'93 Til Infinity' And Longevity - Chris "Preach" Smith

‘This is how we chill from ‘93 Til…’

September 28, 1993 will mark twenty years to the day that 
93 Til Infinity by Souls Of Mischief out of Oakland, California
dropped. And it will mark how one group delivered arguably
one of the best hip-hop albums of the decade, as well as 
setting in stone one crew’s entire sound for years to come.
But Souls Of Mischief don’t factor into a lot of discussions in
terms of great hip-hop album releases and it verges on the
criminal in terms of neglect. Why? For that we need to not
only examine the album, but the time and the group’s 
influence on a whole among other topics.

For me, 93 Til Infinity was a clarion call. I had actually heard
about A-Plus, Opio, Tajai and Phesto the year before thanks
to a white-label LP single I heard from being up in Hot Waxx
on the Ave. That single? ‘Cab Fare’. It grabbed you because
of the dope flip of the theme song from ‘Taxi’ and also Tajai’s
first verse describing in short dodging would-be jackers 
after being left behind by friends. Each verse after was a 
succinct perspective on the struggles brothers have had with
cabbies for YEARS. You also got a sense of each MC’s style
and personality. It was all the more trippy when I found out
they were still in high school. This was the time frame where
deals for young talent were apparent in the rap game, but
that window would soon be shutting quickly as labels got 
to focusing more on who was going to garner sales quicker
out of the gate. Hell, labels were just realizing how hip-hop
could earn stratospheric profits from diverse groups. From
that point, I was checking for Souls. Another selling point 
was the fact that they were part of the Hieroglyphics crew.
The world had gotten hip to the Imperium thanks to the 
second album by veteran underground MC Del The Funkee
Homosapien, No Need For Alarm. That album showacased
Del in a more freer vibe musically, and Souls of Mischief
featured prominently with other Hiero crew members who’d
go on to have solid careers. Domino would also become 
more prominent for his production, and this would be huge
with 93 Til Infinity and later releases.



93 Til Infinity drops a year after I hear ‘Cab Fare’. Their first single 
winds up being ‘That’s When Ya Lost’. The snarling bassline, those 
blaring horns? If you weren’t amped hearing that for anything, you
had the pulse of a slug. Del’s production was battle-rhyme perfect
on that track. Quiet as it’s kept, I knew of one crew who had this 
track on as a precursor to going out and wilding. If you remember
the video, when it dropped there had to been at least one cat who
watched and said, ‘YO.’ Because the video was pretty much like 
seeing cats brawling afterschool due to rivalries in one fashion or
another. But what really caught everyone’s ear by that time, was
the title track. ‘93 Til Infinity’ never fails to make me feel good 
everytime I hear it. I’ll make you a bet right now. Put that song
on, wherever you are. If you don’t feel your mood lighten up in
the first MINUTE of the track, I will listen to your favorite cornball
rapper for a week straight. The song is one of those rare musical
moments where everything just gels. From the dulcet tones that
sit behind Tajai’s opening speech to Opio’s spitfire opening verse,
to A-Plus’ sharp verse, and Phesto’s verse on the end? WHAT? I
remember getting the cassette single and playing this over and 
over again. The production was flawless courtesy of A-Plus himself.
When you stop to realize that every MC in the group spits at 
least TIMES on this track? That was almost unheard of in hip-hop.
You can’t discuss this track, let alone the album without paying
homage to the heavy jazz and soul influence in every beat. In
addition, they also had one of the more memorable videos of 
the time thanks to the late Michael Lucero who created a great
visual collage of Souls out in Yosemite, and at home in The Bay
for this title track. This got them high visibility across the nation
and helped them get Billboard status.

The entire album is tight throughout, and still holds up to any 
classic years later that you’d want to throw up in discussion.
The track playlist gave you a well-rounded look at Souls Of 
Mischief. There was no one side to them. And for the time, it
was welcome. Listen to ‘Tell Me Who Profits’, an introspective
examination of trying to find one’s own path with all of the 
struggles going on in the ‘hood and beyond. Every MC’s verse
layered with a retort in the hook made this track a look into
the internal dialogue every person had with themselves, if 
they were honest. You got their girl-chasing persona in full
effect with the dreamy, Del-produced ‘A Name I Call Myself’.
The Freddie Hubbard sample along with the steady, but not
imposing bassline was the perfect backdrop for the group’s
verses on women. You got the cautionary tale in ‘What A Way
To Go Out’, bluesy and foreboding. Close your eyes and it 
could’ve been older heads in front of your local store instead
of teenagers dropping knowledge when you listen to it. 
‘Never No More’ was a favorite for quite a few people; I still
remember the days my man Kyle would spin this on his 
turntables with another homie, Mike Banks. And that ‘76 Seville
remix? SMOOTH. For fans of the raw battle raps, you got your fix 
with ‘Batting Practice’. The insistent beat felt like you could
go toe to toe for hours. When you also consider that you 
got to hear every MC come through in their own distinct way,
that was rare. Because to some degree, just by natural group
dynamics, you would feel one would have less shine. Not so
with Souls Of Mischief. And to a greater degree, Hieroglyphics.
Not many other crews can boast MC’s who can DJ and produce
on a high level for so long. They speak to all four pillars of the
culture. Something that is lacking when you look at what 
passes for hip-hop these days according to publications and 
music video networks. For example, Casual, who’d feature
on the album both as MC and producer would go on to have
his own notable career to this day. That was the essence of 
hip-hop going back to its inception. And more remarkable 
given that MC Hammer was the biggest thing out of Oaktown
at that point, although The Coup was getting a lot of folks
listening and Too Short had been doing his thing since the 
late 1980’s. 


93 Til Infinity is truthfully, a coming-of-age album in many 
respects. For me, this was the soundtrack for the last two
years of high-school. Here you had four cats who were 
conveying a range in their music that could be appreciated
more in a time period where Pete Rock & C.L.Smooth had
broken through with ‘Mecca And The Soul Brother’. You had
Common begin to fortify his soulfulness along with No I.D.
out of Chicago. The Dungeon Family would soon be on the
scene thanks to Outkast. This album came out at a time 
when hip-hop was sorting out its emotions far past the 
party and the overt gangster/pimp influences seen from 
the West Coast more and more at that time. 93 Til Infinity
helped me and many others define and depict the soul that
was beginning to take shape inside them. It also gave more
fuel to hip-hop music that took its cue from jazz, soul and 
rock greats throughout their samples. I got introduced to
Freddie Hubbard, Eddie Henderson and Ramsey Lewis 
thanks to this album. (And got to build more with Pops 
about jazz which was major at that time.) Souls of Mischief
also proved that their style of hip-hop was growing in
popularity and made way for a slew of great talent out of
Oakland from their crew and outside of it. 93 Til Infinity
has been labeled ‘a backpacker’s album’, ‘underground’
and those monikers may be valid. But there is one that
should be used more frequently. And that is, ‘integral’.
93 Til Infinity shows how great hip-hop can build its own
longevity. And that’s a lesson that bears repeating and
revering.