Written by Daniel Isenberg

1995 was an incredibly dope year for rap music. And thankfully, I’ve had the opportunity throughout my career as a writer to interview the artists and producers that made it so incredibly dope. So to celebrate the nine-nickel appropriately, I dug in my docs and put together a mixtape-esque collection of stories behind 25 classic songs released in 1995, as told to me by some of the most legendary names in hip-hop, including Diamond D, DJ Clark Kent, DJ Muggs, Erick Sermon, Fat Joe, Ghostface Killah, Large Professor, Pete Rock, and Raekwon.

Okay, let’s set STORYTAPE ’95 off with SIDE A: THE SINGLES. These songs all had a music video back in ‘95, too.

SIDE A: THE SINGLES

Method Man & Redman “How High (Remix)”

Erick Sermon: “How High” came from Dr. Dre and Ice Cube’s “Natural Born Killaz.” If you play “How High” and you play that, it’s the same beat. I didn’t use the same sounds, but the melody and the way the bass line is going is the same. I used the melody of “Natural Born Killaz” to make “How High.” It was incredible.

I played the beat over. At that time, I was using a Roland W-30 station. It was like an ASR-10, but by Roland. And I played the bass line. That’s what I do. I play keys. Since ‘89, this is what I was doing.

So me and Russell hooked them up, for The Show soundtrack. They were in the studio, and I walked in, and I couldn’t see shit. There was so much smoke in the room. They’re the most consistent blunt smokers you will ever meet in your life, besides Snoop and them. Nobody smokes more blunts than Red and Meth. The room, you can’t see in it.

So I come in there with that beat, my version of “Natural Born Killaz.” And they start writing to the beat. And that was them saying, “How High,” because they’re in there smoked out of their minds!

So I had the original record, but it was street to me. But my mind is saying, “I got Red and Meth on a record. I’m not going out like this. I’m making something bigger.” So I go and remix it.

I had a Crusaders sample, and then in the studio, somebody had an acapella of some band that had done the vocals for that classic “Fly Robin Fly” part over. It was the weirdest shit. So I took it, and put it in the key of what my Crusaders loop was in. Fuck it.

And then, I took the vocals, and took the parts that I liked, and put them in the remix. The original version was longer, and had different, longer verses. So I was chopping them up the way I liked them. 

They didn’t like the remix at first when I made it. They hated it. When they got to the video shoot, and saw they were using the remix, they were pissed. They were expecting to go and shoot the video to the hard version. They were like, “This isn’t the one we want.” They thought it was too soft. But I told them, “Trust us.”

At the end of the day, it sold one million records. And to this day, they still thank me for that. 

Cypress Hill ft. Erick Sermon, Redman, and MC Eiht “Throw Your Hands In The Air”

DJ Muggs: We put the album out, and it was running its course, and then, we wanted to give the album a little boost. So you give it another three months of life. So at that time, that was that. And it came out so gangster.

I had always been an Erick Sermon and Redman fan, so I had reached out to them, like, “What do I have to do to get you guys on a record? How much is it gonna cost?” And they were like, “Nothing. We’re fans. We want to do it.” Fuckin’ A. Then I wanted to get somebody from the West. So I got MC Eiht.

Fuckin’ MC Eiht wrote his verse in fifteen minutes and laid it in one take. I was like, “Wow.” It blew me away, man. I wasn’t used to seeing people write their shit that quick.

We went and shot the video in L.A. with my boy McG, who ended up doing the big show The O.C. and Charlie’s Angels. So we did some of the first videos he shot. The video was great. The concepts and the ideas he had, like putting MC Eiht in front of all the hubcaps, and the way he shot from the side.

Redman was the funkiest, sickest motherfucker. Cypress Hill had a lot of influence on Redman early on. It’s funny, because he had a big influence on us, but we had a big influence back on him. It was like an exchange of energy. We used some of their samples, and they used some of ours, and nobody ever sued. There was more respect at that time for things, and people using samples.

Even when I had used the samples on the first album from Wild Style, Fab 5 Freddy was like, “That’s hip-hop, I’m glad you used that.” Mark the 45 King said the same thing. You see fools now, they’re trying to sue you off a fucking mixtape like, “Oh, you’re making money off your shows, and selling t-shirts.” It’s like, “Wow, it’s getting that bad? Shut up, it’s a fucking mixtape.”

Tha Alkoholiks ft. Diamond D “Next Level”

Diamond D: I met Tha Liks through an A&R at Loud Records. I don’t know if it was Matty C or my other man, but they reached out to me. They flew out to New York, and came up to the Bronx to hang out with me. I played them a couple of joints. The basic foundation of “Next Level” was already made. Then we flew out to L.A. and recorded it.

I wrote my verse right there on the spot, just so I could capture that moment and it could be fresh. We shot the video in downtown San Francisco at first, and then we rode out towards the Pacific to some National Park or something and shot some of the scenes out there too.

