Sickamore 'Watch Me Do Me' (2003)

NYC, August 2003. I'm walking back to my hotel when I hear some music playing. Looking over I realise I've finally found somewhere selling mixtapes. It's a tiny hole in the wall spot, and as I get closer I hear what sounds like 2Pac rapping over an updated version of 'My Melody'. I ask what's playing and get handed this CD. The track starts again and I hear "Pac" dissing Ja Rule, Murder Inc (but they weren't around when he was alive, I hear you cry) and Jay Z. Weird as fuck but it sounds great, and better than any other official posthumous 2Pac tracks. The rest of the tracklist looks pretty solid so it's purchased...

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Once you get past the bizarre opener, you also get some Dipset, G Unit, Jay Z, Snoop and State Property. There's also Cam'ron & DMX 'Pull It 2003', which I don't think ever came out ,Cuban Link dissing Kay Slay on 'Hit Em Up 2'  and, erm, Smoothe Da Hustler rapping over Crazy In Love.

DJ Premier - The True Heads Merch mix (2014)

A mix of some of the less lauded tracks from Gang Starr's catalogue, put together by Primo to launch the Gang Starr clothing line (seems a bit late, but there you go)

DJ Premier - The True Heads Merch mix (2014) by Djstepone on Mixcloud

Thanks to Ominous on the Philaflava boards for the download link

DJ Wreck - Keepin It Gutter part one (2002)

There's a few personal favourites on this CD by DJ Wreck out of Philly. This was the first place I heard Cam's 'Come Home With Me' and R Kelly's 'Shorty' (the version here doesn't have the Jay Z verse that would appear on the Best Of Both Worlds album). 'My Life' by Styles P got a lot of play when it dropped too, along with Jay's 'Show You' and the original version of 'Murda Murda'

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Tracks 22-24 listed on the cover aren't actually included so you'll have to make do without those Drag-On and Jae Hood freestyles. Also, the Royce & Twista song is split into seperate tracks for each verse (which will probably please The Martorialist )

DJ Crossphader 'Another L.I Groove' Tape 2 (2000)

As the name suggests, this is the second half of a doublepack, but I don't actually have Tape 1. Still, its a nice enough mix of head-nod backpack joints. Enjoy...

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Still rolling through the Junior Pepaseed tapes. This is another one of his.

**DJ Clue voice** Do remember! The mixcloud page is now in full effect. All the mixes I've posted up here over the last 5 + years are being made available for your streaming pleasure (:pause:)

Mixcloud Marauders

Download links get killed off far too quickly these days and I don't really have the time to keep up with requests for re-ups on old posts so from now I'll uploading as many of the old mixtapes and radio shows as possible from the OBFZL archives on this mixcloud page .

I might eventually embed the mixcloud page into the original blog posts. This site will still get updated as normal but once the initial download link has gone, it'll only be streaming audio. There's a few sites out there that will let you convert mixcloud to mp3 so you can still get 'em for keeps.

Alternate title for this post was 'When They Reminisce Over Kim'

Daddy Dog & Doboy - D Day Volume One (1998)

Another tape from the Fifth Platoon crew. Daddy Dog & Doboy take a side each for 90 mins of underground-indie-boom bap rap stuff...

DOWNLOAD     STREAM SIDE A   STREAM SIDE B

DJ MK - London Underground 2014

If you haven't heard, DJ MK has re-issued both his seminal London Undergound mixtapes on one handy cassette themed USB stick. For a very reasonable price, you get remastered versions of Volume 1 and 2 along with a host of previously unreleased material from the original sessions.
They're limited to 200 copies so don't sleep and end up having to pay double on E-Bay in a few months  from now (and don't ask me to upload it either!)

For details check Suspect Packages or email emm_kay@hotmail.com

Volume 2 in particular is a personal favourite of mine. Along with Skitz's 'Countryman' album it captures that early 00s era of UK Hip Hop perfectly. Go get that!

