Schoolly D :: The Real Hardcore

As usual with modern day Schoolly D releases I’m both fascinated by their existence and perplexed by their need to exist. I once got embroiled in a light calorie beef on social media with someone who had a hard on over Questlove saying that D fell off after his first two albums. All I said was “… but he’s not wrong though” and the shit was on and popping. This dedicated Jesse Weaver fan proceeded to loudly proclaim he’d take ANY Schoolly D record over the entirety of The Roots’ catalogue. I don’t care how badly you want to suck some D, that’s objectively false. In fact it’s almost the inverse — any single Roots album from 1993-2003 is arguably better than Weaver’s entire catalogue, and I’m saying that as a fan of Schoolly D. He’s a pioneer. He’s a legend. He can legitimately argue a case to be the progenitor of gangster rap. Despite all of that he started phoning in his performances in the 1990’s and coasting on his status, and while being prominently featured on [adult swim] revitalized his career he’s continued to produce results that range from mediocre to flat out bad.

“The Real Hardcore” is better than most modern day Schoolly D records and it’s still not that good. This one gets listed as a single, an EP, and a full Jesse Weaver album depending on which online list you consult and who you choose to believe. I’ll go with the second of those three choices even though it’s very clear there’s not much here. This record’s biggest claim to fame is that it was an actual record released on vinyl for Record Store Day, with increasingly smaller quantities of special color variants and “issues with the pressing plant” trying to get it produced. The other claim to fame for this EP is that two equally legendary rappers joined him on the song — Chuck D performs the intro and Ice-T chips in a guest verse. “Rollin’ with Schoolly D, can’t get more gangster than this.”

Self-produced Weaver songs are incredibly hit or miss, but this one hits thanks to an incredibly back to basics “P.S.K.” style instrumental. It’s just a drum machine and a couple of rappers talking their shit save for a little bit of extra emphasis on the hook. I think DJ Code Money would appreciate it. The “Thang Mix” gives it an updated twist by adding some extra bass and re-arranging the bars, but I don’t dig the AutoTune style warbling that D added to his vocals. Had he just left them alone it would have been a good alternate take on the track, but since he went there I prefer the original take.

This release is rounded out by instrumental takes on both the original and the “Thang Mix” and as such clocks in the entire affair at 20 minutes, much like an Earl Sweatshirt album from around the same time. That’s why I’m comfortable classifying this as an extended play — it’s much longer than a single, clearly not a full album, but on par with his contemporaries in length. What’s not on par is the simplicity of Schoolly D’s rap. “Reminding motherfuckers who the fuck I am.” You don’t need to do that Weaver, we already know. He’s not trying. He’s talking shit but there are no punchlines, no memorable turns of phrase, and most notably no energy to the performance. It feels like everybody involved just pumped this one out for a RSD cash in.