it's the links baby, it's the links...

I haven't had time to do anything blog related recently so here's some things that have appeared online elsewhere that may be relevant to your interests...

DJ Yoda presents Make Mixtapes Great Again

DJ Filthy Rich - Loungin Volume 1

Pete Rock & Marley Marl - Future Flavas on Hot 97 (1997)

Slum Village on the Radio 1 Rap Show (May 2000)

Clark Kent in the mix on WBLS (April '92)

oh, and here's a video for Sugarbear's 'Dont Scandalize Mine' 

DJ Riz - 5 Minutes Of Funk (2017)

DJ Riz being disgustingly good at DJing for 20 minutes. This is very good and well worth a watch.

Mad Skillz vs Supernatural battle (1993)

Lots going on here: Puffy on the judging panel, Stretch Armstrong in the front row, first draft Loud Records logo in the background. 1993 flows and fashions are in full effect with Supernatural sounding like Sticky Fingaz and host Dr Dre rocking the XXXL Karl Kani. Make sure you read Skillz' breakdown of the video in the comments section (its the first one).

File under: when battling was how a rapper made a name for himself and got a deal rather than a bunch of dudes calling each other gay in a room comprised of 98 % men.

Dr Dre's current situation is really sad. Pretty much everyone I know who came up listening to rap in the 90s checked for Yo! MTV Raps and seeing him chilling behind the 1210s every week cracking jokes was definitely one of the things that made me want to get a set of decks.
I didn't have much opportunity to see people DJ back then so Dre, Delbert Wilkins and Christian Slater in Pump Up The Volume were my first sources of inspiration.

Kano - Fire In The Booth (2016)

"...had a Gareth Southgate, couple summers I missed the pen"

Some great lines in this. Seems like most of the UK rappers I enjoyed years back have all but retired so good to see Kano's got a new lease of life and is basically killing it right now. Garage Skank and 3 Wheel Ups have been in permanent rotation over here since they dropped. Think I'm gonna go get the 'Made In The Manor' album now.

I'll be back but for now just google...

Its a BDP reference. No posts recently due the house move now being in full effect. 20 years ago, almost to the week, I bought my first set of turntables - some Gemini belt drives. Today is the first time since then I haven't had them or my vinyl (or any CDs for that matter) in the house. Having lots of records is all well and good until it comes time to move, and then it's just a total bastard. Especially when you live on the 3rd floor with 5 flights of stairs and no lift. It's hard not to feel envious of the people who have all their music on a harddrive, or the types that just use iTunes and Spotify and occasionally buy a compilation from the supermarket.

Anyway, rant over. I feel like I may have posted something similar before but the point remains relevant. This is going to be one of those placeholder type posts where I put you up on them thangs I've discovered on my online travels. No one really sends me their mixes to post anymore. Feel free to do that if you've got something you want to share. Some decent artwork and being able to actually mix helps btw, although I'm fully aware I never have art for my own mixes. So...

Random Rap Radio continues to be a source of things you never heard before (for..for..never heard before...) like this Pete Rock & Marley Marl Future Flavas mixtape sampler for MCA Records from 1999

Remember The Supafriendz? They were Mad Skillz' crew back in the day. Bad Cop just put together this 'best of' mix featuring posse cuts, solo joints and radio freestyles. Check Supafriendz - Da Supa Mixtape

DJ Semtex shared a couple of old Bootcamp Click freestyles following the sad news about Sean Price (RIP).

DJ MK dropped his 'Watever Mixtape Vol 1' last week.

I recommend checking Big Ted's weekly show on Mi-Soul for new and classic Hip Hop.

Mark 563 has posted his dope 'Whats Real' mixtape from 2005 on Mixcloud, featuring all sorts of mid 90s classics.

If you want something to read while you're listening to these, the homie Stan Ipcus recently hooked up another one of his excellent Mixtape Memories pieces, this time interviewing Craig G.

That should keep you going for now. Have fun and enjoy whats left of the summer.

