Brand Nu Mixtape

Although this mixtape first circulated in '04 as a promo for the Nubian release Fire In The Hole. This mixtape features Brand Nubian classics, guest spots and exclusives freestyles that makes this worthy of your right-click. --Philaflava

[Click image to download]

730 Presents The Brand Nu Mixtape

01 Brand Nubian Brand Nubian Intro
02 Brand Nubian 730 Freestyle (Exclusive)
03 Brand Nubian Who Wanna Be A Star (New Single)
04 Brand Nubian Sadat X Acapella (Exclusive)
05 Sadat X Come On Featuring - Notorious B.I.G.
06 Sadat X Games Featuring - Big L , Guru
07 Brand Nubian Punks Jump Up To Get Beat Down
08 Grand Puba Skinz Featuring - Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth
09 Grand Puba & Sadat X I Flip Styles Featuring - D.I.T.C.
10 Grand Puba 360 Degrees (What Goes Around)
11 Lord Jamar Oz Theme Featuring - Kool G Rap , Talib Kweli
12 Brand Nubian Thief's Theme Freestyle (730 Exclusive)
13 Brand Nubian Lean Back Freestyle (730 Exclusive)
14 Brand Nubian Just Don't Learn (Exclusive Snippet from "Fire In the Hole")
15 Grand Puba Are You Ready Featuring - Beatnuts, The
16 Grand Puba Understand This
17 Brand Nubian All For One
18 Grand Puba & Sadat X Handle Your Time Featuring - Kid Creole , Prince Paul , Xzibit
19 Brand Nubian Young Son (Exclusive Snippet from "Fire In the Hole")
20 Sadat X & Grand Puba Straight From The NY Featuring - DJ Honda
21 Sadat X You Can't Front Featuring - Diamond D , Lord Finesse
22 Sadat X Lump Lump
23 Brand Nubian Slow Down 2K4 (730 Exclusive)
24 Brand Nubian Slow Down (Classic Version)
25 Brand Nubian Hang On

And if you're still in need of that Nubian fix, look no further than our homie and New Zealand affiliate Cold Rock Da Spot.

Brand Nubian/Grand Puba-The Remixes

1. brand nubian - concerto in x minor (remix)
2. brand nubian - all for one (radio mix)
3. brand nubian - allah u akbar (remix)
4. brand nubian - love me or leave me alone (remix)
5. brand nubian - steal ya ho (remix)
6. brand nubian - all for one (tramp remix)
7. brand nubian - slow down (pete rock remix)
8. band nubian - hold on (remix)
9. brand nubian - wake up (sd50's remix)
10. brand nubian - word is bond (remix)
11. grand puba - a little of this (stud doogie remix)
12. grand puba - i like it (buckwild remix feat. sadat x)
13. grand puba - check it out (remix)
14. grand puba - thats how we move it (remix)
15. grand puba - ya know how it goes (t-ray remix)
16. grand puba - check it out (stimulated dummies remix)

Ca$h Money Click

Representin' Hollis, Ca$h Money Click consisted of three hungry Queens emcees. In 1994, Group Members Ja Rule, Nemesis, & Chris Black released their first 12" inch titled"4 My Click B/W Get The Fortune". The 12" was really successful as Cash Money Click did videos for both tracks which you can see on Youtube. 4 My Click also featured an appearance by fellow Queens emcee Mic Geronimo who had already recorded his first single "It's Real" produced by CMC main producer DJ Irv(AKA Irv Gotti). Ca$h Money Click released a follow-up 12" titled "Get The Fortune (Remix) B/W She Swallowed It". Blunt Recordings only put out a few DJ-only promos of the 12" as it remains rare to this day. I have ripped it and I'm pretty sure that it's the first time it's available as a download. Also, "4 My Click B/W Get The Fortune" is the CD Single, not a vinyl rip. Cash Money Click never released a full album but I heard that one was recorded. I was recently given an unreleased CMC track from 1994 taken from one of their sessions by T.R.O.Y. member itzmurda; it was titled "Wartime".


01. 4 My Click (Radio)
02. 4 My Click (Street)
03. 4 My Click (Radio Instrumental)
04. Get Tha Fortune (Radio)
05. Get Tha Fortune (Street)
06. Get Tha Fortune (Radio Instrumental)

Download

A1. Get Tha Fortune (Remix) (Radio)

A2. Get Tha Fortune (Remix) (Street)
A3. Get Tha Fortune (Remix) (Instrumental)
A4. Get Tha Fortune (Remix) (Acapella)
B1. She Swallowed It (Radio)
B2. She Swallowed It (Street)
B3. She Swallowed It (Instrumental)

Download




Unreleased CMC 1994 : Wartime


-- Thomas V

Das Efx - What More Can I Say Samples

This right here has gotta be my favorite Das Efx track, and it's mostly due to the production. The way that they incorporate all of the samples is pretty insane. See for yourself:

Das Efx - What More Can I Say


Take 6 - Spread Love Remix (Edit)


Albert King - Cold Feet


King Curtis - Sweet Inspiration


Big Daddy Kane & Biz Markie - Just Rhymin' With Biz


Audio Two - Top Billin'


ATCQ - Push It Along


Download everything in one mediafire folder:
http://www.mediafire.com/?2tzzwwr3z51

--Roy Johnson

Security Blanket

[Click image to download]

We all had security blankets growing up whether you realized it or not. Though it's technically considered a blanket you sought for comfort as child, in many cases we had a specific place or thing we'd cling to for those very reasons too. The feeling of being reassured time and time again, never to be let down and to know once you had that blanket or went to that place you were in your own little utopia.

