For those of you that frequent the forum, you will undoubtedly have noticed the "Illest EPs Ever" thread that's been ongoing for the past month or so. Too many dope EPs to name have been uploaded by numerous forum members.
One of the best EPs to be uploaded, in my humble opinion, is King Sun's "Strictly Ghetto" EP. Released in 1994 on Cold Chillin' Records, one look at the cover tells you this is a different King Sun than the one you remember from "Righteous But Ruthless." Sun-D Moet traded in his kufi for a Carhartt jacket, and forging a harder-edged street-level experience for the listener. If you are a fan of the TROY blog, I guarantee you will love this record. The beats are top notch (I'm not sure who helmed the boards, as a Google search proves fruitless) and Sun definitely stepped up his lyrical game.
Unfortunately, the EP seemed to get lost in the decline and eventual demise of Cold Chillin' Records shortly after it's release. It's currently out of print, but you can get a CD copy on Amazon for under $100...you know, if paying exorbitant prices for obscure early 90's rap records is your thing.
Enjoy this dope little slice of '94, courtesy of Echo Leader & the TROY blog.
1. Humm Deez Nuts 2. Street Corner 3. BNS Sex 4. Once Upon A Time 5. Suck No Dick 6. Robbin' Of Da Hood 7. Get Down With Da Get Down
It's Sunday afternoon again (shout out to Lighter Shade Of Brown). It's one of those contemplative days. The new albums from Clipse and Souls Of Mischief leaked and they're just so-so. The landscape of music is just looking bleak as can be and yet you feel serene, cool as can be. What better time to get reacquainted with some retro-future rap, the music that bypassed you or was too ahead of its time to suggest. Check out the best of our offerings from the past half-month:
Yes! More mid 90's Dysfunkshunal Fam. If you dig the Finsta/Dysfunkshunal/SOB/Bushwick
camp, then you will surely be happy with this. Keep in mind that they ARE demos, so the audio quality isn't polished. Personally, I like that dirty dank basement sound. And also, a few google searches revealed that these demos have been circulating for a couple of years, I just haven't heard them until now.
The joint for me is "Tear Your Kingdom Down". "In Life" is another one that would have gotten some underground airplay back in the day. And "Cause We Are" sounds like it would have fit perfect on the Dysfunkshunal/Finsta Bundy EP from 1997.
A short release from Mesa's duo Twenty-Two. I don't know should treat this release as a single or as a EP. They have released full lenght album in 1998, but my version that i had found has some skipping on some tracks, so until i found normal ripped version you can regale yourself with this one here.
Twenty-Two - On The Uprise (1996)
01. What You Say 02. What You Say (Remix) 03. Steppin' In 04. Steppin' In (Remix) 05. What You Say (Remix Instrumental)
Some people love them, some people hate them, but here we go with the final installment of my Remix Packs. For #5, I bring you all the remixes that I loved in the 90's that lean heavily towards the alternative/metal/electronic side. I'm going to guess that Onyx and Biohazzard's collaboration for the Judgement Night Soundtrack went so well that they teamed up again for the "Slam" remix. And I liked the House Of Pain mix so much I don't see any reason that I wouldn't enjoy the Naughty By Nature track either. Dr. Octagon was ahead of his time and on some other level shit in 1996. Last up is Mr. Meth. It was a toss up between the the Prodigy Mix of "Release Yo Delf" and the Chemical Brothers mix for "Bring The Pain." Both are great in different ways.
Remix Pack 5 01 Onyx-Slam (Bionyx Remix) 02 House Of Pain-Shamrocks & Shenanigans (Boom Shalock Lock Boom) (Butch Vig Mix) 03 Dr. Octagon-Bear Witness (2 Turntables & A Razor Blade Re-Edit) 04 Method Man-Release Yo' Delf (Prodigy Mix) 05 Naughty By Nature-Hip Hop Hooray (Thrash Mix)
As an added bonus I've created a pack of alternative artists that received the remix treatment by the hip hop industry. Most are pretty obvious, the "Nickel Bag" remix was done by the Dust Brothers and "Make Out City" is by Mike Simpson (one half of the Dust Brothers). I truly feel that these 5 remixes are worth 15 minutes of your time. I've also cleverly combined Remix Packs 5 & 6 together so you're going to get these songs whether you want them or not.