They liked to party, but when it was time to work, it was time to work. It wasn’t like they were running around with no discipline.

Me and Tha Liks stayed in touch all these years too. I’m supposed to be working on their new album. I did one joint with them already, and I think Kurupt is on it.* I’m just waiting to hear the rough mix of it.

*ip note: The song ended up being “We Are The People Of The World” of featuring Diamond D, Tha Alkaholiks, and Kurupt, which was released on Diamond D’s 2014 album The Diam Piece.

Raekwon ft. Ghostface Killah “Criminology”

Raekwon: That’s a beat that RZA had in the basement that sounded real big and real strong. This was when we were in our Cuban Linx chamber and we were starting to build that album. That record right there was definitely one of the records where we were like, “Yo, we dare anybody to get in our way right now.” Me and Ghost were just blood thirsty wolves right there. The beat was so strong, we already knew that that was definitely gonna be one on the album that niggas was gonna be like, “Yo, them boys from Staten Island ain’t playin’ on this microphone.”

We wind up doing the video. You know me, orchestrating the video, “I need Benzes, jewels, and waterfalls behind shootin’ to the right.” We actually went into the desert and found a waterfall that shot to the right. I told Ghost, “I need you to be Vincent ‘Chin’ Gigante right now. Don’t have no mutherfuckin’ gear on, all I need you in is a mean robe.” And he was like, “Yeah, you right. I’ma just run with the robes.” And, the next thing you know, he’s the robe man.

I’m telling you, from that record it opened up the door. It started it. So now it’s, “Yeah, I need my jewels and a robe, I ain’t wearin’ no clothes no more.” I was all the way into my mafia chamber, so I’m telling him, “Yeah this is how I need you to be. You’re my underboss. Yeah, you come, you walk around. We gonna do it like this.” It was just a hot video man.

Fat Joe “Envy”

Fat Joe: “Envy” was a bit of a challenge for me. It was smooth. That was the first time Fat Joe was trying to be on some fly shit. But it was still hard. If you listen to the lyrics, they’re real hard. 

L.E.S. gave me that sound. He was Nas’ DJ forever, and he was a tremendous producer. The fact that I had someone down with Nas, who was the best rapper in the game at the time, was incredible.

L.E.S. gave me the beat, and was like, “Yo, you can rap to this.” I was like, “I don’t know if this shit is too smooth, and if niggas will still fuck with me. You know, I’m Army fatigue’d, Chucker’d up.” But he was like, “Nah Joe, just spit that hard shit over this smooth shit.” He opened the door to me using melodic beats and talking that fly shit so a girl could relate. Even though it was still a little too hardcore, girls could relate, and we could get it played on the radio.

People love it. To this day, people tell me about that song. And that was before we were clearing samples. So we didn’t even have to pay. It was crazy. 

AZ ft. Nas “Gimme Yours”

Pete Rock:  I met AZ way before Nas. I was working with AZ when we both were nobodies. I met AZ through a friend of mine who was from the Bronx and moved to Mount Vernon right on my mother’s block, and we became real close and used to hang out with each other a lot.

He knew AZ, and one day he introduced me to him. We were working with him down in my basement, and we used to go out to East New York to look for him and pick him up and bring him back to the house to work with him.

“Gimme Yours” happened the same time “Rather Unique” happened. I just ended up doing two. He picked two beats. And he said, “I’m gonna put Nas on the hook.” They were in the studio together. At that point in time, people were still in the studio with each other, before this email stuff came out. We were at Greene Street studios in Manhattan. It was quiet and fun, that’s about it.

We were excited and really happy for his first record deal. Him and Nas developed a relationship, he got on Illmatic, made that hit record “Life’s A Bitch,” and that helped him get his deal. 

Junior M.A.F.I.A. “Player’s Anthem”

DJ Clark Kent: I knew B.I.G. before he made records because of the neighborhood he was in, and I was cool with people in the neighborhood. I was very cool with Lance ‘Un’ Rivera, and Justice, Gutter, D-Roc, Daddy-O, all of them. I was cool with 50 Grand, who was his DJ, and who was Dana Dane’s DJ before I became Dana Dane’s DJ. And I was B.I.G.’s DJ too after 50 Grand. That’s crazy, right?

I would hear B.I.G. and be like, “This guy’s incredible. He’s dope.” His manager Gucci Mark grew up in my neighborhood, and I was practically like a big brother to him. When it was time for B.I.G. to do shows, they were like, “We need the best show DJ. Clark’s the best show DJ.”

The first time he came to my house, we clicked instantly, because we were already cool. I was there when he was making records. I gave him one of his first shows to perform. I had a birthday party, and I was like, “Yo, come to my party and do a show.” And he came and did “Party and Bullshit,” and had the fight scene on stage and everything. It was at The Shelter. It was absolutely insane. 

