Bad Meaning Very, Very Good (Badmeaningood Vol.1: Mixed By Skitz - Skitz)

Member Name: RayWhitney

Product:	Badmeaningood Vol.1: Mixed By Skitz - Skitz
Date:	24/10/08 (127 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Awesome rare songs, good mixing and track selection

Disadvantages: One or two dull songs that shouldn't be here

The Badmeaningood series was designed to give big names in the hip-hop scene the chance to define their genres and their feelings towards music. This resulted in a series of four albums that could be considered vanity projects, and definitely couldn't be considered pure hip-hop, but do mostly deliver the goods in the form of hardcore, enjoyable, rare music hand-picked and mixed by the professionals.

This compilation was put together by highly-respected UK hip-hop DJ Skitz, a guy who has been around on the homegrown rap scene for donkeys year. To be honest, I'm not too clued-up on his work, but I heard good things about him which led me to buy this CD.

As I mentioned, please don't pick this up if you want a selection of hard rap beats - while there are some mixed in, this isn't a 100% rap album. It's a mixture of styles, incorporating R&B, country and reggae. With this in mind, shall we take a look at the tracks?

1. Intro
This is just a taster of things to come. Ignore it.

2. Wilford's Gone - Blackbyrds
A dark, bluesy song. See what I mean about it not being all about rap? It's not bad, but it's a pretty weak start to the album.

3. Get Thy Bearings - Donovan
I love this. Donovan serves us a moody song with some brooding, lumbering lyrics. Quite haunting. You might recognise it from its sampling in Biz Markie's 'I Told You'.

4. Two Big Bull Inna One Pen - Redrose & King Kong
Not sure if this is ragga, reggae or what (not my specialist area) but it's one of those! It's basically two MCs toasting about both of them being big bulls in just one pen. A fun, chipper song.

5. D And D Soundclash - Afu-Ra & Cocoa Brovas/Jahden
This one has a tune you'll instantly recognise, even if you don't know the song. I liked it, but it's not a stand-out track.

6. Witness (One Hope) - Roots Manuva
You should really already have this bad boy in your collection. An excellent song, combining sci-fi beats with esoteric lyrics and a catchy-as-hell chorus. If you don't know about Roots Manuva, check out his 'Run Come Save Me' album.

7. Ring The Alarm (Steely & Clevie extended mix) - Fu-Schnickens
Speaking of catchy choruses! A cool song, nice and relaxed. That's what I like about this album, it's so chilled out.

8. Mona Lisa - Slick Rick
One of Slick Rick the Ruler's best tracks ever - a very funny story, poetically told with catchy, arrogant rhymes and a humourous sample of 'Walk On By'. If you've never heard any Slick Rick, start here. It's silly and cheeky but very catchy and cool.

9. Method Man (Crazy C's Suthun Fried Radio Mix) - Wu-Tang Clan
First of all, it's Method Man - one of the best rap songs ever. Secondly, it's a very rare mix of it which manages to be better than both the original mix and the better-known Skunk Mix. Funky beyond belief, this is one of the better tracks on this compilation.

10. Warrior's Drum - King Just
This does nothing, really. Ignored!

11. Africa Dream - Kweli, Talib & Hi-Tek
Talib Kweli delivers some mind-blowing rap over this soft, African drum inspired beat. Raw, organic, and intelligent. And, best of all, some killer lyrics. An unorthodox but strangely addictive track.

12. Check The Rhyme - Tribe Called Quest
Tribe are always good for a relaxed but energetic performance, and this classic from their vaults deserves many spins.

13. Butt In The Meantime (Nostrand Ave. Rastafarian mix) - Black Sheep
A catchy beat saves a fairly boring rap song. It'll be going round your head for days, believe me!

14. Cell Therapy - Goodie Mob
Probably the darkest moment on the album. A nice sing-song hook helps this sinister song work and saves it from turning you homicidal.

15. Born To Roll - Masta Ace Inc.
Big tune! A superb beat and some very funny lyrics from Masta Ace. This is one of my favourite songs of all-time, because of its fantastic bassline and entire verses that wedge themselves into your brain.

16. Hog In A Minty - Nitty Gritty
A little boring, and maybe should have been left off. This album really could have done with more hip-hop!

17. Summer Madness - Kool & The Gang
A soothing instrumental number that is easily skipped, but is nice to listen to sometimes. Not the best way to end an album.

So, while there are a few weak links, this album was responsible for introducing many songs and artists into my music collection and for that I am very grateful. It's a lovingly-crafted representation of Skitz' musical opinions, and the Banksy-esque artwork and creative packaging serve to confirm that this was a labour of passion, not commercialism.

Open your eyes to a world of new, under-appreciated music. Check this out.

Summary: The side of hip-hop that needs to be seen more often