New Tuggawar Mix By DJ Diablo AKA Rebel EYE

A sick mix by my man DJ Diablo AKA Rebel Eye, check the tracklist below.

Tracklisting
1. Intro
2. Weave And Dread Off
3. Beat It Featuring Gappy Ranks
4. My Life
5. No Long Talk 2011 (Kush Riddim)
6. Have To Make It
7. Hello, Good Morning
8. SupaTugg (Diablo Refix)
9. Tug She Want
10. Hold Dem Ya Featuring Singer J
11. Final Burial
12. Fi Dayz
13. Dem Say War Featuring Shabba D
14. Bazooka
15. Inna Real Life Featuring Ruddy Irie
16. London Anthem (Diablo Refix)
17. Public Service Announcement
18. Anything Mi Say (Criminology)
19. Tuggy Shot Ya!
20. Serial Killer
21. Request To Di Farmer (I Swear)
22. Fallen Soldiers Featuring Dean Chohan
23. Outro

A sick blend of Hip Hop and Reggae from one of the London's dopest DJs. Check him out on the FunHouse alongside DJ MK, Mr Thing and Harry Love.

Download the mix here

Strong Arm Steady and Pete Rock

Strong Arm Steady, often referred to as SAS, have been bubbling under the surface of California's underground hip hop scene for sometime now and most serious hip hop fans will be aware of them. The act consists of members Mitchy Slick of San Diego, California, and (both of Los Angeles) Phil Da Agony and probably the most visually distinct member, Krondon. Originally an amorphous collective of at least eight, formed as an alternative to the gang-focused productions of West Coast rap's then-dominant Death Row Records, SAS pared down to four members for recording in the studio and performing live, with Xzibit as the frontman. Since he left the group in 2006, the three remaining members have been a stable trio.
Talib Kweli signed Strong Arm Steady to his Blacksmith Records label in 2007. In 2009 the group announced two albums for late 2009 to 2010 release: The first is a collaboration with producer Madlib, In Search of Stoney Jackson, with a roster of guests including Kweli, Planet Asia, Guilty Simpson, Phonte (of Little Brother), Fashawn, and "a host of underground Los Angeles's emerging rap talent". Stoney Jackson, as it has been called for short, was released online as MP3 files in December 2009 through Stones Throw Records, with a CD release date of January 26, 2010. The second 2010 album will be Arms & Hammers (with an exact release date not published as of December 2009). The release, originally slated for 2009, has been delayed because Warner Brothers dropped Blacksmith from their distribution roster due to the recession.
On Arms and Hammers they have a more diverse gathering of producers including the Chocolate Boy Wonder, Pete Rock. The joint Pete gave them, "Makings Of You" is the based on the same sample that he used for Kanye and Jay-Z's "The Joy". The Kanye joint "The Joy" was only an internet track anyway and never made it to the final version of "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy". Pete has said on a number of occasions that this was a beat made in the mid nineties and he has made considerable changes to it since Kanye and Jay spat on it. The Strong Arm Steady version has more depth to it and a nice little piano loop that wasn't on the Kanye version. Strong Arm's lyrics are totally different than Kanye's but still enjoyable and the Curtis Mayfield sample works just as well. Check the link below for both versions, which at the moment seem like they will remain internet only tunes for the time being.

The Joy / Makings Of You

DJ Premier Presents Year Round Records:Get Used to Us

DJ premier, easily in my opinion the Best Hip Hop producer ever has finally given us what we have been asking for The Year Round Records Presents: Get used to Us album. The album features a whole host of underground Emcees and is produced by Premier part from two tracks; one produced by Show and the other by Brenks. Some of the tracks on the album have been heard before and some haven't. Check the track-list below
1. Blaq Poet-”Bang Dis !”
2. NYG’z-”Policy”
3. Nick Javas-”Opportunity Knoccs”
4. Khaleel-”Hot Flames”
5. Dynasty-”Epic Dynasty”
6. MC Eiht-”Fine By Me” – prod by – Brenks
7. Young Maylay-”Temptation”
8. Krs-One (f. Grand Puba)-”5%”
9. NYG’z (f. Lady Of Rage, Bumpy Knuckles, Royce da 5’9″) – “Ya Dayz R #’D” (NYGemix)
10. Joell Ortiz-”Sing Like Bilal” (Version 3)(Bonus Track)
11. Tef (f. Styles P)-”Married 2 The Game”
12. Nick Javas-”Not A Game”
13. Blaq Poet (f. MC Eiht, Young Maylay)-”Ain’t Nuttin Changed” (Remix)
14. Tef (f. Saigon, Papoose)-”Lifetime Membership”
15. Khaleel (f. Panchi of NYG’z)-”Rappin’ Exercise” – prod by – Show
16. Freddie Foxxx-”The Gang Starr Bus”

Below is a link to the Teflon track featuring Saigon and Papoose
Lifetime Membership

Doomsday @ Brixton Academy

MF Doom recently paid a rare visit to these shores where he rocked up to the Brixton Academy (I refuse to call it the O2 Academy) and with Help from the fantastic Herbaliser put on a fine evenings entertainment. The man in the Mask dropped favorites from his Doom, King Geedorah, Madvillain and even KMD albums. Check the Video below for a sample. Major props to my trusty cameraman, Mr Anderson for this fine HD footage.