While I have many personal favorites such as Amerikkka's Most Wanted, Supreme Clientele, One For All, Death Certificate, Illmatic, Low End Theory and Breaking Atoms, there is one album I constantly find myself going to and that is Midnight Marauders. This is my security blanket, musically speaking of course.

A Tribe Called Quest had tremendous success in music, more so than most hip-hop groups when you consider they started in '88 and are still making music today, sporadically that is. Their first three albums are arguably all classics in the true blue sense. When Tribe stepped on the scene many folks dismissed them for being soft or doing what many thought were artsy (alternative) hip-hop music. And even though you had groups like Jungle Brothers and De La Soul doing the same thing, neither of those groups have spawned more clones than ATCQ.

Tribe was definitely more than just pioneers of this rap shit, their blueprint is what most rappers study today. Whether you turn on the radio and hear Kanye or check out the blogosphere for your latest Blu, The Cool Kids, Little Brother or Shawn Jackson track, it is essentially A Tribe Called Quest revisited. With the abundance of blogs, blog rappers (which just means rappers that only exist on blogs) or the sparse underground scene these days, the music you hear is just a borrowed chapter in the A Tribe Called Quest biography.

Which takes me back to topic at hand, Midnight Marauders is the most cohesive album I have ever heard in my lifetime. It's so rare to honestly say you enjoy every track on an album. I know today I'm lucky if I can pick out a handful of tracks on new releases I enjoy. Midnight Marauders is different, it's one of those albums you can let ride from start to finish and when you're done, you let it ride again. It embodies everything that made me love hip-hop. It takes me back to a place that I miss dearly, a time in music unfortunately I do not believe we'll ever see again.

So when I'm stressed out, loungin' in my house on a Sunday afternoon or when I just listened to a string of underwhelming albums that I've invested too much time, money or hard drive space into, I know one thing that can change all that. An album that is timeless and that never disappoints no matter the situation. And while some of you may prefer Low End Theory (which is perfectly acceptable), it's Midnight Marauders that is my security blanket.

Whether its '93, '03 or 2013, this album will always be there for me. It'll never let me down and with each listen, which is now probably somewhere in the tens of thousands, I will never grow tired of what I like to think is Tribe's Magnum opus.

What's your security blanket?

--Philaflava

Peace to KetZor for the video hook up.

DJ Premier's Underacknowledged Cuts

Click Here To Download

Here we have a list by hip hop's most respected producer DJ Premier. DJ Premier listed cuts that he felt were not widely recognized. The main reasons is that most of these tracks are 12" b-sides that weren't included on the artist's album. For example, you have songs like The Do Do by Biz Markie that was released as the b-side to "Vapors" but never included anywhere else. Then you have songs like It's The Beat by Hollis Crew, better known as Run DMC, that never gets mentioned as they changed their names just for this one record. After you have underground cuts that Premier feels you need to hear! You also got tracks such as Yes You May & Any Day Can Be Your Last that includes Big L & Half-A-Mil's first rhymes on wax. The list basically gives you you tracks that you probably missed... (except for How About Some Hardcore)

Note: This list was made in 1998.
Shoutouts to the Ego Trip Staff for making the greatest hip-hop book ever! If you don't have it, you can get it here.

Thanks to Ho1ogramz for hooking me up with 3 tracks that I was missing.

--Thomas V

An Infamous Genealogy, Pt. 1

Main Source "Snake Eyes"

Main Source "Just A Friendly Game Of Baseball"

A Tribe Called Quest "Midnight"

Mobb Deep "Peer Pressure" (Large Professor Remix)

Mobb Deep’s musical genealogy is a crucial guide to comprehending and appreciating their masterful sophomore LP, The Infamous. The album is one of hip hop’s bastard children: it is typically evaluated in isolation from its forbearers. Like so many so-called “gangsta” rappers, the group’s lyrics have been read as literal autobiographical exposés and unthinking advocacies of merciless criminal activity. Don’t believe the hype. In reducing Mobb's rhymes to caricaturish doggerel, while presuming dark soundscapes  to signify anger and nothing else, critics underestimate the duo's musical and poetic aptitude, and their willingness to incorporate influences from outside of their immediate frames of reference.

Havoc and Prodigy make extensive use of poetic stylization. Their take on reality is comprised of an unlikely yet compelling admixture of cartoonish violent escapism, detached reportage, bleak apocalyptic lamentation, and (occasionally) serene reflection. Their economical, blustery rhymes resound over menacing tracks. The notion that this style arose spontaneously from the oblivion of primitive rage is misguided. To disprove it, one must simply take note of the accelerated artistic growth that undoubtedly occurred in the years after the release of their forgettable debut, Juvenile Hell.

Mobb Deep grew into their sound, with help. The Infamous exceeds the sum of an exaggerated Queensbridge upbringing by virtue of its pedigree alone. The mentorship of Large Professor and Q-Tip (hailing from the far flung corners of the Q-borough in the respective sections of Flushing and Jamaica) gives rise to Mobb Deep's superior sophomore reincarnation. The family tree provides ample evidence. Q-Tip and Large Pro are bonded by their work on Illmatic, the debut album of Queensbridge rap prodigy, Nas. Prior to that, Large Pro contributed counsel and work behind the boards (acknowledged in shout-outs, liner notes, and interviews) to A Tribe Called Quest's third album, the nearly universally acclaimed Midnight Marauders. 

