| The Cactus Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by 3rd Bass | ||||
| Released | October 23, 1989 | |||
| Recorded | New York, New York Chung King Studios, Green Street Studios, Island Media Studios |
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| Genre | Hip-hop | |||
| Length | 65:46 | |||
| Label | Def Jam/Columbia/CBS Records CK 45415 (North America) 466003 (international) |
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| Producer | Pete Nice, MC Serch, Sam Sever, Prince Paul, The Bomb Squad (Hank Shocklee, Keith Shocklee, Eric "Vietnam" Sadler) | |||
| 3rd Bass chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic link | |
| Q | [1] |
| Robert Christgau | A−[2] |
| Mojo link | (Favorable) |
The Cactus Album, also known as The Cactus Cee/D, was the debut album by hip-hop trio 3rd Bass, released on Def Jam Recordings on October 23, 1989. The album received positive reviews from the hip hop press, and the group gained some publicity by being arguably the second white group to achieve hip hop credibility, after the Beastie Boys.
The Cactus Album peaked at #5 on Billboard's Top Hip Hop/R&B Albums chart and at #55 on the Billboard 200 chart. In 1998, the album was selected as one of The Source's 100 Best Rap Albums. A decade later, Rhapsody (online music service) included The Cactus Album in its list of "The 10 Best Albums By White Rappers".[3]
Contents |
Most of the music was produced by Sam Sever alongside members MC Serch and Pete Nice, except for the Prince Paul-produced tracks "The Gas Face" and "Brooklyn-Queens," and "Steppin' to the A.M." and "Oval Office" by The Bomb Squad. The album generally features songs that are lyrical showcases or are about women (such as the hidden sexual meaning of "Oval Office"). The song "Sons of 3rd Bass" can be viewed as a diss to the Beastie Boys (who had recently severed ties with 3rd Bass' record label, Def Jam) in that it references them in many lines such as this one uttered by MC Serch in the first verse.
The song "Wordz of Wisdom" was recorded while the group performed under the name "Three the Hard Way." Their name was changed after they signed to Def Jam, however, the recording made its way onto the album.
The group had a minor hit with the single "The Gas Face". The accompanying video, which featured a bevy of humorous cameo appearances that included Gilbert Gottfried, Flavor Flav, Salt-n-Pepa, and Erick Sermon, garnered respectable MTV airplay. The song also features Daniel Dumile in his recording debut. At the time, he was recording under the alias Zev Love X, a member of the rap duo KMD, but would later come to be known as MF DOOM. KMD were mentioned several times on the album, and they appeared in the music videos for "The Gas Face" and Steppin' to the A.M."
All songs written and composed by Pete Nice (Nash), MC Serch (Berrin), and Sam Sever (Citrin).
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Stymie's Theme" | 0:13 |
| 2. | "Sons of 3rd Bass" | 4:46 |
| 3. | "Russell Rush" | 0:24 |
| 4. | "The Gas Face" (Berrin/Dumile/Nash/Prince Paul) | 3:49 |
| 5. | "Monte Hall" | 5:26 |
| 6. | "Oval Office" (Berrin/Nash/Sadler/Shocklee/Shocklee) | 3:32 |
| 7. | "Hoods" | 0:17 |
| 8. | "Soul in the Hole" | 3:49 |
| 9. | "Triple Stage Darkness" | 4:10 |
| 10. | "M.C. Disagree" | 0:44 |
| 11. | "Wordz of Wisdom" | 6:31 |
| 12. | "Product of the Environment" | 6:16 |
| 13. | "Desert Boots" | 0:21 |
| 14. | "The Cactus" | 4:40 |
| 15. | "Jim Backus" | 0:03 |
| 16. | "Flippin' off the Wall Like Lucy Ball" | 3:16 |
| 17. | "Brooklyn-Queens" (Berrin/Nash/Prince Paul) | 3:37 |
| 18. | "Steppin' to the A.M." (Berrin/Nash/Sadler/Shocklee/Shocklee) | 4:50 |
| 19. | "Episode #3" | 0:11 |
| 20. | "Who's on Third" | 0:59 |
| 21. | "Wordz of Wisdom (Remix)" | 7:56 |
2000 CD Release Bonus Track
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 22. | "Brooklyn-Queens [UK Power Mix]" | 5:31 |
Steppin' To the A.M.
The Gas Face
Brooklyn-Queens
Product of the Environment
| Year | Title |
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Singles |
Singles & Tracks |
Maxi-Singles Sales |
Club Play |
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| 1989 | "Steppin' to the A.M." |
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| 1990 | "The Gas Face" |
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| 1990 | "Brooklyn-Queens" |
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| The Cactus Vidie/Yo | |
|---|---|
| Video by 3rd Bass | |
| Released | July 1, 1991 |
| Genre | Hip-hop |
| Length | 19:00 |
| Label | Def Jam/Columbia |
| Director | Lionel C. Martin |
The Cactus Vidie/Yo is a collection of 3rd Bass music videos, which was released in 1991. The video, which was distributed by Columbia Music Video, contained music videos of the album's singles as well as short skits featuring Gilbert Gottfried that appeared between the selections. The "Wordz of Wisdom" and "Triple Stage Darkness" videos were not full-length and only contained the first couple verses of the song. The video is only available on VHS and is now out of print.
The videos featured are as follows:
The following lists some of the songs and sounds sampled on The Cactus Album.[4]
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Sons of 3rd Bass
The Gas Face
Monte Hall
Oval Office
Soul in the Hole
Triple Stage Darkness
Wordz of Wizdom
Product of the Environment
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The Cactus
Flippin' off the Wall Like Lucy Ball
Brooklyn-Queens
Steppin' To the A.M.
Who's on Third
Wordz of Wisdom(II)
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