Remix Pack 6 01 Sublime-Doin' Time (Marshall Arts Remix) feat. The Pharcyde 02 Beck-Where It's At (Make Out City) (Remix by Mike Simpson) 03 Rage Against The Machine-Bullet In The Head (Sir Jinx Remix) 04 Propellerheads-Take California & Party feat. Jungle Brothers 05 Filter-Hey Man Nice Shot (Nickel Bag)
Here's a quick primer one of Los Angeles' most ground-breaking yet under-appreciated rap crews.
Curbserver / Afterlife Recordz was an outgrowth of the legendary Project Blowed collective, which I briefly touched on in this post. Although they've always been a little more hardcore / gangsta, the Afterlife MC's are absolute style kings. They switch from hyper-fast rhyming displays to slower, almost free-form jazz-influenced flows with ease and although this is the hardest pill for new listeners to swallow, if you take the time to interpret their labyrinthine lyrical showcases you'll begin realize that the rappers in question aren't being overly technical simply for the sake of it. They're great writers and storytellers too, in the true griot tradition. These dudes (and ladies) pour a lot of truth and soul into their music, concocting didactic Cali narratives that serve as the logical counterpart (at least in my mind) to their more commercial cousins such as NWA, Snoop Doggy Dogg, and Cypress Hill.
The origins of the Curbservers can be traced back to the Good Life Cafe and it's inception in 1989. During the early 90's, Good Life regulars such as Freestyle Fellowship, Aceyalone, and Abstract Rude would begin to gel and form the original Project Blowed family. Although many luminaries in the LA underground scene would pass through the 'Life, the Blowdians were there nearly every damn week, freestyling, competing, and observing each other's respective styles. One Blowdian, Ellay Khule (aka Rifleman) began to form his own little family of rappers within the Blowed clique that came to utilize a unique form of rapping called "chopping" almost exclusively. This family would eventually be known as the Afterlife MCs/Curbserver camp of Project Blowed. The sub-collective's roster has fluctuated throughout the years as MCs have come and gone, but the main gravitational forces are the Hip Hop KClan (Rifleman Ellay Khule & Pterradacto) and the Chillin Villain Empire (NgaFsh, Riddlore?, Wreccless, and bunch of other cats). Satellite members include The Eastside Badstads, Of Mexican Descent, Cypher 7, and Legion. Unfortunately, various factors including lack of monetary funds and jail time over the past 15 years have left their physical output spotty at best. The recordings that do surface (usually homemade, retrospective-style compilations burned onto low-quality cd-rs), however, are mostly excellent slices of low-fi four-track madness. No Pro-Tools allowed, cuddy!
