It’s been 20 years since “Mad Izm” rose up the pop charts to No. 54. This catchy track by Channel Live (Hakim and Tuffy), featuring KRS-One, is one of the blunted hip-hop classics of the ’90s, according to Pot Culture. It appeared on Station Identification on Capitol/EMI Records, which peaked at No. 58 on the Billboard Top 200.
Wake up in the morning, got the yearnin’ for herb
Which loosens up the nouns, metaphors and verbs
And adjectives, ain’t it magic, kid, what I’m kicking’?
Multi-flavored bags of sess for the picking’
So listen to the izm as it talks non-stop
Hawaiian when I’m rhyming’, but so is the Chocolate Thai
Now the high starts to settle
Kickin’ fats lyrics that rock, like heavy metal
Station Identification (album)
| Station Identification | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 |
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| Studio album by Channel Live | |||
| Released | March 21, 1995 | ||
| Recorded | 1993-1994 | ||
| Genre | Hip hop | ||
| Length | 45:56 | ||
| Label | Capitol/EMI Records 7243 8 28968 2 1 C2-28968 |
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| Producer | KRS-One, Rheji Burrell, Salaam Remi | ||
| Channel Live chronology | |||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   link |
Station Identification is the debut album by Channel Live. The album was released on March 21, 1995, on Capitol Records and was produced by KRS-One, Rheji Burrell, and Salaam Remi. The album did fairly well on the Billboard charts, making it to 58 on the Billboard 200 and 9 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.
The album is best known for its lead single, “Mad Izm”, which was a collaboration with KRS-One. The song became Channel Live’s biggest hit, peaking at #54 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number three on the Hot Rap Singles. The track was remixed by Buckwild from D.I.T.C. (Diggin’ in the Crates) and can be found on his 2007 compilation album “Rare Studio Masters” as track one on disc one. “Reprogram” also managed to make it to number 31 on the Maxi-Singles chart. The album is now out of print.
Track listing[edit]
- “Station Identification”- 4:39
- “Channel One”- :34
- “Lock It Up”- 3:31
- “Channel Two”- :24
- “What! (Cause and Effect)”- 2:56
- “Mad Izm (feat. KRS-One)”- 4:16
- “Reprogram”- 3:50
- “Channel Three”- :52
- “Sex for the Sport”- 5:02
- “Channel Four”- :37
- “Down Goes the Devil”- 3:31
- “Build & Destroy”- 2:20
- “Alpha & Omega”- 4:47
- “Homicide Ride”- 4:38
- “Who U Represent”- 3:59
Chart positions[edit]
| Chart (1995) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Billboard 200 | 58 |
| Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums | 9 |
