I got this 12-inch record in 1987 for the A-side track The Coolest by King Tee. When I got the chance at home to play what was on the B-side, I was blown away by Ya Better Bring A Gun and loved it a lot more than side-A’s track. The Coolest (A-side) was available on King Tee’s debut album Act Like A Fool, whereas the Ya Better Bring A Gun was not on the album but served only as a B-side exclusive to the 12-inch release. Music and sound-wise, Ya Better Bring a Gun makes reference to an even older style of rap’s funky origins — pay special attention to the style of rapping and the bassline riff. However, the lyrics are about modern violence/crime; only few hiphop artists at that time were rapping about stuff like that, such as Public Enemy and The Ghetto Boys.
King Tee & Mixmaster Spade- “Ya Better Bring A Gun” (B-side)…
Artist: King Tee & Mixmaster Spade
Title: Ya Better Bring A Gun
Year: 1987
Media Source: Recorded straight from 12-inch record to enhanced digital.
King Tee & Mixmaster Spade – “Ya Better Bring A Gun” (mp3)
Lyrics…
[ VERSE 1: King Tee ]
They live on the street and they hustle for fame
Some kill for a livin, some sling cocaine
Because it’s now a lifestyle and a full-time job
And if you live in Compton, it’s like at McCobb
From block to block everybody’s bad
And if you don’t know where you’re at, then your life’s been had
Cause they walk in the street with intentions to meet
Some sappy lookin punk with Fila on his feet
And if you try to act tough, well Mr. Tough, you’re through
Cause everybody’s a family, if not, they’re a crew
I’m here to give some advice advice (Run!)
Cause if you’re ever in Compton, you better bring a gunYo, here come my homeboy Mixmaster Spade
Man, what’s up, man?
Hey man, ain’t you from Compton, man?
(Ah yeah)
Alright man, tell em what’s up, man
What you used to do[ VERSE 2: Mixmaster Spade ]
I used to cut up the beat on the two turntables
Now I’m rappin on the mic, cause I’m willin and able
When I’m on the mic I take no slack
And everytime that you see me I’m tearin a gat
I got .380s and .22s
You messs with me, I’m gonna bust on you
I got a .357 and a M-16
They call me Master Spade, and Tee’s the King
Now Compton is the city where the homeboys stay
Rollin in a different car everyday
Can’t roll too hard, gotta watch my back
Cause if I don’t, I just might get jacked
Now Compton is a city of a lotta fun
(Can’t walk down the street
(Can’t walk down the street
Can’t walk down the stree without my gun)[ female voice ]
Now you know this just don’t make no kinda sense[ VERSE 3: King Tee ]
Now the next place is kinda risky if you’re walkin with your mother
Y’all can get shot if she wears the wrong color
They’re all from the old school, nobody’s modern
The place I’m talkin ’bout is the Nickerson Gardens
You can get away with murder, cause they murdered the cops
Cause they said they tried to run a bumrush on Watts
But they took control, slingers walk real tall
While real down gangbangers write their set on the wall
If I was you I wouldn’t visit here, it’s like hell
And if you get robbed, who you gonna tell?
I’m only here for advice advice (run!)
And if you’re ever in Watts, you better bring a gun[ VERSE 4: King Tee ]
Now you got a nice car with a brand-new paintin
Rag top convertable with all-gold Daytons
You decide to take a ride down the Crenshaw strip
You stop at the Fat Burgers to feed your lip
You got your sounds bumpin, playin Zapp and Vibe
A skeezer comes your way, you say, “Let’s take a ride”
So you’re cruisin Crenshaw with her, you’re goin to bail
A brown Cutlass pulls up, they put a gauge to your head
They say, “(Get our your car) if you value your life
(And leave your money) if you love your wife”
Now you’re standin in the street lookin like you’re on crack
And you say to yourself: I can’t believe I got jacked
You call the police because your car they stole
But when you get in touch with them, they put you on hold
Your car is gone, nothin could be done
So next time you cruise Crenshaw, YOU BETTER BRING A GUN!Alright, I wanna thank Mixmaster Spade for comin out to rock with me
(And Greg Mack) the Mack Attack
And I also wanna thank J-Ro and Sweet Tooth for comin out rockin
(And DJ [Name])
And I wanna thank Scotty D, Cold-Crush Chris
And DJ Pooh, the Hip-Hop Gangster
(When he say beat em up he don’t be bluffin)
Word
And oh yeah, I forgot somebody
Unknown!
(Yo man, who blew up that McDonald’s on Central and Rosecrans, dude?)
While the norm for most tracks go anywhere between 3:30 to 6:00 minutes in length, I prefer 15:00 minutes or longer, like the four seasons. Give me 4 long tracks to fill the hour, and I’ll be one very happy Iraqi. I love tracks that take me on long journeys through various movements. One of my all-time favorite synth-pop groups is PROPAGANDA from germany … who sound like twisted ABBA + Industrial + TechnoPop + Darkness. My favorite Proganda track is P:Machinery. I’ve taken two 12-inch vinyl versions of that track and conjoined them together as one … the way I want to listen to P:Machinery by:
Propaganda
Although he produced only a handful of tracks of renown and disappeared into obscurity almost as quickly as he had emerged from it, Manny ( Man ) Parrish is nonetheless one of the most important and influential figures in American electronic dance music. Helping to lay the foundation of electro, hip-hop, freestyle, and techno, as well as the dozens of subgenres to splinter off from those, Parrish introduced the aesthetic of European electronic pop to the American club scene by combining the plugged-in disco-funk of Giorgio Moroder and the man-machine music of Kraftwerk with the beefed-up rhythms and cut’n'mix approach of nascent hip-hop. As a result, tracks like “Hip-Hop Be Bop (Don’t Stop)” and “Boogie Down Bronx” were period-defining works that provided the basic genetic material for everyone from Run-DMC and the Beastie Boys to Autechre and Andrea Parker — and they remain undisputed classics of early hip-hop and electro to this day.
Man Parrish
What made Trevor Horn’s productions stand out was his unique and genius production techniques and the heavy use of state-of-the-art pro-audio gear, which made him become the torch-bearer for the kind of technology-led pop music which was hip and incredibly disciplined. Trevor Horn’s 12-inch remixes were uniquely long (anywhere from 8 to 13 minutes in duration) and told stories which took the listeners through long instrumental journeys at the begenning of tracks until the climax is reached (around the 5/6 or 7 minute mark). After the climax, the original or alternate full vocal version of the track takes over from that point on to the end, lasting additional 3.5 to 5 minutes in length.
Frankie Goes To Hollywood
Trevor Horn is the guy who produced and performed “
The Buggles
King Tee actually started Westcoast Gangsta Rap, contrary to what people were led to believe that it was Ice-T or NWA.
He also consistently released material up to even a few years ago and has had a hand in the success of many other legendary Westcoast artists such as Tha Liks and MC Eiht.