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DJ Step One The Infinite Hip Hop Show on Kane FM

2012-01-25T19:41:00.004Z

DJ Step One - Infinite Hip Hop show - Kane FM 22.01.12 (part one) by Soulfocus on Mixcloud

Here's my show from this past Sunday. The first part kicks off with new and recent releases before going into the mix with some 90s classics. The mix continues into part 2 before finishing with a random selection of new and old tracks...

DJ Step One - Infinite Hip Hop show - Kane FM 22.01.12 (part two) by Soulfocus on Mixcloud

Juice Crew Law

2012-01-22T16:43:00.002Z

Flava Of The Month returns - ticket purchased with the quickness!

Just a quick thing regarding the Megaupload fiasco: Only about 10-15 posts on here had Megaupload links but I'm not entirely sure which ones. If you come across any dead links let me know and I'll re-up. I'm hoping Mediafire is safe from harm for now or this whole blog and 3 years of time and effort is pretty much fucked. I've generally stayed away from uploading things that are commercially available but it looks like that doesn't matter right now.

LL Cool J 'Rasta Imposter' (1998)

2012-01-15T23:57:00.003Z

A quick refresher then: LL had already responded to 'Second Round KO' with 'The Ripper Strikes Back'. That lead to Wyclef dropping the comparatively weak 'Whats Clef Got To With It' (it had a Naomi Campbell cameo if you don't remember). LL then shot back with this; 5 minutes of A1 battle raps over the 'It's My Thing' beat...

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(Both pressings of this have the same crackle throughout the track, so its the recording itself rather than the vinyl!)

MC Shan's True Stories volume 1 (2011)

2012-01-15T18:14:00.003Z

and Marley responds "who gives a fuck?!"

DJ 7L - Essential Dipset mix (2010)

2012-01-07T19:37:00.009Z

DJ 7L dropped this 2 hour mix on his soundcloud page a couple of weeks ago. Highly recommended if you're a Dipset fan...

GO HERE

Doo Wop - Summer Jam Freestyles (1996)

2012-01-02T20:05:00.005Z

I recently picked this up on a trip to London. It wasn't a good idea in retrospect with rain, tourists, shitty trains and closed bargain basements making it less than enjoyable. Anyway, on this 12" you get seven freestyles taken from Wop's 1996 mixtape, including Flipmode Squad, Fab 5, Smoothe Da Hustler & DV Alias Khrist, Ed Lover and Sadat X. The pick of the bunch (in my opinion) is Lord Finesse rhyming over 'I Shot Ya'. Enjoy...

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If you missed it first time out, my Doo Wop compilation 'Best Of Da Bouncemaster' is still up here

Black Rob 'Permanent Scars' (2004)

2011-12-24T19:09:00.011Z

I love this track. I was only made aware of it last year and recently Mike Nice has been kind enough to hook me up with the full length, untagged version. I was originally put onto it by esteemed blogger The Martorialist so its only right I hand over to him on this one...

Realistically, I only have 2 claims to fame in this internet-Rap shit : originating "Hennessey/enemies" 2pac jokes and being the first person to upload Permanent Scars by Black Rob to the 'net after my friend Bradley brought me the Kay Slay mixtape it originally appeared on back from NYC in summer 2004. I've since managed to lose the CD but, for the record, it was the same 'tape that Juelz's Red Bandana freestyle debuted and the 2 songs were mixed together as a shining beacon in amongst a plethora of shitty freestyles by Papoose, Grafh and J-Hood.

Permanent Scars, the original title of Black Rob's shelved 2nd album, ended up being rebilled as Live From The Eastside when it reappeared on Kay Slay's essential The Return Of Black Rob collection in late 2004 (which included many of the tracks recorded for the B.R album like Business Never Personal; probably the only time you'll hear a Neptunes production being used as a hookless storytelling joint) and it comes with some prime Rap-nerd trivia since Heavy D resold the beat to Beanie Sigel for Feel It In The Air after the B.R song ended up in mixtape purgatory, and Feel It.. went on to become a minor hit as well as one of the greatest Emo-Rap jams of the last decade.

Beanie's take is the superior cut, but Permanent Scars/Live From The Eastside is a mixtape classic and there are enough differences between the two songs that you can enjoy them both as separate entities anyway. Thanks to Mike Nice for unearthing this untagged version, although it's pretty weird to hear it with no Kay Slay bellowing after it's been a personal favourite of mine these past near-eight years.

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Thanks to Mike Nice and The Martorialist (currently aka Richard Tre Mane) on this one.

Its tha links baby, its tha links...

2011-12-11T15:36:00.003Z

As I'm still without a tape deck and am quite busy with other stuff at the moment, updates have been a bit less regular than usual so I thought I'd keep the blog alive by following the path of anyone who's ever had a hard time dropping new material and go on a retrospective/best of tip.
Theres 370 posts on this blog from the last 2 and a half years so if you haven't been down since day one, here's a few things you might have missed...

Lord Finesse DJ set on WBAI's Underground Railroad

The original unreleased version of 'All About The Benjamins'

Snoop, Kurupt & Daz freestyling on Westwood's Capital Rap Show in early 1994

A couple of blends I did using Mobb Deep acapellas and DJ Premier beats

An interesting interview with DJ 7L aswell as a dope mix of old school Hip Hop from the man himself

DJ Clark Kent in the mix on WBLS in 1989

That should do you for now. I've been pretty thorough with the search tags at the end of each post so they're worth using.

DJ Step One - The Infinite Hip Hop show on Kane FM

2011-12-05T00:48:00.008Z

DJ Step One - Infinite Hip Hop show - Kane FM 04.12.11 (part one) by Soulfocus on Mixcloud

Here's Sunday night's Infinite Hip Hop show, broadcast live on Kane FM. The first hour (above) is mainly new/recent tracks including Cam'ron, Lupe Fiasco, Smoke DZA and Scram Jones.
For the second hour I went in the mix and pulled out some 90s/early 00s bits...

DJ Step One - Infinite Hip Hop show - Kane FM 04.12.11 (part two) by Soulfocus on Mixcloud

UPDATED:
DOWNLOAD PART ONE

DOWNLOAD PART TWO

King Of Da Crates: the DJ Mike Nice interview

2011-12-03T15:43:00.006Z

If you've been following the blog for a while you'll know that occasionally I speak to DJs or rappers who were around back in the day and get them to speak on how they came up in the game and generally reminisce a bit. This time out the focus is on a man best known for his mixtapes of insanely rare demos and unreleased material: NYC's DJ Mike Nice...

Who You Be?
I am the original DJ MIKE NICE, formerly of Upstairs Records NYC. I am known as the King Of Da Crates in regards to my mass assortment of unreleased material and demos, and a record collection of 40,000 at last count back in 94!
At present I’m the A&R of Venom Records and DJ and produce for my group The Faculty (EI8Trak & L.Y.F.E)

What was your ‘Day One’ ?
The first record that got me open was around 1981: The Gap Band ‘You Dropped A Bomb On Me’. I was 6 years old at the time.
The 1st Hip Hop record that I recall getting me open was 1984 Rockmaster Scott ‘The Roof Is On Fire’. Shortly after that, ‘La Di Da Di’ and ‘The Show’ by Slick Rick & Doug E Fresh. I was born in 1975 and growing up music was always playing in the crib. My parents played a lot of Disco, Soul & R&B so I heard a lot of breaks early on, even if I didn’t know the name of the song.

Did you roll with a crew or try MCing before you settled on DJing?
I used to tag ZIZ along with the 76th Street boys in Brooklyn

First live show you saw?
Gang Starr at the Palladium in NYC

What clubs/nightspots did you used to hit back then?
The Palladium, Limelight, Webster Hall, Danceteria, Sheets & Pillows and Home Bass were all the NYC spots. There was also this little bar out in Rockaway, Queens called ‘The Bridge’. You would get fucked up there for like $20. They had $2 mixed drink and 50 cent beers. Everybody in the spot was underage. I used to go there in high school and they spun Hip Hop.

Who inspired you to start DJing and who were your influences at the time?
It definitely had to be Red Alert on Kiss FM. I remember him dropping ‘The Bridge Is Over’ for the first time on the radio – “yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!!” - I was like "I got to be a DJ". Marley Marl was another influence from the production standpoint. Jam Master Jay and Flash made me want to scratch. But hands down when it came to becoming a producer it was Premier and Pete Rock.

How hard was it trying to make a name for yourself in the 90s mixtape scene, competing with names like Doo Wop, Kid Capri, Ron G etc. Did you have a good relationship with other DJs?
To be honest I did my numbers. I made serious paper in high school to college from say, 92-97, like my junior year in high school to my senior year in college.
I would get like $15 to $20 on a tape. Working at Upstairs Records I made a lot of connections with other DJs in the USA and worldwide. Doo Wop had the mixtape game on smash in the mid 90's. Him and Tony Touch as well as Ron G had the artists dropping exclusive freestyles so it was a different league to compete with. I had to rely on putting unreleased joints on my tapes or dropping album cuts like 6 months before the albums dropped. Shit didn’t leak like it does today. I had ‘Illmatic’ about 7 months before it ever dropped commercially.

One time DJ Clue was going to play a party at St Johns, the college I attended. This was around 95/96 and I was the mixtape man at St Johns. When I saw Clue was going to spin on my turf I wanted at him. There was definitely some DJ ego on my part; I wanted a shot at the hottest DJ in the game! I was like let me see what's up and I called up his man Spank. He managed Clue and I told him tell Clue I'll put up $1000 or my 1200's and we can battle. Spank tells me no, Clue won't take the chance losing as he's at his pinnacle right now. You take him out and his image is done. I was like, that's wack he wouldn't put his skills on the line! I believe Spank passed away a few years back, RIP.

At what point did you realise you were an established? Was there one particular mixtape that got you over?
‘Cracking The Surface’ which I dropped back in 99 was real nutty. I took 50 unsigned artists and recorded exclusive material. This is between 1998 and 1999. This tape was huge on the underground scene, especially in NY. I had Non Phixion, Necro, A Butta of Natural Elements fame on here as well as Ei8trak of Mass Vinyl. Last Emperor was supposed to get on the tape we linked up got to the studio and the engineer never showed up for the session thus we were unable to record.

Were you checking for much Southern or West Coast rap back in the 80s and 90s?
To be honest, no. I was very much on the rugged razorblade east coast shit. I did love the Geto Boys and Snoop & Dre though.

Any memorable encounters with any particular artists back in the day?
Whenever anybody came through Upstairs Records it was always a good time. We had everybody come in from Biggie, Big L, Wu Tang, Nas, CNN, Mobb Deep, Fat Joe and Big Pun, Smooth Da Hustler and more. Big L was cool as hell and mad humble. Naughty by Nature were real chill. Necro & Mr Hyde are another bunch of good dudes. Going to Naked City with Mr Hyde was a trip. The coolest motherfucker ever is Kool G Rap. I met G back in the day up at Harlem Music. Who knew years later I would be working with him in the studio!

You’re known for having a lot of rare and unreleased material – what are your most prized joints?
Probably the Nas & Jay Z demo tapes. A shit load of unreleased Mass Vinyl joints. I also got lots of studio acapellas like ‘The Symphony’ and ‘Eric B Is President’. I got another Biggie & Junior MAFIA joint that ain’t ever dropped so right now I hold that as a gem.
To be honest a lot of shit isnt as rare as it once was to me. Peeps would go nuts when they would come to my crib and be like “damn where the fuck you got that from!”. Im like “ahh, I got more shit, thats nothing!” The most prized gem has to be BIG's original contract released from Uptown to Bad Boy. The shit's signed by Christopher Wallace, Andre Harrell and Puffy. I also have Puff's termination from Uptown to start Bad Boy. Pretty crazy shit as I basically have the original foundation paperwork of a label which put NY back on the map in the 90's. I also got never before seen pics of the car Pac was killed in out in Vegas.

Are there any songs you really want that you haven’t been able to track down yet?
Yes. Biggie, Ol Dirty Bastard and LS from Rumplestiltskin ‘Big Up Its A Stick Up’. Jesse West produced it. Also, the 2 versions of "Flip Dat Shit" – one by Biggie featuring Onyx and Jesse West and the other by Biggie featuring Naughty By Nature & Jesse West. Also the original version of 'Strictly For My Niggaz' with RA The Rugged Man. Rakim’s ‘Break The Wrath In Half’ aka the Big Daddy Kane diss. A lot of people don't know he actually got at Kane on ‘Hypnotic’ ("I don't need to sniff cane to get raw").
There are mad joints and albums that never dropped like The Bitch Haters Club which was Nas, Kool G Rap & Akinyele. I’m also hunting for "Lyrically Ill" which is the first demo ever recorded by Nas & Large Professor.

For every Jay Z or Nas there’s 100 rappers that didn’t quite ‘make it’. Are there any artists from back then who you feel should’ve got more recognition or had the talent to blow up on a larger scale?
I thought Paula Perry was dope as hell. Half A Mil, and of course Big L. There were dozens of others who did shit locally that never blew up because they got side tracked with other shit.

How did you feel about how Hip Hop developed through the 00s? The whole DJ/mixtape game changed drastically...
I feel like around ‘99 what I saw as Hip Hop died. It went from rocking bells to rocking what sells. Hip Hop became more pussy and soft. The rugged grimey gritty shit was being phased out to the glam and glitz and pop shit. The DJ/mixtape game became a fucking joke. Cats who had never even touched turntables or held a piece of wax all of a sudden calling themselves a DJ. Motherfuckers ain’t pay dues. Respect the architect before you begin to build!

