Step One “Illegal Remixes Vol. 2” (2010)

The first volume of Illegal Remixes assembled by Step One proved quite popular, so here’s another batch of unofficial remixes for you.

There’s a good variety of flavours on this one, ranging from straight-up Hip Hop on the Meth, Xzibit and Mobb Deep tracks, to the reggae re-rubs of the Jungle Brothers and Fugees joints. The West Coast is represented on the ‘West Up!’ remix and the ATL gets a look in with 2 Outkast joints. As with the first set, some of these are ripped from vinyl, others have been posted on blogs and forums. I’ve credited the creators where possible so click the links and show them some love if you like what you hear.


01 A Tribe Called Quest-Stressed Out (Richy Pitch Remix)
Remix by Richy Pitch.

02 B.I.G.-Party and Bullshit (Cosmo Baker Remix)
Remix by Cosmo Baker (one-third of The Rub).

03 Blackalicious-Passion (Strictly4TheLuvOfThaArt Mix)
Remixed by DJ Funkyone aka Funkdoc. Germanys Finest!

04 Fugees-Ready Or Not (Dancehall Remix)
Remixer unknown.

05 Jungle Brothers-Jungle Brother (Drumsong Remix)
From the excellent Upstate Remix series, available at Juno.

06 Method Man feat. Busta Rhymes-What’s Happenin (Showoff Remix)
Remix by Statik Selektah.

07 Mobb Deep-GOD Pt. III (Ron G Remix)
Remix by the Legendary Ron G.

08 Nas-Made You Look (Apache Remix)
Remixed by Gringo Starr for the Nation of 5’6. Nice interview with No Identity Records that happened right about the time the vinyl dropped for this remix.

09 Outkast-Ms. Jackson (Party Flavors Remix)
Remix by Technical & True Blue for Dollar Bill Records.

10 Outkast-Spottieottiedopaliscious (Carl Mo Remix)
Remixed by Carl Mo, courtesy of BLVDST.

11 The Pharcyde-Nuttin' Like (Scientist Remix)
Remix by DJ Scientist.

12 WC Mack 10 & Ice Cube-West Up! (Soul Focus Re-Fix)
Remix by Soul Focus DJs.

13 Xzibit-Paparazzi (White Label Remix)
Remixer unknown.

D O W N L O A D

enjoy,
--dirt_dog

Step One “Illegal Remixes Vol. 1” (2010)

It appears that good things can happen when the UK gets blasted with the heaviest snow in 100 years. With the country coming to a complete halt, forum regular Step One had time to put together this sweet compilation of bootleg remixes and blends. Show some appreciation by leaving a comment (or a link to another remix) and he might bless us with volume 2.

Step One says "A staple of any nineties Hip Hop DJ’s collection is the shady white label remix. Information on whoever was putting these out was usually pretty thin on the ground for obvious reasons but they often held some real gems. Having rediscovered some of these recently I’ve put together a collection of some of those unofficial remixes as well as a few that I’ve found on the blogs and forums over the last few years."

01 2Pac-Old School (B.Cause Remix)
http://diamondsinthedust.blogspot.com/
Usually the non-Pac fans favourite Pac track. B Cause throws some familiar samples under Pac’s reminiscing of 80s NY and gives it a nice funky vibe.

02 Big Daddy Kane-Set It Off (Daily Diggers Remix)
http://www.dailydiggers.com/
Some of you might recognise this from DJ Mike Nice’s ‘Brooklyn Bullshit’ mixtape. The UK’s Daily Diggers flip the Cold Chillin classic.

03 Big Pun & Fat Joe-Twinz (Brooklyn Untouched Remix)
This remix discards the original ‘Deep Cover’ beat and replaces it with another Dre & Snoop collabo, ‘The Next Episode’. Always goes down well in a club set.

04 Common-I Used To Love Her (Sir Charles Flavour Remix)
http://www.myspace.com/djsircharles
Common gets a G-Funk makeover as his vocals are dropped over Warren G’s ‘Nobody Does It Better’.

05 D&D All-Stars-1,2 Pass It (Bootleg Remix)
A DJ Fashion remix? All signs point to yes.

06 Erick Sermon-Bomdigi (Street Jam Bootleg Remix)
The beat from En Vogue’s ‘Hold On’ gives this E Double solo joint some extra bump.

