Lords of the Underground
rattled off five great singles in a row between 1992-1994, all of which helped make
Here Come the Lords
one of the best
rap
debuts of 1993.
"Psycho,"
"Chief Rocka,"
"Flow On,"
"Here Come the Lords,"
and
"Funky Child"
(with that wildly searing horn line) feature spare productions with crisp drum breaks and bone-rattling basslines, most of which glean from the catalogs of
Blue Note
James Brown
.
"Flow On"
boasts the inimitable touch of
Marley Marl
and assistant
K-Def
, and yet it's hardly the most infectious of the batch. There's nothing lacking about the actual production -- it's just that MCs
Dupre "Doitall" Kelly
Mr. Funke
are on top of their game when they're at their most uninhibited, as heard on
"Funky Child."
And who could forget the image of a diapered
Doitall
and a ridiculously afro'd
in that song's video (which played a big role in the album's success)? The remainder of the album has its share of middling moments, but the five singles and some other scattered flashes of greatness are more than enough to make for a record that stands alongside many of the other hallowed
albums from the era. ~ Andy Kellman