After doing some research for my 90 for 90 mix, I saw a lot of their songs mentioned, and I finally listened to "One for all." I feel like I hadn't heard but 2-3 songs on here before this year..."Slow down" is really the only one I heard growing up. I remember when they dropped "Don't let it go to your head," which was a great way to bridge that Jiggy gap with their true style..and of course I remember Puba being solo in 95.

What was the overall deal with them? How was this album received back in 1990? I almost like it more than Tribe's debut, and I surely enjoy it more than 3 ft High (which I've talked about before). What reasons did they break up, and did the break up hurt their legacy to where this album doesn't get mentioned as much as it should?

------------------------------

50+ FREE Mixes on www.DJR-Tistic.com!

Twitter and Instagram - @DJ_RTistic

Q: How was this album received back in 1990?

It was recieved well. Cats can correct me but on the East Coast folks were eatin it up. In the Bay if you were into groups like Capital Tax, Freestyle Fellowship, Jungle Bros. De La, Tribe, PE, Cube's solo ish good chance you had this in your collection.

Bonus: Instead of boho, folks back in the days were called Nubian in the Bay. Maybe them coming out is y that name is.


A: What reasons did they break up, and did the break up hurt their legacy to where this album doesn't get mentioned as much as it should?


I think Puba talked some smack at a party or show or something like that. When Puba first left folks thought it might hurt the legacy but after In God We Trust came out, showing they did just fine without him....nah din't hurt their legacy.

.

< Live Mixshow - Thurs 11PM/EST >
https://twitch.tv/djchiefone

----Mixtape Archives-----
https://soundcloud.com/djchiefone

It was well received.

I think because so much of it is so intertwined with 5% philosophy and terminology, it didn't get much burn on the west coast outside of straight up Hip Hop circles and mobile DJs.. Definitely didn't get radio play on commercial radio out here. I remember a lot of "houser" or "new school" Hip Hop dancers (new bboys) would dance to beats like All For One.

My personal favorite track was Who Can Get Busy Like This Man.

I know it was released in 1990, but I'm pretty sure I didn't pick this up until after the fact.. Possibly in 91 or 92 on tape.

Dante Ross/Elektra Records was hitting back in those years.. They really could do no wrong in terms of Hip Hop: Brand Nubian, Del tha Funkee Homosapien, Leaders of the New School, KMD. Between Elektra and Jive Records, there were so many great albums released in the early 90's.

As far as Brand Nubian breaking up.. I really wasn't aware too much about that.. other than the fact Puba went solo I think in '92. When "In God We Trust" came out a little after that, I kinda tuned out other than "Punks Jump Up.." which was a good song no doubt.. but signaled to me a more hardcore..rugged sound not just in the group but in east coast Hip Hop in general (to me anyway)..

>What was the overall deal with them?

Puba was from a group called Masters of Ceremony. They had some singles in the mid and late '80s ("Cracked Out", "Dynamite," etc.). He also was loosely affiliated with First Priority, and did some production on MC Lyte's second album (*I Am the Lyte" and "Funky Song"). Sadat X (then Derek X) and Lord Jamar were, I believe, solo MCs in the beginning. They linked up and formed the group.

>How was this album received back in 1990?

Well. It was one of the few the albums the received 5 Mics from the o.g. Source Mind Squad. The video for "Wake Up" was directed by Fab 5 Freddy and got decent play on Yo! TV Raps, before it had to get re-edited due to "controversy".

It's also considered one of the heaviest bootleged albums of all-time. I've heard all three of the maintain that it would have at least gone Gold if not for the bootlegging, and most say it probably went Gold anyway, but the label faked on them.

>What reasons did they break up?

Well, Puba was at his core a solo MC. And the word was that he thought he was bigger than group. But, moreover, he got the most shine from the album, and wanted to pursue a career as a solo MC.

>Did the break up hurt their legacy to where this album doesn't
>get mentioned as much as it should?

Eh, I don't think so. Especially considering how acclaimed "In Gods We Trust" is/was. That was their first post-Puba album, and it's pretty universally loved (though I never loved it ***quite*** as much as some). But I think after that album, their third didn't get a lot of success (even though I personally love it). And while the reunion album was critically acclaimed as well, I don't think it moved a lot of units during a time when jiggy shit was blowing up.