Edit - just realised that 4 of the 6 people linked above used to work in record shops in London. Weird. Shout out to Mr Bongo, Liberty Grooves, Handspun/Deal Real and HMV Oxford Street!

One other thing. I really wanted to like Compton and aside from the presence of Kendrick Lamar and Eminem the tracklist showed some promise. I can't remember the last time I was that pleased to receive a new release in my inbox, but on hearing it I thought the majority of it was rubbish with one or two songs being tolerable at best. The first track after the intro is particularly terrible. Comments I've read online - and there are many - suggest I'm very much in the minority but then as a general rule, comments online suggest most people are stupid. So there. There's a new Warren G EP out with previously unheard Nate Dogg vocals. I suggest you seek that out instead,

Q Tip 'Q Tip For President' (2008)

One more post before I leave the country for a few days. By the time I come back the election will be over and there's a slim chance we might have a new PM. I live in what might be the safest Conservative seat in the country and although my MP is one of the most disliked politicians around, he'll probably stay put given none of his challengers are particularly inspiring. Anyway, thought I'd roll with an election themed joint so here's Q Tip rapping over 'Eric B Is President'

I think this came out in the run up to the release of his 'Renaissance' LP (good album btw) when Obama had the streets on smash and rappers briefly showed an interest in politics for the first time in years.

Also, whilst having a bit of a vinyl purge I came across this remix of 3LW's 'No More' which features Nas and also uses the Eric B Is President beat, so here you go...

DOWNLOAD

May aswell post this up too. Always enjoyable although I'm sure certain purists caught feelings and considered it blasphemous when it dropped...

Props Over Here

There's been a lot of good things appearing on line recently. Shout out to everyone putting in work and making the effort..

10 classic DJ Clue mixtapes from 1995 courtesy of the ever reliable Stan Ipcus

Judging by the beats used on the freestyles he's been dropping recently, seems like Fabolous has been checking some of his old Clue tapes as well. He even roped in the man to add a few shouts and adlibs for him. The freestyles are decent and you have to admire Fab for dressing like he's in his early 20s even though he's pushing 40.

Great interview with Diamond D on The Combat Jack Show. If you don't have time for the full 90 minutes at least skip to 1 hour 6 mins for his less than complimentary thoughts on The Fugees

Great (if a bit too short) documentary on the golden era of New York radio in the 80s

which leads nicely into these tape rips I found on Soundcloud (download limits are maxed out but you can still stream 'em)

Pete Rock & Marley Marl - Future Flavas on Hot 97, 1995

Funkmaster Flex - Street Jams on Hot 97, 1993

finally, I haven't heard it in it's entirety yet but the new Alchemist & Oh No album is out now and worth investigating. Judging by the track list there's a bit of something for everyone on there.

That should keep you busy for the time being...

I'd rather be live at The Tunnel with Flex...

I'm not usually keen on promoting people who have more than enough resources to fend for themselves but I really enjoyed the recent Juan Epstein show with Funkmaster Flex. Peter Rosenberg and Cipha Sounds did a good job of reigning it in and letting Flex talk for nearly 2 hours on how he came up in the game and the early days of NYC radio and clubs.Highly recommended...

GO HERE

Flex's mixes have been a cornerstone of this blog since it started but I hadn't had access to any tapes of him for a while. Fortunately I've come across a few old Hot 97 shows online in the last week so here you go...

30th January 1993 (courtesy of Jesse Velazquez)

16th April 1993

22nd April 1995

16th December 1995

80s Classics mix from 1994

aswell as...

WBLS January 1990

and courtesy of Craig at Random Rap Radio:

Funkmaster Flex & Cipha Sounds - Big Dawg Volume 1 mixtape

Don't Sleep #2 Soul Supreme ft T Max, AG & Pete Rock 'Queen' (2003)

"For all the girls who said 'A, you smoke too much', shut up baby and roll that Dutch..."