In fact, as a bonafide student-teacher who came up in the studio under the tutelage of the legendary Paul C. McKasty, Large Pro’s reputation as a mentor to up and coming Queens artists was already solidified by the time he added his touches to Marauders. It can be accurately stated that Large Pro mentored Q-Tip in the art of mentorship. A godfather of sorts to a second wave of Queens-based artists that were raised on Run DMC and the Juice Crew, Large Pro convened “Live At The BBQ,” the famous posse cut from Main Source’s debut Breaking Atoms that features the world premieres of Nas and Akinyele. 

Large Pro continued to nurture budding talent throughout the '90s, and in fact his involvement with Mobb Deep actually predates his work with A Tribe Called Quest. He remixed “Peer Pressure” from their maligned debut, as well as “Funk Mode,” a 1993 song by Tragedy the Intelligent Hoodlum (now widely acknowledged to be an influence on Nas, as well as an early mentor to Capone N’ Noreaga) that features a verse from Havoc. Although never given an official name like the Native Tongues, this extended family of Queens-based hip hop artists ritually transmitted professional and musical expertise from one generation to the next. 

In addition to advice about the biz or pointers on production, the elders provided the up and comers with a sophisticated approach to penning suggestive, creative lyrics that augment the chilly moodiness that emanates from so much sample-laden hip hop music. Many of the themes covered on Infamous and later Mobb albums—including literal and figurative warfare, emotional and physical suffering, and artistic and racial double-consciousness—are also famously tackled throughout the discographies of Tribe and Main Source. 

On “Midnight,” where Q-Tip’s employment of differing perspectives within a single song and use of bassy, menacing samples anticipates Mobb Deep’s shifting commentaries on the street life and their famously dark sound. Mobb Deep’s penchant for coldly ironic allegory is reminiscent of Large Pro’s cautionary depiction of life as a sky-high stakes game of cee-lo on “Snake Eyes.” In the anti-cop “Just a Friendly Game of Baseball,” Large Pro delivers his extended metaphor with stoic clarity over a devastating break that also appears on Tribe’s “If the Papes Come” remix from the same year. These characters will reappear later on The Infamous as potentially deadly forces that must be undermined and avoided.

TO BE CONTINUED

In future installments, I'll examine the "demo" or "rough draft" recordings Mobb Deep made prior to the release of  Infamous,  examine Q-Tip's involvement in recording process,  and chart their evolution  into a group whose signature sound and world view represents an innovative departure from its primary influences. -- Thun

That Backwards Sample

Every once in a while a producer can effectively work a backwards sample into a dope cut.

This is usually easier to do if there are no drums in the sample you're reversing,as they may sound awkward and ruin your mix. But in this case, it worked out perfectly. I must say Pumpkinhead produced a genuine work of art with 2nd Amendment. He sampled the same track that Fredro Starr used for Onyx's 'Last Dayz',except in reverse. Not only did the beat come out ill, but the subject he chose to rhyme about was perfect for it. 

I first noticed it when listening to this Bob James record. I immediately noticed the Onyx sample,but thought there was something else there. So, when spinning the record back to see what it was I missed, I discovered this palatial reverse sample. Check it out below.

The Sample

Pumpkinhead - 2nd Amendment

Onyx - Last Dayz

Download these 3 pieces in one folder here

--Verge

Baltimore & Washington DC Underground Volume 1 (1992-2005)

Here I am again bringing y'all back to the beginning of another series. This volume 1 of 18 Baltimore/Washington Dc compilations I've done. Why include both cities in one mix? Baltimore and Washington Dc are the odd couple. Fiercely competitive, musically eclectic, eternally underground, Charm City and 'The District' have long been unrecognized hotbeds for independent hip hop....

What ?

Yes, hip hop. While Baltimore is mostly known for house music, and Dc for go-go, there was and still is a prolific scene in the area.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=BUW5WFME

01.(02:53) Section 8 Mob - Intro [Washington Dc 1994]
02.(03:32) No Description Given - Game and the Player [Baltimore 1994]
03.(04:24) Blak Kaos - For me [Washington Dc 1996]
04.(05:05) Da Great Deity Dah - Sunz Of Righteousness Ft.Reborn Soldiers & Sykrit Manuwva [Washington Dc 1998]
05.(04:43) Section 8 Mob - Caught Up In The Section [Washington Dc 1994]
06.(04:28) No Description Given - What's Reality [Baltimore 1994]
07.(04:41) Da Great Deity Dah - Running Off With Your Coining Phrases [Washington Dc 1997]
08.(04:34) Defined Print - Prep A Nation [Washington Dc 1998]
09.(02:56) Section 8 Mob - Family Affair [Washington Dc 1994]
10.(02:51) Silohuette - Rude Girlz [Baltimore 1996]
11.(02:33) The Blaque Faxshun And Labtekwon - Dangerous [Baltimore 1994]
12.(03:23) K Mack And Silohuette - The Annex Click [Baltimore 1995]
13.(04:51) Global Platoon - Keep Your Day Job [Baltimore 1992]
14.(03:54) Sagat And Buddha Bless - Wit 0 Wit 0ut [Baltimore 1994]
15.(02:38) Ray Lugar - I Know [Baltimore, Year Unknown]
16.(03:46) K Mack - Speak Da Clout [Baltimore 1995]
17.(04:24) Storm The Unpredictable - Verbal Expressions [Washington Dc 1998]
18.(04:07) Tasc4orce - Watch Out [Philadelphia, woops 1994]
19.(05:05) Questionmark Asylum - Everything's Love [Washington Dc 1995]
20.(04:20) Little Clayway - Fuck Wit' Little [Baltimore 2005]
21.(04:00) Da Great Deity Dah - Chain Of Events Ft.Quiet Storm 720 (Also known as 'Storm The Unpredictable' [Washington Dc 1998]
22.(03:56) Defined Print - My Library [Washington Dc 1998]
23.(04:48) Opus Akoben - Contact [Washington Dc 1997]
24.(05:16) Pure Elegance - Street Life [Washington Dc 1995]


