As much as it pains purists to admit, the mid-‘90s style of Hip Hop crafted by the likes of Gang Starr and the Wu-Tang Clan is more or less dead. And while many underground producers uphold the golden era’s spirit and venerate its veteran acts, few can match the subtlety of Lord Finesse and Large Professor when it comes to mashing MPC pads in carefully-crafted compositions.
Luckily for those few remaining stalwarts who would rather hear the return of the Funky Man than another installment of G.O.O.D. Friday, veteran underground emcee/producer Celph Titled feels the same way. The Tampa Bay emcee decided to team up with the legendary D.I.T.C. producer Buckwild for his proper debut album Nineteen Ninety Now. The results of this collaboration are nothing short of astounding, as both parties prove that golden era is far from dead.
If left in the hands of a less capable emcee, Buckwild’s array of previously unreleased mid-1990s beats most likely would have been utterly wasted. Fortunately for listeners, however, Celph Titled’s jaunty flow hearkens to a Muddy Waters-era Redman, while his devastating arsenal of punchlines is borderline Big L. This is not to say that Celph sounds derivative of these legends; rather, he comes off as a student steeped in the verbal aesthetics of the golden era. He sounds eerily at home rocking over Buckwild’s Word…Life-era production. From the album’s very opening track “The Deal Maker,” Celph asserts his verbal authority, spitting, “I’ll slice your neck with a Fugees CD / And stick Lauryn Hill with the coroner’s bill.” Celph is a throwback to the veritable glory days of hardcore Hip Hop, and his delivery is as fantastic as it is refreshing.
Like any proper ode to ‘90s hardcore, Nineteen Ninety Now finds Celph in full battle mode. Songs like “Hardcore Data” and “Step Correctly” captures Celph at his most gutter, saying on the later song that “I was a stick-up kid / It was fucked up but fun / ‘Cause I used a Nintendo Duck Hunt Gun.” Other tracks like the Busta Rhymes-sampling “Tingin’” and “Where I Are” are verbal smack-downs that bruise on contact. Yet Celph doesn’t relegate himself to simply talking shit on his lyrical foes. Songs like “Fuckmaster Sex” find Celph donning a hilarious Kool Keith pornocore mentality, while “Wack Juice” proves to be one of the angriest sounding attacks on Hip Hop recorded since Crunk was mainstream. Yet it’s songs like “Miss Those Days” and “I Could Write a Rhyme” that prove the album with a greater personal grounding, making Nineteen Ninety Now a more well-rounded listen.
Although Celph more than holds it down on his dolo, the crew cuts featured on the LP make the album that much better. Chief among these collaborations are the Vinnie Paz-featured verbal gun show “Eraserheads” and the epic D.I.T.C./Brand Nubian connection “There Will Be Blood,” on which Celph more than holds his own against Sadat X, Grand Puba, A.G., O.C. and Diamond D. And if those collaborations don’t whet your appetite, Celph connects with his Demigodz family Apathy and Ryu on “Swashbuckling,” and even brings the likes of F.T., R.A. The Rugged Man, Chino XL and Treach from Naughty by Nature on other cuts. Except for the LP’s final track “Time Travels On,” which feature substandard verses from Majik Most and Dutchmassive, the album’s numerous collaborations drive home the golden era feel and make it one of the most exciting listens this year so far.
Buckwild’s production on Nineteen Ninety Now is nothing short of incredible. The Bronx, New York titan has always been a sonic juggnaut, crafting everything from O.C.’s “Time’s Up” to Black Rob’s “Whoa!.” Yet on this album, Buck goes into D.I.T.C. overdrive, pulling from musical landscapes with his MPC work. As indicated by the album’s title and even its cover, these beats are from Buckwild’s 1993-1996 years, which led to critical albums like Lifestylez ov da Poor and Dangerous and Word…Life. He is a master of samples, compounding layers of minute horn stabs over lush and subtle grooves on tracks like “Eraserheads” and “The Deal Maker.” Buckwild shifts effortlessly between crafting threatening bangers (“Out to Lunch,” “Tingin’”) and more reflective fare (“Miss Those Days,” “Time Travels On”). With its crashing kicks and snares and dusty sampled grooves, Buckwild’s production on this album is the standard to which all Hip Hop producers should aim to achieve.