What new/up & coming artists are you checking for?
Real talk, I’m feeling Action Bronson, Maffew Ragazino, and of course my group The Faculty.

What do have going on for 2011/2012?
The Faculty (EI8Trak & LY.F.E) ‘Hard Lessons’ - we about to go viral! I got some shit brewing where the world is about to know about HARD LESSONS.
That album bangs beginning to end with no filler. We should be back up on ITunes shortly. The album was recorded in some of the most well known studios in NYC and features production by Domingo, Liveson, DJ Shok, EI8Track, myself and others. We also got Sheek Louch, Kool G Rap, Persia, and my man The Incomparable Shakespeare on there. REAL TALK, ‘HARD LESSONS’ IS THE ALBUM YOU NEED TO CHECK!

Two dope mixes from Mike:
Venom Records International Takeover - all sorts of rare demos and unreleased music from some of Hip Hop's biggest names
Brooklyn Bullshit - rare & unreleased Biggie, Jay Z & Big Daddy Kane

Mike Nice on Twitter
Mike Nice on Facebook
The Faculty on Facebook

Ghostface Killah 'Good Times' part 2 (2002)

2011-11-19T14:44:00.004Z

To be honest I had no idea this existed until I found it on 12" recently. It's not really a 'Part 2' as much as remake or remix of the original 'Good Times' which was one of the tracks left off 'Bulletproof Wallets' and heavily bootlegged as a result (although there is an official promo 12").

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This differs from 'part one' in that the beat is a bit more polished, theres no Raekwon, and theres some additional lyrics from Ghost. Personally I prefer this version.

Yungun 'Jack The World' (2011)

2011-11-19T10:19:00.005Z

The new project from Yungun has finally dropped, mixed by the ever reliable Mr Thing...

GO HERE

"Yungun a.k.a. Essa reunites with DJ Mr Thing for the Jack The World mixtape, weaving the common thread through hip-hop, disco, soul, house, afro-beat, jazz and electronica. A treasure trove of new, exclusive and unreleased Yungun material, it reminds us how good a mixtape sounds when it's actually mixed ... by a real DJ ... with real records!

Oh, and for all you DJs out there - you can grab the radio edits here:

Grandmaster Flash 'The Message' (Soul Focus remix)

2011-11-15T20:26:00.006Z

This remix of 'The Message' was actually made back in 2002, using the same mixing desk that this was recorded on (true story!). We'd found the acapella online, quite a while before it appeared on the b-side of the Paul Nice remix although our version coincided with that release. As with some of our other efforts, its done 'jackin for beats' style...

SOUNDCLOUD

MEDIAFIRE

Check out Werner's blog for the backstory on the original mix and its subsequent follow ups.

Big up to dirt dog for my new logo!

Jazzie B on Kiss FM (1997)

2011-11-12T14:39:00.005Z

Jazzie B of Soul II Soul fame on London's Kiss FM back in July 1997. This is the first 40 minutes of his 'Funki Dred Show' and its all ragga over Hip Hop beats: Bounty Killer over 'Hell On Earth', Lady Saw over 'Hypnotize', plus tracks by Frisco Kid and Sleepy Wonder amongst others...

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I'm still without a tape deck but I preserved this on CD years ago as for a long time it was the only place I had all these tracks. Jazzie rarely used to mention track names and it was only by taking an educated gamble on certain 12"s (usually white labels) over the years that I've managed to get hold of most of them. Anyway, this was probably one of my favourite and most played tapes so go get that.

Shout out to DJ Filthy Rich - looking forward to the mixtape!

Heavy D R.I.P (1967 - 2011)

2011-11-09T00:34:00.003Z

Rest In Peace Heavy D. Can't believe he was only 44. He doesnt really get mentioned much when people talk about the late 80s/early 90s era but apart from being pretty solid on the mic, he helped put Pete Rock on and you could see his influence on rappers like Jay Z and especially Biggie. He was also definitely a pioneer as far as his style and image went. He was only in the UK a couple of days ago and was a guest on Tim Westwood's show on 1xtra...

The first Infinite Hip Hop show on Kane FM!

2011-11-09T00:04:00.003Z

DJ Step One -Infinite Hip Hop - live on Kane FM 06.11.11 (PART ONE) by Soulfocus on Mixcloud

Last month I introduced you to Kane FM, a new (legal) radio station that recently launched near me in a town called Guildford, which is just outside London. This past Sunday I hosted my first 2 hour show and here it is!

DJ Step One - Infinite Hip Hop - live on Kane FM 06.11.11 (PART TWO) by Soulfocus on Mixcloud

The idea behind the show is that it will cover all types of Hip Hop whether it be old, new, US, UK, East Coast, West Coast, Dirty South or whatever.
For the first hour I wasn't mixing, just dropping a few of my favourite tracks from the last couple of years alongside a few new bits. The second hour I went in the mix with some mid-90s classics. Nothing too adventurous as I was trying to keep it simple so I could check texts/emails and host the show etc. Its a bit rough around the edges but thought I'd throw it up on here just so I can look back on it in the the future when I've hopefully improved a bit.
The show is monthly at the moment but I'm also going to be doing a fortnightly 'Throwback' old school slot playing a bit of everything. Hopefully by the next time I'm up there BT will have sorted the studio broadband out and we'll be streaming online.
All constructive feedback welcome. Shout to @TeamTorae for the radio versions. Thanks to Masta Ace, Mystro & Fallacy for the drops and Deeflux, Subterra, DJ Mystery and the whole Kane FM crew for helping to makw it happen in one way or another!

(Sorry if I'm rambling but my own radio show is something I've wanted to do since I was about 10 years old so it's kind of a big deal and I'm gonna milk it for a bit)

Masta Ace - Kiss FM freestyle (2008)

2011-11-04T23:52:00.004Z

Masta Ace live on DJ MK's show on Kiss FM, freestyling over the 'Return Of The Crooklyn Dodgers' beat...

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On this same visit, he rocked a great show at London's East Village, which is where I took the above photo (admittedly it could've been a better pic but I'd had a few beers and was bouncing around like a goon).
Almost unbelievably, its now 10 years since the release of the dope 'Disposbale Arts' album and Ace is putting togther a documentary on the making of the album. Should be interesting.

Bars N Hooks ft Prodigy 'Aint Nobody' (2003)

2011-11-02T20:15:00.007Z

Earlier this year you might remember me posting this 12" by Mobb Deep affiliates Bars N Hooks. I'd been looking for the Gap Band sampling 'Mind Blowin' for about 10 years at the time. A few weeks ago I stumbled across this 12" by the duo, which I was previously unaware of...

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As with the other release it features Prodigy and it also samples a well known 80s soul classic. This time around production is handled by Just Blaze but the release was confined to indie label Sure Shot (although it comes in an AV8 sleeve with AV371 inscribed in the run out groove). If you like early 00s East Coast thug rap on top of instantly recognisable samples - which I do - you'll enjoy this.

I had planned on dropping a few tape rips this week but my tape player has died. Bit awkward as its not technically mine but I've had it on loan for about 2 years now. Not really sure where that leaves me as far as compensating the owner. Chances are if I gave it back without saying anything he's never gonna use it and might never know. Personally I'm more concerned with where I can get a fucking tape player from in 2011. Hopefully I'll be back on the tapes soon anyway.

DJ Lord Vidal remixes (1995)

2011-10-27T15:47:00.004+01:00

4 bootleg remixes from DJ Lord Vidal, courtesy of the label that bought you the Cypress Hill Megamix that I dropped some time ago. Mobb Deep, Frankie Cutlass, Montell Jordan and Total all get re-worked...

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theres more to life than rap music....

2011-10-23T17:35:00.007+01:00

I'm sure I'm not the only person who occasionally needs a break from all that Rap stuff so in the interests of displaying my versatility as a DJ and providing an outlet for my non-Hip Hop mixes, here's a few things you might want to check out when your Karl Kanis and Jansport are in the wash...

Those of you old enough to remember the early days of House music might enjoy this...
88-89 CLASSIC HOUSE MIX

Old school UK Garage, 97-98 style. No 2-Step, more on that Tuff Jam/MJ Cole/Grant Nelson tip...
CLASSIC UKG MIX

One for all the Original Junglists! Taking it back to the days of AWOL, World Dance and Dreamscape. All the anthems on this....
MORE FIRE: JUNGLE CLASSICS 93-95

Some funky/vocal/liquid Drum & Bass from the early 00s. If you're into stuff like High Contrast, Nu Tone and DJ Zinc you'll probably enjoy this...
VIBEZ N STUFF VOLUME 3

And last up a mix of some of my favorite Funky/Soulful House music, inspired by my time at Suncebeat in Croatia this past Summer...
NOW THATS WHAT I CALL SUNCEBEAT 2011

All these are also available to stream on Mixcloud

Now that I've alienated half of the subscribers to this blog I'll invite those remaining to follow me on Twitter. I only signed up yesterday and haven't really got my head around it all yet so I might lose interest. It depends on how successful my initial attempts at harrassing DJs for untagged, full length versions of mixtape-only tracks go.

AZ 'Dont Know' (2001)

2011-10-21T21:55:00.004+01:00

Another AZ non-album cut that I recently aquired. Its a decent 80s Soul flavoured track which suits Sosa's style down to a tee. Dont think this has been put out there before so thought I'd share it...

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The b-side is labelled as 'Whatcha', which I assume is 'Whatcha Day About' from the '9 Lives' album. I say assume because its actually a printing error and instead you get a clean version of 'Dont Know'. Ah, the joys of unofficial vinyl releases.

If you like this you might want to check this other AZ 12" I posted a while back

For those of you wanting some more tape rips, I'll be back on that tip soon. They're kind of time consuming though and I'm busy with a few other things right now.

Stylah 'Crash Course 2' mixtape (2011)

2011-10-18T19:47:00.004+01:00

One of the few UK MCs I still check for, Stylah has hooked up with DJ Snips for the 'Crash Course 2' mixtape. I've been bumping it for the last few days and it just got Mixtape Of The Week on 1xtra so give it a go...

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DJ Miracle - Kane FM promo mixes (2011)

2011-10-18T19:25:00.005+01:00

Kane FM is a new legal radio station thats launched in my area, having originally started life as a pirate station in the mid 90s, and then gaining a 1 month RSL back in 2004. After a lot of hard work behind the scenes they were granted a permanent licence to broadcast and have been running test transmissions on 103.7 FM for the past few weeks. They plan to go live this coming weekend.
These are 2 of the mixes used for those test tranmissions, courtesy of DJ Miracle. Some superbly mixed golden era Hip Hop for you...

DOWNLOAD MIX ONE

DOWNLOAD MIX TWO

Kane will mainly focus on everything mainstream radio doesn't, so expect Hip Hop, Drum & Bass, House, Dubstep, Reggae and every sub-genre in between. Stay posted for more info...

EPMD 'Im Housin' Soul Focus remix

2011-10-14T19:52:00.005+01:00

Erick and Parrish's 'I'm Housin' gets welded to Young MC's 'Shaft'/'Apache' sampling 'Know How' and some other funky breaks.

MEDIAFIRE

SOUNDCLOUD

This was a biggie as far as our remixes go. It was the first one we released through Juno and it featured on Ali B's Kiss FM show and picked up plays from The Rub's Cosmo Baker. Its a good party rocker basically. Enjoy!

Nas 'Stillmatic' freestyle (2001)

2011-10-07T15:25:00.003+01:00

I've had a few requests for this following this post, so here it is in its full length, untagged glory.

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If you haven't heard it before, its Nasir going off over the 'Paid In Full' instrumental, and it did the rounds on radio and mixtapes prior to the 'Stillmatic' album dropping.
It's probably the least referenced track from the Nas vs Jay Z beef, probably because it didnt get an official release like 'Ether' and 'The Takeover' and as far as I know it wasn't subjected to a rather overblown premier on Hot 97 when it dropped like 'Super Ugly' was. Either way, it serves to remind that Nas sounds great when he's given a good beat to rhyme on.

DJ Emynd 'Best Of Heiro' mix (2011)

2011-10-05T18:02:00.005+01:00

New mix by DJ Emynd out of the Crossfaded Bacon crew...

"The other day, I was on a quick road trip listening to Extra Prolific’s now classic “Like It Should Be” and it dawned on me that I needed to put together a collection of my favorite Hiero songs. And… so I did. 27 of my favorite Hiero joints, all of which come before the year 2000. This isn’t because Hiero stopped putting out good music after 2000. Frankly, I have no idea if they did or didn’t because I haven’t been paying attention… but these joints all bang and this mix is a fun trip down memory lane with a lot of great rap that has aged extremely well. I’d like to think this is a good introduction to the Hieroglyphics crew for those who aren’t familiar with their work, but also a fun listen to those of us who grew up listening to them. Anyway, I hope y’all enjoy it!"

