[3stooges]

Sounds like an earlier take from their studio sessions with Rick. Probably gave it to Dre as a promo, and then decided to issue a later version instead. But they were right there in the recording process, not far away at all from the final version. Just a few different rhymes, a little different feel...

I definitely don't think it's live, unless they were multitrack recording them at WBAU (which is highly unlikely), and somebody took it and mixed it. It sounds like it's been professionally mixed with the delays on the vocals. Plus with a live version the vocal delivery would just not sound as good.

The reason it's slowed down, is most likely it's from a cassette somebody recorded off the radio. Sounds like radio static on there. Those tapes stretch out once you play them a lot and that makes the songs sound slowed down. If you want it to play at the regular speed somebody can easily pitch it up with some software program.

You can tell that the beat's not set at a slower bpm intentionally, because the voices are pitched down also.

That shit is pretty dope though. It's interesting if you listen to these old songs, the verses are just over a drum machine, and the musical parts only come in during the breaks from the rhymes. They barely even used a sampler on this song (like with the Mr. Ed part). But mostly it just sounds like they used a turntable to mix the musical parts in over the drum machine (and for the scratches). That was how it was done back then, before using a sampler became the standard way. This was right at the beginning of that.