Exactly three weeks before “KoleXXXion” dropped, DJ Premier & Bumpy Knuckles put out a short EP called “StOoDiOtYmE.” I wouldn’t blame you for not knowing considering (1.) the album was a much bigger deal and (2.) you’d probably assume anything on the EP wound up on the full length album anyway. Let’s put that theory to the test.
The title track “StOoDiOtYmE” certainly can’t be found anywhere else. Primo laces the former Freddie Foxxx with a solid and effective banger that’s heavy on piano samples, then winds up it’s short run of 2:40 with Primo scratching in samples of Craig G and the Beastie Boys. That would have been a dope chorus had they extended (no pun intended) the song out a bit. Knux isn’t at his most amped up and charged here, but he’s dropping solid bars with his gravelly demeanor. “Never forget – my grime, my hustle/ups and downs, tussles, scuffles/robbed niggaz took duffels – tryin’ to get studio time.”
“Fake” didn’t make the LP either. There may be a pattern here, as a majority of “KoleXXXion” was Premier instrumentals that didn’t get used by the artists they were meant for, so conceivably these songs are originals meant just for Bumpy and nobody else. The song stars with a vow from Knux to never stop talking about fakes in rap; let’s be honest, that is a vow he kept and which most rappers in his lane find to be a familiar refrain. It’s a little bit of a weak vocal performance though, ending on a low note with BK simply saying “bass in your face” over and over again. Thankfully the energy picks up for the next cut, aptly titled “That Preemo Shit.”
That’s a funny point for me actually — I prefer to spell it “Primo,” probably because I took four years of Spanish in high school, but I see “Preemo” out there a lot. I’d suggest they’re BOTH right since either one is phonetically correct. In any case we’re three for three on songs that are exclusive to this EP. I’ve always said that Knux matches his energy to the caliber of his production, so the staggered Akai beats that Premier taps out obviously struck a chord. “Raw like Pesci/smooth like Dinero/I’m poppin’ in the hood like the corner store hero.” The boom bap vibes are STRONG on this song and the next joint.
“I’m Bumpy Obama with bars”
It might be fair to call “tAkEiT2tHeToP” a lost classic. “When I was young I had a premonition/that my mission, would be/to body competition.” There are certain Primo beats that make the hair on my neck and arms stand at attention — this is one of them. “Hands up for the culture and everybody true to it/watch what you let people do to it.” James Campbell is ON FIRE on this one, and unlike some of his most famous tracks, he never once has to yell or raise his voice. A lot of people are simps for rap stars with a big vocabulary and lots of super scientifical bars, but you don’t need the biggest words to make the best points and do so with style and panache.
Ending way too soon with “Inspired By Fire,” this EP proves to be wholly its own creation completely separate from a classic “KoleXXXion.” Maybe it’s the fact these were all made-from-scratch tracks with no prior history that resulted in an extended play release. Maybe the relatively short length of the songs (with “Fake” being the longest at 3:11) made them seem lesser compared to the album yet to come. And maybe these were just the leftovers from a long series of studio sessions that still deserved a place in the sun. They can’t top the masterpiece that came out a few weeks later, but “StOoDiOtYmE” is definitely worthy OF your time and shouldn’t be slept on.
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