As the 80s came to a close, ushering in what became a stellar decade for Hip Hop, Heavy D & The Boyz closed the “New Jack Swing Era” with a defining banger.
While their debut album was okay at best, 2nd album Big Tyme got everything right.
Heavy D’s Overweight Lover persona was clearly perfected and Hev added immovable lyrical weight to production from Teddy Riley, DJ Eddy F, and Marly Marl.
From the moment “We Got Our Own Thang” hit the airwaves he was crowned king at the club level.
Yet, it’s what Heavy D was doing with his rhymes that was capturing imaginations. Songs like “Ez Duz It Do It Ez”, “More Bounce”, and the sample-heavy title track were soulful with pop appeal, while his aggressive, bending-words delivery made his verses sound harder than anything else spinning frequently at the time.
Credit Heavy D for bringing creative lyricism to the masses with this offering also.
Even on “Somebody For Me” (featuring Al B. Sure!) with his rhyme pacing slowed, Hev’s musicality – how well he used and matched every facet of the beat – was slick. This was wordplay at its finest, with a gritty MC showing you can be soft in the middle while maintaining razor sharp edges.
And if you saw Heavy D & The Boyz in concert, Big Tyme felt tailor-made for live performances. |THIS.
[By Mr. Joe Walker]
Classic Hip Hop album reviews was trend originated by our friends at Concrete Magazine. Visit Concrete615.com.
