The Underground Tapes is the debut studio album

Studio album

A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...

 of Canadian rapper

Rapping

Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...

 Saukrates

Saukrates

Karl Amani Wailoo , better known by his stage name Saukrates , is a Canadian rapper, singer, and record producer of Guyanese descent. He is the co-founder of Capitol Hill Music, and lead singer of hip-hop/R&B group Big Black Lincoln...

, released June 22, 1999 in the United States. It was released independently on Serious Entertainment and Capitol Hill Music

Capitol Hill Music

Capitol Hill Music is a Canadian independent record label, specializing in hip-hop and R&B music.The Toronto-based label was founded in the late 1990s by rapper Saukrates, and his manager Chase Parsons. In 1997, the label released Kardinal Offishall's debut album, Eye & I. Two years later, the...

. In late summer 1999, the album was re-released in Canada with six additional tracks. Three songs from the album—"Innovations", "Play Dis (99 Remix)", and "Rollin"—are remixes. The only single from the album was "Money or Love", which was nominated for a Juno Award

Juno Award

The Juno Awards are presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music...

 in 2000.

Reception

Allmusic stated "Influenced by the quintessential N.Y. sound

East Coast hip hop

East Coast hip hop is a regional subgenre of hip hop music that originated in New York City, USA during the 1970s. Hip hop is recognized to have originated and evolved first in the East Coast...

 of old, Saukrates' self-produced jazzy synthesizers and organic string sections permeate with a native-tongues

Native tongues

Native Tongues is a book by the linguist Charles Berlitz.It is a list of words in different languages, etymology and questions with speculations far and wide about words....

 vibe. But it's lyrically where Saukrates distinguishes himself, as his flow and domineering habitation on the mike is utterly hypnotic."

Track listing

#	Title	Producer(s)	Featured guest(s)	Length
1.	"Intro"			1:12
2.	"Can't Touch Us"	Saukrates (co-produced by Mr. Attic)		3:52
3.	"Money or Love"	Saukrates		4:18
4.	"Bag da Biscuit"	Saukrates		2:40
5.	"Da Professional"	Saukrates		5:57
6.	"Keep It Movin"	Saukrates	Xzibit Xzibit Alvin Nathaniel Joiner , better known by his stage name Xzibit , is an American rapper, actor, and television host. He is known as the host of the MTV show Pimp My Ride, which brought him mainstream success...	3:23
7.	"Innovations"	Saukrates	Pharoahe Monch Pharoahe Monch Pharoahe Monch is an American hip hop artist. He is known for his complex lyrics, complex delivery, and internal and multisyllabic rhyme schemes.-Biography:...	3:59
8.	"Fine Line"	Saukrates		2:35
9.	"Play Dis (99 Remix)"	Saukrates	Common	3:35
10.	"Body Language"	Mr. Attic Mr. Attic Roger Perryman, better known as Mr. Attic, is a Canadian hip-hop producer from Toronto, Ontario. He is a member of Juno Award-winning production team, Da Grassroots.-Career:...	Choclair Choclair Kareem Blake, better known by his stage name Choclair, is a Canadian rapper. He helped develop Canadian hip hop in the 1990s, as a member of the Circle.-Career:...	4:08
11.	"Check for Me"	Saukrates		4:35
12.	"Ultimate Rush"	Mike Caren Mike Caren Mike Caren is an American Record Producer, Executive Vice President of A&R for Atlantic Records and Co-President of Elektra Records. After completing jobs with SRC/Loud Records and Ruthless Records, he started his career at Atlantic in 1995 at the age of seventeen as Manager of Rap Marketing for...	Heltah Skeltah Heltah Skeltah Heltah Skeltah is a hip hop duo consisting of members Rock and Ruck . The two are members of New York supergroup Boot Camp Clik, along with Buckshot, Smif-N-Wessun and O.G.C....	3:03
13.	"Rollin"	Saukrates	Masta Ace Masta Ace Duval Clear , known better by his stage name Masta Ace, is a rapper from Brownsville, Brooklyn. He appeared on the classic 1988 Juice Crew posse cut "The Symphony"...  and O.C. O.C. (rapper) Omar Credle , known by his stage name, O.C., is an American rapper who has been involved with several renowned underground hip-hop groups and also released many solo albums.-Recording career:...	4:13

The Canadian re-release features six additional tracks.

#	Title	Producer(s)	Length
14.	"Suga Daddy"	Saukrates	3:54
15.	"Bag da Biscuit (Ain't Nuttin But A....)"	Saukrates	3:47
16.	"Vietnam"	Saukrates	3:56
17.	"Killed or Be Killed"	Saukrates	3:15
18.	"Ay, Ay, Ay"	Saukrates	3:48
*	"Father Time" (hidden track)	Day (co-produced by Saukrates)	4:22

Samples

• "Da Professional" – Contains a sample of "On the Hill" by Oliver Sain
  Oliver Sain
  Oliver Sain was an American saxophonist, songwriter, bandleader, drummer and record producer....
  
  
• "Check for Me" – Contains a sample of "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right
  (If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right
  " I Don't Want to Be Right" is a soul song written by Stax Records songwriters Homer Banks, Carl Hampton and Raymond Jackson. It has been performed by many singers, most notably by Luther Ingram, whose version topped the R&B chart for four weeks and rose to number three on the Billboard Hot 100...
  
  " by Ramsey Lewis
  Ramsey Lewis
  Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis, Jr. is an American jazz composer, pianist and radio personality. Ramsey Lewis has recorded over 80 albums and has received seven gold records and three Grammy Awards so far in his career.-Biography:...
  
  

Personnel

• Greg Barrett – Mixing
• Mike Caren – Producer, Executive Producer, Mixing
• Choclair – Performer
• Heltah Skeltah – Performer
• Saukrates – Producer, Executive Producer
• Xzibit – Performer