coz by far I'm the best producer on the mike
In hip hop there tends to be a sharp dichotomy between the shy, brooding, producer, ie the aptly named DJ Shadow, or the reclusive Underdog, and the brash, loud MC, but there are exceptions. Hip hop's equivalent of the cricket all rounder does exist, and here are a few of them.
Q-tip[Tribe called Quest]
A man primarily known for "stab[bing]up the track like my name was O.J. Simpson" (as his partner Phife said), Q-tip has also turned his hand to the studio control panels, impressing particularly on "One Love" by Nas, from his first, and best, album, Illmatic. Also known for being a complete whore as a guest MC, turning up on, for instance, the Beastie's fourth long player and the ace, but hardly hardcore, "Groove is in the Heart" by Dee-lite.
El-Producto [Company Flow]
Rather than being an MC turned producer, or producer turned MC, El-P has performed in both fields from the start, on such bombs as "8 Steps to Perfection" and the stuttering breakbeat, sitar-sampling monster "The Fire in Which You Burn", released with the Juggaknauts and J Treds as the Indelible MC's.
On the "Funcrusher Plus" double LP he shared the mike with Big Juss, another lyrically gifted hyper rapper, and took the lion share of the production credits. He was also mainly responsible for the Co-Flo instrumentals album, "Little Johnny From the Hospital", possibly my favourite LP of the mo, with Mr Len producing some tracks and providing sharp cutting.
What I find particularly interesting about El-P is that he is in fact a fat white guy with a ginger goatee, not a category many dope MC's or producers fall into.
RZA [Wu-tang, Gravediggaz]
The mastermind and sonic sculptor behind many Wu classics has also been in front of them from the start, putting down a tight verse on "Protect Ya Neck", which politely pointed out that if you turned the other cheek he'd break your fucking neck.
Of course he also showed form in both departments as a Gravedigga, creating "horror core", perhaps the blueprint for the Wu. He highlighted this ambidextrousness on last year's solo LP, released as "Bobby Digital"
Tricky [Solo and with Massive Attack]
Not exactly a conventional rapper or producer, this does not detract from the fact that he has excelled in both areas. As a producer his experimentalism and purposeful perversity has resulted in albums equal parts unlistenable and awesome, though I refute the idea that his later albums are in any way worse. Take the time to check out "Nearly God", "Pre Millenium Tension" and "Angels with Dirty Faces" and you will find some gems amongst the dung. Probably best to buy on CD, so as to programme out the more inedible tracks, and it's not as though you're gunna drop some Tricky in a DJ set, is it? Then again, his forthcoming collaboration with DJ Muggs may produce some more conventional, and dancable, tracks. As an MC he is twisted' in both senses, disturbed and imaginative, taking his lyrics way beyond the skills/guns/dope trinity favoured by most.
Chuck D [Public Enemy]
A groundbreaking MC, taking rap into polemic territory few have dared to tread since, and a groundbreaking producer, with harsh sonic soundscapes consisting of sirens, white noise, heavy metal and backwards samples of articulated lorries, this man deserves respect. Quite how much of the production was in fact the work of the Bomb Squad is difficult to know, but all the same, he played his part. Some regard him as a spent force, now only good for controversial statements and pissing around on the web, and they're probably right.
Others I should write about, but am too ignorant of them to do so:
Jungle Bros
EPMD
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Tobias