Tim Dog (real name Timothy Blair) (born 1 January 1967) [1] is an
American rapper from the Bronx, New York who rose to prominence
during the early '90s with his debut LP Penicillin on Wax and the
celebrated "diss" record "Fuck Compton". Tim
had already appeared on songs with the Ultramagnetic MCs and went
on to form a duo, Ultra, with member Kool Keith. "Fuck Compton" appeared
in XXL Magazine's "Top 25 Diss Tracks of All Time" and
earned Tim Dog critical acclaim from progressive hip-hop producer
Blockhead who said that Tim Dog's "The Dog's Gonna Getcha" (off
Penicillin On Wax) is "quite possibly the hardest song ever
made." [2] Nas shouts out Tim Dog on his track "Where
Are They Now?" from his 2006 Album Hip Hop Is Dead and despite
Tim Dog's beef with Dr. Dre, Eminem name-checked him on the track
'Ricky Ticky Toc'.
During the early 1990s, seminal rap group N.W.A and several other
West Coast rap artists were becoming popular within the hip hop community
and magazines such as Rap Masters, Word Up and The Source provided
significant coverage to artists from Los Angeles. The success of
N.W.A and their focus on the South Central L.A. suburb of Compton
via their platinum album Straight Outta Compton had spawned a number
of imitators and other groups who also claimed to represent the suburb.
The success of artists such as Compton's Most Wanted and DJ Quik
led to a period in hip hop where so-called "gangsta rap" and
its trademark dress of black Los Angeles Raiders and Los Angeles
Kings gear were de rigueur.
Some New York hip hop artists resented the exposure and success
of their West Coast counterparts, an animosity which Tim Dog would
tap into via the release of his groundbreaking first single. Frustrated
at the apparent lack of interest in East Coast artists from record
companies, Tim recorded "Fuck Compton", a scathing diss
track from his debut album Penicillin on Wax. "Fuck Compton" attacked
the city's style of dress and musical output and made threatening
gestures to several Compton rappers including Eazy-E, MC Ren, Dr.
Dre and Michel'le.
The lyrics also made reference to an infamous incident involving
N.W.A's Dr. Dre and host of Pump It Up Dee Barnes. Barnes had accused
Dre (real name Andre Young) of assaulting her after Pump It Up had
edited an N.W.A interview to include disparaging comments made by
Ice Cube, who was embroiled in a feud with his former group at the
time:
“
Dre, beating on Dee from Pump It Up?
Step to the Dog and get fucked up!
”
The single was released by Ruffhouse Records, home to other artists
such as Cypress Hill and Kriss Kross, and became a worldwide underground
hit in the clubs and hip hop circles. Two versions of a music video
were released - the original version and a censored edit.
[edit] Penicillin on Wax
Penicillin on Wax included several additional "disses" aimed
at both Compton artists and commercially successful artists such
as Kid N Play and Kwame. The intro used the same beat as N.W.A's "efil4zaggin" album
intro. Tim taunted "I stole your beat and made it better, to
show the whole world that you aint nothing but a bunch of pussies" before
a number of disparaging answering machine messages supported Tim's
position. Tim rapped: "Wearing all that black, driving them
cars, but you still look wack!". In another skit, "DJ Quik
Beat Down", Tim Dog physically assaulted DJ Quik.
The lyrical insults were arguably the opening salvo in what would
later become the East Coast versus West Coast hip hop conflict which
would ultimately lead to the "beef" between Bad Boy Records
and Death Row Records.
[edit] Responses to Fuck Compton
The main target of Tim's insults N.W.A, never officially responded
as a unit due to their pending break up, although Dre would later
employ an upstart emcee Snoop Dogg to respond on his behalf. Several
other Compton rap units responded:
* Compton's Most Wanted dissed Tim on "Who's Fucking Who?".
The track repeated a sample from Boogie Down Productions "South
Bronx" before replaying a soundbite of Tim Dog saying "Bullshit
City", originally from "Fuck Compton".
* DJ Quik responded with "Way 2 Fonky" and "The Last Word".
* Dr. Dre responded with the skit "The $20 Sack Pyramid" and the
intro of the track "Puffin On Blunts And Dranken Tanqueray", a B
side to the "Dre Day" single.
* The West Coast's most celebrated response would not come from a Compton rapper
but from Dr. Dre's new protege Long Beach rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg on the second
verse of the track Fuck wit Dre Day (And Everybody's Celebratin') Snoop also
dissed Luke Campbell from 2 Live Crew and Eazy-E, both of whom were feuding
with Dre at the time.
* Tweedy Bird Loc responded with "Fucc the South Bronx" and "What's
Really Goin' On" on his debut album "187 Ride By."
[edit] Do Or Die
Tim followed up with his second album Do Or Die. The album represented
Tim's shift of focus, away from confrontation with the West Coast
and concentrated on hardcore East Coast rap. Interestingly, the album
contained a shout-out to Tupac Shakur whom Tim thanked for assisting
him when involved in a potentially violent situation when touring
in California.
Tim moved to the UK in 1995 and worked with U.K. artist Apache Indian,
producing the hit single "Make Way for the Indian". Tim
then toured with Kool Keith and recorded several other tracks, the
most recent being his August 2005 collaboration with Percee P, "NY
to the UK".
[edit] Current News and BX Warrior Album
Ironically, Tim Dog and Ultra partner now live in L.A and work with
producer "Kutmasta Kurt". Tim acknowledged the effect his
track "Fuck Compton" had on the hip hop industry and the
development of the East Coast / West Coast beef. He explained in
a recent interview that he never thought the song "would blow
up the way it did". He states that the record was released in
frustration of not being signed by record company A&R executives
who only wanted to sign Compton rappers. The final straw came when
one particular exec asked him to grow a Jheri curl.
Tim Dog embarked on several tours during 2004 and 2006 including
Europe, U.K and Australia to promote his new album "BX Warrior".
While he is no longer hostile towards the state of California, the
single "Original Dog" does not shy away from controversy,
and Tim confirms that his beef with Snoop Dogg is far from over:
“
Snoop took the name, X took the bark,
Next nigga take my shit gonna lay in the park
”
Tim Dog recently returned to Australia in September 2008 with Kool
Keith, for the debut of Project X. The Hip Hop duo reformed earlier
in 2008 to create the super group Project X, a movement of "Sex,
Money & Porn".
Tim Dog is currently the CEO President of record companies Big Xity
Entertainment based in New York and BMC Management based in Atlanta.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
* 1991 - Penicillin on Wax
* 1993 - Do Or Die
* 1996 - Big Time (with Kool Keith)
* 2002 - Immortal
* 2006 - BX Warrior
* 2009 - Project X: Iconic (with Kool Keith)
[edit] Singles
* 1991 - "Fuck Compton"
* 1992 - "Bronx Nigga"
* 1992 - "Step to Me"
* 1992 - "I Aint Takin No Shorts"
* 1993 - "Skip to My Loot" (featuring Smooth B from Nice & Smooth)
* 1993 - "I Get Wrecked" (featuring KRS One)
* 1994 - "Bitch Wid A Perm" (Snoop Dogg diss)
* 1995 - "Make Way for the Indian" (Apache Indian featuring Tim Dog)