The Gourds: Gin and Juice
From Gogitchyershinebox (Watermelon, 1998)
Camron: Camron Speaks
From DJ P-Cutta’s Street Wars Vol 5 (2002)
For a gimmick song, the Gourds’ cover of Snoop Dogg’s “Gin and Juice” is a complete joy to listen to. Part of it is the familiarty of knowing the lyrics and hearing them presented in an unexpected fashion but really, Austin’s Gourds just sound like they’ve having such a rollicking blast doing this song, their energy is infectious. Hip-hop purists might sniffle at this as being a mockery of their artform but I’d prefer to think of it as a tribute that transcends genre (and yeah, race too). Feel this.
As for “Camron Speaks,” this was recorded during the height of the Jay-Z vs. Nas war and Killa Cam unleashes a Harlem World beatdown on God’s Son. That’s actually not even the best part (though his line about how Nas still rhyming when he’s 48 was funny as hell) – when Cam starts challenging people to come rob him, he brags “I’m get another hole in each ear and I’m going to start rocking FOUR earrings at a time. And I’m going to come out dolo. Riot punk. Holla at your boy.” Damn, he’s gully.
chatter