Mark 563's Hip Hop Portrait Sketches - Wu-Tang Edition

Mark 563 is a DJ, a graphic designer, into amateur photography, and also dabbles in the dope illustrations.

He is also the proud owner of one of the greatest vinyl collections that I have ever seen.
Stay tuned because we will be showcasing more of his great work in the near future.
Enjoy and please leave some feedback. Thanks.

** Click on the image to see it in a bigger resolution.









-- Markshot

Gravediggaz “Rare & Remixed Volume 3” (Non-Album Tracks)

And finally, here is "Rare & Remixed Volume 3." This last volume is made up of tracks that I found after 2000 and up to the present. Most are random, unofficial remixes or mash-ups. Some good, some decent and a couple whatevers. But the first two tracks are from the advance copy of Prince Paul's "Hip-Hop Gold Dust." When the retail came out, "Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark" was mysteriously missing. And yes, about 30 seconds in to "Constant Elevation" there is some kind of hiss sounds. That's how it was on the DAT and Prince Paul apologized for it in the liner notes. As an added bonus, I have included the scene rip of the Gravediggaz "Demo Tape" and a very nice 8 track "Halloween Mashup EP" by DJ Cheekyboy. There are also a good assortment of unofficial Gravediggaz remixes on YouTube if you get some free time.


DOWNLOAD VOLUME 3 - PART 1

DOWNLOAD VOLUME 3 - PART 2

enjoy,
--dirt_dog

Gravediggaz “Rare & Remixed Volume 2” (Non-Album Tracks)

"Rare & Remixed Volume 2" is mostly compiled of tracks from the "The Pick The Sickle & The Shovel" era (1997-ish & post Prince Paul). To me, the highlights on this volume are the "Michael Jackson Skit" which is a supposed leftover from "6 Feet Deep" and the full "Westwood Freestyle" with The Roots and Hurricane that clocks in at just over 24 minutes!


DOWNLOAD VOLUME 2

enjoy,
--dirt_dog

Gravediggaz “Rare & Remixed Volume 1” (Non-Album Tracks)

In case you didn't know, the Gravediggaz were a supergroup formed in 1994 by Prince Paul (The Undertaker), Frukwan (The Gatekeeper), Too Poetic (The Grym Reaper) [R.I.P.] and RZA (The Rzarector). This compilation will be a three-part series. Volumes 1 & 2 were originally assembled back in 1999 for a few friends and other traders (traitors?). They managed to find their way on to eBay and were trimmed down to create other bootlegs that were possibly pressed up or at least widely circulated. The years on those boots are absolutely bogus as some of the material wasn't even available at that time. Volume 3 is made up of unreleased tracks and remixes/mash-ups that I found between 2000 and 2010. It will also include a couple other treats, so stay tuned.


DOWNLOAD THE REVISED VOLUME 1
(I went back and removed all questionable characters from the files names: ampersands (&) commas (,) question marks (?) apostrophes ('). Hopefully this will resolve ANY more problems.)

enjoy,
--dirt_dog

Bobby Corridor “Substitution” (2009)

Here's a great new mix from Bobby Corridor using tracks that sampled "Synthetic Substitution" by Melvin Bliss. Not sure about the video, but here's the original track.



OG Style- Catch ‘Em Slippin’
Great track from a great album, he even says “we’ve been waiting on this break for a long time”. Clever. I always hears “what about the doubters” as “what about the downloads”. Even before they invented them. Double clever.

De La Soul- Potholes in My Lawn
De La also use the drums in Stone Age and Millie Pulled a Pistol on Santa (would have been seasonal) but here they use the piano yeah.

The Pharcyde- Ya Mama
Your mum.

Ghostface Killah- Mighty Healthy
Same break and some of the same lyrics as the next track.

Divine Force- Holy War
As interpolated by Ghostface (^this^). The best thing they did. Got this for 20p.

Ultramagnetic MCs- Ego Trippin’
The oldest track on this? Probably. One of the best? Yes.

Frankie Cutlass- Boriquas on the Set
Fat Joe and stuff.

Biz Markie- Cool V’s Tribute to Scratching
Biz is also on De La’s Substitution sampling Stone Age. SIX DEGREES OF KEVIN BACON. Big Daddy Kane’s Just Rhymin’ With Biz uses a bit of Substitution too. As does Looks Like a Job For.

