dj clark kent

Dr. Dre’s “The Chronic” Isn’t A Classic, According To DJ Clark Kent

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Dr. Dre’s The Chronic is undoubtedly an album that has every right to be a classic. From groundbreaking production to stand-out performances from Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre delivered a body of work that earned its place on the National Recording Registry. However, not everyone feels that way. During an appearance on Angie Martinez’s Iconic Records, DJ Clark Kent claimed that Dr Dre’s The Chronic doesn’t stand alongside albums like Doggystyle, Reasonable Doubt, or Ready To Die.

Clark Kent listed a number of classic albums before Angie Martinez mentioned Dre’s seminal debut album. “I can’t even put The Chronic before I put [Doggystyle],” he said. “Snoop Dogg’s album is better than The Chronic. Anyways – it definitely is.” Martinez was taken aback by DJ Clark Kent’s claim about Dr Dre’s album. He added that projects like Ready To Die, Reasonable Doubt, and Life After Death are “the same album.” “All of these albums do the same thing: they begin, they hold you in the middle, they hug you, and then they end,” he added.

DJ Clark Kent’s Take On “The Chronic”

Ultimately, he felt as though every classic album needs to captivate you from the beginning to the end. Even one skip deters a project from reaching the status of being a “classic,” he explained. “But you have to have great songs that make that thing happen. If you don’t – if you got one song that doesn’t hit properly, you done took yourself out of the classic [thing]. Because if you could, you ain’t got a classic,” he said. “That’s why, I won’t say The Chronic is a classic because I could skip RBX.”

Clark Kent Doubles Down 

Clark Kent later took to the comment section of @92bricks where he said that it was solely his opinion and not one that he expected others to share. Later on, he took to his Twitter page where he divulged further on his stance. “Having an opinion, that may not be popular, doesn’t make you a hater. Also doesn’t make you bias. It makes you human,” he wrote. “I respect everyone’s opinions as their own. I will never expect anybody to be in total agreement with me.” Check his comments above and sound off with your thoughts below. 

DJ Clark Kent Says LL Cool J Passed On 2 Iconic Notorious B.I.G. Beats

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DJ Clark Kent says that LL Cool J passed on two beats that The Notorious B.I.G. later went on to use on classic tracks. Appearing on the second episode of Warner Music Group’s Iconic Records podcast series, Clark Kent explained that the beats for “Sky’s the Limit” and Junior M.A.F.I.A.’s “Player’s Anthem” were originally in LL Cool J’s possession.

“[‘Player’s Anthem’] rings off in the Tunnel,” Clark Kent began. “[Kap] plays it like 10 times in a row. Now, me and Biggie are standing against one of the walls in the Tunnel. LL COOL J’s walking by and the club’s going crazy. I’m like, ‘Yo, wassup?’ And he goes, ‘Yo, what is this?’ I was like, ‘It’s the new joint with Big and his crew.’ He was like, ‘Who did this?’ I was like, ‘I did.’ He was like, ‘Yo, dawg, I need a joint like that.’ I said, ‘Well, remember that tape I gave you with the silver label on it? That was the first one on the tape.’ And he was like, ‘This?!’ I was like, ‘Yeah, you had it first.’ ‘You had it before [JAY-Z], you had it before all the guys that you had any rivalries with. You had it first. I shouldn’t have gave it to you but I did. But you had it first and you didn’t pick it. So now you hear it in the club.’ And he was just like, ‘Damn.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, listen to the tape.’”

DJ Clark Kent In New York City

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 18: DJ Clark Kent attends CQ3 The Harlem Renaissance With DJ D-Nice presented by The Apollo on March 18, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage)

“The next track on there was ‘Sky’s the Limit,’” he said. “He missed that. LL had ‘Player’s Anthem’ and ‘Sky’s the Limit.’ And then it was magical because the Tunnel was upside down that night. And I was just like, ‘We did this yesterday. This shit shouldn’t even be playing.’ But it’s me, Big and Un. Un’s like, ‘Yo, this gon’ be the first single!’ And Big’s like, ‘I told you so, I told you.’ And I was just like, ‘Okay, you told me.’”

Clark Kent went on to praise Biggie for his ability to recognize and incorporate a good beat into his songs. He felt that LL Cool J, on the other hand, didn’t “listen to it properly.” He explained that not all artists can hear an entire composition when they listen to a beat. “Most people hear the track and they think, ‘How do I rhyme to it?’ Biggie’s like, ‘Oh no, there’s a whole song here,’” the DJ said. Check out the second episode of Iconic Records below.

Read More: Pusha T Labels Biggie’s “Life After Death” The “Best Double Album Ever”

DJ Clark Kent On “Iconic Records

[Via]

Today in Hip-Hop History: Slick Rick Dropped His Last Album ‘The Art Of Storytelling’ 23 Years Ago

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On this day in Hip Hop history, Slick Rick released his final studio LP, The Art of Story Telling.

Mostly produced by DJ Clark Kent and Kid Capri, this album featured guest verses from the likes of Redman, Rev Run, Outkast, Nas, Raekwon, and Snoop Dogg.

Critically the album has been hailed as the only proper sequel to his breakthrough debut album, The Great Adventures Of Slick Rick. Due to continuous run-ins with the law, the public was never really able to fully experience Slick Rick as an artist. For the same reason, the world will never know what his outstanding ability and outspoken persona could have done for Hip Hop culture. What is apparent is that when the master storyteller has the time, he can pen and deliver a masterpiece.

The Art of Storytelling was Slick Rick’s most commercially successful album, peaking at #8 on the Billboard 200 chart and #1 on the Top R&B/Hip Hop charts. The album even went gold during its first week of sales. True to the title, the album is full of narratives that could only be crafted by the pen that scribed the famous “Children’s Story.” And although he has not strayed away from his signature rhetoric, The Art of Storytelling shows improvement and Slick Rick’s ability to stay relevant as far as his own style blending with the popular sound of the time. As a whole, this album is deserving of all accolades and is a proper farewell to Slick Rick as an album rapper.

The post Today in Hip-Hop History: Slick Rick Dropped His Last Album ‘The Art Of Storytelling’ 23 Years Ago appeared first on The Source.