Ultramagnetic MCs

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Ultramagnetic MCs
Ultramagnetic MCs ATP.jpg
Ultramagnetic MCs (Kool Keith and Ced-Gee pictured) performing at I'll Be Your Mirror in Asbury Park, New Jersey, September 2011
Background information
Origin The Bronx, New York City, U.S.
Genres Hip hop
Years active
  • 1984–2001
  • 2006–present
Labels
Members Kool Keith
Ced-Gee
TR Love
Moe Love
Jaycee

The Ultramagnetic MCs is an American hip hop group based in the Bronx, New York City. [1] Founded by Kool Keith, the group also includes Ced Gee, TR Love, and Moe Love. [2] Tim Dog became an unofficial member in 1989. In 1990, DJ Jaycee was added as a road manager and backup DJ. Big.D was put down with the crew by Kool Keith in 1989. A former member, Rooney Roon, was fired following an assault arrest. Beat-boxer Rahzel was also involved with the group early in its career. The group's work was associated with unorthodox sampling, polysyllabic rhymes, and bizarre lyrical imagery.

Contents

History

The Ultramagnetic MCs formed in 1984. Their first single was "To Give You Love" (1985) on the Diamond International label. The group released "Ego Trippin'", their first 12-inch single, on Next Plateau Records in 1986. It was the first hip hop song to feature the "Synthetic Substitution" drum break sample, composed by Melvin Bliss and one of the most sampled songs of all time. [3] The group's next single was "Travelling at the Speed of Thought (Original)"/"M.C.'s Ultra (Part Two)" followed by "Funky"/"Mentally Mad", one of their most sought-after 12-inch singles. "Travelling" used extensive sampling from "Louie Louie" by the Kingsmen while "Funky" was based on a Joe Cocker piano sample later used as the basis for 2Pac's "California Love". The single was released in 1987, and led to the release of the group's first album.

The Ultramagnetic MCs released a new school classic in 1988, Critical Beatdown , introducing many new sampling techniques. Many believe[ who? ] that without the group's primary producer, Ced Gee, the golden era of sampling may have looked very different. Ced, while uncredited, also produced the majority of Boogie Down Productions' seminal Criminal Minded . [4] These albums are among the first to use "chopped" samples, rearranged and edited to change context. Both albums also feature many James Brown samples, which became prominent in hip hop in ensuing years. KRS-One has been quoted as saying that he was close to joining Ultramagnetic MCs early on. Paul C. was also a major contributor to Critical Beatdown, producing "Give The Drummer Some", and engineering most of the album. [4] Paul C. also produced the Hip-House mix of "Traveling At The Speed Of Thought", which was used as the group's first music video, and was their sole release in 1989. The single's b-side, "A Chorus Line", became one of Ultramagnetic's most popular songs and introduced new group affiliate Tim Dog. A variation of the "A Chorus Line" instrumental was used as the basis of Tim Dog's debut single, the Ced Gee-produced "Fuck Compton", [4] which became a modest hit and is credited with helping to spark the East coast/West coast feud of the mid 1990s.

The group went on a hiatus for several years, breaking up temporarily in 1990. They returned on Mercury Records in 1992, with the album Funk Your Head Up . [4] The album received a muted response, in part because many tracks had been given a commercial sheen, having been remixed by outside producers at the label's insistence. Alternate mixes of this album's songs along with unreleased tracks from the sessions have appeared on later compilations. The song "Poppa Large", remixed by Da Beatminerz, became a hit and remains a staple of Kool Keith's live show. The song's video featured Keith in a straitjacket, his bald head encased in a birdcage.

In 1993, the group released the album The Four Horsemen , [4] which featured guest production and vocals by Godfather Don, who produced solo Kool Keith sessions in 1992. Some of those tracks appear on The Four Horsemen, and also on Cenobites . The former was the last official album the Ultramagnetic MC's released until their 2007 reunion.

There were many semi-legitimate and compilation albums to follow, the most official of which was Next Plateau's The B-Sides Companion, which featured a new song, some unreleased 1989 songs recorded for a second Next Plateau LP and most of the group's classic singles, albeit in newly remixed form. Ced Gee and Moe Love both provided demos and unreleased songs spanning the group's entire career to Tuff City for a series of four albums which were released without Kool Keith's consent. A live album, Brooklyn To Brixton, was announced but abandoned.

