Steve 'Flash' JuonIn the unlikely event you’re able to remember San Antonio rap group P.K.O., it’s entirely because of a famous appearance on CNN in the 1990’s where they were interviewed about their song “Shoot Tha Police.” The list of rap songs about cops harassing young black men was already plenty long by that point, and nothing P.K.O. said on the song was any more controversial than N.W.A had said on “Fuck Tha Police” back in ’88, but the increased publicity sure had a lot of white people in their feelings. Outside of Texas you’d be hard pressed to find a copy of their album (I never did) and calling it “They Scared of a Nigga” seemed highly accurate. Even today when you try to look up P.K.O. they are commonly referred to as “the N.W.A of the South” because of their mutual dislike of pigs.
The fact the group rose to notoriety because of “Shoot Tha Police” entirely overshadowed the fact P.K.O. was already an established group before the song’s existence. Their first album “Armed & Dangerous” had come out two years earlier in 1990, and even before that debut they made noise with singles like “Comin’ Up w/ Dope.” Thanks to an independent label named Youngsta Records, the group was able to take their hustle from unknown to a fearsome factor not to be fucked with. As Magic Mark said on the track, “Comin up with dope, so fuck the motherfuckin politics/what people are saying, boyyyyy, how it’s just/taking over, like it ain’t no thang/but nine times out of 10, they invest in the slang game/Even in the White House, fuck the President.” They were unapologetic, loud and proud.
With cuts and scratches of Boogie Down Productions and the Beastie Boys, there was no hatred of the East coast from the third coast here, and in the song’s outro they shout out hoods from Florida to California as coming up with their OWN dope. The song got remixed for “Armed & Dangerous” but I’m still partial to the original — they’re both good though. Another single that broke through is “Life in the Ghetto,” scratching in an Ice Cube sample while flowing to funk from Brick’s “Dazz.” It’s humorous to me that this actually preceded Cube’s famous sample of the same song for “No Vaseline,” but it also loops Zapp’s “More Bounce to the Ounce” and is one HELLA funkdafied track overall.
But just as with the first single, this one got remixed for “Armed & Dangerous,” so I’d be remiss if I didn’t share at least one alternate take with you in this review. As you can see from WhoSampled the make-up of the track is totally different, but it still kicks much ass. The crispy drums set up the group for taking down sellouts who made it out of the hood and acted like it was still all good while fronting on where they came from.
It’s perfectly fine for a group on the rise to recycle song titles and remix their own body of work, but it sure makes it hard to review “Armed & Dangerous” when so little of P.K.O.’s catalogue has been properly archived for future generations. One song that clearly belongs to this album though is “U Gitz Nothin’.” The sound of the rappers in this group reflects the same Texas scene that gave birth to the likes of Geto Boys and The D.O.C. plus the rise of independent labels like Rap-A-Lot. The group had a lot to say and no patience to wait around for a major to sign them. “We comin’ up with it, so to hell with what you say.” The only big mistake on this record is a corny house record called “Dirty Dance,” but in fairness almost every rap group had one track like this back then.
“Goin’ to Jail Is a Mutha Fucka” walks right up to that line but doesn’t cross it. For me it’s like a DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince song with a whole lot more attitude, and their frank discussion of the reality of the situation is both truthful and humorous.
The album’s closer “Fuck That Shit” is one of the strongest condemnations of censorship and racism you could find in the era. Brimming with attitude and daring their critics to try and silence them, they almost got their wish with their next album, but for this song (and album) they were on par with anything coming out of New York, Florida or California in quality. The lyrics don’t mince words and the members of P.K.O. attack the mic with the authority of seasoned veterans.
These days if you try to find P.K.O. you get redirected to the page for Phillip Martin III, and although it claims he was better known as “Nino” it also mentions his other alias “Pony J” which gets shouted out on multiple songs. You can be both things though, it’s fine by me, and so is the fact that after his time in the group he got into real estate and management. Everybody’s got to make a living. What happened to the other members like Magic Mark and DJ K-Sam though? They deserve their flowers too. “Armed & Dangerous” is almost a forgotten record, but I’m glad it survived for long enough that I could give them some long overdue roses for being fresh as fuck straight outta Texas.