Artist: MCJ & Cool G, Album: So Listen, Song: So Listen

"So listen to what we say and you know you'll never rock this way.  'Cus were the best MC's you'll ever see and on top is where you'll never be."  MCJ and Cool G were a Hip Hop duo from Halifax, Nova Scotia.  They would re-locate to Montreal and sign with Capital Records in 1989.  They have the distinction of being the first domestic rap act to sign with a major label in Canada.  They released their debut, So Listen, in 1990 and had a solid single with the title track to the album.  The sound was a mix of hip hop and r&b which was popularized by many of their US peers during the late eighties and early nineties.  Comparative groups that come to mind are Heavy D & the Boyz, Kid n' Play and perhaps Color Me Badd's I Wanna Sex You Up single.  They would release one more album in 1993 and call it quits.  The duo was part of a unique pioneering core of artists that established hip hop in this country.  Michie Mee, Maestro Fresh Wes, Main Source and maybe the Dream Warriors would have been their native peers at the time.  I've owned the 12" version of the song, So Listen, since it's release and it's being streamed at RaisedonCanadianRadio on Live 365.  The club remix was produced by Funkmaster in New York and is worth a listen.  Their debut, So Listen, is difficult to find.  There were two copies on Amazon for sale between $30 and $40.  Discogs has a vinyl copy of the 12" of So Listen for sale at $3.99.  You can watch the video for the song, So Listen, on You Tube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfCEVd5eHBQ).  As always, you can hear this song as well as others that I blog about each day on Live 365 (www.live365.com/stations/raisedoncndnradio).  Thanks for reading and enjoy!