“Reel to Reel” – Grand Puba (1992) [Mitch Nick’s Picks]

This week I want to go back to my favorite era in hip-hop and follow up last week’s write-up with Grand Puba’s album “Reel to Reel” which came out in 1992. Grand Puba came up in New Rochelle, New York and formed Brand Nubian with Sadat X, Lord Jamar, DJ Alamo, DJ Sincere and DJ Stud Doogie but he took a hiatus from the group in 1991 to pursue solo endeavors (which included DJ Stud Doogie and DJ Alamo). Their break up wasn’t all friendly as both sides kept close eyes on each other and there were some lines exchanged on subsequent albums. Grand Puba later rejoined around 1997. I’m not sure how exactly “Reel to Reel” got in my rotation but it’s been there ever since I hit play a few years ago.

Puba’s flow may not be punchline heavy necessarily, but it is certainly unique and smooth over beats which have a definite swing to them. Grand Puba is even credited with a lot of the production on the album as a whole which I think shows some versatility as an artist. “360 (What Goes Around)” is the prime example of this sound and might also be one of the top songs people recommend by Grand Puba. It’s followed by “That’s How We Move It” where Puba comes “crisp like a Pringle.” I also find “Honey Don’t Front” an entertaining track as he flexes some story telling lyrics. That track is followed by “Lickshot” which continues that swing sound so prevalent in the album. “Reel to Reel” also features The Brand New Heavies, Kid Capri on “Back It Up” and Mary J. Blige on “Check It Out”. Grand Puba is even featured on Mary J. Blige’s song “What’s The 411?” which he also did some production for. It is fairly interesting to consider the lack of other rappers on the album when Puba himself did a number of features. It seems that he really wanted to do something almost totally solo.

Overall, I dig Grand Puba’s style on “Reel to Reel” particularly when it comes to his flow. It’s fast and can be a bit wordy which is a bit different than his flow on “2000” which came out in 1995. It is interesting why he didn’t become much bigger than he did considering his background with Brand Nubian, a network of features and good production for the time period. Perhaps some work ethic issues were at play as mentioned in this video here. Apparently, he was even supposed to be on “Show Business” by A Tribe Called Quest on their album “The Low End Theory” but he never showed up for it. It’s possible too that he was to some extent shy from the spotlight.