Name: PhonteAge: 34
Hometown: Greensboro, N.C.
Favorite Midnight Marauders Song: “Electric Relaxation”
The first time I heard Midnight Marauders I was on the bus on my way to a wrestling match. I was in ninth grade in high school. I had the tape and for some reason I just put it in and the introduction came on—[Mimics female announcer voice] “Hello, this is your Midnight Marauder program…”—and I was like, What is this shit? It’s crazy! I let it play and I remember turning the tape over and hearing “Electric Relaxation” and, man, it was over. I don’t even remember if we won the wrestling match that day.
Name: Jean Grae
Age: 36
Hometown: Cape Town, South Africa
Favorite Midnight Marauders Song: “Electric Relaxation”
[The album] was, of course, the shit that you get and everyone is at school blasting it the next day and discussing it and it was mind blowing. I had already started writing stuff and thought, “Man, if only I was fucking cool enough to be on the cover. I want to be on the cover of this.” I honestly think that it’s the only time I can remember being like, “I want to be a rapper.” By the way, Opio is the best on the cover. That’s not up for debate. It’s just a fact. The album is perfect. It’s a perfect album—not perfect for rap, perfect for an album. Everything about it: The voice guide, the rollercoaster of emotions and tones, the sequencing, the chemistry and balance between Tip and Phife, the guests, the beats, the mixing. Oh, that was a huge deal for me, the mixing. Bob Power [who mixed most of the record] is one of the best people on the planet. Not that I hadn’t heard Bob Power’s work before this but the beauty of what he did on this album is just insane. Bob on this album made me want to learn how to be an engineer, so I kinda left school, got my GED and went directly to Sam Ash Music Institute specifically because of this.
Name: Buckshot
Age: 43
Hometown: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Favorite Midnight Marauders Song: “Oh My God”
It was a real dark album but at the same time it gave you a melodic feel. You had songs like [raps,] “Hey sucka nigga, whoever you are/Hey sucka nigga, whoever you are.” That was real melodic and jazzy and something about that really did something to me, just like ”Electric Relaxation” really did something to me as an artist. And you have “Oh My God”! That song was like a game changer. That’s my favorite song on the album. I know that might be shocking to a lot of people but I just like the sound and the feel of it, and the fact that Busta’s killing it and bringing the hypeness to the song.