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 #3: South Central Cartel 'Sowhatusayin' (1995)

Another dip into the collection to pull out something you might have not heard before or just forgotten about. This one is a big posse cut that appeared on Def Jam's 'The Show' soundtrack/compilation in 1995. I never actually bought that back in the day and only discovered this track on an old Westwood tape, as he gave it a few spins when it dropped. The SCC line up alongside West Coast heavyweights MC Eiht and Spice 1, and a rookie Jayo Felony, aswell as an always welcome appearance from Treach (whose unrealised potential as a solo artist I've highlighted previously). You can probably hazard a good guess as to what it sounds like but if you like sinister West Coast joints from the mid-90s then you'd do well to grab this...

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Previously: Don't Sleep #1 & Don't Sleep # 2

DJ Step One 'Tape Kingz Vol 2'

DJ Step One - Tape Kingz Vol 2 by Soulfocus on Mixcloud

1 take all vinyl mix I hooked up this afternoon. Enjoy.

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Tracklist

Sadat X ft Grand Puba & Lord Jamar - The Lump Lump (Nubian mix)

Busta Rhymes - Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See (blend)

Cru ft Slick Rick - Just Another Case (remix)

Beatnuts ft Big Pun & Cuban Link - Off The Books (blend)

Jay Z ft Sauce Money, Beanie Sigel & The LOX - Reservoir Dogs

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

Clipse  - Got Caught Dealing pt 2 (We Get Money)

Crush Sounds - Bring It On Back

LL Cool J ft Lost Boyz - Wanna Get Paid

Whoridas - Talkin Bout Bank

Mobb Deep - Quiet Storm (blend)

Dr Dre ft Snoop Dogg - Still DRE (blend)

Harlem World ft Snoop Dogg - Cali Chronic (LBC mix)

Charli Baltimore ft Noreaga & Cam'ron - NBC

Gang Starr ft Big Shug & Bumpy Knuckles - The Militia

Never knew there was a video for the Cali Chronic remix...

Rap Thangs That Shoulda Done Happened #5

The return of the wildly irregular feature where I get my Armchair A&R on and do my best to correct Rap's wrongs and come with the ill hypothetical behavior. I've always liked the idea of learning to make beats but I never really had the time or patience and I'm 36 now so it's probably never going to happen. In this edition, I offer up ideas I've had for songs that rappers and producers are welcome to take and run with. If you want to give the blog a shout out on the track that'd be nice. 

Rappers in search of some chunky sample based beats could do a lot worse than bring Rich Harrison in from the cold. Dude had a great run in the mid 00s but seems to have dropped off the radar somewhat. Probably still spending that 'Crazy In Love' money.

A UK rapper (preferably one of the ones I like) needs to sample the "rap with a British accent" line off Ghostface's 'We Made It'. Its begging to be used. Loop that up like Swizz Beatz was doing with all those Jay Z vocals 10 years ago and you're golden. 

Someone needs to make a track using the piano from Ray Keith's iconic jungle track 'Terrorist' (yes, I know he sampled it from 'Nightporter' by Japan). Sample the bassline as well if you're feeling brave. Get the drums right and you've got a classic on your hands. You're welcome.

I need to hear someone (specifically AZ, or maybe Jadakiss) rapping over 'Change Of Heart' and/or 'Lets Go Together'. Don't sleep on Change.

After MOP did a sterling job bringing Tears For Fears back earlier this year, there's no reason that someone can't banish the memory of 'Rule' by Nas and flip that same sample. I nominate Cam'ron, NORE or some new jack out of Cali or the Bay Area.

Tony Touch - Hip Hop #73 (2003)

Some Tony Touch from 2003 courtesy of Junior Pepaseed. Some things from this era haven't aged particularly well but there's some good tracks on here including Beanie Sigel's 'Once Again Its On'. a couple of bits off Gang Starr's unfairly maligned final album and Meth & Ghost's 'After Party' among others...

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