This is one of those tracks I've never really tired of. I first heard it on a Tony Touch mix in the summer of 2003. A couple of weeks later I took my first trip to NYC and despite asking for it in every shop, I came up short. I think I eventually picked it up in Mr Bongo (it  have been my last purchase in there). Anyway, as you may have noticed by now, my tastes have a tendency to lean towards the soulful side of things so I'm a big fan of the sped-up soul sample trend of the early/mid 00s. This ticks all the right boxes with 3 solid verses from AG, Pete Rock and T Max and a nice long outro for the DJs among us to mix out of...

DOWNLOAD

Turns out there's a video for it, although it looks like Pete Rock was busy that day



Previously: Don't Sleep # 1 - Melody 'Cool Chillin' (1989)

AZ 'Red Magic' (2014)

AZ rapping over a sample of 'Strawberry Letter 23'. This is exactly the kind of thing I'd have come up with for Rap Thangs That Shoulda Done Happened.

DJ Jaycee - Something In The Way You Make Me Feel (Queensbridge Houses Thermometer Adjustment Mix)

"Salute to Kid Capri for making this acapella one of the most sought after joints on this earth after blending it with 'Impeach The President' live on MTV back in the day. Now I'm putting my spin on it.
Enjoy!!"

GO HERE

Kerry Katona of this Rap shit...

Not entirely sure what to make of this but its definitely an improvement on Memphis Bleek repping L'Oreal (at 2:59)...

Kid Capri on Hot 97 (1996)

As I just re-upped this Kid Capri tape from 1989 I though I'd also share this set from Hot 97's Mixmasters Weekend back in 1996. I think I originally got it from DJ Soul's blog years ago but if you missed it first time around then here you go...

 DOWNLOAD    STREAM

The video is worth a watch too, especially for the slightly awkward moment (about 9 mins in) when Kid recalls Cipha Sounds taking a shot at him back when he was Flex's weed carrier.

DJ MK - Best Of 2013

DJ MK - BEST OF 2013 -  HIP HOP MIX by Dj Mk on Mixcloud

Hope you all have a good time whatever you're doing tonight. If you need some tunes to bump at some point, MK just dropped this Best Of 2013 mix for you.

My Rap Anniversary: Top 20 Songs Of All Time

Christmas Day 1987 marks the day I was properly introduced to Rap when I was given the tape above as a present with a new Walkman. The Coldcut remix of 'Paid In Full' was included on the B-side of tape 1 and immediately caught my imagination. Admittedly it was more Coldcut's weird samples and scratching than an appreciation of Rakim's flow but I was only 9 years old.
Anyway, with that in mind and inspired by Tha Gawd's recent post (and some of the lists in the comments) I thought I'd drop my all time Top 20.
Choosing tunes tracks that make the cut was easy, narrowing it down and bumping them again to get it down to 20 was the tricky part. The only criteria was one track per artist.

Eric B & Rakim 'Move The Crowd' (1987)

Public Enemy ‘Welcome To The Terrordome’ (1990)

Ice T ‘New Jack Hustler’ (1991)

Ice Cube ‘My Summer Vacation’ (1991)

Main Source ‘Just Hangin Out’ (1991)

Pete Rock & CL Smooth ‘T.R.O.Y’ (1992)

Dr Dre ‘Let Me Ride’ (1992)

A Tribe Called Quest ‘Lyrics To Go’ (1993)

Nas ‘Memory Lane’ (1994)

Black Moon ‘Buck Em Down’ remix (1994)

Gang Starr ‘Mass Appeal’ (1994)

Common Sense ‘Resurrection’ Extra P remix (1995)

Raekwon & Ghostface ‘Rainy Dayz’ (1995)

Mobb Deep ‘Still Shinin’ (1995)

Camp Lo ‘Coolie High’ Paradise mix (1996)

Diplomats ‘I Really Mean It’ (2003)

AZ ‘The Come Up’ (2005)

Jay Electronica ‘Exhibit C’ (2009)

Red Cafe 'Heart & Soul Of New York City' (2009)

Curren$y ft Freddie Gibbs ‘Scottie Pippen’ (2011) 

It's probably fair to say half the list would change if I did it again next week. I expected there to be more from the 00s as thats what I listen to most but when they were stacked against each other the 90s won the day. Feel free to hit the comments section and tell me why I should've gone with Midnight over Lyrics To Go or whatever.

