(Underground Hip-Hop) Narcotik - Intro To The Central (2011 Deluxe Edition) - 1995, MP3, WEB 320 kbps

The "Intro 2 The Central" album is one of the most complete Seattle releases ever, in a way that most albums are no longer. With no distraction from spin-a-wheel-find-a-rapper feature appearances (other than Tribal mainstay and legendary God emcee Infinite) and a consistent vibe provided by Vitamin D and Topspin "Intro 2 The Central" packed 9 concise tracks worth of dope into it's cassette tape only format. With even a casual listen you can tell that Tizzy-T and C-Note knew exactly what they were doing in capturing a high density snapshot of what Central District living in the 90's was like. It is a fantastic goddamn album. Their collective talent and ability is staggering.
While commercial sales outside of the general 206 area may have eluded Narcotik along with any number of other groundbreaking Seattle groups, once again the lack of sales is not indicative of lack of impact. Trails were blazed. Methods were invented. C-Note and Tizzy T's vision in the early 90's resonated in the minds of men and women that have since continued to carve out a space for local Hip-Hop to flourish, spawning more artists who have stayed true to a particular Seattle style and aesthetic that the world at large is now paying attention to.

Maybe the most criminally hard-to-find record to ever come out of the Northwest, this is Narcotik's Intro 2 the Central tape from '95. With nocturnal, soul-inflected beats and flat, emotionless delivery, C-Note and Tizzy T may seem on paper like Seattle's answer to EPMD. However, where E Double and PMD were all about good-natured bravado and boasting (at times to the point of self-ridicule) Narcotik take the formula in a completely different direction. No doubt this tape is straight-up sinister, presenting the ominous and dangerous side of Tribal Productions and Seattle hip hop.
DJ Topspin produced, and Vitamin D almost certainly provided beats as well. From even the first listen it's evident that it's the most cohesive release from Tribal Productions, and definitely deserves to be heard and applauded as much as or Untranslated Prescriptions. Thanks go to a very generous soul for providing this release, for awakening Tribal to a new generation of heads, and for making old geezers like me (who've been fiending for this release for 15 years) very, very happy. Thank you!