Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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THE YEAR IN MUSIC: 1997 Birth of underground hip-hop “FUNCRUSHER PLUS” Company Flow BY JUSTIN BAJAN THE GAMECOCK Hip-hop originated in the ’70s as a counter cultural response to the world of pop music. But dur ing the late ’80s, the genre re ceived radio play and gradually devolved from the revolutionary to the ordinary. Sure, there were fighf-the-cause artists such as Public Enemy and KRS-One, but the genre was basically a busi ness — not an art form. This trend continued in the ’90s until a division was made in the mainstream. Independent labels, such as Solesides and Rawkus Records, formed and became the outlets for a new phenomenon in hip-hop: the un derground. < At the helm of Rawkus Records was the New York-based Company Flow, with rappers Big Juss and El-P and DJ Mr. Len, with El-P as primary producer. The trio created a jarring brand of hip-hop: one devoid of catchy choruses, danceable production and simplistic rhymes. The group’s first album was “Funcrusher Plus,” underground hip-hop’s genesis. Both emcees drop intelligent rhymes, provoking the listener to make repeated use of the rewind button. El-P spits, “Fashion emcees drop; now they part of my fall collection,” on “Blind.” And Big Juss impresses with such lines as, “Emcees couldn’t hang if they was lynched by the Grand Dragon.” El-P’s far-fetched production matches the rappers’ creativity on many tracks. On “The Fire in Which You Burn,” he samples a meandering sitar and layers it over a backbreaking drum break that almost sounds live. . The group officially dis banded in 2000. Big Juss creat ed Subverse Records, El-P formed Def Jux Records and Mr. Len pursued a solo career. But the trio’s influence is still felt today, as “Funcrusher Plus” has become the yardstick for new underground hip-hop albums. Comments on these stories? E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com Incubus captures new sound inr\n t 1 1 nx / a n t “S.C.I.E.N.C.E.” Incubus BY CHARLES TOMLINSON THE GAMECOCK Before Brandon Boyd trans formed into a sex symbol for 15 year-old girls everywhere, he was a dreadlocked lead singer who., shouted as much as he crooned. And on “S.C.I.E.N.C.E.,” Incubus as a whole sounded completely different. XJ.X li/O I y IlIVviL/UJ UUU1VU1 l 11U V V, dreamed of having a huge crowd sing along to a poppy song such as “Drive.” Instead, the band was too busy trying to create dynam- . ic and stylistically diverse mu sic. The band incorporated equal parts Red Hot Chili Peppers, Primus and Mr. Bungle to create a funky, hard-rocking mix, with a lead singer who could sing sweet ly just as easily as he could shout at the top of his lungs. “New Skin” and “Certain Shade of Green” are heavy songs from start to finish. But the band included several stylistic sur prises. On the bridge of “Redefine,” another intense rock er, bassist Dirk Lance kicks into a breakneck slap-bass groove. And the band leans into a ska groove on “Idiot Box.” From a stylistic standpoint, the biggest standout on “S.C.I.E.N.C.E.” is “Summer i\v;muuuv yruiu vjiu*uj jjvi v v Song),” a mellow funk song with a saxophone solo. DJ Lyfe, who left the band af ter “S.C.I.E.N.C.E.,” tears up the turntables through each of the 12 songs. While his replacement, DJ Kilmore, concentrates on textures that-blend into the background but enhance incubus’ music, Lyfe shot to the forefront. His samples and wild scratching pervade “Glass” and the breakbeat-based “Magic Medicine.” The Incubus of yesteryear was much heavier and varied in sound, making the band much less digestible in the public’s con sumption. These off-kilter traits remained in its 1999 release, “Make Yourself,” but virtually disappeared in last year’s “Morning View.” Comment# on these stories?E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com Halloween candy gets to your sweet tooth CHARLES TOMLINSON GAMECOCKMIXEDITOR@HOTMAIL.COM It’s getting close to the time of year when children dress up as ghosts, vampires and clowns; eat lots of sugar-loaded candy; and bounce off the walls all night in stead of going to sleep. While it might be uncool in middle and high school to dress up for Halloween, college students re sume the festivities with Halloween costume parties. And it’s cool again to be a pixie, pump kin or nun for a night. The beloved candy, however, has probably been replaced by li bations on Halloween night—but for those who still retain that child hood sweet tooth, a plastic jack-o’ lantern filled with sweets is an All Hallows-Eve dream come true. Trick-or-treaters can’t go wrong with Snickers bars, M&Ms and Tootsie Rolls, which are all staples of Halloween. But there are some types of Halloween candy that sim ply shouldn’t be dumped into chil dren’s bags. First of all, candy corn. This stuff is atrocious. There’s nothing wrong with something that’s real ly sweet, but candy com is just re ally, really sweet — too sweet. It’s hyperactivity packaged in little cone shapes. And if you eat more than four pieces, it’s a stom achache, too. Candy pumpkins are the only things worse than candy com. I’d say it’s twice as bad because each pumpkin is roughly twice the size of a piece of candy corn. So you can probably eat only two of these before you feel sick. Smarties are little sugar disks that appeal to so many people. I re member my middle-school Halloween carnivals, where other kids would win a game and take a handful of Smarties as their prize. I just wanted to hurl thinking about eating more than half a pack of them. They’re excessively sugary and even somewhat chalky—kind of like miniature Turns. They’re OK; just eat them in moderation. But Smarties has a crazy little Web site, www.smarties.com, written mostly by 14-year-old girls named Liz and Emily. These girls sacrifice a week out of their sum mers to tour the Smarties factory and "think of interesting things to say*about the candy.” the Web site says. How noble! They also alert consumers to watch out for imitation Smarties, which use excessive artificial col ors: if the color is too bright, “you can taste the dye,” the Web site says. But Smarties feature pastel colors, so people will actually be tasting more candy and less dye. And each color is indeed a differ ent flavor. Smarties might have more re deeming qualities than I original ly gave them credit for. But you still have to be able to make it through more than half a pack. If you can get your hands on some Dots, however, take them. They’re little gelatinous drops that aren’t overly chewy, and they’re fruity and vibrantly colored (but full of dye, I’m sure). But watch out for similar candy, such as Jujyfruits, which you can’t scrape out of your teeth before your next dentist’s appointment. And the# darker ones might look like grape at first, but they’re actually the poisonous licorice flavor. Caveat emptor. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com i n Directions: Just across the Gervais St. Bridge - Left at Second Light .. ■ ■ ---* ... . , =