Wu-Tang Clan- Clan in da Front
Rza and the Wu love this break. Because it’s good.

Gang Starr- Code of the Streets
Primo with the substitution break. Also using one of my favourite scratch sounds.

Naughty By Nature- OPP (inst)
As heard in the summer of whenever. Yeah, you know how I roll.

Tony D- Adam’s Nightmare
The beat that Naughty by Nature nicked. Another hip hop legend gone this year.

Public Enemy- Don’t Believe the Hype
Reminds me of a 6th form ice skating trip. Oh how we laughed. PE like the break too.

Gang Starr- Dwyck
Primo again. You know the one. The lemonade one.

Prince Rakeem- Deadly Venoms
Pre-Wu Rza. You disagree with me, fuck you mister.

Def Jef- Black to the Future
He’s Def and his name is Jef. He did some alright tracks.

Nice and Smooth- Skill Trade
Just the piano again. Just little bits though.

Supreme Nyborn- Versatile Extension
Let’s remix it. Booom

EMF- Rough Potential
Not that EMF but ^that^ EMF, Electro Motive Force. Incidentally I saw EMF (that EMF) supporting Boo Ya Tribe many years ago. Big boy riddims.

Schoolly D- Saturday Night
How the fluck did he get so cool. Could have also used Saturday Night Live by Masta Ace which uses large bits of the break, and has Premier on it. KEVIN BACON.

Choice MCs- This is the B-Side
Better than the A-side. Pianos and that.

Public Enemy- Brothers Gonna Work It Out (dub)
They did a track called The B-Side Wins again but this was an A-side. Weird. Could have included Miuzi Weighs a Ton too, if it would mix nice.

BTX- This Jam is Black
Super, a sprightly number from the great Select label.

DJ Jazzy Jeff and Fresh Prince- Jazzy’s Groove
Final track and cut short before Grover Washington Jr comes in just in case it provoked a facebook group to try to post a mix of shouty rap metal instead.


Go HERE to download the mix. SendSpace link at the bottom.

enjoy,
--dirt_dog

Wu-Tang Clan “After The Laughter Comes The Tears (Bootleg VLS)”

I swear, I'd do just about anything for the Wu to have this raw, hungry sound again. Don't even get me started on the most recent album, which is heads above the last few. But really, how can you call it a Wu-Tang album when it doesn't have any verses from GZA, Method Man, Masta Killa or even a spot from Cappadonna?

Anyways, I picked up this vinyl back in 1996, one of my first online purchases ever (from what used to be CD Europe.) Back then everything was straight text in a list form, so I had no idea what I'd receive. But the moment I put it on I knew there was something different about this track from my cd version. It took me several years to figure out that this is bootleg of a white label of the original vinyl that the Wu-Tang sold out of the trunk of their cars (so the story goes). That makes this track the demo version of "Tearz."

01 After The Laughter Comes The Tears (Vocal)

02 After The Laughter Comes The Tears (Instrumental)

03 After The Laughter Comes The Tears (Bonus Beat)

DOWNLOAD

enjoy,

--dirt_dog

Memory Man Presents Wu-Tang Clan Vs. D.I.T.C.

Memory Man Presents Wu-Tang Clan Vs. D.I.T.C.

"This virtual face-off pits two of New York's most respected and influential crews against each other in an all-out blend war. The focus is on battle rhymes and the groups' golden era material, but there's a few exceptions. Split into two continuous parts, the tracks alternate between Wu-Tang MC's rhyming over D.I.T.C. beats and vice versa. This mix is an attempt to illustrate how evenly matched the Wu-Tang Clan and D.I.T.C. really are/were."

Wu-Tang Clan Vs. DITC Part 1 (45:30)
Wu-Tang Clan Vs. DITC Part 2 (35:05)

Download

Hopefully, you will all enjoy this mix. Make sure to check out Memory Man here at his Myspace. Drop a comment! It def gets my vote for 'Mix of the Year'!!

-- Thomas V

Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style/ Taste The Pain (Soundtrack 1999)

In 1999, the video game "Wu Tang: Shaolin Style" was released for the PlayStation. It was titled "Taste The Pain" in PAL territories. It was a fighting game based on the Wu-Tang Clan's kung fu influence. Wu Tang: Shaolin Style was poorly received by many video game reviewers but anyway, my intention is to post the soundtrack not the video game. The PlayStation disc had its soundtrack which was playable on every music cd player. It featured every song that was exclusively made for the game.