As a reaction to Ced and Moe's involvement in the Tuff City releases, Kool Keith and Tim Dog reunited on the album Big Time , released under the group name Ultra in 1997. Kool Keith went on to record many solo CDs, including several under aliases such as Dr. Octagon and Dr. Dooom. His abstract rhymes and syncopated, off-beat delivery influenced many rappers, including Pharoahe Monch from Organized Konfusion and Ghostface Killah of Wu-Tang Clan.

In 2001, Ultramagnetic MCs released a single, "Make It Rain" / "Mix It Down". Two other songs, "Baby, I'm Mad" and "Who Am I?" were recorded at the same sessions, but remain officially unreleased. In 2004, the original versions of the Next Plateau singles were finally released on CD as bonus tracks on the remastered Critical Beatdown. In a 9 December 2005 interview on Houston's Late Nite Snax radio show, [5] Kool Keith confirmed rumours that the Ultramagnetic MC's had reformed and recorded a new album. Founding Ultramagnetic MC's member Ced Gee has set up Factshen Records. A new Ultramagnetic MC's LP, Back to the Future—The Bronx Kings Are Back, was scheduled to be released in 2006 but was later named The Best Kept Secret and released in January 2007. Although the album's cover features the original line-up of Kool Keith, Ced Gee, Moe Love and TR Love, TR (along with Tim Dog) were absent. Instead, guest verses are provided by newcomers like Grafiq Malachi Sebek. However, Tim Dog and TR Love have each recently released songs featuring Ultramagnetic under their own names. The group also released a new song after the album's release called "We About Chix", the video can be seen on YouTube.

The group performed live at the ATP I'll Be Your Mirror festival curated by ATP & Portishead in September 2011 in Asbury Park, New Jersey. [6]

Discography

Studio albums

List of albums, with selected chart positions
TitleAlbum detailsPeak chart positions
US
R&B
/HH

[7]
US
Heat.

[8]
UK
R&B
/HH

[9]
Critical Beatdown 5717
Funk Your Head Up
  • Released: March 17, 1992
  • Label: Mercury/PolyGram
  • Formats: CD, LP, Cassette, digital download
The Four Horsemen
  • Released: August 10, 1993
  • Label: Wild Pitch/ERG
  • Formats: CD, LP, Cassette, digital download
5515
The Best Kept Secret
  • Released: January 9, 2007
  • Label: DMAFT
  • Formats: CD, LP, digital download
Ultra Laboratory Stories [a]
  • Released: August 24, 2010 [10]
  • Label: Black Pegasus
  • Formats: CD, LP
Ced Gee X Kool Keith
  • Released: April 1, 2022 [11]
  • Label: Ruffnation
  • Formats: LP
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that country.

Collaborations

Compilation albums

List of compilation albums
TitleAlbum details
The Basement Tapes 1984–1990
  • Released: 1994
  • Label: Tuff City
  • Formats: CD, LP, Cassette
New York What Is Funky
  • Released: April 4, 1996
  • Label: Ol' Skool Flava/Tuff City
  • Formats: CD, LP, digital download
Mo Love's Basement Tapes
  • Released: 1996 [12]
  • Label: Ol' Skool Flava
  • Formats: CD, LP, digital download
The B-Sides Companion
  • Released: October 7, 1997 [13]
  • Label: Next Plateau
  • Formats: CD, LP, Cassette
Smack My Bitch Up
  • Released: 1998
  • Label: Tuff City
  • Formats: CD, LP, digital download

Singles

As lead artist

List of singles, with selected chart positions
TitleYearPeak chart positionsAlbum
UK
[9]
"To Give You Love" [14] 1986Non-album single
"Ego Trippin'"Critical Beatdown
"Travelling at the Speed of Thought" [15] 1987
"Funky" [16]
"Watch Me Now"1988
"Ease Back" [17]
"Give the Drummer Some" [18] 198995
"Make it Happen" [19] 1991Funk Your Head Up
"Poppa Large" [20] 1992
"Two Brothers with Checks (San Francisco, Harvey)"The Four Horsemen
"Raise it Up"
(featuring Godfather Don) [21]
1993
"I'm Fuckin Flippin"
(featuring Kool Keith) [22]
1994New York What Is Funky
"Watch Your Back" [23] 1996Mo Love's Basement Tapes
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that country.
  • 1984 – "To Give You Love"/"Make You Shake"
  • 1986 – "Ego Trippin'"/"Ego Bits"/"Funky Potion"
  • 1987 – "Traveling At The Speed of Thought (Original)"/"M.C.'s Ultra (Part Two)"
  • 1987 – "Mentally Mad"/"Funky"
  • 1988 – "Watch Me Now"/"Feelin' It"
  • 1988 – "Ease Back"/"Kool Keith Housing Things"
  • 1989 – "Give The Drummer Some"/"Moe Luv Theme"
  • 1989 – "Traveling At The Speed Of Thought (Remixes/LP Version)"/"A Chorus Line" (featuring Tim Dog)
  • 1991 – "Make It Happen"/"A Chorus Line (Pt. II)"
  • 1992 – "Poppa Large (East Coast Remix)/(West Coast Remix)"
  • 1993 – "Two Brothers With Checks (San Francisco Harvey)"/"One Two, One Two"
  • 1993 – "Raise It Up (featuring Godfather Don)"/"The Saga Of Dandy, The Devil And Day (Black Baseball)"
  • 1994 – "I'm Fuckin' Flippin"
  • 1997 – "Watch Your Back"
  • 2001 – "Make It Rain"/"Mix It Down"
  • 2006 – "Mechanism Nice (Born Twice)"/"Nottz"
  • 2012 – "You'll See"
  • 2014 – "Ain't It Good To You (Paul C. Mix & Edit)"
  • 2023 – "Ultra Ultra/Silicon Bass"

