And your ears shall hear…

While visiting family in the sleepy town of McHenry, IL, I stumbled across a little record store that had taken root in an old tax office near my childhood neighborhood, Lakeland Park. Vinyl Frontier Records was my next stop after a letdown at the local Salvation Army, where the CD shelves held nothing but scuffed-up jazz compilations and empty cases. I was on my way to Happy Jack’s—once home to the world’s finest sandwiches—but found out it had sadly closed. Just when the nostalgia was starting to sting, the hunt turned around with some unexpected gems at the Frontier, and my disappointment melted away.

I wasn’t expecting to find much—just browsing to kill time—until I stumbled on two EPs from Longwave: Life of the Party, which, interestingly enough, was produced by Dave Fridmann (of The Flaming Lips and Mercury Rev fame), and Day Sleeper. That got my attention. Then I flipped to Peter Murphy’s Holy Smoke, followed by Echo & The Bunnymen’s Evergreen—now we were getting somewhere.

I asked the owner how much he wanted for the four CDs, and he said, “Well, it’s usually 5 for $20, but today we’ve got a special—10 for $20.” He added that he rarely runs that deal and suggested I take advantage while I could.

I was pressed for time—Mom was waiting in the car—so I started frantically rummaging through bins, just trying to find 10 interesting discs to bring back to the city. Then, out of nowhere, I caught a glimpse of a Psychopathic Rydas spine. I froze, yanked it out, and double-checked to make sure my eyes weren’t playing tricks on me, like the Ghetto Boys‘ minds. Nope, it was real. But wait—did I already have this one? Turns out…I did NOT!

I remembered they had three or four of these bootleg mixtapes floating around, but they’re like unicorns in the wild—nearly impossible to find in a record store. Mostly because they were never sold in stores to begin with, only handed out to fans who mailed in proof of purchase from ICP albums. Still, whether I had it or not, I wasn’t taking any chances—I had to grab it.

I ended up listening to it nearly three times on the drive back to Chicago, and man, it made my whole night. Psychopathic Rydas spoof gangsta rap and shamelessly jack beats—but somehow, it totally works.

According to Wikipedia, the liner notes of The Amazing Jeckel Brothers by Insane Clown Posse revealed a secret offer: fans could mail in proof of purchase to receive Dumpin’, a full-length album by Psychopathic Rydas—a gangsta rap parody group. Released on the low-key Joe & Joey Records imprint, the album (along with all future Rydas projects) couldn’t be officially distributed due to its heavy use of unlicensed samples and beats. That means you had to jump through some serious hoops to get your hands on it—mailing in that dreaded proof of purchase like you were sending off for a toy from the back of a Captain Crunch box. As a result, not many copies exist, making these albums extra rare. They look pretty bare-bones too—essentially a printed CD-R with a simple, one-sided color insert. Minimalist, to say the least.

What a find! Dumpin’ goes for no less than $20 and is selling for upwards of $199.99 on Amazon. I don’t know if I’ll find a buyer or even sell it, but it was a great purchase. Let’s not forget how incredibly fun this record is as well, with “Skrilla 4 Rilla,” “Everyday,” “Ghetto Fantasies,” and “Ryda Hata.” Yes, it’s a tad corny, but great, dirty fun! Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope’s humor shines through, with the rest of the crew pulling up the rear.

I finished off my haul with two Connells’ CDs, Fun & Games and Boylan Heights, both of which I’m enjoying. Check out Vinyl Frontier Records when you get the chance, and don’t forget to dive deep into those CD racks. There is something waiting there for everyone.