Dare Iz a Darkside

Redman | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 22, 1994)
• Original Release Date: November 22, 1994
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Def Jam
• ASIN: B0000024JF
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,823 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A surrealistic musical journey., August 13, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Dare Iz a Darkside (Audio CD)

Redman's Dare Iz A Dark Side is one of the most underrated albums I have ever heard. This album makes your dreams come to life. It doesn't sugar coat and it doesn't manipulate your emotions. What it does do is take you to a special place that is indescribeable. Yet the feeling never seems to wear off. It takes you there every time you listen to it. The reason many people have not heard this album is that the music just doesn't have mainstream appeal; it's strictly for hip-hop sophisticates to enjoy only. Another thing that is special about this album is that there are only a couple of guest appearances. The album is mostly Redman expressing himself, which is fine with me. I've always wanted to hear expression and this album certainly represents freedom of expression.

The highlights on this album include the bouncing "Bobyahed2dis", which features a narration from Jeff Stewart and a great performance from Redman, "The Journey", a mind-blowing laid back song with dark melodies and harmonic loops, "A Million and One Boodah Spots", which has an original beat and lyrical choice, "Cosmic Slop", a track where Redman joins partners Eric Sermon and Keith Murray for an original and interesting jam, "Green Island", one of the most superb tracks on the album as it has that Hawaiian guitar loop and an amazing concept, "Can't Wait", an uplifting song with a gently bouncing beat, "Slide and Rock On", a well crafted track with a strange ending, "We Run New York", a swinging track that features the then obscure Hurricane G, who now, five years after this was recorded, is now well-known because of her small cameo on Puff Daddy's hit that took an obvious major jacking of Public Enemy's "Public Enemy Number One", and "Tonight's The Night(Remix)", a great remix of the original hit on Redman's first album. The best track on this album is, though, the intimate masterpiece "Sooperman Lover(Part II)", which is the best recording of the song Redman ever did. It is some of the best storytelling I have ever heard. All the tracks are really excellent though and they all shine in their own special ways.

To conclude my review, I would like to say this is one of the most special and original albums of all time. I really loved it because it is good to just have an hour or so to just relax and blow your mind to an album like this. I found it original and thought-provoking. It filled me with many ideas and theories about life. It doesn't make you feel like you have to fit in and doesn't make you feel bad about yourself. It tells stories of all sorts of things ranging from boastfests to women to ghetto stories. I would recommend this to any true hip-hop fan, especially if they like the East Coast, Redman, or anyone else in that category.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Red's most under-appreciated album (4.5 Stars), July 12, 2005

By 

A Customer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dare Iz a Darkside (Audio CD)

Maybe it was the dark, murky sound-scape that turned some listeners off. Maybe Redman's off-the-wall humour was too over-the-top for some. After Red's 1992 classic debut "Whut? Thee Album," people must have expected more of that light, bouncy funk that made his debut def. Instead of sticking to a formula to try and avoid a sophomore curse, Red threw us all a big loop with Darkside, but the album is still bananas.

In fact -- by the time track 1 is over, you know this isn't Whut? Thee Album. Red brings back the Dr. Trevis character, and Trevis says to Red "Okay Redman, I want you to completely forget what you did on the first album." Forget he does. "Bobyahed2dis" doesn't hold a candle to "Time 4 Sum Aksion" as far as openers go, but let's stop comparing this album to Whut? for a sec. Red's voice seems to have changed just a bit from the last time we heard from him -- it's a bit higher, but no matter, he still spits fire. Out are the up-tempo James Brown loops -- in are short samples laid down over deep-ass basslines courtesy of Erick Sermon and the Funk Doc himself.

