Besides Asides

Today you wouldn't think that being Asian in hip-hop would be a big deal but apparently it was in the early/mid 90s as Philadelphia's Mountain Brothers experienced a lot of discrimination back then trying to break on the national scene. Luckily, their obvious talent trumped anything else as they won a contest sponsored by Sprite called Rhymes From The Mind and were soon signed by Ruffhouse Records. However, that relationship soured as they faced more racism from executives at the label. Finally in 1999, the group put out their first full-length Self: Volume 1 on their own Pimpstrut Records. Self: Volume 1 is one of the freshest hip-hop debuts I've ever heard. The production is all handled in-house by Chops who provides a funky and smooth backdrop for the fluid rhymes of the MCs laying waste to whack rappers. Mountain Brothers style will be familiar to anyone who enjoys People Under The Stairs or Jurassic 5 but these guys were doing it first. The band's follow-up in 2003, Triple Crown follows a similar style with some surprises thrown in but isn't nearly as consistent but definitely worth checking out. Unlike, Triple Crown though, Self: Volume 1 seems to be out-of-print so I'm bringing it to you but unlike all the rips I've seen floating around this is a high quality rip from my own collection. Enjoy!