Published June 2000

REVIEWED BY ROB MONEY

TONY TOUCH
The Piece Maker (Tommy Boy)

Tony Touch, New York's undisputed king of freestyle mixtapes, follows in the footsteps of fellow superstar DJs, Flex and Clue with the release of the Piece Maker. Those who love Tony Toca's ear for the mix won't be disappointed with the goodies presented on this release though Toca's lineup of guest MCs, which includes Wu, Gangstarr, Mos Def, and Eminem isn't quite as star-laden as recent efforts from the Def Jam affiliated Flex and Clue. Still, you really can't complain about the beats or the rhymes on this collection. Toca reps for hip-hop fans of all stripes he's got Cormega for the thugs, 8off and Royce the 5'9" for the underground heads and, of course, Pam from Total for Total fans. The only major complaint is that Toca himself doesn't represent on the mic enough to really set this apart from other releases. As heard on "Toca's Intro," Tony can rip lyrics better than 80 percent of the cats in this game.


EMINEM
The Marshall Mathers LP (Aftermath)

The great white hope is back with a brand new LP chock full of lyrics you'd swear were written by an absolute psychopath and Eminem himself would probably agree with that sentiment. This isn't the funkiest record Dre's ever produced, but it gets the job done. The two or three heads expecting something different from the psychotic teen flow Eminem showcased on "Forgot About Dre" will be disappointed. The rest of the known world will greet the release of The Marshall Mathers LP by doing something silly like downing an entire bottle of J. Wray & Nephew overproof while doing the Wop in front of the Much building wearing a t-shirt that says "Proud Ta Be Pimpin."


KILLAH PRIEST
View From Masada (Epic)

Killah Priest made a big splash a few years back with his verse on GZA's "B.I.B.L.E." Killah soon followed that with the very ambitious Heavy Mental LP, which had some fine moments, but dropped at the same time that P.Diddy and Mase were ruling the world with shiny suits and disco remakes. Now Priest makes his return with View From Masada. Clearly, KP is trying to reach a wider audience with this release, which features more thug-centric subject matter and late-model Wu beats. Still, View From Masada sounds more like a compromise than anything else. Fans of his mind-expanding flow will wonder what happened, and the beats just aren't rugged enough for Killah Priest to make inroads with street cats.


CYPRESS HILL
Skull & Bones (Epic)

Fans of the old Cypress Hill are just going to have to accept that those days are gone and won't be coming back unless the powers-that-be start clearing samples for less than 25 grand a track. The fact is, B-Real, Muggs and Sen still have their moments especially live in concert but things just haven't been the same since Muggs quit sampling recognizable hooks, took the Premo route and started chopping up sounds to confound the sample clearing houses. Unfortunately, the much-ballyhooed Skull & Bones is more of the same from the once mighty trio. Muggs' beats are unremarkable and B-Real's flow needs an update. As for the rock disc who needs another crappy rap-rock outfit?


EGO TRIP
The Big Playback (Rawkus)

Thank God the heads who ran the best hip-hop magazine ever (it folded of course), took time out of their busy schedule writing features for Vibe etc, to put this collection of long-forgotten jams together. While The Big Playback works more as a collection of oddities and rarities than as a straight-up mixtape, these selections pack enough bump to rock any party. Of particular interest to heads should be Lord Shafiyq's "My Mic Is On Fire," which features an early use of the Bob James "Nautilus" sample, and "Marley Marl Scratch" which showcases an MC Shan vocal turn that gives the world a eerie hint of what was come from the infamous Queensbridge projects.


DJ QUICK
Balance & Options (Arista)

Maybe I'm in the minority on this one, but where the hell did the DJ Quik who put out "Dollarz N Sense" go? What happened to the gang-related fool who dropped "Born & Raised In Compton?" This new DJ Quik has some smooth beats and a few competent guest appearances but as far as Quik's rhymes go I'm not really feeling this. As Dre found out with the Aftermath debacle, you can't just switch up your style and expect everyone to switch with you. In the end, however, it's not the change in subject matter, it's the lack of passion with which the new lyrics are delivered that ultimately leaves the listener feeling like the poor sap who accidentally fills his Big Gulp with Diet Coke. File Balance & Options under Adult Contemporary Rap.