State Property - Hot 97 Takeover (2001)

Chances are you've heard this before, or at least some of it, but as it appeared on the second half of a Westwood show I just ripped I thought I'd post it up. Jay Z takes his crew of Philly spitters and Memphis Bleek up to Funk Flex's Hot 97 show and plays hypeman (somewhat annoyingly in hindsight) while they rap their AF1s off for the best part of 90 minutes. This is some legendary early 00s rap radio and no mistake. It's things like this where Spotify and their ilk will always fall short. Jay would make a killing if he could get mixtape shit like this on Tidal.

I'm not sure when this actually went down. Westwood is playing it in September but the time stamp on the camcorder footage on Youtube says January 2001. Anyone confirm?

The Radio 1 Rap Show I linked to above was actually the last one of the huge collection of tapes of shows from '99-'03 that I was given nearly 3 years ago. Can't believe I actually got them all done. The Westwood Archives Mixcloud page is looking pretty good as a result of that and contributions from others and is currently at 360 shows (mostly from myself) from 1987 to 2004. Still on the look out for more tapes so get in touch if you can help.

Other stuff that I meant to mention on the last update and forgot:

Filthy Rich stays busy cranking out the mixes, with his latest drops marking the anniversary releases of Pharoahe Monch's Internal Affairs and Method Man's Tical LPs

DJ Diablo (who's responsible for a good chunk of the Westwood tapes I've posted amongst other things) kicks off his new podcast with an interview with DJ MK. Some more big guests are promised for future episodes.

Random Rap Radio stays doing the most - recent posts include DJ Premier on Hot 97 back in '95, an Evil Dee Tape Kingz breakbeat mixtape and the classic Hobo Junction vs Heiroglyphics battle on the Wake Up Show in '94.

That should keep you busy.

Radio 1 Rap Show 22.08.97 with Jay Z & Busta Rhymes

Jay, Dame Dash and Busta (accompanied by Spliff Star, Rampage and DJ Scratch) on this '97 show while they were all in town to perform on Westwood's stage at the Notting Hill Carnival.

Radio 1 Rap Exchange with Jay Z, The Roots, Lennox Lewis & Master P (1999)

Part 1 with The Roots


Part 2 with Jay Z


Part 3 with Lennox Lewis


Part 4 with Master P

The Dope Blend Theory

Here's a couple of blends I cooked up using 2 ATCQ joints, the first one is the 1nce Again acapella over the Crooklyn instrumental (which is produced by Q Tip and Ali). I was never a massive fan of the original 1nce Again beat and remember being quite underwhelmed when it appeared as the lead single for Beats Rhymes & Life. The Crooklyn beat gives it a bit more bounce imo.



The second one is Stressed Out over the Dead Presidents instrumental...



These were originally intended to be part of a 'mid 90s blends' mix I was putting together that never got finished, so I might post what I've got so far up as individual tracks over the next few weeks and months.

Biggie & Jay Z - Young Gs (OB4ZL edit)

Another one of those tracks that I've edited down to my own liking. I don't really have any problem with Puffy's rapping  as he usually has the sense and money to employ a decent ghost writer, but I always thought this track went on a bit too long. Here you have it with just Biggie and Jay's verses.



In hindsight it's kind of strange that these two on a track together was just a relatively low key album track at the time but that's resulted in it having a longer shelf life. You could say that the removal of Puff puts this on an equal footing with DITC's 'Day One' (I think that dropped first but couldn't be sure - it certainly wasn't the first time a DITC creation had been jacked for a Bad Boy release). Either way, Frank White and the dude from the My Kinda Girl remix both bring their A-game here. This also serves as a reminder that there's a lot to be said for subtle choruses and relentless, nagging hooks need not always be the order of the day. Rap Purists might not not have Twitter birthday parties for No Way Out's release date anniversary, but the 3 track sequence of Young Gs, I Love You Baby and Benjamins is up there with the best of them.

Just waiting on The Martorialist to request a Puffy solo version now.

Sad news about Phife Dawg. I re-upped this ATCQ Hot 97 freestyle from 1996  if you missed it first time out.

DJ 7L & Frank The Butcher present 'Its The Roc' original samples mix (2015)

DJ 7L & Frank The Butcher follow their dope mix of Bad Boy's original samples with this Rocafella themed set. So soulful mane...