1. La The Darkman & RZA - Wu World Order
2. U-God - Rumble (Feat. Inspectah Deck, Letha Face, & Method Man)
3. Masta Killa - Shaolin Temple
4. Tekitha - Back To 36 (Take It Back)
5. La The Darkman & RZA - Wu World Order (Instrumental)
6. U-God - Rumble (Instrumental) (Prod. By True Master)
7. RZA - Instrumental #1
8. RZA - Instrumental #2
9. RZA - Instrumental #3
10. RZA - Jungle Instrumental #1
11. RZA - Jungle Instrumental #2
12. RZA - Jungle Instrumental #3
13. La The Darkman & RZA - Wu World Order (Chorus Acapella)
14. RZA - Jungle Instrumental #4

Download


-- Thomas V

DJ Mister Cee “The Best Of Method Man”

Originally I bought this one on cassette. But I couldn't resist buying it a second time, on cd. Nothing too fancy, nothing too special, a couple of nice freestyles, remixes and a classic live track, but overall it's a great mix of all those Johnny Blaze tracks that I used to know and love.

01 Wu-Tang Clan-Method Man (Live At The Palladium)

02 Wu-Tang Clan-Protect Ya Neck

03 Wu-Tang Clan-Da Mystery Of Chessboxin'

04 Wu-Tang Clan-Shame On A Nigga

05 Wu-Tang Clan-Wu-Tang Clan Ain't Nothing To F' Wit

06 Wu-Tang Clan-7th Chamber Part II

07 Wu-Tang Clan-Method Man (Remix)

08 SWV-Anything (Old Skool Remix) feat. Wu-Tang Clan

09 Method Man & Ghostface Killer-Freestyle Live On The Stretch Armstrong & Bobbito Show

10 The Notorious B.I.G.-The What feat. Method Man

11 Method Man-Bring The Pain

12 Method Man-PLO Style

13 Method Man-Meth vs. Chef feat. Raekwon

14 Wu-Tang Clan-St. Ides Commercial

15 Method Man-Release Yo' Delf

16 Method Man-All I Need (Remix 1 & 2) feat. Mary J. Blige

17 Spice 1-Hard 2 Kill feat. Method Man

18 Shaquille O'Neal-No Hooks feat. Method Man & RZA

19 Ol' Dirty Bastard-Rawhide feat. Method Man & Raekwon

20 Boyz II Men-Vibin' (Remix) feat. Treach, Craig Mack, Busta Rhymes & Method Man

21 Ol' Dirty Bastard-Dirty Dancing feat. Method Man

22 Method Man & Redman-How High (Original & Remix)

23 Method Man & Raekwon-Freestyle

24 Raekwon-Ice Cream feat. Method Man, Ghostface & Cappachino

My cover was kind of badly beaten, so I scanned it in, cleaned it up and threw in all new type exactly the same as the original. Coming very soon will be “The Best Of Redman” and “The Best Of Notorious B.I.G.” in the series.

Download

enjoy,

dirt_dog

More Wu VLS

Here's a couple more Wu bangers. Shabazz the Disciple got some decent hype and airplay for his first single,'Death Be the Penalty'(see video below). But not much attention, if any, was paid to his street tale follow up,'Crime Saga'. The intro and interlude, mentioned on the tracklisting here and on the back of the cover, are actually parts of the proceeding tracks on the mp3's.Confusing,I know, I just don't want you to think you're missing something. Check for the sample and video here.

Deadly Darts(bka Box in Hand) is a Ghostface banger, featuring Method Man and Street Life, that might have been left off his Ironman album. Rza goes off on a lyrical gem droppin' tirade on Sunshower, one of my favorite solo Rza cuts.

Fellow Troy poster, STAM, recently uploaded the ODB - Raw Hide vls, so I figured why not bless the blogosphere with that, too. This vinyl also contains the non album cut,Don't You Know Part 2,for you completists out there. STAM also included a real dope and rare Method Man joint called Mr.Meth in that folder. Enjoy.

