Funk Your Head Up is the second studio album by American hip hop group Ultramagnetic MCs.[4] It was released on March 17, 1992, via Mercury Records/PolyGram.
| Funk Your Head Up | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 17, 1992 | |||
| Recorded | 1990–1992 | |||
| Genre | Hip hop | |||
| Length | 1:09:54 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer |
| |||
| Ultramagnetic MCs chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [1] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [2] |
| RapReviews | 9/10[3] |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 5/10[4] |
Many of the tracks were remixed by outside producers at Mercury Records' insistence. The result was an album that disappointed hardcore fans of the group, while doing little to improve their sales. The sole hit single was a Beatminerz remix of "Poppa Large" that was not included on the album.
Critical reception
editTrouser Press wrote: "If hip-hop were only about clever lyrics and concrete breakbeats, the UMC’s might have been on top of the world. But next to the street socio-politics of Ice Cube, the gangsta dramatics of Dr. Dre and the shock gimmickry of Geto Boys, Ultramagnetics were beginning to sound nostalgic."[5]
In a retrospective review, The Quietus called the album "flawed but frequently magnificent," writing that the production "redefines the concept of funk for the hip hop era and gives Keith's rhymes, in particular, the sort of blaxploitation-via-sci-fi setting they uniquely demanded."[6]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Introduction to the Funk" | 0:20 | ||
| 2. | "Intro" |
| 2:16 | |
| 3. | "MC Champion" |
| 3:27 | |
| 4. | "Go 4 Yours" |
|
| 2:54 |
| 5. | "Blast from the Past" |
| DJ Moe Love | 0:42 |
| 6. | "Funk Radio" |
|
| 4:08 |
| 7. | "Message from the Boss" |
|
| 4:45 |
| 8. | "Pluckin' Cards" |
|
| 5:00 |
| 9. | "Intermission" (featuring Dr. Jam) |
| 0:31 | |
| 10. | "Stop Jockin Me" |
|
| 4:49 |
| 11. | "Dolly and the Rat Trap" |
| Kool Keith | 1:49 |
| 12. | "The Old School" (featuring The Cold Crush Brothers) | K. Thornton |
| 0:16 |
| 13. | "Bust the Facts" |
| Kool Keith | 4:52 |
| 14. | "Murder and Homicide" | K. Thornton | Kool Keith | 0:21 |
| 15. | "You Ain't Real" |
|
| 4:18 |
| 16. | "Make it Happen" |
| 4:30 | |
| 17. | "I Like Your Style" |
|
| 3:45 |
| 18. | "Bi-Lingual Teaching" | K. Thornton |
| 0:05 |
| 19. | "Poppa Large" |
|
| 4:17 |
| 20. | "Moe Love on the 1 and 2" | M. Smith | DJ Moe Love | 3:37 |
| 21. | "Porno Star" (featuring Tim Dog) |
|
| 7:00 |
| 22. | "The P.M.R.C. ID" | DJ Moe Love | 0:20 | |
| 23. | "Chorus Line Pt. 2" (featuring Tim Dog) |
|
| 5:46 |
| Total length: | 1:09:54 | |||
Personnel
edit- Keith Matthew Thornton - main artist, producer
- Maurice Russell Smith - main artist, producer
- Cedric Ulmont Miller - main artist, producer
- Trevor Randolph - main artist, producer
- Timothy Blair - featured artist (tracks: 21, 23)
- Henrik Milling - featured artist & producer (track 9)
- Charles Lewis - producer (track 17)
- Henrik Leif Marquart - co-producer (tracks: 3, 16, 19)
- William "Spaceman" Patterson - guitar (tracks: 10, 15, 16, 21)
- Alli Truch - art direction & design
- Michael Bays - art direction
- Michael Lavine - photography
References
edit- ^ Cooper, Sean. "Funk Your Head Up - Ultramagnetic MC's". Allmusic. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 8. MUZE. p. 342.
- ^ Juon, Steve 'Flash' (November 2, 2001). "Ultramagnetic M.C.'s :: Funk Your Head Up :: Mercury Records". RapReviews. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
- ^ a b Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. 1995. pp. 418–419.
- ^ "Ultramagnetic MC's". Trouser Press. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
- ^ "The Quietus | Features | Anniversary | 20 Years On: Ultramagnetic MCs' Funk Your Head Up". The Quietus. 20 March 2012.