jeru the damaja - "come clean" (1994)

in the mid-nineties, when dj premier rocked the thoughtful, tastefully arranged classic-sample vibe he went to guru. when he wanted to make hardcore shit for club headz who love to shout along on the dancefloor, it was mop's turn. but when he wanted to drop his weirdest samples and his ugliest drum hits, he hooked up with proto-anti-bling moralist and owner of hiphop's greatest man-beard, jeru. yes, the no-fun stance was irritating even then, like before the commercial-underground divide properly existed! but his voice has always been so forceful that it couldn't stop him from dropping a few classics, especially this tune, where premier lays down the most suggestively dark and awkward loop he has ever dusted off.

i don't even know what instrument it is, i just know it gives the song a weird perspective-fucking cavernous feel; disorienting, but not like in an "are these my hands" way - it's something virtually intangible there in the texture of the sample and jeru's voice and the onyx grab in the chorus (the way premier scratches onyx dude's "uh oh" at the end is so brilliant!). the whole thing sounds way more dangerous and urgent than it probably should given the topic (jeru doesn't think you're real so he's gonna fuck you up! lyrically that is!) and the way jeru is really just having silly fun ("got a freaky, freaky, freaky-freaky flow/control the mic like fidel castro" etc) - the kind of shit you would rhyme over a playful beatnut beat or something, but this is tense as fuck, and maybe it's that conflict which makes it so good!