If hip-hop were really about lyrical style and skill--and not about where you're from--Snupe would be platinum and his Bay Area crew, the Hieroglyphics, would be on top of the rap game. Snupe, the Houston-born/Oakland-bred... more » MC and DJ behind Extra Prolific, has a swaggering confidence and a precise glide that hasn't been heard since that other Snoop came around. This Snupe, though, can twist and turn words with a speed and poetry Doggy Dogg can't touch. There are no threats--except when it comes to rhyming--and not an angry or violent sentiment on Like It Should Be. What drives Snupe is sex, and if you believe his ribald tales of skirt chASINg, he's had a good deal of success with the pastime. The record is raunchy without being brutal, dirty but rarely ugly, and often very funny. And for the repentant, Snupe's Southern gospel roots sneak out on "First Sermon": "Raise your hands we're having church today / Get out your seat we're having church today." In hand with the smart lyrics, Snupe's keen musical sense completes the package. While spare and unspectacular backing tracks have limited other Hieroglyphics acts like Souls of Mischief, Casual, and Del tha Funky Homosapien (many of whom guest here), Extra Prolific's '70s soul--thick and bubbly bass lines, cool keyboards--are good enough to stand alone. Like It Should Be is clearly among the best hip-hop albums of the year. --Roni Sarig« less
If hip-hop were really about lyrical style and skill--and not about where you're from--Snupe would be platinum and his Bay Area crew, the Hieroglyphics, would be on top of the rap game. Snupe, the Houston-born/Oakland-bred MC and DJ behind Extra Prolific, has a swaggering confidence and a precise glide that hasn't been heard since that other Snoop came around. This Snupe, though, can twist and turn words with a speed and poetry Doggy Dogg can't touch. There are no threats--except when it comes to rhyming--and not an angry or violent sentiment on Like It Should Be. What drives Snupe is sex, and if you believe his ribald tales of skirt chASINg, he's had a good deal of success with the pastime. The record is raunchy without being brutal, dirty but rarely ugly, and often very funny. And for the repentant, Snupe's Southern gospel roots sneak out on "First Sermon": "Raise your hands we're having church today / Get out your seat we're having church today." In hand with the smart lyrics, Snupe's keen musical sense completes the package. While spare and unspectacular backing tracks have limited other Hieroglyphics acts like Souls of Mischief, Casual, and Del tha Funky Homosapien (many of whom guest here), Extra Prolific's '70s soul--thick and bubbly bass lines, cool keyboards--are good enough to stand alone. Like It Should Be is clearly among the best hip-hop albums of the year. --Roni Sarig
"YES, YES, YES!. This is classic 1994. Personally, I think that this is the best album to come out of the hiero camp, though Del's No need for alarm/Future development comes close. I peeped this album after I heard the (classic) track Go Back to school...I was not dissapointed. Extra Prolific is a phenomenal MC and his smoothness is next to none. Ex P justifies himself with this album, offering everything a fan of fresh early-mid 90's hiphop will love; satisfyingly brilliant beats, a smooth yet capturing flow and just fresh tracks. Personally, this is one of the most replayable albums I ever bought. For me, it has an x-factor that makes you just want to stick it back in after the cd is finished. It is an extension to the fact that 1993/1994 was the best year for hiphop, this album can not be ignored. After reading this review, please check this album out if you claim to be a fan of Early-Mid 90's hiphop at its peak, because this is a slept on classic. PEACE
Lyrics - 10/10
Beats - 10/10
Originality -10/10
Replay Value - 10/10
X Factor - 10/10 DO NOT SLEEP
If you found this helpful, check out my other reviews"
What could have been...
Phil Watts, Jr. | Petersburg, VA USA | 03/03/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Extra Prolific was the black sheep of the Heiroglyphics family...Duane 'Snupe' Lee made his first appearance on "No More Worries" from Del's NO NEED FOR ALARM album. Granted, he didn't exactly blow people's minds with his performance ("I WRITE MY RHYMES NAKED"?!?!), he did hold his own. A few years later, he would hook with DJ Mike P (or was it Mike G?), and formed the duo, EXTRA PROLIFIC.This album had a much different mood from other Hiero projects. It had more smoothed out beats, especially compared to the more punchy sounds from Del and the Souls Of Mischief. This is especially seen in 'Brown Sugar' (both the original and Domino's remix, which is my personal favorite of the album), 'Sweet Potato Pie', and 'In Front Of The Kids'. Most of this album is geared more toward the ladies, which is also a contrast to other Heiro projects. While Del hardly focused on the ladies, S.O.M. and Casual did do a few records for the ladies. However, their recordings didn't focus on it as much as Snupe did.One requirement for being a part of Heiro was to have the ability to ride over beats with the ease of a seasoned acrobat. While Snupe does meet those standards, he doesn't do it as seamlessly as other members. A lot of people do have problems with his smarmy voice, especially when he focuses on girls. Some of his best efforts vear away from mackin'. He tries to go the positive route with 'Never Changing', 'First Sermon', and 'Back to School'. Though he doesn't exactly covince anyone (Telling people to 'forget about pimps and limps' after talking about macking through 90% of the album), his flow over the smooth tracks makes up for it.The Heiro crew does jump in during points of the album. In 'Now What', Opio of the S.O.M. disses R&B singers who try to jump on the Hip-Hop bandwagon ("You better stick to SINGING!"). Casual jumps in for the short romp, "Cash Money". Pep Love gives a great performance on 'Back to School' which had people begging for him to release a solo album. Sadly, during the making of Heiro's THIRD EYE VISION album, Snupe was cut from the group for 'creative differences' (ain't that ALWAYS the case?). I've heard some of the material he did for the album and it's sad that it didn't make the cut, because it would've made that album that much better.Many used to consider LIKE IT SHOULD BE the worst CD to ever come out of Heiro...that is until S.O.M.'s NO MAN'S LAND and TRILOGY, as well as Casual's HE THINK HE RAW, were released. Now, this 'average' album sounds like a masterpiece. Don't sleep on this. If you are a Heiro-addict, put this in your collection. Unlike recent Heiro releases, this won't dissappoint you."
