I was all about this shit, as it was Brand Nubian back together to achieve their true glory promised on the first tape. "Punks Jump Up To Get Beat Down" was probably the greatest single from the Grand Puba/Sadat X & Lord Jamar separated years, but it would've been that much better with Puba's fat face looking he got stung by a hive of bees rapping about kicking ass on some chump because dude was pissed his girl let Puba hit the skins. Hitting skins is my favorite positive old school term of the day (high-cappin' is the negative one). Foundation is a good record, but kind of boring. I feel hypocritical because one of my big things lately is how there needs to be grown folks hip hop, like Big Daddy Kane and Brand Nubian putting out quality records in 2006, so that them older folks who sit around picnic tables playing Spades all Sunday afternoon have some shit for themselves since all the old school jams shows are getting phased out by the ClearChannel monster. What the fuck does 50 Cent speak to a 37-year-old guy who spent 8 years in jail for some stolen guns and wants nothing more than to get a 2 of spades dealt to him so he can win ten bucks off his cousin.
Through that post-listening filter, I enjoy Foundation more, but still... it lacks fire, perhaps a little too mellow, but in a preachy way. The odd thing is though, I originally hyped Puba up in my head as the leading lyricist, and once he was gone and obsolete outside the occasional guest appearance here or there, I thought Sadat X was the best, perhaps because of his weird voice. But Lord Jamar is like motherfuckin' Larry Allen, perennial kick-ass offensive lineman for my most-hated Dallas Cowboys, a guy who was there during the highest times and the lowest times, and was rock solid the whole way through even though you didn't always notice it. Jamar is behind some 5% Islam tape that's out now that I'd be interested in checking out, if I didn't have a family and bills and no money, which means I ain't checking out shit until like 17 years from now when I find it at a yard sale for fifty cents.
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