It's not Epic it's Rocafella!

Live from Sylvia's in Harlem, Westwood hosts Cam, Juelz and Jim who drop a freestyle over The Roc (Just Fire) and What Happened To That Boy and Cam does his lyrics from Down & Out (2 years before that came out). Keith Murray is also in the building alongside 50 Grand for some more freestyle action.

On a related note, another Radio 1 Rap Show from the year before threw up this oddity on the Top 10 At Ten. It's a remix of Oh Boy, that despite being dismissed by Just Blaze* as a "fake DJ trickery attempt", is actually pretty decent and definitely better than the official 'Oh Girl' remix. I've no idea where the Cam verse came from if it wasn't done for this track but he's accompanied by 2 other dudes who despite sounding like State Property, appear to go by Frank Mueller and TD (Ted Dibiase?). Can't find any info on  them or this version so if anyone can help out please do.



*my DMs are hotter than yours

DJ Envy & Dipset - Bad Guys 14 (2007)

 

Having tape deck problems at the moment so its back to the CDs. This is a bit more recent than what I'd usually post (I say that, its already 7 years old) but the Dips seem to generate a fair bit of traffic around these parts. You've probably already made up your mind on whether or not you'll download this one. All I'll say is that if you're a fan its definitely worth getting...

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There's a few bits on here that I haven't seen elsewhere. Cam only features a couple of times but the SOS Band sampling 'Weekend' is a favourite, as is JR Writer's 'Xtacy' (mainly because it uses 'Moments In Love' which is pretty much fail safe). Its mostly a solid effort all round which is unusual for something like this. Also worth mentioning is that unlike alot of 00s mixtape DJs, Envy actually puts in the effort to drop the tracks in on time and sequence them nicely.

Diplomats Unreleased Throwbacks & Exclusives (2004)

One of a stack of CDs purchased on a trip to Canal Street back in 2004, this Street Sweepers set collates some of the Dip's finest mixtape moments...

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Highlights include the demo version of the unreleased 'That's Harlem', which I later found with an added chorus on this Rocafella promo 12", an always welcome appearance by Herb McGruff on 'Trendsetters pt 2' and the superbly titled 'Keep The AKs At Kay Slays'.
My personal favourite is 'World Reknown', which appeared on 'Come Home With Me' as 'The Roc (Just Fire)' with Memphis Bleek and Beanie Sigel replacing Jim and Juelz.  Although everyone turns in a worthy performance on both versions, Jim Jones really stands out for me with his verse. Its obviously debatable as to whether he wrote it but put that to one side and he presents a solid argument against those who lazily tag him a wack rapper based on 'We Fly High' and 'Pop Champagne'.
Admittedly he's helped by the beat. The Just Blaze production is one of the best of the era and is one of those instrumentals I never tire of, where you get the feeling it could make anyone that rapped over it sound amazing.