Straight Up Sewaside

Straight Up Sewaside
Studio album by Das EFX
Released	November 16, 1993 (1993-11-16)
Recorded	September 1992 – May 1993
Studio	Northshore Soundworks (Commack, NY)
Genre	East Coast hip hop, hardcore hip hop
Length	43:55
Label	EastWest
Producer	PMD (exec.) Charlie Marotta Solid Scheme
Das EFX chronology
Dead Serious (1992) Straight Up Sewaside (1993) Hold It Down (1995)
Singles from Straight Up Sewaside
"Freakit" Released: October 21, 1993 "Baknaffek" Released: March 3, 1994

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
RapReviews	7.5/10 [2]

Straight Up Sewaside is the second studio album by American hip hop duo Das EFX. ^{[3] [4]} It was released on November 16, 1993 via East West Records. Recording sessions took place at Northshore Soundworks in Commack, New York. Production was handled by Solid Scheme and Charlie Marotta, with PMD serving as executive producer. The album debuted at number 20 on the Billboard 200 and number 6 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums in the United States. It was supported with two singles, "Freakit" and "Baknaffek". Its lead single, "Freakit", was released on October 21, 1993 ^[5] and made it to number 43 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Critical reception

Spin wrote that "on Straight Up Sewaside, the fidgeting raps keep coming, with pumping, vinyl-hissing production, and that was enough. In this case, more of the same was impressive and even admirable". ^[3] Ira Robbins of Trouser Press wrote: "the sophomore album is a let-down, with dull production, streamlined vocals and too many go-nowhere stragglers". ^[6]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Intro"			0:37
2.	"Undaground Rappa"	Andre Weston William Hines Chris Charity Derek Lynch James Brown	Solid Scheme	4:01
3.	"Gimme Dat Micraphone"	Weston Hines Charles Marotta Kool & the Gang	Charlie Marotta	3:16
4.	"Check It Out"	Weston Hines Charity Lynch	Solid Scheme	3:55
5.	"Interlude"	Weston Hines Charity Lynch	Solid Scheme	0:30
6.	"Freakit"	Weston Hines Charity Lynch	Solid Scheme	3:18
7.	"Rappaz"	Weston Hines Charity Lynch	Solid Scheme	4:22
8.	"Interview"			1:29
9.	"Baknaffek"	Weston Hines Charity Lynch Larry Graham Freddie Stone	Solid Scheme	3:32
10.	"Kaught in da Ak"	Weston Hines Charity Lynch Rick Rubin Adam Horovitz Joseph Simmons Darryl McDaniels	Solid Scheme	4:51
11.	"Wontu"	Weston Hines Charity Lynch	Solid Scheme	2:55
12.	"Krazy Wit da Books"	Weston Hines Charity Lynch Burt Bacharach Hal David	Solid Scheme	3:57
13.	"It'z Lik Dat"	Weston Hines Charity Lynch	Solid Scheme	3:31
14.	"Host Wit da Most" (Rappaz Remix)	Weston Hines Charity Lynch		3:32
Total length:				43:55

Sample credits

• Track 2 contains a sample from "Soul Power" by James Brown.
• Track 3 contains a sample of "Funky Granny" by Kool & the Gang.
• Track 9 contains samples from the Graham Central Station recording "People".
• Track 10 contains excerpts from the composition "Paul Revere" by the Beastie Boys.
• Track 12 contains a sample of "Walk On By" by Gloria Gaynor.

Notes

• The booklet lists a songwriting credit for 'J. Brown' on the 7th track, but this may be a misprint. ASCAP and BMI lists only the two performers and two producers and there is no James Brown sample on this track.

Personnel

• Andre "Krazy Drayz" Weston – vocals, re-mixing (track 14)
• Willie "Skoob" Hines – vocals, re-mixing (track 14)
• Chris Charity – scratches, producer & arranger (tracks: 2, 4-7, 9-13), recording, engineering, mixing
• Derek Lynch – scratches, producer & arranger (tracks: 2, 4-7, 9-13), recording, engineering, mixing
• Rodney "DJ Dice" Battle – scratches
• Charlie Marotta – producer & arranger (track 3), recording, engineering, mixing
• Tony Dawsey – mastering
• Parrish "PMD" Smith – executive producer
• Amy Guip – photography

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1993) Peak position US Billboard 200 [7] 20 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums ( Billboard ) [8] 6

Year-end charts Chart (1994) Position US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums ( Billboard ) [9] 52

References

1. Theakston, Rob. "Das EFX - Straight Up Sewaside Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic". AllMusic . Retrieved November 12, 2023.
2. Baber, Mike (May 17, 2011). "Das EFX :: Straight Up Sewaside :: EastWest Records America". www.rapreviews.com. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
3. "'Til Infinity: The 50 Best Rap Albums From 1993, Hip-Hop's Other Greatest Year | SPIN". Spin . November 21, 2013. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
4. Goldsmith, Melissa Ursula Dawn; Fonseca, Anthony J. (December 1, 2018). Hip Hop around the World: An Encyclopedia [2 volumes]. ABC-CLIO. p. 164. ISBN   9780313357596 – via Google Books.
5. Nelson, Havelock (February 5, 1994). "Rap Scene Still Feeling Das' EFX". Billboard . Vol. 106, no. 6. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. pp. 16, 21. ISSN   0006-2510 – via Google Books.
6. Robbins, Ira. "Das Efx". Trouser Press . Retrieved November 12, 2023.
7. "The Billboard 200". Billboard . Nielsen Business Media, Inc. December 4, 1993. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved November 12, 2023.
8. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard . Nielsen Business Media, Inc. December 4, 1993. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved November 12, 2023.
9. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1994". Billboard . Retrieved February 3, 2021.

External links

• Straight Up Sewaside at Discogs (list of releases)