In this series, I will be sharing some tunes I hope you dig and haven't heard. The first two volumes have a fair amount of 'familiar' material, so keep an eye out especially for the later volumes.

--Schenectadyfan

Vigor With Latitude (Shuck The Numb)

Hey everyone out there in Internet land ... how ya living? Did you peep Thomas V's post on the newly surfaced, never before heard Main Source tracks? Go ahead, treat yourself. There's no problem a little mp3 leaking can't solve, right. Just remember who brought you the goods.

Whenever you browse this site, keep the above image in your mind. Imagine that it's embedded into the very DNA of every track we upload it. Memorize it. Recite it backwards in yoursleep. Chisel it into the very foundation of your soul. Draw it in the snow. And whatever you do, give us 'nuff respeck.


Peace to Y@k Bollocks in Multicultural London for the hookup.

Ego Trip singles - 1987

1987
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=H6F34OCX

Top Billin' - Audio Two
Rebel Without A Pause - Public Enemy
The Bridge Is Over - Boogie Down Productions
It's My Thing - Epmd
You're A Customer - Epmd
Raw - Big Daddy Kane
Bring The Noise - Public Enemy
Nobody Beats The Biz - Biz Markie
I Know You Got Soul - Eric B. & Rakim
Public Enemy No. 1 - Public Enemy
Timebomb - Public Enemy
Just Rhymin' With Biz - Big Daddy Kane
Do The James - Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud
I'm Bad - LL Cool J
Funky - Ultramagnetic Mc's
Boyz-In-The-Hood - Eazy-E
Holy War (Live) - Divine Force
Saturday Night - Schoolly D
I Ain't No Joke - Eric B. & Rakim
I Cram To Understand U - Mc Lyte
Dopeman - N.W.A.
Going Way Back - Just Ice
Have A Nice Day - Roxanne Shante
Pickin' Boogers - Biz Markie
Tramp - Salt N' Pepa
Push It - Salt N' Pepa
Poetry - Boogie Down Productions
Rikers Island - Kool G Rap & Dj Polo
Rhyme Tyme - Kool G Rap & Dj Polo
Jimbrowski - Jungle Brothers
Small Time Hustler - Dismasters
The Overweight Lover's In The House - Heavy D & The Boyz
The Godfather - Spoonie Gee
Bustin' Loose - Alliance
Do It! Do It! - Alliance
Oreo Cookie - Alliance
I Got An Attitude - Antoinette
Take It Off - Spoonie Gee
Last Night - Kid 'n Play
This Cut's Got Flavor - Latee
Puttin' On The Hits - Latee
Use Me (Before I Let Go) - Steady B
Sexy - Masters Of Ceremony
Suicide - Busy Bee
My Mic Is On Fire - Lord Shafiyq
Raps New Generation - Classical Two
We Want Some Pussy!! - 2 Live Crew

--admiral

The Redefinition Of Time Travel w/ Kevin Beacham

REDEFINITION RADIO: The Present and Future

I started off the year with a month long theme which is Phase 3 in what has been an ongoing epic experience that I’ve dubbed “Cut Short Careers”

Phase One-One Album Only (Nov ‘07): This was a five week special covering a lot of ground and a lot of underground favorites who only dropped one album (and maybe a few singles or appearances); Hard Knocks, C.P.O, Breeze, Diamond Shell, Cannibal Ox, Kurious, Mad Kap, Da King & I, Future Sound, Funkytown Pros, and the list goes on and on...
Listen Here.

Phase Two-Singles and Appearances Only 1986-1992 [No Albums] (Jan ‘08): Some of these artists are simply too mind-blowing to never had a full length (Latee, Freshco & Miz, & Sir Ibu) ... others are some favorites of mine: His Majesti, 4Ever Fresh, Too Poetic, Crush Nation, Castle D, The Brothers (Kickin Live Productions), and so on and on....
Listen Here.

Phase Three-Singles and Appearances only 1993-2002 [No Album] (Jan ‘09): The bulk of this time is in that incredible indie explosion of the Mid and Late 90s (mainly thanx to Wu-Tang for making the self-financed 12" the new “demo”). Dredknotz, Ten Thieves, Rugged Brood, Natural Elements, Street Smartz, Spoon Of Iodine, DV Alias Khrist, Tony Bones, J Treds, K Borne, IG Off & Hazardous, Vooodu!, etc...
Listen Here.

Phase Four-Guest Appearances Only (No Album, No Single), stay tuned.

