La the Darkman
In high school, I was a complete Wu-nerd. I think all hip hop heads around my age went through that period at some point. I copped every Wu group album, solo releases, compilations, and even the joints from their numerous “aphilliated” (lmao) acts. One such release was La the Darkman’s Heist of the Century (1998).
It’s getting increasingly tougher to remember that far back, but I’m pretty sure I had no reason to cop this album other than it being Wu-Related. Back then, I would often buy albums without hearing them first and this was one such case. Luckily for me, the album was a banger. It had all the right elements, dark beats, enlightened thuggery, and vicious spitting. Production was handled mostly by Carlos “SixBroady, one of Puff’s Hitmen, who produced some dope thun music with Capone N Noreaga among others. Also contributing heaters were DJ Muggs, RZA, Havoc, and 4th Disciple (for an independent, this record had a big production budget). Along with La, the album features dope verses from Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, and Masta Killa. So yeah, this album was flames and, at some point, I was listening to it on a daily basis. Check some tracks:
Heist of the Century (prod. DJ Muggs)
Lucci (prod. by Carlos Broady)
Polluted Wisdom (prod. by RZA)
After the album, Darkman basically fell of the face of the earth (to me at least). Flash forward ten years. I have somehow managed to make it through high school, slid through college, and working on a couple of grad degrees. One day, out of no where, I came across La the Darkman’s name on some blog in reference to DJ Drama & the Aphiliates. Confused as hell, I did a little more digging and found out that he is actually president of the Aphiliates music group, home of DJ Drama (Gangsta Grillz) and La’s younger brother, Willie the Kid. Needless to say, La switched his style up a bit, producing more accessible sounding material. His former grimy, dark New York sound wouldn’t mesh with the Southern crunk of the Aphilliates and is virtually absent in today’s commercial landscape. No beef here, just amazed that this former underground Wu-Fam member is now rolling with the Aphilliates and making tracks with Ray-J, the Dream, Too Short, and Gucci Mane (!) .
Sweat (w/Ray J, Fabolous)
Tipper Love (w/ The Deam, Too $hort)
Hand on my Glock (w/ Willie the Kid)
Check out this dope interview with La the Darkman from last year. It offers a lot of insight into his career.
*Chunk Deuce*
Now this is more along the lines, I was browsing another website and it totaly had miss information.