93 'Til Infinity - Souls Of Mischief

...Pep Love. Their debut album 93 Til Infinity provides a much alternate view of west coast hip-hop compared to what their better-known peers were releasing to the public at the time. Instead of resorting to gangsta rap and all of that idiocy, we get a fresh and abstract style, which can easily be compared to The Pharcyde. Souls of Mischief are time-honored hip-hop veterans who should definitely be respected for putting together a dope album.
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...joints to be found on 93 Til Infinity. Right from the start, joints like "Let Em Know" immediately showcase the talent possessed by this Heiroglyphics camp. The saxophone sample and thumping bass provide a non-melodic, yet driving force for the beat which is gritty, yet cleaned up and crisp. This joint merely acts as an introduction to the Souls of Mischief, as all four get a turn on the microphone to shine, and that's just what they do. ... more

So... Raise your hands if you've heard of Souls of Mischief. Ahhh, didn't think so. Souls of Mischief is a group from California (Oakland to be exact), composed of four members: Phesto, Opio, A-Plus, and Tajai. Souls of Mischief is a group which is a member of the Heiroglyphics, a group on a much larger scale containing tons of dope emcees such as Pep Love. Their debut album 93 Til Infinity provides a much alternate view of west coast hip-hop compared to what their better-known peers were releasing to the public at the time. Instead of resorting to gangsta rap and all of that idiocy, we get a fresh and abstract style, which can easily be compared to The Pharcyde. Souls of Mischief are time-honored hip-hop veterans who should definitely be respected for putting together a dope album.

Instead of going for my traditional review style here, I've decided to switch it up a little bit and post an interview that my alter-ego Super-Size D had with me. It should answer any potential buyer's question about the album and fill you up with the information. Enjoy...

Q. So Big D, you've managed to actually NOT slap this album with your infamous "Classic" or "Pure Classic" phrase (*cough cough bull cough*), well, can you at least tell me what's good about it?

Yeah, of course. There's a lot of ill joints to be found on 93 Til Infinity. Right from the start, joints like "Let Em Know" immediately showcase the talent possessed by this Heiroglyphics camp. The saxophone sample and thumping bass provide a non-melodic, yet driving force for the beat which is gritty, yet cleaned up and crisp. This joint merely acts as an introduction to the Souls of Mischief, as all four get a turn on the microphone to shine, and that's just what they do. Dope rhymes dropped by all loaded with humorous similes and a multi-syllable flow. The subject matter is pretty simple, but effective at opening up an album the right way.

The album is good from the start, but doesn't get REALLY ill until about halfway through, when we get a huge series of classic joints to boost up the rating of the LP. The first of these is the lead-single title track ("93 Til Infinity"). This is the most popular joint from where, which recieved a nice amount of radio play in 1993, but sadly not enough to fill these guys' pockets. Beatwise, we get one of the best beats to ever come out of the west coast, and THAT is something you need to think about before saying. The uptempo jazz beat, with a simple drum and bass mix, and melodic chimes mix together as brilliant as the sun, and the laid-back, sombre style of the music itself is enough to virtually hypnotize you into liking this song. Of course, a song isn't a classic without dope lyrics, and all four members do an excellent job of utilyzing their talent here. The trading of verses is beautiful, and we can now fully appreciate the chemistry between these four emcees. You'll never forget the hook either: "This is how we chill from 93 'til". That sums it all up.

My personal favorite song from this album has to absolutely be "Anything Goes". Immediately, the melodic beat will instantly capture you and give you a nostalgic feel. I'm absolutely POSITIVE that this song has been sampled in some form or another for a more recent joint, but I can't seem to place my finger on it whatsoever. The rising melody in the core of the song give you a dreadful, yet powerful feel to it which is quite difficult to capture, but the Souls have managed to hit it directly on the head. The beat changes to two distinctive different melodies. The rising melody that I mentioned before, and a little segmented area with a flute melody taking center stage. Throughout both beats, a familiar old-school drum/bass/hi-hat mix covers them both. Yeah, it's ill beyond words. The song itself though, is what truly draws me. Souls of Mischief's amazing look at street life, more specifically a troubled and overly cocky youth, is something that has to be put on repeat over and over again before it is fully appreciated. The twist ending theory is something that Souls of Mischief like to utilyze a lot (and we'll see it again soon), and it comes to a head here. I won't spoil this, but it's amazing what somebody with a head full of feces can go through. This joint is definitely a classic... or maybe a PURE CLASSIC! EVERYBODY WANTS ME TO SAY IT! THERE YOU GO!!!

