Souls of Mischief-----93 Til Infinity

Souls of Mischief-93 Til Infinity-Jive-(1993)

Artist: Souls of Mischief

Album: 93 Til Infinity   

Label: Jive

Producers: Del, A-Plus, Casual, Domino, Jay-Biz 

The most iconic four man group in hip hop history Souls of Mischief puts out an eclectic masterpiece in the early nineties. The group consists of A-Plus, Tajai, Opio and Phesto who are part of the super group the Hieroglyphics. When I first heard of the Souls, they were on a B side track to Del the Funky Homosapien’s track. When I first heard of them, I was thrown off guard: they sounded too east coast (which I love) worked under Del’s project. In addition, Del is Ice Cube’s cousin. To surmise, Ice Cube-gangsta rap, Del-lyrical and he has the Souls of Mischief. As a teenager, it didn’t compute at the time but I went with the flow. However, I was a big Del fan because he kicks the lyrics some people can relate to as well i.e. Mistadabolina. So let me take a chance to listen to the Hieroglyphics second invention the Souls of Mischief album 93 Til Infinity. Honestly, this album changed my perspective on hip hop forever. Since this is a 20 year anniversary, I will do a track by track review and show the proper respect to this album.

Let Em Know (produced by Domino): 5 out of 5--- this song starts off on the right foot as Domino laced the heavy hard east coast feel beat pattern while the Souls of Mischief murdered this beat on overkill. Dope stuff!

Live and Let Live (produced by Domino): 5 out of 5---Another flawless Domino track with Opio, Tajai and A-Plus bodied this track aggressively while Phesto handled the chorus “I give it all I got, that’s all I got to give, yo you gotta live and let live. A-Plus owned this track as he took command on this one: Thou shall not kill, I will if I have to….why don’t brothas wanna let me function/ when I pull it, kids be eating bullets like a luncheon. Love the horns and the hard drum pattern on this beat as well. Straight Perfection!

That’s When Ya Lost: 5 out of 5---Del tha Funky Homosapien laced a smooth funky jazzy beat as the four emcees straight killed this beat while Pep Love assisted the chorus. If you mess with any one of them, that’s when ya lost.

A Name I Call Myself: 5 out of 5---This is one of the personal favorite tracks with added jazz and strings provided by Del as the Souls spits eight bars each on two verses around about the G running on females. This is a very clever rhyming style of musical chemistry that is superior to many crews. A-Plus bodied this track with: I hit it, I did it, I admit it/I never quit it, yes I knock the boots like I was Riddick.  

Disseshowedo: 5 out of 5---This is a clever title and Souls of Mischief fit the description of how they body a track with perfection. For those of you who don’t know how to pronounce the title, it’s This Is How We Do. This beat caught me off guard with the east coast beat pattern provided by Domino and Jay-Biz. Jay-Biz also provided the DJ scratches taking from Main Source’s “Fakin the Funk” (which are dormant in contemporary hip hop music) as they straight killed this track.

What a Way To Go Out: 5 out of 5---This is the first of four beats provided by A-Plus as the Souls rhymed well over this beat. Love how the “I Ain’t No Joke” beat sneaks up inside the beat. Phesto starts off really well and had the best verse on the track:I want to join a gang, they’ll have my back with gats we’ll walk in packs. Straight flawless rhyming from the souls!

Never No More: 5 out of 5---This beat also caught me off guard by mistakenly placing A-Plus as an east coast producer. The mastermind A-Plus laced a very hard drum pattern and added kick to a Beatminerz sound. The four emcees bodied this track but Phesto and Opio took this to a whole new level: mindless spineless vertebrateless with meningitis to  I’m coming tighter, your style is ore-ida…you and your following, I’m swallowing/MC’s like I was a black hole/ransack those, wack flows, who chose to oppose/I don’t suppose. Absolutely flawless!  

93 Til Infinity: 5 out of 5---One of my favorite tracks not only on the album but of all time as A-Plus constructs a high energy beat while the four members passed the microphone every eight bar on two verses. This is how musical chemistry is supposed to be made on a track!

Limitations: 5 out of 5---Another track where the souls jumped into this track warning other emcees that they should learn their limitations. Jay Biz provided this jazzy beat as Del did the chorus while hiero’s mate Casual joins in this track. Great track as usual!

Anything Can Happen: 5 out of 5---This is the last A-Plus beat as you hear the drum pattern fits to perfection with this beat. The Souls spits their storytelling rhymes and show their versatility on this track. Definitely on point as they have not lost a step throughout the album.

Make Your Mind Up: 5 out of 5---This beat is constructed by Del tha Funky Homosapien as the A-Plus, Opio and Tajai bodied this track of course. A-Plus starts it off with: Hieroglyphics is, gonna twist a kid’s/cellbellbum and if he lives…don’t copy the manuscript, man you slip, you sloppy…to Opio: niggas tweak when I speak, they retreat, rethink, what was spoke and then repeat….i file niggas down to the cuticle…to Tajai ends it with spinach is no savior when/I pop eyes, all of the guys feel my Brutish. This is a straight lyrical beat down that will force the average emcee to quit.  This is so unfair of how they straight devour this track.

Batting Practice: 5 out of 5---Casual laced up a banger with hard drums and the added horns to the beat as the souls took this track to another level taking lyrical batting practice. The souls really hit a homerun with this track.

Tell Me Who Profits: 5 out of 5---Domino provided this sick beat as the souls went ham on this track. The lyrical chemistry is amazing on this track especially when Opio and Phesto rhymed back and forth on the second chorus about who profited more school or the streets. AHH! Another clever track!

Outro: This is the final track on the album with Domino provide the beat wizardry as the souls show their love to the Hieroglyphics crew and the peeps in Oakland.

NOW YALL KNOW THE CONCLUSION. This is how a hip hop album is supposed to be constructed. This album is straight flawless from start to finish not one track is worth skipping. The producers came through throughout the album. A-Plus seemed to be underrated although he is one of the best producers in the west coast, bar none. What impressed me about this album is the cohesiveness; not one member overpowers the other. Each member is gifted in their own way! Domino, Del and other Hieroglyphic members added the flavor to make this album with the extra ump. This album has many techniques that will take out the average album: a) it was done in the studio b) the cohesiveness of the group is untouchable c) the production is top notch from start to finish d) the lyrical content and delivery will create a first round knock out to the average emcee and e) they introduced a west coast album from a different content. Majority of the 90’s west coast albums is based on chronic, females and straight G funk music but this album came through the lyrical content with an east coast vibe. Straight out of Oakland California this album constructed by four emcees fresh out of high school that made it an iconic crown jewel. This will be played twenty more years from now as this is considered a classic album of the 90’s golden hip hop era.

            Strong Tracks: THE WHOLE ALBUM!!!!!!

            Skippable Tracks: ABSOLUTELY NONE!!!!!!

            Rating:out of