Also, Red's never been a more amusing emcee. There are at least 30 points within the album where Red's lines are "rewind-worthy." "Noorotic" is a gold-mine -- just check Red's second verse, and "Can't Wait" includes some of the most memorable closing lines ever (Switchin' speeds like Bruce Lee ridin' up Fuji in a movie). Red's goofy ability to switch roles ain't too shabby either; "Green Island" has Red rapping as himself, his alter-ego, and Uncle Quilly, your typical cranky old man. If you're not a fan of Redman's goofy-as-hell humour, it might turn you off, but if you're like me and you can't get enough of it, you'll be very happy to know that this album is basically 98% REDMAN. No one steals the spotlight off Red, except when fellow Def Squadians Erick Sermon and Keith Murray grab the mic on "Cosmic Slop." Not even the perpetually-annoying Hurricane G on "We Run N.Y." can grab any attention from the Funk Docta.

Only minor annoyances stop this album from getting 5 stars; one of them being that many of the beats sound somewhat alike (they do, however, all sound good), and the other annoyance simply being Hurricane G (WHY IS SHE ON HERE?!?!). This is definately a must-own album, especially for any self-respecting Reggie Noble fan. Highly recommended.

Best moments: Noorotic, Green Island (personal favourite), Can't Wait, Winicumuhround, Sooperman Luva 2 & Tonight's da Night [Remix].

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Switchin speeds like Bruce Lee ridin a Fuji in a movie", September 15, 2006

By 

AJ "anth707" (Bay Area) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dare Iz a Darkside (Audio CD)

I still don't get what he said, but this was one of the memorable lines from this classic album. Like an earlier reviewer said, 94 was a great time for hip hop, most likely we will never see a year like that again. Too bad. 94 was a year where almost any album put out was guaranteed to play all the way through. I remember actually pulling off the Parental Advisory sticker from the cover so my parents wouldn't think that there was cussing in this CD. (Which there is plenty of) This was the year after Wu-Tang Clan emerged with their classic CD "Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers." Many classic albums came out of the East Coast that year: Method Man blessed us with Tical, Gang Starr dropped Hard To Earn, Slick Rick dropped the Rulers Back, Public Enemy with Fear of A Black Planet, Keith Murray with The Most Beautifullest Thing in this world, on and on, too many to name. Bottom line is this was back when hip hop was hip hop, before the game was saturated with people of no talent whatsoever. 92-96 was the years that if you had a song like "Laffy Taffy" or "It's Goin Down" you were clowned and dismissed quickly. Artists did it for the love of the music, not just to make a quick buck. This was before corporations got a hold of hip hop and destroyed it.

Redman is truly an artist who will never get the real shine he deserves until he dies. He can be credited for putting New Jersey on the map and repping his area to the fullest, like NWA did Compton, Big did Brooklyn, etc, etc, etc. This album is an excellent follow up to his debut, What? Thee Album?, which is also a classic.

Bass soaked beats are the perfect compliment to Reggie Nobles dark, macabre rhymes. The skits are a bit pointless, but no album (back then or today) has good skits anyways. This was before Red hooked up with his blunt brother, Method Man, and still had his afro. Red was hungry and even today, can rip apart half of these so called "artists" that are out right now. This album is recommended for people who need an education in what music used to sound like before it was corrupted. This is one of those albums that I bought on tape as well as CD, remember the red tape? This album is one reason why I enjoyed listening to hip hop back in the days: because of the originality displayed by the artist, and the production was off the hook. This is definitely Erick Sermon's masterpiece. Red's lyrics are devestating on this one, as he tears through each song with so much ease its not even funny. The lyrical maturity really shows from this album from the first one, and Red definitely beats the "sophomore slump."

All of the songs are good, but the top 5 are:

1) Cosmic Slop: Keith Murray rips it apart

2) Rockafella (remember in the video he was in that weird carnival)

3) Green Island (classic line "Verbally you never heard of me")

4) Can't Wait (with the other classic line, Switchin speeds like Bruce Lee ridin a Fuji in a movie)

5) Sooperman Lova II (Do Superman got a gun? NO! BUT THE SOOPERMAN LOVA DO!)

Bottom line: If you remember when hip hop sounded good and you could actually play an album all the way through, listen to this or buy it for someone who claims they know what hip hop is. This is Redman at his peak, if you listen to his newer albums (which are good as well) you probably won't get the lyrics or even like this one. 94 was an amazing year for hip hop, and this album proves it. Highly recommended.