For what seemed like an eternity came to an end on November 4, 1997. That was the official release date for the Backyard Band's latest release, Hood Related. After many months of anticipation, title changes (it was to be originally titled Full Court Press I believe) and who knows what else, the album hit the streets. I had heard various things about this CD, whether from Big G talking about on stage, or from BYB fans and 'player haters' alike. I had to hear it for my self though. So when I got back to my office, I closed the door, threw on the headphones, and put it in the CD player. By the time I had reached the end of the final track, I can say that it is not your ordinary go go release.
There was no new musical element of this CD that impressed me, because BYB has always been known to come through with full potential in concerns of musical ingenuity. What did set this apart from the majority of other go go releases was the positive outlook the band incorporates throughout Hood Related. From the very beginning, you are made aware of the concerns of the band, which are the same as any respectable Black man, woman and child throughout DC, MD, VA and beyond. Tracks such as "Ms. Poet, "Listen" and "Young, Black and Gifted" not only focus on the self-respecting, talented and intelligent aspect of ourselves that is often overlooked, but also does it in a way that keeps everything hood related, or what to many may seem like plain common sense. From young girls selling themselves for money and material things to the numbers of Black youth that have the ability to touch the sky if given the chance, Hood Related incorporates it somehow. The various "Gingus Live" tracks tell you what's going on as well, whether it be those brothers locked down in Lorton telling us that all the violence associated with go go is not how it was intended to be, or the excess of bad attitudes towards a group of young brothers trying to make it, and make a difference.

At the same time, Hood Related manages to keep it true to what go go was meant to be, and that's fun. Tracks such as "Junk in the Trunk", which is as much the Backyard Band as the members, "Freestyle", featuring P.O.P and 1st St. Reek, and even a track featuring the Entertainer himself, Jas. Funk are just some of the tracks that made this CD what it is. They even let Lil Los do his thing with Bruce Bailey on "Hood Stars", which is more of a hip hop track, telling the story of Los and his upbringing on the streets uptown, with Bruce backing him up over top of a very recognizable but fitting sample. And we cannot forget the infamous "John Salley", which also features the P.O.P and 1st St. Reek. Just like it tells you, there is a John Salley in every hood, and P.O.P's first verse introduces you to a John Salley you already know. But I can't tell you who it is, you have to see for yourself. "Reggae in the Yard" and "Rock 'n Roll" also exemplify how the Backyard Band is able to let you know how musically versatile they are, and still in the name of just having fun.

Hood Related consists of two CD's containing 27 tracks, and it's all good as the saying goes. I was, however, disappointed in one aspect, which I found most evident on two different tracks. First, seeing that there was already titled "Freestyle", I thought that it may have been better to have actually used written verses for "Big G. and Jas. Funk. It was actually kind of frustrating to listen to them both freestyle throughout the entire track, especially since Funk focused on the two raps that he is known for: "You've got style, you've got grace, if you didn't style you wouldn't have shown your face…Pretty ladies with their pretty smiles, all decked out in the latest styles…". Everyone's familiar with Funk's ability to rap, especially on tracks such as "Hard to Handle" with Chuck Brown and Little Benny. "Big G and Jas. Funk", however, doesn't seem to have as much of an impact as it could have, especially concerning the topic, that being the differences between the go go of today and yesterday, and what lies ahead for tomorrow. Also, the track "Slow Sh*t" seemed to be lacking lyrics, for Bruce sings the beginning of the song, which is tight, but Stephanie Rhodes, the guest vocalist for this particular groove only has one verse, and it doesn't really seem to fit with the music because of how short it is. If this is the same girl that sang with the band back in March when they hit Eryka Badu's "Other Side of the Game", and if they would have let her shine like that on the CD like they did then, she could have gotten more than enough of the respect that she deserves for her voice. That was not the case, however. And although a lot of the tracks were just to have fun, there were a few that I felt could have been left off of the CD. "Rock 'n Roll" shows versatility, but I think they should have just left it to the live shows, when they used to hit that Meatloaf song (I Would Do Anything For Love, But I Won't Do That). Maybe that's not the title, but if you've heard them do it, you know what I mean. "Bob and Mike" is supposed to be a dialogue between two white guys, who are debating whether or not they should go check out the "black guys" who always bring the "big butt dark girls". They could have kept that. Also, "Pimptalk 2000", which is basically Los putting a rack of pickup lines on display…could have kept that one as well. But then again, I guess you could just skip those tracks if you want to. And this is what I really don't understand: why wasn't Los featured on "Freestyle"? Everybody knows he is one of, if not the top freestyle rapper out there right now as far as go go is concerned. And where is Wensey at vocally throughout the majority of the CD? Besides playing the cowbell on various tracks, he hardly sings anything. He does sing with Bruce on their cover of "Outstanding", which by the way is a groove that Backyard has always done like no other in the go go circuit. Besides the Gap Band original, I haven't heard anybody do it to it like BYB does. But enough of what I think, go check it out for yourself if you haven't already…you just might learn a thing or two.