Ground Floor - "Dig on That" b/w "One, Two" (Bandoola Records, 1994)
Ground
Floor is a complete mystery. T.O., ManHunt, and a third rapper whose name seems
to have been forgotten surfaced just long enough to put out one limited single
before disappearing forever. All that remains of the group are a few rare
copies of that 12”, an entertaining but generic music video for “One, Two,” and
a Bandoola Records flyer advertising their forthcoming EP. Everything beyond
that is open to conjecture and there doesn’t seem to be any photos of the group
online. How did they hook up with Lord Finesse (and what was Lord Finesse doing
on a tiny indie label with only one other artist when he was at his peak)? Why weren’t
they able to capitalize on the momentum from the “One, Two” video getting
played on BET’s Rap City? What’s Puff Daddy doing in that video?[1] And
most importantly, who were they, why didn’t they take off, and where did they
go?
Being
from Newport, Rhode Island probably didn’t do any favors for the group. It’s
only three hours away from New York City, but in an era before the internet,
being from a city without a well-known hip-hop scene could be the kiss of death
for a group that wasn’t able to break through immediately.[2] Newport
very well could have had a vibrant scene at the time, but if they did, it wasn’t
exactly getting much coverage in The
Source.
But
the biggest hindrance to Ground Floor’s success was probably Bandoola Records. The
people behind that label definitely had some long-term plans, seeing as it was
just one of three arms of a larger organization, one of which managed Showbiz
& A.G. and Organized Konfusion. It’s unclear why the label folded so
quickly, but the why isn’t all that important when it comes to Ground Floor. Bandoola
Records was able to put out this 12” and a Ground Floor demo single cassette in
1995, and that’s it. A planned Ground Floor EP and Lord Finesse album and EP on
the label never materialized. In spite of the D.I.T.C. connection through Lord
Finesse and their exposure on Rap City, Ground Floor went down with their
label.
For a
group that only managed one single, Ground Floor couldn’t have done much better
than “Dig on That”/”One, Two,” two quintessential examples of mid-nineties east
coast rap. “Dig on That” was produced by and features a verse from Lord
Finesse. Finesse was in the middle of a four year break between solo albums,
but for him a break meant producing and appearing on loads of songs by fellow
members of the Diggin’ in the Crates Crew as well as anyone else who could pony
up the cash. He gave Ground Floor a murky bass-heavy beat that sounds like a
dry run for his work on Big L’s Lifestylez
ov da Poor & Dangerous from the following year. Throughout the song,
they compare wack rappers to the Jerky Boys and threaten to chop their bodies
up so that they’ll fit in Hefty bags until Lord Finesse phones things in a bit
for the closing verse. Needless to say, lines like “I keep it real like reality”
aren’t among his career best.
Yet
if “One, Two” is any indication, the group didn’t really need Lord Finesse. The
group produced this song themselves and it is a prime example of just how
renewable the basic New York boom bap formula was at this time. When deployed
well, great drums, a simple three note piano sample, and looped trumpets could
be more effective than anything that a more ambitious producer could make. The biggest
shame of Ground Floor’s career is that their production is limited to just
three songs.[3] Even if
the group splintered right after this song came out, it’s a shame that they
weren’t able to make beats for others. And they’re no slouches on the lyrical
tip either. The first guy (I’m not sure who is who) in particular kills his
verse and has a surprisingly versatile flow, and the other two are great as
well. Most importantly, all three are distinct both vocally and
personality-wise. I imagine that they would have done a good job of developing
these identities on their EP if it had come to fruition.
Considering
how many incredibly obscure hip-hop artists are getting 12” reissues of long
out-of-print singles, EPs, albums, demos, and unreleased material over the last
few years[4],
it doesn’t seem impossible that Ground Floor will get the same treatment.
Considering how little information is out there on the group and their label,
it will take such a high level of research and persistence that I’m not counting
on it. At least they left us with “One, Two,” even if the mystery of why Puff
Daddy is in the video will probably never be answered.
"One, Two"
"Dig on That"
Coming Up on Spray Cans:
Rammellzee
& K-Rob
Big
Twan
Cashless
Society
Canibus
Black
Attack
Royal Fam
Abstract Tribe Unique or the Nonce
[1]
You can spot him in the elevator at about 1:50.
[2]
Bone Thugs-n-Harmony was one of the few exceptions to this rule, but they had
Eazy-E, a much bigger star than Lord Finesse, putting them on and Ruthless
Records’ distribution and promotion infrastructure was undoubtedly much better
than Bandoola’s.
[3] “One,
Two” and the two songs from their 1995 demo cassette.
[4]
K-Def and Grap Luva’s career revivals on Redef Records and Slice-of-Spice have
been among the most exciting of these reissue campaigns.
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