London Style & Fashion (an early 90s UKHH compilation)

Out of Eddie's collection emerges a healthy amount of early 90s UK artists on rap radio. Freestyles and live recordings taken from Richie Rich's Rap Academy and Max & Dave's show on Kiss FM, and Westwood. Rather than drip feed them I thought I'd gather them up in one big zipfile for you. It's mostly names you'll recognise if you're familiar with that scene although there is a couple of lesser known artists. This era is kind of a niche sub-genre of hip hop and in terms of the history of the UK scene its often overlooked in favour of the 80's golden era (London Posse, Monie Love, MC Duke etc) and the early 00s generation (Jehst, Klashnekoff, Task Force). 

Essentially the dance music explosion of the 90s sidelined hip hop for most of the decade in England. I was going to go into more detail but this article covers a lot and is worth a read if you want to know more. 

As for the comp, I've posted the two MC D freestyles before, and I think the Caveman one is from somewhere else (?) but the rest is brand new. Enjoy. 

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Blade - Kiss FM Rap Academy (April 91)

Brotherhood - Radio 1 Rap Show (June 95)

Cash Crew - live in London (Dec 90)

Caveman - Capital Rap Show

Deadly D, Def K & DJ Cel - Kiss FM Rap Academy

Gunshot - Lightning 90.8FM (Nov 90)

Guttersnypes - Choice FM freestyle (Dec 93)

Hardnoise - Live To London (Aug 90)

Honey B & Culture Shock - live (Sept 91)

Katch 22 - Kiss FM Rap Academy (Feb 92)

MC D - DJ 279 special (July 93)

MC D - Kiss FM freestyle (July 93)

Sir Drew - Capital Rap Show promo

SL Troopers - Kiss FM Rap Academy (Feb 92)

Son Of Noise - Freestyle (July 91)

Have to big up Eddie once again for these. If you're sitting on a box of tapes get in touch and let's free the gems!

If you're in the mood for some more classic UKHH then GM B-Eazy just dropped a new mix...

"I don't feel no MC like I feel MC D..."

So said Rodney P. MC D is a vet of the UK rap scene and as Silent Eclipse he scored a major label deal with 4th & Broadway back in the mid 90s which resulted in the Psychological Enslavement album that dropped in 95. Like a lot of rappers caught up in the red tape of such deals, he went quiet for a bit before re-emerging and making appearances on various projects in the early 00s.

Although the Silent Eclipse material was quite political and "conscious" (like an English Dead Prez or Paris), he was probably amongst the first artists to have that element of what eventually became known as "road rap" and is definitely highly regarded amongst those that know but his contribution is somewhat overlooked these days.

What we have here are 2 radio sessions from July 1993. The first is something I played loads back in the day but only had in poor quality until now. Taken from Max & Dave's show and over the beat for Make Room by Tha Alkaholiks, D kicks a tale of police harassment that would later appear on the Silent Eclipse album as the track Policing As A Tool. Dope stuff.



The second joint is something I hadn't heard before. More lyrics that would later appear on the Silent Eclipse LP, this time on the title track. This one was for DJ 279.

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Big up Eddie for the box of tapes he sent over last week. Not full shows unfortunately but looks like there is going to be some gems on them.

Also: MC D on the Radio 1 Rap Show, 26th November 1999

Max & Dave - Kiss FM Rap Show 28.09.94

Max & Dave's Wednesday night show from September 1994. On this tape you get part of the chart (and what a selection that is) and then the second half of the show (from 8pm onwards) is a UK special with tracks selected by the listeners. Full playlist is on Mixcloud, or on the Hip Hop Radio Archive where you can also download it.

Kiss 100 FM, January 1993

Haven't done many R&B posts so here's an hour of Steve Jervier on London's Kiss FM from January '93. The interesting discovery on this tape was the original version of Groove Theory's 'Tell Me' by UK act Rhythm & Bass, which it seems not too many people (on my twitter feed anyway) know about. Both acts were on Sony and it seems like the song was written by GT's Amel Larrieux. Obviously their version with the Edie Brickell sample featuring Brand Nubian is the superior of the two. Quite enjoying the Bryan Powell track on here which I vaguely remember from back in the day, and Wreckx N Effect sound slightly aggy on their tune, which makes me wonder if it's directed at Q Tip given they got into a scuffle at some point.