What I've composed here is a 19-track compilation of my favorite Afterlife/Curbserver-related material. This mix is by no means comprehensive; it's merely a collection of the songs I feel the most out of the material I have heard. Some of the tracks have been taken from post-"TROY era" releases, but since a lot of those releases were compilations of previously recorded material, I would estimate the years covered by this material span from roughly 1994 to 2005. If anyone actually takes offense to material post-1997 being represented here, bounce. That's not the point. Anyway, here's the compilation:
Echo Leader's Afterlife/Curbserver Picks
1. NgaFsh, Riddlore?, & Chu - "Crack Kills" 2. Otherwize, Riddlore?, & Chu - "Writin' Unda Pressure" 3. Chu, NgaFsh, & Riddlore? - "Hut 2, 3, 4" 4. Hip Hop KClan - "Show'em How 2 Chop" 5. The Eastside Badstads - "Bluntheadz" 6. (Rifleman) Ellay Khule - "Fuck A Cop' 7. NgaFsh - "Cause & Effect" 8. NgaFsh & Tray Loc - "Party N My Trunk!" 9. (Rifleman) Ellay Khule - "Boogie On" 10. Hip Hop KClan - "Massive Meltdown" 11. NgaFsh, Riddlore?, & D-Mac - "Role Model" 12. Busdriver - "Life Or Death" 13. Otherwize - "A Wize Man's Advice" 14. Hip Hop KClan - "Everyday Things" 15. Tray Loc - "Once Upon A Freak" 16. Pterradacto - "As The World Turns" 17. NgaFsh, Riddlore?, & (Rifleman) Ellay Khule - "Street Lightz" 18. Hip Hop KClan - "Full Speed Ahead" 19. Of Mexican Descent - "Mosh 2 Da Sun"
What's good ladies and gentlemen? First off for the introduction, some of y'all might now me and some of you might not. I go by Trav, nothing fancy, straight up "Trav". That should be easy enough to remember, even after a fifth of Henny. Some of you might know me from the long running WYDU blog (Wake Your Daughter Up for those not in the know, after the infamous No Face album). I decided to join the TROY squad on a part time basis when I feel like dropping some old school goodness. My love for the "old school" hip hop runs deep. I'm an old cat who has been jamming hip hop tapes, CDs, and vinyl since the mid 80's. I haven't lived in any hip hop hotbeds during those times, no New York or LA, or even Philly or Chi-Town. I was out in the boonies of the Northwest. Meaning I wet my hip hop thirst mainly through The Source magazine, when it was the bible of hip hop, and through Yo! MTV Raps. It was a lesson.
Enough of the biographical bullshit, that's not why you are reading this. Every now and then, there is a track that comes along from your past and you remember it being the jam back in the day. Maybe they were just personal favorites, but they just got lost in your subconscious to never be heard from again...or are they?
I have several tracks that fit this description, stuff I never thought I'd ever think of or hear again. I have several, Euro K's "She's A....", Blackmale's "Body Talk", stuff that might sound kinda booty now, but you loved the shit when it first dropped. I figured I'd cover a few of those every now and then. The first is from a DC artist by the name of DC Scorpio. Scorpio was mainly a Go-Go artist, a genre that is to DC as is House to Chicago. I'm sure there are Chocolate City natives out there that could shed more light on the career of DC Scropio since I know very little about his career and finding much about it on the net isn't very easy neither. He dropped the single, "Stone Cold Hustler" sometime between '87 and '90. My experience with him is through catching the video ONCE on Yo! MTV Raps sometime in 1989. Luckily enough I was either recording videos as I was watching, as I often did, or I recorded the entire episode.
As you can tell, the video is a little dated. The fashion is kinda humorous and of course, who the hell uses dancers in their videos now? Regardless, I jammed this video for about six months straight as part of my "get ready for school" routine. I never did get the track on any audio source. No tapes, records or CDs, and no MP3's, yeah, we was living in the stone age. As times went on though, I forgot about it...kinda. Once the internet started to take grip around '05, it was my mission to find this track again.
In what you think would be a somewhat easy undertaking turned into a royal bitch. It wasn't until last year that someone finally came through and ripped their vinyl for me that I had "Stone Cold Hustler Pt. 2". That's right, there is an more go-go sounding part one that is floating around out there. I actually found that first, before realizing it wasn't what I was looking for.
We have the whole 12 inch vinyl single up for grabs today. It contains the original "Stone Cold Hustler Pt.2" version. What's so great about this song? It sounds dated, and I'm sure for the cats that don't like that late 80's sound with plastic sounding keys and hollow bass lines over the snares of the day will probably not be digging this. For me, it was a combination of the beat and Scorpio's rhymes. Not that he was the most lyrical cat, but he made it sound intense and real. His delivery is raw, his vocal tone is somewhat high pitched, but very memorable. Then of course the stories of the hustler tales also was something that hooked me in.
