Thursday, October 8, 2015

Minds Of Mischief - Unexpected Changes

Minds Of Mischief is a group that represents from the notorious southside of Houston, TX. The trio consists of Hollow Tip, Fix and 1-Five-1. They were discovered by Stuart "Poopie" Henderson, who was so impressed by the groups' fast paced flows that he immediately signed them to his Evolution Records label. Unexpected Changes is their debut album and it was released in 1997 on Evolution Records and in collaboration with 2 Much Productions. As it is customary with any Evolution release, the bulk of the production is handled by Stuart "Poopie" Henderson, himself and he is assisted by the likes of Louis "Hollywood" Hayes and Kevin "Red" Allen. The beats are a beautiful blend of that classic southern sound that accompanies twangy guitar riffs which are mixed with hard hitting drums and finally complimented by some smooth keyboarding. The rhythms contain various styles and are thoroughly enjoyable. The tracks carry a solid foundation and are certainly very welcoming for the artists. The album also excels in the lyrical department. All three members are more than capable on the microphone and they can definitely claim it with ease. The rhymes are delivered quickly and sharply. Word play is used as the main ingredient which in return gives the lyrics a very strong backbone. Also, the choruses and the back up vocals are all on point. Guest appearances are made by D-Red of the Botany Boys, Papa Reu, Lady 14, Vikta Black, Note, Boy-Bo and Lil' Mooney. The album rounds out at a decent total of fourteen tracks and although the record starts off a bit slow, it certainly picks up the pace and finishes with prime subject matter. This was an ambitious effort by the trio but it could not garner any type of success, hence this being their only release. While the product is full of variety and is quite deep with flavor, it certainly lacks the finishing touches of a major publishing company or a big name label. In the end, it just shows the humbleness of the group and how eagerly they jumped on the first chance to get their name and personalities noticed all the while knowing the past history of Poopie and his mismanaged label. Evolution Records was bound to self destruct because of the incompetency that was showed by its' staff and mainly, Poopie Henderson himself. Although he is a remarkable producer and he certainly has an ear for finding talent, he did not have the expertise of running a full fledged record company. He signed such great acts like the Coppertone Conspiracy, A-Posse, Quess but also abused them out of their fair share of royalties and eventually, drove them away. Some say it was Poopie's violent temper while others have blamed his faulty publishing and marketing team, both were a recipe for disaster. The Minds Of Mischief were suppose to be the label's last hurrah but they too went unheralded like the rest of their label mates. It is a little disheartening to see such good talent go to waste but what's more discomforting is that they were all cheated and hung out to dry by their own record label.

Deadly Verses
Mama U Better Tell 'Em


Album Notes
* Evolution Records went defunct in the year 1998.
   

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