Customer Reviews

Very Best of Brand Nubian

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Back in '89, when I first heard Brand Nubians droppin' science, I knew these guys were gonna' be a force to be reckoned with in the Hip-Hop world. First off, the Brand Nu's are ill MC's! Each one, with their unique, yet compatible styles. Both of their '89 classic singles are included in this compilation and those are; "Brand Nubians" the classic, obscure single breaking down the whole science behind their names and opening your third eye to the whole esoterics and doctrines of the 5% Nation of Islam. And the funky, feel good "FEELS SO GOOD" a bouncy, party track. The rest are classics, as to expect anything less from the Brand Nu's. All the hits are here from their first release (back when it was the original 3). And the classics that they dropped when Grand Puba went on his solo mission. Also, some of Grand Puba's solo material is present, as well. Brand Nubians been putting it down from the conscious era to the Boom-Bap era. True Hip-Hop vets and this is their best of. Classic East Coast sh*t!!

Tribe Called Quest?...nope! E.P.M.D.... no! Sonny & Cher.... hell no!...Brand Nubian was the group that broke my heart when they broke up to go solo. One just didn't work for me without the other. Grand Pupa put out a few nice tracks but never a solid CD and the same for the other half of Brand Nubian. This CD takes all of their great gems and pack them into one phat, blazing CD. This crew brought "knowledge of self" to the hip-hop game along with Grand Puba's claim of putting "Tommy Hilfiger" in the hip-hop main stream.....anyway....This CD also includes some of the hard to find remixes that were not included on the original releases. My gems are: "Drop The Bomb", "Wake Up (Reprise In The Sunshine)", "Slow Down (Pete Rock's Newromix)", "360 Degrees (What Goes Around)", "Don't Let It Go To Your Head", "Punks Jump Up To Get Beat Down (Remix featuring Diamond D)", "Love Me Or Leave Me Alone" and a few others. Not all my favorites are here but still a gem to have. This CD is a must for any fan of Brand Nubian.

oNe

Tribe's one of my all-time favorites because I love the wordplay and the sheer musicality of it (as opposed to harsh MCs over hook-free tracks or super-sellout bling-blingers rappin' over a Neptunes track).

This album just absolutely kicks. The lyrics are there, the beats are there, the hooks are there... what more could you ask for? I'd put it up there with the aforementioned Tribe and other classic acts like De la Soul.

Brand Nubian were one of the essential NY hip hop groups of the early 90s. Make no mistake - they were opportunists. When it suited them to have a conscience on the first album, they rapped "I wanted to be violent but I'm a lover of black mothers/and black mothers need sons/not children that've been killed by guns." Of course, by the time the next album came out it was all about the gangsta. Hence: "Pass Me The Gat/I gotta fight back/I ain't rollin' over on my MF-in' back". (yawn).

In any case, make no mistake, all that aside, this group WAS great. Puba, Sadat X, and Lord Jamar each had very distinctive styles and were great rappers (Puba the best, obviously) and the beats were usually great.

It's easy to nitpick over song selection though: You only needed the LP version of "Slow Down" and could have left off the horrible "Feels So Good" and mediocore "Allah Akbar". If you like this album and want to check out more, check out "Concerto In X Minor", "The Godz Must Be Crazy" and "Pass The Gat" from the Brand Nubes and "Ya Know How It Goes", "Who Makes The Loot?", "I Like It", and "Soul Controller" from Puba's albums.

This is a must have album for any hip hop fan. As a little girl who was coming of age in the late 80s, early 90s, Brand Nubian's infectious lyrics was the soundtrack of my upbringing. Their songs are classics. Each of the members of Brand Nubian had their own style, yet they made you think. I am now 28 years old, and their songs still resonate with me to this day.

I listen to this album when I work out and I love it, a lot of classics on it.

It's got All For One, Slow Down and Beatdown which brought back memories of high school parties.

FINALLY US OLD HEADS GET A CHANCE TO REMEMBER WHAT REAL HIP-HOP IS LIKE. IN THE ERA OF THE BLING, MUCH OF THE ART OF STRAIGHT RHYMING HAS BEEN LOST, BUT YET-THERE ARE THOSE FEW- LIKE AN OASIS ON THE HORIZON-WHO CAN TAKE US BACK TO WHAT RAP WAS INTENED TO BE. FROM THE SMOKY-VOICED LEADERSHIP OF GRAND PUBA TO THE LAID BACK SADAT AND LORD JAMAR COMES THE ESSENCE OF THE GAME. WHEN WE WERE HUNGRY TO FIND OUR RIGHTFUL PLACE IN HISTORY AND THE BOOKS WOULDN'T TAKE US, THEY GAVE US A TASTE OF WHAT IT FELT LIKE TO THINK OF OURSELVES AS GODS AND GODESSES...SO MUCH OF WHAT WE COULD USE A DOSE OF TODAY...DON'T LET IT GO TO YOUR HEAD....