Released February 28, 1995,
on American Recordings and Wild West Records.
The Nonce’s debut album puts paid to the notion that California hip-hop is all about G-funk, or that jazz rap is the exclusive preserve of the East Coast. Though based in Los Angeles, Nouka Basetype and Yusef Afloat embrace the latter style, inevitably inviting comparisons – some more justified than others – to A Tribe Called Quest. And it was a New Yorker, Rick Rubin, who released their debut on his newly established American Recordings label, having been won over by “Mix Tapes,” the duo’s standout track: a nostalgic look back at their early days in hip-hop, before money became the driving force.
Fortunately, “Mix Tapes,” a masterpiece of smooth, jazzy rap produced by the MCs themselves, sets the tone for the whole of World Ultimate. Over exquisitely crafted beats (just listen to the understated brilliance of “J To The I”), sprinkled with horns, organs, flutes, piano and just the right amount of scratching, the two rappers celebrate hip-hop culture (“Keep It On,” “World Ultimate”) with impeccable flows. Yusef Afloat’s slightly nasal delivery recalls Q-Tip, while Nouka’s fuller voice has drawn comparisons to Aceyalone. Together, they nostalgically revisit the old school and the battle spirit of hip-hop’s early days, boasting about their own skills while calling out wack MCs.
On one track, they mourn a bygone golden age of hip-hop (“Eighty Five”). On another, they tip their hats to EPMD, reworking one of their beats to excellent effect on “Good To Go.” Elsewhere, they celebrate good times spent in the company of women (“Bus Stops”). And it all rings true, even on “On The Road Again,” where The Nonce, joined by the women of Figures of Speech, venture perilously close to R&B territory.
In both their sound and their lyrics (“West Is…”), the duo stand in stark contrast to the gangsta-rap aesthetic. Neither The Nonce nor Project Blowed, the collective with which they were associated (hence Aceyalone’s appearance), would ever succeed in bringing this alternative side of California hip-hop into the mainstream. A shame, because this album is faultless, as are the Sight Of Things EP, the duo’s posthumous releases, and Nouka’s later recordings (both solo and with the Global Phlowtations collective, under the name Sach, which he adopted following Yusef Afloat’s mysterious death in 2000).
