''Grip It! On That Other Level'' is the second studio album by the

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

based hip-hop group, the

Ghetto Boys The Ghetto Boys is a street gang based in New Cross, Lewisham and Deptford, South London. The gang was formed on the Woodpecker/Milton Court Estate and its members are primarily of Black British origin. Most of the members are from the London ...

(later spelled Geto Boys), released on March 12, 1989, on

Rap-A-Lot Records Rap-A-Lot is a hip hop record label co-founded by James Prince and Cliff Blodget in 1986. Smoke-a-Lot Records is a subsidiary. Rap-A-Lot was first distributed by A&M Records with the release of Raheem's 1988 debut ''The Vigilante''. The label w ...

. Following the disappointing results of the group's first album, Rap-A-Lot CEO James Prince replaced two of the group members with Scarface (then known as Akshen) and Willie D, who joined original members

Bushwick Bill Richard William Stephen Shaw (December 8, 1966 – June 9, 2019), better known by his stage name Bushwick Bill, was a Jamaican-American rapper. He was a member of the Texas hip hop group Geto Boys, a group he originally joined as a breakdancer ...

and DJ Ready Red. Recording for the album began in 1988, and finished in early 1989. The majority of the album's tracks were produced by DJ Ready Red, and much of the album's lyrical content deals with violent and misogynistic topics, which would later be credited for pioneering the

horrorcore Horrorcore, also called horror hip hop, horror rap, death hip hop, or death rap, is a subgenre of hip hop music based on horror-themed and often darkly transgressive lyrical content and imagery. Its origins derived from certain hardcore hip h ...

hip hop subgenre. Upon its 1989 release, ''Grip It! On That Other Level'' reached number 166 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart, and number 19 on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart. The song "Do it Like a G.O." was the album's only single used for promotion. ''Grip It!'' was well received in the hip hop community, and was considered to be the group's breakout album, as it gave them national exposure and eventually sold 500,000 copies.Caesar, Syd
Grip It on That Other Level
geniusrap.com. Retrieved 2014-02-21. A year after its release, super-producer

Rick Rubin Frederick Jay Rubin (; born March 10, 1963) is an American record producer. He is the co-founder (alongside Russell Simmons) of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records. Rubin helped popula ...

remixed 10 of its tracks for the 1990 remix album ''

The Geto Boys Geto Boys (originally spelled Ghetto Boys) was an American hip-hop group originally formed in Houston, Texas. The Geto Boys enjoyed success in the 1990s with the group's classic lineup consisting of Bushwick Bill, Scarface and Willie D, earnin ...

''. In 1998, ''

The Source ''The Source'' is an American hip hop and entertainment website, and a magazine that publishes annually or . It is the world's longest-running rap periodical, being founded as a newsletter in 1988 by Jonathan Shecter. David Mays was the ma ...

'' magazine included ''Grip It! On That Other Level'' on their 100 Best Albums list, and in 2002, they gave it the perfect five mic' rating.

Background

In 1988,

founder James Prince decided to invest his full budget and attention towards the Ghetto Boys, as he saw them as the most promising music-act on his label.Rap-A-Lot Records: 25 year anniversary documentary.

. 2011. Retrieved 2014-02-21. After the critical and commercial failure of the group's debut album ''

Making Trouble ''Making Trouble'' is the debut album by the American hip-hop group the Ghetto Boys. The group originally consisted of Bushwick Bill, DJ Ready Red, Sire Jukebox and Prince Johnny C. Following the release of ''Making Trouble'', Rap-A-Lot Records ...

'', J. Prince felt that the Ghetto Boys needed to go in a different direction, and that their line-up needed to change. He opted to keep DJ Ready Red and their

hype man A hype man, in hip hop music and rapping, is a backup rapper and/or singer who supports the primary rappers with exclamations and interjections and who attempts to increase the audience's excitement with call-and-response chants. The hype man's ...

, but dropped Sire Jukebox and Prince Johnny C, as he saw the latter two as copying several artists from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Willie D, who had signed to Rap-A-Lot as a solo artist in 1988, was added to the group at James Prince's request as a favor. Willie would later reveal that he was reluctant at first to join the fold, as he wanted to make a solo album. However, his debut LP entitled ''

Controversy Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin ''controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an opposite d ...

'', would be released several months after ''Grip It! On That Other Level''. After hearing about a local rapper named Akshen who was gaining notoriety in the

hip hop community, J. Prince and his brother set up an

audition An audition is a sample performance by an actor, singer, musician, dancer or other performer. It typically involves the performer displaying their talent through a previously memorized and rehearsed solo piece or by performing a work or piece giv ...

at DJ Ready Red's house, with Akshen, or James' brother getting the final spot as a member of the Geto Boys. As the two began to compete over DJ Ready Red's beats, James Prince was impressed by Akshen's lyrical abilities, as well as his serious subject matter, which was un-common in hip hop at that time. Akshen, who would later change his stage name to Scarface, ended up getting the spot as the fourth and final member of the Geto Boys. Recording for ''Grip It! On That Other Level'' began in 1988, and reached completion in early 1989. The album was well received in the Hip hop community, and gave the group exposure in the east coast and west coast, where

southern hip hop Southern hip hop, also known as Southern rap, South Coast hip hop, or dirty south, is a blanket term for a regional genre of American hip hop music that emerged in the Southern United States, especially in Atlanta, New Orleans, Houston, Memp ...

was previously ignored. James Prince later revealed that if ''Grip It! On That Other Level'' wasn't a success, he was going to shut down Rap-A-Lot Records, and quit the music industry.

Reception

''Grip It! On That Other Level'' has received mostly favorable reviews. In 1990, ''

'' gave it a four out of five rating, and when comparing it to the group's remix album ''

'', they favored Grip It!, stating that some of the changes on the remix album "aren't for the better".Collumnist
Album review
''

''. Retrieved 2014-02-21. However, in his review for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

, Andy Kellman gave the album three out of five stars and called the remix version an "improvement".Kellman, Andy
''Grip It! On That Other Level'' review

. Retrieved 2014-02-21. In 1998, ''The Source'' magazine included ''Grip It! On That Other Level'' on their 100 Best Albums list,Columnist
The 100 Best Rap Albums
''

''. Retrieved 2014-02-21. and in 2002, they gave it the perfect five out of five mic rating.Kazeem (August 4, 2010)
The Complete List Of 5 Mic Hip-Hop Classics
''

''. Retrieved on 2010-12-23. In the 2004 edition of ''

The Rolling Stone Album Guide ''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'', previously known as ''The Rolling Stone Record Guide'', is a book that contains professional music reviews written and edited by staff members from ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. Its first edition was published in 1 ...

'', Christian Hoard stated that with ''Grip It!'', the Geto Boys "filled a void that the mainstream didn't know they had yet; shock-rap." He also listed "Mind of a Lunatic" and "Trigga Happy Nigga" as "galling tracks".

Track listing

;Sample credits * "Do It Like a G.O." contains a sample of "Superfly" by

Curtis Mayfield Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, and one of the most influential musicians behind soul and politically conscious African-American music.

, "Scorpio" by

Dennis Coffey Dennis James Coffey (born November 11, 1940) is an American guitarist. He was a studio musician for many soul and R&B recordings, and is well known for his 1971 Top 10 hit single " Scorpio". Biography Coffey learned to play guitar at the ...

, and "Apache" from

The Incredible Bongo Band The Incredible Bongo Band, also known as Michael Viner's Incredible Bongo Band, was a project started in 1972 by Michael Viner, a record artist manager and executive at MGM Records. Viner was called on to supplement the soundtrack to the B-film ' ...

. * "Gangster of Love" contains a sample of "The Joker" by

Steve Miller Band The Steve Miller Band is an American rock band formed in 1966 in San Francisco, California. The band is led by Steve Miller on guitar and lead vocals. The group had a string of mid- to late-1970s hit singles that are staples of classic rock, as ...

. * "Talkin Loud Ain't Saying Nothin" contains a sample of "Talkin' Loud & Sayin' Nothing" by

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the hono ...

. * "No Sell Out" contains a sample of "Rocket in the Pocket" by

Cerrone Marc Cerrone Daryl Easlea, "Supernature Boy", ''Record Collector'', #502, February 2020, pp.60-63 (, ; born 24 May 1952) is a French disco drummer, composer, record producer and creator of concert shows. Cerrone is a producer of 1970s and 1980 ...

. * "Let a Ho Be a Ho" contains a sample of "Money" by

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philosophical lyrics an ...

. * "Scarface" contains a sample of "Blues and Pants" by James Brown, and "Gimme What You Got" by

Pomplamoose Pomplamoose is an American musical duo composed of husband-and-wife multi-instrumentalist Jack Conte and singer-songwriter and bassist Nataly Dawn. The duo formed in 2008 and sold approximately 100,000 songs online in 2009. They are known for t ...

. * "Life in the Fast Lane" contains a sample of "The Big Bang Theory" by

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

. * "Mind of a Lunatic" contains a sample of "Givin' Up Food for Funk" by The J.B.'s, written by James Brown and Fred Wesley, and samples from "Funky Drummer (Bonus Beat Reprise)" by James Brown.

Personnel

The Ghetto Boys * Brad "Akshen" Jordan – performer (later known as Scarface) * William "Willie D" Dennis – performer * Richard "Bushwick Bill" Shaw – performer Production * Collins "DJ Ready Red" Leysath – producer * John Bido – producer * Doug King – producer * Prince Johnny C – producer * J. Smith – producer * James Prince – executive producer * Clifford Blodget – engineer, executive producer * Billy Roberts – photography

Charts

References

External links

''Grip It! On That Other Level'' releases
at Discogs.com {{Authority control 1989 albums Geto Boys albums Rap-A-Lot Records albums