D12 - Fight Music

"Fight Music" is probably one of my favourite singles off the D12 album Devil's Night, as it incorporates a much harder edge to it. When I was a wee lad the rockier guitar parts of this track helped me get into D12, and whilst it turned out that a majority of their songs don't actually sound like this, it helped plant the seed, and after the strength of the "Purple Pills" (or "Hills", as I first heard it) single as well, really cemented my D12 fandom.

I don't wanna perpetuate a 12-year-old-white-girl stereotype, but Eminem's part of this track smokes all of the rest of the band's rhymes, hands down, although Bizarre's lines are pretty funny, and twisted, as per usual. The song also boasted a shit hot production style, the beats being similar to that of Eminem's own Marshall Mathers LP, which came out not long before this. 

You can pick this up for virtually next to nothing off websites such as Discogs, if you are somewhat into collecting this shit. You can also get the D12 album which this is off for pennies on the Amazon Marketplace.

Bizarre - Hannicap Circus

In my many years of D12 / Eminem fandom it never occurred to me that other members of the group might have solo projects. After giving myself the ultimate facepalm, I began hunting down those records. I started with Bizarre, who is by far my favourite member of D12. He's like the Frankie Boyle of rap music. A lot of rappers say shit that gets them shot; Bizarre is so offensive he goes beyond that and just confuses everyone so much that they don't know whether to laugh at him or pop a cap in his ass. (I mean this all in good humour guys...rappers please don't shoot me!)

Despite it's rather inviting title, Hannicap Circus is as nowhere near as offensive as I thought it would be. Sure, the underlying themes of worshipping ganja, taking pills, raping down syndrome girls and having HIV remain, but as a whole Hannicap Circus really didn't offend me. It seems to open up a bit harsh, but then it falls into all the usual ruts and themes of a solo rap record. There the song (or six) about weed, a song about fucking, about love, about someone close who has died, a parody ("Today Was A Bad Day", which is much better than the original-opposite Ice Cube idea) and one or two bangers to finish off with. There is even a song about missing his kids on tour, which for all the arse-rape and sexual innuendo that usually comes with Bizarre, is downright worrying.

To be fair, this is a good hip hop CD. I just know that Bizarre can do a whole lot better than telling me how fat and disgusting his bitch's ass is. Step it up a level, man!

D12 - Shit On You

I always have mixed feelings about D12: the potential with the group was absolutely fantastic; each artist is an excellent rapper in their own right, but if they work together as a group or not is something that has always bugged me. I guess it's the endless "it's Eminem's old band, innit" that pisses me off. The first record shared the load fairly but the second album parodied this yet lived up to it entirely; employing Mr. Mathers as the lead vocal in nearly every song, not to mention on nearly every bastard chorus. But I digress. This is about a single that was released around the time of the first record, and is actually pretty awesome.

The beat comes on like some pretty serious hip hop; a whole level of Immortal-Technique-ganna-fuck-shit-up vibe, but by the time Bizarre hits the mic and Em's chorus of shitting on your family comes in, the hardcore street-beat has lost all seriousness. The B side is the track "Under the Influence" which originally appeared on Eminem's second album, so it's kinda cool to have it here collected under the D12 name. This 12" is deffo for collectors / die-hards only, and offers no real merit to anyone who wasn't a DJ in 2002.