"fool I got them bomb ass tapes..."

RIP Crazy Toones. Ice Cube and WC's tour DJ and general West Coast OG. Thought I'd throw this one up in his memory as I still play it from time to time and I think it probably went under alot of people's radar...

DJ Step One - California Love

First of the month, so as is now tradition, here's a new mix. Strictly West Coast rap this time out. Mostly 90s with a few early 00s tracks, and not too heavy on the anthems...

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Tracklist

Ice Cube - 24 With An L

2Pac - Definition Of A Thug Nigga

Domino - Long Beach Thang

Conscious Daughters - Somethin To Ride To

Snoop Dogg ft Kurupt & Daz - Doggy Dogg World

E 40 ft B Legit & Mac Shon - Sideways

WC, Tray Dee, Daz & CJ Mac - Gang Related

Kurupt ft Crooked I, Daz & Baby S - I Ain't Shit Without My Homeboyz

Suga Free ft Playa Hamm - If U Stay Ready

The Whoridaz - Talkin Bout Bank

Mista Grimm ft Nate Dogg - Indo Smoke

2Pac & Snoop Dogg - 2 Of America's Most Wanted

Knocturnal ft Xzibit, Warren G & Shade Shiest - Str8 West Coastin (remix)

Dr Dre ft King Tee, Xzibit, Knocturnal, Kokane, & Timebomb - Some LA Niggaz

Cypress Hill ft Kokane - Greed

MC Eiht - Nuthin But The Gangsta (solo version)

E 40 ft Suga T - Sprinkle Me

Warren G ft The Twinz - Recognize

WC ft Mack 10 & Ice Cube - West Up (Soul Focus remix)

Dr Dre ft Snoop Dogg & Daz - Let Me Ride (remix)

Declaime - Caliwayz (remix)

I was definitely more into the West Coast sound in my early days of listening to Hip Hop, and save for the obvious tracks I didn't really get into the Large Pro/DITC/Premier side of things until the mid 90s. This was partly to do with availablity as so many releases weren't given a domestic UK release back then and even if you could afford an import copy you had to find one first. No easy task in deepest Surrey. Anyway, once I was old enough to get into London and buy my music I was mostly buying East Coast stuff. London's record shops and radio was very NY-centric and once Dre and Snoop left Death Row and 2Pac died the West didn't really have anyone high profile enough to keep the momentum going. Basically I probably missed out on a lot of good music. I've trying to make up for lost time recently. Soundtracks seem to be a good source of deep cuts but if anyone can help me make sense of the numerous Dogg Pound releases, 2Pac bootlegs and which of the Spice 1 albums are any good that would be much appreciated. Enjoy the mix.

Kam 'Peace Treaty' original version (1992)

Shout to Craig for coming through with some audio of this for me. Kam's debut album 'Neva Again' was a favourite of mine when it dropped but one thing that always bothered me was that the version of 'Peace Treaty' (also the lead single) was different to the one that had been getting played on Westwood and Kiss FM. I thought that maybe it existed as a remix on the promo or test press but so far the only place it has emerged is in the form of this mp3 ripped from a tape of a Westwood show from December 1992.

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Ok, its not drastically different, but that sample in the chorus is missing on the LP version and although hearing it now, it admittedly sounds a bit cluttered, I always felt that the released version was missing something without it. As with alot of these kind of situations I guess it comes down to which version you heard first. Either way, Rap Nerds love them some unreleased alternative versions so it had to be posted.

WC, Mack 10 & Ice Cube 'West Up!' (Soul Focus re-fix)

Here's a nice blend cooked up by DJ Mystery (one half of Soul Focus). He's taken the beat from Ice Cube's 'You Know How We Do It' and stuck the acapella of the WC/Cube/Mack 10 collabo 'West Up' over the top. Simple but effective. There's even a nice extended intro for the DJs...

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"Gimme the microphone first so I can bust like a bubble..."

Another one from the vaults (aka the big box of dusty TDKs under my bed). This is Snoop Dogg alongside Kurupt and Daz live on Tim Westwood's Capital Rap Show. If I remember right this was recorded in early 94 around the time 'Doggystyle' dropped. They go back and forth for about 8 minutes over the 'Deep Cover' and 'Award Tour' instrumentals.

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