As for the immediate future for Redefinition Radio, I’ve collected a nice stack of new music while being focused on this last theme so starting next week I’ll start dropping some of that: Czar, Yadi Supreme, K the I, P.O.S, Custodian Of Records, Myka 9, Labtekwon...

CHECK OUT TIME TRAVEL RADIO FLASHBACKS: The Past

This Week: White Collar Criminals-“Time Travel Promo”, Rubber Room & Spalaney’s-Time Travel Freestyle 6-22-95, Spalaney’s-“Simple Fact”, Tony Baines-Time Travel Freestyle 12-29-96, Children Of Reality, JP Schmedrick-“Insect Invasion."

As an added bonus for peeping the TROY blog: http://www.sendspace.com/file/ktysow

-D/L Contains
1)Rubber Room-Peepin Tom (early unreleased track on the freaky porn tip...ha)
2)JP Schmedrick (Immortal Griffen & Tony Baines)-No Offense Playa (limited tape release 97)
3)Spalaney’s-Universal Langurage (from the “Talent Fest” Compilation ‘95)

Re-Up link here

--Kevin Beacham

Kool And The Gang - Samples Volume 2

Kool & The Gang - Samples Volume 2
1. Kool & The Gang - Breeze & Soul
2. DJ Q-Bert & Automator - Bear Witness
3. DJ Q-Bert & Automator - Bear Witness (Extended)
4. Kool & The Gang - Let The Music Take Your Mind
5. Ice Cube - Amerikkka's Most Wanted
6. Ultramagnetic MCs - MC Champion
7. Jungle Brothers - What's Going On
8. Kool & The Gang - Pneumonia
9. Tiger - Who Planned It (Instrumental)
10. Ice Cube - You Can't Fade Me
11. Kool & The Gang - Who's Gonna Take The Weight
12. Public Enemy - Louder Than A Bomb
13. Public Enemy - Louder Than A Bomb (Remix)
14. ATCQ - Oh My God
15. Diamond D - What You Seek
16. Diamond D - Best Kept Secret (45 King Remix)
17. DJ Eclipse - Dedication
http://www.mediafire.com/?momwgyd0jyd

Preview:

Breeze & Soul


Let The Music Take Your Mind


Pneumonia


Who's Gonna Take The Weight


--Roy Johnson

Main Source - Lost Science

Main Source demos that were originally recorded for their unreleased 2nd album "The Science." It was released about 2 months ago as a limited pressing by Diggers With Gratitude. The demos were given to DWG by K-Cut as he originally played them on a Canadian radio show which you can find here.

Here's information on the tracks:

"Bootlegging" - Large Pro takes on the role of the bootlegger on this lost gem, check the horns, this one features on "Lungbutters".

"Raise Up" - "The Science" was going to be constructed of a bunch of 'Interlude' style tracks - this is one of them.

"Time (alternative mix)" - early demo version of the track recently unearthed for a Japanese only release on P-Vine/Actual Records.

Download

Note: The Lost Science EP didn't hit the blogsphere yet so you will probably see it on a few blogs within a few hours. If they don't give us credit, they probably jacked our link, but we can only take that as a form of flattery, right?

This is also my first vinyl rip so be on the look out for a few rarities in the future.

-- Thomas V

Resident Alien Discography

A little while ago we told you about Wordbooty, a T.R.O.Y. Forum denizen on an unstoppable mission to compile the entirety of Prince Paul's discography in mp3 format. With the help of the Duchess of Downloads, Ho1ogramz, he was successful in compiling two volumes of remixes credited to Prince Paul. Not too shabby. With an assist from Holo1Ogramz once again, he has amassed for you the discography of Prince Paul's largely obscure Resident Alien project. Unfamiliar with Resident Alien? Check it:

In the early 1990s, at the ripe old age of 20, Prince Paulwas the man in demand after having produced hits for3rd Bass, Big Daddy Kane, and of course, De La Soul's 3 Feet High and Rising. Although rumor has it that Paul was quite happy to stick to producing, Lyor Cohenconvinced him to take on his own imprint at Def Jam/RAL - and hence the Dew Doo Man was born. Things were rocky from the start, with Russell Simmons' less than enthusiastic reception to this new label's name, but Paul took his advance and his A&R freedom and began to work on Dew Doo Man's first release.

The first release that Paul came up with was a concept album - It Takes a Nation of Suckas To Let Us In - based around the characters of three immigrants from the Caribbean who had recently relocated to Long Island. This idea didn't exactly scream "millions of sales," and Def Jam didn't react well to the product they were being delivered. Their vision of the label was one that would release radio friendly, pop influenced tracks, which was clearly not what Paul had in mind. The label didn't care for any of the other acts that Paul had waiting in the wings, either.

In the end, the only release to ever come out on the Dew Doo Man imprint was the Resident Alien 12" Mr. Boops. Paul had a meeting with Cohen to try and save the label, but Cohen opted to shut down operations, leaving the full length album languishing unreleased. (Source)

Typical industry polititrix, yo. No wonder Paul went on to conceptualize Gravediggaz. As for the album - fortunately we live in a wondrous future-topia where even shelved and lost album can see the light of day. It's been floating around the net for some time now. In my humble opinion It Takes A Nation Of Suckas To Let Us In is a fun, worthwhile listen, if not necessarily on par with the many, many great full-length releases helmed by Prince Paul. The concept is clever, there are some wonderfully absurd/beautiful musical moments, and there's a cameo by Dres, but Prince Paul is so much better off working with top notch lyricists. Still, it's a nice little curiosity from one of hip-hop's greatest minds. Peep the album, plus some related vinyl material.