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Tracklisting
1. Souls of Mischief – Batting Practice (Demo Version)
2. Casual – Lose In the End
3. Del – Miles To Go
4. Casual, Opio, and Tajai – Rippers
5. Souls of Mischief – Souls of Mischief
6. Del – Thank Youse
7. Extra Prolific ft Casual – Cash Money
8. Souls of Mischief – Step To My Girl (Demo Version)
9. Casual – It’s Like That
10. Souls of Mischief – That’s When Ya Lost
11. Del – Don’t Forget
12. Extra Prolific – Never Changing
13. Dinosaur Jr & Del – Missing Link
14. Souls of Mischief – Anything Can Happen
15. Extra Prolific – Is It Right?
16. Souls of Mischief – Ya Don’t Stop
17. Pep Love and Jay Biz – Can I Kill Em?
18. Souls of Mischief – Make Up Your Mind
19. Casual ft Del – A Little Something
20. Souls of Mischief – Our Secret
21. Del – Catch A Bad One
22. Souls of Mischief – Cab Fare
23. Extra Prolific – One Motion
24. Souls of Mischief – A Name I Call Myself
25. Souls of Mischief – Live and Let Live
26. Casual – I Gotta (Get Down)
27. Souls of Mischief – 93′ Til Infinity

The Funhouse @ Soundcloud!

2011-10-04T18:37:00.003+01:00

Those good peoples over at The Funhouse have set up a Soundcloud page where you can stream or download some of their highlights from the last couple of years, including mixes by J Rocc, Mr Thing, DJ MK, DJ Kofi and Skitz...

GO HERE

Queens OG: exclusive J-Love interview

2011-10-02T17:14:00.007+01:00

I haven't dropped an interview in a while so here's a quick Q&A I did with DJ J-Love, best known for his mixtapes being packed with exclusives and his work with NYC's Hip Hop elite...

OB4ZL: Who You Be?
I’m the magnificent, glorious J Love. Mixtape Kingpin, MC extrodinaire, producer executioner for Queens, New York and if you don’t know who I am or my history its possible you don’t belong in Hip Hop!

What was your ‘Day One’?
My cousin put me onto Hip Hop when I was a kid. He came through with the sheepskin coat... I was like 7 or some shit and it was banging. I was stuck like, this is crazy and I love it! It might’ve been ‘The Message’ by Grandmaster Flash or Fresh Gordan ‘Gordys Groove’, ‘Pee Wee Herman’ or Schooly D ‘PSK’. As a child I knew that this is what I wanted to do with my life.

Did you roll with a crew or try MCing before you settled on DJing?
Nah, I didn’t run with a crew or nothing. I was always rhyming first but I got intimidated when I was younger, plus there wasn’t a lot of Spanish rappers out there at the time so I gravitated towards DJing and producing. I never left the rhyming alone though and I’ve just released my debut solo album which is out now.
First live show you saw? Maybe Wu Tang in 92 at some hole-in-the-wall bullshit club. When I was too young to go to shows and no one would ever take me I’d just stick on videos and records until I hit my teenage years, and then started sneaking into shit and just went from there. Anyone who knew me knew I always had my walkman and like 10-15 tapes on me everywhere I went. I knew how to fit tapes in my pockets a certain way! I just loved music.

What clubs/nightspots did you used to hit back then?
Mad spots: Showboat in East New York , Palm Tree, Carbon, Fever , Arena, Vertigo, Esso, Homebass. Wherever I could get in as a young’n I was there.

Who inspired you to start DJing and who were your influences at the time?
Kid Capri, Red Alert and Marley Marl were my first inspirations

How hard was it trying to make a name for yourself in the 90s mixtape scene, competing with names like Doo Wop, Kid Capri, Ron G etc. Was the DJ community in NY cool or was there a lot of beef?
I mean, whenever you come into anything no one’s extending their hand or embracing you with open arms. It was harder and you had to grind harder. You had to prove to cats why your shit deserved to be there. The DJs were respected amongst each other and some didn’t like each other. Some good people some bad people. Thats life though.

At what point did you realise you were established in the industry? Was there one particular mixtape or production that got you over?
Hmm, I dont know cause I just put my mind in work mode and keep grinding so I don’t know what the turning point was, but I started to notice the respect and the name buzzing a lot more to the point where I knew I had to work more and more.

You’re primarily associated with that traditional hardcore New York sound. Were you checking for much West Coast or Southern rap back in the day, or now?
I always checked for everything but I like what I like and I'm from New York so I primarily like that sound and I’m happy to rep where I come from. You see how they do it down south with supporting their artists? I always did that for New York. I fucks with the south and the west and everywhere in between but my preference has always been New York to the death.I just like good music wherever it comes from, whether it be New York, Alaska or Australia as long as it bangs.

How did your affiliation with the Wu come about? When I was doing my album in 97, but really just seeing cats in places and building with them and always showing love and support. Eventually it became undeniable and they had to return that. I became Ghostface Killah’s DJ and I have done shows for the whole Wu Tang a few times.

You’re known for having a lot of unreleased and rare shit on your mixes. Is there anything you’re sitting on that you haven’t put out yet?
Tons of music, but I let things go as I see fit. See, I treasure music so it’s a little different for me. Some people might collect hats or some shit, I love music and my collection is nuts!

For every Jay Z and Biggie there’s a rapper that didn’t quite ‘make it’. Are there any artists from back then you feel should’ve got more recognition or had the talent to blow up on a larger scale?
Too many to name but artists like Tragedy Khadafi, Cormega, Large Professor, Roc Marciano, MOP, LA The Darkman, Kool G Rap... They have a name and recognition and a good career but none got to where I feel they should have. There’s tons more, I could go on for days.

How did you feel about how Hip Hop developed through the 00s? The whole DJ/mixtape game changed drastically...
It was good because the mixtape game really got recognized for what it really was. Shout out and rest in peace to Justo, the founder of the mixtape awards. Then it became saturated with a million and one artists and DJs to the point where it all fell apart. After 2004, I wasn’t feeling too much shit anymore cause it started to feel like everyone was following whoever was hot, and lyrics were more watered down. It lost the edge and originality. I mean, you still hear good records but not like you used to and thats why albums don’t last more than a week, or a song is only hot for a couple of days.

What new/up & coming artists are you checking for?
There is a bunch I like and that I’m messing with. Obviously I have my team The Outdoorsmen, which consists of myself, Meyhem Lauren, Action Bronson, AG The Coroner, Jay Steele, Science, Take-It, Prince Original, Animal and Killa Sha (RIP).
Other people I like and that I’m working with are Camiliano, Rasheed Chappel, Maffew Ragazino, Timeless Truth, Spit Gemz and Shazz Ill York. I check for new music cause Im a music fan first so I help and do what I can for people.

What have you got going right now?
I’ve released my album ‘Egotistical Maniac’ and I’m working on my next LP ‘Not Designed To Quit’ which is dropping in November or December. That just embraces my life’s hardships and positive moments. Just life and how I see things .

Anything else you wanna add?
Scoop up that ‘Egotistical Maniac’ LP for now. It features Kool G Rap, Cormega, Ghostface, Trife Diesel, Sadat X, Sean Price, LA The Darkman, Large Professor, Meyhem Lauren, Action Bronson and Roc Mariciano.
Check the website and my YouTube channel or get at me on twitter

SOUL has a good selection of old J-Love tapes up for download HERE

Method Man & GZA - J Love remixes (2003)

2011-10-01T16:09:00.006+01:00

Ahead of the J Love interview I'm about to drop, I thought I'd post up these 2 unofficial Wu Tang remixes he put out on a 12" back in 2003. First up is Method Man's 'Uh Huh', the original of which was featured on the 'Def Jam Vendetta' soundtrack. The flipside is GZA's 'Fame' which originally appeared on 2002's 'Legend Of The Liquid Sword'.

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DJ Step One - 90s R&B mix

2011-09-28T22:11:00.007+01:00

DJ Step One '90s R&B mix' by Soulfocus on Mixcloud

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Tracklist
Aaliyah 'Back And Forth'
SWV ft Snoop Dogg 'Gettin Funky'
Mya ft Raekwon & Noreaga 'Movin On' (remix)
Horace Brown 'One For The Money'
Mary J Blige 'Love No Limit' (Puff Daddy remix)
Shai ft Jay Z 'Dont Wanna Be Alone' (Marley Marl remix)
Total 'No One Else'
Allure ft Nas 'Head Over Heels'
Stephanie Mills 'Something In The Way..' (bootleg remix)
Whitehead Brothers 'Forget I Was A G'
Monifah ft Heavy D & McGruff 'I Miss You' (remix)
Soul For Real 'Candy Rain' (Heavy D & Trackmasterz remix)
TLC 'Creep' (remix)
Blackstreet ft Dr Dre 'No Diggitty'
Monica ft Biz Markie 'Just One Them Days' remix
Janet Jackson ft Q Tip 'Got Til Its Gone'
Groove Theory ft Brand Nubian 'Tell Me' (remix)
Domino 'Sweet Potato Pie'
Adina Howard 'Freak Like Me'
Yvette Michelle 'Everynight And Everyday'
Mariah Carey ft Mobb Deep 'The Roof (Back In Time)'

I hadn't really planned on doing this but I had a bit of spare time last night so I pulled the vinyl off the shelf and knocked it out in one take. Its turned out pretty well I think. There's some less familiar tracks and remixes alongside the classics and unlike past attempts it hasn't ended up being 95% Mary J Blige. Hope you like it.

Doo Wop 'The War Report' (2001)

2011-09-25T11:35:00.003+01:00

One of the lesser spotted Wop mixtapes, this dropped in late 2001 and features more than a few rappers who'd qualify for XXL's 'Milk Carton' feature (is that still going?). There was a time when Ali Vegas, Poster Boy, Dutch & Spade and Littles were all vying for the position of NYCs 'next to blow' but never quite made the cut in the ensuing Roc/Dipset/G Unit era that followed. Anyway, if you like your early 00s NYC Street Hop this is worth a look...

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One FM Rap Show 'Top 10 At 10' (1996)

2011-09-17T11:23:00.002+01:00

Here's Westwood's 'Top 10 at 10' from 6th January 1996. I was going to do a tracklist but thought that might spoil it...

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Thanks to Richard for the original tape.

There's a good article on the man's early days HERE, covering his start in the early 80s onwards. Well worth a read.

Ghostface & Raekwon 'Good Times' (DJ Step One blend)

2011-09-11T16:46:00.003+01:00

Here's a quick blend for you: Ghost & Rae's 'Good Times' acapella over the instrumental of LL's 'Fa Ha' (produced by DJ S&S)...

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Doo Wop 'Gangstas Paradise' (2000)

2011-09-06T23:09:00.004+01:00

I've been meaning to rip this for ages as anything Doo Wop related seems to go down well round these parts...

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There's some great stuff on here, my personal favourite being Treach ripping it over the 'Keep It Thoro' beat, which serves to remind that a solo album from the NBN frontman could've been dope with the right production. Journalist spitting over 'Mass Appeal' is nice, as is Nature over 'So Ghetto'. There's also 2 Prodigy joints, one with him dissing Jay Z over the 'Hail Mary' instrumental and the other a collaboration with E-Money Bags over 'Phone Tap'. If you need any more convincing head for the Lord Tariq and Big Daddy Kane tracks.

Demon Boyz on Kiss FM (1992)

2011-09-06T21:34:00.002+01:00

UK legends the Demon Boyz on Max LX & Dave VJ's Kiss FM show in 92, promoting their second LP 'Original Guidance'...

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Tape courtesy of Mr Lawson

Soul Focus vs Uptown 'Dope On Plastic'

2011-09-04T13:15:00.003+01:00

Another Soul Focus remix for you. This takes Uptown's 'Dope On Plastic' acapella and blends it with the instrumental of Dizzee Rascal's 'Pussyole', with a bit of King Bee thrown in for good measure. Works a treat if you're a DJ...

MEDIAFIRE

SOUNDCLOUD

Jay Z, Memphis Bleek & Geda K 'Murda Murda' unreleased version (2001)

2011-08-29T16:26:00.006+01:00

This track first did the rounds on mixtapes and bootleg vinyl around mid-2001, and was known variously as 'South Philly Niggaz', 'Murder Marceyville', and - on one white label - 'Chill'. It re-appeared in early 2002 with new verses and Beanie Sigel replacing Geda K. Then it all went quiet again until it finally got an official release on Memphis Bleek's 'M.A.D.E' album in December 03.

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The original version has Jay dissing Jayo Felony (I forget why, as I expect everyone else has, apart from Jayo who will probably be dining out on the story for years) and Bleek taking a shot at Nas. Geda K, who at the time was signed to Rocafella's short lived spin-off label Carter Faculty, comes in to wrap things up with a solid verse. The version that made it to retail is equally as strong, as you'd expect from The Roc in 2003. Sigel kills it "for real".
As for the 12" you see in the picture, it was probably a bit optimistic for the bootleggers to go with the 'Blueprint 2' tagline as that wouldnt hit shelves for another 18 months. The only track to make it onto the album was the frankly awesome 'Show You'. The others were mixtape staple 'Addicted To The Game' and personal favourite 'Early This Morning'.

I wish Jay Z still made records like this.

UPDATE 30/08 - Here's 'Addicted To The Game' and 'Early This Morning'

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The LOX - Hot 97 freestyle (2007)

2011-08-29T13:17:00.002+01:00

Rediscovered this recently, tucked away on a DJ Envy CD. Jada, Sheek & SP on Flex's show a few years back...

