No Man's Land vs. South Central Los Skanless.
Aquemini vs. Enquiring Minds vs. Foundation vs. The Love Movement vs. Vol.2... Hard Knock Life vs. Word On Tha Streets.
Doom vs. The Equinox vs. Phenomenon vs. When Disaster Strikes... vs. X-pressions.
Apache Ain't Shit vs. Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde vs. Hard or Smooth vs. Live and Let Die.
The Final Tic vs. h vs. It Was Written vs. Stakes is High.
I Wish My Brother George Was Here vs. A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing.
Between a Rock and a Hard Place vs. The Dead Has Arisen vs. Like It Should Be vs. Nervous Breakdown vs. Play Witcha Mama vs. Resurrection vs. Ruthless By Law.
Death Certificate vs. Organized Konfusion vs. Prince of Darkness.
The 18th Letter vs. In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 vs. The Psycho-Social, Chemical, Biological & Electro-Magnetic Manipulation of Human Consciousness vs. Vendetta.
All Balls Don't Bounce vs. All We Got Iz Us vs. Do or Die vs. Jealous One's Envy vs. Smile Now, Die Later vs. Take a Ride.
Coast II Coast vs. Season of Da Siccness vs. World Ultimate.
Internal Affairs vs. My Own vs. So... How's Your Girl?.
Blunted on Reality vs. Fadanuf Fa Erybody!! vs. Fear Itself vs. Welcome to America.
Riders of the Storm: The Underwater Album vs. 6 Feet Deep.
Generation EFX vs. The Next Step vs. The Pillage vs. 3rd Eye Vision.
Down With the King vs. Kill My Landlord vs. SlaughtaHouse vs. Which Doobie U B?.
Eazy-Duz-It vs. Let the Hustlers Play vs. Power.
AmeriKKKa's Nightmare vs. Behind Bars vs. Dare Iz a Darkside.
The Skills Dat Pay Da Bills vs. Tricks of the Shade.
40 Dayz & 40 Nightz vs. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill vs. Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star vs. Whatcha Gonna Do?.

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TheBigSleep
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Re: DSD:Fugees/Mad Skillz

Post by TheBigSleep »

Before someone else says it, the reason 2Pac's All Eyez on Me (which also dropped on February 13th, 1996) was not included is because it's a double album. For the sake of fairness, this series is strictly for comparing hip hop LPs to other hip hop LPs, which means it has always excluded singles, EPs, 2xLPs and so forth.

However, feel free to write in and say that you would've chosen Pac's album(s) had it been an option.

Jaz
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Re: DSD:Fugees/Mad Skillz

Post by Jaz »

TheBigSleep wrote:Before someone else says it, the reason 2Pac's All Eyez on Me (which also dropped on February 13th, 1996) was not included is because it's a double album. For the sake of fairness, this series is strictly for comparing hip hop LPs to other hip hop LPs, which means it has always excluded singles, EPs, 2xLPs and so forth.

However, feel free to write in and say that you would've chosen Pac's album(s) had it been an option.
It was also when I turned my back on 2-Pac and one of the most overrated albums in Hip Hop history...voted for The Score in this poll.

citizen
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Re: DSD:Fugees/Mad Skillz

Post by citizen »

have just recently been listening to the score a lot.
its pretty solid. should have more lauryn and jon forte, less pras and wyclef. cowboys was always one of my favorites. back in the 90's everyone had this album, but i cant imagine most people listening to the album cuts. i remember i listened to this the week i got my wisdom teeth out and played the fugee-la remix over and over

all eyez one me in retrospect is kind of average, at the time though, incredibly good. i was a huge 2pac fan. i ordered all eyez on me from bmg and seemed like i waited forever for it to come. for some reason i still remember the day i came home and the box was sitting on the dining room table

compared to what he did on makaveli, very weak
if it was paired down to one album, i would include

ambitionz as a ridah
can't c me
california love
all eyez on me
how do you want it
holla at me
skandalouz
got my mind made up
heartz of men
only god can judge me
i aint m ad at cha (video version)

vaporized2
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Re: DSD:Fugees/Mad Skillz

Post by vaporized2 »

I respect The Fugees, but the raw boom bap mayhem of tracks like Killing Me Softly, No Woman No Cry and Ready Or Not is just a bit too dark and intense for my ears. So I'll go for 'From Where?'



Probably my fav tune, classic nick wiz production

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Philaflava
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Re: DSD:Fugees/Mad Skillz

Post by Philaflava »

Skillz had some sick producers on this one. Replay value was weak though. Went with The Score even though 1/3 of the rapping was horrible. Wasn't there another memorable release this day (besides Pac)?

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Bigg Boss Luciano
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Re: DSD:Fugees/Mad Skillz

Post by Bigg Boss Luciano »

Pac would've be my choice if he was included but since he ain't... it's Skillz... not that I care for that album that much but at least it didn't have Pras' wack ass on it :lol:

ZiekeFons
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Re: DSD:Fugees/Mad Skillz

Post by ZiekeFons »

Went for the score.. mostly because fu-gee-la is one of my all time favorite beats..

cleanprophet
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Re: DSD:Fugees/Mad Skillz

Post by cleanprophet »

Wow remember this day like it was yesterday!

