Thirty Three Jones | Desktop Site
See that picture? If this were 1998, you could make the argument that this was the future of (mainstream) hip hop. This was the year after Jay-Z dropped In My Lifetime Vol.1, and it looked like Sean Carter was more interested in being the next Will Smith instead of the next Frank Wright. It didn't look like there would be any more posthumous releases from Biggie after Life After Death. Juvenile's 400 Degreez (specifically "Ha") was getting some radio play and Master P was starting to make a little noise, but otherwise noone up north was checking for songs from the South. And the west? Death Row records was falling apart, Snoop was on his way to No Limit, and Dr. Dre was still trying to get his rep back up after releasing The Aftermath compilation.
So then came these three dudes. NORE was starting up his solo career after his CNN partner Capone was sent to jail. He was getting beats from the Neptunes, who were pretty much unknown at the time. NORE was never known for his intricate lyrics, but the work of Pharell and Chad on the production covered that up. DMX's Get At Me Dog was blowing up, and Canibus was all over the mixtape scene.
Its 2005 now, and NORE is really the only one still standing. What happened?
The biggest mistake for Canibus was allowing Wyclef to produce his first album. Canibus was known for his spaced-out, intricate lyrics, and Wyclef was just not a good match for that. These days, Canibus is remembered only as the rapper who got into a battle with L.L. Cool J over a tattoo.
DMX looked unstoppable after releasing It's Dark and Hell Is Hot. At live performances, he was amazing and is the only rapper I've seen who didn't use a hypeman on stage. His last couple of albums have really fallen off though. Maybe its because he pumps out albums annually, and has just worn himself out. The car problems aren't helping out much either.
Noreaga is now signed with Jay-Z's Roc-La-Familia. He still is lyrically deficient, but at least he's found a way to mask that by rapping in another language.
Freestyle with all three of them in the booth together: Canibus, NORE, DMX Freestyle 1998 (mp3)
Best line from Nore on the freestyle, for all my NES heads out there: "I'm like '98 Live, You're Like Double Dribble"
11/7/2005 8:48:48 AM posted by Fresh