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Tim Westwood - Capital Rap Show (1994)

2011-08-25T23:39:00.002+01:00

Ah, June 94: I'd just finished my exams and discovered getting stoned. 'Illmatic' had just dropped and Westwood's show was still a must on the weekends.
Theres some good stuff on this tape - 'Cuz Its Wrong' by Slick Rick for one, as I'd completely forgotten how much I liked that track. Also, theres LL's elusive (although allegedly dropping soon) 'Year Of The Hip Hop', Nice N Smooth, Rampage, Guttersnypes, OC and Kurious. Side 2 is more smoothed out with some Snoop, Warren G, Blackstreet and Hi-Five.

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Thanks to Mr Lawson for the tape.

DJ Jay Ski - The Rebirth: Volume 30 (1999)

2011-08-22T00:03:00.002+01:00

Another Jay Ski tape for you. Gang Starr, Common, The Roots and Slum Village are all featured, aswell as a couple of Buckshot freestyles.

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(click on the image to enlarge the tracklist)

MC Shan 'The Bridge' (Soul Focus remix)

2011-08-16T18:44:00.003+01:00

As promised, I'll be making all of the Soul Focus remixes available and here's the next one; it's our take on MC Shan's 'The Bridge', done in a similar style to the Roots Manuva one I dropped last week. This time we've used a different 80s Soul classic on each verse...

SOUNDCLOUD

MEDIAFIRE

Jazzy Jeff live at The Do-Over (2011)

2011-08-13T15:44:00.004+01:00

Up until now it had completely slipped my mind to start checking The Do-Over site for any uploads from their parties this summer. Here's Jazzy Jeff doing his thing, with Skillz on hype man duties...

SOUNDCLOUD

MEDIAFIRE

DJ Jay Ski - Volume 25 (1997)

2011-08-11T20:02:00.002+01:00

Have to admit that Philly's Jay Ski wasn't a DJ I was familiar with until recently, but having been sent a stack of his tapes (shout to Richard!) he's definitely up there with the best of them. Not too heavy on the scratching and with a good mix of big names and indie joints, this is well worth a listen...

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(click on the image to enlarge the tracklist)

Foxy Brown, Cam'ron, Mase & Pretty Boy 'Baby Baby Baby' part 2 (1997)

2011-08-08T23:53:00.008+01:00

I picked this 12" up at the weekend, mainly on the strength of the other side, which is a Nas & Foxy Brown cut called 'Firm Members' (insert your own porno joke here). Unfortunately when I got it home it turned out to be that freestyle I uploaded a few months ago, albeit without DJ Clue yelling on it. 'Baby Baby Baby' on the other hand, I hadnt come across before. Its a bit of strange one really; the quality isn't exactly A1 and the lack of a chorus, or any real song structure makes it seem more like a cipher recorded for a mixtape. Even stranger given the song's title.

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An initial search didnt reveal too much info about 'Baby Baby Baby' so thinking I had a bit of a rare one on my hands I ripped it, scanned the label and was about to post it when I thought I'd dig a bit deeper. As far as I can tell, 'Part One' may have been a solo joint by Pretty Boy, or possibly a collab with Foxy (his sister) and Mase. This version featuring Cam'ron was actually posted on the Just Dipset blog back in March. But I'm guessing our audiences dont overlap too much and I'd put too much effort in at this point not to post it myself. Either way its a bit of an obscure one.

For more Fox Boogie business, check this recent Martorialist post

Jungle Brothers, Chill Rob G & Queen Latifah freestyle

2011-08-07T18:58:00.003+01:00

More late 80s freestyle action from Westwood. This time its a Flavor Unit - Native Tongues cipher with The JBs, Latifah and Chill Rob G...

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Roots Manuva 'Witness' (Soul Focus remix)

2011-08-06T15:16:00.002+01:00

Over the next few weeks I'm going to be making all the Soul Focus remixes available for free download. First up is our 'jackin for beats' take on Roots Manuva's 'Witness (One Hope)'. This originally dropped back in 2009 and was one of our most popular releases...

LISTEN & DOWNLOAD @ SOUNDCLOUD

DOWNLOAD @ MEDIAFIRE

Ultramagnetic MCs freestyle

2011-07-26T19:32:00.003+01:00

Another one out of the Westwood vaults: Kool Keith, TR Love, Ced Gee and Tim Dog freestyling on the Capital Rap Show back in 1988-89...

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The Show

2011-07-26T16:45:00.006+01:00

For those of you who need to be told, these are old flyers - not adverts for upcoming events! Im not sure if the Busta flyer is for the show that ended in The Forum getting torn up, or for the comeback show (when he actually performed). I have a feeling that the Raekwon show might've been cancelled at the last minute. I'm still a bit gutted I was too young to reach Flava Of The Month...

One FM Rap Show 'Top 10 At 10' (1995)

2011-07-25T19:17:00.006+01:00

First up out of the pile of Westwood tapes I received last week is this 'Top 10 At 10' from August 1995...

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Obviously there was a lot of great music dropping back then but the thing that really timestamps the era is the banter between the songs - there's a lot of 'keep it real', 'represent' and 'no diggedy', because thats how Rap People spoke back then...

Thanks to Richard for the original tape of this one.

DJ Step One 'Early 00s Rap Stuff' mix

2011-07-24T23:53:00.008+01:00

So, before I get my shit together and start ripping some of these tapes I've acquired I thought I'd post up this mix I knocked up during the week. There's no real theme to it, I just wanted some stuff I hadn't heard for a while to listen in the car. I suppose it could be best summed up as 'East Coast hood shit that you might have found on a Clue or Kay Slay tape'. I only used vinyl, for those of you care about that kind of thing.

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STREAM @ MIXCLOUD

Tracklist
Game ft G Unit 'Hate It Or Love It'
Mobb Deep ft Big Noyd 'Double Shots'
Capone N Noreaga 'Invincible'
Freeway ft Peedi Crack 'Flipside' (blend w/ 'Nothin')
Beanie Sigel & Freeway 'Roc The Mic'
Beanie Sigel & Memphis Bleek 'So Whatcha Sayin'
Nas 'Made You Look' (blend w/ '2 Gunz Up')
Nas 'Thiefs Theme'
Phillys Most Wanted ft Fabolous & Clipse 'Cross The Border' remix
Jay Z, Memphis Bleek & Geda K 'Murda Murda'
Kool G Rap 'First Nigga'
Clipse ft Ab Liva, Rosco and Pharrell 'Hot Damn'
Cam'ron & Juelz Santana 'Harlem'
G Dep, P Diddy & Black Rob 'Lets Get It'
G Dep ft Keith Murray, Ghostface & Craig Mack 'Special Delivery' remix
Gang Starr 'The Ownerz'

I originally posted this on Saturday without realising that the recording levels were way too loud and it was distorting. If you were one of the 18 who downloaded it between then and last night you might want to delete and cop it again.
I'm very much aware that I need to step my game up as far as artwork to accompany my mixes goes.

Media Assassin

2011-07-21T18:43:00.008+01:00

Mark 563 has set up a new tumblr dedicated to posting up scans of classic Hip Hop magazines like HHC, The Source, Represent etc. GO HERE

On a similar tip, the ever reliable Martorialist shared this article from the November 93 issue of The Source with rappers and journalists selecting their favourite music and memories from back in the day. Highly recommended as there's some great anecdotes in there.

I had a ridiculous amount of mags from the first issue of HHC in 88/89 onwards but had to ditch the lot when I moved so its good to see things like this appearing!

I've been lucky enough to receive a nice batch of tapes in the post recently(lots of Westwood, along with a few others) so expect some treats to appear very soon. I'm off on on holiday next week so I'll try and throw a few bits up before then.

Funkmaster Flex 'Big Truck Series Volume 1' freestyles (2001)

2011-07-09T15:21:00.003+01:00

This 12" a is collection of some of the highlights of Flex's 'Big Truck Series' mixtape. It kicks off with Nas 'Stillmatic' (the dis track over the 'Paid In Full' beat) and is followed by 2 short freestyles by Fabolous and Kurupt. The flipside features Redman and some weed carriers, Busta and Rah Digga, a Foxy Brown freestyle recorded live on Hot 97 and Benzino wraps things up.

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I've got the 12" of the Nas track if anyone is need of a good quality/no DJ version.

Tim Westwood - Capital Rap Show (1991)

2011-07-02T14:41:00.005+01:00

Long time followers of this blog will know that the updates slow down once the sun comes out, which I why I havent dropped too much recently. I did have a bit of time earlier today to rip this tape of the Capital Rap Show from 1991. Lots of Juice Crew/Cold Chillin stuff (Kane, Master Ace, Genius and Kid Capri) on this one...

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Thanks to diseone for the tape.

NB: I did have to edit out the excruciatingly long remix of Guy's 'Her'. It goes on for about 8 minutes and really hasnt aged very well.

Nas - Freestyle (1996)

2011-06-19T16:27:00.006+01:00

This is the Nas freestyle that was doing the rounds on the mixtapes back in 96 just before 'It Was Written' dropped. Its the one over some classic 80s beats (Nobody Beats The Biz, Eric B For President and So Whatcha Sayin) and I thought you might appreciate a nice, good quality, untagged version straight off the white label...

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Flava In Ya Ear remix (DJ Step One blend)

2011-06-18T15:20:00.005+01:00

I haven't posted a blend for a while so here's something I just cooked up: the acapella of the 'Flava In Ya Ear' remix over the instrumental of Outkast's 'Southernplayalistic...'

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Max LX & Dave VJ - Kiss FM Rap Chart (1991)

2011-06-13T20:41:00.005+01:00

Back to the tapes! This is the rap show chart from January (or possibly early February - my guess is based on the advert for the LL concert) 1991. Kiss hadnt been a legal station for very long at this point - the first broadcast as a non-pirate was September 1990.
KMD, King Sun, Ice Cube, Special Ed, BDP and Chubb Rock all feature...

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For more 1991 goodness check this DJ Chief One mixtape over at TROY.

the post with no name (aka 'random treats')

2011-06-09T21:04:00.005+01:00

Been a while since I last posted. No real reason for the break other than that I dropped a lot of hotness in May and thought I'd best give you time to catch up. Nothing worse than having a load of newly downloaded music and not having time to get through it all before the next gem appears.
Theres no specific theme to this post other than to offer up a few things from my hardrive that you might not have come across before, but at the same time probably dont warrant their own post. Enjoy...

Jay Z 'Feelin It' (Rosco's ride-out blend)
I found this on Soundcloud. Uses the 'It Was A Good Day' instrumental. Nice.

Lord Tariq & Peter Gunz 'Deja Vu (Uptown Baby)' Bay Area mix
Promo only business to keep the regional DJs sweet. This has the same beat but the chorus shouts out towns and cities in The Bay rather than NYC.

The Firm 'Freestyle'
Think I got this off the 'Firm Biz' CD single. Uses the Alkaholiks 'Hip Hop Drunkies' beat.

Mobb Deep 'True Lies'
I'm guessing this is from around 1997ish. Not 100% but I dont think it ever saw an official release. If it did and any of you have a better quality version than the bootleg vinyl rip I've posted here then hook me up!

Silva Sirfa 'The Art Of Blending' (2001)

2011-05-29T14:12:00.004+01:00

Its approaching that time of year when every blog, forum and DJ will compile a selection of 'summer joints' which without fail always feature the same tracks year in, year out. If you want an alternative to 'Regulate', 'Summertime' and the usual R&B standards you could do a lot worse than bump this blend tape from 2001(ish) by NYC's DJ Silva Sirfa...

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Its upfront and classic R&B over Hip Hop beats. Its a fucking good CD basically.

If you're into this you might want to check out RNT's latest compilation

Lil Kim 'Big Momma Thang' the unreleased versions (1996)

2011-05-24T21:45:00.018+01:00

Although I'm not exactly a big fan of Lil Kim, this track grew on me as a result of rinsing DJ Rectangle's excellent 'Deadly Needles' mixtape back in 97.
I got hold of the 12" you see below and was dismayed to find that it was missing Jay Z's cameo, and so wasn't the version included on Kim's 'Hardcore' album. Instead there were 2 mixes, one of which I assume to be the 'original' (edit: see update below) which makes use of the awesome Love Unlimited Orchestra sample also used by Real Live and Jemini around the same time, and one labelled 'remix' with the same beat as the album version. The real talking point is the lyrics that didnt make the cut on the album...

DOWNLOAD ALL 3 VERSIONS

The track features Kim taking a few shots at Faith Evans and 2Pac and must have been (like most/all of her songs) written by Biggie. You can hear his cadence and humour all over it...

"Uh, who shot ya?
Who knows how they got ya?
Fed up...wet up
Maybe next time your punk ass will Keep Ya Head Up!"

I'm not sure but would guess that the lyrics were removed from the official release due to Pac having died just before it came out. Its a bit of an under-the-radar track and well worth a listen. If you're a stubborn boom-bap dinosaur who wouldn't dream of checking for Lil Kim, its all ok because its produced by Stretch Armstrong (the remix and album version are anyway, I'm not sure about the original).

Thanks to Addicted 2 Retail for having a decent Kim photo I could use!

