You're not going to find much traditional Gang Starr on No More Mr. Nice Guy. Besides Gurus unmistakable voice you could actually have a very hard time identifying the group after the first listen. The groups debut is filled with jazz influences and sound very much like something released in 1989 but this is not the same group that rose to fame in the mid nineties. Looking at their career as a whole, they are most known for DJ Premiers production, which all but mastered the New York Sound. Their mastery of the New York feel comes off a quite a surprise when you take into account the origin of the members. Guru hails from Boston, Massachusetts while DJ Premier was born and raised in Houston, Texas.
Keith E. The Guru was the only original Gang Starr member left after all the other members left in pursuit of a more successful career. Wanting to keep the Gang Starr name, Guru teamed up with friend DJ Premier, who he thought would give him a chance to gain fame. In 1989 the group released their debut No More Mr. Nice Guy on Wild Pitch Records. The album received critical acclaim but to this day its sold approximately fifteen copies. Since 89 was such a big year in hip hop, it was overshadowed by almost every other album released that year, most notably De La Soul's 3 Feet High And Rising. Even with that being the case the group somehow was given the chance to make more albums, hence keeping alive the career of hip hops greatest producer and everyone's favorite monotonous voice, Guru. Take notes Kid Cudi, this is how you make use of a non changing voice. Today, this album is pretty much tossed to the side by most hip hop heads, favoring the groups later work instead of their jazz heavy debut. For casual rap fans nowadays, they will more than likely turn their head in disguise because the pure fact that this was released in 1989.
Personally, this was by no means the first Gang Starr album I added to my collection. I actually started up in the middle of their catalogue with Moment Of Truth. After buying and listening to Hard To Earn, my OCD went apeshit and I had to have everything the group had ever released. After tracing back their steps I eventually found my way to the groups debut. Today this one probably gets the least amount of rotations.
Why? I guess you'll have to read the review to find out...
1. Premier And The Guru
Getting all the essential business out of the way, the group introduces themselves in proper fashion. As much as I love him I've gotta say that Guru is one of the worst rap names I can think of. Like what were you thinking man. Anyways, you'll see early on that this is nothing like the rest of the group released. Instead of the signature DJ Premier beat we get a duo stuck in the aesthetics of the late eighties.
2. Jazz Music
Before their change in pace in the mid nineties, Gang Starr were a somewhat big part of the hip hop and jazz fusion. This part of the group was never successful as The Jungle Brothers or A Tribe Called Quest but it was their defining style at this point of their careers. In "Jazz Music" Guru gives us a brief history on the Jazz genre and why they are choosing to mix it with rap. Guru sound much more youthful and energized but that's expected considering this shits almost 25 years old.
3. Gotch U
Gurus delivery and Premiers production all scream Big Daddy Kane to me. I'm not willing to go out of my way to see if this was released before or after Long Live The Kane but I'm assuming they just jacked "Set It Off". Contrasting his normal tone, Guru sounds energetic as hell on this song, talking up his own mic skills while devouring the next MC.
4. Manifest
This actually is not the much more popular "Manifest (Remix)" which appears on most of the groups greatest hits collections. This song is decent enough but I still prefer the remixed version much more. Like its counterpart this isn't much more than Guru flexing his mic skills.
5. Gusto
This is the lone song that is actually not produced by DJ Premier, as The 45 King comes in and provides a much higher tempo beat. Guru adjust to the change of pace with relative ease and continues his strong showing on the groups debut. Much like "Gotch U" this song wouldn't sound out of place on a Big Daddy Kane song, which is never a bad thing. This song sounds surprisingly good since the last time I gave it a listen.
6. DJ Premier In Deep Concentration
Even though its just a DJ cut this track is still one of the most well known and highly praised on No More Mr. Nice Guy. This is a fantastic song that blend the traditional DJ cut with jazz. This is more of a forgotten art in rap but if you're into this type of thing I highly recommend the track.
7. Positivity (Remix)
Its beyond confusing to me that the group decided to have the remix of their song come before the original. Remixes are usually demoted to the deluxe copies of albums but I'm guessing Gang Starr didn't care. I'm still left wondering why DJ Premier released the original to the public if he hated it so much. Oh well, this is still a decent song.
8. Manifest (Remix)
Ok, this beat actually sounds different from the original. Its much funkier and around a minute longer. Since I enjoyed the original and this one is even better it definitely warrants the production of both copies. I still don't know why these remixes are being found in the very middle of the album, though.
9. Conscience Be Free
This shit is boring as fuck. Its honestly just takes all the unlikable qualities from this album and magnifies them. Guru sounds monotonous as ever and Premos beat sure as hell isn't doing much to help it. Keep the skip button close to you for this one.
10. Cause And Effect
Guru's delivery comes of as incredibly antagonistic, but in the way of someone who wants you to succeed. Its kind of great thinking of Guru as a father figure who can rap and used to be friends with DJ Premier. As much as I love Guru, that fatherly persona comes off as a less cool version of Slick Rick. Before I ramble on about anything else completely unrelated to the song, know that this is really fucking good.
11. 2 Steps Ahead
"2 Steps Ahead" caps off the best one two punch on the album. Guru is tearing shit up accordingly while DJ Premier provids one of his best instrumental on the album. At one point, though, Guru starts talking about farting and shit which completely discredited anything else he had been talking about. If you can get past that then you'll find a pretty good song.
12. No More Mr. Nice Guy
Continuing an unfortunate trend of title track being only barely listenable, this song isn't very good. Premier's beat sounds much more like his later work, which is a plus but Guru can't seem to get anything going. This isn't as bad as my first sentence made it seem but its not something I'm going to be coming back to.
13. Knowledge
With songs like "Knowledge" and "Positivity" its hard to imagine Gang Starr going through such a hateful breakup. They both seemed extremely happy at this time and its downright depressing to think about how their relationship ended. This song is pretty meh, though, as its just Guru bragging about his mic skills.
14. Positivity (Remix)
Id loved to be informed if there is any fucking difference between this song and the original. Can't really see why this made the cut.
Rating: 3/5
"No More Mr. Nice Guy" is a tricky album to rate. Its has almost no resemblance to the groups future work and doesn't really showcase the groups talent. Guru doesn't sound all that different, as he's preaching positivity and shit, but Premiers beats sounds much simpler and cruder than what most people are used to. That's not the same thing as to say that this is a bad album. In its own way, its quite good and has a lot to offer. If you come into this the right way you'll get a look at some of the earliest attempts at experimental hip hop while sticking to the original late eighties album format. Premiers sampling is obviously amateur but serve as inspirations for many groups that came after "No More Mr. Nice Guy". If you're still reading this I can only assume that you're a Ga g Starr fan. If that's the case then I recommend this. Fans of the group will want this, as its shows a different side of the duo and their take on eighties hip hop. If you're a casual fan or wanting you get into the group then you're going to want to skip this one and move onto their second album "Step In The Arena", which is essential listening to all Gang Starr fans.