The vinyl also contains a couple other mixes, one being the "Jeep Mix". While not as good as an original, and still dated in it's sound, but it's a decent listen. It's got the cheesy keys and is a little more go-go influenced, but the bass kicks make up for that. The "Jazz Mix" is absolutely horrible, with some new jack swing shit going on in it and horrible keys littering the whole thing. Overall, not a lost classic in a general consensus, but a lost personal classic most definitely. --Trav
A1 Stone Cold Hustler II 4:15 A2 Stone Cold Hustler II (Jazz Mix) 4:59 B1 Stone Cold Hustler II (Jeep Mix) 3:52 B2 Stone Cold Hustler II (Instrumental) 3:44
Chances are, if you read this site (or listen to rap music at all) you know about Rap-A-Lot Records. Legendary in the southern hip hop scene, RAL is one of my favorite labels and a sure-shot candidate for "greatest independent ever to do it." Admittedly, they have enjoyed major-label distribution over the past decade and a half or so, but J. Prince and company rarely have rarely made commercial concessions and have never, ever sold out on their fan base. Not only have they remained staunchly underground for over twenty damn years, they've brought us talents such as the Geto Boys (Scarface, Willie D, Bushwick Bill and/or Big Mike), the Convicts, Devin the Dude, and Z-Ro.
Most people know the names above either because of their popularity or their overall impact on rap music (re: 'Face), but RAL was also home to a gang of damn-near unknown and criminally underrated rappers that released albums through the label. What you know about Mad CJ Mac? Poppa LQ? Blac Monks? What about Menace Clan, or Seagram? These dudes smashed records that people north of the Mason-Dixon line rarely got a chance to hear...or maybe they just ignored them. Because of both limited release and (unfortunately) limited interest, many of Rap-A-Lot's best offerings are now out of print. Most of these albums can still be found with ease on sites like Amazon or eBay, but expect to drop some serious coin. Last time I checked, Willie D's solo debut was still pushing three figures.
Thus, in the interest of bringing some shine to these oft-ignored released, I present to you a compilation of hand-picked Rap-A-Lot tracks spanning from 1988 to 1996. Those years are generally revered as the RAL Golden Age, during which most of the label's classic records were released. I tried not to include any super obvious material like "Straight Gangstaism," "Mind Playin' Tricks On Me," or anything from "The Diary." If I included some obvious stuff (and I did), well then that's because the obvious is so damn good, and I'm really only skimming the surface here anyway. I'm not trying to impress anybody with some esoteric b-side mixdown of a forgotten Choice single here. In fact, I'm not really sure who would be impressed by that in the first place. But I digress.
Simply put, these are 15 of my personal throwed-ass favorites. Nothing more, nothing less. I guarantee you will like at least one of these tracks. Hopefully you will like more.
Enjoy.
Echo Leader's Vintage Rap-A-Lot Mix (1988-1996)
1. Geto Boys - "Read These Nikes" 2. Willie D - "Bald Headed Hoes" 3. Ganksta NIP - "Psycho" 4. The Convicts - "1-900-Dial-A-Crook (featuring Geto Boys)" 5. Scarface - "A Minute To Pray & A Second To Die" 6. Seagram - "The Dark Roads" 7. Menace Clan - "Da Bullet" 8. Too Much Trouble - "Invasion Of The Purse Snatchers" 9. 5th Ward Boyz - "Swing Wide (featuring UGK)" 10. Big Mike - "Havin' Thangs" 11. 3-2 - "Coming Down" 12. Poppa LQ - "Why Hate Me?" 13. Odd Squad - "Fa' Sho" 14. Mad CJ Mac - "Powda Puff" 15. The Terrorists - "Make A Life Out Of Living"
This compilation was dropped on UK's label named UpperCut Records. On my copy of the disk there is no year of the release, so maybe we can trust discogs and have it in mind, that it was released in 1998. Enjoy.
