Wednesday 11 August 2010

CROOKLYN DODGERS 'RETURN OF THE CROOKLYN DODGERS'


As hip-hop supergroups go, the Crooklyn Dodgers gave the likes of Def Squad and Diggin' In The Crates a serious run for their money. It's just a shame the project was so short-lived. While 1994's Q-Tip-produced 'Crooklyn', from the Spike Lee movie of the same name, featured Buckshot, Masta Ace and Special Ed, round two appeared the following year. This time, 'Return Of The Crooklyn Dodgers' featured Chubb Rock, OC and Jeru Tha Damaja, and was featured on the soundtrack of Lee's 'Clockers' movie.

The mournful sax and chiming bell are just two of the memorable features of a distinctive, slamming beat that could only have come from DJ Premier, and all the MCs are on fire with their depiction of the grim hardships of street life in Brooklyn's less tourist-friendly districts. It's Jeru who blazes the most, however, (despite the fucked up hairstyle,) appropriately cropping up on the third verse to truly shut things down.

"Excuse me while I light my spliff, but some choose to drink, so bullets hit brains when bottles hit lips."

"With precision we're slicing and dicing, peace to the East, New York, Perverted Monks and Mike Tyson."

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