Site Update

Just a quick post to say that last weekend a power surge took out my iMac and it is currently with Apple getting a new power supply. Once that has been done and it has been and it has been returned to my posts will resume.

Jabbathakut-Once upon a crossfade

My man Jabbathakut has released his first album on his own label, Infekshus Records and its 25 tracks of dope UK Hip Hop that requires immediate listening. The album features a whole heap of sick UK underground artists including; Stig of the Dump, Swift, Mr Thing, Mikey T, Wordsmith, Genesis Elijah, Lyrical T, Supar Nova amongst many others. Jabbathakut handles the production duties as well as the majority of the cutting & scratching and he demonstrates some serious skills behind the boards and on the decks. Whether it be soul tinged Supar Nova joint "All alone" or the bangin' LDZ and Stig of the dump joint "Tear da roof off" which gets extra points for being the only hip hop song I've ever heard use the line "Maybe I'm just crackers, I'll kick you in the knackers" the beat is sick and the lyrics match it perfectly.
You can get it through Bandcamp by following the link below. High quality 320k MP3, FLAC or any other format you could possibly want for £7.99, what are you waiting for? where else will you get this much dope music for £7.99? You can pay by PayPal which makes it even easier.
The strings alone on the Genesis Elijah track justify the price and if you download this off some dodgy blog or a torrent site then you should be ashamed of yourself this deserves to be paid for.

Jabbathakut-Once Upon A Crossfade




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Now playing: Jabbathakut - LDZ & Stig Of The Dump - Tear The Roof Off
via FoxyTunes

M.O.P. @ Jazz Cafe August 26th 2010

M.O.P. perform Ante Up at the Jazz Cafe August 26th 2010
I have this list of Hip Hop artists that I have to see before I die and although I have been lucky enough to cross a lot of names off that list including Run DMC, The Beastie Boys, KRS ONE, Gangstarr, De La Soul, Co Flow, Mobb Deep, Wu Tang, Snoop, Cypress Hill and The Roots. Until recently one of my favorite groups ever were still sitting on that list, M.O.P. but last week I was lucky enough to see them in London's Jazz Cafe a venue that really allowed them to put on a sick show and engage with their fans.

Lil' Fame and Billy Danze came on stage at a professional 21:10 which was a refreshing change from those artists that wander onstage after leaving the crowd waiting for hours. They immediately jumped into a hyped show pausing occasionally to give members of the crowd plastic cups of Hennesey or Vodka, a nice touch. They played all the tracks you would want to hear at an M.O.P. concert; Fire, Four Alarm Blaze, Downtown Swinga, Put in the air etc etc. They briefly paused to pay respect to Hip Hop's fallen soldiers as is customary these days. Then they launched back into some more insane rowdiness, provoking an almost mosh pit at the Jazz Cafe, a sight I don't think the venue had seen before. They finished up the show with Ante up, of course and the crowd went Wild. M.O.P. gave so much energy to the crowd and the crowd gave it back creating a fantastic atmosphere.

They then left the stage having done more than an hour, playing all the songs I wanted to hear. But that wasn't the end of the night. Fame and Billy went to the upper restaurant area of the Jazz Cafe and stayed around chatting, drinking, signing autographs and taking photos with the fans for more than an hour. They showed their fans the level of respect that is often missing from Hip Hop shows, certainly ones performed by US artists anyway. In doing so they guaranteed that any chance I get to attend an M.O.P. show I will make sure I'm there.

I have never met a friendly pair of rappers than Billy Danze and Lil Fame. They put on a great show and were real friendly. I couldn't have asked for anymore from a Hip Hop show.

M.O.P. perform U Dont Know Remix Jazz Cafe August 26th 2010

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Now playing: M.O.P. - Put It In The Air (feat. Jay-Z)
via FoxyTunes

Roots Manuva It's On

Rodney is back this time with his contribution to the forthcoming Ninja Tune XX twentieth anniversary celebrations. It's a brand new tune entitled 'It's On'. It's a dope track and RM shot a video for it, too. Returning to Dungeness (where the cover images for the 'Run Come Save Me' campaign were shot), Rodders wanders about in suit and glasses referencing Ingmar Bergman, Malcolm X, live manga and a nice sports car.

Jay Electronica in London Courtesy of the Stickup Kids

Jay Electronica recently played Cargo in London's Shoreditch. Jay kwpt the crowd moving to his insightful lyrics and dope beats and half way through his massive hit Exhibit C he even jumped into the crowd where he finished the song off.

Jay also showed his support of GURU's family and real hip hop fans everywhere by wearing one of the Stickupkids 'Fuck Solar' T shirts. He wore one of them throughout the show much to the crowds appreciation. Afte rthe shopw Jay showed his appreciation of his London fans by staying around for autographs and photos with them.