GO HERE

Don't Sleep #6 Da Ranjahz ft Jay Z 'Bulletproof' (1998)

Had a minor set back involving (what else) the world's most jinxed laptop. Seems to be working ok for now so I thought I'd post up this month's installment of Don't Sleep for you. 

Da Ranjahz have a had a strange career in the rap game, having been around since the mid 90s and putting out material on a host of different labels but never really getting a consistent run of releases together. They did seem to have a pretty good relationship with that dude that rapped on 'Crazy In Love' and were signed to the ill fated Carter Faculty imprint . They were also fortunate  enough to be rolling with The ROC around the time when Jigga didn't mind doing the clean up verse on a hookless mixtape joint. 'Bulletproof' - which appears on this rather handy bootleg 12" - follows the same concept as Organized Konfusion's 'Stray Bullet' and 'I Gave You Power' by Nas, but it's better than both of those songs...

I'm pretty certain that 'Insp-Her-Ation' could've been a reasonably big mainstream track with the right push. Records like that charted back then, and we know how much Alan and Becky in HR seem to enjoy Cee Lo.  I suppose the fact it wasn't means it hasn't been rendered unlistenable by being heard every hour of every day for a year though.

DJ Mister Cee The Best Of Jay Z: Lifetime Pt II (1998)

The B-side of this tape is mostly joints off Jigga's 'Hard Knock Life' LP, but there's some gems to be found on the A-side such as the opening 'Roc-A-Fella Shit' which flips the same sample as MOP's 'World Famous' (and Scarface's My Block'). Sauce Money appearances are always welcome around these parts and Cee also pulls out a few lesser spotted R&B guest spots. Jay Z had really hit his stride around '98 and this captures that era nicely.

DOWNLOAD   STREAM SIDE A   STREAM SIDE B

 

This is another Junior Pepaseed sureshot...

Ghetto Jams: Urban Series 12" (1999)

Unofficial mash-up blend remix tings here. I posted the Common Sense one on its own ages ago but as I'm currently ripping a load of vinyl (before I get rid of it) I thought I'd share the rest. There's some decent stuff on here. Jay Z over a Beatnuts instrumental works well, as does 'Holla Holla' over the 'California Love' beat. The R&B joints aren't too bad either but even after all this time Fatman Scoop has rendered that Faith Evans vocal unlistenable to me.

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The aforementioned vinyl ripping is partly the reason for the lack of regular updates. I did contemplate stopping the blog completely but I'll try and stay on it for now and see how things pan out. There's always a chance I might come up with some new tapes or unreleased shit for you (although the chances are slim with the way London's 2nd hand record shops are these days).

some S. Carter heat....

The OB4ZL resurrection continues with a few Jay Z bits for you and yours....

CANT KNOCK THE HUSTLE (DEMO VERSION)
An alternate version that appeared on the flipside of the original 'Dead Presidents' 12". No Mary J on this one, and there's a different second verse.

WAKE UP SHOW FREESTYLE (1998)
A quick 16 live on Sway & Tech's legendary show 

ENCORE (BOOTLEG REMIX)
No idea who's responsible for this but its nice mash-up of Jay's 'Encore' over the Cheryl Lynn classic of the same name.

ROC THE MIC FREESTYLE
I'm not entirely sure where this is from (possibly Flex on Hot 97) but I've taken it from a DJ F-Sharp 'Top 5 Dead Or Alive' mixtape. Its dope though.

The Evil Genius! Green Lantern blends and freestyles

During the mixtape boom of the early 00s, Green Lantern was absoloutely killing it. Whereas other DJs had their niche in exclusives, blends or dis tracks, GL would drop mixes filled with all 3. Its like Rectangle, Kay Slay and Dirty Harry combined. His knack for selecting dope beats enhanced the freestyles on his CDs and his attention to detail when he puts his blends together is ridiculous. With that in mind, here's a compilation of some of my favourite moments from a few of his mix CDs.

