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Repping Philadelphia on the Gang Starr Foundation’s roster, and ever-so patently East Coast, Bahamadia’s 1996 debut Kollage delivers swirling rhymes with sharp, deadpan confidence that played so perfectly against a steady backdrop of melancholically swaying, jazzed-up beats.

Her ties to Gang Starr are in strong presence, with Guru and Premier producing a good half of the track-list, and fellow Philly natives The Roots showing up to play on “Da Jawn,” Black Thought sliding into an easy back-and-forth with Bahamadia over ?uestlove’s familiar snapping percussion, providing a great sister song to her appearance on “Push Up Ya Lighter” off retrospect classic Illadelph Halflife that would come out just six months later.

On the dreamily sinister “3 Tha Hard Way,” she, K-Swift and Mecca Star take turns coasting on DJ Premier’s beat, collated from James Brown and LL Cool J samples; three MC’s, each more smooth and assured than the next, an impressive example of the stance female rappers were cutting before the Lil Kims and Foxxy Browns of the genre traded in wordplay for G-strings and ran off with it, squeezing the already-meagre populace of female MC’s sporting any sort of artistic cred into almost-total obscurity.

The rest of the LP keeps up the mood, Bahamadia showing an easy lyrical prowess and flow over a slew of laidback, jazz rap production, casually transcending the genre’s gender imbalance, her skills passing over a good portion of the males in the field.

Predictably, Kollage was released to critical sanction and scant sales. Though her strong connection to some of Brooklyn’s most lauded underground acts played in her favour, it isn’t like Gang Starr were moving mass units even at their peak, and The Roots were still a few years away from starting to stake their claim as a household hip-hop outfit. All of that (shamefully) ensured Bahamadia’s inevitable drift into forgotten cult status, a curio that most people now arrive to by Wiki’ing the early work and collaborations of some of East Coast’s most revered conscious rap artists. — (via Sputnik Music)

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As 1996 approached, I remember seeing ads in The Source magazine (man do I miss how GOOD that mag used to be) promoting Bahamadia’s “UKNOWHOWWEDU” single as well as the debut album I’ll be discussing in this post, Kollage. The thing is, I was very interested in copping this in ’96, but I don’t think it was ever released outside of New York, because I didn’t see it in any of the local spots I frequented in my local area. So, 20+ years after its initial release, I’m finally getting around to checking this one out and it should be a great one. Let’s head back to ‘96!

Not only did I peep Bahamadia’s credentials on 'Wordplay', but as the Jeru sample mentioned, she is excellent with the wordplay throughout this song. Her voice is low-key and it’s not a negative; she’s clear with her words and you can understand everything she’s saying. 4 out of 5.

When it comes to the lyrical capacity here (on the track 'Innovation'), it is quite innovative for this femcee. Her wordplay must continuously be heard to be appreciated and she comes with such ILL lines on this song it’s an understatement. The 3:22 flows right on by but never overstays its welcome. 5 out of 5.

Man, shame on the record stores back in the day for apparently not having this great album on their shelves. Lyrically, you can say that Bahamadia was ahead of her time with this release, because she stood out and I don’t think we have seen that type of lyrical quality out of a femcee since the days of MC Lyte. Her low-key yet commanding presence on the mic was undeniable and she ultimately exceeded on tight production provided by the likes of the late Guru, DJ Premier, Da Beatminerz, The Roots, Ski, and N.O. Joe; hot damn that’s an impressive lineup of producers. As far as the best hip hop album from a female goes in ’96, I’ll still give that nod to Heather B’s debut Takin Mine, however, if that’s #1, Kollage is definitely 1A. Overall, Kollage was a very minor success, only peaking at #126 on the Billboard 200 chart, and even though “UKNOWHOWWEDU” enjoyed a respectable amount of exposure on BET, the album was heavily slept on and when you consider how STACKED 1996 was in hip hop, it’s not hard to see why such an album fell through the cracks, which was the same thing that Heather B’s album experienced. Not too long after this release, Bahamadia, surprisingly or not, faded away from the scene and although she would drop BB Queen and Good Rap Music, both of which may not have seen the light of day, she all but keeps a very low profile. Either way, I thank her for this strong 4 1/2 mic album and I come with a high recommendation. — (via Medium)

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Label: Capitol Records
Format: Vinyl, LP, Reissue
Reissued: 2025 / Originally Released: 1996
Genre: Hip Hop
Style: Conscious

File under: Hip Hop
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