Capital LS & The Rumpletilskinz -1993- What is a Rumpletilskin ? (RCA)

• 1993 : the only album of the Rumpletilskinz, Capital LS' group close to Busta Rhymes & the Leaders of the New School.
• Capital LS was one of the main voices of One Nation project in June 1996.

 

See Discogs page. Listen or grab it there. 

1. What Is A Rumpletilskin ?
2. Attitudes
3. Hudz
4. Mad M.F.'s
5. I-N-I (prod. Jeranimo)
6. Sweet Therapy (prod. "E")
7. Snikslitelpmur
8. Earthquake (prod. Capital LS)
9. Mushroom Talk
10. Is It Alright
11. Theramixx
12. Dacumin
13. Hi Volume

Rumpletilskinz - Sha-Now, Jeronimo, Capital LS & R.P.M (aka Peter Lopez)

Producer - R.P.M.

Capital LS or Busta Rhymes ?

In June 96, Capital LS was invited to record with 2Pac, Boot Camp Clik, Greg Nice and Asu during the first One Nation sessions. For most people he is a complete unknown... How the connection was made with 2Pac ?

In fact, 2Pac initially wanted to invite Busta Rhymes for his Gridlock'd Original compilation project in early April... His name is biffed on the handwritten draft of it, but we can still read it. Busta Rhymes said in an interview that, being a friend of both Biggie and 2Pac, he chose to refuse to be featured in their records at the time of the feud. So Busta Rhymes very likely could have sent his friend Capital LS to record with 2Pac instead of him... 

Capital LS is known to have been the roommate of Busta Rhymes... in Long Island, but what year ? His way of rapping and voice clearly sound like Busta Rhymes. Back in the early days of Makaveli bootlegs (1997-2000), his verses on One Nation songs were mistakenly attributed to Busta Rhymes by fans !

A surprising thing is : neither Capital LS nor his group appear in Busta Rhymes' 1st album The Coming whereas L.O.N.S. did... Again, maybe Busta wanted to repair that by giving the opportunity to Capital L.S. to launch his own solo career.

A group in the shade of Busta Rhymes...

If Capital LS was a friend of Busta Rhymes, Jeronimo was a dancer for Charlie Brown's Leaders of the New School early years. Probably they met through that connection, and Sha-Now and P.R.M. were added to the line-up. In the early times, Leaders of the New School were more like a collective entity.

"Attitudes (Video Version)"

Logically, the new group appear in Leaders of the New School's first album in 1991 (A Future Without A Past) for the song "Sound of The Zeekers @#^**?!", the only song produced by... Busta Rhymes ! (important part of the album being produced by Eric Vietnam Sadler of the Bomb Squad !) That first appearance led them to record their first album in 1992 which received some popular success.

More info about the album, group interviews... cf. hiphop-thegoldenera.

In late 1993, the group will again be featured in Leaders of the New School's second album T.I.M.E. for the posse cut "Spontaneous (13 MC's Deep)". Around that time, the hype was so huge for Busta Rhymes that the group was about to fall apart... 

Busta was then featured in many projects : Buju Banton's Voice of Jamaica, De la Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Brand Nubian, Craig Mack, Artifacts, KRS-One, Boyz II Men... none of them with L.O.N.S. partners...

May 2 of 1995, 2Pac being behind bars, Busta Rhymes appears in Panther Soundtrack, mainly recorded in 1994, for the track "The Points" alongside Big Mike of Geto Boyz, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Buckshot, Heltah Skeltah (a real taste of One Nation...), Coolio, Digable Agents, Ill Al Skratch (remember their '94 album with LG's version of "Runnin" beat), Jamal, Redman and... the Notorious B.I.G. !

"It'z Alright (Video Version)"

Did the group explode ?

What happened to the group after their successful album ? We can find none of their work nowhere... In 1995, Sha-Now will give the song "Remedy Man" produced by R.P.M. for the Blackmarket Unreleased compilation (different label from their album and L.O.N.S.'s one). Considering the vibe given to Rumpletilskinz by R.P.M., it is very surprising that he almost never did any other important producing acts...

This song by the two members could mean that the group was then separated and Capital LS was more or less going solo... what could explain that Busta wanted to help him by sending him to record with 2Pac... Maybe Capital LS is still an unknown guy but, because of his verses on One Nation, alongside one of the hugest figure in rap history, L.S. and his group Rumpletilskinz is regularly discovered by new listeners.

Presumably in late 1996 after 2Pac's death, Capital LS gave a promo vinyl with 4 tracks through Tru Criminals Records. Among the songs, "Bitches" aka "World Wide Dime Piece" (recorded during One Nation with 2Pac, Greg Nice, Asu and Snoop Dogg). Did 2Pac or Death Row gave/sold him the song in the end ? More probably it was just an unofficial promo, in order to announce a further project which wouldn't have had the song... Anyway, it is possible Afeni Shakur/Amaru early blocked every projects with 2Pac's voice... In 1997, with the same label, LS will also release the solo single "I'm Gonna Do Ya", but no album will follow... That same year, LS will even be featured in Boot Camp Clik first album For The People for the song "Rag Time" with Buckshot and Steele of Smif N Wessun. 