In an era where commercial interests control Hip Hop music’s every move with an iron grip, Nineteen Ninety Now is a stunning throwback to the mid-‘90s style of things. Armed with full, evocative production and some of the hardest bars heard by man, Celph Titled and Buckwild prove that the golden era isn’t dead by a long shot.
Classic album. wow! Better then I thought it was going to be. Dope. Celph & Buc must be really happy with how this turned out, I know I am. Everybody buy this!
this is what the fuck im talkin bout right here!!!!! fuckin fiiiiiiiiiire!!!
hip hop need this!!
celph killed this shit album of the year
From the opening few seconds I knew I would LOVE this album. Celph takes his punchline game up a notch. And buckwild…. Oooooohhhh! There’s not a bad beat on the album.
All these cats been saying “we need a real throwback album.”
Buckwild and Celph Titled made that possible. It’s been a great year for rap.
Album of the year right behind Marcberg.
Agreed, this album is nice, but NOTHING is fucking with Marcberg, still
Huh?? Cmon son!!! Fuckouttaherewitdatbullshit!
i dont know how this didnt get a 5. this album is as hip hop as it gets. it has all the elements. makes me wish we were still in the 90s but this album is as close as its gonna get to the golden era of hip hop and im cool with that. its a 5 star
I hope that this masterpiece will start a new movement in hip hop…
This masterpiece is the blueprint of what a hip hop record SHOULD sound like!!!!!
UHHM REALLY 4.75 ? i mean it’s a nice album yeah but it aint all that nice ?
Who is this guy??
Celph-Titled is a dope mc but that average user rating is bullshit, seriously, listen to the tracks before you vote people. it’s nice but isnt that nice..
smh @ the “Busta Rhymes Sampled ‘Tingin'”
that’s Big Shug’s voice being sampled.
haha, yea it is. It’s Big Shug. Premo produced that track, its called “Crush”. There’s another vocal sample in there too, though..not sure who it is..
Easily one of the best albums of 2010. A fucking classic.
…
This album has the time of replay value that other albums could only dream of having. I have been planning on buying this album since I heard about it over the summer. After listening to all the tracks I can safely say that celph and buck more than deserve my hard-earned money. I think I’ll be playin this in 5 years and say “Yup, This one is destined to be an all-time classic”
average
funny that you’re going by the name DJ Premier, yet you call a classic ode to 90’s hip hop average.
because I’m jealous
PREEMO, please stop livin on past glories.
Just do what ur known for and stop complainin when Rappers or Wankers didn’t use your beats, please listen to this Record and you get the reason for that.
Killa Beatz and Nice flowz = CLASSICS!!!!
yeee
love this album
classic
great review, great album. Celph kills it again and of course with beats from one of the best producers in his prime of course this shit was gonna be excellent
5/5 no doubt. best hip-hop album this year by far
Haha! Don’t even tell me this is the REAL Tommy Lee. Haha!!!
This is defintely one of the best rap albums of the year it has fresh beats and insanely good lyrics.
4 Stars.
This Album is pretty good. Call me crazy but I like the lyrics more than the beats (never thought I’d say that about Celph Titled!). I think Buckwild is one of the best producers of all time, and there are some gems on this album, but on the whole the beats are a little underwhelming.
Still though, very good release.
You are TRIPPIN. There may be like 2 or 3 beats that are AVERAGE at worst. You need to listen to it again…
It’s not perfect, but it’s hard to deny that Celph and Buckwild have a pretty damn good team goin’ on with this album.