Resident Alien - It Takes A Nation Of Suckers To Let Us In LP (1991) 

[Download via Mediafire]

[Download via Megaupload]

Resident Alien "Pum Pum Master" from DJ Red Alert's Dancehall Show (1994) [Download]

Horror City ft. Resident Alien 12" Marz Records (1994) 

[Download via Mediafire]

[Download via Megaupload]

A1 - Aah's & Oohh's 

A2 - Wine Fi Kill 

B1 - Moogler 

B2 - Freestyle Fiend 

-- Thun

Southern Series Volume 1

Yesterday I went ski-biking. I removed the wheels from my bicycle, and put a set of short skis on. Great for downhill turns! What does this have to do with hip hop from the south ? Southern beats and rhymes keep me warm up here in the arctic north. The selection I am posting today is the 1st of a series of southern compilations I put together, starting back in 2005. Although a few of these tracks are not exactly T.R.O.Y. material, they are dope and deserve some recognition. Killer Mike's tale of betrayal is one of my favorite 'contemporary' tracks for instance. Track 3 is a mystery to me. I found this one about 10 years ago. It's a banger! To this day, I have been unable to find anything else by Camakazie. It's not an uncommon name, which is a bit of a hindrance to the search. If anyone out there can provide some background info that would be awesome.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=5XOUU10J

01.(03:54) scarface - the white sheet [texas 1994]
02.(03:35) willie d - play witcha mama [texas 1994]
03.(03:56) camakazie - walk, Bounce, Shake [texas ?][1998 ?]
04.(04:35) mass influence - nightime groove [atlanta 1998]
05.(04:02) success n effect - ultimate drive by [atlanta 1993]
06.(03:59) t isaam and dj magic mike - nigga need a job [florida 1993]
07.(03:45) geto boys - no guts, no glory [texas 1992]
08.(05:46) akinyele - down south {from new york, with some southern rappers} [1999]
09.(04:12) killer mike - scared straight [memphis ?][2004]
10.(04:12) terror squad - hum drum [atlanta ?][2002]
11.(04:00) y'all so stupid - family tree [atlanta 1994]
12.(04:21) outkast - player's ball [atlanta 1994]
13.(05:20) witchdoctor - the ancient sahore [lousiana 1998]
14.(04:01) big gipp - history mystery [new orleans ?][2001]
15.(03:23) audio assault squad - streets of ftw ( texas 1993)
16.(04:10) dj magic mike & mc madness - slow draggin [florida 1992]
17.(04:44) tap, ghost and phobia - daddy mad skillz [florida 1992]

Hope everyone likes this one. Let me know!

--Schenectadyfan

Marvin Gaye - What's Going On Samples

Marvin Gaye's 1971 LP What's Going On yielded quite a few classic songs, and the title track might be my personal favorite. Today, we're gonna focus on eight songs that sampled the aforementioned title track. Stay tuned for posts on "Inner City Blues" and the "Trouble Man" soundtrack.

Marvin Gaye - What's Going On


Curt Cazal of JVC Force - Sirocalot


Jungle Brothers - What's Going On


Three Times Dope - Increase The Peace (What's Going On)


Divine Styler - Word Power


Big Daddy Kane - W.G.O.N.R.S.


Geto Boys - Six Feet Deep


Keith Murray - Whut's Happenin'


Sound Providers - Get Down (Instrumental)


Download everyting in one mediafire folder:
http://www.mediafire.com/?yyyji22xmim

--Roy Johnson

North Vs South (Carolina) 1994-2001

Obscure and dope hip hop from North Carolina, and South Carolina. It's a showdown where no-one comes out on top. Every track hits. You can hear both east coast and southern influences in the music here. Sista One & Guava Don start things off right and Ten Up brings the wagon home in style. This mix is pretty cohesive beginning to end so I hope y'all like it as much as I do. It has been on rewind for days.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=4ZWZ04OV

01. (03:59) sista one & guava don - ruler of the world (north carolina 1997)
02. (04:53) south click - g-ride (south carolina 1995)
03. (04:06) hurricane - a made man (north carolina 1997)
04. (04:22) cosmosis - black lamb (south carolina 1997)
05. (03:39) agony, o'dogg & bleak ali - young, black & restless (north carolina 1997)
06. (05:15) c.o.a. & aleem the czar - metropolis (south carolina 1997)
07. (03:19) sun dula - sun prodigy (north carolina 1997)
08. (05:16) mental dimension - shades of rage (north carolina 1996)
09. (04:03) embassy unit - capture (north carolina 1998)
10. (02:45) da phlayva - triple threat power (south carolina 1994)
11. (03:52) minds of the hood - 12 gauge bounce (south carolina 1994)
12. (03:21) south click - who got da funk (south carolina 1995)
13. (02:13) l.o.c. - 28 gramz (south carolina 1998)
14. (06:27) kojak & the blakk dynasty - too bad (north carolina 1997)
15. (04:17) ten up - untouched territory (north carolina 2001)

This has got to be one of my favorite recent compilations so take note and tune in!

--Schenectadyfan

Nas meets The Large Professor

Do you remember the Nas "I Am" blends that we posted weeks ago? Well, T.R.O.Y. regular Vaporized just recorded a new Nas blend tape. This time, he mixed Nas's acapellas over beats from The Large Professor. It was a perfect match as Nas started his career on Main Source's debut Breaking Atoms. The last time they collaborated together was on "Stillmatic" so it was nice to hear Nas over new sh*t from The LP.