So Ready To Die comes out, and we’re on tour, and he just decides he’s going to make Junior M.A.F.I.A. records. One day on the bus, he’s like, “Yo Clark, play me some beats.” So we go home, and we come back on the tour, and I got beats. So I’m playing beats, and he’s like, “We’re gonna use that for Junior M.A.F.I.A.” And he makes up that hook as soon as that beat comes on in the bus, and I’m like, “Oh shit, this is gonna be dumbness.”

In my mind, I’m like, “Do that for yourself!” But we’re on the tour, so we’re just going to do whatever is happening. And every beat that was chosen for that album was a joint effort between me and him and sometimes Lance and sometimes Jacob, which is why I got executive producer credit on it. We all had to agree that those beats were going to go on that album.

That was the first time you heard Kim. She bodied it. She wasn’t on tour with us at that point. Lil’ Cease was on tour because he was one of the hype men.

That record was done instantly. As soon as all the verses were done, without them even being chopped up or edited at the end properly, we mixed it and made an acetate, and took it to the club. We went to The Tunnel and were like, “Yo, play the record.” And niggas was like, “What do you mean, ‘Play the record?’” And we were like, “Play the fucking record.”

It was me, and B.I.G., and Un, and Just, and we were standing next to the wall, like, “Wait ‘til you see what happens when this comes on.” And Big Kap is like, “New Biggie and Junior M.A.F.I.A.!!!” And Kap put the record on, and motherfuckers went crazy. When the song started in The Tunnel, that shit sounded like a movie.

And we’re just standing there, not even flinching, and the chorus comes in, “Grab your dick if you love hip-hop.” And people are like, “What the fuck is going on here?!? What is this?!?” Then Lil’ Cease comes in. Then B.I.G.’s verse comes in, and once B.I.G.’s verse hits you, it’s like, “Oh no, this is really ill.” And then the chick starts rapping! And niggas is like, “What the fuck is that?!?” 

We’re in the club, and that’s the first reaction, in The Tunnel, with nine million motherfuckers in there. They brought it it back a thousand times, and played that shit over and over and over. And we’re standing there, and I’m looking at B.I.G. like, “I told you son. We’re good money.” And Un is like, “Yo B.I.G.! We good B.I.G., we good. This shit crazy. Yo Clark man, me and you, we’re gonna be…” That shit was fucking hilarious. But that’s what it was.

But that record was so crazy because it was instant. It did so well in the club, that it wasn’t like we just gave it to the mixtapes. Motherfuckers had test pressings a week later, and then everybody had it.

And the video was kind of crazy too, with the planes and all kinds of surveillance. People were like, “Damn, how’d they get all that already?” We had a good budget over there. Those were the good days.

Raekwon “Incarcerated Scarfaces”

Raekwon: I wrote that song right there for all my niggas that was locked up. I happened to just be thinking about it. I think one of my mans had just went away for a long time. I wanted to have something on the album to represent the niggas that’s inside the belly of the beast. You got a lot of cats also that wear that scar on their face. So I definitely just wanted to shout out all the criminals on that record right there. All the ones that’s incarcerated, they Scarfaces, too. Plus, whoever walking around with a buck fifty or three hundred on their face, this record’s for you. When you think ain’t nobody paying attention to you, Chef thought about you.

I just was rhyming man. I came in RZA’s basement one night and he just had that shit poppin’, and I looked around the room and nobody was there. I was like, “I want this shit! This is me!” I wrote my rhyme in maybe like fifteen minutes. The whole three verses. I was just flying. It was just coming to me ‘cause that’s how I get it in sometimes. If something really yokes me up like this, the beat just go, then I’m ready to get on it. I just aired that shit out in like fifteen minutes. Before you know it the song was popping, hook on it, everything. We like, “That’s Cuban Linx.”

It pops in the club. That’s definitely a lot of people’s favorite record. Especially when I go to Connecticut. I call it the Connecticut anthem. It’s like I just put a whole state in my pocket when I did that. I feel like if I’m anywhere in the world, especially Connecticut, if I’m fucked up, somebody gonna hold me down just based on that record.

Too $hort ft. Erick Sermon “Buy You Some” 

Erick Sermon: Too $hort saw me in The Source magazine, and was like, “Yo Erick, what are you doing in Atlanta?” And I’m like, “Yo, I’m down here.” So he came. Scarface too. They all came when they saw me in The Source. Scarface came, $hort came, and Pac came. I was in The Source for my rim shop. It said, “Erick Sermon Moves to Atlanta.” 

He was my friend. I knew him from the industry. He came out the same year, in ’88. So I was in Atlanta, and he came about two years later. $hort had a lot of money. And when he got his studio up, my boy said, “Let’s go to $hort’s studio.” So we went there, and we made the record. That was the first one we did.

I was really hostile on that record. I was cursing a lot on the song. That was a raunchy record compared to what Erick does. But I had wrote that record on a freestyle or something. 

