Good People,
It's your old pals Aesop Rock and Blockhead, here to blog the shit out of you.

Ah... can you smell that? Know what that is? That my friends is the "posse cut". Perhaps simultaneously the best and worst idea ever, and not only in hip-hop, in anything. Obviously there have been some genre-defining hip-hop classics spawned from the gathering and subsequent wiling of a bunch of rappers trying to outshine each other. On a great day you get your Symphony's and Scenario's and Headbanger's and such - songs that smacked up worldwide rap fans from day one and still somehow continue to age better than the earthiest Gruyere in Morimoto's iron pantry (or refrigerator or whatever). On a bad day you may just get the absolute worst shit ever, and we're not talking about sliding into home whilst feeling something foam.

Simply put:  more people on song = more variables = higher chance I gotta cross my fingers in the hopes that your weed boy's atrocious 16 is last so I can get my Edward Scissorhands on.  Clip clip, douche-bag.  A posse cut should really be one of three things :

1. A place for an already existing and recognizable posse to organize, show and prove.  

2. A place where an established rapper can use his leverage to offer his homies a platform to show and prove.

3. A place where several recognizable artists of varying affiliations can voltron an inter-posse masterpiece together. And show. And prove, too.

The risk factor is always high, so the payoff can be pretty big either way. It's like watching Most Xtreme Challenge -  sometimes failing can be just as entertaining as succeeding.  That said, failing is more likely just failing.

So why all this posse cut jibbidda-jabbidda? We're here to bring you some super dope, somewhat obscure, occasionally terrible, and hopefully entertaining posse cuts from hip-hop's days of yore in our new co-written blog. We'll be trying to avoid the more obvious choices while taking a closer look at some things you may have missed along the way. Our general guideline is pre-2000 songs with 3 or more acts (solo or group) together on one song. Hopefully we can manage to update this regularly cuz we have been stockpiling a ton of gems. In the future we'll leave out this really annoying introduction and get right to the horn-looping and shit-shooting. Let's get this shite crackin'...

INSANE POETRY - Stalkin' With the Night Breed (featuring Tee Thee O.G., Evil 1, D.A.L., Shakespeare the One Man Riot, Joe Cooley, Mad Dog)- Nasty Mix Records, 1992 

A - When we figured out the logistics of what this blog was gonna be about, the one thing we agreed on immediately was that this had to be the first song, which by the way is completely insane. Since it's origin for me was a xerox-covered Insane Poetry promo cassette that's been sitting in your tape collection unassumingly for as long as I can remember, maybe tell the people a bit about where this tape and group came from.

B- Well, back in the early 90's I was a tape buying fiend. One day I came across a promo of Insane Poetry's 'Grim reality'. This was during hip-hop's ill-fated (and short lived) horror core stage. I knew very little about them but it turned out they were a group from California. The rapper Cyco (pronounced "psycho") was an angry man. The a-side was 'The Grim Side' including song titles such as 'Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter' and 'Choppin' up Bodies'. It was the horror side. The b-side was the 'Reality Side' and it had all the non-serial killer songs. To be honest, I never really listened to that side. The song 'Stalking with the Nightbreed' was the last track on side A, utilizing the same loop EPMD used on 'Strictly Business', Cyco and his many weird friends got their chance to shine. And did they ever shine...

A - Yeah, there are so may quotables in this song and everyone brings their A-game to the table, so let's just jump in. Cyco does a great job playing host and introducing everyone. First up is Tee Thee O.G. of KMC (aka Kaotic Minds Corruptin').  "Once again it's the self-proclaimed lyrical body-snatcher!" THAT's the kinda shit we are on here.  His blood-thirst is immediately apparent.  Whether killing bitches at bus stops, or clearing out rooms with the "kadat-bo-boom!" of his trusty "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 mm", Tee really sets a Gangsta Nip-ish mood for the fellas to follow. Hype shit.

B - Next up is the 2 man group Death Blow, consisting of Evil 1, and D.A.L. (aka Dangerous Ass Lunatic). Evil 1 may be the first man in history to set off a verse with the exclamation of  "SHIT!".  His uncanny ability to fervently rap on beat for bars on end classifies him as the Q-tip to D.A.L.'s Phife Dawg. D.A.L. is probably the weakest link on the song, but still manages to shovel out jewels like.... ok D.A.L. is kinda wack. but his name is amazing and he keeps it moving.  

A - Lucky for us, next up is an MC who bares possibly the greatest moniker in rap history - Shakespeare the One Man Riot stands out for his Sadat X-like ability to not rhyme very much while remaining engaging. His other abilities include "bending niggas like a paper back book", and chopping bodies so finely, one can fit 3 full grown men in one bag!  Shakespeare's flow is precise and he sounds like a vet, which is good cuz that's a big name to live up to.  Let alone the "one man riot" part.

B - Following the one man riot, Joe Cooley of not-so-famous Compton rap duo Rodney O and Joe Cooley , probably best/un-known for their seminal rap classic 'Fuck New York', arrives on cue. Cooley comes across as possibly the most polished of everyone here which is surprising considering he was more the DJ of his group, less the main rapper. He also manages to use the uber-caucazoid playground dis of "...NOT!" in a way that almost makes it sound intimidating, which makes sense being that he can bench 200 and is down to punch faces.

A - "Mad dog, Mad dog, puttin' niggas in a body bag y'all".  Um... best rap chant ever? While Mad Dog's opening lines and delivery kinda steal the whole song, it becomes quickly apparent that he hasn't rapped much.  What he lacks in charisma and confidence, he more than makes up for in style and substance.  Let's be honest, he was just there.

B - Closing out this horrorcore-'scapade, Insane Poetry's flagship rapper Cyco allows himself 16 bars of gender-equality by vowing to murder both men and women. "Ding-dong... who is it? your next door neighbor bitch!". Cyco is a more than capable MC, and probably one of the more believable of the 6 supposed serial-killers featured here. I mean come on... "zip-lock casket?" yes please.


There's really so much one could write about this song but we gotta try to keep these blogs manageable. Please check out the song and feel the brutality for yourselves. Insane Poetry is ok by us.