The two first performed as '3 the Hard Way', a name referenced in the song "Wordz of Wisdom" but later redubbed themselves '3rd Bass' before recording their first album. Sever, Prince Paul, and the Bomb Squad produced their 1989 debut, The Cactus Album, a critically acclaimed LP that went gold and contained a minor hit in "The Gas Face." The accompanying video, which featured a bevy of humorous cameo appearances that included a young MF Doom, DJ Subroc, Gilbert Gottfried, Flavor Flav, Salt-n-Pepa, Kid 'N Play and EPMD, garnered respectable MTV airplay and the single peaked at #5 on Billboard's Top Rap Singles, though it did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100. The video also contained insults aimed at rapper MC Hammer and record executive Lyor Cohen. Read more about 3rd Bass here.
3rd Bass' The Cactus Album Anniversary
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