Smoothe Da Hustler
As is the trend for many an aspiring MC, appearing on underground mix tapes throughout the New York Metropolitan area was this Brooklyn rapper's jumpoff. In 1995, having circulated his name and created a buzz, Smoothe made a power move with the release of "Broken Language," an exercise in thug-life linguistics that helped influence a new style of MCing. The track was actually the B-side of their original single for Profile Records, "Hustlin'." "Hustlin'" was better-than-average hip-hop, but the B-side sleeper became Smoothe's claim to fame. With free verse stanzas littered with abrupt, staccato phrases and hanging rhymes, Smoothe and his younger brother Trigga Tha Gambler captured the underground's attention. The rhymes of "Broken Language" sounded like automatic gunfire on wax. After almost a year of trepidation, Smoothe borrowed the title from an old Sergio Leone gangster film for his debut album, Once Upon a Time in America. The album was fairly strong, but nothing on it was equivalent to the originality of "Broken Language." The use of Curtis Mayfield's "Freddie's Dead" for the track "Hustler's Theme" was particularly unimaginative. Smoothe and his talented brother Trigga took on East Coast crime hip-hop with aplomb, but in the end, despite his quick-witted style and enormous talents, Smoothe did little to immunize himself from hip-hop's mid-'90s outbreak of one-hit wonders.
© Michael Di Bella /TiVo
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Discography
9 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Once Upon A Time In America
Pop - Released by Arista - Legacy on 4 apr. 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hustlin' / Broken Language
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by Arista - Legacy on 24 mrt. 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Hustler's Theme
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by Arista - Legacy on 19 mrt. 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Violenttimes Day
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by SMG Music on 14 feb. 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Violenttimes Day 2
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by SMG Music on 14 feb. 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bronx Brooklyn Express 23 (feat. DJ Toxic T)
Bofaatbeatz, Nine, Smoothe Da Hustler
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by Bofaatbeatz on 10 mrt. 2023
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
We Run This
Smoothe Da Hustler, Trigger Tha Gambler as The Smith Bros.
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by SMG Music Group on 11 dec. 2023
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
On Sight
Smoothe Da Hustler, Trigger Tha Gambler
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by Legends Recordings LLC on 1 jul. 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo