As i’m selling everything I own case I head east, I happened upon this obscure CD, Marley Marl In Control Vol.II the other day. To set the scene, it’s the early 90’s and whitey is just waking up to the possibility that this rap shit won’t be going the same way as Electric Country and might actually be in it for the long run. This was the era of Def Jams and Tommy Boys setting the pace and The Man wanted a piece of dat azz. Enter Warner, still trying to squeeze the life out its Cold Chillin’ roster and pointing a gun at the head of proven hitmaker Marley Marl to churn out some more classics. As we all know, the first of Marley’s In Control is a certified classic and an era defining moment in the Golden Age of Hip Hop. Assuming its was called Vol.1 for a reason we awaited Vol.II with baited breath. And waited. And waited for 4 years. The hip hop landscape between the original 1987 vol.I release and Vol. II’s 1991 release had changed never to return. In had moved the Nikes, Hillfiggers and MTV’s. In moved the Arista’s and the BMG’s. In moved the money and in moved the radio plays and pop sensibilities; basically whitey was in town and he wanted his money.
The most obvious way cash shaped the sound of hip hop was the sudden use of a chorus and a singer, still a bit of a faux pas even then, or the MC repeating a phrase in a way that made it a pop hook and In Control Vol.II reflects this sell out shift. The CD itself was only available on in import in ye olde England and, in another example of The Man’s crushing influence, only on CD not wax; “Fuck you DJ’s” they must of cackled at Warners over the port and cigars. Back then this CD cost near £18 which was pricey but it was Marley and it was Vol.II so it had to be dope right? Wrong. I listened to this to the other day and I can still tell you this CD is butt. Not only were the vast majority of the 20 tracks dire but to add insult to injury Marley pissed over his heritage with The Symphony pt. II. Pt. I is the definitive classic posse cut but this lightweight flim flam featuring wack beats, bad rhymes and Little Daddy Shane was foul. Even Frankie Cutlass with Pt. III could not bring back the magic that Pt. I. oozed. There are only a couple of good tracks on the album, “At The Drop of A Dime” with MC Cash (who?) and “I Be Getting’ Busy” with Uncle L. For me the best track is “America Eats It’s Young” and it sticks out like a sore thumb in between the radio lite pap on display with is wailing sirens and Chuck D rhymes and hey, it sounds just like a real Marley Marl production. The rest are shockers and I’m glad to say all of the artists seem to have disappeared into the ether of R&B pop rap nonsense.
Of course the sun doesn’t chill and Marley would lick his wounds regroup and unleash some devastating production as the decade wore on but as for this debacle I would give it a 3/10 for the three decent tracks on here. A CD truly of its time.