4/5
Enjoying the hell out of this album. easily one of the best this year!
I dont get these reviews.. Nothing but praise through out the hole thing.. then its missing .5 of a star?… Atleast give a reason why… I personally think you can’t.. and just dont want to sound like you’re riding on his dick and give it short of a classic just to say that.. But in reality, nothing less then classic comes out of this album.
OH MY GOD this shit is sick!! But how come this concept has not been done before, an MC rhyming over 90’s era beats?? Think about it for a sec, can you imagine if:
Torae went to Da Beatminerz and said “Give me all your beats left off of Enta Da Stage & Dah Shinin and let’s do this album” or…
Royce da 5’9 goin up to PREEMO sayin “Yo dawg, give me all that shit u didnt use on that 1st Group Home album” or…
Mos Def using all of Pete Rock’s beats left off of The Main Ingredient of the INI album
You know what I’m gettin at, I’m hopin this happens again real soon..ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Royce the 5 9 over a whole Premo-produced album? Nah, doesn’t deserve it. That might be too boring, honestly. Nas and Premo album would be nuts.
thanks dx, just bought it…a breath of fresh air..
anybody that doesnt like this shyt and still calls them a TRUE hip hopper just kill yoself bc you r in serious denial. yall niggaz complain hip hop is dead and then when some DOPE shyt like this come out yall whine like hoes that it isnt what you wanted or thought it was gon be… fuck outta here wit that shyt! THIS IS RAW HIP HOP THAT SOUND LIKE IT CAME FROM THE RAWEST ERA IN THE GENRE… you dis this then you dissed the 90’s era of the art form.
5
Dope Shit.
“I’m salutin’ one for yall, no more shootin’ guns at all, I’m boostin’ the Sun from God”
-Hardcore Data
Yooooo….I don’t even hav words for this album. This shit is absolutely BANANAS. Holy shit! Celph Titled has been my favorite for awhile now. This dude is an absolute monster. But the real amazing thing about this is the production. You would think because the beats are unreleased, leftover beats that Buckwild never used, they would be average. It’s the exact opposite. Just about every beat fuckin bangs on here. This shit straight took me back to the 90’s and gave me that feeling that I haven’t heard prob since the 90’s. Yo, the track “swashbuckling” w apathy, ryu, and esoteric, each verse has a different beat. The last beat, which celph raps over, is the muthafuckin definition of grimy!! That beat reminds of the production on big l’s first album. “wack juice”=disgusting, “out to lunch” w treach=disgusting, “tingin”=disgusting. Now the those tracks are the GRIMIEST. All the other ones are insane also. If y’all don’t cop this, kill yaself….
100% banga
what a great album
people really started to forget about Buckwild until this came out. he is up the with Pete Rock and Lord Finesse ect. imo
Yo, agree 100 percent. I didn’t realize how ILL Buckwild was until I heard all these beats. I mean, I knew he was good, but when I heard this shit it totally reminded me of Finesse, Pete Rock, even Showbiz production….
Yeesh does every boom bap review have to repear the ‘hiphop is dead’ mantra ad nauseum? We get it, its not dead it’s just different. There is clearly quite a decent market for it, stop making it sound like it’s just 7 of us in a corner circle jerking over a DITC acetate, it’s helping no one
Rant done. Looking fwd to coppin this
this album is incredible.
i just can’t believe buck gave these to an up and coming cat. i guess thats the point, bridging the gap between today and yesterday.
but i can’t help but wonder what this would sound like with O.C. handling these beats. he got the illest verse on the album IMO, that nigga OC is still nice as fuck. these young niggas dont know shit about OC, one of the dopest emcees ever, and he never fell off.
that being said, this album is crazy. all the guests mash it, celph does his thing. beats are incredible, sleigh bells and heavy drums. big swing, bangs on a system, 40 and blunt music.
treach killed his verse, good to hear from treach. nigga is an animal, still. its a lot of old niggas that still get busy, sadat x killed his verse on this.
i cant help but envisioning big l over these joints. that nigga woulda dropped a 5 mic album no problem with these same beats.
dope fuckin album.
