Customer Reviews

Here Come the Lords

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Everything that comes out now is WACK. No more Tribe, no more Lords...this album would blow ANYTHING on the radio now out of the water. The lyrics are tight, the beats are BANGIN. This is 100% Grade-A HEAD BOBBIN MUSIC people, if you are a recovering ...-hop listener and would like to begin to educate yourself in the school of TRUE, TIME-TESTED hiphop, buy this cd. You will NOT be sorry.

In the past year or so I've been on an early 90s kick and somewhere in my searches I came across Lords of the Underground. I put on some sound clips. What hit me immediately was that it sounded so...pure. It was taking it's hyper pounding funk sound as far as it could go, pulling no punches. I put the album in my cart and got exactly what I paid for.

Lords of the Underground are a group from Jersey consisting of Mr. Funke, DoItAll, and DJ Lord Jazz, with production from Marley Marl and K-Def. This came out in '93, but the vibe is very old-school. DoItAll and Mr. Funke come from a school of rhyme that predates other '93 releases, when MCs weren't so lyrical and didn't take themselves very seriously. The rapping has a humorous tone throughout, but the Lords don't focus on content. What's important is their charged delivery, loud and fast, with yelled chants instead of hooks. It's enough to get any crowd hype.

But the truth is, Marley Marl and K-Def added at least as much as the Lords to this disc. They provide banger after banger, steady coming with the heavy-hitting bass and blaring horns. I've never heard so much crazy energy fused into tracks as on this album. They have an old-school sound but with a kind of chaotic quality, as opposed to the overly-simplistic beats from the 80s. Song after song will get your head banging right from and start and keep it going till the fade-out.

There's no wack tracks on here, but some are better than others. The more conceptual songs, which are missed from a lot of other rappers' albums, are actually the weakest ones on here because they're not what the Lords do best. The beats bang a little less and lyrics come to the forefront, but Funke and DoItAll aren't really accomplished lyricists so these slow down the album. "Lords Prayer" and "Sleep For Dinner" serve to show off the Lords' sense of humor, but "Grave Digga" and "Psycho" are less impressive.

But for the most part, this album is very solid and could be considered classic. That is, if you like to nod your head. The truth is, Lords of the Underground sometimes feel like a one-trick pony, but the trick is so damn good you won't even care. Plus the old-school vibe gives it a feel of 100% pure hip-hop, removed from the politics, watering down of sounds, beefing, etc. that were starting the plague the growing rap industry at the time. Definitely a worthy part of any Golden Age hip-hop collection.

This record is full of energy and passion. The flows of Doitall and Mr. Funky are fluid and tight, inspired by some ragamuffin influences (a little bit like Das Efx, but with much less gimmicks). The production by Marley Marl is a real treat. The horns and the beats are sequenced in a very rhythmic and inspired way. It sounds as funky and blasting now as it did in 1993. Some of the tracks here like Funky Child, Madd Skillz, Chief Rocka or Sleep for dinner are instant head nodders and you probably have already heard them somewhere before. The whole album however deserves listening and quality control is maintained on most of the tracks. You can feel the love and passion these guys have for Hip Hop throughout the record and it is in my view an essential purchase.

"Funky, funky sh*t." In three words or less, that's the only way to do this debut LP justice.
From the grimiest (One can only envision w/ hearing this CD) part of Newark, NJ emerges the Lords of the Underground. Influenced by fellow NJ rapper Redman (It seems all NJ rappers give mad props to Red) and backed by legendary funky producer Marley-Marl, the LOTUG create a GEM of an album.
Although their style is in the likeness of a more clear and coherent Das-EFX, the LOTUG come off with high-energy originality. This is not a mellow album, it's a fast-paced ride through Newark's dirty underworld (at least that's how I see it).
The best track (because it's so hilarious and original) is the "Sleep for Dinner (Remix)," with it's woeful tales of hunger in the ghetto...they somehow make it seem humerous. Also look for "Chief Rocka," "L.O.T.U.G," & "What's Goin' On?" These four tracks alone have beats that blow my mind.
You should know that every track is sick. This is one of those albums that can be listened to straight through again & again (the likes of which we really haven't seen any of in the past few years).
Bottom Line: Amazing funky beats & on-point original lyrics make this a masterpiece of an album. I recommend this to any fan of REDMAN, ARTIFACTS, DAS-EFX, MARLEY-MARL or any fan of funky hip-hop. 5 stars. Peace.

It is a very refreshing album. It stays away from the rough styles of West coast gangsta rap, and it avoids the typical east coast playa mentality. Instead, it has a cute, funny approach.