1. Network Reps - Simplistic Feat. Shawn J Period, Tru Persona
2. Tommy Tee - Horizon Feat. Basheeba Earth, Black Sun, The High & Mighty, Network Reps 3. Mike Zoot - High Drama Feat. Mos Def, Talib Kweli 4. Network Reps - Dos Collabo Feat. L-Fudge, Mike Zoot, Tru Persona 5. Homeliss Derelix - Survivin The Game 6. All Natural - 50 Years 7. Homeliss Derelix - Player Status 8. Homeliss Derelix - Downsides 9. Persevere - So They Say 10. Grandmaster Garner (b.k.a. 'Gundei) - The Solution? 11. J-Live - Longevity 12. Mood - Another Day 13. Mass Influence - Space Cases 14. Mike Zoot meets Receiver - Blessed 15. 2 Amigos - Get Potential Feat. F.T., Mike Zoot 16. Purple Penguin - East Of West
From his comments last month calling Lil Wayne the "Greatest MC alive" to saying "Jay-Z vs. 50 Cent would be the greatest Hip-Hop battle of all-time," he has completely lost it. Am I right? Do you think with his comments and recent material taint his legacy in Hip-Hop? --Philaflava
I'm a child of rap's middle school and middle ground. Compared to some of the other contributors to this blog, I'm practically a teeny-bopper. I've owned about three crates of vinyl in my life (all purchased between '97 and '01) and 95% of my hip-hop listening consists of Native Tongue, Wu-Tang, Boot Camp Clik, Hit Squad, and DITC. This is bad because I always feel like an imposter claiming critical expertise when there is so much freakin' "underground" vinyl only stuff from the 90s that half the world (particularly Scandinavia) seems to be up on. But this is good because I frequently stumble upon things I didn't know existed.
Today, thanks to the good ol' T.R.O.Y. Forum, I discovered the following two songs which I feel entirely comfortable playing on repeat loop all goddamned night long if I so please:
Grand Puba "Hip Hop" (from Echo's Underground Airplay: Volume IV"
Okay, I KNOW that I had this tape but I only vaguely remember hearing the song. I must've liked it, right? Ah, thirty may be the new twenty but you can't revive brain cells, eh? In any event, this is classic Grand Puba comical punchline and smooth flow here, striking the perfect sonic and thematic balance between Guess n' Lo crisp flyness and goretex tough. Blast this in a jeep and if you don't have a jeep, just sip on E&J until you're too faded to remember what year it is.
Tung Twista ft. Dres "React With A Mic" (from Resurrection, 1994 - nope not that Resurrection from 1994 by a Chicago artist, but a different one)
OMG TWISTA BEFORE HE DROPPED THE TUNG RHYMING WITH BIG WORDS BLAH BLAH YADDA YADDA. Save it, Chi-town fanatics, this song is only worth a listen because Dres is on it in top form, ripping high speed flows that make young Twista sound like a souped up apprentice in comparison. Note to rappers: once you have flow, you need some fucking lyrics. This jam is super disgusting raw. Get with the program.
There's gems aplenty at the forum, so stop sleeping.
We speak of rap's yesteryear to marvel over the beats, perhaps even the slang, the gear, the personalities, all style variants. We presume the history of the rap genre to be mostly a mysterious series of stylistic collisions. Styles come and go and randomly dissipate into the ether, like that. We forget that the grandmasters have armies, that style is not simply unfettered intuitive poetic rumbling but also theory, conjecture, high concept, in short, propaganda. The idea is usually barebones "THISISME," or "THIS IS IT! THIS IS IT!" or some such similar epiphanic nonsense made important by a puffed chest, an ice grille, an emphatic, insistent tone.
Rap insists on moving forward, on burning every opponent or elder statesman, causing much damage to any system it encounters. We stole this lexicon from graffiti, of course, and out of this militant terminology the most desparate, egoistic, and noble endeavors were launched. Neo-Quasi-Egyptian Cosmic Race Baiting, Jheri-Curled Pseudo-Outlaw Agitprop, Sewerbound Cartoonish Babble - whatever the movement du jour, all victories were in the abstract. The imagined gladiatorial confrontations were simply vehicles for broadcasting ideas, scattering seeds, proclaiming "I a somebody" and carving that message in the clouds or shooting it to the moon.