-----------------

www.albumism.com

Checkin' Our Style, Return To Zero:

https://www.mixcloud.com/returntozero/

I was a huge puba fan and Sadat X grew with each album.

from what I heard it as always understood that Puba would go solo. Probably the biggest mistake of his career. His solo album was a huge disappointment.

Brand Nubians next Album was really good. Love Me or Leave Me Alone and Punks Jump Up were the stand out tracks from that album.

I think if they stayed together they could have been on the level right below PE. Their chemistry was amazing

****************
TBH the fact that you're even a mod here fits squarely within Jag's narrative of OK-sanctioned aggression, bullying, and toxicity. *shrug*

We see through all that boo boo like it's ghost shit... (c) Quelle Chris

| http://liveguy.bandcamp.com |
| www.soundcloud.com/liveguy |
| www.twitter.com/liveguy |
| www.instagram.com/theREALliveguy |
| XBOX ONE GT: theREALliveguy |

That first album was a hip hop dancer's paradise. To the left is forever my anthem to just get busy. That album was loved almost instantly. Puba was the man back then. He was all over the place so I understand him wanting to go solo. I don't understand that solo debut though. Just weak overall. If you think about it all three had distinct styles and flows. They all added something. I'm glad they are still brothers and tour together.

This post was paid for by the following.

www.twitter.com/13Rose
www.debunkthemyth.org
http://dashaunworld.wordpress.com/
www.mothergreen.com

Remember MJ The Great!
PSN: ThirteenRose

I can understand someone saying they preferred "Gods Must Be Crazy" to it (though I don't think I'd agree), but flat out not liking it? Puba's lyricism? Puba and SD50 production?

The album had:

Check the Resume
360
That's How We Move It
Check it Out
Big Kids Don't Play
Lickshot
You Know How It Goes
Reel to Reel
Back It Up

And the two "knowledge" tracks were solid enough. And the "Mind Your Business" b-side was flames.

Yeah, I don't get the lack of love.

-----------------

www.albumism.com

Checkin' Our Style, Return To Zero:

https://www.mixcloud.com/returntozero/

Nope. I got it because the older heads swore by it. Might be four cuts on there but other than that, nah. I dig 2000 though.

******************************************
Falcons, Braves, Bulldogs and Hawks

Geto Boys, Poison Clan, UGK, Eightball & MJG, OutKast, Goodie Mob

Reel to Reel was a solid solo album.

2000 was a let down.

****************
TBH the fact that you're even a mod here fits squarely within Jag's narrative of OK-sanctioned aggression, bullying, and toxicity. *shrug*

The Chronic came out around the same time, I remember buying both with Christmas money.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxKrdlsHVmg

Reel To Reel is a great album.

_______________________________________
Current Playlist:
The Internet - Ego Death
Thundercat - The Beyond / Where the Giants Roam
Dam-Funk - Invite the Light
Scarface - Deeply Rooted



"This is your world. Shape it or someone else will." - Gary Lew

....hence the disappointment ..a lot of people were like "he left brand nubian to do THIS??" ..but dont get it wrong, "360" had people expecting greatness before the LP too

< Live Mixshow - Thurs 11PM/EST >
https://twitch.tv/djchiefone

----Mixtape Archives-----
https://soundcloud.com/djchiefone

I did look forward to his 2nd album. that was a huge let down.

Y'all buy those labels, I was born supreme

>I can understand someone saying they preferred "Gods Must Be
>Crazy" to it (though I don't think I'd agree), but flat out
>not liking it? Puba's lyricism? Puba and SD50 production?
>
>The album had:
>
>Check the Resume
>360
>That's How We Move It
>Check it Out
>Big Kids Don't Play
>Lickshot
>You Know How It Goes
>Reel to Reel
>Back It Up
>
>And the two "knowledge" tracks were solid enough. And the
>"Mind Your Business" b-side was flames.
>
>Yeah, I don't get the lack of love.