Appearances

Notes

  1. Published as "Ultramagnetic Foundation".

Related Research Articles

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Nathaniel Thomas Wilson, better known by his stage name Kool G Rap, is an American rapper. He began his career in the mid-1980s as one half of the group Kool G Rap & DJ Polo and as a member of the Juice Crew. He is widely considered to be one of the most influential and skilled MCs of all time, and a pioneer of mafioso rap/street/hardcore content and multisyllabic rhyming. On his album The Giancana Story, he stated that the "G" in his name stands for "Giancana", but on other occasions he has stated that it stands for "Genius".

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<i>Critical Beatdown</i> 1988 studio album by Ultramagnetic MCs

Critical Beatdown is the debut studio album by American hip hop group Ultramagnetic MCs, released on October 4, 1988, by Next Plateau Records. The album was produced primarily by the group's rapper and producer Ced-Gee, who employed an E-mu SP-1200 sampler as the album's main instrument. Music journalists have noted the album for its innovative production, funk-based samples, self-assertive themes, and clever lyrical rhymes by Ced-Gee and rapper Kool Keith.

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<i>The Best Kept Secret</i> (Ultramagnetic MCs album) 2007 studio album by Ultramagnetic MCs

The Best Kept Secret is the fourth studio album by American hip hop group Ultramagnetic MCs. It was released on January 9, 2007, via DMAFT Records. Audio production was handled by Ariel 'Cartel' Caban and Ultramagnetic MCs' members DJ Moe Love, Ced Gee, and Kool Keith under his moniker Underwear Pissy. The album cover features the original line-up, but T.R. Love, as well as longtime associate Tim Dog, do not appear on the record. The album featured guest appearances from Gee-Banga and Goody-2.

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The Basement Tapes 1984–1990 is a compilation album by the Ultramagnetic MCs. It features the very first studio and home recordings made by the group, as well as early unreleased songs and one new track, "Smoking Dust." Many of the tracks suffer from poor sound quality, their source being deteriorated cassette tapes. "Ced-G, Tim Dog " and "Ya Not That Large" are not on the vinyl release.

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Cedric "Ced-Gee" Miller is an American hip hop producer and rapper from the Bronx, New York. He is best known as a member of Ultramagnetic MCs. He received special thanks for his production on Boogie Down Productions' Criminal Minded, and he produced Tim Dog's "Fuck Compton". He has also worked alongside Antoinette, Bill Cosby, Blak Prophetz, Doug E. Fresh, Jeff Redd, Paperboy, Spaceman Patterson, Sybil, and Treacherous Three.

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Kool Keith, the American recording artist from The Bronx, has a discography by 2021 that consisted of 39 studio albums, of which 18 were solo projects, and 20 albums in collaboration with other artists. His most recent studio album, Keith's Salon was released in 2021. Kool Keith has collaborated with TomC3, 54–71, Denis Deft, Big Sche Eastwood, L'Orange, Ray West, Thetan, and was in the groups Ultramagnetic MCs, The Cenobites, Ultra, Analog Brothers, Masters of Illusion, KHM/Clayborne Family, Thee Undatakerz, The Diesel Truckers.

"Ego Trippin′" is a 1986 song by Ultramagnetic MCs. The group made a stylistic breakthrough with it; the song boasted dense, minimalist production, featuring erratic lyricism by Ced-Gee and Kool Keith, synthesizer riffs and was the first song to sample Melvin Bliss's "Synthetic Substitution", now one of the most sampled songs of all time.

References

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