Check the Technique: Liner Notes for Hip-Hop Junkies 

by Brian Coleman

Check the Technique signed by KRS-ONE by Jnforte CC BY NC ND 2.0

Gang Starr by Generation Bass CC BY 2.0

This book really spoke to me. I learned about Coleman’s book after reading his excellent essay about how the experience of creating KMD’s second album Black Bastards led to the birth of MF Doom right after I heard about MF Doom’s death. The article is worth checking out, as Coleman shows how rigorous and detailed he is in his storytelling and analysis. I hoped that he would show a similar eye for detail and keen analysis in this book that he does in the article. If anything, I felt like this book charted the wall of tapes and 12” in my room from about 8th grade to 11th grade. The number of excellent albums he covered and artists interviewed was impressive—Public Enemy, De La Soul, Wu Tang, EPMD, Digital Underground, Cypress Hill, Ice-T, Geto Boys—I could list nearly every chapter in the book. I was especially excited to see Poor Righteous Teachers in there as well as I remember how Rock Dis Funky Joint was the #1 on the Top 9 at 9 for like 3 months in 8th grade. I always felt like they were such an under-appreciated group. It was fascinating to learn more about them and their experiencing with developing the band, working on the album, and trying to get a distribution deal for the record. In general, it was fascinating to read about the record industry at that time. It is probably an era of the past since there’s really no more demo tapes anymore. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed hearing from all of the artists and hearing about their stories about developing some of these important albums. Some of the highlights included KRS-ONE and Ice-T’s interview. I also really enjoyed reading more about Digital Underground’s masterpiece Sex Packets and how creative Shock G was. One interesting thing about that album was how it helped to reshape the nature of West Coast Rap—shifting samples from James Brown to P-Funk and George Clinton that would bust out of the scene with Dre’s The Chronic about 2 years later. In compiling a book of great albums like this, there are always going to be some albums left out, and I couldn’t help but wonder why there were no Gang Starr albums, no Ice Cube albums, and no NWA or Dre albums. I guess I can see why maybe Dre would get left out as most of the albums were just before The Chronic; however, I would think that either Step into the Arena or Daily Operation (my choice) would be worthy of an overview. Similarly, any one of Ice Cube’s first three albums would deserve an overview. I would choose Death Certificate, but I think that the historical context of The Predator would also be fascinating to study. Gang Starr and Ice Cube created many great albums, but I also would have liked to see a few other chapters dedicated to some other great albums from 1991—Black Sheep’s A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing and Showbiz and AG’s Runaway Slave would have also made some great chapters. Black Sheep’s album is so much better than the Choice is Yours. That album was hilarious while also have amazing samples. Dres is a great lyricist, and I would have liked to know more about the band and how that album came about. I also think that Runaway Slave is one of the top 5 hip hop albums from the 90s. Definitely a top 10, but I’ve always felt it was one of the top 5-7. In any event, there are many great samples and cameos on that album and I would have liked to learn more about it. I also think that highlighting the DITC crew would be interesting. I know that Coleman has some other books out, so maybe these records are a part of this, and I will need to read them to find out. On a final note, I think that was a good book to read after Hanif Abdurraqib’s They Can’t Kill Us…since they both talk about the shiny suit era of hip hop and how it sort of slowed the evolution of hip hop, or at least pushed all of the good hip hop underground, which maybe wasn’t so much of a bad thing.