In most of my Song of the Week posts, I aim to share all the knowledge I have of the featured song. However, for “Fades Em All” by Jamal, I must admit that I’m not the most knowledgeable.
I did buy the album that “Fades Em All” came from, Last Chance, No Breaks, but I don’t recall much about it. Back in the 90s, it was common to have to buy an entire album for just one song, and “Fades Em All” was that one song.
There was a remix version of “Fades Em All” produced by Pete Rock that some people prefer over the original version produced by Redman and Rockwilder. However, I disagree with this and even became upset when I saw the Pete Rock version played on Rap City. That version is not bad, but the original is much better.
Jamal was a member of Def Squad, but before that, he was also in a duo called Illegal with Malik. If I still wrote regularly, I would dive deep into why Illegal, Malik, or Jamal never really gained popularity. Both were talented and featured on great tracks. Malik was on Snoop Dogg‘s “Pump Pump” and was doing songs with Monica when she was at the height of her career. (I just realized that Jamal was on that Junior M.A.F.I.A. track for some reason).
But let’s get back to the song. “Fades Em All” perfectly embodies what 1995 New York rap sounded like (Who can hate on that Biggie sample?). Even the music video is straightforward, featuring Jamal and his crew standing in a rap cypher circle with screw faces included. Simpler times. (Note: Jamal is from Philadelphia, but you get my point).
Respect to Mally G. Check out the Song of the Week below.
Note: I actually did a Song of the Week for “Fades Em All” way back in 2008 but it was more about Mad Skillz rapping over the beat. Although re-reading it now, I do cover the same topics. Knowing me, that makes sense.