Pros: Original, musical style; funny lyrics, eclectic mix of rap sounds; a nod to rock.
Cons: Very poor CD mastering; a few weak tracks; perhaps a bit dated.
The Bottom Line: An original, entertaining rap style that has fun mixing rap and some rock with light, often humorously clever lyrics. Still fresh, if no longer "bad boy" rap by today's standards.
jstlawrence's Full Review: Swass [PA] by Sir Mix-A-Lot
In 1987, three years before his CD “Mack Daddy” and the notorious single, “Baby Got Back,” Seattle rapper Anthony Ray, a.k.a. “Sir Mix-a-Lot,” made his opening statement to the world when he released his first album, “Swass,” on Nastymix Records, a label he co-founded. By 1989, “Swass” had gone platinum. This was largely due to the success of the single “Posse’ on Broadway,” which enjoyed heavy rotation on Mtv as well as pop radio.
Style
True to his name, Sir Mix-a-Lot created “Posse’ on Broadway” and most other tracks on “Swass” with an eclectic mix of musical hooks played on a synthesizer, plus live and/or synthesized beats, a little scratching, and lots of fast-paced rapping. He also uses some sampling, contrary to one article I located while researching this review. Track five, “Rippin,’” intersperses what sounds like a modified sample of the hook from Gary Numan’s “Cars,” (a snippet including the lyric, “Here in my car”) with the lightning-fast rap lyrics. Hilariously, the song also utilizes part of the melody from the French folk song, "Alouette."
“Iron Man,” and the bonus remix included on the CD, features the Seattle band Metal Church playing the hook from Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man” on electric guitars. Oddly, although Metal Church is credited for performing “Iron Man,” neither Black Sabbath or Numan are credited, other than the obvious title of "Iron Man." Nevertheless, the overall effect is a creative, more musical style than most of the rap heard in those days. At the time of “Swass’s” release, it was truly something I had never heard before, and was the first rap music, other than some miscellaneous Beastie Boys stuff, that I remember really enjoying.
Mix-a-lot’s lyrics are clear, fast, and cleverly rhymed, and, true to the genre, usually tell stories that include bragging about how rich, fearless, and musically superior he is. They’re also funny. Track one, “Buttermilk Biscuit (Keep on Square Dancing)” and its progenitor, “Square Dance Rap,” feature Mix-a-Lot’s pal Kid Sensation rapping fast in a sped-up, high-pitched cartoon voice, and are just flat hilarious. The beats on “Swass” are widely varied in style and tempo, and in the types of sounds used, including human “beat-box” and various clicks, beeps, and synthesizer effects in addition to a lot of heavy kick drum sounds. Mix-a-Lot, like any good rapper, is also a wordsmith, introducing his own new rap word, “Swass” for the title of the record. He uses the word to mean "cool," or "good," as in:
(I'm) in an 18-wheeler, lookin' real Swass
All the girls smile, 'cause I'm the big boss!
An Internet search turns up references to the word as an abbreviation for “Some wild-a*s silly sh*t," and even “a*s sweat,” (!) but according to Mix-a-Lot’s liner notes, “Swass” describes his special style of “outrageous” rap, “made for extremely high butt pleasures.” I’ll take his word for it. Mix-a-lot also spends a lot of time inscrutably dissing “mud ducks,” the only definition of which I could find described a “mud duck” as a muddy spot on a hiking trail that causes a duck-like “quacking” sound when one steps in it. Whatever it means, it's definitely a put-down, and one of Mix-a-Lot's favorites. Maybe he's a big fan of nature hiking in his native Seattle and is therefore highly anti-"mud duck."
Content "Warning"
When "Swass" was released, Mix-a-Lot may have been a "bad-boy" rapper next to contemporaries like M.C. Hammer, but looking back now, it's pretty innocuous stuff. Despite the “Parental Advisory” shown on the picture of the album above (my copy of the CD doesn’t have one –probably too old) only one song, “Hip Hop Soldier,” Mix-a-Lot’s tribute to his brother’s love of high-powered guns, contains any actual profanity. The worst of a handful of curse words in the song is one utterance of “motherf*cker,” which actually seems pretty tame by today’s standards. There are some mild references throughout the CD as to how Mix-a-Lot and his crew aren’t to be messed with, but it doesn’t compare to the truly angry, violent lyrics in the “gangsta” rap heard in years since. In several songs, Mix-a-Lot goes out his way to express his disapproval of drug use and violence toward women.
Picks
"Posse’ on Broadway," in which Mix-a-lot gives a tour of a night on the town in Seattle, cruising around with all his homeboys and girls in a big custom Benz, inspiring awe in the local female population and fear in rival “m.c.s,” is a great track, and arguably a rap classic. His smug reference to his fancy “cellular phone” sounds a little dated now, but that just adds to the fun.
“F. the B.S" describes Mix-a-Lot's attitude toward his music (rough on your stereo) and himself (...movin' like the speed of light / so quick I shatter Plexiglas!). It's got a pretty tough sounding synthesized musical hook, and the most aggressive bass beats on the disc. It actually is rough on your stereo, and I blame this song for damaging the wimpy speakers in my old '81 Mustang (No great loss there).
In "Iron Man," the Iron Man is of course, Mix-a-Lot, and here he goes on the attack, slamming soft rock, false metal, Michael Jackson, and McDonald’s shrimp salad, among others, and bragging about his smooth rhymes, tough posse, big bank account, and how much all women want to marry him and get on his “tip.” It’s more funny than mean, and the beats and musical hook are original and interesting. It's also a nice tribute to hard rock from a rap artist, and the mix of the crushing metal guitars and fierce rap lyrics is refreshingly original.