UPDATE 16/12/11: Theres a bit more info on this in the comments section from Stretch. After asking a few more questions (via Twitter) it appears he pressed up 500-1000 copies of the 12" himself.
Mike Nice has also put me up on a demo version of this track with Biggie doing a hook to the tune of 'Sweet Dreams' by Eurythmics. This was scrapped after Nas came out with 'Street Dreams' although apparently Kim's track was made first. Also, I've re-upped the files as the album version was corrupted and I've re-titled the 'original' as 'Stretch Armstrong mix'.

Radio 1 Rap Show: Def Jam's 10th Anniversary (1995)

2011-05-20T20:12:00.004+01:00

Russell Simmons, Method Man and Nelson George guest on this Westwood show from December 95. Uncle Russ selects ten of his favourite tracks from the label ("I ain't mad at 'The Rain' though") and Meth gets wasted. GZA and Shaggy make a brief appearance aswell...

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Quality isn't great as it was recorded on some cheap no-brand blank tape. If you want the Method Man freestyle on its own I posted it HERE a few months ago.

DJ Step One '30 Minute Throwback'

2011-05-18T23:38:00.006+01:00

Just over 30 minutes of 97-98 stuff in the mix...

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MIXCLOUD STREAMING AUDIO

Tracklist
CRU ft Slick Rick 'Just Another Case' remix
Missin Linx 'MIA'
Beatnuts ft Big Pun & Cuban Link 'Off The Books'
Rakim 'When I Be On The Mic'
Kasino & The LOX 'Men Of Respect'
OC & Big L 'Dangerous'
DITC 'Internationally Known'
Jay Z ft The LOX, Beanie Sigel & Sauce Money 'Reservoir Dogs'
Suga Free ft Playa Ham 'If You Stay Ready'
Clipse 'Got Caught Dealin pt 2 (We Get Money)'

Used all vinyl on this.The only problem was whereas my MP3s are sorted by year, my vinyl is A-Z so I kept drawing a blank on what to play next (which is why I stopped while I was ahead!)

Only Built For zShare Links presents: Doo Wop - The Best Of Da Bouncemaster

2011-05-16T19:15:00.009+01:00

I've been wanting to drop a compilation like this for a while. This is a collection of some of the highlights of the career of Bronx mixtape king Doo Wop , probably the best DJ-on-the-mic and not a bad producer either. There's some great stuff on here, alot of which never saw an official retail release.

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Tracklist
'Original Flavour 95 intro' ft Biz Markie
'Xmas Jams 93 intro'
'Da Bouncemaster'
'Hit Em In The Head' ft Da Bounce Squad
'Bounce Rock Skate Roll' ft Da Bounce Squad
'Gotta Go Down' ft Akinyele, Lord Tariq, Fat Joe & Pretty Boy Floyd
'Freestyle (1998)'
'Things I Do' ft Don Blaq
'Ten Tape Commandments (revisited)' ft Rahzel
'Castle To Castle' ft Raekwon
'Henny & Coke' ft Mr Cheeks & Noreaga
'Not A Game'
'One Tape'

So you've got a couple of freestyle intros from his tapes (incidentally these are also the first 2 mixtapes I ever purchased, on New Years Eve 94, from DJ MK at Handspun Records when it was on Oxford Street) followed by 3 tracks from the aborted Bounce Squad album. 'Gotta Go Down' was the b-side of the legendary 'Break A Bitch Neck'and the 1998 Freestyle is taken from the Diaz Brothers mixtape (aka 'Hip Hop On Wax' which I posted here recently). The 'Rockcreek Park' sampling 'Things I Do' was a promo 12" taken from the Flip Squad album and feaures sometime collaborator Don Blaq. 'Ten Tape Commandments' is, as you've probably guessed, Wop's take on the Biggie classic and was a 12" release that has the Raekwon collabo on the flipside. 'Henny & Coke' is an East Coast take on 'Gin & Juice' and 'Not A Game' is from the 'Gangstas Paradise' mixtape. The set concludes with another remake, this time of 'One Mic' where Wop speaks on the ups and downs of the mixtape game.

Many thanks to my man dirt dog for coming through with the artwork.

Doo Wop interview with Unkut.com

'The London Convention' (1997)

2011-05-13T22:12:00.006+01:00

The post below reminded me of this similar 12" I've got in the collection. Its strictly UK emcees on this one, a few of whom were already established on the scene at the time and some others who would go onto to run things in the 'second golden era' of UK rap in the early 00s. Funky DL provides the beats (this is the 'jazz remix') and the first few bars and is followed by MC D, Skinnyman, Blak Twang, TY, ESP, Kwestman, Q Tee, Fallacy and Rodney P...

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Freestyle Frenzy (2002)

2011-05-11T21:12:00.001+01:00

OK, first things first: this isn't that 'Freestyle Frenzy' with all the classic WKCR freestyles. This is a 12" from 2002 featuring nine MCs (4 US and 5 UK), each one rhyming over a different beat produced by Joe Buhdha. Its just under 15 minutes long and features Masta Ace, Wordsworth, Canibus, Maylay Sparks, Scorzayzee, Skinnyman, Scorpio, Mr 45 and Rodney P...

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I thought I'd better drop something along these lines for anyone worried about the direction this blog was taking following the Ruff Ryders/Rocafella/Cash Money fest on the mix below. Relax, theres room for everything.

DJ Step One 'Take Em To The Tunnel'

2011-05-08T14:22:00.006+01:00

After watching a few videos of footage from Funkmaster Flex's legendary nights at The Tunnel in NYC I decided to put together this mix themed around the club in the late 90s . Enjoy...

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MIXCLOUD STREAMING AUDIO

Tracklist
Funkmaster Flex intro
The LOX 'Wild Out'
DMX, Jay Z & The LOX 'Blackout'
Crooklyn Clan 'Did I Do That'
DMX, The LOX, Drag-On & Eve 'Ruff Ryders Anthem' (remix)
DMX 'Get At Me Dog (DJ Step One blend)
BG ft Juvenile & Lil Wayne 'Bling Bling'
Juvenile 'Back Dat Azz Up'
OC ft Lord Tariq, Peter Gunz & Fatman Scoop 'Dangerous' (remix)
Puff Daddy ft The LOX, Lil Kim & Biggie 'All About The Benjamins' (DJ Step One blend)
Choke No Joke interlude
Jay Z ft Amil & Beanie Sigel 'Do It Again'
The Rite Bros 'Thug Anthem 2000'
Mobb Deep ft Lil Kim 'Quite Storm' (remix)
Redman 'I'll Bee Dat'
Cam'ron ft Mase 'Horse & Carriage'
Cam'ron & DMX 'Pull It'
Pharoahe Monch ft Lady Luck,Redman & Method Man 'Simon Says' (remix)
Capone N Noreaga ft Tragedy 'TONY' (DJ Step One blend)
CRU ft The LOX 'Live At The Tunnel'
The Firm 'Firm Biz' (World Famous remix)
MOP ft Jay Z '4 Alarm Blaze'
Memphis Bleek 'Mind Right'
Mase, Black Rob, The LOX & DMX '24 Hours To Live'

Hopefully the long delayed documentary will drop at some point

live on stage...

2011-05-06T22:18:00.003+01:00

Got my ticket for this (and possibly a spare the way things are going). I'm more amped to see De La and Rakim for the first time than I am Mos and Talib but all 3 acts in the same night should be great. We don't get that very often in the UK! Just hoping Rakim shows up - he cancelled his last 2 UK shows in recent years.
Good to see promoters in London keeping the shows coming. Check Ah Sh!t for the latest gig info in the capital.

Stylah 'I'm Sick' (2011)

2011-05-06T20:27:00.002+01:00

I rarely post new stuff but I like this and think Stylah should get more exposure than he does. Here he vents his frustrations over Jay Z's 'Takeover' beat.

Tim Westwood - Capital Rap Show (1993)

2011-05-03T19:24:00.003+01:00

Right, back to business. This is 90 minutes of a Capital Rap Show from a friday night sometime in 1993. Tim drops new Big Shug, Souls Of Mischief, Funkdoobiest, Pete Nice and Fat Joe, plus there's a bit of Ron G in the mix for the last part of the b-side (although the quality on that isnt great unfortunately)

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Nick Catchdubs throwback mix on Hot 97 (2011)

2011-05-03T00:42:00.004+01:00

Last night on Real Late with Peter Rosenberg, Danny Brown and Nick Catchdubs repped FG at the home of blazing hip hop and RnB. While Rosenberg spun “Ray Ban Vision (Remix),” “Greatest Rapper Ever” and “Guitar Solo,” Danny dropped knowledge on Tim Hortons, Eightball, and #dannybrownshair, then Catchdini took over the decks for a guest “throwback mix” featuring Cru, Brick City Kids, and more random rap nuggets.

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TRACKLIST
Royal Flush ft Big Pun & NORE – Clap
Cru – Bubblin
Lost Boyz – Get Up (Remix)
Tom Tom Club – Genius Of Love
Redman – Brick City Mashin
Brick City Kids – Brick City Kids
Gang Starr – Brainstorm
The Roots – Thought At Work
Jay-Z f. Sauce Money – Face Off
EPMD – I’m Mad (DJ Scratch Remix)
Beastie Boys – It’s The New Style
Pharcyde – Drop
Rahzel – All I Know
Busta Rhymes – Rhymes Galore
Coco Brovas – Super Brooklyn
De La Soul – Ego Trip (Pt II)
Al Hirt – Harlem Hindoo

Just a quick post until I get time to rip some new stuff. I've been away and busy with other stuff recently but regular posts should resume shortly...

Just A Moment

2011-04-20T20:42:00.000+01:00

Sticky Fingaz 'Jackin For Beats' (1999)

2011-04-15T19:27:00.004+01:00

Back in '99, Onyx's front man set off his solo career with this dope white label, throwing a few shots at a newcomer called 50 Cent over a barrage of late 90s Tunnel bangers.

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For the uninitiated, 50 had worked with Onyx in '98 as they both came up under Jam Master Jay. He then signed with Trackmasters and dropped the excellent 'How To Rob' which caused a few rappers (namely Sticky, Raekwon, Ghostface and Jay Z) to catch feelings. I thought that was kind of stupid given that the chorus was 'This aint serious/being broke can make you delerious' but thats rappers for you.

Tim Westwood - Radio 1 Rap Show (1995)

2011-04-10T22:03:00.003+01:00

45 minutes of Westwood from early 1995. He takes it back a few years with some K Solo, Das EFX, Pete Rock and Brand Nubian and then goes into some Ragga with Supercat, Buju Banton and King Kong.

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Thanks to Diseone for the tape.

Guru freestyles

2011-04-08T00:34:00.006+01:00

Taken from a CD I bought at a Guru show back in 2005, heres a few short freestyles over some classic (non-Gang Starr) Primo beats such as '6th Sense', 'Nas Is Like', 'Unbelievable' and 'So Ghetto' aswell as Mobb Deep's 'Quiet Storm'...

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I was going to wait until the first anniversary of his passing on April 19th but chances are every blog under the sun will be doing tributes that day (plus I'm likely to forget) so I thought I'd get in there early with something different.
If you missed it first time round you can still get the Guru freestyle on Kiss FM from 2004 HERE

Doo Wop & Tony Touch 'Hip Hop On Wax Vol 1' (1998)

2011-04-06T00:23:00.004+01:00

Another mixtape-on-vinyl here. As you'd expect from Doo Wop & Tony Touch, there's some great stuff on this: Mobb Deep's 'Avirex', 'Friend Or Foe 98', Money Boss Players going off over 'Puffin On Blunts' and some dope freestyles. Full tracklist is in the comment section.

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Cash Money - The WKIS Head Twister (1997)

2011-04-03T23:22:00.002+01:00

The practice of pressing mixtapes onto vinyl is a strange one. The continuity you get from a tape/CD is disrupted on something like this which is spread over four sides of two 12"s. That aside, I've uploaded it in 2 parts and you get Cash Money cutting, juggling and blending some Nas, Redman, Wu Tang, Mobb Deep, Lil Kim, Keith Murray, Tribe, KRS One and more.

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This was a must-buy today, partly because I've got a thing for less-than-official looking releases and also because it appeared to contain a track I've been trying to ID since 1997 when I heard Jazzie B play it on his Kiss FM show. Having got it home, it turns out I was right and its this, which I duly purchased. That was made all the more satisfying by the fact it was a fucking nightmare trying to get around London today as TFL see Sundays as the ideal opportunity to shut down parts of the tube for repairs.
If you cop stuff from this blog regularly hopefully you appreciate the effort that goes into getting some of this shit. In this instance, earlier today this record was festering in a Soho record shop, surrounded by Pitbull promos and discarded Twista 12"s, and now its online for you to enjoy. Just saying.

"murder was the case that they gave me..."

2011-04-03T18:31:00.005+01:00

Just found these while I was tidying up. I'm sure most of you remember that around the time 'Doggystyle' dropped Snoop was facing an attempted murder charge. He came to the UK in February 1994 to promote the album and the UK press went nuts, with every no-name rent-a-quote MP jumping on the bandwagon to get the shows cancelled.
17 (seventeen) years later, he's coming back to perform the whole album at the Lovebox festival. See you there...

Big Pun & Fat Joe 'Twinz' Brooklyn Untouched remix (2000)

2011-03-30T23:48:00.008+01:00

I dont know much about Brooklyn Untouched other than that they dropped a few AV8 style remixes and party breaks some years ago. On this 12" they take the 'simple but effective' approach and drop the 'Twinz' acapella over Dre's 'The Next Episode' beat.

