Third Sight ‎- Ballsacks / Rhyme Lika Scientist - 1996

12" - 1996 - Darc Brothas Records

Here is the debut 12" released by Third Sight, a group from the Bay Area consisting of D-Styles (of Invisibl Skratch Piklz) a.k.a the Wax Fondler, Du Funk and Jihad the Roughneck MC.

From Left To Right : Jihad - D-Styles & Du Funk

The wax was dropped in 1996 on Darc Brothas Records. Two pressings of this record exist...the first pressing has the image on the record center intact and the second pressing has a blurred image. the 12" is composed of the song "Ballsacks" on the A-side (SackSide) and the classic "Rhyme Lika Scientist" on the B-side (Scienside), everything produced by D-Styles and Du Funk and recorded at Studio Apogee in San Jose with engineer Peter Stanley.

In terms of productions, the samples used for "Rhyme Lika Scientist" come from the songs "You'll Know When You Get There" released in 1971 and performed by Herbie Hancock, and "M*A*S*H Theme" released in 1974 and performed by Ahmad Jamal. For the other track "Ballsacks", they used a sample of the song "Valley of the Shadows" released in 1974 and performed by Bob James. 

Jihad, could you tell me where you all came from exactly ? 

Jihad the Roughneck MC : "Du Funk and I are from the South Bay Area Sunnyvale and Santa Clara respectively. D-Styles used to live in the Fremont area a little further north. Small towns compared to San Francisco and Oakland in the East Bay."

How did you meet the other members of the group ? 

Jihad the Roughneck MC : "I was in another rap group named Un-Cut Poets and when that group broke up I was looking for another group to be a part of. I was introduced to Smooth Tone, a Rockaway Queens Emcee who was living in the Bay. He introduced me to Du Funk. Tone had been working with D-Styles and he introduced us to him. The group Tone Calvin and D were in was called Deuce Of Clubs. It was late 1993 I think when I met them, because I remember writing Scientist in December of 94..."

When did you fall into hiphop exactly ? when did you become an emcee ?

Jihad the Roughneck MC : "I got started in 1988 making my first demo tape with Un Cut Poets. I was writing before that but I didn't have anything recorded. I'd freestyle a lot !"

What were your hip-hop influences ?

Jihad the Roughneck MC : "In the 80s especially it was RUN DMC, Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Kool G, Ultra Magnetic and BDP KRS ONE." 

Who did manage Darc Brothas Records ?

Jihad the Roughneck MC : "It was a group effort Du Funk did the financing and D-Styles showed us how to put out a record on the independent level. We got distribution through friends and contacts."

Why did D-Styles use the name of The Wax Fondler for the production credit ?

Jihad the Roughneck MC : "This was one of his also known as titles. He used it for production credits back then. Fun fact D was friends with Peanut Butter Wolf and when we were deciding which songs to put out from our original demo he said "Scientist" and "Ball Sacks" and that's what we went with."

The original demos were recorded around 1994 ?

Jihad the Roughneck MC : "yes and most of those tracks are on Orchids and Corpses."

Is there a story about the studio session that you want to share ?

Jihad the Roughneck MC : "The first and last time D-Styles tried to record cuts with us in the studio was the Scientist recording session. The engineer was being antagonistic to him take after take and saying he knew other DJs that would have finished it in fewer takes. We ended that session and he recorded every cut for the "Golden Shower Hour" onward in his own studio. Also on the intro to Ballsacks you can hear myself and DJ Fat Flash. That sample was from one of our legendary freestyle sessions we recorded at Du Funk's parents house in the den."

If you're not familiar with the group Third Sight, you can check their full discography on Jihad the Roughneck MC's Bandcamp and if you're looking for more stuff produced by D-Styles, you can also check "D-Styles : The Only Mixtape" presented by Bachir and released on CD in 2016.

1 – Introducing The Wax Fondler

2 – Third Sight : Rhymes Like A Scientist

3 – D Styles: Felonious Funk featuring Babu, Q.Bert, Melo-D

4 – D Styles: Beautifull Fog

5 – The Cloaks: Magnificent Freedom

6 – Third Sight: Dr Douche Powder

7 – The Grouch, Daddy Kev & D.Styles: Square One

8 – Jonwayne: You Can Love Me When I’m Dead

9 – Mike Boo & D.Styles: Listen

10 – Third Sight: Baghdad

11 – D.Styles: Mr Arrogant Noisy Stylus Remix

12 – Jonwayne: Dirty Dan

13 – Q.Bert & D.Styles: Razorblade Alcohol Slide

14 – Rasco: The Unassisted

15 – Third Sight: Zodiac Killer

16 – Awol One & Daddy Kev: Agony

17 – Mister Modo, Ugly Mac Beer, Jihad & D.Styles: Sick Richard

18 – D.Styles: Return To Planetary Deterioration

19 – Greyboy: Son-Ray featuring D.Styles & Ricci Rucker

20 – Dj Kentaro: Crossfader featuring D.Styles & Kid Koala

21 – Kypski: Wreck Fader

22 – Dj Gee Swift & D.Styles: D-Style Has The Juice![:en]Dave « D-Styles »

Mad Props to Jihad the Roughneck MC, thanks for the interview.