Redman, Method Man & D'Angelo on the Radio 1 Rap Show (1999)

On this day back in the 1-9-9-9, Redman and Method Man are in the house with Westwood to promote the Blackout album, kick a freestyle, and we even get an impromptu DJ set from Redman (presumably with Tim's records). On top of that D'Angelo stops by for an interview right at the end of the show.  What more do you want?

Tracklist and download link available at the Hip Hop Radio Archive

Funkmaster Flex - Hot 97 Street Jams 28.07.95 with Method Man & Redman

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This is what was going down in NYC 23 years ago today. Flex hosts his Friday night Street Jam show alongside Big Dennis, with Meth & Red passing through the studio and dropping the obligatory freestyle. Everything you'd expect Flex to be playing is in here: Lost Boyz, AZ, Wu Tang and Mary J, plus Mobb Deep, Kool G Rap and a nice indie joint right at the end that I hadn't heard before. Even the commercial break has some heat, with Biggie rapping over the Dogg Pound's New York New York beat for St Ides and a Tower Records ad for Only Built For Cuban Linx. There's also this...

"...I hit you with that Luniz joint...hmm, verdict is still out...I Got 5 On It. In New York we put 20 on it"

Flex showcasing his astute A&R skills there. It's not quite as bad as Mr Magic's opinions on Public Enemy, BDP and the Beastie Boys but it does show how tough it was for rappers from other regions to get play on the East Coast. Interestingly he plays the Weedless mix, which despite owing it on vinyl I have never played and initially thought it was some rare demo or promo.

Anyone know what the track at 1 hr 34 mins is?

I recently found out that I haven't been receiving email notifications to approve comments and discovered 20+ from the last few months pending approval. Not sure what happened there but if you didn't get a response that's why. Thanks to Krisch for bringing it to my attention. Unfortunately there are plenty of people that think spamming blog comments sections is still a worthwhile endeavour (I really can't see how) so I need to keep the blocker in place.

Method Man 'PLO Style' Frankenstein remix (1996)

I haven't come across many bootleg remix 12"s recently but I picked up this 4 tracker of remixes by Canada's Frankenstein last week and his take on this track off Meth's debut LP (and b-side to Bring The Pain) was the standout cut. If you like that dusty mid 90s sound you'll probably enjoy this...



I'm not that familiar with much of Frankenstein's catalogue but 'Sparkin Intellect' remains a favourite from back in the day. Based on that track alone he's almost certainly the best rapper to come out of Toronto.



I'll drop the INI 'Fakin Jax' remix off the same 12" at some point. Unfortunately the record fair where I made the purchase had (intentionally?) pretty poor lighting so I didn't realise the vinyl was a bit more busted than I'd usually find acceptable. The Nas remix is far too crackly to bother digitizing but isn't anything special anyway and I'm not a huge fan of the Das EFX track.

French Montana ft Jadakiss & Method Man '88 Coupes' (OB4ZL fix up)

Having fully enjoyed French & Jada's '88 Coupes' and been pleasantly surprised by how good Method Man's recent freestyle over the Harry Fraud beat was, I thought I'd edit them together into one track...



Haven't checked Meth's new album yet. Hoping it has 2-3 decent songs worth copping as I like listening to him rap but he doesn't exactly have a great track record with his solo material. If he got someone like Harry Fraud or Alchemist (or even Black Milk) to do a few beats great things might happen.

Just had a thought that I should've obvz called this '89 Coupes' or something but I can't be bothered to re-up it.

RZA ft Method Man, E40, WC, Crooked I & Jayo Felony 'We Pop' remix (2003)

"this is a Power 106 exclusive..."

I remember getting the promo 12" for the original version of 'We Pop' sent to me and not being particularly impressed with it. RZA and ODB on the same track with no other Clan members to bring a bit of style and finesse to proceedings wasn't really doing it for me at the time. This remix on the other hand, which surfaced some time later, definitely hit the mark. RZA enlists the stellar line up of WC, E40, Crooked I, Jayo Felony and Method Man to do their thing over the same beat...

The odd thing about this is that it's basically a straight jack of 'Bad Boy For Life', and like that track, its also produced by Megahertz. Not sure what the full story is behind that but RZA does take a sly shot at Diddy with his opening line. 

I've only come across the song in 2 places, initially on a Kay Slay tape and then on this bootleg 12", which seems like it doesn't turn up too often judging by Discogs.

Method Man & Redman - Wake Up Show freestyle (1994)

 

There's been a few lengthy Red & Meth freestyle sessions from back in the day that have found their way onto the net over the last few years. Here, the duo go in for 25 minutes on Sway & Tech's Wake Up Show in '94...

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Previously:

Method Man & Redman - Hot 97 Freestyle (1995)

Method Man & Redman - Radio 1 freestyle (1999)

Method Man & GZA - J Love remixes (2003)

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

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...

The Unstoppable Def Jam Sampler (1999)

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.

Method Man freestyle (1995)

A pretty blunted sounding Method Man spitting over 'Bring The Pain' on Tim Westwood's show back in December 95.

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Also in the studio are Nelson George and Russell Simmons celebrating Def Jam's 10th Anniversary and counting down the label's Top 10 tracks. Full tape coming soon...

Wu Tang Clan 'Method Man' (DJ Step One blend)

Back in the day Westwood played a blend someone (I forget who) had done using the 'Method Man' acapella over Snoop's 'Tha Shiznit' instrumental, which sounded great. Recently - after a long search - I finally got myself a copy of that acapella (cheers Howard!) and have been playing around with it. I'm hoping to do something 'proper' with it soon but in the meantime it seems to fit nicely over another classic Dre beat...

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Obviously if anyone has got that blend Westwood played or knows who did it let me know!

Method Man & Redman 'Double Deuces'

I'm off to see Red & Meth live this Sunday which seemed like a good enough reason to post this, which is basically a St Ides advert done over the beat for 'Childrens Story'. Whats not to like?

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Flava Of The Month

Redman & Method Man - Hot 97 freestyle (1995)

More Hot 97 freestyle business here. Red & Meth on Funkmaster Flex's show during the 'Month Of The Man' when Def Jam dropped 'Dare Iz A Darkside' and 'Tical' back to back.

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Original tape courtesy of DJ MK

Dirty Harry 'All Star Killers' (1998)

Another strange 12". I can't find it listed on Discogs but this is - I think - a blend put together mixtape king Dirty Harry, although it could well pass for an original track. Despite the big name line up I dont recognise the verses from any other songs and they flow together nicely. It opens with a sample from 'Menace II Society' and features Big Pun, DMX, Method Man, Fat Joe, Cam'ron, Noreaga, Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz.

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Method Man & Redman freestyle (1999)

Method Man & Redman freestyling for what seems like an eternity on Westwood's Radio 1 Rap Show.
The pair were in the UK promoting their 'Blackout' album and go off over the 'Simon Says' beat in part one and Mobb Deep's 'Quiet Storm' and 'Its Mine' in part two.


DOWNLOAD PART ONE

DOWNLOAD PART TWO

Thank you DJs....

Lots of good mixes have been hitting the blogosphere over the last few days. If you missed them here are some that need your attention:

Dope Big L tribute by NYC's DJ Soul here

Matthew Africa's 'Best of DJ Quik' here

and finally the ever reliable TROY crew hit you with 4 classic Mista Cee mixtapes. Get his Best of Method Man, Redman, Mobb Deep and Biggie sets here