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All together now: "Dead in the middle of Little Italy..." etc

"break bread, ribs, 100 dollar bills..."

2011-03-29T23:00:00.004+01:00

Spotted at realniggatumblr

Max LX & Dave VJ on Kiss FM (1994)

2011-03-28T23:54:00.009+01:00

My 300th post is also the first full tape I've dropped of Max LX & Dave VJ's infamous Kiss FM show! Broadcast every Wednesday from 7-9pm, the show kicked off with the Top 20 singles chart followed by an hour of upfront Hip Hop from both sides of the Atlantic. This show is from February 1994 and features music by Main Source, Volume 10, Cash Crew, Ice Cube and Nas. Make sure you check the Rap Report at the start of Part 2 for an excellent story/rumour about Big Daddy Kane!

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If you aren't that up on Kiss FM's history it started as a pirate station in London in 1985 and became legal in 1990. The list of DJs that had shows on there reads like a Hall Of Fame: Soul II Soul, Westwood, Coldcut, DJ Hype, David Rodigan, Trevor Nelson, Norman Jay, Tuff Jam, Danny Rampling and pretty much anyone that was killing it in London in the 80s and 90s. I'm sure I'm not the only 30-something who's taste was shaped by its 'anything goes' playlist (a good example of this would be the mix I posted yesterday actually). During the day you could hear anything from Teena Marie, Barrington Levy and Masters At Work to the new Tribe or De La track. Anyway, I'm glad I was living close enough to London to pick it up; the BBC wasn't cutting it.

You can catch a lot of the station's original DJs on Colourful Radio. Shout out to MK & Shortee Blitz still holding down the Hip Hop on Kiss in 2011!

Thanks to diseone over at the DWG Forum for the tapes.

I Dont Like The Clubs But The Clubs Like Me - Volume 2

2011-03-27T18:31:00.003+01:00

This is a mix not too disimilar from a set I played at a friend's house party last week. Not 100% Hip Hop but I'm going to post it up anyway...

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Tracklist
Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam 'Let The Beat Hit Em'
MARRS 'Pump Up The Volume'
Groove Armada 'If Everybody Looked The Same'
Parker vs P Zilla 'Rock Dat'
Mooqee 'Pjanoo'
Ducked Off 'Anyway' (Soul Focus re-fix)
Stevie Wonder 'Do I Do' (U Tern re-edit)
Jackson Sisters 'I Believe In Miracles'
Gwen McRae 'All This Love That Im Giving'
Eric B & Rakim 'I Know You Got Soul' (Double Trouble remix)
Hot Day & Mystique 'I Found Love'
Rodney P, Kano, Swiss, Baby Blu, Yungun, Skibadee & MCD 'Rappers Delight'
Incredible Bongo Band 'Apache'
Chase & Status ft Kano 'Against All Odds'
Beatvandals & A Skillz 'Sunshine'
Tensnake 'Coma Cat'
The O Jays 'I Love Music'
Teddy Pendergrass 'You Cant Hide From Yourself'
Roy Ayers 'Running Away'
Raw Silk 'Do It To The Music'
Featurecast 'One More'
Talking Heads 'Once In A Lifetime'

DJ Vlad - Classic Blends (2000)

2011-03-22T00:36:00.004Z

DJ Vlad is definitely one of the OGs as far as blend tapes go. Standouts on this set include 'Mighty Healthy' over 'Hail Mary' and pretty much all the blends using Dre's '2001' instrumentals.

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(click on the image to biggify the tracklist)

I've been having a few problems uploading large files recently so haven't posted as much as I'd have liked. Hopefully normal service will resume soon.

Bars & Hooks ft Prodigy 'Mind Blowing' (2001)

2011-03-16T18:35:00.007Z

I first heard the tracks on this 12" on a DJ Juice mixtape 10 years ago. A few months back I finally got hold of a vinyl copy on discogs (shout out to DJ B.Cause!)

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The lead track features the Mobb affiliates and Prodigy rhyming over the Gap Band's classic 'Outstanding' which is probably why I like it so much. 'Independence Day' uses the beat from 'The Message' and 'YBE' is a remix of the track originally found on Bandana P's 'HNIC' album.
Given how long it took me to track this down I was initially a bit reluctant to share it (old digging habits die hard!) but given the plethora of Mobb-related blog posts following Prodigy's release from prison I thought I'd give you something you might not have yet.

Nate Dogg RIP

DJ 279 - Friday Night Flava on Choice FM (1993)

2011-03-15T23:48:00.006Z

DJ 279 has been holding it down on the radio since the early 90s. Unfortunately while Westwood was broadcasting nationally and Kiss FM covered London and the surrounding counties, picking up Choice FM was pretty much impossible if you were off the tube map. As a result, tapes of The Numberman's Friday Night Flava shows are harder to come by than those of his competition (I've been asking around for a while now). Fortunately that man Mr Lawson has come through with a show from June 1993...

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Hopefully some more tapes will surface soon. If you want to check out more in the meantime, check Big Ted's blog for some audio of Nas on the show in 1994.

The Unstoppable Def Jam Sampler (1999)

2011-03-13T00:24:00.004Z

The late 90s saw Def Jam reclaim their spot at the top of the industry following a few years of dominance by Bad Boy and Death Row. The addition to the roster of the Rocafella and Murder Inc imprints alongside DMX and Redman & Method Man meant they pretty much had the East Coast locked down. This promo CD has a few things that weren't available elsewhere and is well worth checking out...

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Tracklist
Def Squad 'Full Cooperation'
DMX & Ja Rule 'I Shot Ya' freestyle
Ja Rule 'Criminology' freestyle
Jayo Felony ft Mack 10, WC, Method Man & DMX 'Whatcha Gonna Do'
LL Cool J 'The Ripper Strikes Back'
Method Man & Redman 'How High' (Live)
Method Man, Redman & DMX '4,3,2,1' (Live)
Onyx 'Freestyle'

NB: I've omitted the snippet tracks - if you really need a 90 second preview of Jay Z's 'Can I Get A...' this probably isn't the blog for you.

DJ Soul 'No Ideas Original 2'

2011-03-11T19:25:00.003Z

DJ Soul drops the long awaited second volume of his mix of original breaks and samples

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Tracklisting can be found here HERE

"Its ridiculous, nobody bust one shot for BIG..."

2011-03-09T19:19:00.008Z

I try and avoid following the pattern of most other Hip Hop blogs but as the Biggie and Craig Mack freestyle on Westwood was one of the first posts that got this site some attention, along with the fact I actually remembered it was March 9th today, I thought I'd drop a couple of B.I.G related things for you.
Pretty much everything Mr Wallace recorded has already been heard already (although the holy grail seems to his collabo with Onyx and Naughty By Nature - anyone holding that apart from Puffy?) so instead I'm gonna break tradition and come with something a bit more recent.

This is a mammoth posse cut by Busta Rhymes, Maino, Red Cafe, MOP, Uncle Murda, Styles, Sheek & Lil Cease called 'March 9th'. Produced by the UK's Dready, this is probably the most fitting tribute to Biggie. It sounds like it hasnt been mastered/mixed down properly but its still great anyway - nice and rowdy and a million miles away from 'I'll Be Missing You'. Not sure if this ever came out 'officially' but if anyone has a better copy then hook me up.

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As a bonus here's the Green Lantern remix of 'Letter To BIG' by Jadakiss
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Artwork by 563 (again!)

If you want an interesting read on the story behind the whole Biggie/2Pac thing, realniggatumblr got something for you.

Shout out to Mike Nice.

Tim Westwood - Capital Rap Show (1993)

2011-03-08T19:10:00.006Z

Another one out of Mr Lawson's collection: Westwood on Capital back in 93 dropping some LONS, Black Moon, 2Pac, Erick Sermon and Big Daddy Kane.

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Just realised that this blog is 2 years old today!

A freestyle, a mix, a blend and a remix

2011-03-01T22:07:00.019Z

Here's a few random bits and pieces I've found, been sent, and in the case of the blend made myself...

Big Ted sent over this Big Pun tribute mini-mix he made following the man's death over a decade ago
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Dirty Waters posted this rare freestyle by Big Daddy Kane, Sir Ibu & Kings Of Swing from around 1989-90.
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Another blend from myself: The Beatnuts 'Props Over Here' acapella over the 'Midnight' instrumental (one of favourite Tribe joints)
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AOL sent me over his remix of Large Professor's 'Rap Professional' which is very good and a must for those of you partial to some 90s boom-bap
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DJ Scratch's Top 5 DJs

2011-02-27T10:31:00.003Z

Scratch comes with a Top 5 list and then a '5A' with a few names that get slept on.
Don't think I've ever seen anyone do a Top 5 DJs. It makes a change from watching another rapper sit there mumbling 'Jay..Nas...Em..Pac...Big' when they list their Top 5 MCs.

Spotted at Pipomixes

I'm having a bit of a move around due to recently copping some new equipment. Will hopefully be up and running and able to rip a few tapes later this week. Stay tuned.

Lord Finesse live in Sydney (2011)

2011-02-25T20:52:00.005Z

2 hours of The Funky Man live on the 1s & 2s (and a bit on the mic aswell) in Sydney, Australia last month. I'm guessing this the same show Unkut covered recently

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Not sure where this appeared originally but I've seperated it into 2 one hour files for convenience.

"Me and my fam roll tight like The Firm..."

2011-02-21T22:20:00.003Z

I've been trying to find a suitable beat for the 'Cant Knock The Hustle' acapella for a while now and following a short burst of inspiration first thing yesterday morning I think I've cracked it...

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Illustration by Mark 563, check more of his sketches out here

"I Was There" - exclusive Big Ted interview!

2011-02-19T16:15:00.016Z

So I managed to get as far as a third interview! The feedback's been good so far so thanks to everyone who's enjoyed my previous efforts.
Stepping up with some Hip Hop stories and memories of his time in the game is someone who's been at the centre of the scene in London for longer than most, holding it down on Radio, TV, vinyl and live on stage...

Who You Be?

I be The Big Ted, Big Teddy Ted, Chubby Kid No 1, Jeopardy, Hip Hop personality like no other. South London representative til I die. Known for launching Friday Night Flava with DJ 279. Known for killing it on stage with Blak Twang & Ty as well as holding down one of the best hip hop radio shows for nearly 10 years on Kiss 100. Ask about me!

What was your ‘Day One’?

Wow, the tune that got me into hip hop? I guess like most heads from my generation it would have been seeing the Sugarhill Gang on Top Of The Pops back in 79 that got my attention, but I wouldn't really say that got me into Hip Hop because nothing came after that on a commercial level for years. I'd probably go for 'Planet Rock' as the tune that really got me wanting to pop n break. I can remember, back in about 83, being at the Notting Hill Carnival with my big cousin Raymond under the flyover and listening to the DJs (Maximum Scratch, Dave VJ, Louis and Herbie) of the Mastermind Roadshow soundsystem play, watching the crowd go crazy with EVERYBODY doing their best robot and popping moves. Incredible!

Did you have a ‘crew’ or ever get into MCing/Breaking/Graf before you settled on DJing? I’ve heard you drop a few rhymes on more than one occasion!

Back then in 83-84 when I really started getting into it, I wanted to do everything! Hip Hop to me was like a brand new school full of the dopest subjects. I guess I started rhyming first because it was the most affordable of the 4 to get with. Just a pen and paper! I'd listen to my Mike Allen and Westwood tapes over and over and just snip out my favourite lines from Run DMC or Whodini or Melle Mel or whoever and just bite and recite!!! Eventually I started writing my own stuff but those early rhymes of mine were real heavy on the plagiarism!
I did the b boy thing too. Like I said I wanted to do it all and I was a pretty decent popper in my day. I was actually in my school dance crew 'Street Level' and we entered the Metropolitan Police Disco Dance Championships - can you even believe such a thing existed! We came 2nd behind some girl group and actually got presented with our medals by Floella Benjamin! I'm deep in the game son!
Outside of school I was in another local crew called the Global Wizardz and we'd roam the streets with our roll of lino and a boombox and just battle! That shit was crazy. Just popping and breaking all over the damn place. Although I should mention that I was only ever a popper, my breaking was wack beyond belief. Another crazy fact for hip hop history nerds like myself, go and look for a book called 'Let Colin & Linval Show You How To Breakdance'. It features a few founding members of the London scene like MC Mell’O’, Bionic (London Posse) and little old me showing folks how to pop and break. We got paid £10 each and I remember rushing off to Our Price to buy the Beat Street soundtrack. I don't even own a copy of it but they used to sell it in Martins (who remembers that shop?) and I'd go in there every day after school and look at myself in the book!
The DJing came in a little after the rhyming once I found out where to buy some of the records I'd been taping off the radio. The first proper Hip Hop record I bought was 'Roxanne, Roxanne' by UTFO on Streetwave records (I didn't know about import releases at the time) and I played it to death on my Dad's record player. I tried to mix it with every track that came on the radio and and that's how I started learning about matching beats and tempos. That finger powered pitch control was all I had.
When it came to graffiti I was kinda-nearly-sort-of okay at it. I was far from being up to Subway Art standard though. My tag was decent but my pieces were a bit weak!
As far as the development of my rapping goes, I just kept on with it after the b- boy thing died off and I was wanting to make a name for myself with it. I was in a crew at college in 86/87 called Mission 2 Kill. We were so dope! We had the matching denim jackets with the white fleece inside. We rocked Avia trainers after seeing them on the cover of 'Yo! Bumrush The Show'. Big shoutout to K-Ski and Rodney. We even sent a demo to Music Of Life Records and got rejected. I still have the letter they sent back with our tape! After that I was in a group with some school freinds called Black Gold. Me, T Hakeem, Knewborn & DJ Cuttin' K. We made a whole bunch of dope demo tracks but we never made it to wax sadly. Distractions kinda made us lose focus as a group but I stayed with it and went on to enter the DMC UK Rap Championship in 1990. This was when they had an MC competition right alongside the DJ one. Uncle B Nice was the champ at the time and I came through and won the final at the Hippodrome in Leicester Square. A Tribe Called Quest and Professor Griff & The L.A.D. were the judges. Jarobi from Tribe came up to me and said "Yo, your shit was def!" I was so gassed by that. I still can't forget that moment. Around ‘91 I made my 1st record with one of my all time hip hop heroes DJ Pogo. 'Breaking The Silence' came out on the Pay Day Recordings label that DJ Bizniz and Dego set up. I can remember hearing Max & Dave play it on Kiss FM. That is one of the greatest moments ever as an artist, to hear your joint on the radio for the 1st time. Unforgettable.
Since then, I've done tracks as either an MC or DJ with The Brotherhood, The Gutter Snypes, Mark B, Blacksmith, Pryme Rhyme Masters, Doze Guyz, Blak Twang, Estelle, Ty, The Herbalizer, Karl Hinds and a few others. I think I got enough stuff for a mixtape, hahaha!
People STILL ask me to spit a verse for their projects but I dunno. Maybe one day I'll sit down and really put some solo shit together just for fun. We'll see.