The GURU Battle Lyrics and Fuck Solar T shirts are still available from the Stickupkids website, as Redman once said Pick it up.
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Now playing: KRS-ONE & True Master - Knowledge Reigns Supreme
via FoxyTunes

Random 7"s Part 2 - Quasimoto - Hittin Hooks

It was 1999 and although we had heard rumours of this entity called Quasimoto and even heard him on the Lootpack album we were unsure of what exactly he was. Was he a rapper in his own right or was he Madlib on helium ? The names Quasimoto and Madlib have been linked since the Soundpieces album that we first heard him on. Yet they’ve never been seen in the same room together. In fact, Quasimoto’s never been seen in the same room with anyone – he’s The Unseen as his debut album's title told us. But you can hear him - and there’s no mistaking his voice.
The rumour goes that Peanut Butter Wolf first heard him on a dusty old tape, one of Madlib’s infamous beat tapes – the kind he’d make to listen to himself or pass around to the Likwit crew. Madlib and Quas had been up in Oxnard, CA, making music for years without the slightest intention of releasing it to the masses. Wolf got it out though – after some begging and pleading, and after signing a contract with Quas vowing not to reveal his name or association to the Beat Konducta we finally heard hi on his own vinyl; the Hittin Hooks 7".

At the time this came out I was going to Amsterdam 4 or 5 times a year and spending incredible amounts in the long since closed Fat Beats not to mention the splendid Green House, but thats another matter altogether. I bought this 7" in the Dam Fat Beats for two reasons; the first being it was on Stones Throw and the second being because it was produced by Madlib. Two reasons that still stand strong to this day. The A side is a play on Biz Markie's Pickin' Boogers only Quas is talking about Hittin' Hooks (Hookers) and Madlib uses elements of the original. Quas's lyrical ode to Hookers is superb and the fact that its being spat in such a ridiculously high pitched voice makes it even better.
The B side features the Madlib remix to the classic Microphone Mathematics which has the same lyrics as the first but features entirely different beat. Although slightly shorter than the original it is still pretty dope. It features an off kilter beat with piano stabs and a funky bass riff with that dope Pos da nous sample. Check both of them out by following the link below.
I dont mean to diss you but let me shake your hand 'cause I'm never gonna kiss you.

New Track from the Gold Deluxe edition of Cuban Linx Part 2

After the success of Raekwon's Only Built for Cuban Linx Part 2 and the untold amounts of leaked track that never made the album it was only a matter of time before a deluxe version was released. The Deluxe Gold version is currently only available on the US iTunes store but will hopefully make it over to Europe soon and maybe even get a vinyl release sometime in the future although I wouldn't hold my breath on that one.
Below is the listing of the extra tracks the Deluxe Gold deluxe version;
About Me (rmx) f. Game
Broken Safety (rmx)
Penitentiary (Travis Barker Remix)
Never Matter to You f. Bun B
New Wu (rmx)
Rock Stars f. GZA & Inspectah Deck
Check the link above for the MP3 of the New Wu remix.

I like the idea of these extra tracks but surely he could have just combined them with some of the earlier bootlegs, mixtape joint and that rare purple 7" of Flawless Crowns to make Cuban Linx 3? In fact you can check out a number of these bootlegs and rare tracks in my post from Feb 2009 here

Random 7"s Part 1 -Lootpack - The Anthem remix

It was 1998 and although the name Madlib had been known to underground heads since Tha Alkaholiks superb Coast II Coast album where he had produced the smoking WLIX no one had even the slightest idea how Madlib would go on to become a musical Juggernaut who would drive through genres with more aliases than Carlos the Jackal over the next decade. He went on to produced on the Alkaholiks' follow up album, Lkwidation in 1997, he secured himself and the rest of Lootpack a slot in the Likwit crew. But it was The Lootpack's debut album in 1998; Soundpieces: Da Antidote that really allowed Madlib to show just how creative he could be. The album was a success and allowed Madlib to introduce his style of bass heavy, Jazz and obscure sampling production. Not to mention a certain Quasimoto, my favorite of all his aliases.

It was a long album, 22 full track to be exact and 2 or three interludes. Although Stones Throw had already shown themselves to be the best indie label on the Left Coast, possibly in the US only be rivaled by Rawkus at the time, this album added to the level of quality set by the previously released long players from Peanut Butter Wolf and Rasco. The album spawned a whole heap of remixes almost all of them dope. This 7" here was given away with the European pressing which was done by Superappin. Its features the remix to the Anthem and is of course produced by Madlib and contains the vocal and instrumental version. The beat features some off key strings coupled with a strange shifting bassline. The lyrics are the usual bragging lyrics sprinkled with funny metaphors that would expect from members of the Likwit Crew.
Over the next ten years Madlib would go on to work with MF Doom, Jay Dee, Badu, De La Soul, Kweli, Mos Def, Ghostface, Percee P, Strong Arm Steady, Guilty Simpson, Dudley Perkins, Slum Village and Vasyt Aire amongst others. Not too mention his work under other guises; Ahmad Miller, Beat Konducta, DJ Lord Such, DJ Rels, Duma Peterson, Eddie Prince Fusion Band, The, Jahari Massamba Unit, The, Jazzistics, The, Joe McDuphrey, Joe McDuphrey Experience, Junior Taylor, Kamala Walker and The Soul Tribe, Kay Henderson, Last Electro-Acoustic Space Jazz & Percussion Ensemble, The, Loopdigga, The, Malik Flavors, Monk Hughes, Monk Hughes & The Outer Realm, Morgan Adams III, Otis Jackson Jr., Otis Jackson Jr. Trio, Russel Jenkins, Sound Directions, Suntouch, Tyrone Foster, Yesterday's Universe All Stars, Yesterdays New Quintet, Young Jazz Rebels and of course Quasimoto.

