Tim Dog
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Tim Dog | ||
|---|---|---|
 Penicillin On Wax album cover
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| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Timothy Blair | |
| Born | January 1, 1967 (age 40) | |
| Origin | The Bronx, New York | |
| Genre(s) | Rap music | |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals | |
| Years active | 1989 - 2006 | |
| Label(s) | Ruffhouse/ Columbia | |
| Associated acts |
Apache Indian, Ultramagnetic MCs, Kool Keith | |
Tim Dog (real name Timothy Blair, born January 1, 1967) is an American rapper from the Bronx, New York who rose to prominence during the early '90s with his debut LP Penicillin on Wax and the hit record "Fuck Compton". Tim had already appeared on songs with the Ultramagnetic MCs and went on to form a duo, Ultra, with member Kool Keith.
Contents |
[edit] Fuck Compton
During the early 1990s, seminal rap group N.W.A and several other West Coast rap artists were becoming popular within the hip hop community and magazines such as Rap Masters, Word Up and The Source provided significant coverage to artists from Los Angeles. The success of N.W.A and their focus on the South Central L.A. suburb of Compton via their platinum album Straight Outta Compton had spawned a number of imitators and other groups whom also claimed to represent the suburb. The success of artists such as Compton's Most Wanted and DJ Quik led to a period in hip hop where so-called "gangsta rap" and its trademark dress of black L.A. Raiders gear were de rigueur.
Some New York hip hop artists resented the exposure and success of their West Coast counterparts, an animosity which Tim Dog would tap into via the release of his groundbreaking first single. Frustrated at the apparent lack of interest in East Coast artists from record companies, Tim recorded "Fuck Compton", a scathing diss track from his debut album Penicilin On Wax. "Fuck Compton" attacked the city's style of dress and musical output and made threatening gestures to several Compton rappers including Eazy-E, DJ Quik, Ice Cube, MC Ren, Dr. Dre and Michel'le:
| “ | I crush Ice Cube, I'm cool with Ice T
But N.W.A ain't shit to me |
” |
The lyrics also made reference to an infamous incident involving N.W.A's Dr Dre and host of Pump It Up Dee Barnes. Barnes had accused Dr Dre, real name Andre Young of assaulting her after "Pump It Up" had edited an N.W.A interview to include disparaging comments made by Ice Cube, whom was embroiled in a feud with his former group at the time:
| “ | Dre, beating on Dee from Pump It Up?
Step to the Dog and get fucked up! |
” |
The single was released by Ruffhouse Records, home to other artists such as Cypress Hill and Kriss Kross, and became a worldwide underground hit in the clubs and hip hop circles. Two versions of a music video were released - the original version and a censored edit.
[edit] Penicillin On Wax
Tim's debut album Penicillin On Wax continued the violent onslaught against West Coast artists: yea dawg
[edit] Track Listing
- "Intro
- "Low Down Nigga
- "Robin Harris Shit (Skit)
- "Fuck Compton
- "DJ Quik Beat Down (Skit)
- "Step To Me
- "Phone Conversation With Reporter (Skit)
- "Bronx Nigga
- "You Aint Shit
- "I Aint Takin No Shorts
- "NFL Shit (Skit)
- "Ill Wax Anybody
- "Michel'le Conversation (Skit)
- "Cant Fuck Around
- "Dogs Gonna Getcha
- "Going Wild In The Penile
- "Get Off The Dick
- "I Aint Havin It
- "Patriotic Pimp
- "Secret Fantasies
- The intro used the same beat as N.W.A's "efil4zaggin" album intro. Tim taunted "I stole your beat and made it better, to show the whole world that you aint nothing but a bunch of pussies" before a number of disparaging answering machine messages supported Tim's position. Tim rapped: "Wearing all that black, driving them cars, but you still look wack!"
- A skit called "DJ Quik Beat Down" was a forty second audio snippet of Tim Dog physically assaulting DJ Quik.
- The track "Step To Me" taunted Compton rappers and included the line "Dj Quik he can suck my dick".
- "Michel'le Conversation" was a skit where a Michel'le sound-a-like called Tim Dog to complain about Tim's Compton diss, but then ended up admitting she was "tired of him (Dre) beating down on me" and for Tim to "Call me when youre in town".
- The track "Goin Wile in the Penile" included an intro whereby Tim had recently been released from prison for shooting a "Compton kid".
The lyrical insults were arguably the opening salvo in what would later become the East Coast versus West Coast hip hop conflict which would ultimately lead to the "beef" between Bad Boy Records and Death Row Records.
