As we continue along the path to the greatest hip hop album ever made (my opinion, but probably yours too), we arrive at my #9… Growing up, the hip hop I listened to was pretty regional. And that was just a product of my environment. It’s why I like Tupac over Biggie. It’s why I didn’t hear a full Wu Tang Clan album until 2003. There was a few East Coast artists that crept through (more on that later), but for the most part I stuck to my California roots, until I got a job at 15 and spent every penny of every paycheck at Sam Goddie. During that time, I would stay up late at night watching MTV, when they’d play the “less popular stuff,” to find some new music. That is when I stumbled across a video from my #9 album…
09. Scapegoat Wax – Okeeblow
I know what you’re thinking. “What the hell is an okeeblow?” And that’s a fair question. But don’t judge an album by its name. Otherwise, you probably would have never listened to most De La Soul and Tribe Called Quest albums… But I digress… I was up late one night during the summer of 2001, when I caught a song called “Aisle 10 (Hello Allison).” I didn’t know what to think at first. It was hip hopish, but kinda poppy too. But I liked it, so I made a little note of the artist. A few weeks later, I’d forgotten all about the song, until I was browsing new music at a Warehouse store (which was my favorite pastime as a child), and I came across Okeeblow on sale for $6.99, brand new… I immediately recognized the name, and couldn’t pass it up.
Scapegoat Wax - Aisle 10 (Hello Allison)
I think what made me like this album so much was that it felt like such a complete body of work. If that makes sense. It was one of those albums I couldn’t really just play a song here and a song there. If I put the album on, I’d listen to it from front to back. Another thing I loved about it was that Marty James would sing on the album probably as much as he rapped on it. This was one of the first times I’d heard an artist both sing and rap, and do them both well. He was able to blend styles more seamlessly than anyone I’d heard before.
Scapegoat Wax - Light Of The Moon
Scapegoat Wax started out as a three-man entourage, featuring (briefly) Johnny Z, producer MDA and lead singer/emcee Marty James. Johnny Z had already left the group by the time this album came out. I remember being sucked into this album from the jump. It started out with a dope beat, and some catchy melodies, but was still “hip hop” enough to hold my attention. As the song went on, I realized that not only was Marty James a dope lyricist, but he was also quite funny…
Scapegoat Wax - Star 6
Towards the middle of the album it takes on a more serious tone, talking about relations, life, misfortune, and then of course there is the obligatory posse cut. Scapegoat Wax linked up with The Suspects for what is easily the most hip hop song on the album, “Eardrum.”
Scapegoat Wax ft. The Suspects - Eardrum
As the album moves on, I hit one of my favorite songs. “Almost Fine” is a simple, bass heavy beat that almost sounds depressing before he even starts in… The song follows his different shortcomings and misfortunes. In a world where every other rapper was talking about how awesome they were, this was like a huge breath of fresh air to me. As I grew up more, and continued to listen to the album, its become one of the most relatable songs on the album. Marty sings, “I’m still trippin off my ex-girlfriend/ We broke up three years ago last week/ I still write songs about that girl/ But she’s moved on very nicely.” It’s the little things that get you haha…
Scapegoat Wax - Almost Fine
As I prepared for this post, I decided to put this album on yesterday. I’m pretty sure I listened to it all the way through 3-4 times throughout the day. I feel like this album has a sense of honesty that most of these new “freshman” rappers seem to be striving for. And it’s still as much of a refreshing listen today as it was the first time I heard it. Marty James and MDA have since linked up with Hieroglyphics affiliate, Z-Man, to form the group One Block Radius. They have collectively released two albums and a mixtape. Marty James has also probably done a hook for every west coast emcee that matters in the last few years…
High Point: As you can see by the fact that I posted 5 songs, I cant really point out one favorite spot in the album. As it goes from track to track, I find myself getting excited every time a new song starts. I would have to say that the high point of the album it it’s continuity.
Low Point: “Evelyn.” Although this is probably the most personal song on the album, its also sonically the darkest. I find that if I skip any song on the album, its usually this one.
DOWNLOAD: Scapegoat Wax - Okeeblow.rar
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