Taking it back to that “alternative” Bay Area sound today, back some decade and a half to the height of Hieroglyphics extraordinaire Casual’s career. Having already made some noise on the underground, independent and local scene, as well as having contributed to 1993’s critically-acclaimed Souls of Mischief LP ‘93 Til’ Infinity, Casual’s debut album Fear Itself solidified the reputations of the Hiero/Souls of Mischief camp as key players in the west coast hip-hop game for at least the first half of the 1990s.
Fear Itself is very much a family affair. Though the centrepiece is obviously reserved for Casual, the album is delightfully peppered with a dozen or so inputs from almost the entire Hiero/Souls of Mischief fam. In fact, only Opio and former Hiero member Mike G are absent from Fear Itself.
Production is handled mostly by Domino, with more than a helping hand from Del, Toure, and Casual himself, and the only non-Hiero guest appearance comes in the form of the formidable Saafir.
Fear Itself spawned three singles (”Tha’s How It Is”, “I Didn’t Mean To” and “Me-O-Mi-O”), and was a critical success as well as a moderate major-label hit. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your outlook), Fear Itself remains Casual’s only major-label solo outing to date, despite releasing several follow-up LPs, backed by the Hiero Imporium’s own record label, none of which have quite retained the quality evident on Fear Itself. Nowadays, Casual’s career revolves around pretty formidable – yet nevertheless scarce – guest appearances on other artists’ joints.
As is ever the case, Casual’s only true classic solo album remains out-of-print, with good condition CDs being relatively cheap and easy to find, and vinyl being that little bit more elusive in the market.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD CASUAL – FEAR ITSELF
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