You used to work at Liberty Grooves (London store behind the Freestyle Frenzy albums and that Kool G Rap/Akinyele 12") That shop has something of a mythical status nowadays – what memories do you have from working there?

Yeah, I worked at Liberty Grooves, if you can call it work. I just used to chill and talk Hip Hop with customers all day long. I took my first trip to New York while working there. Johnny F, the Hip Hop vinyl master, brought me with him on a record shopping trip. That was an amazing journey from store to store. Rock n Soul to Downstairs Records to warehouses full of wax to the Tommy Boy office. It was dope. In one store the dude behind the counter was like "Yo, y'all should grab these joints right here. It's some new group. We only got a few copies". We took them and ended up being the first and only store in the UK to have Wu Tang's 'Protect Ya Neck'. Those copies flew off the rack. We used to have the most incredible records for sale. Mad promo only versions with the extra instrumentals or acapellas and remixes. We killed EVERY other shop selling hip hop in our day. There was no competition. Honestly, my days in that shop were some of the best days I've ever had. I met so many good people by being there. People still come up to me on a near monthly basis to tell me that I sold them records 17/18 years ago! It was a sad day when Johnny had to close the doors on that place. I wasn't even there that day sadly. I was up at Gee St studios doing the Def Jam 10th anniversary mixtape and Shortee Blitz was doing a stint behind the counter!

Who inspired you to start DJing?

I'd have to say that all the old school DJs inspired me, from Flash to Jazzy Jay to Red Alert to Afrika Islam. His tape where he’s cuttin' up 'Catch A Groove' is some ill shit! Cutmaster Swift, Cosmic Jam (R.I.P), Pogo and the Imperial Mixers. Cash Money's 'Scratching To The Funk' is a lesson in DJ skills! Of course Jazzy Jeff with the transformer scratch. Undercover used to send his tapes into Westwood on LWR and I just soaked it all up. There are so many DJs that just made scratching sound so dope and I had to learn that shit.

Tell us a bit about your involvement in radio and how you ended up taking over from Max & Dave on Kiss FM

As far as my radio inspiration I have to name Mike Allen, Max & Dave, Tim Westwood, Dave Pearce, Mark Anderson, George Kay, Richie Rich, Mark Ross, Chris Nat and some names I forget!
I give super mad props to DJ 279 because he gave me my break on radio waaaaay back when in 92/93. He interviewed me for his original demo that he sent to Choice FM. He got the job and took over the Rap Attack show from DJ Steve Wren. He brought me in a while later and that's when I came up with the Friday Nite Flava concept. He liked it and the rest is history boyyyeee!
I left Choice around 96 and hooked up with Shortee who was already doing the mixing slot for Max & Dave’s show on Kiss. The short story is that Kiss had a change of ownership and made a lot of changes to their line up and that opened the door for Blitz and I to take over. I feel like it was a natural progression because I had been a fan of Max & Dave for years, even going back to their early pirate days on Solar or Horizon (I forget which!) and then pre-legal Kiss. It really felt like an honour to be able to continue what they started.

You had a LOT of big names come through the show through the years, which moments stand out?

My favourite guests would have to include the late great Jam Master Jay. We were so nervous about him coming to the studio. This was Jay, DJ from one of the greatest groups in history! When he came in he was so cool about it and said "Listen, we're all DJs up in here so let's just have some fun" WOW! It was a dope interview and we ended the show with all of us rhyming ‘Sucker MCs’. That was emotional. Another favourite of mine would be my Pete Rock interview. If I die tomorrow, please pass out copies of that session with the Chocolate Boy Wonder! It was such an easy experience to talk to him because I'm so into his music. When an artist knows YOU know, it makes everything great. We spoke about so many subjects and I got to rhyme 'For Pete's Sake' with him too. Nobody on the radio before or since does stuff like that.
Another classic happened back in 94 when Nas came over to do promo for ‘Illmatic’. 279 had asked me and a few other skilled wordsmiths to be present when Nas was coming to the show and we had a crazy freestyle session with Nasty Nas himself. It was Stickz, Sniper G-The Assassin and Myself. I found a tape of that recently and I almost can't believe it's real.
(UPDATE 25/02 - Ted posted it HERE)
I once interviewed Busta and he revealed that Nicole Richie gave him 'a lil head'. LL Cool J told me he really liked my Timberlands, plus I got him on video nodding hard to Blak Twang's ‘So Rotton’!
Joe Budden was an asshole until he realised that we actually knew what we were talking about. He would come off the mic during breaks in the interview and start checking responses on his website! Ja Rule and Ashanti were cool people. I had a lot of fun with that one. Gang Starr was another emotional one, simply because they are so legendary and it can make you feel a little awkward at first.
It used to be a real problem to have to get over meeting an artist you've been a fan of for years and get straight down to the business of an interview minutes later.
My interview with Game will NEVER EVER be topped by anybody. I remember when the label rep called and said I could have an interview but went on to tell me not to ask about Dr Dre. Don't ask about 50 Cent. Don't ask him to freestyle, plus a couple other words of warning! So I'm thinking that I'm really not going to enjoy that one. Anyway, show time came around and I'm doing my on air promo and saying that Game is coming through. I was giving it a lot of hype and really talking big about it even though I was dreading it. Just before 10pm, Game bursts through the studio door and is like "Yo Big Ted WASSUP!" I'm thinking 'who the hell is this dude?' I was expecting a miserable bastard but he was so live and amped up and we into a massive freestyle session almost straight away. We were battling each other with artists impressions and all sorts of madness. I killed him with my Nas voice! That was dope.
When we let the Dark Horizon crew do a takeover and had Estelle, SkinnyMan, Mystro, Karl Hinds, Seanie T, Keith Lawrence, Ty, Skeme and a bunch more controlling the show for nearly an hour. I was doing 'UK' shows way before it was a fashion to do it. I've never ever liked or accepted the term 'UK Hip Hop'. I never did UK Hip Hop; Cutmaster Swift didn't win the DMC World Championship with “UK scratching”. It was just dope. That has always been my criteria for judging things: Is it dope? If it's not then it's wack and I don't want it!
I got a million more stories. I've had some good times on the radio.

What was the Hip Hop scene like in London in the 90s?

The London scene was exciting back then. There were hip hop clubs constantly like Flava Of The Month, FKO Raw, The Hop, and anything at Subterrania. A few dope moments at Flava Of The Month include the time Janet Jackson came through and was jamming in the centre of the dancefloor! Large Professor passed through. Guru was hanging with folks and taking pictures. The DJ battle between F***t R**e and Bizniz and Pogo. That shit was epic!
The record shops in the West End like Deal Real, Handspun, Mr Bongo were full of artists and DJs on the weekend. The radio was full of shows. The amount of music that was coming out was phenomenal. I was on tour with Blak Twang doing shows supporting the ‘19 Long Time’ album. Mud Family were terrorising the freestyle circuit. The music at that time was on such an equal par with what was going on in the US. A lot of artists were releasing their first projects and the energy was amazing. Everybody on the scene was truly moving as part of the same cause. It was a really special time.

First live rap show you saw?

I think it would be Kurtis Blow & AJ Scratch at the Town & Country Club, now known as The Forum in Kentish Town.

There’s a few shows that always come up when people discuss the London scene in the 90s: the riot outside the Onyx show and the Busta Rhymes ‘no-show’ at The Forum...

With the Onyx riot, I thought I was on 279's guestlist for that one. I turned up early to secure my spot and I rolled up to the door. A big dreadlocked fellow was standing there and I said I'm on 279’s list. He didn’t even look at me. He just said “No guestlist!” That was that. I turned around and went home. Later I hear on the news about the riot. I guess that was lucky escape!
The Busta gig went all wrong but in the beginning everything was going so well. I did my DJ set and the atmosphere was lovely. I even remember taking the mic and saying “Fuck Westwood” to the roaring crowd! We had a fashion show going on up there and it was all looking so good. Then it started to drag on a bit waiting for Busta to get on stage. I went backstage to one of the production offices and asked what was happening; everybody looked at their shoes!
I was in shock. I knew it would all turn to shit once people knew was going on. I asked Rodney P to get my record box off the stage as it might have looked a little suspicious if I went and dragged my records away. I wanted to leave before it got crazy so I asked Rodney to give me a lift home. I got in and turned on Westwood's show and heard him laughing his ass off about what was happening. He was taking live calls from people at the scene. It was horrible! I felt sick for a week about that whole night. I even had to pay back ticket money to people out of my own pocket! Sadly, the guy 279 was working with on that event was a crook.

How about the Def Jam Tour in 1987?

Public Enemy, LL Cool J and Eric B & Rakim. They were all coming to London. Hammersmith Odeon. Three of my favourite artists. Three nights in a row, but: I HAD NO MONEY FOR A TICKET!!!!!
So, I had to have a plan. I tried asking the parents. NO! I tried asking my older brother to buy me a ticket. NO! I'll have to get a job then. What job is going to take me on and pay me in time to get a ticket for this show...? Step in my man Scott at number 9. He tells me that his brother Barry can get me a job at.... wait for it...Hammersmith Odeon! No way! "Yeah man, he works there as an usher" What? Can you believe it? Where do I sign up? I went down there and sat through what I swear was the simplest interview I have ever had.
"Do you mind working late?" Nope. "Are you okay with talking to people and showing them to their seats?" Yep. "Do you mind clearing up the bar during the intervals?" No problem. "When can you start?" Today! Now! "Congratulations. The job is yours!" To be honest if they asked me to shovel elephant dung til midnight I'd have said 'Hell yes'.

I went to work about 4 hours EARLY every day that the tour was on. I watched LL Cool J sound checking. I watched Bobcat sit on his record box and polish his gold chains. I watched Eric B walk around in his Dapper Dan suit and a neckfull of jewellery. I sat with a small crowd and listened to Chuck D talk about life, the universe and everything. I got autographs from Flavor Flav and Terminator X. I was so gassed at just being there. I took pictures of the shows, especially when LL brought on his massive boom box. Flashing LED's and everything! I still got them somewhere. The dopest part of it all, besides walking around the venue just before the doors opened and seeing hundreds of people dying to get in, was the the fact that I actually GOT PAID to watch the show - 3 times - that only weeks before I couldn't even afford a ticket for!
In fact, if you listen closely to the live show inserts on the 'Nation Of Millions' album, you'll hear me screaming 'I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!'

What did you make of the way Hip Hop developed through the 00s? It must’ve been strange that the ‘underground’ music you had been playing for years was suddenly getting mainstream attention?

It was crazy to see artists that a few years ago nobody was trying to play, now getting daytime spins. We played the shit out of Jay Z, Nas, Snoop, MOP and others for years before that shit blew up and it felt good to see it take off. But somewhere along the line the record companies seemed to forget how much love we showed these artists in the beginning and they started to become almost too big for hip hop shows - WTF! But that's how it goes innit. I was cool with the commercial success because all I ever wanted really was to see hip hop on a massive scale worldwide. I just wish I'd bagged a couple million along the way!

Your show on Colourful focuses mainly on classic Hip Hop. Do you still check for new stuff and if so who are you checking for?