I'd love to see an album by Nas fully produced by Large Pro. While it may not happen, you can listen to Vaporized's incredible blends in the meantime.

01 - Nas - You Know My Style - (Large Pro blend)
02 - Nas - I Can...(Large Pro blend)
03 - Nas - Nastradamus (Large Pro blend)
04 - Nas - Mastermind (Large Pro blend)
05 - Nas - The Set Up (Large Pro blend)
06 - Nas ft.AZ - The Flyest (Large Pro blend)
07 - Nas - The World Is Yours (Large Pro blend)
08 - Nas - Purple (Large Pro blend)
09 - Nas - Made You Look (Large Pro blend)
10 - Nas - Got Urself A Gun (Large Pro blend)
11 - Nas ft.AZ - Life's A Bitch (Large Pro blend)
12 - Nas - If I Ruled The World (Large Pro blend)
13 - Nas - Shootouts (Large Pro blend)
14 - Nas - Dance (Large Pro blend)

Download

-- Thomas V

Bonus : Large Pro recently appeared as a surprise guest for Nas's latest concert in New York.

Kurious Nuts

A few months ago Kurious Jorge dropped his Top 10 posse cuts list on T.R.O.Y., this time we're dropping some great news and a few gems ourselves. K-Jorge and The Beatnuts finally reunited after all these years and are working together for Jorge's forthcoming album "II."

A T.R.O.Y. contributer Kimani was kind enough to bless us with this Kurious compilation titled "Forever Constipated."

It's highly unlikely this was ever an official release but it's still a great recap of Jorge's career that. Check it out and stay tuned for the new album "II."

-- Philaflava



Forever Constipated

1. All Great (Dirty) 3:22
2. Fastlane 3:09
3. El Gran Combo [Main One (ft. Fat Joe, Prince Powerule, Joe Fatal)] 4:08
4. Young Stars From Nowhere [Powerule (ft. Rebel, Johnny)] 4:52
5. Freestyle [Leaders Of The New School] 5:02
6. Walk Like A Duck (Madik Mix) 4:58
7. Smokin That Shit [KMD (ft. Lord Sear, Earthquake)] 4:41
8. 3 Blind Mice [P.M., Pete Nice, Daddy Rich, Benz] 4:55
9. Freestyle (ft. Souls Of Mischief) 8:11
10. Mansion And A Yacht (ft. Mike G, Sadat X) 4:06
11. I'm Kurious (P. Nice & DRich Remix) 4:03
12. All Great Remix (Dirty) 3:16
13. ? [MF DOOM] 3:09
14. Shifting Lanes [MF DOOM, MF Grimm] 2:58
15. Trueness To The Blueness 3:02
16. Mugwort + Cinnamon = Shifting Lanes (ft. Kurious) [Grimm/DOOM] 2:58
17. Fill' Er Up 1:18
18. Jorge Of The Projects (Original) 3:36
19. Kurious Freestyle At Sway & Tech Wake Up Show 1:19
20. Catch My Drift (ft. Kadi) 4:08
21. Travelling (ft. Kurious, Lord Smog (Scotch) & Bashton The Invizabul Mang) [MF Grimm] 3:49
22. Rice And Beans (Freestyle) (ft. Prince Paul) 3:07
23. One 4 The Head 4:54
24. Baby Bust It (ft. Kadi & Kurious) [MF Grimm] 4:32
25. Blue 4:17

DOWNLOAD

D-Sturbed Words

D-Stroy "D-Sturbed Words"

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?myugczmq2nj

Every so often, a work of genius is produced that contains the transcendent power to shatter the conventions of society. From Stravinsky to Miles to Nas, each generation is blessed with frozen moments so acutely inspired that eardrums are left frostbitten. Forget about dependency on the consumer for dissemination - a work of prescience lost in the annals of history can be (re)discovered in a sympathetic future. With this in mind, I present a work of poetry rivaled only by The Wasteland in depth, foresight, technical innovation, and emotional resonance. Let me first set the mood.

1999. Spoken word poetry is surging into national prominence in the wake of dual Saul Williams vehicles, Slam and SlamNation. The scene expanding outward from the Nuyorican dilutes the art into a competition where Egocentricity masquerades as Afrocentricity and mimicry runs rampant. On a parallel track, Hip Hop continues to colonize every genre and subjugate Billboard. So many dope releases in so little time means that many slip through the cracks.

As the World Burns, the debut LP of the thirteen-strong football squad of a rap group The Arsonists, is one such release. Replete with battlestance grandiloquence, horrorcore absurdity, and sophomoric wit, it is loved by critics and underground heads, though sales lag. Detractors point to an obvious detriment in its lack of variety, and honestly, they have a point.

Then I hit the penultimate track and everything changes. (Now would be a good time to hit the geometry in your media player.)

"D-Sturbed Words" by D-Stroy is one of, if not the, defining moments of modern pop culture. A chaotic patchwork of symbolic rhetoric. A veritable San Diego Zoo of animal sound FX. D-stroy's egalitarian aesthetic is best described at the piece’s very beginning: “Now two frogs that got burned on a radiator. Two flushed in the toilet and the two cookies fell.”