[edit] Responses to Fuck Compton
The main target of Tim's insults N.W.A, never officially responded as a unit due to their pending break up, although Dre would later employ an upstart emcee Snoop Dogg to respond on his behalf. Several other Compton rap units responded:
- Comptons Most Wanted dissed Tim on "Whos Fucking Who". The track repeated a sample from Boogie Down Productions "South Bronx" before replaying a soundbite of Tim Dog saying "Bullshit City", originally from "Fuck Compton".
- DJ Quik responded with "Way 2 Fonky" and "The Last Word".
- Dr. Dre responded with the skit "The $20 Sack Pyramid" and the intro of the track "Puffin On Blunts And Dranken Tanquery", a B side to the "Dre Day" single.
- The West Coasts most celebrated response would not come from a Compton rapper but from Dr. Dre's new protege Long Beach rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg on the second verse of the track Fuck Wit Dre Day. Snoop also dissed Luke Campbell from 2 Live Crew and Eazy E, both of whom were feuding with Dre at the time.
Tim again responded with the track "Bitch With A Perm" - a parody of Snoop's hit Gin & Juice where Tim accused Snoop of being "Hollywood" and taunted his crew, Tha Dogg Pound to "step right in". He also dissed Dre and Snoop on a lesser-known track called "Dog Baby" which is a parody of Dre Day.
[edit] Do Or Die
[edit] Track Listing
- "I Dont Give A Fuck
- "Grab Your Gat
- "I Get Wrecked
- "Timberlands
- "If I Was A Cop
- "Hardcore
- "Game
- "Skip To My Loot
- "Silly Bitch
- "Mad Dog
- "Make Room
- "Breakin North
Tim followed up with his second album Do or Die. While it wasn't as critically acclaimed as Penicillin on Wax, it did feature the hits "Skip to My Loot" and "I Get Wrecked" featuring the legendary KRS-One. The album represented Tim's shift of focus, away from confrontation with the West Coast and concentrated on hardcore East Coast rap. Interestingly, the album contained a shout-out to Tupac Shakur whom Tim thanked for assisting him when involved in a potentially violent situation when touring in California.
Tim moved to the UK in 1995 and worked with U.K. artist Apache Indian, producing the hit single "Make Way for the Indian". Tim then toured with Kool Keith and recorded several other tracks, the most recent being his August 2005 collaboration with Percee P, "NY to the UK".
Ironically, Tim Dog and Ultra partner now live in L.A and work with Bay Area producer "Kutmasta Kurt". Tim acknowledged the affect his track "Fuck Comtpon" had on the hip hop industry and the development of the East Coast / West Coast beef. He explained in a recent interview that he never thought the song "would blow up the way it did". He states that the record was released in frustration of not being signed by record company A&R executives whom only wanted to sign Compton rappers. The final straw came when one particular exec asked him to grow a Jheri curl.
Tim Dog embarked on several tours during 2004 and 2006 including Europe, U.K and Australia to promote his new album "BX Warrior". While he is no longer hostile towards the state of California, the single "Original Dog" does not shy away from controversy, and Tim confirms that his beef with Snoop Dogg is far from over:
| “ | Snoop took the name, X took the bark,
Next nigga take my shit gonna lay in the park |
” |
[edit] Critical acclaim
- Progressive hip-hop producer Blockhead proclaimed on ArtistDirect that Tim Dog's "The Dog's Gonna Getcha" (off Penicillin On Wax) was "quite possibly the hardest song ever made."
- Nas shouts out Tim Dog on his track "Where Are They Now?" from his 2006 Album Hip Hop Is Dead.
- Despite his aliance with Dr Dre, Detroit rapper Eminem name-checked Tim on the track 'Ricky Ticky Toc'.
- "Fuck Compton" appeared in XXL Magazine's "Top 25 Diss Tracks of All Time".
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- 1991 - Penicillin On Wax (2x Platinum)
- 1993 - Do Or Die
- 1994 - Bitch With A Perm
- 1996 - Big Time (As Ultra)
- 2002 - Immortal
- 2006 - BX Warrior
[edit] Singles
- 1991 - "Fuck Compton"
- 1992 - "Bronx Nigga"
- 1992 - "Step to Me"
- 1992 - "I Aint Takin No Shorts"
- 1993 - "Skip to My Loot" (featuring Smooth B from Nice N Smooth)
- 1993 - "I Get Wrecked" (featuring KRS One)
- 1994 - "Bitch Wid A Perm" (Snoop Dogg diss)
- 1995 - "Make Way for the Indian" (Apache Indian featuring Tim Dog)
