Kool Moe Dee

Kool Moe Dee is one of the first rappers I ever knew by name. A lot of people leave him off their lists of great rappers because he came off so basic. If you go back and take a listen though, you can tell he inspired a lot of cats. I got a good chuckle from reading the liner notes -- where he thanks LL Cool J, T La Rock, and Rakim of biting his style and breaking his style of rap through to the masses (he also gives props to "new school" artists like Run DMC, Whodini, Fat Boys, Doug E. Fresh, and Slick Rick). Whether he should be viewed as a legend is debatable, but I'd say he most definitely is a legend. I felt like it was only right that I reserve some space for his first two solo joints. While he would go on to release more albums, none of them had that old school (before 1987) feel to them that I was looking for in this particular post. I saw a lot of different names for his debut across the internet (I'm Kool Moe Dee, Best, The Best, etc..). My copy simply says "Kool Moe Dee" on the front and sides. So I'm going to assume that his debut is self titled.

Kool Moe Dee [1986]

1. Go See The Doctor
2. Dumb Dick (Richard)
3. Bad Mutha
4. Little Jon
5. Do You Know What Time It Is?
6. Rock Steady
7. Monster Crack
8. The Best
9. I'm Kool Moe Dee

Kool Moe Dee's second release is probably his most noticeable one despite not being as good as its predecessor. Undeniable classics like Wild Wild West and How Ya Like Me Now, along with a growing beef with LL Cool J, made this one of the more anticipated '87 releases. Though it's probably my favorite KMD album, I wouldn't necessarily call it required listening. It's pretty much more of the same from his debut album -- bragging and boasting with the occasional positive message mixed in. The sound is more funky and you can hear the evolution of hip hop production taking place (I still love those old drum beats though). I'm not too sure that time has been all that kind to this album, especially with the total change in sound coming around the corner in '88, but I still give it some run in my disc player.




How Ya Like Me Now [1987]

1. How Ya Like Me Now
2. Wild Wild West
3. Way Way Back
4. 50 Ways
5. No Respect
6. Don't Dance
7. I'm A Player
8. Suckers
9. Stupid
10. Rock You
11. Get Paid