It gradually became very important thing in the collective imagination to be a Johnny Appleseed of some such rap coalition or style or trend. The roughly hewn primary documents - the lyrics, the smashed together samples, the static, the sirens became less noteworthy than the assertions of the propagandists. Rap, as a cultural phenomenon, inexplicably shifted its focus from the poet who stares down shards of glass and sees transcendent hope to the self-styled journalist propping himself for stumbling upon said poet during his formative idealistic years. Find lightening in a bottle, then dig a hole to pass it on to China, making sure the brand of the smuggler is uttered in the same breath as the brand of the originator. Hustle.
Which is all well and good, because after the blackout of '77 birthed a million DJs, each advance in listening technology was sure to produce self-proclaimed tastemakers, the too-powerful and often small-minded "heads" that Chuck D. warned us about in his autobiography. Anyone with a blog (or an iPod, for that matter) is descendent of this phenomenon. That everyone is now a critic with the potential to amplify their critiques no matter how kneejerk is not an inherently bad thing. This genre was always a hugely critical, discursive one, and its culture of critique became only more cutthroat and intense with every technological advent.
It was probably inevitable that the armchair rap critic snatched power and voice back from the published 'zines, who had failed for the most part to sustain a generative and nuanced discussion of the art. Day in and day out the blogosphere does that the printed giants cannot - inject insight, dissent, sobriety, contemplation, nuanced critique into the discussion. Do some bloggers simply rehash the same bullshit that can be found in the increasingly emaciated print 'zines? Sure. Is our ability as bloggers/fans/heads/critics/broadcasters/propagandaists/player participators to help the cream rise to the top magnified? Y equals self, indeed. The proof is in the pudding - when the print 'zine cannot even offer a remotely credible assessment of the blogosphere, the game has not only changed in nature, but in venue, reach, and every other way. T.R.O.Y. isn't on XXL's rap blog radar but judging by how slim slim slimmy the rag is looking these days, we'd rather be out in St. Elsewhere, right?
Just last month T.R.O.Y. celebrated is first year anniversary. It might not seem very long ago, but I assure you everyday for the last 13 months we've been putting in work in hopes you come back to us. From our interviews, to our thought-provoking analysis, comprehensive lists, to our endless amounts of compilations covering samples, b-sides, remixes or complete discographies--we're out for the gusto!
We've managed to bring you guest blogging from the likes of Kurious Jorge, JVC Force, B-Real, Chip Fu, Tame One, and L.G. among others. Our main aim has always been to celebrate the music with our readers. To discover, relive or retrieve music we all appreciate. While hip-hop might be a dying art, or your favorite magazine publications cease to exist or shows like The Box, Pump It Up and Yo! MTV Rap are long gone, T.R.O.Y. will be here.
We realize the hip-hop we all know and love might not exist in the real world anymore, but it will always exists here. Every single day until the T.R.O.Y. casket drops we're going to make sure you have a place to reminisce. Whether we're challenging Dante Ross or campaigning for Easy Mo Bee, T.R.O.Y. will be here. Whether we're compiling our lists, conducting interviews with Prodigy, Guru or Henry Chalfant, T.R.O.Y. will be here. T.R.O.Y. will be here because Paul C. still matters. Because Big L will not be forgotten. Because we should know where the music originates from. Because it's important we don't forget our roots in this rap game. It's rewarding to get props from Prince Paul, Stretch Armstrong, Dres or when Vibe Magazine recognized us as the#20 best rap blog, but what's more rewarding is that you all take away something when you visit us. Hey, at least Quincy got it right!
