I suppose it’s a little odd that I prefer an artist because of a remix that wasn’t on their album, but I think you’ll soon understand with Capital Tax, also known as T.M.D. (Total Mind Devastator).
As a huge admirer of EPMD, one of these singles immediately struck my ear: the remix of T.M.D.’s “The Masha.” The next 14 seconds do not hint at what is to come, but as soon as the words “Well alright!” are spoken, the loop knocks you out.
Of course, it’s legal to sample Faze-“Riding O’s High,” and DJ Smooth G is not the first nor the last to do so. The roster includes Kris Kross, Black Moon, The Roots, Snoop Dogg, and many others. Although Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith will always be connected with the loop in my mind, it didn’t make me think less highly of capital tax. T.M.D.’s voice actually made me think of Nine (“So what’cha want Nine?”), which completely shocked me when I learned he was from Oakland. Whether you were listening to the mellow remix or the more intense original version, his gruff rough voice was quite contagious over the Faze-O loop, and the lyrics were catchy.
“Uh-huh, uh, the funky rhyme kicker can you dig it
And I could give a damn about a racist or a bigot
So swing it to KKK and all you phonies
I mash on that ass so bump my tape like in your Sony
No bologna, the rhyme style kid, is back to wreck it
Mic check it, so you best to like respect it”
However, promotional vinyl only goes so far, especially in the 1990s when a successful music video was essentially a free advertisement for your record. The music video for “I Can’t Believe It” does a great job of showcasing T.M.D. He tells the first-person account of a family that is being torn apart by destitution, drug abuse, and tax evading kids. T’s cousin, who is ostensibly the only family provider of any kind, is the bad kid in this situation. A bugged situation exists.
“But yo, I’m tryin’ to get this shit
Yo why there’s no food on the table
and yo, who’s payin’ the rent?
While James Earl was thievin’ on the banks
with homemade shanks, tryin’ to scuffle up his rank
But I can’t, go out that way, so yo I pray like every night
to God that he let my cousin see the light, right?“
These two tracks were all I needed to persuade me to purchase “The Swoll Package.” Even if it appears that time has not been kind to T.M.D., I’m glad that I did. He was done with MCA Records, thus it appears that the label never really had his back. I’m just now learning about a revival in the 2000s that was limited to digital media. There isn’t a Capital Tax entry on Wikipedia, and I have the impression that no one else looked for it either.
Despite this, songs like “Mista Wonka” continue to be “the flavor.” He draws inspiration from Roald Dahl’s character, although in this instance, “Willy” refers to the man below his navel who suddenly acquired erectile dysfunction.
It’s a brilliant turn of events, and “clever” is a good overall description of T.M.D. Songs like “Make Some Cash” had a lasting impression on me despite the fact that his career appears to have come and gone without much of an impact on the general public. The song’s speed and rhythm had a menacing urgency to it. I adored the Slick Rick sample and Capital T is unapologetic about going to any measures to obtain it. He actually thinks of a legal (I assume) scam involving pumping people’s gas in exchange for cash tips, but even this turns out to be a little risky.
“Now, no time to hesitate, I gots the problem solver
Dug in my pocket for the 22 revolver
And if he don’t step I drops the bomb like Pearl Harbor
Word to life, I think he oughta
Cause I know, that he don’t, know what time it is
But I do, know that he shouldn’t be shortstoppin’ the kid
Here’s what I did, stepped real smooth, to the swindler
and said, hey yo bro, you know you gots to go
cause this here is my turf, my nine to five
How I survived? I guess he sorta sensed the vibe”
I may not have liked DJ Smooth G’s preference for well-known beats and breaks, but with tracks like “Styles I Manifest,” I didn’t mind it at all. I feel compelled to reiterate the fact that T.M.D. and his pals were from Oakland. The Hieroglyphics, Too $hort, The Click, Mac Dre, or The Coup don’t sound anything like this. If I didn’t know any better, I would have believed T was a New Yorker.
Is “The Swoll Package” the most important hip-hop record from the 1990s? Actually, no. Having the remix of “The Masha” on here would have greatly helped, but so would MCA’s release of a music video to support it. The production can occasionally stumble. Everything about Capital Tax, in my opinion, was a lucky accident of being in the right place at the right moment, and I have a hunch that the same may be true with his music career.
The fact that “The Swoll Package” exists at least means that T.M.D. can get his 15 minutes of fame today because record labels were signing more artists than they released (too many albums to name were recorded and shelved without even dropping). Many talented rappers were never given that opportunity, but did Capital Tax deserve better, to quote a well-known YouTuber wearing a hoodie? Yes. Aye, he did.