But that record was so monumental, because while the East and West coast was beefin’, two guys from the East and West coast had a hit record out together. On the low, it was a hit record. When I came home to New York, I couldn’t believe it was big. Funkmaster Flex blew it up here.

Then I performed it at the Apollo, and when I brought $hort out, on the Survival of the Illest tour! Oh my god! Pandemonium! That record played on Atlanta radio for ten years straight. But it blew up to a huge record, out the blue. $hort sold a million records on it. It was on a Dangerous Crew compilation, but he put it on his album too. And we did a remix with MC Breed too—God bless the dead.

Fat Joe “Success”

Fat Joe: I was really from the streets and I really did hustle in a major way. When I got my record deal, I left the streets alone, as far as hustling. I never ever hustled again. I said, “I’m gonna change my life, I’m going legit. This is where I’m at.”

But when you get in the rap game, no matter how hardcore rap is, there’s a bunch of nice guys in this business. I was busy trying to act like a nice guy, trying to make people not be scared of me and work with me because I’m sure they were hearing horror stories from the streets. But then, Jay-Z was about to drop a whole drug dealer album, Biggie was talking about hustling, and they were talking about shit I really did.

So, at one point, I was like, “I know I’m trying to change my life and be b-boy hip-hop, but this is the lifestyle I know. Can’t nobody describe it like me. They know I got the real stories.” In fact, Biggie and me were really cool, and we used to talk every other day on the phone, and “Success” was the one song he ever complimented me on. He was like, “You stepped your shit up, man! Damn, Joe!” Biggie was a great dude. So humble. I watched him become the biggest guy on earth, but still be majorly humble.

I think Biggie was out of town when we did the video. I had Big L, Rosie Perez when she was like the baddest chick. Nas was in it, Raekwon. Diamond D, Showbiz, Ghostface, LL. The kings of the game. The whole world came out and was like, “Crack, what’s up!” I had Nas and Common in the Bronx. Whooo! We had a great time.

DJ Premier, KRS-One, Doug E. Fresh, Fat Joe, Mad Lion, Smif-N-Wessun, and Jeru The Damaja “1, 2 Pass It”

Fat Joe: That was classic, because for years I had worked on doing albums at D&D. It was Preemo’s home base. Everything with Premier was done at D&D. At the same time, that was the hangout. We would go to D&D, shoot pool, and talk to everybody.

Being that it was a posse track, they said they only needed eight bars. So I turned around and did it. And you know, Lord Finesse was who inspired me to even rap. So at that time, I thought Finesse should have been on that record. So I think subliminally I threw a little shot, and was like, “Motherfuckers know who’s the best, if it ain’t Fat Joe then it must be Lord Finesse.” That was letting them know, “Yo, that’s my brother, and I don’t know what he ain’t doing on this. But he deserves to be on here.”

Then Preemo sampled my line, “Bring it on if you think you can hang” on Jay-Z’s album. I saw Jay-Z, and he was like, “Yo man, we’re gonna send you some publishing. We used your voice on this.” That shit was cool. Reasonable Doubt is a classic album. That whole album was crazy. To have my voice on there was dope.

Junior M.A.F.I.A. ft. Aaliyah “I Need You Tonight” 

DJ Clark Kent: Faith Evans was on the song at first, but we got Aaliyah involved because she was young. Faith sang the hook first, but it kind of didn’t make sense to have all these young kids on the record with this grown woman singing. So we got Aaliyah on the record. Plus, Aaliyah was on Atlantic Records also, so it wasn’t like we had to get her cleared. It made sense, and it felt right.

I worked at Atlantic Records, so I knew Aaliyah since she was crazy young. When she was fifteen and signing record deals, I knew her. It was perfect to work with her. It was simple, because she was too talented. “Here’s the hook, sing it again.” And she sang it again. She was dope.

That was Biggie’s idea to use the Lisa Lisa record as the hook. He knew exactly what he wanted to hear.

Okay, now let’s flip to SIDE B: THE DEEPER CUTS and hear the stories behind some album favorites, remixes, and even an unreleased Nas gem. No videos for these joints here, but peep the audio while you read the stories for the full experience. Enjoy.

SIDE B: THE DEEPER CUTS

Mobb Deep ft. Nas and Raekwon “Eye For A Eye (Your Beef Is Mines)” 

Raekwon: It was payback time. It was payback for the friendship and the love that Queensbridge and Shaolin had together. They’re building up their Queensbridge medals and shining ‘em up, and they called me in to get on that record. All I did was come in the studio and hang out with them. We was gettin’ bent and all that. But that beat, everybody’s head just kept knockin’.

