The second Unsigned Hype feature from Oakland in three months, Capital Tax featured in the October 1992 issue of The Source. The group consisted of rapper TMD (Total Mind Devastator), DJ Cool Al and producer Smooth G. TMD's claim to fame is that he put out the second Oakland rap record ever (after Too $hort) in 1985 with All Rapped Up alongside Mr. Fresh (Discogs has the date as 1986, but it is still undoubtedly one of the earliest records out of Oakland). A few years later, TMD formed Capital Tax, and, with the group, put out the two-track single Capital Tax on independent label T-Cap Productions. So, three years later, the group submitted their demo to The Source and put themselves on a more larger stage. And it worked.
Capital Tax signed to MCA Records and put out their debut album, The Swoll Package, in 1993, just one year after appearing in Unsigned Hype. The lead single "I Can't Believe It" had its music video receive airplay, and the East Coast-production style worked well with TMD's lyrics to create a good album. It seemed to be going well for the group, but nothing happened afterwards as the group never put out any additional material. TMD made his final appearance on Father Dom's 1997 album Oaktown's Finest with a feature on the song "Nasty Niggaz", and that was the last time anybody heard from a member of the group on a track. Even The Source in 1998 pondered where the group went, as they put in their January 1998 Unsigned Hype retrospective, "dropped an album on MCA Records and the rest is an unsolved mystery. C.T., phone home".
Discography
Capital Tax - Capital Tax (1989)
1. "Two Timin'"
2. "Get in to It"
The Swoll Package - Capital Tax (1993)
Full album stream
No comments:
Post a Comment