Let's remember the classic posse cut, The Symphony!

Hey family!!

*singing* (Duh-duh Duh duh duhhhhhhh....duh duh duh duh dunnnnnh!!)

I know you still get goose bumps whenever you hear that piano riff. This song was a incredible. An unbelievable masterpiece. I mean, really earth shattering. Flashback with me to a time where labelmates did posse cuts because they had something to prove, enjoyed a little friendly competition and did not have to worry about silly ass beefs.

I also remember running to Strawberries (not the clothing store, but the record store) with my money in hand to be one of the first to cop Marley Marl's In Control Volume 1." I can see the cover now...a slightly flat topped, Jerri curled Marley Marl doing a #1 sign from the cock pit of a G3 or G4 personal jet. When you flipped the cover over, it had a pictures of most of the Juice crew, but a noticeably absent Big Daddy Kane.

There were a few other jams on this compilation - like Biz and Heavy D's "We Write The Songs", or Craig G's "Duck Alert" (wow....I remember calling a "herb" a "duck"...but I digress), but the Symphony was the real reason why you bought the album.

For those of you that live under a kcufing rock, the joint samples the classic Otis Redding piano riff from "Hard to Handle". The lineup starts off with Masta Ace (before Ase), Craig G, Kool G. Rap and ends with Big Daddy Kane. mannnnn...you just don't know how amped i was when i heard this joint!

I am sorry ya'll, I need to post Kane's and G Rap's verse. Do you understand how ill these dudes were in the 80's????

[Verse 3: Kool G Rap]Yo, Marley gives the slice, I get nice,and my voice is twice as horrifying as Vincent Pricegoes deep, till you fell in a spell of a sleep,and while I'm countin' the money, you count sheep.When G Rap strikes the mic, I recite the type of hype that you like,and make the people unite.I grip up hips and zip up lips, step on reps, you flip and wanna sip on my tip.Take a deep breath, because you don't have another left.Comin' back like I'm avengin' my brother's deat.Makin' veterans run for medicine,cuz I put out more lights in a fight than ConEdison.Rip the damn cage like I'm on a rampage.And if you want rage, I'm-a make front page.Read the headlines, suckers, todays the deadline,your head is way past bedtime.Can't kill though. Solo. Cuz you're still all...soft like a pillow.My rap is rougher than Brillo.So fear me, don't dare dare me, and don't compare me to him when you hear me.Talk about a battle but you ain't yet ready for war.Your metaphor sucks more than a whore.You can't replace me, ice me or ace me, bass me, face me, slice me or race me,bite me or taste me -- I'll show you that I got force.My rap burns your mouth like hot sauce.Run for water while I break your tape recorder.Server-to-sucker: the order is manslaughter.Another rapper, G Rap wrecks, he's rated X, to mean the boy is sex. Next...the amplifier gets used and abused. Pumps so loud, we might blow a fuse.This is anger, madness, ready to hang 'er.Rapper or singer: I'm puttin' up my middle finger.Next up... (I believe that's me) Big Daddy Kane, get on the mic for the Symphony.

[Verse4: Big Daddy Kane]Settin' it off, lettin' it off, beginnin'. Rough to the endin', you never been into move the groove with the smooth rap lord;like a bottle of juice, rhymes are being poured.Down your ear, crisp and clear,as I prepare to wear, tear and smear - then I'm outta here.With a mark left that you can all cling.Cuz rockin' a party? Yo, it's a small thing.I rip many places on regular basis, and broken down mics were the only tracesthat I'd been there and there at the party.The mic had my prints, and on it was a body.So take caution. I'm not horsin' around in a throwdown, clown,I'm takin' yours son.So just acknowledge the way that I kick it,cuz if rap was a house, you'd be evicted.And dismissed from the microphone, chokin' on a bone, cuz Daddy's home.And battlin' me is hazardous to health,so put a quarter in your ass, cuz ya played yourselfLike a game in the arcade. You need a far aid.I'm walkin' the path that Allah made.I'll attend and then begin to send a speech to reach and teach,so just say when.So I can let lyrics blast like a bullet.My mouth is the gun; on suckers I pull it.The trigger, ya figure, my pockets gettin' bigger,cuz when it comes to money, yo, Grant's my nigga!You've got the groove, MCs, freeze, stand still, nobody move.It's a sabotage, as I take charge. Don't barge, cuz gotdamn, I'm livin' largelike a giant. You're nothin' but a midget, a small digit.You ain't hit it, forget it, quit it.I reign superior, always takin' care o'ya.No-frill rappers, you will evaporate, disintegrate, deflate to your fate,as the great will dominate straight to the stateof reignin', gainin. So put Kane in, that category. Period. End of story...

I think I am going to pass out from those verses. Wow...I still get the same sense of euphoria.

Now some hip hop heads will say that Kool G made a subtle diss to Kane when he says, "Don't compare me to him when you hear me" in his verse... which of course led the same hip hop heads to say that Kane retaliated by saying "put a quarter in your a** cause you played yourself." What do I say? I say, who gives an isht. The verses were both fire and I appreciate the fact that Kool G and Kane were so competetive.

Here's another quick observation - Now that I listen to this joint as a seasoned hip hop head, I now realize that Masta Ase had one of the illest verses on this song. (See below)

[Verse 1: Master Ace]Listen closely, so your attention's undivided.Many in the past have tried to do what I did.Just the way I came off, man I'm gonna come off.Stronger and longer, even with the drum off.I keep on goin' and flowin' just like a river.I got a whole lot to give so I'm-a give alittle at a time, new trails are blazin',Action is in effect, and always stays in.Yeah, just like a shot from a cannon. I am the man in charge and I've been plannin'a jam strong enough that it can life your soul.I'm the originator, and my rhymes are made of gold.Once you hear the capital "A" rap, it'll staywith you for awhile, it won't go away.Unless you force it, because it stays with you, my friend,and if you toss it away, I'm-a hit ya again.I project my voice so it's right in the crowd.There's a sign at the door: no bitin' allowed.And if you didn't read it I suggest you do so,or you'll be stranded, just like Caruso.Sleep if ya wanna, go 'head, get some shut-eye.A man broke his jaw tryin' to say what I say on the microphone, you shoulda left it alone,just for the record, let it be knownthat my ego's only partially grown.And never will I ever condone biting in any form, yo I'm only warm.That verse was the calm, now here's the storm...Next up (Yo, I believe that's me). Craig G, light up the mic for the Symphony.

But most cats, like myself, slept on it so hard because we were die-hard Big Daddy Kane and Kool G. Rap fanatics. In my personal opinion, if you forced me to to pick a wack verse on this cut, I'd say that "Craig G" was the "Aquaman" of the crew! LOL!

In any case, enjoy the video below and I'll holla atcha' later!

One - Cap-D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSoXHUlwraU <---- The Symphony

PS: Why the "F" was DJ Polo in the video??? LOL! Peep Scoob and Scrap's video cameo...