This is an absolute classic like the other stuff from "A Tribe, Mob Deep, etc.". Back in 1993 when HipHop/RAP was there but not such a multi-million dollar business like today with the cents and the eminems this CD got me hooked on the whole HipHop thing. It was only possible to find such "underground" groups in special and rare shops back then, can you imagine?! ;-). I would say they are underground still and only known to the "old" Headz out there. Well, most of the tracks are really good even the first time you listen in on the CD. Although my all time favorite- however old I will be- is "What I am after" which is actually on their 2nd CD- absoulte funky, a BURNER. Unfortunately they only published a Vinyl years later which wasn't all that good. I don't know if we are going to see a Lords album ever again.

Unlike today I can not find one track on this album which is not good or sucks even after repeated listening- of course this is subjective. Like albums from A Tribe, Common, Pete Rock, Mos Def the Lords should be in anyones HipHop collection.

It should be known that the incredible MARLEY MARL did produce this album. But, the man who was responsible for the beats was K-DEF! He did Funky Child, Chief Rocka, Here Comes the Lords, Lord Jazz Hit Me One Time, and From Da Bricks. ALL of the Standouts on the album. He went on to become a member of the group REAL LIVE, which also consisted of rapper LARRY-O. They were apart of MARLEY MARL's House of Hits production team. They released one album "The Turnaround: A Long Awaited Drama." For all Hip-Hip heads, this is an album that needs to be in collection. He also produced several songs on the LORDS 2nd album. One standout is "What I'm After." It is safe to say, that K-DEF is responsible for most if not all of the LORDS best known songs. If this album is considered a classic, then it should be said that K-DEF and MARLEY MARL deserves credit. PEACE. MADSCI...I write because I suffer, Inc. PASSAIC NJ

In 1993, Newark's own Lords of the Underground dropped their slept-on classic debut, "Here Come the Lords." This album is one of my favorites from a great year of hip hop, and it's terribly underrated. Recently I've been reviewing some of my favorite slept-on albums and this one immediately came to mind. This album has so much going for it. Besides the obvious talent and ability of the MCs Doitall, Mr. Funke, and DJ Lord Jazz, this album was produced in its entirety by the legendary Marley Marl and his gifted young protege K-Def. The beats on this album are absolutely insane. Every song has a soaring horn line and full instrumentation, usually heavy saxes or trumpets. The beats are always hard and the bass is thumping, giving it a rugged yet polished underground type of feel. It's not the grimy type of east coast underground rap that would later emerge, if I were to compare it to someone I would compare it to Das EFX with better production. Lyrically the rappers are crazy, as one reviewer noted they have similar voices and flows to Dre and Skoob of Das EFX but lyrically they are quite different. They display an often wild style, representing their hometown to the fullest but often tackling very interesting issues like the state of hip hop and growing up poor. This album has huge entertainment album, and its consistency is amazing, no track is really much worse than the previous one musically or lyrically. "Here Come the Lords" is an awesome, underrated album that I highly recommend to 90s hip hop fans.

The album starts with the title track, which has a pretty subdued beat for this album and a yelled chorus, it's a nice introduction. "From da Bricks" is hard and bass-heavy, and Doitall and Funke speak strictly of their hometown of Newark. "Funky Child" might be the standout, an absolute standout with an awesome trumpet line. I love the beginning ("the year is 1971...") and the whole track is just crazy. "Keep It Underground" gives props to "real" MCs and disses fake ones, it has a great sax line in the hook. A cool organ beat and angry lyrics are to be found on "Check It (Remix)," and "Grave Digga" boasts a wild synth. "Lords Prayer" has a cool intro that gives to another nice track, and "Flow On" is a product of great sampling and verses. "Mad Skillz" and "Psycho" are two especially funky tracks, full of boasts and bragadagio. "Chief Rocka" has my favorite beat, with a tuba on it and another nice hook. "Sleep for Dinner" is lyrically the best song, recalling a childhood of poverty where they often went to bed without being fed ("Everyone today prob'ly knows me as Mr. Funke / but back in the day you could've called me Mr. Hungry"). "L.O.T.U.G." is another jazzy cut, and DJ Lord Jazz rips his number "Lord Jazz Hit Me One Time." The closer, "What's Goin' On," is another expertly produced track slamming the "pop" rapper.

"Here Come the Lords" is the rare album where truly great rapping meets impeccable production. A totally slept-on classic. I highly recommend it to fans of Das EFX, Black Moon, and DITC, and other similarly minded east coast rappers from the 90s. This album has never received its due attention, but it's just entertaining and totally enjoyable the whole way through.

when i first heard it in 93.
i didnt like it at first.
after listening to it alot.i started playing it alot.
shame todays rap dosnt sound nothing like this.

I enjoy the whole album but my favorite track is chief rocka it's just too funky to handle