Jay Z, Memphis Bleek & Geda K 'Murda Murda' unreleased version (2001)

This track first did the rounds on mixtapes and bootleg vinyl around mid-2001, and was known variously as 'South Philly Niggaz', 'Murder Marceyville', and - on one white label - 'Chill'. It re-appeared in early 2002 with new verses and Beanie Sigel replacing Geda K. Then it all went quiet again until it finally got an official release on Memphis Bleek's 'M.A.D.E' album in December 03.

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The original version has Jay dissing Jayo Felony (I forget why, as I expect everyone else has, apart from Jayo who will probably be dining out on the story for years) and Bleek taking a shot at Nas. Geda K, who at the time was signed to Rocafella's short lived spin-off label Carter Faculty, comes in to wrap things up with a solid verse. The version that made it to retail is equally as strong, as you'd expect from The Roc in 2003. Sigel kills it "for real".
As for the 12" you see in the picture, it was probably a bit optimistic for the bootleggers to go with the 'Blueprint 2' tagline as that wouldnt hit shelves for another 18 months. The only track to make it onto the album was the frankly awesome 'Show You'. The others were mixtape staple 'Addicted To The Game' and personal favourite 'Early This Morning'.

I wish Jay Z still made records like this.

UPDATE 30/08 - Here's 'Addicted To The Game' and 'Early This Morning'

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The LOX - Hot 97 freestyle (2007)

Rediscovered this recently, tucked away on a DJ Envy CD. Jada, Sheek & SP on Flex's show a few years back...

Tim Westwood - Capital Rap Show (1994)

Ah, June 94: I'd just finished my exams and discovered getting stoned. 'Illmatic' had just dropped and Westwood's show was still a must on the weekends.
Theres some good stuff on this tape - 'Cuz Its Wrong' by Slick Rick for one, as I'd completely forgotten how much I liked that track. Also, theres LL's elusive (although allegedly dropping soon) 'Year Of The Hip Hop', Nice N Smooth, Rampage, Guttersnypes, OC and Kurious. Side 2 is more smoothed out with some Snoop, Warren G, Blackstreet and Hi-Five.

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Thanks to Mr Lawson for the tape.

DJ Jay Ski - The Rebirth: Volume 30 (1999)

Another Jay Ski tape for you. Gang Starr, Common, The Roots and Slum Village are all featured, aswell as a couple of Buckshot freestyles.

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(click on the image to enlarge the tracklist)

MC Shan 'The Bridge' (Soul Focus remix)

As promised, I'll be making all of the Soul Focus remixes available and here's the next one; it's our take on MC Shan's 'The Bridge', done in a similar style to the Roots Manuva one I dropped last week. This time we've used a different 80s Soul classic on each verse...

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Jazzy Jeff live at The Do-Over (2011)

Up until now it had completely slipped my mind to start checking The Do-Over site for any uploads from their parties this summer. Here's Jazzy Jeff doing his thing, with Skillz on hype man duties...

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DJ Jay Ski - Volume 25 (1997)

Have to admit that Philly's Jay Ski wasn't a DJ I was familiar with until recently, but having been sent a stack of his tapes (shout to Richard!) he's definitely up there with the best of them. Not too heavy on the scratching and with a good mix of big names and indie joints, this is well worth a listen...

DJ Jay Ski - Volume 25 (1997) by Djstepone on Mixcloud

(click on the image to enlarge the tracklist)