"greatest rapper alive" crown, instead he dropped some cool, fun, nondescript type joints. There's a good 7-8 songs on there with interchangeable verses.

I was hurt by the lack of effort he put into that album

no real beats... rhymes were lazy at best he just didn't bring his A game

I got a good life man

*********************
www.dumhi.com -- We are ALL dumhi

If you were on the East Coast when the One for All Album dropped thats really all you heard for a while.. that record was HUGE....

It dropped at the height of the leather african medallions era...

So you had Brand Nubian, tribe, jungle, x clan... de la ...

not necessarily in that order..

as far as i remember it.. by the time the album dropped puba was already on the way out of brand nubian... something about that dude... seemed like he was using groups to jumpstart his Solo career.

Masters of Ceremony then Brand Nubian...

You take the blue pill, the story ends. You wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.

Shit was real serious. And you are correct BN was in rotation right along with the other groups u named.


>
>It dropped at the height of the leather african medallions
>era...
>
>So you had Brand Nubian, tribe, jungle, x clan... de la ...
>
>not necessarily in that order..
>

Dont let it go to your head was not originally on the album.. not on the copies that I had... i think that was added later...

You take the blue pill, the story ends. You wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.

Puba was my favorite MC for a moment - Reel to Reel is effortless

Sadat X is uncanny and still active - My favorite right now along w/ Dave Plug 3

@GetoutTheroom
http://getouttheroom.podomatic.com
******************************************
https://twitter.com/Jayric

.

''i went from bashful to asshole to international''- CdoubleO

>.

We didn't need "Let's Dance". I like "Get Your Back Up Off The Wall" though. "Too Late" should have been a straight R&B cut without Brand Nubian. I liked the concept behind "Sincerely", but it's a little too moist for me.

the strong cuts make up for it. and the album still flows well imo.
classic late 90s album to me.

''i went from bashful to asshole to international''- CdoubleO

I gotta go back to this one. I remember more than a few skippers on that album. Plus I dig Brand Nubian more without Puba.

******************************************
Falcons, Braves, Bulldogs and Hawks

Geto Boys, Poison Clan, UGK, Eightball & MJG, OutKast, Goodie Mob

*********************
www.dumhi.com -- We are ALL dumhi

>What was the overall deal with them? How was this album
>received back in 1990? I almost like it more than Tribe's
>debut, and I surely enjoy it more than 3 ft High (which I've
>talked about before). What reasons did they break up, and did
>the break up hurt their legacy to where this album doesn't get
>mentioned as much as it should?

Brand Nubian is the reason I'm a "Five-Percenter" now. Their debut single, "Feel So Good," was such a departure from what was to come. Grand Puba (Maxwell) was already kind of a known figure as part of the Masters of Ceremony crew. He was also one of those rappers kind of ahead of the game as far as flow and patterns.

I was 16-17 when they came out so it was a really formative time for me. Growing up in D.C., I was one of the very few Hip-Hop heads in the city. The single was unlike anything a lot of us heard. I was already a Puba fan but the blend of his voice next to Sadat (then Derek) X's gravelly delivery and Lord Jamar's (then Jamal) smooth bars was just amazing to me.

The group was always Puba's brainchild and I think Puba began to realize he was the "star" of the group or at least wanted to be. I never really got the full science on why they broke up but it was always aimed that Puba/Hagi stood out.

The breakup hurt nothing. The releasing of shitty material under the name did. But people really slept on their 1998 reunion LP, Foundation.

The last two LPs had a couple joints on it but Sadat was the only one who kind of updated his formula.

But because of the greatness of One For All, and the post-Puba LPs, they're good. But that reunion LP is the best one of their releases to me.

One of my fave joints off Foundation produced by Lord Finesse:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gEkMOma-zU

*********************
www.dumhi.com -- We are ALL dumhi

I just made a Brand Nubian playlist. My Friday is lit.

*********************
www.dumhi.com -- We are ALL dumhi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgF9LduL3y4

*********************
www.dumhi.com -- We are ALL dumhi

Legendary crew, fresh track indeed….

Integrity is the Cornerstone of Artistry...