Gang Starr take it personal with "Daily Operation"

To my mind, the three greatest hip-hop producers of all time is a set list that is not going to change for quite a while. The Wu-Tang Clan’s Rza, Westcoast Kingpin Dr. Dre, and Eastcoast legend DJ Premier are the three sole producers in hip-hop who transcend the genre: their consistency, years in the game, and sheer impact upon the ever-changing sound of rap music is unrivalled. Others like Pete Rock, Havoc and Erick Sermon all have their respective claims, but none are on the same scale as these three. I’m pretty guilty of focusing on the former two, so I’m guessing that the vast majority of my readership knows much of the work of Dre and Rza. DJ Premier has been less well represented by me. That’s all about to change. But, enough of that mini-digression.

Gang Starr are one of hip-hop’s immortal duos. Taking the classic rapper-producer combination, this time with Guru as the emcee and the aforementioned DJ Premier as the man behind the boards, the Brooklyn, New York duo have been represented by some of the most consistent records hailing from the Eastcoast. Blending Guru’s baritone, fierce opposition to the increasing influencing of the commercial world in hip-hop with Premier’s astoundingly sophisticated blend of hard, sparse hip-hop rhythms and flamboyant jazz influences, Gang Starr released a string of top-notch releases throughout the 90’s including the excellent “Step in the Arena”, “Hard to Earn” and“Moment of Truth”. But 1992’s “Daily Operation” stands alone as arguably the duo’s standout moment: and as my favourite Gang Starr release.

Track Listing

1. Daily Operation Intro
2. The Place Where We Dwell. (****)
3. Flip the Script. (*****)
4. Ex Girl to Next Girl. (*****)
5. Soliloquy of Chaos. (*****)
6. I’m the Man. Feat Lil Dap & Jeru the Damaja. (*****)
7. 92 Interlude
8. Take it Personal. (*****)
9. 2 Deep. (*****)
10. 24-7 / 365
11. No Shame in My Game. (*****)
12. Conspiracy. (*****)
13. The Illest Brother (*****)
14. Hardcore Composer. (****)
15. B.Y.S. (****)
16. Much Too Much (Mack a Mill)
17. Take Two and Pass. (*****)
18. Stay Tuned. (****)

I’ve had “Daily Operation” for about 5 years now, and to this day it still remains in fairly frequent rotation. Why? Well, it’s an album that plunges the listener right back to the “Golden Age” of rap music, which to me means Hip-Hop in its essence. No gimmicks, no fancy stuff intended to sell the record, just raw lyrics placed down over dope beats. This formula is repeated throughout on cuts like “Flip the Script”. Like the rest of the CD, Primo stamps his sound all over this cut, with an infectious old-skool bouncing bassline coupled with a scratched chorus, pounding drums and a constant crowd cheering sample in the background. Amazing stuff, and you can hear the passion in Guru’s voice as he dismantles ‘fake emcees’ with his monotone, dead-pan style: “Brave is the knave who steps up to be slayed / by the one who forgave him for his first mistakes / He'd best behave, or I'ma send him a wave / of some shocking volts, he doesn't know what he's talkin about / He's kickin a bunch of crap so I'll be the judge of that / The boy lacks artistry but still he tries hard to be / an entertainer, but instead he's a waste of / my time and your time, so I'll kick the pure rhymes”.

Daily Operation is packed full of exactly this type of track. Premier would go on to become one of the finest producers of the decade, dropping heat for a whole generation of rap artists. We have the foundation right here. He drops arguably beat of the album on the outstanding “Soliloquy of Chaos”. With a single harrowing string sample dominating the track underpinned by a dramatic, frightened bassline this is the type of popular "Fright rap" style that would dominate the sound of later artists like Mobb Deep, and Guru drops some nightmarish non-fiction story-telling describing an innocent fan’s death at one of Gang Starr’s concerts. Premier steps ahead of his time with the at-the-time revolutionary “I’m the Man”, which finds the legendary producer crafting an individual beat for Guru, and each of the sole guests found on the LP, Lil' Dap and Jeru the Damaja. As the classic lead single “Come Clean” from Jeru's The Sun Rises in the East would show, Jeru works brilliantly with Premier, and his section steals the show over a show-stopping blend of pounding drums and funky horns. The lead single’s B-Side, “Ex Girl to Next Girl”, is the full-blown jazzy song that Gang Starr often pander to, and it’s worth its weight in gold. Primo sets a nicely syncopated, laid-back rhythm along with a funky chorus, and Guru sets about an enjoyable tale of his relationships with women.

What Gang Starr is famous for is a fierce opposition to the mainstream. Both Guru and Premier throughout their careers refused to follow the trends of the rap game to gain popularity, and just did their own thing, a rare quality it would seem in today's world. The two songs upon which Daily Operation is built on demonstrate this to the letter. True anger is built up through the classic lead single “Take It Personal” which finds Guru retaliating against those who have undermined him. He shows true menace during this cut: “I never thought that you would crab me / Undermine me, and backstab me / But I can see clearly now the rain is gone / The pain is gone but what you did was still wrong / There was a few times I needed your support / But you tried to play me like an indoor sport / like racquetball, tennis, fool, whatever / All I know is you attempted to be clever / Nevertheless, cleverness can't impress / cause now you've been exposed like a person undressed”. Primo supports this kind of venom with an appropriately menacing, eerie, yet simple beat. Guru then defends his own brand of hip-hop against any critics in “No Shame In My Game”. Premier’s wonderfully abstract beat with an excellent distorted vocal sample for the hook is the key here, as Guru’s rhymes are complimented perfectly.

And while Gang Starr can do the impeccably produced stuff, the angry stuff, the legendary rap duo can also do complex and intelligent stuff. Two standout tracks illustrate this. “Conspiracy” is a great critical break-down of the US government, the failings of its Education system for the black society, and best of all, perceptive jabs at the record industry: “Even in this rap game all that glitters ain't gold / now that rap is big business the snakes got bold / They give you wack contracts and try to make you go pop / cuz they have no regard for real hip-hop / They'll compare you to others and say: "but yo, he sells" and you know in your heart that he's weak as hell”. Or how about the deep religious leanings of 2 Deep” with Primo’s rumbling bassline, sparring trumpets, and sampling of running water on the chorus symbolising how deep Guru’s believes go. Stunning, and it shows the lyrical variety found on the album.

I’ve deliberately skipped past any negatives of this album, because, quite simply, there aren’t any. This is by far and away my favourite Gang Starr release: it takes hip-hop right back to its essence in a way few albums have done. DJ Premier’s production is unrivalled on this record, and Guru’s rhymes are at their most scything and insightful. “Daily Operation” is a classic, and worthy of only 5 stars. A must purchase.