Celph Titled is not an up and comer….haha….
The album is excellent.
No doubt about it, this is AOTY!! A bonafide classic!!!
EASILY ONE OF MY FAVORITE ALBUMS OF THE FUCKING DECADE
That’s a beautiful fuckin statement…
Celph killing it right now
Ah…. My favorite era 92-96. High school days when bein real was bein authentic.
Peace!
dope shit. 4 stars
This has to be one of the best albums of the year period
Didnt even get all the way into each 30 sec previews and my neck broke. im buyin this shit f’real.
Album’s 2nd best of the year after vinnie paz season of the assassin , I must say I Do like celph more on snowgoons & sicknature beats ,its a creative , innovative masterpiece , 5 on 5 starz
another celph titled banga
one of the best of 2009
Kanye west my beautiful dark twisted fantasy album
of the year
GTFO u waste that albums gonna suck, even if it sells it dont mean shit. this is where the real hiphop is at right here!
You think Kanye gets down with his own crap in private?
Let me tell ya, that dude is fuckin bumpin his head on NINETEEN NINETY NOW.
Stop bein FOOOOOLED!
One of the best artists ever
That raw rap right here. Very refreshing break from the monotony.
“This ain’t rock of love, but I’ll rock a thug/make you wear a wig and rag like Bret Michaels does…” HAHAHAHA
kayne west is a fag this is real rap
Best shit dropped in ages!! Real raw rap on Golden age beats by one of the Gods. Classic materiel.
The only thing appealing about this album is the beats. Lyrics are below average to average at best.
lyrics are below average?…REALLY!…im sorry Celph couldnt put out kanye/soujaboy bitch shit for ya to comprehend? Im sorry if i came out harsh. but what you just sed was BONKERS b!
Straight up “Thomas” where you from Beverly Hills, by the way? If you think these lyrics are average, then you’re probably too dumb to understand what he’s saying, like the pure-genius of his “literal-ness” when saying punchlines. The way he mixes humor with violence is fuckin genius. This shit obviously goes right over ya small head…
its very good
I don’t get how this is so great. I loved the 90’s when they were around but that was 2 decades ago. The legends in the 90’s didnt really give a fuck about what was goin on in the 70’s-80’s. They were influenced ofcourse, but from there they did their own thing and made history. Why should we look back?
The best way to do the legendary MC’s of the 90’s any real justice is to be just as innovative and forward thinking as they were. Thats how you pay homage in my eyes.
cant be more wrong..first off 90’s rap was the purest form of rap.since then commercial rap has creeped into the spot that was occupied by raw gritty rap.now white kids dont get in trouble when they listen to hiphop.shit is waaaaaay watered down now..no diss to whites, but rap was better when most whites hated rap.so when it comes to rap or rock, the 90’s where the pinnacle of creativity.i grew up in the 90’s listen to pac on power 106.
“90’s rap was the purest form of rap”
You may be right, you may be wrong. I know plenty of hip-hop heads that would argue that th 80’s was the golden age and I also know folks who enjoy Hip-Hop the way it is now.
Either way, Hip-Hop is not gonna get any better by tryna re-create the 90’s, or any other decade for that matter. They had their time. This is ours.
I agree with JDG. While I disagree with his stance that the album isn’t great, I do agree that we have to start looking forward. Gritty was good because it was a new sound for a still growing genre, not because it was gritty. It was forward thinking and fresh. Though throwback like this have a place, and I will always support them, we NEED to start looking forward. Everyone stuck in the past that wants to relive the glory days is stagnating the art form. Everyone acts like they’re so open minded when it’s actually becoming a pretty narrow minded train of thought. On topic of the article though, this is one of my favorite albums of the year along with Kill Devil Hills, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, and even Pink Friday.