So that beat was just freshly made once we all got into the studio together. I remember P was up in there first settin’ it off, and Havoc came behind him. And me and Nas was over there in the corner writing. Like, one thing about me, I think I was more excited just chillin’ with niggas than writing. Like, I was always the type of nigga like, “Aiight, you go. Gimme like ten minutes.” So a lot of my rhymes are wrote quick. Like, that’s what cats always say about me, like, “Yo Chef you write so fuckin’ fast.” I’m like, “‘Cause I get open quick.” If I get open off of something then it makes me write like that. 

I’m a big fan of Mobb and Nas. Queens rappers excite me more than Brooklyn rappers for some reason. I don’t know. I like Queens rappers. I like how they rhyme. I like the beats they be picking. And, at that time Havoc was young, but nice. So you know I’m always for the young thoroughbred. Anybody that’s just feeling to me like they on some young G shit. Yeah, I wanted to fuck with them.

Him and P, they already had their potions and me and Nas were just in the back like, “This is it.” The next thing you know we just went in and did what we did. Honestly, I wasn’t even writing that hard, I wrote something just to participate and it wound up being a classic.

Raekwon ft. Ghostface Killah and Nas “Verbal Intercourse”

Raekwon: Another one of my favorites right there. That one right there though, the beat was sick. RZA was just dominating where he wanted to take this record, and I was just right there with him all the time co-signing the beats. At that time me and Nas were real close. He would come see me at my crib. I’d come see him up in Queens. And I always told him I want him on the album.

So one day I brought him out to Staten Island. We went to RZA’s house and he went to the basement and he was listening to the beat and I’m like, “Yo, this is the one I’m thinking I need to have you on.” And we would just sit there for an hour listening to the beat. Now mind you, I didn’t even write my rhyme yet. I just knew, this beat is going on the album.

So Nas is automatically like, “Yeah this is it, but I don’t know what rhyme to fucking come with.” I’m like, “Fuck it. What you got?” He got a couple lines. I’m like, “Fuck it, go in the booth.” So now, I’m in the back on some A&R shit. Ghost walked in. We all just chillin’. Next thing you know, Nas is up in there trying all different kinds of rhymes. He’s my guest, so I’m definitely paying attention to what he’s doing ‘cause at the end of the day I’m gonna make sure that he does what he needs to do.

He was trying shit and I was like, “Nah that ain’t it right there.” And then once he said that, “Through the lights, cameras, and action,” I looked at niggas in the room. Everybody looked at me. I’m like, “That’s it!” I stopped him and said, “Yo, that’s the verse. Do that one.” And ever since when he did that one, it was one of the best verses in hip-hop today. 

When that came out, Nas was just really starting to be heard more. He was starting to get his buzz up now as far as being a Queensbridge representative. People were seeing that this nigga’s nice, but we helped put that credibility on it even more when that record came out. So it was definitely one that people was like, “Yo, I love this shit because this little nigga over in Queens is nice. Then he’s fucking wit y’all and then the record is mean.” So, it kinda helped everybody’s position grow in the game at that time.

Fat Joe ft. KRS-One “Bronx Tale”

Fat Joe: This was my second album, I would’ve been extinct in hip-hop if I didn’t step my game up lyrically. Because this is around the time that Nas, Biggie, and then Jay-Z came out. So the game was getting real lyrical. You couldn’t away with, “Bust it, check it, watch how I wreck it.” I couldn’t get away with that. If that was the case, you were played out. So I studied a lot of Nas, and a lot of other artists, and I analyzed the game, and knew I had to step up my game lyrically.

Of course, KRS-One is my idol. My three main idols were LL Cool J, KRS-One, and Heavy D. Actually being from the Bronx, and seeing the growth of KRS-One, I think I’m his number one fan ever. 

I was there the first time he did “South Bronx” at a block party. So to actually have him come to the studio and work with me, and then rap on the record with the guy who I know is a million times better than me and still have to represent myself was a big challenge. And it was the biggest honor.

After the success of my first album, and the success of “Flow Joe” kind of faded, I was struggling to make some money and make ends meet. And KRS knew that, so he took me on the road with him, and I was his hype man. I was kind of like his Flava Flav at the time.

So when I started doing my second album, I knew I was going to do a song with him. The problem was, I didn’t want to get shitted on. So I knew I had to step my lyrics up and talk that shit. And I think I did pretty well.

For “Bronx Tale,” I just wanted that hard shit. At this point, I was just so hard. I don’t even know how to explain it to you. I just wanted to come with the hardest shit. That’s all I knew. I never thought I would be making a song with Chris Brown or R. Kelly.

But even though I was a hard dude, I played P.M. Dawn. I played De La Soul, and Native Tongues. I would bump A Tribe Called Quest in my car all day. But my preference for making music was hardcore, gangster shit. Still, to this day, my preference is making hard shit.

KRS-One ft. Busta Rhymes “Build Ya Skillz” 

Diamond D: BX baby, BX! Kris reached out to me for that. We came up loving KRS-One. “South Bronx” and all those iconic songs. Working with him was an honor. And he paid me what I wanted too. But I would have done it for half. But, you know, no man is going to talk himself out of no guap.

