Souls Of Mischief: 93 'Til Infinity (2LP) [JIVE / LEGACY]

Why you'll love it

This remastered 2LP set spreads the Hieroglyphics crew's debut across four sides. The title track reached No. 72 on the Billboard Hot 100, and AllMusic's Steve Huey called it the best single album to come out of the Hieroglyphics camp.

This edition

• 2LP set
• Remastered
• Stereo mix

About the album

In 1993 the West Coast was all G-funk and gangsta swagger, and four MCs from Oakland turned up with something cooler. Tajai, Opio, Phesto and A-Plus came out of the Hieroglyphics collective alongside Del the Funky Homosapien and Casual, and Jive put out their debut on September 28, 1993.

The sound is relaxed and loose, with a live bass feel, obscure jazz and funk samples and rhymes packed with internal rhyme schemes that bounce between all four voices. A-Plus, Del and Domino handle much of the production, and Bill Ortiz adds trumpet. The Washington Post singled out the distant trumpet shouts and fuzzy drum brushes of "Never No More" and the Ramsey Lewis keys on "Make Your Mind Up," while "That's When Ya Lost" became a Hot Rap Singles hit.

The title track has had a long afterlife: J. Cole, Freddie Gibbs, Big K.R.I.T. and Kanye West with Consequence have all borrowed from it, and Joey Bada$$ answered it with "95 Til Infinity." Several of them updated the year in the title, which is about as close as hip hop gets to sending a birthday card.

Also at Kops: more Souls of Mischief on vinyl · browse Hip Hop / R&B

Tracklist

Listen

On Jive / Legacy (cat# 19658853611), a reissue of the 1993 album.