Here's an exclusive that's gonna be a bonus feature on the Street Struck: The Big L Story DVD. Peace to The Big Sleep, DJ Mike Nice, BigLOnline, Dangerzone Films & Venom Records for this one. --Philaflava
The Faculty (Ei8trak & LY.F.E.) - Yes You May
Cameos By: Andre the Giant (A.G.), DJ Mike Nice, Donald "Don Ice" Phinazee (Big L's oldest brother), Lord Finesse & Stan Spit
Directed By: Jewlz the Director / Tommy (childhood friend of Big L)
Our sister blog Steady Bloggin' recently dropped the latest Philaflava compilation featuring many rappers and producers found on our website. While this isn't necessarily old school, there are several tracks on here I feel will grab you. It's a quick listen and I'm proud to be behind this project as we continue to bring fourth new music on both Philaflava and its blogs. --Philaflava
Song: Masta Killa - Masta Killa (2004) Produced by Baby Dooks
Original Sample: 王昭君（粤语） 刘君儿 广东民歌 Wang Zhao Jun (Cantonese Version)
This is probably my favorite song from No Said Date. I had been looking for this sample ever since I heard the album. I even asked people on forums but no one knew. Glad I found it!
Recently Verge started a thread on the t.r.o.y. forum strictly for eps. It reminded me that my ep sampler series has gone by the wayside for awhile now. Here's volume 4 from the New York ep collections. There are 8 volumes more to come so check back. Look closely and you'll see some pretty rare material on this compilation. Tracks 1 and 4 are not from eps but they fit right in.
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=PDHGKPYC
01 (3:53) Freestyle Professors - Rap Mathematician (1994?) 02 (4:40) Gunrunners - Shakedown 1995 03 (5:02) Lodd Manafess - You Dont Wanna Tess 1994 04 (4:03) Ra Capone - Down With The Black Mob 1995 05 (3:20) Rakim - I Get Visual 1996 06 (4:09) Prose (Steady And Efeks) - One People 199? 07 (5:45) Black Majik - Rotten Apple 1996 08 (4:12) Da Phathedz - Darkness Surrounds Me Ft. Lord Rebel 1996 09 (4:23) Herb Mcgruff - 8 Iz Enuff (Demo Version) 199? 10 (4:32) People Without Shoes - Green Shoelaces 1995 11 (2:46) Main Source - Bootlegging 1994 12 (4:06) Nappy Crumbsnatchas - Black Rain 1994 13 (3:55) Mg1 & Brownsville Mobsters - The Sun Never Shines 1995 14 (0:46) Troopa Deal - Interlude 1995 15 (2:15) Branded Black - Zones (3:47 A.m.) 199? 16 (4:39) Shadez Of Brooklyn - Wanted Man 1997 17 (5:05) Da Noe Doe Network - Once Upon A Time 1997 18 (4:24) Pete Rock and CL Smooth - In The House 1994 19 (4:12) Dysfunkshunal Familee - To Have Or Have Not 1994 20 (3:49) Lace Da Booms - Ain't No Secret (Clean) 1997
I tried to stick with a relatively narrow time range, 1994-1997. The number of dope eps from just these three years alone is incalculable. Let me know what you like, I'll be glad to share any of the full eps these tracks are pulled from. Enjoy volume 4 in the meantime!
--Schenectadyfan
Edit: Apparently the .rar file was missing track 11. Here is another link with that cut included.
I was thinking that you g-funk lovers would appreciate an album with dope beats, familiar samples and solid mc-ing (from two emcees that I cannot identify by name). Anyway you look at it, this release is definitely not worthless.
Worthless Freedom - Introduction To Death (1996)
01. Dead Man 02. The Devils Anthem 03. Dead R Alive 04. Them Fall 05. Concrete Jungle 06. Up In The Life 07. Ain't No Love 08. No American Dream 09. Ghetto Soldiers 10. Mr. Man 11. Gimmie Dat Money 12. Death 13. Concrete Jungle (Remix) 14. Ain't No Love (Remix)
Sounds Like The 90s (Volume 11) - Ever feel like you're living in New Jack City? Bridge the present to the past with the latest installment of our popular series.