Q. What about the lyrics?

Lyrically, I can indeed say that Souls of Mischief are among those completely overlooked as great song-writers and lyricists. If you don't believe me, look no further than "Live and Let Live". Right from the start, the alliterration hits you, and the descriptiveness of the lyrics themselves are excellent (of course, backed by an ill beat). In 1993, west coast hip-hop was pretty much completely gangsta, and their hard-hitting anthems of street violence and all-night parties were invading the radio like almost nothing before. The Souls take this opportunity to counter the gangsta / street image with this song, which is entirely a song about surviving in the streets, but using words like "I shall not kill, but I will if I have to", which is repeated many times throughout the song. However, it's the fact that the lyrics are written SO good, that you simply cannot overlook it, specially Opio: "Now playful pulpit pussies poppin junk with the pistol, Sweated because I'm dreaded let's get ready to pull a fistful, of extinction, reachin, quick on the trigger sneakin, and then send a flurry of bullets diggin deep in my flesh and wreakin, the props cuz they pops lots of mops heads drop, Dead plots, a cop, eager and ready to lick the shots hot". This is, in my opinion, the Souls of Mischief's pivotal lyrical moment, but luckily, we've got several close ones.

The next true lyrical showcase would probably have to be on the final joint of the album, "Tell Me Who Profits", which finds the Souls taking a page from the book of KRS-One, rapping directly to the youths about the correct way to go in life without messing up. Besides that, the underlining factor here seems to be the Souls view on the record industry and how many executives want to suck the life out of you. The Souls each take the role of a different character as they move their way through hip-hop. One of them is the stereotypical head, while the other is a sell-out rapper who is resorting on his image to sell. The concept is pure genius, and the execution is great. I love how they insert storytelling in the joint, but of course, it's the lyrics and how well they are written that take the show, specially these memorable bars: "Perhaps these is traps to keep us tapped, saps can buy gats with flat-tipped bullet caps, in the locker room with no hassle, and assholes sell cracks in sacks, to class-foes & friends, cause the mass goes with the trend". Beatwise, you'll find a lot to enjoy here. Funny enough, an east-coast act sampled this years later to craft his own classic. That's right, Jay-Z sampled the beat note to note for his classic "Coming of Age" (Thanks DVON).

Q. Alright, I got your point dunn. Now can you tell me whats wrong with it?

Well, there really isn't much to bitch about when it comes to 93 Til Infinity. I mean, it's far from being a bad album and I found myself loving it. The only REAL problem that this album lies in happens to be it's hype. I've heard a bunch of fans rant and rave and hears "classic this, classic that", and that the LP is timeless, which is bull. Yeah, the album is good, but it's not classic. Perhaps it's just my own personal feelings, but I really wasn't excited or moved when I heard this at all. A lot of the songs fall flat on their head in being just plain out boring, and don't have that magical microphone charisma that similar groups like The Pharcyde have. In fact, more often than not, Souls of Mischief are commonly compared to groups like The Pharcyde, A Tribe Called Quest, and Outkast for their abstract, sing-song mixture of thoughtful lyrics and flashy beats. Only difference, to me, is that Souls of Mischief is quite simply not as good as the aforementioned groups. I found myself falling asleep to these Pharcyde-clones a couple of times surprisingly, needless to say that the songs themselves are actually good.

The only true exception I can think of would probably be "That's When Ya Lost", which is easily weaker than the other joints. It's starts off nice enough with an ill violin sample reminiscent of the Tantooine music from Star Wars, but once the metallic drums come in, it sort of lowers the quality of the beat, in my opinion. Lyrically, the song is good, but nothing as extraordinary as the rest of the work found here, and it's the true chemistry that the artists have together that really saves this joint. The same can be said about "Batting Practice", only the beat here is too obnoxious for its own good. The grittyness is appreciated, but terribly unfitting with Souls of Mischief on this joint.

Also, "What A Way To Go Out" is incredibly hypocritical... or is it? This song is completely about street violence and robbing people and such, proving undeniably that the Souls are west coast. Rapping lyrics like "I wanna join a gang, They'll have my back with gats", it's already simple to see what the song will be about. However, there is one true saving grace about the song which makes it remarkably good, and that's the underlining message at the end and the twist ending. It turns out that this song isn't a narrative, but merely a story from another point of view. The ending is amazing, as creepiness echoes through my pores when I hear "A year later, caught the flu from Sonya, Shot through the clinic, they said it was pneumonia, Caused by HIV breaking down the immune system...". This is the type of stuff that classics are made of, and with a tiny bit better lyrical display, more mic charisma, and a better beat, this most definitely would've been a classic.

Q. What about the guests?

The only outside work is production-wise from Del tha Funky Homosapien on "Limitations". He also provides the spoken word outro. Besides that, this whole album is kept mainly in-house, which is good because it leaves little to mess up.

Q. Aight, Aight... Just one more question kicko. Should I buy it or not?

93 Till Infinity is most definitely a great album, it's just no classic. It is a prime example that regardless of geographical region, you can always be ill and drop a truly good album to represent hip-hop to the fullest. Backed by excellent beats, superior song-writing skills, and chemistry which many groups lack, Souls of Mischief are definitely a talented group and picking this up is a must for fans of eclectic soulful hip-hop music with a message. Granted they aren't AS GOOD as The Pharcyde, fans of that particular group will find oodles to love here. However don't be fooled, this album is no classic. Then again, it's only one man's opinion. Anyways, this gets 4 thumbs up from me (don't ask me how).
 

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