Innercity Griots [Explicit Lyrics]

Freestyle Fellowship | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 27, 1993)
• Original Release Date: April 28, 1993
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Explicit Lyrics
• Label: Fontana Island
• ASIN: B000005HT5
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #40,151 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Blood/Bullies On The Block

2. Everything's Everything

3. Shammy's/Heat Mizer

4. Six Tray

5. Danger

6. Inner City Boundaries/Bomb Zombies

7. Cornbread

8. Way Cool

9. Hot Potato

10. Mary

11. Park Bench People

12. Heavyweights/Tolerate

13. Respect Due

14. Pure Thought

Editorial Reviews

No Description Available
No Track Information Available
Media Type: CD
Artist: FREESTYLE FELLOWSHIP
Title: INNERCITY GRIOTS
Street Release Date: 04/28/1993
Domestic
Genre: RAP/HIP HOP

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars review, July 16, 2001

By 

Karlis Neihofere (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Innercity Griots (Audio CD)

all the hype you'll read here, about how great 'innercity griots' is, and the surprisingly tight live instrumentation (still a rarity in hip hop when 'griots' was released...sorry, stetsasonic), are all well deserved. trust me.

you need two hands to count all the MCs on this album. even daddy-o of stet makes an appearance. you can be forgiven if it takes a while to distinguish who's who. you probably won't care who's saying what. you'll just know it's unparalleled by any artist eating off the billboard 100 then or today!

i scarcely remember a video from 'griots', bullies of the block i think. it played bet for about one day and the mainstream never heard from them again. at least not in the east.

f.f. displays lyrical range that is staggering. from 'bullies on the block' (battle rap) to the spoken word self-help motivational for black men 'tolerate', the group shows emotion almost unheard of in the harder-than-you b-boy mindstate so popular through the 90s and up until aught-1.

there is the obligatory ode to smoking urb, 'mary', which has become such a staple of rap albums that it is now passe'. but f.f's free-floating, dreamy sonics do the topic as much good as dre's 'chronic' of the same time. another link to dre and cali is in 'six-tray', about...yeap, a fine antique car to cruise in. and my favorite on the album (although there is very little filler, play it straight through) is 'heavyweights', where acey, mikah 9, P.E.A.C.E., and selfjupiter take turns destroying the listeners with style after original style. mikah 9 especially will wreck anyone who tries to recite along with him.

this album is incredible! dig this gem up if you really love hip hop's foundation: this has inventive beats out the yang, and educated lyrics so clever you'll have to dissect them over many listenings.

i've had mixed results giving copies of this CD as gifts to self-proclaimed 'hip hop fans'. but, to paraphrase angelo of fishbone, do you really love hip hop? lots of people say they do. but...do you REALLY love it? 'innercity griots' separates the true love from the pretenders.

WARNING: those of you infatuated with rappers who repeatedly channel mafia/mob motifs, or the tupac/thug life legacy, will NOT like this.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dope, August 10, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Innercity Griots (Audio CD)

Freestyle Fellowship distributes the true essence of emcees, and adds what is lost most in hip hop today..KNOWLEDGE

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Let it grow on you, and you'll be glad you did, December 20, 2007

By 

ctrx ('bout to show you how the EAST COAST rocks...) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Innercity Griots (Audio CD)

I admit it took a long time for me to really get into "Innercity Griots," but after a few months of sporadic listening, I was glad I took the time. It didn't impress me at all upon my first few listens, but it grew on me once I began to appreciate the Freestyle Fellowship. In 1993, the LA crew of Mikah 9, P.E.A.C.E., Aceyalone, Self Jupiter, DJ Kiilu and producer J-Sumbi bring a whole lot to the table, and most of it is beyond the surface. Many of Freestyle Fellowship's rhymes are, indeed, freestyles. It's hard to characterize them; they're artistic, conscious, humorous, clever, and immensely talented. Each rapper is distinctive and incredible in his own right, and putting them all together is pretty amazing. Aceyalone stands out as the lyrical wizard, and Self Jupiter stands out as a funny performer. Mikah 9 is notably multitalented, and P.E.A.C.E. is the most laidback and abstract. Freestyle Fellowship emphasizes the performance aspect of hip hop, and I'm not sure that the studio album even does them full justice (I'd LOVE to see them live). Each song has a very loose, live, and free-flowing vibe, and at times the songs' structures will bring to mind improvisational jazz. These rappers also use incredibly quick deliveries and sometimes use exclamations and noises that will remind you of Fu-Schnickens. Their chemistry is awesome, and most of their hooks consist of all four guys just yelling together. The production is for the most part minimalist, bringing the live performance vibe to the forefront, and I think that's a wise move. Freestyle Fellowship profiles a place and time where hip hop was fun.

You can't listen to this like you would a regular album. The songs don't really relate to each other, and sometimes it sounds like more of a compilation, with some solo songs and posse cuts thrown in; sometimes it feels like a long rap battle party. But if you appreciate lyricism, then you can't overlook the rap performances on here, because many are nothing short of incredible. They twist and bend syllables for rhyme structures like you've never heard before. There are some songs that you can skip over, and the sound quality at some points is a little suspect, but the highlights make this an album more than worth the purchase.

The album opens with "Blood/Bullies of the Block," which starts with a cool a capella intro and gives way to an old-fashioned boom bap, braggadocio freestyle track with upbeat production. They assure the listener that "Everything's gonna be alright" on "Everything's Everything," which has impressive verses delivered at lightning speed between party and instrumental breaks. "Shammy's/Heat Mizer" is a song all about hoodrat females, with a silly outro. The beat is very simple and emphasizes a spontaneous, loose feel. P.E.A.C.E.'s solo track "Six Tray" is more laidback and funky, and "Danger" puts their tag-team approach to the forefront. The first real highlight comes in the wonderful "Inner City Boundaries/Bomb Zombies," a track that has a really catchy beat and perfect hook delivered by Self Jupiter. This song is conscious and even a bit Afrocentric, standing out from the other songs by not only boasting amazing performances but a worthwhile message as well. "Cornbread" is Aceyalone's remarkable hook-free gem, with a beatbox-style backing, and "Play It Cool" brings to mind a Nervous Breakdown-era Fu-Schnickens track. "Hot Potato" doesn't stand out but is actually decent, and the ragga-influenced weed ode "Mary" is okay. The most outstanding track on "Innercity Griots" is the breathtaking "Park Bench People," where Mikah 9 sings a breezy, classy, soulful and jazzy R&B song about views from a park. The production is absolutely gorgeous and the entire song is perfect, it's amazing how multitalented this guy is, especially because this song was inspired by his homeless experience. "Heavyweights/Tolerate" is a huge posse-cut freestyle tag-team, with a good outro, and the album closes with "Respect Due," a celebration of hip hop, and "Pure Thought."

In 1993, the best year of hip hop in my opinion, good albums such as "Innercity Griots" were overshadowed by Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), Doggystyle, Midnight Marauders, Return of the Boom Bap, and the other monumental rap classics released that year. But looking back, "Innercity Griots" is a pretty darn impressive recording, even despite its few flaws. For those who enjoy this album, I recommend the solo albums from each member, where you get to appreciate each MC in his own right. Only Aceyalone's are even mildly well-known, but stay on the lookout. In the meantime, if you haven't already, I recommend checking out "Innercity Griots," and make sure you give yourself some time to let it grow on you.