Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Unappreciated Classic, November 28, 2005
Step In The Arena was a classic, but it was also one of those albums in which I thought they could still be better. Gang Starr did just that with one of the dopest Hip Hop albums ever and their best album. Gang Starr is a well renown and influential group, but for some reason, I feel this album is still more unappreciated than it should be.
One of the reasons this album is a classic is because it has a variety of subjects. On The Place Where We Dwell, Guru gives an ode to Brooklyn and lets you know why it could be good to visit. Ex Girl To Next Girl is about Guru's relationships with women, but unfortunately, it doesn't work out with none of em. Soliliquy Of Chaos is a very unique song and could be Guru's most thoughtful song ever. He tells us a story about imminently doing a concert, but he sees someone get shot during a fight. After he drops that line, he shows us why it makes him angry because it's so stupid. Personally, I think everyone should hear this track.
Take It Personal is a dark-feeling track with Guru talking about someone who backstabbed him, a wack rapper, and a friend who thinks Guru forgot him because of success. He drops 3 verses for each and strictly talks about that person alone. No Shame In My Game is one of the best tracks one album. Guru talks about people who criticize him for being himself and problems in his environment.
"But what the hell's success if the mess ain't changing/ 5-0's still corrupt stupid gangs still bangin'/ Stick up kids still stickin' nasty hookers still trickin'/ all the pimps still pimpin' and all the crackheads trippin'/ While the dealers still sellin' so I'll refrain from the yellin'/ And the preachin' cuz who the fu[k would I reach man." The second verse is arguably his most heartfelt verse ever.
Conspiracy is another deep track about how the government wants to destroy blacks.
"You've got to understand that this has all been conspired/ to put a strain on our brains so that the strong grow tired/ It even exists when you go to your church/ cuz up on the wall a white Jesus lurks."
Stay Tuned also has some of the most conscious lyrics I've heard and ends the album perfectly.
"Many fall into the vicious cycle/ living by the gun or by the rifle/ They think they got a reason that ain't really sure/ the death toll rises more."
The album also has the lyrics in the insert which makes up for any flaw you can detect. About every song is about something different. But, you also have the beats. DJ Premier did a excellent job on Step In The Arena, here he did an OUTSTANDING job. Take It Personal, Take Two And Pass, and the first verse's beat on I'm The Man (the track has three beats for each verse) are strictly imperial beats. Even the skits are dope instrumentals (24-7-365 might break ya speakers). Another thing about DJ Premier is the way he makes use of samples. The way he makes use of samples almost excels the beats he makes. Every sample he uses fits every track perfectly. On Take Two And Pass, he uses a sample that says, "I think, write a rhyme, when I'm done get blunted". The album doesn't exactly have filler, but about 3 songs that are decent. The best track on this album is difficult to find, but I think The Illest Brother deserves that title. The track is about respect, and things that happen in the ghetto. The beat might take awhile to get into, but Guru's lyrics make it all worthwhile. I'm The Man also has the debut of Lil Dap (from Group Home) and Jeru The Damaja (who does a classic verse) which are the only guest on the entire album. Those who loved Step In The Arena shouldn't worry because Gang Starr elevated their sound lyrically and production wise. Guru proved to be one of the best and most thoughtful lyricists and Premier proved to be one of the best producers/DJs with this masterpiece. A good place to get this album or all of Gang Starr's albums (except No More Mr. Nice Guy) is yourmusic.com for $5.99 + tax.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Skillz, October 15, 2003
By A Customer
I just bought this album this year, 2003, and I like it. I'm 17 years old, and alot of kids I know like Lil' Jon and think 50 Cent is the premiere MC. I happen to know extremely differently. I'm not usually into jazz-rap myself, but Tribe and Gang Starr's music is to phenomenal to just pass up. Guru has never been a slouch on the mic to me, and can still kill most of these so called "MC's" out there now. He has skill, passion, focus, and doesn't try to be the realest, but is because he was trying to help the black community on this album, not be the hardest. His rhymes perfectly match Premo's beats on here, some of the smoothest production I've ever heard. This album makes me want to kick a window in sometimes, because I'm so afraid hip-hop will never be quite the same, and though the underground still release some good albums, we never get to hear from alot of the best artists. Anyway, I'm getting off subject. Classic, legendary, masterpiece. They all describe this album. Shout out songs go to Ex Girl To Next Girl, I'm The Man, and No Shame In My Game.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gang Starr's statement of superiority, April 7, 2007
While it wasn't their groundbreaking album (that'd be Step in the Arena) nor their best (in my opinion Moment of Truth), "Daily Operation" is perhaps the most important album of the Gang Starr discography, the one that put them on top of the early-90s east coast hip hop world and established Guru and Premier as hip hop legends. Widely imitated but never duplicated, this album helped define the jazzy hip hop sound that became synonymous with New York hip hop for years to come. Musically "Daily Operation" ranks with Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth's Mecca and the Soul Brother and A Tribe Called Quest's Midnight Marauders as the greatest albums of an era. DJ Premier's productions are incredible, using a wide range of instrumentation including horns, keyboards, and some clever sampling to make a sound that is rich and tasteful, while maintaining a street feel with the grimy hooks and tough drumbeats. Some of these tracks are just masterpieces in themselves, and the prominence of sampled "Daily Operation" beats over the years is a testament to this. Guru holds his own on the mic as always. While not yet the wise teacher he would become on Moment of Truth, Guru drops knowledge and wisdom more than he ever had to this point, but also maintains a foot in the street with his classic bragadagio and battle raps. Religion starts to play a part in some of his rhymes, and he is supported by some guests from the young Gang Starr foundation including Group Home and Jeru the Damaja. This is a rare album where you can just pop it in and play it without ever wanting to skip a track. Overall, "Daily Operation" is fantastic, one of the very greatest albums of hip hop's golden age.
After an instrumental intro, albeit one that shows every bit of Premo's genius, the album begins with the short and gritty "The Place Where We Dwell," where Guru praises his hometown of Brooklyn over a tough, simple beat. "Flip the Script" has a great beat and hook and some nice rhymes, just a solid song. Perhaps the group's best known song appears here, "Ex Girl to Next Girl." This song has gorgeous horns in it, and Guru tells likable tales of female troubles, and this song shows everything lovable about the early-90s rap style. Over truly luscious strings, Guru addresses one of his prevalent pet-peeves, violence at rap concerts, on "Soliloquy of Chaos." Lil Dap and Jeru the Damaja are introduced on "I'm the Man," a great track full of very clever battle raps and punchlines. "Take It Personal" is classic Gang Starr material, preceded and succeeded by two excellent instrumental interludes. "2 Deep" is tough lyrically and rich musically, with horns and plentifully creative sampling. My favorite song may be "No Shame in My Game," mostly just because the beat is perfect. This beat is pure joy on a track. "Conspiracy" shows Guru's increasing social consciousness, addressing media injustice and the SAT's unfairness, and the beat features a very nice keyboard line and horn notes. "The Illest Brother" and "Hardcore Composer" are further classic material, and "B.Y.S." is similarly nice. "Much Too Much" makes a great trombone sample into a loop, and Guru does it justice. The laidback weed ode "Take Two and Pass" rounds out the album along with the closer, "Stay Tuned."
All praise that "Daily Operation" has ever received is warranted, but I feel it's still underrated. This album is a classic in every sense of the word. I hate to sound like this, but they really don't make rap albums like this anymore. This is an album I could spend my whole life listening to, in every way it's engineered to perfection. A must buy for any hip hop fan.
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