Guy - Dog Me Out

Wreckx N Effect - Wreckx N Effect

Artz & Kraftz - All Of It

Kenny Dope - Ramajama

unknown - unknown

Rhythm & Bass - Tell Me (If You Want Me To)

Bryan Powell - It's Alright

Force One Network - Sista Sista

Jeff Redd - You Called And Told Me

Intro - Love Thang

Tisha - Love Me Down

Jodeci - My Phone

unknown - unknown

Bell Biv Devoe - Gangsta

>> Chris Phillips' show

Liberty - Who Is She

Mary J Blige - Reminisce (remix)

Thanks to Mr Lawson for sending me this with a few other tapes. The 30 minutes preceding this show was the rap show with Max & Dave, which has me wanting to go and hear more of that Apache LP. Gangsta Bitch was pretty big at the time but I never heard the album. Looking at production line up including 45 King, Q Tip, Diamond D and Large Professor I figure it has to be worth investigating.

Max LX & Dave VJ - Kiss FM Rap Show (1992)

Just over an hour of the Kiss FM rap show from May 1992. Music by Lil Shawn, ADOR, Top Quality,  and Naughty By Nature and a healthy dose of UK business like Katch 22, Cookie Crew and Caveman.

Had to do a bit of an edit on this one as 3 tracks off Black Sunday appeared half way through side 2. Left the adverts in for additional flavour - Chaka Demus & Pliers at Washington Heights in Reading anyone?

Busta Rhymes, Common & Rampage Kiss FM freestyle (1997)

I've had a few people come through donations for the site recently. First up is this one from boom-bap champion Milkcrate Kid. A ten minute Busta Rhymes, Common & Rampage freestyle on Max & Dave's Kiss FM show from 1997



Always thought Rampage was pretty dope. Wild For The Night was a banger. Like the rest of the Flipmode he never really managed to escape Busta's shadow though.

*BONUS* - also courtesy of MCK, Chuck D & Hyenas From The Desert on Max & Dave's show from 1996 GO HERE

If you'e got any old tapes stashed away that you think will be of interest get in touch.

Max N Dave on Kiss FM (1990)

Max LX & Dave VJ alongside DJ Pogo in the mix. This is from the early days of legal Kiss FM. Includes tunes by Kool G Rap, Main Source, Silver Bullet, Caveman, Gang Starr and Stetsasonic.

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The Pharcyde - Kiss FM freestyle (1993)

Another one from the Kiss FM Rap Show, this time its The Pharcyde going off the dome for 8 minutes. The sound quality isn't outstanding but I've done the best I could with it...

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Previously : The Pharcyde - Capital Rap Show freestyle (1993)

Latest Re-Ups:
Jazzy Jeff live at The Do Over in LA (2011)  + DJ MK 'Volume 12' mixtape (1997)

Mr 45 & Kittison freestyle on Kiss FM (1993)

Some UK heat here, with Nottingham's Mr 45 and Kittison rhyming live on Max & Dave's Kiss FM show...

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There wasn't a lot of quality Rap music coming out of the UK in the early 90s. As I think I've mentioned before, the scene's golden era of the late 80s had given way to the dance music explosion at the turn of the decade. However, these two (alongside producer Joe Budha) dropped a solid EP that I still play to this day. The Radford EP is well worth a purchase if you come across it and in the dope 'Radford' contains what might be one of the earliest examples of what would eventually become known as 'Road Rap'. London Posse and one or two others aside, it was pretty rare for UK artists to come with anything that thugged out back then.

Kiss FM Rap Show - Best Of 1992

This is what was going on down 20 years ago yesterday on London's Kiss FM. Max LX & Dave VJ (accompanied by DJ Biznizz) run through some of the best tracks of the year, including Cypress Hill, Pete Rock & CL Smooth, K Solo, Grand Puba, EPMD and mo' ...

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Original tape courtesy of Tobes.