Tracks that narrowily missed the cut: Made You Look, Still Tippin, Verbal Intercourse, On The Real, Uptown Anthem, My Melody, CREAM, Boyz N The Hood, The Roc (Just Fire), Say No Go, Mind Playing Tricks, 50 Bars, Nuthin But A G Thang, Lethal Weapon, Tonights Da Night, I Got Cha Opin (remix), Supastar, We Gonna Make It...a lot basically.

Happy Christmas!

Rap Thangs That Shoulda Done Happened #2

You might remember that a while back I dropped a post called Rap Thangs That Shoulda Done Happened. The effects of this brief yet incredibly insightful piece shook the industry: A&Rs resigned, shamed by their incompetence. Dr Dre shelved 'Detox'. Puffy - who was on the verge of dropping Bad Boy's first legit rap banger for nearly a decade - went back to the drawing board.
But that was 8 months ago now and as today is the anniversary of MLK's 'I have a dream...' speech, here's the second installment:

#1 - Given their superb update of 'Boyz N The Hood', Dipset should blatantly have followed it with a cover of Levi 167's 'Something Fresh To Swing To'. Sparse 80s drums, that "dope, dope...d-d-dope dope" refrain and some coke raps by Cam, Jim & Juelz at the height of their powers would've been a mixtape classic.


#2 -  Outkast should have used the version of 'Da Art Of Storytellin' featuring Slick Rick on 'Aquemini' rather than just confining it to the 12". I don't think I need to explain this one. Dope video though.


#3 - Speaking of Slick Rick, I know everyone loves his debut LP but save for a couple of tracks I always felt it was a bit lacking in the beats department. Marley Marl and Prince Paul are the first two names that spring to mind that could've improved things.

#4 - Treach could've had a great solo album to his name. Instead of starring in straight-to-DVD flicks and warming up for New Kids On The Block on cruise ships full of soccer moms, he should've hit the mixtape circuit, found some decent producers and got busy. The man was a beast on the mic and if his freestyle over 'Keep It Thoro' on Doo Wop's Gangsta's Paradise mixtape is anything to go by then we missed out.

AZ & Questlove on Shade45 (2013)

AZ freestyles over Questlove beatboxing.Things like this need to happen more often.

UPDATE: I mp3'd the freestyle - GO HERE

Also, the homie HL recently interviewed AZ - go here

"Still a Dapper Dan design, still immaculate..."

My favourite song of 2013 so far. Large Pro still got it. Nice that it got a video too.

DJ Kofi - Universal Records Mixtape Vol 2 (1997)

Showcase of Universal/Uptown Records' 1997 roster mixed up by DJ Kofi (one of the UK's finest if you didnt know). Some nice R&B joints on this tape alongside Lost Boyz, Heavy D, Canibus and Sauce Money...

DOWNLOAD

Notorious BIG live in London (1995)

I picked this up last week and as today is the anniversary of Biggie's death its only appropriate I upload it.

STREAM PART 1    STREAM PART 2

This show was also the launch party for Tim Westwood's Radio 1 Rap Show (he'd moved from Capital FM at the end of 1994)  and he's recently posted some video footage



Big up Junior Pepaseed for the heads up on that.
In other anniversary related news, this blog was 4 years old yesterday so shout out to myself and everyone thats contributed over the last few years.

Previously
Busta, Maino, MOP, Sheek, Styles P, Lil Cease, Red Cafe & Uncle Murda 'March 9th'

Biggie & Craig Mack freestyle on Westwood (1995)