THE REAL DEAL - Various
Released August 2002
Compact Disc (no longer available)
Catalog # : BHH2050

After hearing this album consumers and hip hop fans won't be brainwashed by music videos, advertising and commercial radio ever again. The Real Deal, a new creative direction for Bomb Hip-Hop, is fun, intelligent and interesting to listen to... the album major record companies do not want you to hear!

Current kings of the underground hip-hop movement on this full length release include Abstract Rude, Azeem, Foreign Legion, J-Zone and Swollen Members. This CD is a rap compilation featuring songs, interludes and skits that focus on breaking down the music industry for the average person. Some of the material exposes information about radio, payola, retail, returns, music videos, marketing and promotion. It's intended to educate the hip-hop fan about the inside workings of the music industry allowing them to be better informed consumers. This is a tongue-in-cheek revelation that shows the listener a behind the scenes view of the workings of the music industry, and how stars are elevated, manipulated, and deflated on a whim.

track listing
01 INSTANT RAP STAR - Bas-1 & Fanatik
02 INDUSTRY RULE #4080 - DJ JS-1
03 THE MASTER (redux) - Stimulus & Paul Nice
04 Demos - Ed O.G.
05 RUBBER GLUE - Azeem
06 There Are Rules
07 WHAT WE DO IT LIKE - Hydroponic Sound System vs. The Burn Unit
08 Buffers - Ragi da Lawyer and Dave Paul
09 GETTIN IT RIGHT - Jnyce
10 Q&A - J-Zone
11 Industry of Cool
12 ACCESS DENIED - Hush
13 Vampires - Ragi da Lawyer
14 VAPORS - Charizma & PB Wolf
15 Find Something Else to Talk About - Jeff da Sales Rep
16 TAKE IT BACK - Swollen Members
17 The Rule - DJ Shortfuse
18 HAPPY DRUNK - Foreign Legion
19 Industry - Kreators
20 LEGACY - Kreators
21 Instant A-Hole - Ragi da Lawyer
22 WE THREE KINGS - Spaztik EmCee with Grand Agent & Chops
23 When Do We Get Our Money? (distribution blues) - The Product Pushers feat. DJ Pone
24 YEP! - Abstract Rude + Tribe Unique
25 Coffee & Cigarettes
26 WAR CRY - Regenerated Headpiece
27 Russell Speaks
28 BIG UP - Baba
29 Take the Money and Run - Jeff da Sales Rep

Bomb Hip-Hop Records owner David Paul is definitely the agent provocateur of the industry, and on The Real Deal he leverages his independent cred to create an compilation focused on how f*cked up the music industry is. The topic is a pretty heavy-handed one, especially for a genre whose best anthems have had to do with money, ho's, and clothes, but party rocking beats and an all-star cast of Bay Area underground stars keep the record from sounding like one long psychotherapy session.

The Real Deal puts producers and rappers on even footing, introducing pairings like cartoon-voiced MC Bas-1 with prolific Oakland beatsmith Fanatik, a raw-sounding Stimulus backed by classic funk styles from Paul Nice, and a shrill Charizma, who is almost overshadowed by his backing track, a crackling crate digger's soundscape by Peanut Butter Wolf. The sixteen tracks—which also includes some funky turntablist cut & paste numbers—are broken up by interludes where artists, a sales rep, and David Paul himself grouse about various topics like payola and price gouging. The compilation is a great place to hear Bay Area indie artists in their natural habitat, but you can't help but remark the the best song on the disc, Foreign Legion's "Happy Drunk," is more about rolling out than getting sold out. - VH (Flyer magazine / Sept. 2002 issue)