That’s one of those gems that not too many people even know about right there. The beat was made already, and when he heard it, he was like, “This is the one right here.” I think I might’ve left and came back, and the shit was done.

At the beginning, Busta’s on the record talking. I don’t remember if he was just in the session or what. I do know that song led to us working together down the road just from Busta telling me that he was really feeling that beat.

AZ “Rather Unique”

Pete Rock: “Rather Unique” was ill because I had it perfected, with the beat ready with all these nice little fill-ins and drum stuff going on. And the assistant engineer stepped on the plug by accident, and I didn’t save it, and I had to re-make it. I had it going better than what you hear now. It was crazy. I had it going really dope before. I just did what I could, but there were certain things I did that I couldn’t remember from when I was programming it. I was mad.

Nas ft. AZ and Biz Markie “Understanding”

Large Professor: I was involved in an earlier version of “Life is Like a Dice Game” where he didn’t actually name it “Dice Game.” We did it over the same sample as Junior M.A.F.I.A.’s “Get Money,” the original. It was earlier though. I had hooked it up. Everyone was going to those record conventions, so records would come in waves. And I was catching a lot of those records earlier, and knowing to freak them early. But it never came out. I think that’s the same session we did “Understanding.”

That was Biz’s idea. Biz called me one day, and was like, “Yo! You know what would be dope? To get Nas to rhyme over that Grover Washington joint.” And I was like, “Word? You think so?” And then I called Nas, and was like, “Yo, this is what Biz said.” And he was like, “Then we gotta do it.”

So I hooked the beat up, and we went to the Greene Street Studios, and knocked it out. We never mixed it or took it through the whole process, it was just a flinger. But Grandmaster Vic was there, Biz was there, AZ. Raekwon came through. Nas was just starting to work on It Was Written. Those were sessions between Illmatic and It Was Written. That was one of the first sessions when he started getting in the swing of working again.

Common Sense “Resurrection (Extra P. Remix)”

Large Professor: The one that everyone likes I think is the “Extra P. Remix” with the long movement. What happened was, I did the other one, with the Jungle Brothers cut, “That’s what it is,” and Com got back to me and was like, “I like it. But I want something different. This is more b-boy, hip-hop. I want something in an iller zone.”

So I was like, “Aiight, cool.” So I went back, and came back with some crazy, zoned out movement shit. And I sent that one, and he was like, “Yeah, that’s what I’m talkin’ about.” So I was happy, man.

And that was when I first met him. He rolled through for the remix, we were in the city. That was dope. That was a nice session. He did the vocals over, and flipped the verse with a few different lyrics. He signed my album, like, I was in there in fan mode. Yeah, New York definitely embraced him.

I like the second one better. It was on some zoned out shit, and that’s where I was at that time.

Junior M.A.F.I.A. “Realm Of Junior M.A.F.I.A.”

DJ Clark Kent: That was probably like the last record we did for the album. It was some fun shit. Biggie wanted to rhyme to an old school beat. So I sampled the “UFO” record and put drums under it, and made it play out properly. And I did it, and we went in the studio, and it was done.

B.I.G. liked Lil Jamal. He was Lil too. We’re looking at him like, “You’re practically Junior M.A.F.I.A. to us.” And that’s what happened. Lil Jamal with all the Lils.

But come on. “I got that venom rhyme like Sprite got lemon-lime, Donna Karan dime, keep her hair done all the time, my rhymes, somewhat Shakespearean, blood I’m smearin’ ‘em, tongue kissin’ my lawyer at the hearing, in this day and age, my rap is like the plague, I married this shit y’all niggas still engaged, turn blowouts to 360 waves.” Get the fuck outta here!

There’s another song on that album, “Oh My Lord” with Kleptomaniac, that he went crazy on too! People missed these songs because they didn’t pay attention to the whole Junior M.A.F.I.A. project.

I was in the lab for every record on that album, because I was A&R’ing that album. That verse on “Realm of Junior M.A.F.I.A.” was the one that had me going, “Are you hearing this shit?” We were on tour, and I was playing B.I.G. Jay-Z music, and I’m telling him, “Dog, my man’s the best.” He’s going, “Clark, you’re crazy.” “Dead Presidents” comes out. He’s like, “He’s saying it, but…” Then “Dead Presidents II” comes out, and he goes, “Alright Clark, you got it. Dude is crazy.” Then Un calls up, and he’s like, “Yo B.I.G. did you hear this Jay-Z shit? This shit is crazy!” So now B.I.G. is giving it up. Meanwhile, I’m on the bus with Junior M.A.F.I.A. and all his crimeys, and they’re like, “Yo, you better stop saying this motherfucker is better than B.I.G.”