Madlib aka Otis Jackson is a musical genius and his name should be spoken alongside Premier, Pete Rock and Jay Dee. His rhymes are dope, his production beyond belief and the amount of instrumentals he plays is outstanding, I mean Blue Note invited him to raid their vaults and remix his favorite tracks, who else gets an offer like that ?
Check the Link for the 7" rip.

"If You're not dropping tracks like real emcees the you're not representing with the LPs"

Doctors Orders Birthday Bash at Fabric Friday 23rd

If you are in London this Friday the only place to be will be the Doctors Orders Birthday Bash at Fabric. Westwood will be dropping a 90s only set followed up by MK, Harry Love, Shortee Blitz, Chris P Cuts and Spin Doctor with a Live performance from Guilty Simpson. Goldie will be dropping some Drum and Bass in the 2nd room alongside Klute and Storm amongst others. This promises to be another dope night.

random nineties 12" number 11- Reflection Eternal - Fortified Live

Its crazy to thing this came out over 13 years ago and that to some younger hip hop heads this is Old Skool. This is another Rawkus gem also picked up from Deal Real in 1997. In fact I think I may have bought this the same day that I bought the Universal Magnetic 12", a good day indeed. I remember going into Deal Real with only enough money for one 12", £6.50 at the time and struggling to decide which I should buy. In the end I paid for one and got the other on tick and paid for it the next week.
I had heard of Hi-Tek before as I had picked up the terribly underrated debut album, Doom by Cincinnati duo Mood. Hi-Tek had handled the majority of the production on that album and I had been impressed with his Tribe influenced sound. I had not heard from Kweli before this 12" but was immediately impressed with his intelligent and easily understood lyrics that coupled iwth the guest appearances from Mos Def and Bush Babees member Mr Man made this 12" a must have. The beat itself features a nice crisp set of drums as well as a nice guitar loop taken from the classic U-Roy 7" Tom Drunk. The songs works so well with Kweli introducing himself with this classic verse

The highest caliber make it a night to remember like Shalamar
Then escape to Havana with a ? do what I gotta
Planes get shot down in Cuban air space over the water
I got insight it's a clear case of reading your aura
Man what you got for us as my Black men stand in line like a chorus
Makin' these MC's our sons like Horus
I'm always taking shots like a Japanese tourist, get the picture?
Flyer than Keyser Soze and no exposure"

Then Mos Def comes along with a typically psychedelic verse;
"I'm sippin wishing well water imported from Pluto
That's why my eyes is glassy, so ain't got to ask me
The interplanetary Illuminati move your body
I trekked the stars first, so fuck Kirk and Scotty
I threw basement parties on the Mothership
Now I'm on planet Earth on some other shit
Many 'habitants of this world be strivin and strugglin
Tryin to eat food and keep the rights to they publishing, huh
Ghetto red hot, man that shit is like bubblin
Can't get no peace cause the Beast keep troubling
Youth, they oppose and the blows they be doubling
Nike heads is trife and the shots, they be thundering
Ways and customs don't make any sense
They be givin me stress and they test my maintenance
Use the sand and the Ummah as my sustenance
No, this style will never lack, melanin's my evidence"
All of this taking place over the U-Roy sample and some nive vinyl static. It just works perfectly and introduces us to one of the most important duos of the late 90s golden age of indie hip-hop.

But thats not it the B-side is just lovely with Hi-Tek dropping one of his nicest beats ever. A mellow piano loop over some dusty drums with Kweli dropping some thought provoking lyrics without the rushed sound he sometimes has these days. To this day this is one of my favourite Reflection Eternal joints. About a year or so after this 12" came out I met Kweli with Mos Def at an instore at deal Real and they were both mad nice. They also dropped some sick freestyles that day. Check the link below for a rip of one of Rawkus's best 12"s and the U-Roy sample.

Switchin to Lionel Ritchie

Bun-B and Premier = Sick Joint

Heres a sick new joint from the Legendary Bun-B produced by another Legend DJ Premier taken from Bun-B's new album Trill OG which drops the 3rd of August. The track is called Let em Know and starts of with Bun-B paying homage to Guru. Premier gives Bun a sick beat and Bun provides some dope lyrics to accompany the dope beat. With lines like " First on your Baby Mom's Bucket list" you can see why Bun-B is a legend. The beat is mid tempo and features an orchestral strings loop and some impressive scratching from Premier. If you don't' have any Bun-B in your collection or any UGK then this is a good starting point but go back and grab some of those UGK albums soon. Check the link for the track it make not last long.

In the right game

random nineties 12" number 10-Mos Def - Universal Magnetic

I remember buying this record in Deal Real Record in London's West End, just off Oxford Street. They played the track for me and I immediately had to buy it. It was so refreshing and new, the beat was reminiscent of Tribe and the lyrics reminded me of De La Soul in that they were light hearted and humorous. This was my first introduction to Mos Def and I was very impressed. I went on to follow Mos's career closely and just months after buying this 12" I saw him do a live in store with Kweli at Deal Real and he was dope but more importantly a regular nice guy. A year or so later I saw him perform with Kweli and Co Flow at Subterania and his freestyle skills were very impressive. Mos was at the time so innovative and charismatic whilst not taking the whole indie backpack scene to serious, I have to say that I don't feel the direction he's taken of late is'nt my kinda thing but this is about 1997 not 2010.

