Nice & Smooth | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1989 | |||
Recorded | 1988−1989 | |||
Genre | Hip hop | |||
Length | 54:31 | |||
Label | Fresh/Sleeping Bag Records (U.S.) LPRE-13 (first pressing) Priority/EMI Records (U.S.) 0499 2 53887 2 5 P2-53887 (second pressing) Priority/Virgin/EMI Records (Europe) 7243 8 40117 2 7 V2-40117 | |||
Producer | Nice & Smooth | |||
Nice & Smooth chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Nice & Smooth is the debut studio album by American hip-hop duo Nice & Smooth from The Bronx, NY. It was released on May 16, 1989, via Fresh Records and Sleeping Bag Records. The album is notable for its sense of humor and comedy rhymes. The release singles of the album are "Early to Rise" and "Funky for You". This was the duo's only release on Fresh/Sleeping Bag Records before it signed with Def Jam Recordings sub-label RAL Records. It was included in The Source 's "100 Best Rap Albums". It was one of three titles acquired by Priority Records when Sleeping Bag went out of business in 1992.
Dutch hip hop or Nederhop ("Netherhop") is hip hop / rap music created by Dutch speaking musicians in the Netherlands and Flanders (Belgium). Although the first Dutch rappers in Europe typically wrote in the English language, this began to change when Osdorp Posse gained a big following of fans. They were the first to record and release hip hop in the Dutch language, perform for big crowds and to achieve chart success with their albums.
Mantronix was an influential 1980s hip hop and electro funk music group from New York City. The band was formed by DJ Kurtis Mantronik and rapper MC Tee. The group is primarily remembered for its pioneering blend of old school hip hop, electronic, and club music. They underwent several genre and line-up changes during its seven-year existence between 1984 and 1991, and released five albums beginning with their 1985 debut The Album.
EPMD is an American hip hop duo from Brentwood, New York. The duo's name is an acronym for "Erick and Parrish Making Dollars", referring to its members: emcees Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith. During an interview on college radio station WHOV in 1987, Parrish Smith stated that the name evolved from the original: "We were originally known as "EEPMD", but chose to go with EPMD because it was easier to say." He also stated that they dropped the two "E's" because N.W.A.'s Eric Wright was already using "Eazy-E" as his stage name. The group has been active for 37 years.
Nice & Smooth is an East Coast hip hop duo from New York City that consists of Gregory O. "Greg Nice" Mays and Darryl O. "Smooth B" Barnes. The duo released four albums between 1989 and 1997.
Kurtis el Khaleel, known by the stage name Kurtis Mantronik, is a Jamaican-born hip hop and electronic-music artist, DJ, remixer, and producer. He was the leader, DJ, and keyboardist of the influential 1980s hip hop and electro-funk group Mantronix. He currently lives in South Africa where he has produced and remixed house and techno music tracks by artists such as India, Junior Senior, Kylie Minogue, Fatboy Slim, The Chemical Brothers, Michael Gray, Victoria Beckham, Liberty X, S Club, and Mim. Mantronik was influential in the development of hip hop music: notably, he laid the foundations for Southern hip hop genres such as Miami bass and trap music, and helped popularize the Amen break.
Buzz is the third studio album by British pop group Steps, released on 30 October 2000. It reached number four on the UK Albums Chart. The album saw the group starting to move away from the PWL sound to a more mature sound, working with producers from Sweden and songwriters such as Cyndi Lauper. This more mature sound was also echoed in the new material from Gold: Greatest Hits.
Chromeo is a Canadian electro-funk duo from Montreal, formed in 2002 by musicians David "Dave 1" Macklovitch and Patrick "P-Thugg" Gemayel. Their sound draws from soul music, dance music, rock, synth-pop, disco and funk.
Don't Sweat the Technique is the fourth and final studio album by American hip hop duo Eric B. & Rakim, released on June 23, 1992, by MCA Records. It was recorded and produced by Eric B. & Rakim at The Hit Factory in New York City. The album builds on the sounds of 1990's Let the Rhythm Hit 'Em, with Rakim sounding more aggressive on Eric B.'s jazzy, soulful production.