Who Flipped It Better? "The Rub" - George and Gwen McRae are given new life by Mobb Deep, Meth and Red, The Coup, and Brand Nubian. But who flipped it loveliest? Listen and decide for yourself.
Philly Retrospective Volume 8 - Listen if only for the fact that The City of Brotherly Love still get overlooked for its immense contributions to hip hop music.
Beef: X-Clan vs. Boogie Down Productions - Their beef was ideological, they kept it on wax and made some great music, and then they reconciled and collaborated. How it should be done.
Touring The States: Tulsa, OK - Markshot continues his quest across the fruited plain, this time proving there's more to Oklahoma than the Trail Of Tears and the Homestead Act.
I've been holding out on this one for a long minute. It just didn't feel right without having some of Don's horn samples on here, but they'll have to be on Volume 2.
One of my favorite producers on the mic, of all time, who made those beats that any producer wished he had done himself. The first track, Cloudburst, starts off with a Natural Elements' sample. KA - I Mean This. You'll also catch a Double XX Posse sample in there if you pay close attention. If you can catch it, name it in the comments. All I'll say is it's off their "Ruff, Rugged, And Raw" album from 1995.
I could go on about how great some of these originals are and what other samples you'll find on them, but that would take up too much space. Do peep Marcella's Dream and see how Buckwild flipped that one for Big L's MVP Remix, though. Crazy.
Most of the Don joints here are from the Hydra Beats instrumental records he dropped in the mid 90's. The other tracks I figured you guys already had, so I just used the instrumental versions. Except the last three, which happen to be three of my favorite GFD tracks. I don't have the instrumentals for those.
If you know of any of his horn loop sample sources, please do tell in the comments.
Does anyone recognize a track that sampled the beginning of "Darling Dear" by The Jackson 5? The melody and the "La La La" singing?
Back in August, I posted on the "Track ID" thread from the T.R.O.Y. forum looking for the track that sampled it. I mentioned that the track was probably from the late 80's or early 90's. At first, I thought that it was Three Times Dope but after going through their albums, it wasn't. I was still pretty sure that it was done by a group. After 5 days, no one replied so I asked again. Fellow T.R.O.Y. Bloggers Cenzi, Verge, and another forum member said that it didn't ring a bell to them.
Today, November 7 as I'm writing, I don't really remember what triggered me listen to this track but I went on Youtube to hear Tall Dark & Handsome (self titled track) from their 1988 hip-hop album on B-Boy Records. As soon as the track started, I remembered that it was that song that I was looking for 3 months straight. I knew that I wasn't dreaming.. It's definitely a classic 'ahead of its time' type of joint! If you want their album you can buy the Traffic Ent. Reissue from 2005. I still included a link courtesy of bustthefacts for those who wants to give it a quick listen.
WORD!! Sorry if you already saw this on other blogs already, but it had to be posted here for obvious reasons. Not much info out there about this and I have no idea if this implies any future endeavors between the duo. But we can only hope. Apparently they are touring Europe together right now. This show was in London at Relentless Garage, Highbury.
But here's the kicker: Sometime in the near future, a couple of those beats will be released on 45's and will have CL Smooth rhyming on them. I don't know if he's just going to rhyme the same verses again or what, though. Stay tuned.
Thanks to CDubb over at the T.R.O.Y. forum for pulling my coat to this. Pause.
I'm posting the 5th volume from my southern series today. It's underground hip hop from Florida, Lousiana, Georgia, Texas, Alabama, and Tennessee, 1992-1997. There is some rare shit here so don't sleep ! A few of the more obscure cuts include numbers 5, 9, 14, 16 and 17. Dont make make the mistake of thinking this is all booty music. Southern hip hop has flavor and variety just like anywhere else. If you are below the Mason-Dixon stand up and be counted! Here's a link and the tracklist--