Crime Saga(Death Be The Penalty-The Sequel)

Physical Side: 1.Red Hook Revelations(introduction)

2.Crime Saga

3.Crime Saga Remix

4.The Last Trumpet(Interlude)

5.Conscious of Sin

Mental Side: 1.Crime Saga Spiritualmental

2.Conscious of Sin Spiritualmental

3.Crime Saga Acapella

download

Sunshower

Side A: 1.Deadly Darts

2.Deadly Darts(instrumental)

Side B: 1.Sunshower

2. Sunshower(instrumental)

download

Raw Hide b/w Don't You Know Pt.2

A-Side: 1. Raw Hide(Clean Version )

2. Don't You Know Part 2(Clean Version)

3. Raw Hide(Clean Instrumental)

4. Don't You Know Part 2(Clean Instrumental)

B-Side: 1. Raw Hide(Dirty Version)

2. Don't You Know Part 2(Dirty Version)

3. Raw Hide(Dirty Instrumental)

4. Don't You Know Part 2(Dirty Instrumental)

download

Download the Crime Saga and Sunshower vls' from mediafire here and check for other Wu vls here

Thanks to STAM at Philaflava for the Ol' Dirty vls

--Verge

RZA "Sunshower"

DivShare Download

Zshare Preview & Download

RZA is idolized for his daring musicianship. Even more so for his likable eccentricity. The future fetish that inspired his resourceful lo-fi uprising against a stagnant rap industry keeps him employed and visible in the Internet Age. He pops up on YouTube more than he was ever featured on Rap City. Forever multi-tasking, code switching between the now-famous personas he either performs or embodies. Fiddling with knobs and levers, fucking with your expectations. But see, he's often been this way on the mic - the mad scientist, the ghetto sensationalist, the metaphysical scholar, the elaborate storyteller, the drunken digressor, they all crowd into the same skull.

Yes, RZA is a great rapper. How soon you forget!

His shtick is jarring to the listener expecting the emcee to get to the point already. Remember "12 Jewelz" from the second Gravediggaz album? The man trounces through the entirety of the track, making no attempt whatsoever to arrive at a chorus. Launches into a sloppy but admirable dissertation on earth science and cell regeneration and then ... drops it to talk about some penny-wise, pound-foolish old man? But it makes so much sense. Havelock Nelson and Michael Gonzales complained back in '91 that a certain breed of rappers treated crowd-rocking like some dry seminar. If Guru's presidential podium impersonation of Rakim in the "Words I Manifest" video is the Nation of Islam stodginess of the past, RZA's unkempt Shaolin style was the 5%ers after Clarence 13x went back to the essence. One busy hive.

Because if you attended Show & Prove or a local monthly Parliament rally (New Jersey residents had their choice of Allah's Paradise or Justice Cee) you noticed that some Gods and Earths were straight out of the ghettoes of hell and some from the upper echelons. You had those bedecked in jewels and finery, others in bad clothes, most somewhere in between. Speaking style and comportment varied as well - the break from the NOI was not ideological, it was cultural too. You couldn't presume a shaved head and a bowtie to possess the greater mind than the peasy 'fro and hoodie. RZA isn't just engaging in multivalent slang play when he says on "Sunshowers" that the new plan is to "use key notes to make g-notes." It's the God's honest truth - he came up at the exact right time to be a convincing youth spokesperson and get paid for it.

And what a come up it was. GZA once spoke to Formless at length about battling crews on the Ferry, questing on through the outer boroughs in search of conquest and experience, almost like "vagabonds" going in "ferris wheel" circles. But RZA's rhymes get right to the picture perfect point via digression: "I recall, me and GZA, Dirty hangin' in halls, bangin' on walls, kickin' rhymes three hours straight no pause." Not bars, but run-on sentences. No beginning, no end, no need to rely on rigid sequences. No need to apologize for randomly dropping a gem like "You could travel every square inch of the Planet Earth and still be ninety three million miles away from the sun, until you realize you and sun is one." A tirade against child molesters? Throw it in. Odd seemingly addled repetitions of words and turns of phrases ("the world is sick ... sick ... sick, trapped up in six, six, six)? It all has its place. That's why you rhyme off beat and off bar with such ferocity it falls on beat again. Match polo shirts to camo fatigues. Kick a lecture but kill shit.

