30 years ago, a booming sound was heard rumbling out of Philadelphia, PA. Starting with a trebled out but thunderous TR-909 drum pattern and galloping forward with little more than a young man's nasal, arrogant flow, that blast was Schoolly D's "P.S.K. What Does It Mean"? Released on his own Schoolly-D Records label in 1985, the song was – and still is – too powerful and unique to ignore. It took the rap world by storm that year, presenting a counterpoint to Melle Mel's more socially-conscious "The Message"; literally inventing "Gangsta Rap." Schoolly was a musician, drum-programming wizard and force of nature, and he would go on to shock the world with his in-your-face approach to making music – as bombastic lyrically as he was musically. He simply gave no f*cks, and listeners were drawn into his street-influenced vortex of "b-boy rhyme and riddle." As noted in the liner notes to this special release: "The demand [for "P.S.K."] was so large that nationwide bootlegging was a major distribution avenue, albeit an unpaid one. 'Those bootleggers made me big because, when it came down to it, I didn't have the money to get the records out there,' Schoolly says. 'The person who helped me figure that sh*t out was Luke [Luther Campbell of 2 Live Crew and Luke Skyywalker Records]. He took me all over Miami and showed me all the different bootlegged versions of my own records. It was crazy.'" On the flipside of "P.S.K.," Schoolly gave the world another classic: "Gucci Time." Flexing brutal brag muscles, it was another gangsta masterpiece, furthering his legend and bringing even more 909 boom to the still expanding rap world. The opening lines are still quoted by scholars of the game today: "Lookin' at my Gucci / It's about that time." Get On Down presents this classic for the first time in deluxe form, which is also fully Schoolly approved: a custom 12-inch sleeve adorned with Schoolly-D's famed artwork; unique split clear & yellow vinyl; a liner notes insert featuring Schoolly's own look back on the year 1985 as told to author Brian Coleman; and a unique sticker sheet with 8 images taken from the artwork on this 12-inch cover (which was first seen on his early 12-inches, as well as his 1985 Schoolly-D EP and 1986's Saturday Night: The Album).
