Jon Shecter, Miss Info, and Illmatic's 5 Mic Rating

...and other behind the scenes stories at The Source as told by Reginald C. Dennis, former music editor at the magazine.

Here's the Jon Schecter and Miss Info story:

“I only gave one 5 under my watch and it went to Nas’s Illmatic. It was the only time I ever broke the no 5 rule. Jon Shecter had gotten his hands on the album like eight months before it was scheduled to drop. And just like I was with The Chronic a few months earlier, Jon didn’t let the tape out of his sight. Not only that, but he constantly raved about it. Everyday. He played it in the office about a million times and very early on began to lobby for this record to receive 5 mics. Now I was cool with Nas and had been a fan since “Live At The BBQ,” but I really wasn’t really stressing his album. It wasn’t coming out for at least half a year and I had other shit to do. But Jon couldn’t wait. And he began to micromanage everything concerning Nas’s coverage in The Source. He’d be like, so who are you thinking about getting to review this album? This is going to be an important release and we can’t give it to just anybody, and I think I should be in on that decision. I told Jon that we’d work all of that stuff out when it was time to review the album. But everyday, Jon was like, yo, this album is 5 mics — seriously, Reg, 5 mics.

Eventually he got on my last nerve and by the time I’d finally gotten a chance to listen to the album (remember: he wouldn’t let anyone borrow the record to check it out, so it was impossible for me to see if I would have liked it or not) lo and behold, I didn’t like it. And it was all because of Jon’s constant badgering! So when it came time to review the album, I decided that because my opinion had been tainted, I would sort of step back and let whatever Jon and the reviewer decided be the rating that the album got. So Minya Oh (then writing as Shorty, but now known to millions as Miss Info) did her thing and gave it 5 mics. I was happy, Jon was happy, Nas was happy, everybody was happy — except for all of the people who felt that The Chronic should have also gotten a 5. I’m just happy that Illmatic is universally acclaimed as a classic, so no one can accuse me of dropping the ball. But really, Jon Shecter made that call from the jump and he deserves all of the credit for his foresight. And if I hadn’t gone through what I did with The Chronic, I wouldn’t have had the flexibility to allow for the bending of my policy. So I think it all worked out well.”

Cool, right?

(link tip via Dan Charnas)

Comments

[White John Chaney]

Great post.

[MJ]

Jeah, despite a lot of dope covers in the early days like Eazy E, Too $hort, Compton's Most Wanted/Eiht, and the inclusion of Paris with Lakim Shabazz and Kane on the Islam in Hip Hop cover; too often the source really only paid lip service to the West.

There was 'nuff coast-trippin going on over there, and this is a perfect example. Why couldn't The Chronic AND Illmatic get top ratings? They were both top-notch in my crates. My first pieces came out in Rap Pages, and THAT was really some mag-on-mag violence, Rap Pages vs. The Source. XXL vs. TS nowadays pales in comparison... Rap Pages, Rap Sheet, 4080, where U at?? Sadly, the same place as STRESS, One Nut, & Ego Trip.

But now we got this blog shit to compensate. Keep rockin' Hashim.

1,
MJ

[obifromsouthlondon]

I remember reading that source issue and thinking "the chronic" should have got an easy 5. but then the slide had already started for the sore.

[Ahsmi]

Wow, that was good reading. Great post.

[Robbie]

That interview was amazing. By around '95, The Source started getting really weak, but in it's prime it owned the magazine game.

[Gerra]

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[BlkBond]

Nice Post. Illmatic was easy to me, but dropping the ball on the Chronic made the mag lose credibility to me. I actually stopped buying, and started reading it on the stand after they messed that up. Then when Doggystyle didn't get 5, I saw a clear bias. Reasonable Doubt,Southernplayalistic, etc. BUT what was SOO wild..was Midnight Mauraders not getting 5 after the first 2 ATCQ albums got 5. I was in utter shock...but aside for that, I miss the old days with Reg, Bonz, etc.

[Shamsul Erzwan]

great sharing. i'm subscribing to your site nw. thanks again.