Capital Rap Show 11.02.94 with Snoop Dogg, Daz & Kurupt

I was amped to find this tape of Snoop, Daz & Kurupt on Westwood's show from February '94, as I had it back in the day and played it to death to the point where I could pretty much recite the live calls word for word (turns out I still can). This was also the only place I had the dope remix of N!ggaz Don't Give A Fuck which wouldn't appear in better quality until a few years ago. Once I had uploaded the freestyle for one of the first posts on this blog back in 2009, I sold the cassette to some dude in Germany who then stuck in on a CDR and tried selling it , with what I assume was limited success. Diablo's recording ended before the freestyle finished so I replaced it with the high quality copy straight from the DAT that Westwood himself shared a couple of years back,

download

Tracklist

Wu Tang Clan - CREAM

Wu Tang Clan - Method Man (remix)

UMCs - Hit The Track

MOP - How About Some Hardcore

Heavy D ft Tru Kula & Notorious BIG - Jam Session

Slick Rick - Behind Bars

Casual & Souls Of Mischief - ?

Cash Crew ft Ses 1- Bring It On

Dogg Pound - N!ggaz Don't Give A Fuck (remix)

Snoop Dogg - Lodi Dodi

Snoop  Dogg  - interview

Dr Dre ft Snoop Dogg - Deep Cover

Snoop Dogg - interview

Snoop Dogg - Murder Was The Case

Gang Starr - Speak Ya Clout

live calls

Snoop Dogg - Serial Killa

live calls

Snoop, Daz & Kurupt - Freestyle

An appreciation of the Nuthin But A G Thang video

I put The Chronic on for the first time in a while recently. The first thing I thought off during the intro was that I had about the half the tracks off the album recorded off Westwood before buying the tape and eventually playing it so often that the print wore off on both sides.The second thing was how great the videos for the singles were. Dre Day tends to get the plaudits for lampooning it's targets, but I think Nuthin But A G Thang could well be the greatest synergy between rap audio and video ever. It captures the vibe of the track perfectly. The simplicity of 2 rappers going back and forth over a smooth-ass loop accompanied by what's presented to us as a typical day in their life: driving about, getting high and partying. No limo to a strobe filled nightclub VIP section, no fish eye lenses, celebrity cameos, speedboats or Scorsese rip offs going on here. Strictly car share, barbecue and beers.

For those of us outside of California (specifically 14 year old white kids in the UK), the visuals helped us make sense of the music we were obessesed by, and gave the music added authenticity which back then could be the difference between sink or swim for a rapper's career.  Boyz N The Hood had come out the year before, and there'd been videos like Ice Cube's Steady Mobbin but somehow the G Thang video took all the key ingredients, squeezed them into just under 5 minutes, and had the song of the year as the soundtrack.

I think it was Stetsasonic's Daddy O who observed that G Thang was a really brave lead single, given how against the grain it was when it came out, by taking it back to the old school (It's like this and like that and like this...'  is about as late-70s-park-jam a hook as you'll find)
Pretty ironic given that the parties involved came to represent everything the Real Hip Hop brigade would come to hate, but that's rap music for you.

With all that in mind, I thought I'd break down my favourite rap video of all time. DJ Charmaine Champagne: your time...

Snoop Dogg 'Afro Puffs' freestyle (1994) DJ Step One edit

Whilst discussing the merits of going Osborne & Cameron on certain rap songs and implementing some necessary cuts, The Martorialist suggested that Snoop's freestyle verse on the extended remix of 'Afro Puffs' could do with being liberated and made into a song in it's own right...



While we're on a Death Row tip, I'm tempted to have a crack at creating a shorter version of the Let Me Ride remix. I'm using some basic software for this though and its very much a learning curve. Any other suggestions for Austerity Rap re-works are welcome!

Rap Thangs That Shoulda Done Happened

  In the first of what might be an ongoing series, I thought I'd put a different spin on Your Favourite Blogger's Favourite Blogger's Unpopular Opinions posts. Its basically fantasy rap / idealistic thinking / me wanting to rewrite history.

#1 - Black Rob should've been on 'All About The Benjamins' instead of Sheek Louch or Lil Kim. Not hating on either of their verses but in 96-97 no-one's removing Biggie or Jada off a track so someone's got to bounce. That beat would've suited Rob down to the ground.

#2 - Ice Cube would've stayed in NWA, released 'Amerikkka's Most Wanted', appeared on 'Efil4Zaggin' and then left the group. This scenario ensures we still get AMW and 'No Vaseline' aswell as Cube over beats like 'Appetite For Destruction'. '100 Miles And Running' would have appeared on AMW as the posse cut ala 'The Grand Finale' on The DOC's album.

#3 - Suge Knight never bails 2Pac out of jail and as a result the beats for 'Ambitionz Az A Ridah', 'California Love' and 'Hail Mary' all end up on Kurupt's solo album, which features Daz, Snoop, Rage etc, and is to 'The Chronic' what 'Only Built For Cuban Linx' is to '36 Chambers'.

More as and when they come to me. Suggestions welcome.
I was lucky enough to be given a fat stack of golden era tapes yesterday. Looks like there's lots of treats in there so keep checking back as they'll begin to appear over the next few weeks.
Also, I'm on Kane FM tonight from 9-11pm (UK time) playing old rap music. Come join me if you can.

Dogg Pound 'Niggaz Dont Give A Fuck' unreleased remix (1993/94)

So it turns out I fucked up a bit on the post below. I thought I'd uploaded the tape rip of this track, recorded from an old Westwood show, but in fact I'd posted a considerably better quality version. Its doesnt seem to be quite CDQ, but its full length and considerably better than whats come before it. I can't remember exactly how I got this but I have a feeling it was on a compilation of Death Row rarieties I downloaded from somewhere.

DOWNLOAD

Oh and if you dont have the original version then go get that. Its on the Poetic Justice OST. Shout out to Tobes

Dr Dre 'Puffin On Blunts...' (Video)

Another bit of previously unreleased material from the Death Row archives. This was the b-side to 'Dre Day' and was all over the mixtapes back in 1993. Kurupt absoloutely murders it.

Shout to Magneto for the heads up.