Harder Than You
Encyclopedia
Harder Than You is the debut album from rap
, metal
, and funk
pioneers 24-7 Spyz
. The album contains elements of several genres and is the band's heaviest album. The group flirts with polka
on "Tango Skin Polka," introspective political reggae
on "Ballots Not Bullets," and speed metal
with "Spill My Guts."
The band made a video for MTV
with their cover of Kool & the Gang
's "Jungle Boogie." The song was also remixed into a dance version with extended electronic instrumental passages and was popular on the club circuit.
The album is widely regarded as a pioneering effort in the fusion of hip hop
and heavy metal
that would take place in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Like many 24-7 Spyz
albums, the recording is out of print.
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
, metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
, and funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
pioneers 24-7 Spyz
24-7 Spyz
24-7 Spyz are a band from the South Bronx, New York, formed in 1986, originally consisting of Jimi Hazel , Rick Skatore , Kindu Phibes , and P. Fluid . The band is best known for mixing soul, funk, reggae, and R&B with heavy metal and hardcore punk...
. The album contains elements of several genres and is the band's heaviest album. The group flirts with polka
Polka
The polka is a Central European dance and also a genre of dance music familiar throughout Europe and the Americas. It originated in the middle of the 19th century in Bohemia...
on "Tango Skin Polka," introspective political reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
on "Ballots Not Bullets," and speed metal
Speed metal
Speed metal is a sub-genre of heavy metal music that originated in the late 1970s from NWOBHM and hardcore punk roots. It is described by Allmusic as "extremely fast, abrasive, and technically demanding" music....
with "Spill My Guts."
The band made a video for MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
with their cover of Kool & the Gang
Kool & the Gang
Kool & the Gang are an American jazz, R&B, soul, and funk group, originally formed as the Jazziacs in Jersey City, New Jersey in 1964.They went through several musical phases during the course of their recording career, starting out with a purist jazz sound, then becoming practitioners of R&B and...
's "Jungle Boogie." The song was also remixed into a dance version with extended electronic instrumental passages and was popular on the club circuit.
The album is widely regarded as a pioneering effort in the fusion of hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
and heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
that would take place in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Like many 24-7 Spyz
24-7 Spyz
24-7 Spyz are a band from the South Bronx, New York, formed in 1986, originally consisting of Jimi Hazel , Rick Skatore , Kindu Phibes , and P. Fluid . The band is best known for mixing soul, funk, reggae, and R&B with heavy metal and hardcore punk...
albums, the recording is out of print.
Track listing
- "Grandma Dynamite" - 3:45 (Fluid/Hazel)
- "Jimi'z Jam" - 2:25 (Hazel)
- "Spyz Dope" - 2:50 (Fluid)
- "Social Plague" - 4:41 (Skatore)
- "I Must Go On" - 3:01 (Fluid)
- "Ballots Not Bullets" - 4:24 (Fluid)
- "Jungle Boogie" - 3:37 (Fluid/Kool & the GangKool & the GangKool & the Gang are an American jazz, R&B, soul, and funk group, originally formed as the Jazziacs in Jersey City, New Jersey in 1964.They went through several musical phases during the course of their recording career, starting out with a purist jazz sound, then becoming practitioners of R&B and...
/Puelm) - "Spill My Guts" - 3:37 (Fluid/Skatore/Hazel)
- "Sponji Reggae" - 3:53 (Rose)
- "Tango Skin Polka" - 1:28 (Fluid/Hazel)
- "Pillage" - 4:40 (Fluid/Hazel)
- "New Drug" - 2:55 (Fluid)
Personnel
- Rick Skatore — Bass, Vocals (TV Repairman)
- Anthony Johnson — Drums (Electrician)
- P. Fluid — Thoughtman (Plumber)
- Jimi Hazel — Guitars, Vocals (Carpenter)