Steve 'Flash' JuonI’m a simple man with rather simple needs. If you give me a sample of The O’Jays “Give the People What They Want,” well, you’re giving me exactly what I want. Many of my favorite rap songs have recycled this riff — EPMD’s “Give the People,” Gang Starr’s “Premier and the Guru,” Redman’s “Tonight’s Da Nite (Remix),” and Pete Rock & CL Smooth’s “The Main Ingredient” to name just a few. I’m now prepared to add Vicious Beat Posse’s “Give the People What They Want” to that list. Okay, fine. The name isn’t exactly clever. It betrays the sample they’d use right from the jump. I don’t care! I love this song anyway.
Who are the Vicious Beat Posse though? They’re a San Diego based rap outfit who seemingly came out of nowhere in 1989 to get a deal with MCA Records and release “Legalized Dope.” The group’s commercial failure meant this is their one and only entry that exists, and the only single they dropped is the song discussed above. After 1990 they were never heard from again. Repeated references to Candyman throughout the album had me briefly confused. The rapper of “Knockin’ Boots” fame also hails from Southern California, but his debut album dropped a year after Vicious Beat Posse; furthermore the “Candyman” of VBP fame is their deejay, hence the multiple shoutouts he gets. It’s a hell of a coincidence there were two Candymen from Cali in the same time frame, but a coincidence is all that it is. “Candy broke it down (one two three).”
He’s an able disc jockey when it comes to cutting and scratching as shown on “Party Trooper.” Would he win a DMC World Championship? No, but neither would Eric B. Sometimes you just need a competent turntablist, not someone to juggle breaks while spinning on one heel and swapping out vinyl like a sleight of hand magician. In the same way “component” describes the bars of Superslim (arguably the group’s front man), Marvee V, DBX and the far too infrequently heard MC Deb B. While song titles like “I’m Bout Fed Up to Here” imply they are prophets of rage, there’s none of Chuck D’s righteous anger here. It’s a friendly diss of wack emcees, and by friendly I mean not a single curse word is uttered at any time. The lack of a parental advisory sticker was NOT a mistake.
You’ve no doubt figured out the Vicious Beat Posse’s biggest problem already — if not, I’ll spell it out for you. Despite having the word “Vicious” in their name they were completely out of step with their contemporaries who were heading into the 1990’s. Gangster rap had completely shifted the paradigm by this point, and even political and Afrocentric rappers were being less shy with their curses. Being clean cut may have helped VBP get a record deal, but Deb B’s “Women of Power (W.O.P.)” illustrates why it wouldn’t get them any further. She’s a fine emcee, and it’s a fine song, but fine just wasn’t going to cut it next to the likes of MC Lyte, Yo-Yo, and Queen Latifah. It feels like Kool-Aid with too much water and not enough sugar. You can taste the flavor, but it’s weaksauce.
As often happens with vintage rap records though “Legalized Dope” has a charm that no AI generated album could duplicate today. You can call them corny or PG if you want to, but you can’t deny their desire on songs like “I’m Da One” and “Mass Confusion.” VBP didn’t get a record deal, phone in the performances, then jet with the loot. They produced a full record that’s filled with sincere raps meant to uplift black men and women while still managing to have fun. It lacks the graphic sexuality of 2 Live Crew, the macabre tales of the Geto Boys, or the strident calls to action of P.E., but it still sits well within the context of their work at the time. Their lack of success isn’t equivalent to a lack of quality. You will probably be surprised by how much you enjoy the album if you give it a chance.