Gang Starr - Mass Appeal

"A lot of rappers be like one time wonders."

Album: Hard to Earn [4th album]
Recorded: Manhattan, New York City
Genre: Hip Hop, East Coast Hip Hop
Album Release: March 8th 1994
Single Release: February 8th 1994 [2nd single]
Length: 3.41
Producer: DJ Premier [age 27]
Cuts: DJ Premier
Vocalist: Guru [age 32]
Label: EMI Records

Music Video


Live on Arsenio Hall in 1994

Charts, Streams & Sales

Spotify: 83,000,000 +
YouTube Music: 38,000,000 +

Credits

Details

• For me, DJ Premier is what makes Gang Starr great music. Guru is a good rapper, but I don't come back to his solo albums. Whereas, when it comes to DJ Premier, I'll play his beats all day. I don't mean to take anything away from Guru, but we all know that when people list the best producers of all time, Premier will inevitably be near the top, while Guru doesn't occupy an equivalent spot on the list of best rappers.
  
  Guru's slow flow is nice, his voice and delivery are better and I can't fault his lyrics, but it's doesn't pass the "great" barrier while Premier's beats do consistently. Guru's lyrical content is nearly always braggadocio and I find it boring after a while even though it can be clever and makes me laugh.
  
  Gang Starr do have a unique sound and their music is instantly recognisable, Guru has "found his voice" and displays it well, but for me the best Gang Starr tracks are those that feature other rappers, such as 'Above the Clouds' ft Inspectah Deck, 'DWYCK' ft Nice & Smooth and 'The Militia' ft. Big Shug and Freddie Foxxx. Guru himself describes his voice as the monotone drone and I prefer it when other rappers punctuate the beat alongside Guru.
  
  However, 'Mass Appeal' is an exception. The song is iconic in Gang Starr's discography and was central to their live sets. It had such an impact on hip hop that the record label Mass Appeal, which was founded in 2014, took its name from the song. Premier has said that Gang Starr made the track as a joke, as a way of laughing at the songs on the radio with their simplistic melodies and watered down version of hip hop.
  
  The irony is that 'Mass Appeal' became one the Gang Starr's most popular hits and they love it because it helped their careers. The truth is that Gang Starr couldn't make a pop rap record even when they tried, because the beats and bars on 'Mass Appeal' are so good they couldn't be considered as anything other than raw, savage hip hop.
   
  
• An MC and a DJ, two turntables and a microphone. Gang Starr made hip hop the way it was supposed to be, the way it the was made in the parks in 1976. Yet they managed to stay relevant by moving with the times. A key part of Gang Starr's longevity is that they kept the basic formula so close to the roots of hip hop that they had a solid foundation to build on, tweaking and experimenting beats and rhymes until they made it click.
  
  East coast hip hop in 1987 was vastly different than it was in 1995, the style had markedly changed and many of the legends of the 80's struggled to stay relevant, while Gang Starr made the transition look effortless. Rakim, a true legend in rap, released his first single one year before Gang Starr in 1986, and his last iconic release was 1992's 'Don't Sweat the Technique'. He made music after the mid-nineties east coast tonal shift, but it wasn't nearly as impactful as his earlier work.
  
  Gang Starr's 'Moment of Truth' from 1998, however, is one of the groups best efforts, and it's amazing how consistently strong their discography is thoughout. The duo released their first single in 1987, followed by their last of seven albums in 2003, all of which were at least solid. When I think of Gang Starr, I think of two words, longevity and consistency, or to put it another way, Guru and Premier.
  
  
• The video for 'Mass Appeal' has me fully ready to watch an entire Netflix series of Gang Starr in the snow. It's so mysterious. Why are they there? Why are there so many New York guys uncomfortably walking around in the winter? As an episode one, the Mass Appeal video from 1:55 onwards has me hooked. It's the best part of the whole thing and looks like the cold open of a Fargoesque Scandi-crime drama
  
  
• DJ Premier is the greatest hip hop producer of all time. Although I admit to a bias because of my fondness for mid-nineties east coast hip hop. I couldn't possibly respect any greatest producers list that has Preemo outside of the top 10. It's amazing how consistently his name is mentioned when people ask the question: who was the greatest?
  
  Premier's production style is based around DJing and sampling from rare records unearthed from dusty stacks of vinyl. He would then load them into an MPC or SP-1200 drum machine to slice and chop things together until they clicked. More impressive than the technical feats of engineering involved in making the beats themselves however, was Preemo's uncanny ability to fit the beat to the rhyme in a way that made what the rapper was saying more impactful.
  
  Even though Premier has continued working well into the 2020's he will forever be associated with the late-80's and nineties era of east coast hip hop which saw him produce his best work.
  
  A selection of beats made by Premier.
  
  
• Afu-Ra - Equality 
• Big L - The Enemy
  
• Biggie Smalls - 10 Crack Commandments 
• Common - The 6th Sense
  
• Gang Starr - Above the Clouds
• Gang Starr - DWYCK
• Gang Starr - Mass Appeal
  
• Group Home - Livin' Proof 
• Ill Bill - Society Is Brainwashed
  
• Jay-Z - D'Evils
• Jeru the Damaja - Aint the Devil Happy
  
• KRS-One - Outta Here
  
• Mos Def - Mathematics
  
• Nas - Nas Is Like
• Nas - New York State of Mind 
• Nas - Represent
  

Artwork