But me and B.I.G. were tight. And I’m going, “He’s iller than you B.I.G.” And B.I.G. is mad now. So we go off tour, and he goes home, and he goes right to do “Who Shot Ya.” “Who Shot Ya” was done a long time ago, when the beat was on Mary J. Blige’s album, but there was only one verse on it. So he goes to the studio to do the whole version, and he adds that second verse.

We go back to get on tour, and we’re at the airport, and they’ve got a big radio. Click, “Who Shot Ya” comes on. I’m like, “I heard this already, nigga.” He’s like, “No you didn’t.” The second verse comes on and I’m like, “Wow.” He’s like, “You want to tell me I’m not the hardest nigga out Clark?” And I’m like, “You’re definitely the hardest nigga out. But Jay’s nicer than you.” That was the argument all the time with us.

So now he’s motivated, because he’s hearing Jay-Z. And then he came with “Realm Of Junior M.A.F.I.A.” And that was motivated by dudes saying Jay was nice. He was like, “Oh really, he’s nice? I’m comin’ for his ass.” But by that time, “Brooklyn’s Finest” was recorded, and they were friends.

Cypress Hill “No Rest for the Wicked”

DJ Muggs: That was a direct message to Ice Cube. He had called us to work on a song for Friday, for the soundtrack. And we had recorded our album, and already had “Throw Your Set in the Air.” So Cube came to the studio, and we played him “Roll It Up, Light It Up, Smoke It Up.” We were like, “This is for you, for the Friday soundtrack,” because it was dope.

Then, he was like, “What are you guys working on? Play me a few cuts.” So we played him “Throw Your Set in the Air.” And he was like, “Yo! That’s ill. Let me get that for the movie. Play it again, let me hear it.” We played it again, and he was like, “Let me get that one.” But we were like, “Nah, that’s our shit. Fall back.”

Two, three weeks later, we’re driving, and we hear his new song for Friday on 106, where he says “Throw your neighborhood in the air” on the chorus. We’re like, “Fucking cocksucker!” B-Real called him, and he was like, “I didn’t take your shit.” B-Real was like, “Fuck you, man.” B-Real was hot. Then B-Real went in on “No Rest for the Wicked.”

Cube came back with Westside Connection, and wrote a diss on the Westside Connection album. See, I used to live with DJ Aladdin, and WC and Coolio were in the Maad Circle. And we were all homies, doing demos. When I was in my bedroom doing the Cypress demos, they were in their bedroom doing the Low Profile demos. So when it came time for them to do the diss record against us, WC was like, “No, those are my boys. I’m not jumping on the track with you.” But Mack 10 didn’t know us. He had to back up his boy, so Mack 10 jumped on the record.

But it got to the point where Westside Connection would be playing at the Power Jam, and Mexicans were throwing bottles at them and shit. Real racial tension. They were on the radio talking, and B would call up on the radio, grab his gun, and drive down to the fuckin’ radio station looking for him. It got a little heated.

And then, Cube kind of made up with B-Real. They squashed it at some point, eventually. It’s funny because a lot of Cube’s people were calling us at that time, like, “Yo, he took your shit.” King Sun called us. Kam called us. You know, that whole Muslim shit that he was into, that was Kam’s whole life. And then, the Torture Chamber called us, saying they never got paid for “Wicked.” J-Dee was calling us, from Da Lench Mob. We were like, “It is him. This really happened.”

But anyway, they squashed it. It was cool, whatever. Let bygones be bygones. But then Sen ran into him one night, at one of our shows. And Sen never got to say his piece. And Sen let him have it. He was in his face, and it was kind of uncomfortable for everybody.

I wish it never happened, because I’m a huge Cube fan, and still am. He’s one of the greatest of all-time. I think if that didn’t happen, we could’ve done so much more together. But looking back, we were young, dumb, hotheads. Everything is aggression. First reaction is anger and aggression, instead of thinking about it, and sitting back, like, “Let’s try to win this war instead of trying to fight every battle,” which is what we were doing at that time.

After they came out with their diss, we came back and grabbed their beat, and did another song about him. It was called “Ice Cube Killa.” It never came out officially, but we printed up 500 copies, and we were just ripping into Cube. And we got one of our homies that sounded like Cube to open up and do the first verse, ripping Cube. Some Crip from L.A. At that point it was like, “Alright, we’re cool. Everybody said what they had to say. We’re cool. Let’s move on.”

Now we’re super cool. I did some shows with Cube in Europe, B-Real’s done some shows with him since. We’re grown men. I love everything he does. That’s one thing, when I look back, I’m like, “Man, I would’ve rather just done a Cypress Hill and Ice Cube album.” We could’ve done something at that time. Right after Black Sunday and The Predator, we could’ve done an album together. It would’ve been big.

I don’t think he ever admitted that he jacked our chorus, but I know he did, so you don’t got to admit it. At this point I don’t even really care.