The A-Side is produced by Sean J Period and uses the drums from Dennis Coffey's Scorpio and bits & pieces from Planet rock. sean J chops them up nicely and Mos's lyrics work well over the bouncy beat. This track was one of the most important tracks of the mid nineties indie movement along with Co Flow's Vital Nerve,Street Smarts's Metal Thangz, Rasco's Unassisted and Dilated's Work the Angles. It is a great track that along with the tracks mentioned about and a whole lot of others it showed the wider hip hop audience that there was dope shit coming out without major label backing. Most of the real headz already knew this but with tracks like this we started to see this sort of hip hop in the HMV's and Virgin Megastores.

The B-Side is the fantastic If You Can Huh You Can Hear which again is produced by Sean J Period and this time he samples a Roy Ayers track called Maiden Voyage but played by Brian Auger's Oblivion Express from the album Live Oblivion Vol. 2. Its another dope track with a mellow Tribe like beat with Mos spitting some atypical Mos Def lyrics. It was perfect for the summer it came out and fitted nicely alongside the Reflection eternal debut 12" Fortified Live which I'll be covering next week.
Check the Link below for the rip.

I grab the Microphone and emcee

random nineties 12" number 9-Method Man - The Riddler 12"

For the 9th part of my random 90s 12" series I have chosen an often overlooked Method Man 12" from 1995. This is a pretty dope 12" featuring Mr Meth over a couple of disjointed Rza beats but more importantly this 12" marks a turning point in Method Man's lyrical style. Prior to the release of this 12" Method Man's flow was more fluent and of a higher tempo. You could often hear Meth on 36 Chambers and Tical having to take breathes in between hectic bars. It was almost as if he had too much too say and was struggling to take breathes in between these lines. He sounded hungry, trying to prove himself over the other members of the crowd. Remember for a lot of people Meth was the first member of the Clan they ever heard. An example of this style can be found on the original version of Meth Vs chef where Meth wrecks the track "for Dolo", check the link below.

However on the Riddler 12" Meth debuted the style that he would utilise for his career going forward and has rarely deviated from it since then. The style he used and went on to used almost exclusively is a lot slower than his original style and also has a very disjointed flow with a stuttering use of word play. Linking words almost too similar in short sentences, for example;

Observe if you will,
I'm in my hide-out in the back of the hill,
I crack a wall then I caught about a mil,
Co-defendant Johnny Blaze and Bobby Steel (pronounced Still)

This was a nice change at the time because we had been flooded with Meth and the whole Wu for 18months to two years prior to this. But as the years and the albums went on this style, to me at least became somewhat boring compared to the charismatic hungry flow of his early work. It was almost as though a conscious decision was made to relax the flow, that they had made it and an element of the hunger was gone. Don't get me wrong Meth is still an emcee I enjoy a great deal and like more than most rappers he has a charismatic character that draws you into a song. However I remember what the old, or should I say young Meth rapped like and it would be good to hear that again. For the record this 12" was bought in the Legendary Deal real probably form my man MK or Pete for the pricey sum of £6.00. Check the link for the vinyl rip including the instrumental and also the original version of Meth Vs Chef.

Crimininall Individual

Lewis Parker & John Robinson's latest project

This album appears to have come out of nowhere, in fact I wasn't even aware that legendary UK producer/rapper Lewis Parker was working with MF Doom cohort John Robinson. To be honest until 2008's album with MF Doom I had never even heard of John Robinson however when I heard 'Who is this man ?' I began to instantly dig his style and choice of beats. 'Who is this man ?' was entirely produced by Doom and featured well written, interesting and mature lyrics from Joh Robinson. When I saw that Lewis Parker, one of my favourite UK hip hop heads and the man behind the fantastic Masquerades & Silhouettes (1998), was handling the beats on this new JR project I knew I had to listen to it. Apparently these two worked on a limited edition 10" earlier this year called 'The Unseen Trap' which I haven't heard but will no doubt track down soon.

This LP is 13 tracks long and features production entirely by Lewis Parker and John Robinson handling the emcee duties with guests from mainly the UK appearing on 5 of the tracks. Lewis Parker handling the production skill fully using crisp drums, nice basslines and some truly beautiful jazz samples. He knows exactly when to leave that horns loop to play out and when to cut it short with some sick scratches. John Robinson's lyrics are clear and concise making them easy to understand and filled with good stories and slick metaphors. As mentioned before we have a number of guests on this album and they represent well adding something of a UK flavour to the rhymes. The whole album flows well with each track fitting into the album nicely. Another nice side to the album is some of the cutting and scratching on the album especially on the transatlantic posse cut Godz Illa. The album has too many stand out tracks to single out any particular, they're all dope. This album deserves to be bought by any hip hop head looking for string beats and dope lyrics. If this isn't a contender for album of the year its certainly in my top five. You need to buy this, check the album sample below and then order it.