I did kinda like The Fugeez, I had their 1st album and whilst it wasn't great their were a few remixes etc that impressed and whilst I didn't really have high hopes for the album I did like Fugee La and I had a crush on Lauryn so I was bumping The Score quite a lot. Always been a big Diamond fan too so cool to have him on there. I never rated Pras tho and always found them a little bit gimmicky at times.

Mad Skillz, in the end I had to go for this guy even if just for the tune with Extra P and Q Tip! I played that one to death back in the day. It's a cool album, nothing too spectacular just consistently good hip hop from a great era.

Had you listed Pac, It'd be tough. I was never a big Pac fan, still not to be honest but I did like All Eyez On Me at the time and bumped it a lot more than other Pac releases before or since.

KITFUNK
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Re: DSD:Fugees/Mad Skillz

Post by KITFUNK »

Gave it to Skillz.

As it's already been stated, FW??? has a great production lineup and they didn't disappoint. That being said, I always felt that Skillz sounded like a poor man's version of L and always thought he came off corny once in a while. This was a dope record to chill to, some cool shit to throw on while you doin' something else more important, but that's all it was. However, nowadays, with that nostalgia factor kickin' in, and simply put, just the sound of the record, just on the music tip it has that 90s feel, I could listen to that and feel like I'm a kid again playin' Sega Genesis.

Iono why, it's not an exceptional record by any means, but it just hits me.


As far as Fugees go, I know this is sacrilege but, I never really got down with them much. Some shit was aight, but I pretty much slept thru that shit, not sure why, but they never ignited curiosity in me to check 'em better. I heard they "classic" shit, but I always felt I could take it or leave it. Almost similar to how I originally felt about Mad Skillz, but in this millenium, his debut has a whole different meaning to me than when I first heard it. Again, I'll point out I think FW??? isn't exceptional and most definitely fell short in many aspects (lyrically mostly) but the production makes up for everything. It has that vibe

Debonair_P
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Re: DSD:Fugees/Mad Skillz

Post by Debonair_P »

I really like that Mad Skillz album and vote for that, a nice cohesive solid release with some great production (though I never liked Extra Abstract Skillz...)

vaporized2
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Re: DSD:Fugees/Mad Skillz

Post by vaporized2 »

Debonair_P wrote: (though I never liked Extra Abstract Skillz...)
Me neither, probably the worst Large Pro nineties beat I can think of. Sounds like it samples a honky-tonk version of the James Bond theme? lol

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Re: DSD:Fugees/Mad Skillz

Post by Debonair_P »

vaporized2 wrote:
Debonair_P wrote: (though I never liked Extra Abstract Skillz...)
Me neither, probably the worst Large Pro nineties beat I can think of. Sounds like it samples a honky-tonk version of the James Bond theme? lol
LOL, I'm glad I'm not the only one... :lol: Shawn J Period did some really great work on the Mad Skillz album though.

Thun
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Re: DSD:Fugees/Mad Skillz

Post by Thun »

Other than the contributions from the Outsidaz and Diamond D, the Fugees album is forgettable and extremely wack at times, and not just because of Pras.

Mad Skillz did not take full advantage of a dream producers lineup but the LP is still good for a spin every now and then for when you're in that mid-90s boom bap mood.

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Versive
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Re: DSD:Fugees/Mad Skillz

Post by Versive »

Thun wrote:Other than the contributions from the Outsidaz and Diamond D, the Fugees album is forgettable and extremely wack at times, and not just because of Pras.
As a hwite from the suburbs, I simply cannot agree with this. At all. Ever. You may rest your case on that.

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TheBigSleep
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Re: DSD:Fugees/Mad Skillz

Post by TheBigSleep »

Philaflava wrote:Wasn't there another memorable release this day (besides Pac)?
Nah, not that I'm aware of. If anybody knows of anything, feel free to correct me on that though. I wouldn't be surprised either way.

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Re: DSD:Fugees/Mad Skillz

Post by More Gravy Please »

Apart from the two bullshit, generic "party joints" - 'Get Your Groove On' & 'Move Ya Body' the Mad Skillz album was and still is a solid listen. Admittedly, his full potential was not realized on the album. He was capable of better, as were the producers on the album, but my vote still goes to Skillz.

'The Score' was a great album in it's own right. 'Fu-Gee-La' & 'Ready Or Not' are still classics but the album hasn't stood the test of time very well in my opinion. 'Killing Me Softly..' is almost un-listenable to me nowadays.

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nojiveturkey
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Re: DSD:Fugees/Mad Skillz

Post by nojiveturkey »

From Where??? all day.
I dig the flaves

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The Funk Farm - Pataphysical
The Funk Farm - The This Time Tape

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