Reviews DJ Too Tuff - Lost Archives

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DJ Too Tuff, A.K.A. The Duece Ace Detonator, is considered to be one of the forefathers of turntablism and is a legend in the Philadelphia Hip-Hop scene. Back in the late 80's, a time when Hip-Hop was still in the stage of conception, an underground group was forged who dubbed themselves the Tuff Crew. The group consisted of LA Kid, Ice Dog, Tone Love, Monty G, and DJ Too Tuff. Influencing artists ranging from DJ Shadow to Peanut Butter Wolf, to having fans such as ?Questlove(The Roots) to Chuck D(Public Enemy), the Tuff Crew has certainly obtained legendary status among the streets of Philidelphia and across the nation. The crew ended up parting ways back in 1991, due to management and infighting within the group. Soon after, DJ Too Tuff, the crew's producer and DJ, launched a solo career in 1992 recording mixtapes and making beats for local artists. Tuff, with the help of ILLMUZIK's resident member Dahkter, decided to release an album of some never before heard material from his archives. Using which is now looked at as "primitive equipment," the album's tracks were all created with an Akai MPC 60, two turntables, and a cassette multi track. It doesn't get more raw than this!

The album opener "Pimp S**t" is a funky break beat, which musically captures the essence of the golden era of Hip-Hop. Based on the beat alone, you know that Tuff is coming with that rawness. Each instrumental is laced with shoutouts from artists ranging from Chuck D, to the original members of the Tuff Crew paying homage. The first actual song on the album is entitled "Old School Jackin," which features rapper Prime Minister Dope. A two-part classic breakbeat kicks things off, with heavy scratching and spit fire lyrics from P.M.D. At about the 4 minute mark Tuff smoothly transitions the music into some dope cuts over an 808 driven drum pattern, which you can't help want to start popping and locking to. Not missing a beat, the following track "Northside Posse," drops and continues the b-boy-esque flavor that made me feel like I needed to bust out the linoleum and get to work! Emcee Mechanism blesses the mic on this track, with some pure aggressive lyricism.

"Fat Ones," is hands down my favorite track on the album. The beat is a grimey, reggae influenced feel that makes you feel cool just by listening to it. I instantly thought of Cypress Hill when I heard it, though the song isn't about Mary Jane. Ice Dog rips the mic with lines like "Cool calm collective / The fat ones steppin / I'll discharge like an automatic weapon." The song has that feel good vibe all the way through. On the track "Into the Dangerzone," you get 2 minutes and 29 seconds of psychedelic slickness, produced by IllMuzik's very own Dahkter. The beat is a horn lead melody, with a dark orchestral feel which are overcast by a war like drum pattern. It has an old school yet futuristic feel when listening to it, kind of like watching an episode of Star Trek. Dahkter takes you to another planet with this one. "Hit A Block," is a gangster ballad with that street realness. E-Dawg's lyrics and husky voice compliment the bass heavy beat as he speaks on how he will straight murder you with lines like, "Now I got a mobb and it's coming double fold / Never had a heart cause from the start that shit was cold / So I don't give a fuck about a n***a or a bitch / It's all about props, property, and gettin rich."

If you are a fan of raw Hip-Hop, and straight beats and rhymes with no singing, this album is for you. To those aspiring producers and DJ's out there, this is a great album to see another side of Hip-Hop's history and gain that much more knowledge. There is a reason why so many known artists of today list DJ Too Tuff as one of their inspirations. I wouldn't call this album a classic, but an album full of classic material.

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Score: 4 / 5