Capital LS will be featured in Long Beach veteran Domino's new album D Freaked It in 2001 for "Parking Lot Pimpin" and in Ghetto EP companion for "Like That (Ghetto Remix)" single. The next year he will participate to the confidential Black Sopranos EP project Money $hemes.

Smif-N-Wessun (Cocoa Brovaz) -2000-2002- Still Shinin' Original (CB's Shinin' / Rawkus Unreleased) (Bucktown USA / Rawkus unreleased)

• 1998-2002 : sessions for a third album with Duck Down, and with Rawkus.
  
• Step 1 : Singles and B-sides, first draft for a new album in 1997-2000.
• Step 2 : Shelved album recorded for Rawkus circa 2000-2002.
• In 2004, Smif-N-Wessun released a Mix-CD titled Still Shinin' which included some of these shelved tracks.
  
• Sources : CB's Shinin' Bootleg, Rawkus Unreleased Bootleg.

 

taken from the same photography shooting than "Bucktown Remix" single cover

it has been used for an old bootleg with the title "CB's Shinin'"

 

Step 1 : CB's Shinin' (Singles & B-sides, 1997-2000)

 

1. Get Up (Instru) Drama (1997)
2. Get Up (2000)
3. More Fire (2000)
4. You Can't Take Me Out (2000)
5. Super Brooklyn (Instru) What's Poppin' Niggas feat. 50 Cent (2000)
6. Super Brooklyn (2000)
7. Intrigued feat. Buckshot (1999)
8. What You Gonna Do (by Steele) feat. Buckshot (2000)
9. Bucktown USA (Remix Instru) Do That feat. Starang Wondah (1998)
10. Bucktown USA (Remix) feat. M.O.P. (1998)
11. Shiestee (1999)
12. Swollen Tank (2001)
13. We Pledge Allegiance feat. Prodigy (2000)
14. Holocaust (Instru) Take It To The Limit (1999)
15. Holocaust (1999)
16. Living Legends (2001)
17. Teenage Luv (1997)
18. No Justice No Peace (2000)
    
    Bonus Tracks :
    
    
19. Midnite Run (by Tek) feat. Mike Zoot (1998)
20. Weed For Life (Remix) feat. Roundhead & Otloud (Blahzay Blahzay)

Producer - Tek & Steele (7,8,11,14,18), DJ Rob (3,4,6), Baby Paul (12,15), Mr. Walt (1?,10,17?,19), Easy Mo Bee (13), Jeff Brown (9), Hi-Tek (2), Cut Killer (16), Massive B All Stars (20)

 

Tracks 1, 5, 9, 14, 19, 20 were not in the so-called "CB's Shinin'" bootleg, today impossible to find.

Tracks 1 and 2 have been released in Rawkus' Oh No / Get Up 12'' and Lyricist Lounge 2 (2000) 

Track 3 has been released in More Fire 12'' (2000)

Tracks 5 and 6 are taken from Super Brooklyn 12'' (2000)

Track 4 is taken from Game Over (2000), which includes original and remixed version of "Super Brooklyn" with Mr. Cheeks (replacing one CB verse), "More Fire" remixed and retitled as "Punch Out" with guests, and the eponymous track with Steele featuring guests.

Track 5 has been released in What's Poppin' Niggaz 12'' (2000) ; it will be re-released in Collect Dis Edition (2003) but without 50 Cent's verse.

Track 7 has been released in Whiteboys OST (1999).

Track 12 has been released in Tony Touch's In Da Lab mixtape (2001).

Track 13 has been released in Easy Mo Bee's Now or Never Odyssey 2000.

Tracks 1 and 17 are b-sides of Spanish Harlem 12'' (1997)

Tracks 9, 9 and 10 are taken from Bucktown Remix 12'' (1998)

Tracks 11, 14, 14 and 15 are taken from Holocaust 12'' (1999)

Track 16 is taken from Cut Killer's Living Legends 12'' (2001)

Tracks 8 and 18 are taken from No Justice, No Peace 12'' (2000)

Track 19 is the b-side of Mike Zoot's Urban Harvest 12'' (1998, Guesswyld), who will record songs at that time with Mos Def, Hi-Tek, DJ Spinna, Baby Paul...

Track 20 is a b-side of Bounty Killer's It's A Party 12'' (1998)

Track 20 is taken from Massive B All Stars Weed For Life Remix 12'' (1998)

 

Tracks 1, 6, 10, 14, 15 and 16 in a remix form have also been released in The X-Files mix-CD (2006, Bucktown USA) 

 

 

Still Shinin' was the title of the planned third album of the Smif-N-Wessun then called Cocoa Brovaz (since 96, at the time of One Nation).

 

We chose to follow the tracklist of that old bootleg titled "CB's Shinin'" (for Cocoa Brovaz' Shinin'). We just took off the instrumentals and replaced them by four forgotten singles & b-sides of the same era. We added a Tek solo feature as a bonus track and a b-side by reggae superstar Bounty Killer to finish the selection.