Canibus '2nd Round Knockout' Live for Kiss FM London (1998)

Following my re-up of the Marley Marl remix of '2nd Round Knockout' , Crate Digga has come through with this tape rip of Canibus on Max LX & Dave VJ's Kiss FM Rap Show. They play what seems to be a live version (with full band) of the infamous LL dis, with some additional lyrics at the end...

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Max LX & Dave VJ on Kiss FM (1994)

Max & Dave's Kiss FM Rap Show from September 1994. Starts off with that week's Top 20 which included Black Moon, OC, Biggie and Gravediggaz and then into a few new releases from Keith Murray and Lords Of The Underground...

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If you're wondering why 'Dre Day' is on a chart from 1994 when it came out in 92, its down to the 90s trend of UK record labels consistently fucking up the releases of Hip Hop singles. Even certified US hits like 'OPP', 'Jump Around' and 'Nuthin But A G Thang' struggled to make a dent on the UK Top 40 despite being re-released 2 or 3 times, usually because the target audience had already got the album or copped the import 12". At the time, the BBC would rarely have more than one rap record on its daytime playlist - and being the only national station it had major influence on the sales charts - so reaching a wider audience wasn't easy. Although the impact of 'urban' on the mainstream and the emergence of stations like MTV Base and 1xtra meant that the early 00s finally saw less of a gap between UK and US releases, records companies continued to drop the ball well into the 00s on potential chart hits like 'Tell Me When To Go', 'We Fly High' and 'Get Low'

Demon Boyz on Kiss FM (1992)

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

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

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...

Max LX & Dave VJ - Kiss FM Rap Chart (early 91) by Djstepone on Mixcloud

Max LX & Dave VJ on Kiss FM (1994)

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!



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.

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

Mad Skillz freestyle (1996)

Mad Skillz and N-Tense freestyling over 'Still Shining' on Max LX & Dave VJ's Kiss FM Rap Show back in 1996.

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Shout out to cratedigga who sent me over the full interview which you can get HERE

Pete Rock, Funky DL & Dynamite MC on Kiss FM, London (1998)

Soul Brother #1 live on Max LX & Dave VJ's Kiss FM show, alongside the UK's Funky DL and Dynamite MC. The twist on this one is that they've got jazz/funk outfit D'Influence providing live backing for the cypher. Nice...



Big respect to cratedigga for sending this one over!

DJ Rectangle on Kiss FM (1998)

Another Rectangle mix, this time from Max & Dave's Kiss FM show in 1998...

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Tracklist

All City - The Actual

Gang Starr ft Rage & Kurupt - You Know My Steez (remix)

Queen Latifah - Get Off Mine

Noreaga - N.O.R.E (instrumental)

Rasheed & Ill Advised - 1986

Lauryn Hill - Lost Ones

Rufus Blaq - Out Of Sight

Thanks to crate digga for sending this over.

Shortee Blitz on Kiss FM (1996)

Before Shortee Blitz got his own slot on Kiss FM he used to do guest mixes on Max & Dave's show. This one is from 1996 (I think) and features music by INI, Gauge, Mike Zoot & Mos Def, Rasco and Pete Rock.



Shout out to Crate Digga for sending this over.

London Posse on Kiss FM (1993)

Following my London Posse post last month (which proved quite popular), here's Rodney P & Bionic on Kiss FM, promoting the release of their new EP.
Kiss had only been a legal station for a couple of years at this point and the Wednesday night Rap show was hosted by Max LX & Dave VJ. Tracks off the EP are played during the interview and its finished off with a wicked freestyle over Lords Of The Underground's 'Funky Child' instrumental.

Stream or download at the Hip Hop Radio Archive

Massive big up and thanks to Mr Lawson for coming through and hooking me up with the tape of this. All I had was a really bad quality copy of the freestyle and seeing as it was something I played to death back then I'm loving having a decent MP3 of it!

London Posse biography

Although I was a regular listener I dont have any full tapes of Max N Dave's shows (I was young and didnt have money for new TDKs every week so I just taped the tracks I liked). If anyone out there has some they want to share get in touch.