The Outz Hooked Up With Fugees Way Back When...

Two updates back I wrote about a record I get asked if it ever actually existed... well, this time I'm writing about a record I was told never existed by the artist himself. When this first came out, I was having kind of a hard time finding it... also around that time I was interviewing the Outsidaz a lot for the Source and what-not... So I asked if they could help me out, and Young Zee told me this record never actually came out. I was pretty happy to report to him the next time I saw him that I'd gotten my hands on a copy.

"Stay Gold" is a track off of Zee's tragically never released Musical Meltdown album (a really bad review in the Source probably was a contributing cause... in fact, this review could be said to be what started the whole Eminem/Source beef that eventually led to the Source's, uh, change in ownership). It features fellow Outsidah and other half of No Brain Class, Yah Yah (he's also Zee's brother, if ya didn't know) and Lauryn Hill (if I have to tell you what crew she's from, you're probably reading the wrong blog), who kicks a brief verse as well as singing the hook:

"These dimensions and extensions will secure my future pension
When I mention corporate lynchin's like the cowboys did to injuns.
The intentions of the Devil is to cause me hypertension,
So stay gold like Stevie Wonder; don't blunder like OJ Simpson."

...Yup, that's it, her whole verse. But any chance to hear Hill in MC rather than diva mode (though her hook on this track is cool, too) is a big plus. Zee kicks his typical (and I mean that in the best sense... Zee's typical is great) Redman-meets-the-Outz style lyrics and delivery:

"Yeah, Zee need to battle with the older guys
'Cause all you little n_ggas get pulverized
Yeah, I get ill on funky beats like Jalil;
Yo posse gonna wind up in Beth Israel.
Bring yo' fleet,
You'll get stabbed and beat
And stomped out in the streets with my football cleats"

He even edges his way into the Fugees/ Jeru beef with a quick diss:

"What is this trash I hear?
Is it Static, like Jeru and Premiere?
Your MC style is way too old,
I unfold pure funk as long as I stay gold."

The track is dominated by a funky banjo looped over a drum track and bassline... it's definitely tight, but can be grating after a lot of repeated listens. Fortunately, there's a remix on the b-side, which replaces the banjo with a smoother piano loop. So the main mix is the preferred, but the remix is a great alternate, which is exactly the role a remix should fill, I think, ideally.

For those who don't know, Young Zee is coming back... he's got a free mixtape of all new material for download on his website, youngzeeonline.com. It's also heartening to see a lot of the Outz involved, including Axe, D.U. and Rah Digga; and he's even got links to Pace Won and Emzy's pages on his myspace page, so maybe there's hope for a proper Outsidaz reunion?