 

 

Dah Shinin'. Beginning of '95, 2Pac is behind bars. 

"Bucktown" and "Let's Git it On" are underground hits. "Sound Bwoy Bureill" is among the 100 most important hip-hop songs !! And what to say about the hell infamous remix of "Wrekonize" remixed by Steele himself ??? It could pretend to enter the ten biggest tunes in all the Hip Hop history !!!!! How could Tupac in his cell escape to this explosion of sound ? Especially when we know that Pac always had love for ragga/reggae music and for reggae/hip hop connexions (he invited in his songs many ragga artists : Don Jaggwarr, Prince Ital Joe, Lil' Vicious, Brown Man, Radio, Aunt Glo, Lady Levi, Rah Rah...)

In march of 1995, went out the soundtrack of Bad Boys. Interscope finally chose to promote Pac's upcoming album with its eponymous track "Me Against The World". But 2Pac had earlier recorded a track with Dee Tha Mad Bitch from Bo$$, "Mind of a Bad Boy" with Daddy Marco repeating the famous anthem of Inner Circle : "bad boy bad boy what you gonna do, when they come for you" (cf. Thug Life : Honor Among Thugz). And in that soundtrack there is a remix of this famous anthem song by Inner Circle featuring... Tek !! Not possible for him to ignore !!

After this break through album, Smif-N-Wessun had a big trouble with legal issue about their name, because of the famous weapon trademark. That's why they were invited in June of '96 by 2Pac for One Nation project under the nickname of Cocoa Brovaz (a remembrance of the reggae star Cocoa Tea ?). 

 

  

 

A planned new album in 99-2000 : Still Shinin'

The disappointing sells from The Rude Awakening lead Priority to drop them. They quickly thought to record a new album titled "Still Shinin'" like it was announced in the More Fire single. Maybe at that time, they were planning to record their new album with DJ Rob & Domingo who recorded the underground compilation Game Over with Cocoa Brovaz on 5 tracks ("Super Brooklyn", ""You Can't Take Me Out", remixes of "Super Brooklyn", "More Fire (Punch Out Remix)" and one Steele's verse in eponymous song).

 

 

A few time later, with their feature in Rawkus Soundbombing 2 in 1999 (on "Every Rhyme I Write" by Shabaam Sahdeeq) and the release of the single "Super Brooklyn" prod. by DJ Rob, they got a contract with the super label. So they put "Get Up" in Rawkus Lyricist Lounge 2 in 2000 and "Spit Again" in Rawkus Soundbombing 3. The b-side of that last one was surely a promo for their upcoming album on the label but... 

 

 

2000, back cover of "More Fire" single : 

Music from the forth coming album : "Smif N Wessun : Still Shinin'"

==============================

fanmade cover made from an old picture

the group was then signed as "Cocoa Brovaz"

Step 2 : Unreleased Rawkus (Still Shinin') - Listen here or there

1. Get Off
2. Autobiography (Family Portrait)
3. Glass (We Generalz)
4. Tools of The Trade
5. Smif-N-Wessun Is The Reason
6. La Familia
7. M.N.C.B. (Come Back)
8. Young Man (Likke Youth's)
9. Pete Rock Track
10. That's Boss
11. I Wanna Get High
12. Luv Makes Life
13. Watch Ya Mouf
14. Understand (What You Think)
    
    Bonus Tracks :
    
    
15. Spit Again feat. Dawn Penn, Geraldine Nicholas & Nyoka Nicholas

Producer - Mr. Walt (4), Pete Rock (9), Curt Gowdy (15)

 

Tracks 4 and 15 were released in Spit Again / Tools of the Trade 12'' (2002, Rawkus)

Tracks 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, have been released in Still Shinin'... the Mix CD (2004, Bucktown USA)
Tracks 10, 11 have been released in The X-Files Mix CD (2006, Bucktown USA)

 

 

That only single features "Spit Again" that is strangely not included

in the regular tracklists of the shelved album (maybe because it was the promo single)

Rawkus... kind of Death Row east ?

This album was about to be released when 2Pac's Better Days was published in 2002 with the song "Military Minds" fairly remixed by Edi with Cocoa Brovaz and Buckshot. But there are some common points between Death Raw and Rawkus... They both were able to gather many very very talented artists, kind of underground Dream Team they but failed to release the projects of their protégés and were sometimes accused to be dishonest with money... Some well known projects have been shelved by Rawkus like Kool G Rap's original Giancana Story, Mad Skillz' I Ain't Mad No More, Novel's The World... and the Cocoa Brovaz.

Almost nothing is known about that third album of Smif-N-Wessun who were still officially signed as "Cocoa Brovaz" on Rawkus. Surprisingly, there are no featurings here... like 2Pac in 96, just before One Nation, 2Pac also thought to release a full album without almost any featurings, a project initially titled Me Against The World pt. 2 to get back the intimate mood of his album Me Against The World.

A mixtape album which was supposed to finally release the project...

In 2004, Smif-N-Wessun finally released a mixtape titled "Still Shinin'". But it contains no songs recorded in the late 90's except "Super Brooklyn" and just half of the songs taken from the planned Rawkus album.