You must not have listen to the album?
if you serious you better listen to bieber son.
There are so many cornball staples on this disc such as “Miss Those Days”.
Yea, but, an album called “nineteen ninety now,” that has all production specifically from the 90’s, it only makes sense to have tracks like that. Kill yaself for your name, jackasss…
A GREAT ALBUM!!!!!!!!!!
I WANT MORE OF THIS!
Good ish
I just discovered a hip hop album in 2010!
Wow….This is the hip hop that I forgot about. It’s so authentic it’s like it really was recorded back in the 90’s. Buckwild is a beast on the beats and I think I’ve just become a fan of Celph Titled. He makes you wanna go back and write better to step your game up. 5/5.
This is bananas! Album of the year, anyone?! Not to be hostile but this is leagues ahead of Kanyes Dark Fantasy! Anyone who says differently is a faggot bitch emo sheep, real talk! Celph is incredible, a punchline king and metaphor master. True lyricist, Godzilla meets silverback gorilla!
90s beats, and near big l punchlines?!?!?!? ur kidding me!!!!!
wow. . . lovin this album. real hiphop heads need to peep this joint right here. celph and buck took it waaaaay back. . . shit is tough and on repeat!!! braaaaap!!!
REAL HIPHOP
Best of 2010.
1.MBDTF
2. This
1. MBDTF
2. This
1) MBDTF
2) This
5/5 but if i had to choose, MBDTF is album of the year.
Top 5 album of the year.
dope as fuck. 5/5
best of 2010 5/5
best of 2010 hands down.no fillas at all..thats crazy on its own.most albums would collapse without fillas nowadays.and its good to see latinos rappers doing they thing.im gonna this on heavy rotation
wtf how can this shit go under the radar. This album so epic, im in love with it and been listening to it all day!
album of the year
best album in 2010 😀
is like going back to the 90s
this album + vinnie paz season of assasin and diabolical liar and a thief my favorite albums of 2010
Fenomenal shit. 5/5
One of the greatest sounding albums in a long time.
5*
Of course a 90’s throwback album deserves 4.5… Lets all go back to doing shit like we did in the 90’s because in rap learning, growing, and developing is worthless. Every emcee should do exactly what Celph did… Make the stereotypical same album, different year
that said this is a very solid album… Nowhere near the top 10 of the year though
Best shit man!
JMT! AOTP! SG! ECA! LCN! DG! CELPH KILLS IT.
5/5
*****
One of the most cohesive albums made last year. 5 Stars.
Psyntax you can suck my dick with your ‘growing, learning and developing’. Your modern ‘developed’ hip-hop is pussy, some of us still remember when shit was fresh!
I agree, 90’s hip-hop was fresh…. IN THE 90’s. If there’s one thing this album is NOT…. Its fresh. This album has been done over and over and over. Still, I’m not saying it isn’t dope, its just not worthy of top 10 of the 2010… I really don’t care what you perceive as pussy. You’re also generalizing “developed” hip-hop as pussy, yet I didn’t even name an artist….
Shad, Blueprint, Gift of Gab, PackFM, and Homeboy Sandman might be pussies to you, but they all make music that is not only fresh now, but its also better than this.
Besides, isn’t it embarrassing that Apathy and R.A. lock down the best verses on the album?
This album is a classic. Celph Titled is a true poet, his rhymes are crazy. Buckwilds beats on this album are amazing as well. I recommend this album to any REAL hip hop fan.
Celph Titled been around for awhile now. So its no wonder why with Buckwild beats this sounds like golden era rap BUT lets not get carried away now. Shit is dope but because of the shitty music hip hop is producing an album like this gets high praise. Celph is cool but RA and Apathy and Ryu kinda kill him on his own album and the fact that this is his first full length should tell you something. Albums dope but lets not get carried away.