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Tracklist
1- Green Lantern 'Many Men'
Fat Joe, Eminem & Nas verses over one of 50's finest moments.
2 - Cam'ron & Jay Z 'Welcome To NYC' (Green mix)
Green chucks Cam & Jay's only collabo over the 'Can I Live' beat. There's not much I wouldnt do for an untagged CDQ version of this.
3 - Fat Joe 'U Dont Know freestyle'
A good example of the beat making or breaking the freestyle. Joey Crack over one of the better tracks from 'The Blueprint'
4 - CNN & MOP 'Stompdashitoutyou' (Green mix)
This 03 collaboration was on the Def Jam Vendetta "soundtrack". Turns out it sounds rowdier and better over the 'Straight Outta Compton' instrumental.
5 - Ghostface Killah 'Survivor freestyle'
Tony Starks over 'Ambitions Az A Ridah'? Its a wrap.
6 - Green Lantern 'The Throwback Mix'
Pretty sure I've mentioned on more than one occasion that everyone sounds dope over the 'Ikes Mood' piano break. This is no exception. Jigga, Styles P and Pac all get a run out on this one.
7 - Gang Starr 'Freestyle'
Because I had to get a Primo beat on here somewhere didn't I?
8 - Pharrell 'The Ice Cream Man'
Skateboard P over 'Ice Cream' and 'CREAM' (you see what I was saying about attention to details?). This is something of a guilty pleasure. It shouldnt work but it does. Just dont focus on the lyrical content too much.
9 - Green Lantern 'Addicted To Retail'
I don't recognise the beat used on this one (anyone?) but Biggie, Kanye and Foxy Brown all sound right at home on it.
10 - Jay Z 'Got Me On My Shit'
Another one that might aggravate hardcore Wu Tang-ers a bit. Jay over a beat that's basically 'Shadowboxing' with a few changes. I think the raps are off something on 'Blueprint 2'. Works.
11 - Redman & Paul Wall 'Freestyle'
From Green's show on Shade 45. This is pretty much settles the "writtens vs off-the-dome" debate. To his credit, Paul Wall rhymes off the top of his head, albeit with mixed results but then Redman steps up and kills it.

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

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 post with no name (aka 'random treats')

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!

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

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...




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.
















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'.

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

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

Tim Westwood with Jay Z on Radio 1 (2000)

Jay Z passes through Westwood's Radio 1 Rap Show to promote his 'Volume 3' album that had dropped a couple of months earlier.

Boom-Bap purists beware: Side A of this tape is very heavy on the Ruff Ryders-Cash Money-Bad Boy side of things, including a Puff Daddy & Shyne freestyle and that Murder Inc joint that uses the Rocky theme tune. It also features the very dope 'Queens Day' by Run DMC, Nas & Prodigy which is one of those things Nas should've snapped up for his own album (do you know anyone that bought 'Crown Royal'?).

[UPDATED 12/02/19 with the full 3 hour show)

DJ Rhude - Before The Roc (2002)

Just came across this DJ Rhude mix of rare and unreleased early Jay Z and Sauce Money material. There's some essential bits on here you might not have heard.

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Tracklist
1. Original Flavor - Can I Get Open
2. Jay-Z feat. Sauce Money - Broken English
3. Jay-Z feat. Sauce Money - Pass the Roc
4. Jay-Z feat. Sauce Money - Get Off My D!ck
5. Jay-Z feat. Sauce Money - Rippin It Up
6. Jay-Z feat. Sauce Money - Nothing But Love
7. Sauce Money - Money Aint A Thing
8. Sauce Money - Serious
9. Sauce Money - Check Out The Horns
10. Jay-Z feat. Sauce Money - Under Pressure
11. Jay-Z - Understand Me
12. Jay-Z - The Greatest MC
13. Jay-Z feat. Sauce Money & Jaz - Cant Get Wit Dat
14. Jay-Z - In My Lifetime
15. Jay-Z - In My Lifetime RMX
16. Jay-Z feat. Mic Geronimo, DMX & Ja Rule - Time To Build
17. Jay-Z - Cant Knock the Hustle (OG Version)
18. Jay-Z feat. Sauce Money - Dead or Alive
19. Jay-Z feat. Sauce Money & Memphis Bleek - Game Made Me
20. Jay-Z - Wishing On a Star
21. Jay-Z - This Life Forever (Unreleased Mix)

Thanks to Kool Max Power at TROY for the link and tracklist.

What If Dilla Produced The Blueprint?

Following on from the two Vaporized projects I posted, heres another set of blends with a concept.
Jimmy Green flips the acapellas from Jay Z's classic 'The Blueprint' over some J Dilla beats...

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Jay Z - Marley Marl freestyle

Jay Z rhyming over some classic Marley Marl beats. Not sure theres much else to say on this one!

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TONIGHT
Chris Goldfinger in room 1, myself in room 2. Should be good.