D.J. Magic Mike & M.C. Madness >> You wonder if it's real

D.J. Magic Mike & M.C. Madness - "Dynamic Duo"

(RM Records / Cheetah Records, 1991)

I was first adrenalized by this song in 1991 upon seeing its video on the Jukebox channel, which was later renamed The Box.  I bought the album, Ain't No Doubt About It, on cassette on November 1st, 1991 as sort of an afterthought on the same night that I bought Ice Cube's new album Death Certificate, also on cassette; it had hit stores three days earlier.  I was with my fellow gangsta rap expert Warren, recuperating on a Friday night after a football game; he was a sophomore running back and I was a freshman wide receiver / special teamer.  (Fun Fact: We were such huge Cube fans that we both bought Death Certificate on cassette that night.  We also both got Public Enemy's new album when it came out a month earlier.)  We both agreed that the Ice Cube album was a dud*, and I ended up vastly preferring Ain't No Doubt About It.

This song displays everything that was exciting about rap / hip hop in those days, which were later over-romanticized by young archivists as the "Golden Era" of the genre.  For example, DJ's had to actually do lots of dramatic scratching back then, not just boring-ass "beat matching," and the boasting was not derogatory.  I'll never forgive sulking, charisma-free goons like Nas, Jay-Z and Eminem for killing off this exciting style of hip hop, which is probably oversimplifying things, but I watched the decline happen on a week by week basis and I know why it happened.  By spring of '92, I had bought Nirvana's Nevermind and Metallica's first five albums, and moved away from hip hop.  But have always kept tabs on it and I'll always have fond memories of how it made me feel invincible.  This era of music really does hold up well.  About a month ago, I was at a gas station and two black guys in their teens or 20s were playing some annoying Li'l Wayne-esque song really loudly while filling up.  So I popped in The Low End Theory and blasted its opening track, "Excursions".  They actually turned their music off to listen to mine, which is the ultimate compliment that could be paid in any song showdown.  It is likely that those dudes have never even heard of A Tribe Called Quest, just as a rocker kid today who likes Alterna-Band X has likely never heard of Sonic Youth.

*I just almost fell out of my chair laughing upon finding out MTV ranked it the #8 greatest hip hop album ever.

M.C. Madness had a slightly congested, Q-Tip-esque vocal style which still sounds unique today, as do the powerful, kinetic beats and screechy guitar samples.  The "Short pause..." line is presumably sampled from a Batman movie or TV episode.  The line "Pass the brass knuckles, let me break his jaw" is sampled from LL Cool J's "Murdergram."  (I was obsessed with that LL album at the time, and it was actually the first CD I ever bought.)  I presume the recurring "Ha!" is a james Brown sample.  "Don't ring my bell once I turn off my porch light" is one of the most specific orders I've ever heard.  Most of the album's songs are much slower and more bass-oriented than this one, fitting in with the whole Miami Bass scene of that time; "Do You Like Bass?" was, and still is, a hit among subwoofer enthusiasts.  "Dynamic Duo" has excellent potential as a bromance anthem in today's meme era.  I can picture some god-awful Judd Apatow flick with a slow motion scene featuring two rotund schlubs strolling down a beach, winking at comely ladies.

Extremely dynamic artwork of the cassingle

"Dynamic Duo" promo 12" on green vinyl; also came out on red vinyl with different remixes, and on regular black vinyl.

The group's logo on the red 12"; note that it's in place of the Batman logo in the sky on the cassingle cover, and on the cassette itself.

It never occurred to me that Cheetah Records and/or RM Records were legitimate indie labels.  I guess I had assumed they had some major label connections like lots of other hip hop boutique labels of the time, but my recent research has proved me wrong on that, hence I can post it here.  Also, it turns out that I bought this album right after it came out, possibly the same week, but I'm not totally sure.

Planets with similar climates - The D.O.C. - "Whirlwind Pyramid" (1989), Ice-T - "Power" (1988), Public Enemy - "Brothers Gonna Work It Out" (1990), LL Cool J - "Mama Said Knock You Out" (1990).


Currently eating or drinking: Rouses eggplant parmesan; Noosa yoghurt (blueberry); Samichlaus malt liquor (strange sweet beer whose motto is "World's most extraordinary beverage"); Udi's granola (Hawaiian); Pirate's Alley New Orleans rum cake; a bottle of Cointreau (thanks mom).