Company Flow – Funcrusher Plus

could really use a repress of this. come on now.

A belated discovery for me, certainly. One of the most important hip-hop albums of the 90's -of all times maybe?//

this album is a gem / is coming from outta space

Do you remember the hype behind this album? It was phenomenal. And this was before streaming or downloads or digital. All you could do was read about it and wait til you got a copy. Then when you got it, you were like 'wtf is this shit", but the hype was so great you had to listen, on repeat. The listening paid off. Great, classic album but lyrics too random to personally hit me deep.

A classic all the same , but $649 !! Not even mint. Crazy!

The availability after 20 years shows also its very classic status, 15 for sale from £50 to £500. Musically many scratches (cuts by Mr. Len), condition wise all clean copies without scratches.

I think that this album was the catalyst of the backpacker movement and indie / underground hip hop. Similar to the Strokes and indie rock. Difference is that Co Flow is still tight as hell.

It gets better the more you listen. First I loved "Collude/Interlude", then, the more I listened, the more I grew to love them all. Class production. ASR10 in full effect. Heavy.

Although I am leaning heavily towards electronic music, this release, along with the Cannibal Ox album, the trilogy by Organized Konfusion and the Ras Kass debut album are in my book the cornerstones of hip hop. Mind you, I am not the expert though. Sure, I just made a complete list without mentioning the "golden age" pioneers. See, Funcrusherplus will never reach the sales of "Doggystyle", will never get its own UNI poetry class that the likes of the demised 2pac had, and will never even be considered for winning an award. Like it needs any of the above. This album is like a master of oddity. What you did not expect of a hip hop album, you received here. Not only is it awkward, it's that the weirdness is pulled off to perfection. Some make it strange for the sake getting the "mischief" tag. Company Flow nailed the true to form B Boy aesthetic with a far-out, unpredictable approach to the genre, combining sci-fi beats (something EL-P would build upon later in his career) and a layered lyrical delivery, which was seldom discernible upon listening sessions.

In my ears, this is a front to back great album, that excels on every conceivable level. The production is a foray into the future that never was, the lyrical department is chock full of themes and metaphors that it'll take more listens than you'll be aware of to fully absorb it all. Although I do like dusty samples, jazzy tendencies in US hip-hop, this record delivers a robotic vision of the B-boy stance, and goes left just when the entire scene headed right. This record is closing in on perfection. Just revisited it today. Powerful. These guys knew what they were doing. Not many others did. Even less followed. Play this, and then The Cold Vein next. Highly abstract awesomeness for the ones willing to provide the patience infrastructure.

Glad to see so much love for this album here. Some hate it, but I never tire of it. A one of a kind original with only the cannibal ox album coming close, in this style. Give it heavy rotation.