The Ruler's Back is the second studio album by British-American rapper Slick Rick, released in 1991 on Def Jam Recordings.
Blowin' Up is a comedic reality show on MTV. The show starred Jamie Kennedy, an actor who follows his dream of becoming a successful rapper. The show was written by Kennedy after the success of the movie Malibu's Most Wanted, in which he starred. Along for the ride is his close friend Stu Stone, who keeps Jamie in check to stick to their rap career.
The Desolate One is the third studio album by American rapper Just-Ice. It was released in 1989 through Fresh/Sleeping Bag Records. Recording sessions took place at Power Play Studios in New York. Production was handled by KRS-One and Just-Ice himself, with Ivan "DJ Doc" Rodriguez and D-Nice serving as co-producers. It features a guest appearance from Heavy D.
The Album is the debut album by the group Mantronix. The group was a New York-based duo composed of MC Tee and Kurtis Mantronik. Following some live performances together, they recorded a demo tape version of the song "Fresh is the Word" which was noticed by Will Socolov of Sleeping Bag Records. The label released the single and signed them to record an album.
Sleeping Bag Records was a New York City-based independent record label founded by musician Arthur Russell and entrepreneur Will Socolov. It was active between 1981 and 1992, and specialized in dance music and hip hop.
Fresh Records was a New York City-based independent record label that operated from 1985 to 1992. The label was a subsidiary of Sleeping Bag Records that sold hip hop music. The label's roster included EPMD, Nice & Smooth, Just-Ice and T La Rock; house-music pioneer Todd Terry; and electro artists Hanson & Davis and Chocolette.
"Funky President (People It's Bad)" is a funk song by James Brown. Released as a single in 1974, it charted No. 4 R&B. It also appeared on the album Reality. According to Brown the "funky president" of the song's title was meant to refer to U.S. President Gerald Ford, who had succeeded Richard Nixon in the White House shortly before it was recorded.
"Funky Worm" is a song by American funk group the Ohio Players, from their album Pleasure. It peaked at number one on the U.S. Billboard R&B chart in 1973 and also peaked at number fifteen on the Billboard Hot 100. Billboard ranked it as the No. 84 song for 1973.
Strictly Business is the debut album by hip-hop duo EPMD. It was released on June 7, 1988, by Fresh/Sleeping Bag Records around the world and BCM Records in Germany. It peaked at No. 80 on the Billboard 200 soon after release, yet it earned an RIAA gold album certification within four months of its release. In addition, it has received much positive critical attention since its release. In 2012, the album was ranked number 453 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
UK garage, abbreviated as UKG, is a genre of electronic dance music which originated in England in the early to mid-1990s. The genre was most clearly inspired by jungle, but also incorporates elements from dance-pop and R&B. It is defined by percussive, shuffled rhythms with syncopated hi-hats, cymbals, and snares, and may include either 4/4 house kick patterns or more irregular "2-step" rhythms. Garage tracks also commonly feature 'chopped up' and time-stretched or pitch-shifted vocal samples complementing the underlying rhythmic structure at a tempo usually around 130 BPM.
Chapter Two: Red is the third extended play (EP) by American singer Bea Miller. It was released on June 2, 2017 by Hollywood Records. The EP is the second part of a trilogy of EPs, which follows the release of Chapter One: Blue on February 24, 2017, and precedes Chapter Three: Yellow, released on October 6, 2017. On February 23, 2018 the full album Aurora was released including all the songs of the three previous EPs, plus five new tracks.
To the Batmobile Let's Go is the debut album by The Todd Terry Project, an alias of American house producer Todd Terry. Released in November 1988 by Fresh Records, it followed the club success of his singles "Bango" and "Just Wanna Dance"/"Weekend", all of which feature on the album, and profiles a minimal, playful style of house music that is built on sampling and features breakbeats, experimentation with noise and elements of electro, freestyle and hip hop. The musician intended the album to represent the more commercial, Latin-styled side of his work.