“Gold” is another bragging song that tells a story, this time a tall tale about how Mix-a-Lot and his crew walk into a jewelry store and buy up everything in sight without even denting their bankrolls. The lyrics are again sharp and funny.
Funniest of all are the aforementioned “Buttermilk Biscuit” and “Square Dance Rap.” "Buttermilk Biscuit" is actually a continuation or improvement upon "Square Dance Rap," and has the alternate title of "Keep on Square Dancin'" in parenthesis. I still think of “Buttermilk Biscuit” first when someone mentions Mix-a-Lot, and in a pinch, could probably recite all the lyrics.
Pans
In “Bremelo,” Mix-a-Lot shows some misogyny when he raps about his distaste for heavyset women. A bit hypocritical, given that in the pictures I’ve seen, Mr. Mix-a-Lot is not a svelte creature himself. In fairness, though, he explains that a true “Bremelo” also smells bad and has hairy armpits. Um. It's less musical than the other tracks and just plain boring.
“Romantic Interlude” is a slow, synthesizer-driven piece with bad imitation-Barry White lyrics that croak along annoyingly. It’s truly awful, and completely out-of-place on the album. Yawn.
“Mall Dropper” is not a song at all; just Mix-a-Lot stating that he is going to drop his big hammer on the Northwest tip. Maybe he means "maul," as in "large hammer?" Whatever.
Strangely, the “title track,” “Swass,” although not bad, lacks any really interesting elements, and is not one of my favorites.
“Hip Hop Soldier” is not bad either, with a decent synthesized musical hook and interesting beats. But the otherwise sharp lyrics are spoiled by a monotonous list of all Mix-a-Lot’s favorite weaponry, and a lot of silly sound effects of bullet ricochets. If it was more tongue-in-cheek, it would be great, but it sounds like Mix-a-Lot is actually excited about all his supposed Uzis, flash suppressors, and hollow points, which is a bit ridiculous.
Production
My CD sounds like hastily-burned analog copy of the original vinyl. It’s very poorly mastered and sounds muddy. As a result, you have to turn up the volume just to hear it properly. Some tracks end with strange random noises, almost like someone is moving a record needle around (not as you would to "scratch") Even the CD jacket is obviously just a couple of blurry photos from the front and back of the album. As a result, the bonus track, the “Iron Man Meltdown Mix,” is not even shown on the track list, which actually shows sides "1" and "2," as on the vinyl record, renumbering after track six. I’ve looked for a re-mastered version, but so far have found none. In fact, I couldn’t even find this CD for sale anywhere when I went looking. Luckily, a friend at work heard me complaining one day, and generously donated her ex-boyfriend’s copy.
Bottom Line
I’m very pleased to have “Swass” in my collection. It’s like nothing else I own, and after all these years still sounds fresh and funny. Several of the songs rotate in and out the Mp3 disc I keep in the car. I’d recommend it to any fans of Mix-a-Lot or the more clever/humorous style of rap in general. Fans of later "bad boy" rap, like the angrier, more hardcore material by NWA, DMX, etc., or those who are into strictly the latest modern styles of rap might find Swass too tame and/or a little dated.
3.5 stars
Track List (CD)
1. “Buttermilk Biscuits (Keep on Square Dancin’)”
2. “Posse’ on Broadway”
3. “Gold”
4. “Swass”
5. “Rippin’ (Duet with Kid Sensation)”
6. “Attack on the Stars”
7. “Mall Dropper”
8. “Hip Hop Soldier”
9. “Iron Man (Featuring Metal Church)”
10. “Bremelo”
11. “Square Dance Rap”
12. “Romantic Interlude”
13. “F the BS”
14. “Iron Man (True Metal Meltdown Mix)”
Just for Fun
Mix-a-Lot talks about himself on almost every track of "Swass." Based on the lyrics, here are some of his opinions, attitudes, and personal history:
He claims to have been raised in L.A.
He enjoys buttermilk biscuits, grits and eggs, Kool-Aid, whole sticks of butter, and Taco Bell.
He dislikes mud ducks, Mickey D’s shrimp salad, sucker m.c.’s, soft rock, and pet lamas.
He likes rock and heavy-metal music, including, apparently, Black Sabbath and Gary Numan.
He has more lines on his face than a sunburned Russian.
He claims to work out on Nautilus machines.
He is opposed to gun control because the pigs ain’t black.
He is opposed to violence toward women, because romance is better, and, if a freak wants to leave, you might as well let her.
He is a mall dropper.
Notwithstanding his general opposition to violence toward women, he claims to have slapped Clint Eastwood’s mama.
He is not attracted to large, foul-smelling females with hairy armpits, whose brassieres strike fear in the hearts of men.
He favors heavy gold jewelry, including 20 mm rope necklaces and watches shaped like Cadillacs, which he enjoys sporting to the solar system on Saturday nights.
He is opposed to drug use, which causes girlies to become too skinny, and causes their butts to drop.
He is a firm supporter of the practice of lowering the ride height of Mercedes automobiles with low-profile, 50-series tires and suspension kits manufactured by AMG.
He dislikes riff-raff, and will kick you in the left calf.
His intention is to overthrow the Rap Government, from Crenshaw to Tupelo.
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