Don't support exploit-ulators
Johnny Thursday | NYC Metro Area | 09/16/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I just found another CD copy of this in the used bin for under ten bucks, so they're out there (especially if you keep it true to cassettes, which is how I had mine originally; I'm sure you can find it in this format if you know how to look). Don't line the pockets of these clowns who try to claim that nationally distributed rap CDs are valuable (they ain't). Dig deeper. Still, a real nice find: short, sweet, bangin'. Ironically, hailing from Houston puts Snupe's style more in line with the traditional Oakland steez that his clik was moving away from, but don't worry, he still gives plenty taste o the Hiero. The Domino beats are a notch above, but A-plus drops some gems too, such as the underground DJ-friendly "Now What" feat. Opio. After Snupe reminds the suckas that "there's extra robes in your choir stand" Opio drops one of the sickest Hiero verses of all-time. I would put this one on the level of Fear Itself and 93 til Infinity, and even a cut above No Need for Alarm."
The Most Complete Hieroglyphic Album Period.
K. Reynolds | VA United States | 08/16/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Let's venture back to 1993 -1994, the last years of hip hop's golden age. It was during the early 90's when an enormous amount of hip-hop classics were shoved into ears of all hip hop heads. Extra Prolific's debut album Like It Should Be, is arguablly the most complete as well as consistent Hiero release to date. 93 Til is a classic album from the hiero camp as well. But Extra Prolific's album was meshed together more masterfully. The overall mood and tone that Like It Should Be sets is present and fluid throughout the entire album. This album is so ginuine in unique due to the fact that Snupe merges his Oaktown/H-Town laidback, smoothe, boastfulness, and pimp swagger with a beautiful sounscape supplied by Domino. This album was definitely ahead of it's time, and as a result it was widely slept on and rarely mentioned today. This is a pure gem. The source even rated this album as a 4 mic rating back in 94. No matter where you live, this album is something to ride to and just chill to. With tracks like "Brown Sugar", "In front of the kids", and "First Sermon" you can't go wrong. If you are a true hip hop head/purist, cop this album. you will thank yourself."
Hiero's Black Sheep (4.5 stars)
Chandler | Atlanta (College Park), Georgia | 09/01/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"So who were these people? Extra Prolific consisting of Duane 'Snupe' Lee (and Mike G) were part of the Hieroglyphics, a group that I just became heavily intrested in this past year. Infact I didn't know that they were part of the Hiero fam until I saw some Listamania lists here on Amazon. The first time I heard Snupe was on the second half of the last verse on Del Tha Funkee Homosapien's "No More Worries" from his No Need For Alarm album. He kicked a dope verse and grabbed my attention.
So in 1994, he moved from his hometown, Houston, Texas to Oakland, California (hooking up with DJ Mike G.) released "Like It Should Be" under the group Extra Prolific. Production is OUTSTANDING, curteosy of Extra Prolific (Snupe would produce the majority and Mike G. would only do one), Domino, Casual, and A-Plus. It's really funky and smooth sailing, just check out "Brown Sugar" and "Sweet Potatio Pie".
Lyrically Snupe was great. He had one of those voices that blended in with the production. Most of the album he rhymes about females and his pimpin game on tracks like "One Motion" and "In 20 Minutes". He would take a break from all of those pimp rhymes and rhyme about other subjects, such as going to church on "First Sermon", as well as telling kids to focus on other things other than pimpin on the song "In Front Of The Kids", which is ironic because that song would contradict half of the album.
Guest Appearance are pretty dope. Casual would come for the minute or so track "Cash Money". Pep Love would team up with him on "Go Back To School". And Opio would have the better verse as he and Snupe diss wack emcees on the song "Now What".
Well, as you're aware Snupe was dropped from the Hiero roster, and that was very unfortunate. During Hiero's Third Eye Vision, Snupe would have contributed to the album vocally on some tracks (the ones reviewer Smoka J named), and it pains me that they were cut from the album (especially the "You Never Knew" track), because it would have been better than what it is now. Hopefully the Hieroglyphics will patch up their differences with him and add him back into the group, or atleast release all of the lost tracks that had his involvement one day. True, Snupe was recording another album called "2 for 15" that is extremely rare to find. Believe it or not he also had a third album called "Masterpiece". That album would have a songs like "Second Sermon" the sequel to the first one on this album. Snupe and Mike G. would also do an Old English Commercial, rhyming with eachother.
You should thank Extra Prolific (in response to Jimmy Garcia's review). This album is nothing but smooth lyrics and production, which is different from many Hiero albums that I've heard lately. It's sad that this album didn't get the love it deserved. From what I understood, this suffered lack of promotion and sales, making this one of the biggest slept on albums in the 90's. I for one am thankful that I own this album.
Also I believe that this is a reissue that Amazon is showing, because the version that I have doesn't have the last two tracks ("Brown Sugar [Remix]" and "Give It Up"), but I can imagine that those are dope tracks also worth hearing. Since this is out of print, it is becomming rare to find, so I suggest that you find a copy ASAP. If you're a Hiero fan and enjoyed "Third Eye Vision", I highly recommend this album to you.
Lyrics: A
Production: A+
Guest Appearances: A
Musical Vibes: A+
Overall: A
My Favorite Tracks: Brown Sugar, Sweet Potato Pie, One Motion, First Sermon, Now What, It's Alright, Go Back To School, The Fat Outro"