International Summers album sampler

Extended Players at The Westbury

The Extended Players are Shortee Blitz, Dj Mk, Harry Love and Mr Thing, the finest collection of Hip Hop DJs the UK has to offer!! Between them they've won countless DJ titles, toured the world over, produced hip hop classics of their own, won MOBO awards and so much more, not to mention Mk & Harry Love’s online stream show the Funhouse the latest hit to come out of the Extended Players camp! So join us as these turntable masters show you exactly how to rock a party playing the best hip hop related music in the finest way possible. This will be a sick jam not to be missed and will bring back memories of other London Hip Hop nights like; Gullyvers, The Hop, Kung Fu and the like. If you are in London on this night you need to be there. 8pm – 3am // FREE before 10pm, £5 after.
http://www.westburybar.com/
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/thefunhouse

New Redman Video and joint

Heres a new Redman Joint and video for it paying tribute Michael Jackson, Lookin Fly

New MF Grimm, You only live twice

MF Grimm is back with a new album, You only live twice: The Audio Graphic Novel. This album is his first since 2007's The Hunt For The Gingerbread Man and is entirely produced by Twiz the Beat Pro who is on the same label as Grimm, Day by Day Entertainment. The artwork for this album was done by artist Jim Mahfood who is also doing a 13-page comic book based on the album. You can check out a track from the album which is due to be released on the 8th of June and is well worth picking up. Support some real hip hop and grab this album.

Angel's without Wings

random nineties 12" number 8-DJ Cam - Voodoo Child Premier remix featuring Afu Ra

Technically this isn't really a random nineties 12" as it came out in 2000 but I was going through my record collection and realised that I had yet to convert this to MP3 and I figured there may be some people who check out this blog who may apprecaite this dope 12". DJ Cam is a dope DJ and Producer from France known mainly for his instrumental hip hop albums which heavily sample traditional Jazz. By the time I picked this 12" up in 2000 I had been listening to DJ Cam since his second studio album Substances in 1996. Substances could easily sit in the same category as Shadow's Endtroducing using dark jazz loops and break alongside strong hip hop samples creating a melancholic but enjoyable soundtrack.

DJ Cam has steadily produced albums since the early nineties with his last release being 2007's Lost and Found. This 12" features a fantastic DJ Premier remix of a track from a strange enhanced CD project called the Loa Project volume 1 which only had the one track on it although it did have an interactive program however I'm not too sure what that allowed you to do with this track. Its pretty impossible to find a copy of it and probably wouldn't work on any of today's PCs or Macs. The Premier remix however could only be found on this 12" at the time, although its probably been on some compilation or another since.
The Cam side features a decent enough track with Afu Ra dropping his pretty much run of the mill raps over track that features a nice horns loop but lacks the dark intricacies of Cam's earlier productions. Although enjoyable enough Afu Ra sounds a little out of place especially over the chorus. The Cam side also features an instrumental of his version which works a bit better than the vocal version.
The Premier side is certainly the main reason I had for buying this 12" and I guess it would be safe to say that applied to most people who bought this 12". Its a typically dope Premier late 90's joint ; upbeat kick and snare with a nice loop which sounds like some sort of organ and then some sort of Dr Who sound effect. Whatever it is its some dope Premier shit and needs to be in any Premier fans collection. Follow the link for the rip and if you like leave a comment. Also leave a comment if theres something you're looking for from the 90s or breakz wise.

A chance with me ?

GURU Dedication T-Shirts

A crew of London designers have got together and come up with two T-Shirts dedicated to the late, great Guru and one dedicated to that bitch-ass Solar.

The designer of the T-Shirts, Morgan said ""The range comprises of three T-shirts with two dedicated to Gurus lyrics and one created solely for that punk Solar. We have gone through our whole collection of Guru tunes which killed it because when you think, ok, we have enough a next one comes through and smashes it!:) We carefully chose lyrics to create the ultimate battle T which consists of Gurus hardest lines spit (in our eyes, I'm sure this will bring on a new debate!). We have also created the Inspiration T, which has his most insightful lyrics, which we feel elevated the way people thought about their actions. We also done a straight up FUCK Solar T, which needs no explanation. We are looking to get the inspiration on ready buy the end of next week, we just have to sell some more of the first two to get funding for it"

R.I.P Guru and a percentage of all profits made from this line will be donated to GURU's son KC. If you buy any T-Shirt this summer I can't think of a better T-Shirt to buy and this will show your support to GURU's family, hopefully raise some cash for them and also raise awareness of one of Hip-Hop's most talented MCs. Not to mention telling Solar what the Hip Hop world thinks of him. Super Producer my arse.

Pick them up here

Random nineties 12" number 7-El Da Sensei featuring FT, Mike Zoot, Pharoah Monche & Prince Po - Frontline / All Rise

