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Smoke Some Kill

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Smoke Some Kill
Studio album by
Schoolly D
Released1988
Recorded1988
Genres
LabelJive/RCA
ProducerSchoolly D
Schoolly D chronology
Saturday Night! – The Album
(1986)		 Smoke Some Kill
(1988)		 Am I Black Enough for You?
(1989)
Singles from Smoke Some Kill
  1. "Smoke Some Kill"
    Released: 1988
  2. "No More Rock n' Roll"
    Released: 1988

Smoke Some Kill is the third album by rapper Schoolly D. The album was released in 1988 on Jive Records and was produced by Schoolly D.

Release

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Though the album was not as successful as Saturday Night! – The Album, it made it to No. 180 on the Billboard 200 and No. 50 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop album chart.[1]

"Signifying Rapper"

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The song "Signifying Rapper" was based upon the "signifying monkey" character of African-American folklore. A version of this story was performed by Rudy Ray Moore. Schoolly D's adaptation of the story is recited over the rhythm guitar figure from Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir".[2] The song was featured in the film Bad Lieutenant, and inspired the title of (and is discussed in) the book Signifying Rappers: Rap and Race in the Urban Present.

"Signifying Rapper" was the target of several lawsuits following its use in the 1992 film Bad Lieutenant,[2] in multiple scenes.

In 1994, Live Home Video and distributor Aries Film Releasing were ordered to destroy any unsold copies of Bad Lieutenant as part of a copyright infringement ruling.[3][Request quotation on talk to verify] Director Abel Ferrara was angered by the incident, which he felt "ruined the movie":

"Signifying Rapper" was out for five years, and there wasn't a problem. Then the film had already been out for two years and they start bitching about it. [...] It cost Schoolly like $50,000. It was a nightmare. And meanwhile, "Signifying Rapper" is 50 million times better than "Kashmir" ever thought of being. [...] Why sue? You should be happy that somebody is paying homage to your work.

— Abel Ferrara, The A.V. Club interview[2]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStar[4]
Robert ChristgauB−[5]
Los Angeles Daily NewsB[6]
Rolling StoneStar[7]

The album received generally mixed reviews from most music critics. The Los Angeles Daily News gave the album a B.[6] Rolling Stone reviewer Cary Darling panned the album, writing "With its images of gun-toting bluster, mushrooming genitals and rampant drug use – backed by thuddingly dull beats – Smoke Some Kill should be played for every prospective rapper so he'll know what not to do."[7] AllMusic reviewer Ron Wynn called the album "more chaotic than creative".[4] In his consumer guide for The Village Voice, critic Robert Christgau called Schoolly D "the white audience's paranoid-to-masochistic fantasy of a B-boy" and commended him for "realizing the fantasy so scarily, and for commanding his own tough-guy sound".[5]

Track listing

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Schoolly D "Signifying Rapper" (1988)
Excerpt of main riff and break
Problems playing this file? See media help.
  1. "Smoke Some Kill" – 3:28
  2. "Here We Go Again" – 2:43
  3. "Mr.Big Dick" – 4:36
  4. "Gangster Boogie II" – 3:43
  5. "This Is It (Ain't Gonna Rain)" – 3:56
  6. "Another Poem" – 4:20
  7. "We Don't Rock, We Rap" – 3:17
  8. "Signifying Rapper" – 4:51
  9. "No More Rock n' Roll" – 3:52
  10. "Same White Bitch (Got You Strung Out on Cane)" – 4:19
  11. "Treacherous" – 4:27
  12. "Black Man" – 4:19
  13. "Coqui 900" – 3:30
  14. "Fat Gold Chain" – 3:01

Personnel

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  • Schoolly D – producer
  • DJ Code Money – sampling, scratching
  • Joe "The Butcher" Nicolo – engineer, mix on "Mr. Big Dick", "Gangster Boogie II", "This Is It (Ain't Gonna Rain)", "Another Poem", "Same White Bitch (Got You Strung Out on Cane)", "Treacherous", "Black Man"
  • Nigel Green – mix on "Smoke Some Kill", "Here We Go Again", "We Don't Rock, We Rap", "Signifying Rapper", "No More Rock n' Roll", "Coqui 900", "Fat Gold Chain"
  • Andy "Funky Drummer" Kravitz – drums on "Signifying Rapper" and "No More Rock n' Roll"
  • Mike Tyler – guitar on "Signifying Rapper" and "No More Rock n' Roll"
  • Doug Grigsby – bass on "Signifying Rapper" and "No More Rock n' Roll"
  • Big Tim – bass on "Another Poem"

References

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  1. ↑ "Charts and awards for Smoke Some Kill". Allmusic. Retrieved July 25, 2008.
  2. 1 2 3 Tobias, Scott (November 27, 2002). "Interview: Abel Ferrara". The A.V. Club. Onion.
  3. ↑ Sandler, Adam (December 14, 1994). Live Must Destroy 'Bad' Vids Sez Judge. Variety
  4. 1 2 Wynn, Ron. "Review of Smoke Some Kill". Allmusic. Retrieved February 10, 2010.
  5. 1 2 Christgau, Robert. "Consumer Guide: Smoke Some Kill". The Village Voice: December 27, 1988. Archived from the original on 2010-03-13.
  6. 1 2 "Review: Smoke Some Kill". Los Angeles Daily News: September 2, 1988.
  7. 1 2 Darling, Cary (November 17, 1988). "Review of Smoke Some Kill". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on March 28, 2008. Retrieved February 10, 2010.
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