Review Summary: Kick a dope verse and then we ghost
It all started with Bobbito Garcia in 1995. The DJ co-hosted an underground hip hop program called
The Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Show alongside DJ Stretch Armstrong and soon realized that the many rappers appearing on the show had yet to sign to a label. He thus created one - you're never better served than by yourself - so that talented chaps could at the very least put their material on wax.
The first record to ever come out on Fondle 'Em was
The Cenubites EP, a collaborative effort between producer Godfather Don and rapper and eccentric attraction Kool Keith. Note that this review focuses on the later enhanced and reissued version:
The Cenobites LP (the former "u" was a typo, bravo mates). Impressed by the latter's work with Ultramagnetic MCs, Garcia decided to cloister Kool Keith and Godfather Don in a basement. Cenobites being monks who choose to be hobos, uh, hermits, the term was indeed apt.
The thing is, Keith and Don ain't your regular monks. These guys are smutty. Their lyrics reek of sexual or morbid allusions, and the beats complement said philosophy with their somber yet jazzy aesthetic. Even when they are relaxed, a sense of impending doom prevents the listener from fully chilling, ultimately giving the record its film noir atmosphere. The cryptic samples and raw production provides the record with its unique nature, like a bastard child conceived by a crack-addict drug dealer and that dude with that black hat in that Nouvelle Vague movie.
While Don occasionally raps on top of his beat-making duties, it's truly Kool Keith that carries the record. His flows are playfully elastic and offer more insane punchlines than would allow the current zeitgeist. It's on
The Cenobites Keith operates his transition between his Ultramagnetic MCs days and his later Dr. Octagon persona, retaining the former funkiness while already showing traces of his more futuristic and hallucinated vibe. Boss label Bobbito Garcia does a decent rapping debut on a couple of tracks. Still, underground legend Percee P displays the most impressive technique with a fired-up performance on "You're Late". The label's all-or-nothing approach shows on "How The *** You Get A Deal", as they diss wack MCs and show their absolute distrust of the music industry.
The Cenobites was a nostalgic record crying hip hop's lost soul. Yet, it paradoxically encapsulated the "1993 NYC rap record" sound while showcasing a glimpse towards the genre's future - late 90s sci-fi rap would be nothing without this record. Fondle 'Em kept this all-or-nothing approach with its later releases: Juggaknots would enjoy indie cult status, and the late MF DOOM (all caps when you spell the man's name) crafted his first solo singles on Garcia's turf.
Penalised by the label's congenital amateurism, Fondle 'Em activities had to end in 2001, after only six years of operation. The related artists then spread out: MF DOOM had the legendary career we now know, while lower profiles rappers signed with indie hop labels like Sub Verse Music or Eastern Conference. The label's testament took the form of a compilation released on El-P's Def Jux,
Farewell Fondle' Em. This move cemented Def Jux as Fondle 'Em's direct heir and transmitted how a hip-hop label could become well-known without selling out - the secret is to be better than everyone else and let them know. Garcia's influence also goes deeper:
The Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Show introduced rappers like Biggie, Big L, Fat Joe, and other rappers whose name does not reference adiposity. While he remains a respected name around the indie hop universe, the influence he and countless other nameless ghouls had on the music that now dominates the charts has to be, at some point, put into the spotlight.
Thank you Bobbito, thank you Keith, thank you Don, thank you MF DOOM.