Back with a new design and some more dope tunes for you all to savour. Kicking off the new site is a return to the Random Nineties 12" series with part 7 coming from one of the late nineties underground stars El da Sensei along with a whole gang of indie emcees including; FT, Mike Zoot and fan favourites Pharoah Monche & Prince Po (also known as the legendary Organized Konfusion).
For those who are unfamiliar with El Da Sensei he is a talented Newark, New Jersey emcee who was one half of the influential mid nineties group the Artifacts along with Tame One. The Artifacts' most popular single "Wrong Side of Da Tracks" paid special homage to graffiti art, as they were graffiti artists themselves. They released two albums; Between a Rock and a Hard place (1994) and Thats Them (1997) both on Big Beat (Atlantic). They split up shortly after their second album although they did release a dope 12" on Rawkus under the name Brick City Kids. Following on from his success in The Artifacts El Da Sensei did release a number of solo albums; 2003: Relax, Relate, Release (Seven Heads), 2006: The Unusual (Fat Beats), 2008: Unheard Of, 2008: Global Takeover - The Beginning (with Polish hip hop duo The Returners (Little & DJ Chwiał)) and 2009: Shining Shadow Presents... The Immortals Project (Shining Shadow Recordings). Despite all being good strong albums none of them were as commercially or critically well received as either of his Artifacts albums. But in between the Split from Tame One he did release a number of indie 12"s and also appear on a number of other indie artists songs too before embarking on his solo career.
On of the better 12"s he release during that period was this 12" Frontline/All rise which was released on Guesswhyld. A label that at the time was released dope vinyl on a regular basis featuring dope artists and producers like Shawn J period and Tommy Tee. This 12" was released in 1998 or 1999 I can't remember to be honest and it doesn't say on the sleeve or record label. The A-side is produced Shawn J Period and producer who at the time was churning out dope tribe influenced beat by the pound however Shawn became a born again Christian and abandoned hip hop as he felt it went against some of his Christian beliefs. I hope he is happy now but hip hop certainly lost a rising star when he moved on. The lyricists on this track read like a whose who of the late nineties East Coast Hip Hop underground; Mike Zoot FT, Pharoah Monche & Prince Po. All three drop impressive lyrics but as an be expected Monch steals the show with some sick lines and metaphors like 'Achieve a Mil like Cecile B'. The beat is in the same vein that Shawn J became known for, upbeat and bouncy with a Tribe vibe to it.
The B-side is an El Da Sensei solo joint called All Rise, produced by a guy called P-Original who doesn't seem to have done much else other than this. The beat is a mellow joint with some sporadic horns that fit in quite nicely and El's lyrics up pretty much up to par but the generic chorus doesn't make this a stand out joint. But with such a stellar A-side its not a big problem that the B-side doesn't shine as bright. The 12" is nicely packaged as you would expect from Guesswhyld with a dope cover by Malik "Porno" Griffin whose art reminds me of early Rob Leefield. Check the link below for the vinyl rip and check back next week for some more dope tunes.
One, two, three...

Gil Scott Heron and Nas, NY is Killing Me remix

Damn two legends from different eras together on one track. This is a remix of the track NY is killing me from Gill Scott Heron's new album I'm new here with Nas dropping a couple verse alongside Gil Scott battle scarred vocals. The beat is quite raw and it works with both artists voices especially Gill's. Check the link for the file.

Lord have Mercy NY is killing me

Missing track from Wu-Massacre or OB4CL2?

The Wu-Massacre album has leaked and although a little bit shorter than I expected on the whole its a dope album. I'll be posting a review in a day or so when I've had a few real good listens. However as with any Wu album there is of course at least one track that was leaked that hasn't made the final cut, its a Raekwon solo joint so it could well have meant to be on Cuban Linx 2 or just one of those strange Raekwon joints that makes it onto the net either way here it is for y'all to enjoy.

Pioneers

The Wu-Massacre approaches

Meth, Ghost and Rae have dropped another dope joint from their new album. The track is called Dangerous and can be bought from iTunes, if you live in the US that is. For those of us not residing stateside you can find the joint to DL if you know where to look. This album is sounding better and better with each leaked joint, lets hope theres a vinyl version.

What's the science?

Camp Lo's Adventures in the Land of Music

The Summer of 1996 was a special time for me; I had just become a father for the first time, I was living away from my family and a new job had given more money to spend on music than I had ever had before. One of the biggest tunes I bought that Summer was Camp Lo's Luchini. It was so different to everything out at the time, a hyped up fun summer track where the emcees didnt take themselves too seriously.
I picked this 12" up from Deal Real in London's West End which was where I was getting most of my music at that time. The 12" had Luchini on the A-Side and Swing on the B. Both tracks were produced by Ski as was all of the album, Uptown Saturday Night. Theres a radio edit, instrumental and a capella of Luchini and radio edit of Swing and and instrumental too.

For the next section I have to say thanks to Mr Thing for putting me onto the break for Luchini. The break is taken from a track called Adventures in the land of Music taken form the 1980 album of the same name by the funk soul outsift Dynasty. The track itself is an amazing slice of early eighties funk soul with the obvious horns sample jacked by Ski for Luchini.
In fact if early eighties soul and funk is something that you're into then this album is a rarely heard gem that is worth digging out and it has been pretty much untouched other than the title track people looking for nice samples and breakz. Check the link below for the rip and the break.

This is it what, Luchini pouring from the sky.

Anotha' Wu Banga

Heres some more new joints from the upcoming Wu-Massacre album due out by the end of March. The first one is called Miranda and is classic Raekwon and could have come straight from either of the Cuban Linx albums. It features a dope piano loop and a cool vocal sample running through the whole track with Raekwon, Ghost and Meth dropping nice lyrics all of the tune. I have no idea who is behind the boards on this joint but its nice.

The second track is Youngstown Heist f. Trife Diesel, Sheek Louch & Bully and is produced by the underrated Scram Jones. Its a dope track with a ice cymbal loop over a almost marching beat. All of the emcees drop nice short verses over the vocal samples that make up the background of the song. Its a decent enough track although not as good as the others we've heard so far from this project.

I have also upped the dope Meth Vs Chef part two which is also from the album. Although the original version of Meth Vs Chef from the underrated Tical was a sick track and untouchable in my mind, this comes close. It uses what sounds like a horns sample taken from a 70s cop show like the Streets of San Francisco. The song ends with Meth and Rae trading mum curses in the style of 36th Chambers. This album is shaping up to be real good tapping into the energy of the three most consistant members of the Clan. I'm also loving the artwork for this project obviously going for a real comic vibe with it, heres hoping this gets a real vinyl release.

