25 TA LIFE: Discography

Let me start off by stating for the record that 25 Ta Life is my favorite NYHC band.

A lot of people in recent memory have used 25 Ta Life as the butt of their jokes. While there are plenty of people in hardcore who have entirely justified heat with Rick, there are also plenty of hipster-types out there ironically liking the band ever since their split with Spazz back in 1998. Sure, Rick has given us plenty of situations, pieces of merch, speeches on stage and songs to chuckle at but he has also given us some of the hardest and most memorable tracks in all of hardcore. Listen to the Keepin' It Real EP the entire way through and then try to talk shit.

So, in summary, for all of the stories of him performing with a cassette boombox as his backing band or the most recent viral video of him performing "acoustically" ... there also just as many stories and video evidence of 25 Ta Life having some of the most insane shows of all time. The last thing I'm here to do is be Rick's defense lawyer but I'm also of the mindset that he was a legitimate pioneer in the advancement of hardcore becoming a worldwide phenomenon. I digress though as I'm planning on a separate post in the near future on the history of Back Ta Basics Records where we can debate the case of who made who in the battle of Rick Ta Life Vs Hardcore.

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This discography was slightly easier to put together than the Comin Correct discography thanks, in part, due to the Early Dayz semi-discography CD released in 2008. This disc features most of the early demos and 7"s and a few live tracks that were never recorded. While Rick released the same tracks on multiple releases the same way he did with Comin' Correct there were more clearly defined releases in the early years of 25 Ta Life. Most notably: the 1993 demo, the self-titled 7", the Keepin' It Real EP and most importantly, the Strength Through Unity release on Triple Crown and Goodlife Recordings in the US and Europe respectively.

I'd actually give anything to know how many copies were pushed of the aforementioned release as well as the Friendship, Loyalty, Commitment full length on the same labels. These albums had to be some of the best-distributed releases of their time between the combination of intercontinental distribution and whatever insane tactics Rick used to distro this amongst the DIY circuit with his traveling flea market/distro back in the day.

Unfortunately after the release of these monumental albums the original line-up dissolved and 25 Ta Life went into a short-lived hiatus while he focused on revamping Comin Correct. Somewhere around 2001/2002, however, he brought the band back with multiple entirely new line-ups. It was with the acquisition of the backing band for Not Without Resistance out of Clearfield, PA that he started writing and recording new material with the Best Of Friends/Enemiez EP. From there he would go on to release Haterz Be Damned EP, Hellbound Misery Torment LP, Fallen Angel EP and Strength Integrity Brotherhood LP.

While nearly all of these would have random songs plucked from them for various split releases with foreign hardcore bands, the core of the second-era discography can be found on these releases. Despite some shining moments amongst these releases even Rick will tell you himself (off-record) that there were some not-so-bright moments as well. Being the completionist that I am, however, you're getting the whole lot thrown at you here with this download.

DOWNLOAD - PART 1
DOWNLOAD - PART 2
DOWNLOAD - PART 3