Practitioner of Rhymes

The Numero 12" series returns after a three year hiatus with an oddball nugget from the Boddie Recording Company vault. No record of the identity Doc Rhymin’ was discovered in our thorough excavation, but as the Boddies manufacturing trickled to a halt in 1987, and these three songs are clearly influenced by LL Cool J’s Bigger And Deffer, we’re comfortable assuming this came out on maxi-cassette in 1987.

Cleveland rap differs from the sounds emanating from New York and Los Angeles in one major way: most of the region’s recorded output has no samples. Copies of Ultimate Breaks & Beats were extremely scarce, leaving upstart rhymsters high on VHS-dubs of “Yo MTV Raps” to lean heavily on programmed drum machines and keyboards rather than “Funky Drummer” and “Different Strokes.” Doc Rhymin’s basic 808 approach does not disappoint, as he lets his well rehearsed cadence carry each of the 12"s three songs with nary a gimmick to be heard.