Don't let the peculiar syntax play you, D-Stroy is all about relativity. He draws a line in the dirt with one hand while building an ark with the other. He doesn't “care what school you go to.” Is he a peace lover tree hugger? Hell no. Name an artist without conflicting elements boiling within and win a prize. Later, he insists “Yo, you don't know me! I'm not real!” only to declare “I know who I am!” in a less than self-aggrandizing moment.

Other classic schizoid symptoms abound. Progenitor approval anxiety (“Daddy daddy don’t like me”) or simply dementia (“The sky was black, it almost looked like candy-apple green“). Paranoia creeps into the most casual slip of the tongue: “Nah. NaaaAH. Sell…tell. Naah. Flaah. Tuueh.” Reaffirming Louis Carroll's Jabberwocky - gibberish has never held so much meaning.

Tourette’s Syndrome gobbledygook suggests a Zen-existential ontology. He confesses “Yo, the deal isn't real,” which seems as much an indictment of the record industry (“everybody knows my style/cuz the pimp said I was for 99 cents“) as a denial of true reality, leading to theology: “I said yo! Who's your God? And he said 'lahunpluueeh!”

He returns to the subject with an astonishing insight, repeating “I was with the chicken by the hippo” twice, ending the second go-round in an erudite whisper. Clearly referencing the chicken/egg enigma, the artist splices the elegance of the question with the dangerous buffoonery of a hippopotamus. Is the hippo God? If it is, D-Stroy doesn't think too much of divinity.

The piece climaxes on a bright note as “the sun comes down to the bus!” is bellowed not once or twice, but thrice. There is hope, even for those Gnostics cursed to linger for millenia in Hell's vestibule. It is restored in one instance of master craftsmanship. D-Sturbed Words is an event horizon, a fragile borderland between our universe and a place where the laws of physics aren’t applicable and imagination fails. Where space tumbles over itself like a Mobius strip and chronological order is immaterial. If it gives you meaning, you have understood. If all you hear is a garbled bedlam, you have understood.

Suffice it to say, the 20th century didn't end with a whimper. This is Art with a capital “A” AND italicized. It knows what it is. “Do you know who you am?” -- Loki

IV Life

[click image to download]

IV Life is the fourth album by King Tee. and my personal favorite by Mr. McBride. It was also his first album released by MCA Records in 1994 after his split with Capitol Records, where he was signed to since 1987. To many, this is Tee's most multifaceted album to date. On the production end Tee enlists the help of longtime homies DJ Pooh, E-Swift and Ultramagnetic MC's producer, T.R. Love or as credited on this album, T.R. Funk Ignitor. He also taps on a few then-relatively unknown producers such as DJ Broadway, Mark Sparks, Rashad, Thayad and female rapper/producer Nikke Nicole who was best known for her contribution "Old Time's Sake" off of the Above The Rim soundtrack.

The production on this album is sample reliant and artists sampled include A Tribe Called Quest (on "You Can't See Me"), The Four Tops (on "Dippin'"), Freddie Hubbard (on "3 Strikes Ya' Out") and Grover Washington, Jr. (on "Down Ass Loc"). Peep the video for "Dippin" below.

--Philaflava

BONUS ALBUM:

[click image to download]

1. Act A Fool
2. Bass
3. Played Like a Piano
4. Ruff Rhyme (Back Again)
5. Payback's a Mutha
6. At Your Own Risk
7. Guitar Playin'
8. Diss You
9. Can This Be Real
10. Bus Dat Ass - feat. Tha Alkaholiks
11. The Coolest
12. Just Clowning
13. I Got It Bad Y'All
14. Ya Better Bring a Gun

East Coast 12 Inch Rarities Volume 1

This little collection of tracks is the start of something big. When I began I did not realize how big the project would become. This is volume one of my east coast 12 inch (and ep) mix series. I just put together volume 108 the other day. I will be bringing all 108 of them to the table so keep checking back. Track 2 is something that I recorded on tape from kaos 89.3 fm, in Olympia, Washington, during the fall of 1993. F Mob is so obscure that it took 12 years to find a copy of the song on a compilation. Then it took another year or more to find the full album ! All New York artists except as far as I know except for the exceptions listed next to the track titles.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=01GP6JK5

ruggedness madd drama - 01 checkin down the menu (1994) philadelphia
f mob - 02 pump pump (the vibe) (1994) philadelphia
children of the corn - 03 uptown connection (1993) harlem
dredknotz - 04 causin a menace (remix) (1994)
now born click - 05 now born soldiers (raw mix) (1993)
da mad scientist - 06 never fear (1994)
black maddness - 07 wild brooklyn bandits (1993) brooklyn
the almighty rso - 08 hellbound (the rso saga part 2) (1994) boston
crossfire - 09 fill the void (wreck mix) (1994)
shadez of brooklyn - 10 when it rains it pours (1994) brooklyn
live squad - 11 murderahh (1992) new jersey
kenny dope gonzalez - 12 dondadda (original rama jama mix) (1993) brooklyn
a to the d - 13 the renegade jew (remix) (1992)
mental illness - 14 amazins not playin brooklyn 1994
greyboy - 15 outerlude (1993)
dark skinned assassin - 16 the horror (1994)
two outta millions - 17 land of lyricism (1995)

Not sure track 17 is actually east coast so if anyone knows for sure feel free to clear that up for me. Thanks and enjoy! Also, the track from greyboy is from a full album, but it fit well.

--Schenectadyfan