07 Fat Joe & Doo Wop-Boriquas On The Set (DJ Dough & Porge One Remix)
http://www.myspace.com/djdoughhiphop
The UK’s Dough & Porge One always had some special remixes on their CDs. This one is taken from their ‘Heads Aint Ready’ mix which is well worth seeking out.

08 Method Man & Redman-How High (Bootleg Remix)
The acapella of this track was definitely a favourite amongst producers, probably due to the amount of quotable lines from Red & Meth at their peak. This version uses the ‘Human Nature’ melody over EPMD's ‘You’re A Customer’ beat.

09 Mobb Deep-Hell On Earth (Paul Miles Remix)
Another UK remix, this time by Birmingham DJ Paul Miles (aka Pat Bateman).

10 Nas-It Aint Hard To Tell (DJ Day Remix)
http://likeathrottle.blogspot.com/ (this also came out on vinyl)
This track has been remixed to death but this has to be the best of the unofficial ones. Quality production from DJ Day out of California.

11 The Pharcyde-Passin Me By (WAR! [What-A-Remix])
A Jazzy Jim remix.

12 Tim Dog & KRS-One-I Get Wrecked (Gamm/Samoo Remix)
http://diamondsinthedust.blogspot.com/
I don't have any info on this one but I’m pretty sure I copped it at B.Cause’s blog.

13 Uptown-Dope On Plastic (B.Cause Why Zee Refix)
http://diamondsinthedust.blogspot.com/
Uptown meets YZ.

DOWNLOAD

enjoy,
--dirt_dog

Best Of Westwood Radio Freestyles - Nas, Biggie, OC, Das Efx, Cam'Ron...

This was submitted by our friend Dj Step One from the TROY forum. If you're digging this, check his blog out: Only Built For zShare Links

"I’ve spent the last few weeks sorting through that dusty box of tapes that so many older Hip Hop heads have stashed away somewhere and have been digitizing the various treats I’ve come across.

As Hip Hop was scarce on English radio in the 90s, most of these tapes are recordings of Tim Westwood’s show on BBC Radio 1. Up until 1994, Westwood only broadcast in London and the surrounding area, first on pirate stations LWR and Kiss FM, and then legitimately on Capital FM.

A move to the BBC in 1994 gave him two 3 hour shows every week and meant that Hip Hop heads nationwide finally had the opportunity to hear first hand the exclusives and guest appearances that would make up Tim’s show. It often meant staying in on a Friday or Saturday night, but as some of these freestyles prove, it was worth it!

I was going to do a profile of Big Tim but then remembered that Stretch Armstrong gave him a mention on his blog a while back and I couldn’t think of a better person to rubber stamp Westwood’s contribution to Hip Hop radio."

Stretch Armstrong, speaking on The Flavor Unit track ‘The Flavor Unit Assassination Squad’:

"Bobbito and I got hip to this record via the homie Tim Westwood in London who used to have what may have been the most progressive hip-hop show on earth in the late 80's. Because he was free to operate outside of the beef that had split NYC rap radio in the late 80's but also was very close to both Red and Marley (though closer to Marley who eventually would broadcast a version of In Control on his show in the UK), Tim would bless the airwaves with crazy exclusives and remixes, AND, influenced by his roots in 80's Jamaican and UK dancehall, was the first, and perhaps only, hip-hop personality to get all the hot emcees to re-record their hits with his name in them, sound-clash style. Many in the UK complained that Tim didn't support home-grown talent, but we sure didn't care, 'cause we'd frequently hear shit from his tapes first, sometimes to never be heard anywhere else. I'd have to confirm it with Aaron Fuchs, but I believe Tuff City only released this record after we played it on KCR from a cassette from Westwood's show."

Previews:

Akinyele & Sadat X (1996)

Cam'Ron (1998)

Das Efx (1995)

Masta Ace (1998)

Nas & De La Soul (1996)

Biggie Smalls & Craig Mack (1995)

OC (1994)

Snoop, Daz, & Kurupt (1994)

Download in one folder here.

--Verge