Album

The Cactus Album

3rd Bass

1989 · Hip Hop

14 collectors on Gatefold own this

Start your shelf →Open in app
The Cactus Album by 3rd Bass

The Cactus Album is a Hip-Hop album by 3rd Bass, originally released in 1989. On Gatefold: 37 pressings tracked, owned by 14 collectors.

About

3rd Bass's initial novelty was their pale skin color, but <i>he Cactus Album</i> showed that the only crutch Serch and Prime Minister Pete Nice relied on was the one propping up Nice's bum leg. Def Jam's choice to add 3rd Bass to its roster resulted in a late '80s burner, much of it due to pre-sample clearance wanderlust. Gary Wright's "Love Is Alive," for example, is wonderfully layered into "Wordz of Wisdom." The intro to Aretha Franklin's "Think" propels its first hit "The Gas Face." The Emotions' "Best of My Love" gets the hip-hop flip on the summertime money shot "Brooklyn-Queens." The duo shows an enviable chemistry and mastery of metaphor. This version also contains one of the funniest outtakes: "Flippin' Off the Wall Like Lucy Ball."

via Apple Music

The Clerk says

The Clerk knows this whole record — the pressing quirks, the credits, the take.

Start your shelf to read the full take →

Open this record in GatefoldThe full album page. Every pressing and its live price unlocks with Mosh Pit.→

Tracklist

Side A

  1. A1Stymie's Theme0:12
  2. A2Sons Of 3rd Bass4:46
  3. A3Russell Rush0:24
  4. A4The Gas Face3:48
  5. A5Monte Hall5:24
  6. A6Oval Office3:30
  7. A7Hoods0:17
  8. A8Soul In The Hole3:49
  9. A9Triple Stage Darkness4:09
  10. A10M.C. Disagree0:43

Side B

  1. B1Wordz Of Wizdom6:30
  2. B2Product Of The Environment6:15
  3. B3Desert Boots0:22
  4. B4The Cactus4:39
  5. B5Jim Backus0:02
  6. B6Flippin' Off The Wall Like Lucie Ball3:16
  7. B7Brooklyn-Queens3:36
  8. B8Steppin' To The A.M.4:53
  9. B9Episode #30:12
  10. B10Who's On Third0:57

Sound DNA

  • Hip-Hop
  • Boom Bap
  • layered
  • playful
  • witty

Album notes

Discogs page for these notes (opens in a new tab)

Notes from the original pressing. Later editions may differ.

Art Direction for Drawing Board Graphics.
A2, A5, A8, A9, B1, B2, B4, B6 & B10 recorded and mixed at Chung King Studios, New York, NY
A4 recorded and mixed at Island Media Studios, West Babylon, NY
A6 & B8 recorded and mixed at Green Street Studios, New York, NY
Text on back cover:
The cactus stands firm on the desert plain, juicing fluids from its desolate environment. Two solo MC's absorbed and deciphered culture from far rockaway to Bedford-Stuyvesant and, like the desert plant, stood alone. Predators never set it off, for all over sharp thorns protrude. Step... and your mack-daddy license is revoked. All shades knowledge cactus techniques, and jet from ignorance in the desert.
Catalog number on labels: C 45415
Catalog number on spine: FC 45415
Catalog number on inner sleeve: 45415
AL-45397 and BL-45397 scratched out from runout grooves. Runouts are etched.
Direct Metal Mastering (DMM).

Credits

The people behind it.

Performers

  • Zev Love XFEATURING

14 collectors on Gatefold own this · 37 pressings tracked on Gatefold

View this release on Discogs →

Start your shelf.

Track your pressings of The Cactus Album, get the Clerk's take, and see what the record is worth — free.

Start your shelf →

Free forever. Works with 10 records or 10,000.