Yeah, Teddy's Jam is my new(ish) baby. I try to keep it with the classic material because Colourful as a station has that classic feel to it. They play classic soul, reggae, jazz, house, funk and allsorts so I thought that a classic Hip Hop show would fit right in. I mix it with breaks and samples to keep with the natural style of the station and to draw in folks that think I'm just gonna be playing a bunch of rapping and swearing! There's NOTHING on the air anywhere that caters to folks like me that actually grew up on hip hop and breaks. I play from the Sugarhill era right through to Def Jam and Rawkus.
I still check for new music, but it has to have that original hip hop feel about it. Dudes like Jay Electronica, J Cole, Fashawn, Joker Starr, Mystro. Plus of course my family like Blak Twang and Ty who are still releasing strong music but not getting the exposure due because of the way the game has changed. I'm still excited when older artists drop new material especially when it's dope. That's what it's always been about for me: that anticipation of the new hotness. It's like nobody cares that Redman just dropped an album. You'll hear it on my show. Ace & Ed OG, you'll hear it on Teddy's Jam. There is so much amazing hip hop out there both old and new that should get played and I'm trying to do my thing for all the ageing b-boys!

What do have going on for 2011 ?

Well, for the 0 double 1, I'm trying to raise the profile of Teddy's Jam. That's my priority. I want to launch an event at some point too that's tied in with the show. I'm back out on stage hosting now and I plan to be doing my thing at a lot of events this year. I got KRS ONE and Pete Rock & CL Smooth under my belt already so that's looking good. I'm also back in the studio with Ty, putting down ideas for the new album which I guess will lead to more touring at some point. I have a blog ready to go: thisstuffisreallyfresh is going to be me telling my stories and just having fun with some grown up Hip Hop talk. Further than that, I just want to keep the love alive for this culture that has given me such an exciting ride so far.

Big thanks to Ted for taking time to do the interview. You can catch him hosting various shows around London (at EPMD tonight for example) and every friday from midnight-2am (UK time) on Colourful Radio

Big Ted with Pete Rock & The UN on Kiss FM (2001)

Big Ted & Shortee Blitz on Kiss FM (2000)

Big Ted & Shortee Blitz on Kiss FM (1999)

Stackin Cheddar Music: Camp Lo, Mobb Deep & GZA remixes

2011-02-19T15:58:00.003Z

Three not-entirely-official remixes of some 90s classics on this 12". Mobb Deep and GZA get the 'jackin for beats' treatment while Camp Lo's 'Luchini' is matched up with a nice laidback piano-led instrumental.

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Rei Double R & G-Bo The Pro 'Best Of 1992'

2011-02-18T20:47:00.006Z

Another 'Best Of 92' selection, this time from mixtape legends Rei Double R and G-Bo The Pro. Includes music by Slick Rick, Scarface, Black Sheep, Tim Dog, Ice Cube, Nice N Smooth and a lot more. If you enjoyed the Westwood tape I dropped at the start of the week you'll love this...

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These guys aren't aswell known as Doo Wop, Ron G and Kid Capri but definitely made a name for themselves by incorporating a 4-track into the production of their tapes, which gives the mixes and blends an extra edge. That technique was later developed and became the cornerstone of some great tapes by DJs like Dirty Harry, Vlad, Green Lantern and Rectangle.

Thanks to DJ MK for the original tape.

(NB- The file is labelled 'Ray' instead of 'Rei' as thats what was written on the tape. I didnt realise what the correct spelling was til I googled them)

Tim Westwood - Best Of 1992

2011-02-15T18:23:00.004Z

As promised, here's the full tape of the Capital Rap Show from Boxing Day 1992. Westwood reviews the best of the year which includes Redman, Cypress Hill, Dre & Snoop, Da Lench Mob and Naughty By Nature

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Along with the 3rd Bass joint I posted below, there's also a Large Professor promo which I've included as a seperate track (I know Extra P has those completist type of fans).

Big up to Mr Lawson for the tape on this one!

3rd Bass - Capital Rap Show promo (1992)

2011-02-14T00:15:00.003Z

Follwing the popular 'Best Of 94' Westwood show that I dropped recently, Mr Lawson hooked me up with the 'Best Of 92' selection from when Big Tim was still on Capital FM. That tape is coming soon but in the meantime I thought I'd share this snippet from it: Pete Nice and MC Serch trading verses over EPMD's 'Rampage' beat...

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I'm not sure if it really falls into the 'slept on' category but 3rd Bass's debut 'The Cactus' is definitely one of my all time favourite albums. It was the first album I bought on CD aswell so I played it to death and know it pretty much inside out. The lyrics are solid and Sam Sever's beats still sound fresh (shame he never really blew up on a larger scale). Anyway, if you're not familiar with it, I highly recommend it.

BONUS!
An unreleased 3rd Bass/Brand New Heavies collaboration, presumably intended for BNH's 'Heavy Rhyme Experience' album.

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I originally found this at KAMGOTBEATS

Kay Slay freestyles

2011-02-12T20:23:00.006Z

Sorting through some CDs yesterday I found an old compilation of freestyles from Kay Slay mixtapes that I'd copped on a visit to Canal Street back in 2004. Here's the pick of the bunch...

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Tracklist
1- Big L, Black Rob, Puertorock & Bathgate
2- Cam'ron & McGruff
3- Capone N Noreaga
4- Da Ranjahz
5- Ghostface & Trife
6- Prodigy
7- Sauce Money

Ron G - Flava Beyond Flava Vol 4 (1996)

2011-02-06T14:37:00.003Z

Obscure 12" time now. Here's 4 blends from mixtape legend Ron G. First up is Mobb Deep over 'The Message' (or Puff & Mase 'Cant Hold Me Down'), followed by a 'jackin for beats' style mix of '1nce Again' using old ATCQ instrumentals. The Buju Banton track is cool but I can't place the beat right now, and finishing things up is Ron's infamous blend of the 'My Melody' instrumental with verses from KRS, Buckshot, Raekwon and Nas.

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DJ Hedspin presents Diamond D: Songs, Samples & Snippets

2011-02-05T13:04:00.003Z

Nice Diamond D set compiled by DJ Hedspin. Spotted over at Daily Diggers

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"Dues Paid" - exclusive Kyza interview!

2011-02-03T19:47:00.004Z

Following on from the DJ 7L feature last week, I've approached someone a bit closer to home to speak on their introduction to the rap game and memories from back in the day...

Who You Be?

My name is Kyza, aka Mr Sayso aka B.L.A.C.K. A.D.A.M. I’m from Ladbroke Grove, London and I’m best known for being the best member of Terra Firma, one 4th of Orphans Of Cush, and an all round nice guy.

What was your ‘Day One’ as far as Hip Hop goes?

Day one in Hip Hop for me was my older brother having Eazy E ‘Eazy Duz It’ and ‘Gangster Chronicle’ by London Posse. I knew all the words to both albums and I thought that it was amazing that there was such a word as “motherfucker” - I’d never heard it before I listened to rap. I thought it was amazing! It had power. That’s what made me want to hear more of the culture that came natural to me. I was used to softness like De La, so when I heard the gangster ting, I was captured.

Who inspired you to start rapping and who were your influences at the time?

To be honest, my influences to start rapping were Nas, my older brother, and Klashnekoff. I’ll be honest again: I got into rap properly REALLY late. I was a rare groove, 80’s pop/rock and soul baby. That’s why when I first started to listen to rap and then rap after, I hit the ground running.

What was the Hip Hop scene like in London in the late 90s? Were you a regular at nights like Kung Fu, Mudlumz, Flavor Of The Month etc?

The scene wasn’t oversaturated with the fuckeries and utter wank you see now; you had to be of a certain calibre. Certain rhymers and crews stood out and there was no room for mediocrity. There wasn’t any of this “Any Guy bars” that’s being passed off as acceptable these days. What people refuse to understand is that just cause a person spits “hard” it doesn’t mean that they are good. I paid my dues regularly at Kung Fu, Mudlumz & Flavour Of The Month. You can ask ANYBODY from DJ Excaliber to Ruffstylz, DJ 279 to Westwood. I was there on my own sometimes. I think even before people heard me with Klash, they knew I weren’t to be played with when it comes to the pen and the mic. I was ravenous! Certain times when we used to finish shows and Klash was too tired to buss a bar or he straight up didn’t want to, he’d say to me and Skribz “Go on. Buss it” and I’d unleash Duppytamers on peeps. New lyrics ALL the time. I paid my dues B, real talk.

Kyza freestyle over Roc Marciano 'Snow' (January 2011)

On ‘Lucozade Bottles’ you mentioned going to Westwood’s parties at The Temple - any particular memories from those?

I have too many memories to recount. The friends I made, the chicks I linked, the open mic I won...too many. It was a street crowd, but there was no hype. People were still road, but knew what time it was. We all wanted to go to a dance and have fun, wild out to a couple tunes and get a phone number or two or three or four. You had tunes like TLC ‘No Scrubs’ and Destiny’s Child ‘Bills Bills Bills’ getting played alongside greasy road anthems like DMX ‘Stop Being Greedy’, Big Pun ‘Twinz’, N.O.R.E ‘Banned From T.V’ and Busta Rhymes ‘Tear The Roof Off’. It was amazing, and they’d switch it up with the Bashment section which was ideal since me and my goons were only there to get pussy and listen to rap - what more could you want from a rave? I think the lot who went to the Westwood jams back in the day are now the same ones in the club on a baller flex now. They’ve prolly got families now and don’t get out much and have priorities, but when they rave they’re more on a big people flex and get super dressed up instead of slam dancing in tracksuit bottoms!

Favourite artists back then?

The artists I was checking for in that time were Sporty Thievez, Canibus, CNN, Pun, Royal Flush, Nas, Jigga, Talib, DITC, early DMX, Flipmode, Wu, Outkast, Pharcyde, OC, Big L, Busta, Slum Village and a few others.

The UK rap scene seemed to take a bit of a hit when things like Jungle and Garage blew up and a lot of people ‘jumped ship’ – did you ever consider getting involved with other genres?

I NEVER, repeat NEVER EVER considered jumping over to the other genres. I knew in my heart of hearts that Garage had a short shelf life. It got to a point where I felt dumb listening to it. It was dance oriented, not to listen to for rhymes. I’d go to a garage rave - and I did VERY frequently - to look for pussy, get lean off my face and dance. Thats all! I didn’t want to hear anyone chatting over it until So Solid made it at least a bit tolerable - ‘Oh No (Sentimental Things)’ was a VERY big tune. After that, it went downhill the same as most genres do when the rich white men in suits flash money at it. Craig David? Honestly? That’s what garage gave birth to?...ok then. (I’m now watching BO! Selecta)...hahahahaha!!

At what point did you start trying to get your music released and was there any people in particular instrumental in helping you?

I took it seriously in 2000-something when I co-founded Terra Firma. Klash was popping with ‘Daggo Mentality’ and ‘Zero’. I knew Harry Love from school so something was bound to happen. Klash, Jehst, Harry Love, Lewis Parker, Michael Parkunsun, the Foreign Beggars, Joe Budah, and the lesser known but vital producers of my first and second project, are the ONLY people in the game I owe something to.

You were around and appearing on a lot of big records during what’s often considered UK Rap’s second ‘golden era’ – what memories stand out from that period in the early 00s?

Once again, TOO MANY to count! The Falling Down tour with YNR was very memorable - people who were on it will tell you why! I was wild with the chicks. Terra Firmas’ first show at Kung Fu when “Murda”/”Parrowdice” came out; I was on top of the world. Alongside ‘High Plains Drifter’ and ‘Gangster Chronicle’, ‘Sagas Of Klashnekoff’ is arguably the best record to come out of the UK to date in black/rap music, for that era I mean. I’ve encountered everybody in this game when Terra had the top spot, from Professor Green to Plan B to Labrynth (who actually used to be in Terra Firma). From Lowkey to Sway, who I used to have giant rap cyphers with including the rest of the One Crew - Jargon and Ricochet from Universal Soldiers. Like I said B, I paid my motherfuckin’ dues.

What did you make of the way Hip Hop developed through the 00s?

I wouldn’t say its evolved, I’d say the opposite. It has changed though. It devolved into grime which is the lovechild of UKHH and Garage. Its called UK Rap now isn’t it, or “Road Rap”? foolishness...On the flip side, all the artists that have done well are from that scene. Every man has the right to tell his story and share his music with the masses. That’s why I defend the grime scene from attack because it started in the streets by young black youths who I can identify with and relate to, to some degree. Also, it has its own way of doing things by way of the hustler mentality which UKHH never had. We were very lazy and still are compared to them. I think that the grime scene needs to step up the level of play on the rhyming field though and we as UK Black music (sorry I don’t say ‘urban’ because it devalues what it REALLY is) need to stop getting hypnotized by the flashing lights and dough and take back what is ours from these bitch-ass bloggers, industry geeks and so-called tastemakers and stop THEM telling US what is cool in OUR culture. “Fuck a rap critic/He talk about it while I live it” - Meth said it best.

What do you have going on for 2011?

Erm to be honest dude, I don’t have much going on these days. I have two EPs waiting to come out but I have no idea if they’ll see the light of day due to certain situations, which is why if they do, I will no longer continue to make anymore type of music in any shape or form after that. I’m happy with the trail I’ve blazed. I could walk away with my head high knowing that I absolutely duppied EVERY TRACK I was heard on. Let the new ones do with it what they will. It’s their game now…

Big thanks to Kyza for taking time out to chat.
If you aren't familiar with the man then here's a few tracks that I strongly recommend you check out

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Tracklist
'Terrorize The City' w/ Klashnekoff & Kool G Rap
'Sayonara' w/ Klashnekoff & Skriblah
'Kiss FM freestyle 2004'
'Lucozade Bottles'
'They Call It...'

For more info on Kyza GO HERE