The risk of such politicking is the accusation of contradiction, of incoherence, of ambiguity or uncomfortable hybridity. Calling yourselves the F.O.I.  MCs while you're swimming in drug culture. Up to pure fuckery in crumbling schools bearing the names of dead American heroes tainted by the gradual emergence of the sad truth. Living the lush life while nagging the listeners about coming cleansing Armageddons. Claiming that moving from "making beats on lunchroom tables" to rocking chains swinging lower than one's navel is progress knowing damned well that adolescence has been extended. How else can you keep their attention? Comprehending the "everlasting winter of hellfire" requires a nuanced perspective. Might as well get the babies used to the conflicts, the inevitable friction of irreconcilable forces, right? 

Some things are never adequately drawn up - Just Ice (ice, ice) himself is at a loss to adequately break down his moniker. The world according to RZA is rife with pleasant nonsense; he gives the people what they want before they know they want it. Mostly convenient binaries that he smashes at will, for mere sport but also with serious things in mind. Namely repackaging the shards as the next best thing. Who's colored when you redefine the terms of the inquiry? Who's grafted, and is that always a bad thing, and most importantly, why are we nervously, almost fiendishly anticipating all things digital ... digital ... digital ... digital? 

Still with us? Class dismissed. Keep the song on repeat for homework. On Sunday, Verge is going to school us on the piece of vinyl this song first appeared on, so stay tuned!

Ghostface Killah "The Sun"

LISTEN - Ghostface Killah ft. Raekwon, Slick Rick, RZA "The Sun"

Read The Lyrics

Circa 2001, Ghostface's output was dominated by inspired metaphorical whimsy. Excised from the U.S. retail version of Bulletproof Wallets, "The Sun," (featuring RZA, Raekwon, and Slick Rick) boasts happily insistent sampled horns (sometimes misattributed to The Stylistics or Sonny & Cher) that cleverly mirror the levity and profundity cohabiting in the verses. Ghost honors the life-giving, inspirational qualities of earth's closest star through secular ode (noting the sun's kiss as "scrumptious" and "nutritious"), religious incantation (citing "This Little Light of Mine," a gospel children's song turned Civil Rights anthem), and a hilariously botched science lesson.

The song takes a turn towards genius, however, when the self-described Muslim (with Five Percenter sympathies) personifies the sun as the truest street warrior who "could never be pussy," reliably coming out of hiding even at gunpoint. The normally stoic Rakewon then complicates this concept by cheerfully relating his nephew's enthusiasm for the sun, suggesting that sunshine is best enjoyed following study and refinement, but couching the advice in familiar fatherly terms that still hearken back to NOI/NGE street ministry ("probably if you clean up and read a little"). Ghost's sense that shining divinity is perceivable in "pictures and scriptures" but also within one's immutable self is bolstered by Raekwon's assertion that "you always see one in a building."

In these utterances, the mundane transforms into the heavenly, and the similarities between the Five Percenter conflation of "Sun" and "Son" (claimed by KRS-One and other to have its origins in a Christian subversion of ancient Egyptian Cosmology) and Protestant (as well as Islamic mystic) notions of an inner transcendent light are rendered momentarily apparent. Ghost and Rae deftly utilize a mixture of Christian and Five Percenter concept to describe a "mentor" figure who is "one in a million," and demands uplift ("makes me wanna climb, take a bite out of shine") but can also be associated with the promise and purity of childhood - the Son/Sun of man, the "understanding," the stars, the "best part," etc. A future messianic figure, for sure, but far from a vaporous angelic being, more like your brother or firstborn son.

Slick Rick and RZA continue in a similar manner, with the former theorizing the sun as a gateway to the heavens as well as a complement to domestic bliss and the latter paraphrasing (in a stupefying show of eclecticism I might add) both the Lost-Found Lessons and the lyrics to "The Candy Man" to illustrate his sense of the Sun/Son as the architect of a universal order (exemplified by the water cycle). Thus, while "The Sun" sits squarely within a tradition of rap artists (Sunz Of Man, King Sun, etc.) and rap songs that make reference to the word's symbolic associations (think the Roy Ayers sampling "Wake Up [Reprise In The Sunshine]" by Brand Nubian or Funkdoobiest's "Rock On"), as well as a broader Black musical legacy that makes use of celestial motifs, it is also notable for its strangeness and brilliance.

And it remains a worthwhile listen some years later. -- Thun