I bet this never happens to Jay-Z

R.I.P. B.I.G.

Today marks the thirteenth anniversary of the death of Christopher George Latore Wallace aka The Notorious B.I.G. aka Biggie Smalls aka Frank White so pay respect to one of Brooklyn's, if not Hip Hop's Finest. Lets hope the next year brings some justice and closure to this scandal so that Biggie's family and the Hip Hop world as a whole can move on. Follow the link below to an amazing Biggie mix by my man DJ MK.

Christopher George Latore Wallace May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997

A forgotten 12"- Ras Kass, Pharoahe Monch & Hi-Tek-Can you see what I see

Whilst looking for a particular 12" in my garage, where I keep the records that I don't listen to on a regular basis or have already converted to MP3s I can across this Counterflow Recordings 12" from 2004 and thought I'd share it with Y'all. I had totally forgotten I had even bought this joint back in the Summer 0f 2004, I had picked it up in HMV on Grafton street, in Dublin whilst on holiday for £5.99.
The A Side is produced by Hi-Tek and is a light bouncy track with a strings loop, very reminiscent of Mos Def's Oh No joint from Lyricist Lounge Volume 2. The emcees on this are a lyrics fanatics dream come true, Rass Kass and Pharoahe Monch. Two emcees who can drop intricate metaphors and similes with ease. Generally a dope track although without the two emcees it would sound a little generic and quite similar to a lot of other indie tracks released around that time when there seemed to be a new indie label out every week, most of which no longer even have a MySpace page let alone still release records.
The AA Side features two tracks; the first by Dave Ghetto, hands High and the second by another dude called Basic Vocab called Represent. I have to be honest and say that these are pretty much run of the mill indie hip hop joints from the mid noughties. I can imagine either of these getting a lot of play at the time and although neither are bad they were just a couple of joints in the flood of similar joints form around that era. Both are produced by Tony Balvin who has clearly been influenced by the likes of ATCQ and Large Pro however will never reach their levels. As I said not bad but neither overly impressive.
As I did you should Dl this rip because of the fact that it has one of the best late nineties-early noughties indie producers, Hi-Tek supplying beats for two of the most complex rappers to pick up mics ever. Check the link for the rip.

Can You See What I See?

The many styles of Criminology

Following the two leaked joints form the upcoming Method Man, Raekwon and Ghostface Killah album, Wu-Massacre I was already looking forward to what seemed like a return to form for the three Wu heavy weights and now to top it off they have leaked Criminology 2.5 from the new album. Obviously the first version of Criminiology was first released on the double A-Side 12" back in 1995 with Glaciers of Ice on the flip. This was the first 12" from the legendary Only Built for Cuban Linx. Upon hearing that 12" I began hunting for the break that Rza had flipped so magnificently and you can read about that here, it was of course the fantastic 'Why Marry' by The Sweet Inspirations. But Criminology became more than that with Raekwon performing it with the amazing jazz band the El Michaels Affair and then later making a Criminology Part 2. Criminology part 2 was supposed to be included on Only Built for Cuban Linx part 2 which of course dropped last year to very strong reviews and of course it is entirely deserving of those reviews. But at the last minute it was taken off the album for some unexplained reason, which was very disappointing as its a dope track which flips the same break as the original although in a slightly different manner.

However fear not as it now appears that its going to be included on the Wu Massacre album and will also feature an extra verse by Method Man as well as the verses by Raekwon and also Ghostface Killah. Its a fantastic tune using a slightly longer section of the Sweet Inspiration joint. As I like to spread good hard to find and unreleased music I have zipped up the original Criminology, the instrumental, The El Michaels version, Part 2, 2.5 and the original break as well. Check the link below for the niceness.

'That Witty Unpredictable shit'

Praying GURU makes a full recovery

On February 28, 2010 Guru suffered a cardiac arrest and is currently in a medically induced coma although is recovering from from surgery. Earlier today DJ Premier tweeted, "Good news: #guru surgery was successful, keep sending him love." He later added, "#Guru still in a med induced coma, he's breathing with machine help. And please reporters, don't copy without care. #Pray."

As one of the greatest and most consistent Hip Hop acts ever Ganstarr dropped easily some of the best albums of the late eighties right up until the early noughties
Albums

No More Mr. Nice Guy (1989)
Step in the Arena (1991)
Daily Operation (1992)
Hard to Earn (1994)
Moment of Truth (1998)
Full Clip: A Decade of Gang Starr (1999)
The Ownerz (2003)

However in 2005 GURU (The name Guru is a backronym that stands for "Gifted Unlimited Rhymes Universal" and the less often used "God is Universal, he is the Ruler Universal") said the group had ended and not broken up. Although GURU has never reclaimed the glory of his times with Premier one cannot underestimate his skills as an MC. Below are a couple of rarer Gangstarr tracks; I'm not Superman and Tongue of Terror as well as a live verison of Full Clip recorded on Jools Holland's BBC show. In addition to these track there is also a four part best of Gangstarr mix that was released as a limtited edition vinyl around the time Full Clip was released and it is mixed by Premier. GURU and his family are in my prayers and I hope he makes a full recovery.

GURU-One of the best yet