Those Kay Slay CDs are doing big numbers so I wasn't going to post anything else til 2015 but I've come across a few things that might be of interest to you and yours as we're in that part of the year where its likely you'll have a bit more time to kill than usual....
Here's Disc 3. This one is mostly R&B with some remixes and a stack of blends - the Lucy Pearl one is a particular standout - and then gets back to what you'd expect to hear on a Streetsweepers mix...
I just got hold of this 4 disc Kay Slay set that dropped around 2000 so thought I'd share a disc at a time in the run up to Christmas. This mixtape was particularly notable as the Drama King managed to get Harlem legends AZ and Alpo on the phone together and their conversations are used for intros and interludes throughout the CDs. There's also a stack of rare and unreleased joints on here, plus Disc 4 is all freestyles so keep checking back and I'll try and get the whole lot by December 24th...
When you think of the indie rap era, it typically brings to mind that period in the late 90s when labels like Rawkus, Guesswhyld and Game and a certain type of sound came to prominence. Independent labels had obviously existed prior to that though, but it was on an even more low key and underground basis, without the additional exposure that comes with something being officially considered part of a new sub-genre or "scene". Limited pressings (as opposed to the five figure numbers Rawkus were probably shifting) and usually in plain black sleeves with limited info - no glossy sleeves and picture covers. It was rare to even know what the artists looked like and for some of them it might have been the only mark they made in the rap world. There was a slew of great, if slightly obscure, 12"s in the mid 90s and a bunch of them are included on this DJ Three tape....
So far in this series, I've posted songs by artists from Chicago, New York, LA and Miami. This time out I'm going with something from Detroit, and its by a WOMAN. Turns out some of them can rap. They'll be wanting to vote next. Anyway, like most people, I was a fan of Boss's single 'Deeper' which got some heavy rotation on Yo! MTV Raps and rap radio shows back in 93. Unlike most people (I think?) I bought her album 'Born Gangstaz', which featured production by Erick Sermon, T Ray, Chyskillz and Def Jef. The Barry White/Aswad sampling 'Deeper' was the standout track but the remix of the follow up single 'Progress Of Elimination' has always been a personal favourite...
As with some of the best female rappers, Boss had someone write her raps for her. In this instance, the aforementioned Def Jef and someone called Ricardo Royal are on biro duties, with bars that bring to mind 90s Kool G Rap and I actually thought he might've been behind this one until I checked Discogs. Boss' delivery of the street narrative is suitably on point and there's a nice late night G Funk vibe underpinning the track (not that dissimilar to the beat Jef provided for Shaq around the same time). Despite leaving us with a fairly small discography, it's probably fair to say that Boss laid the foundations for Mel B, Alesha Dixon, Rick Ross and other rappers with boobs.
I've been a bit slack keeping up with new rap this year so It's going to be a case of keeping an eye on certain people's end of year lists and cherry picking a few goodies. Fortunately the ever reliable Mike B just dropped this new mix so thought I'd link it up...
