Trends of Culture :: Trendz... :: Mad Sounds/Motown Records
** RapReviews "Back to the Lab" series **
as reviewed by Steve 'Flash' Juon
There were rumors of a Trends of Culture comeback around December
2008. That sparked my curiosity - I hadn't heard from Nastee, M.O.L. or
Grapevine since they dropped a couple of singles and the full-length album
"Trendz..." back in the early 1990's. One of their most famous contribution
or well remembered contribution to the hip-hop scene is the single
"Off & On," which still holds up 20 years later as a fun freeform
East coast flow. Production for most of their debut album is done in-house,
with an able assist from Lord Finesse
on this track and a bonus remix.
I made the decision to wait for T.O.C. to make their big comeback,
holding on to my copy of "Trendz..." until such time as I could run
both reviews simultaneously. Time passed and I never heard another
word about the brothers from Harlem releasing their long overdue
sophomore LP. Trends of Culture has a MySpace page with a couple of snippets
and one of their old classics "Valley of the Skinz," but nobody has
logged in since 2010 and so far as I can tell that new album never happened. If anybody
from the crew reading this can give me a heads up on it
freel free to give us a shout.
After waiting almost five years I don't think there's any reason to sit
on "Trendz..." any longer. If you take the album on in sequential order
"Fuck What Ya Heard" is a fairly run-of-the-mill East coast track for
the era - not memorable but not terrible. Guest rapper Indego is notable
simply for being even more obscure than the Trends themselves - I'm
convinced this was his one and only appearance on ANY record.
"The roar of the crowd - it makes my dick hard
My nature rises when I hear the Uptown get hype
The mic in my hand is like a basshead with a crack pipe
Cause I'm a fiend, and if a fella redeemed
Indego and Trends makes a whole team"
Things pick up on "Let Tha Big Boyz Play" starting with a KRS-One
sample. From there the funky bassline, some hard rim shots and an
ethereal synth weave in and out of the instrumental, occasionally
sharing the spotlight but often working independently of each other.
It's an intoxicating mix and well EQ'd with the vocals, letting you
pick up the individual flows of each member of the group. "Old
Habits" is instantly recognizable as mining the same samples as the
Black Moon classic "How Many MC's," yet giving it their own unique spin that
makes it worthy of standing side by side. While Buckshot wanted
to buck down unworthy rappers, these brothers want some trim.
"Well - at age 15 there was a chick
Brown skin, about five two and quite thick!
Thinkin she was all that, cause her gear was fat
And brothers always sweated her, just to get the cat (meow!)
But she wasn't up in no puddy to the bros
Who KNOWS what goes through minds of some hoes?
Gettin brothers heated, and horny from her tongue
Then when it's time to get done, she front and gotta run!
... You know the kind - loose with your wallet
Wearin jeans so tight, jimmy gets solid"
There's a generally light hearted feel to "Trendz..." as you continue
on through the presentation. Though the disc came with the obligatory
"parental advisory" sticker most rap albums did in the day, the nature
of the cursing is conversational and you'd be hard-pressed to find it
offensive. Grapevine sums up their level of violence on "Who Got My
Back?" nicely: "Verse number three in the mix with the flavor/Styles
stay lethal, and no one here could save ya." Though they're occasionally
crass when it comes to their pursuit of women, no one song comes
anywhere close to the level of misogyny found in four random bars of
Weezy's recent CD.
Even at their most blatant, "Crotch Ripper/Mad Speaker" seems more
playful than threatening, featuring promises to give and receive
like "I'm live and my skills is fat/Nastee's my name and yes I eat
the motherfuckin cat." Are they obsessed with their sex life though?
Well...
There's no doubt that Nastee is trying to live up to his name with
lines like "seven inches limp, eight inches harder" on "Valley of the
Skinz" but he offers balance for the "blow(s) to your pelvis" with
thoughts like "known to drop a story, but I prefer a freestyle/cause
when I flow like this you get the gist and start to smile." TRUE.
Listening to Nastee flow makes me get all Kool-Aid. In fact the
entirety of "Trendz..." is a welcome throwback to a halcyon era of
hip-hop we are still celebrating 20 years later. This may not be the
easiest old school album to find, but Trends of Culture are
worth the time (or money) you'll put into the effort.
Music Vibes: 7.5 of 10
Lyric Vibes: 7.5 of 10TOTAL Vibes: 7.5 of 10
![[Trendz...]](../coverart/TOC-trendz.jpg)
There were rumors of a Trends of Culture comeback around December
2008. That sparked my curiosity - I hadn't heard from Nastee, M.O.L. or
Grapevine since they dropped a couple of singles and the full-length album
"Trendz..." back in the early 1990's. One of their most famous contribution
or well remembered contribution to the hip-hop scene is the single
"Off & On," which still holds up 20 years later as a fun freeform
East coast flow. Production for most of their debut album is done in-house,
with an able assist from Lord Finesse
on this track and a bonus remix.