Description
These two songs are taken from the groups legendary first full-length from 1992, Mecca & The Soul Brother. Originally, both were their own 12-inch singles, but for this special, first-time-ever 7-Inch release, they are paired together. They Reminisce Over You – a tribute to their late friend Trouble T-Roy (a member of Heavy Ds crew) – is one of the most beloved hip-hop tracks of the 90s, and rightfully so. Grooving very deeply over a filtered bassline and a now-ingrained Tom Scott saxophone riff (Today), CL Smooth lives up to his moniker, weaving various tales and lessons about family and friends. His status as a storytelling MC remains underrated, but here it remains proudly on display.
Straighten It Out, although not the runaway smash that They Reminisce was, is equally emotional and soulful. Again over a mid-tempo groove, and again with Petes trademark warm horn samples, CL explained in Check the Technique, On [part of] the song, I was talking about sampling, and I was basically reacting to how everything was such a procedure when you had to clear stuff. They didnt seem to care about how their music affected anyone else, they just wanted money. So it was just something that needed to be straightened out. Older artists thought that us younger cats were ripping them off, but it wasnt like that. It was a tribute. So heres the math: one classic hip-hop group, two memorable singles, one killer 7-Inch. Case closed.
Straighten It Out, although not the runaway smash that They Reminisce was, is equally emotional and soulful. Again over a mid-tempo groove, and again with Petes trademark warm horn samples, CL explained in Check the Technique, On [part of] the song, I was talking about sampling, and I was basically reacting to how everything was such a procedure when you had to clear stuff. They didnt seem to care about how their music affected anyone else, they just wanted money. So it was just something that needed to be straightened out. Older artists thought that us younger cats were ripping them off, but it wasnt like that. It was a tribute. So heres the math: one classic hip-hop group, two memorable singles, one killer 7-Inch. Case closed.