Showbiz and A.G. ft. Diamond D “You Want It”

Diamond D: I was in the studio, and they asked me to spit on it, and I got on it. That was basically it. Party Arty was on the hook, shout out to him. That was A.G.’s right hand man. It was just family, whether it was a Showbiz and A.G. session, Lord Finesse session, Diamond D session, Fat Joe session, O.C. session, whoever it was. Everybody was welcome. 

When I said, “I got the honeys running all night like the 21 Bus,” that was the bus that used to run from the South Bronx all the way up to the North Bronx. I lived along that route. It was a little Bronx metaphor I used. If you’re not from the Bronx, you didn’t know what the fuck I was talking about.

Jodeci ft. Raekwon and Ghostface Killah “Freek’n You (Remix)”

Raekwon: That right there was when we really started to look at making a transition for our careers, and when we made that record what was going through my mind was that maybe I could still be hardcore and still do these kinds of records too. But RZA wouldn’t let me go there.

When we made that record and it started taking off, I kinda just wanted to start making music like that. I wanted to try to open up that R&B world because like I said I’m the Chef. I’m versatile. You can’t just put me in one box.

Jodeci gave us a call. I remember me and Ghost up in the studio with them niggas ‘cause we was the only ones that went to go get at ‘em that day ‘cause they called specifically for us. And, them niggas was pissy, pissy, pissy, pissy drunk. We was in New York City, somewhere up in the city. I remember we was all just up in the studio having fun. Them niggas was singing their verses. Next thing you know, we was just pacing as it go on and while they was up in there doing their thing, I’m over there trying to write my first line like, “What the fuck am I gonna say to set off this rhyme?!” It wasn’t easy for me, so I think it may have took me like an hour and a half to just come up with the first line. 

I caught a lot of female love on that. So that’s why I was trying to get my little female shine on. Now I wanna be a sex symbol like Meth. Meth is a sex symbol, and that record was allowing me to be a sex symbol to a degree. So I’m like, “Yeah, I need to start making more records like this!”

RZA was like, “Man, listen here, you gonna stay right over here. Stay in your chamber.” I was really one of the dudes back then that was just so amped up to do whatever I can. I believed in myself like that. Confidence got the Chef where he at today.

Raekwon “Spot Rusherz”

Ghostface Killah: We went to Barbados to record Cuban Linx, then got kicked out, and went to record it in Miami. We got kicked out I guess ‘cause the British, well there was black people too, and I love white people, but they were too much under us. Whatever music we played, not even turned up, they’d go and call the people on us. They kept doing it every fucking time. And then, we had fatigues on. And we couldn’t wear them out there. “Take that shit off!” We had to get the fuck out of there. It was too much.

But it was a blessing, because we got to Miami, and it was a whole different vibe. We did “Ice Water,” and a majority of the Cuban Linx album there. Me and Rae were just going in. “Spot Rusherz” and all that other shit started coming to play.

We had a bunch of beats with us that RZA made. Before we left, we picked them out, like, “Give us those.” We took all the fire ones. We wrote like we wanted every song to be a single. That was our mindset. I gotta go do that again, and get back into that mode. Make every song a single.

I haven’t heard Cuban in so long. I perform “Criminology” like every fuckin’ night. But you know, you get tired of that. “Wisdom Body” was one of my favorites on there, and I’m just saying that because it was just me. When I first heard that beat, the beat was ridiculous.

I even like “Spot Rusherz.” Rae was saying some fly shit on there. And I was going in on the intro. But I remember when I said, “Yo Rae, come here,” at the end, and he’s like, “Yo, chill Ghost.” And I’m like, “Yo Rae, I’m ‘bout to scrape her.”  But I said “rape” at first. “Yo Rae, I’m ‘bout to rape her.” He was like, “Nah, we can’t say that.” It was too much. He said, “No, just say ‘scrape her.’” And it became “scrape.” I was just thinking about that the other day.

Fat Joe “Dedication”

Fat Joe: That beat was so hard. My man Rated R found the sample. I believe The Beatnuts helped me flip that. It was a reflection of the time in hip-hop, where there was no beefing, and it was just love, and everybody supported each other. I made a song about everyone I had ever met in hip-hop and everybody I thought was dope. It was a dedication to hip-hop.

Everyone was repping. If you talk about Fat Joe’s turbulent career, and having beef with this one and that one, if you listen to “Dedication,” you’ll be like, “Damn, this nigga got along with everybody.” It was a time when everybody would show up at everybody’s video, and everybody would support everybody. There were no real big egos in New York hip-hop.

Special thanks to Complex for the opportunity to interview my hip-hop heroes, and a nod to Take It Personal Radio for the visual inspiration.

Listen to the STORYTAPE ’95 playlist on Spotify HERE (minus a few unavailable songs). Stay tuned for more from the STORYTAPE series coming soon.

Long Live DJ Clark Kent…