HEY WAIT, WASN'T THAT... ???

Young MC: Got More Rhymes
From Stone Cold Rhymin' (Delicious Vinyl, 1989)

While out on New Year's Eve to go see “Up In The Air,” I caught a quick glance of none other than crate digger/DJ extraordinaire Cut Chemist (on the right in the picture above) handling DJ duties in a scene with Marvin Young aka Young MC. If you blinked you missed him (Cut Chemist).

While Young MC performed his frat party/wedding dance floor favorite “Bust A Move” in the film, I was always more fond of a couple of other songs from Stone Cold Rhymin', including the b-side to “Bust A Move” - “Got More Rhymes” featuring the Ben E. King flip. While the beat isn't a whole lot more than a loop of the super smooth, cool guy instrumental backing of the King classic, it plays well with the MC's confident bravado.

If it wasn't for the runaway success of “Bust A Move” and to a lesser extent its follow-up “Principal's Office,” the rest of the album might be more appreciated. While some of the production does sound quite dated (like the lead track with that awful “ooh, uh huh” female singing and synth), it still bumps and the lyrics and their delivery were at the top of the late 80s and early 90s hip hop. You won't mistake Young MC for Rakim or Big Daddy Kane, but he holds his own. Then again, we don't live in times where pop-rap from that period is considered much more than a novelty. If you give it a chance, though, it just may surprise you.