Champs n ting

As this blog is 99% old music I don't tend to indulge in end of year lists and 'best of's, but as Kano's 'Garage Skank Freestyle' has rendered everything else obsolete for the last 2 months it's only right I give it some shine and name it my tune of the year (in a year where new songs I absolutely loved seemed to be in short supply). Its not one for the Purists but when have they ever been any fun?

BUY HERE

Save for a couple of tracks here and there I never really liked any early Grime - the MCing and production was a bit too raw (a nice way of saying it was terrible) but Kano stood out as someone who was a notch above the rest of the Channel U goons and could cut it with "proper" rappers. My mate had text me a link to Garage Skank and it was few days before I got round to checking it while I was stuck in traffic. The cut-n-paste style video was cool but it was Dot Rotten's beat that immediately got me. Chipmunk Soul might be my favourite rap sub-genre so something that sounded like a UK version of an early Just Blaze/State Property album deep cut was right up my street. If this was 2004 Kano could throw Twista on the remix and have a US hit in the bag.

"Your girls pum pum stinks like the A13 Beckton exit" >>> that whole Drake vs Meek Mill nonsense.

Happy Christmas.

DJ Juice - Volume 31 (1996)

DJ Juice. 1996. Legit Harlem Music Hut cover because thats how we do.

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DJ Juice - Volume 31 (1996) by Djstepone on Mixcloud

Cutmaster C - New York Undercover (1998)

Another one from the batch Rich donated. Quality isn't amazing on this one but we lived it back then so you can live with it now. This includes the Nas & Noreaga freestyle I posted recently, aswell as some parts of the infamous Hot 97 session with Nore, DMX & Canibus. You also get another radio cypher with Cru & The Lox plus some AZ, Cam'ron, Cormega and Big Pun...

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Cutmaster C - New York Undercover (1998) by Djstepone on Mixcloud

DJ Step One - So 90s Volume 2

I always seem to end up doing one of these mixes around this time of year. Mid 90s East Coast rap suits the winter time nicely so being off work yesterday I pulled out some vinyl and got busy. Here's 56 minutes of tracks from 95-96...

DJ Step One - So 90s Volume 2 by Soulfocus on Mixcloud

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Tracklist

Fat Fluids - Hands Up

Mobb Deep ft Method Man - Extortion

Masta Ace Inc - Top Ten List

Jay Z - D'Evils

Camouflage Large - Cocbacda 9

Jemini The Gifted One - 50 MCs In A Cipher

Onyx - Last Dayz (instrumental)

La The Darkman ft Raekwon - As The World Turns

Mic Geronimo ft OC & Royal Flush - Men vs Many

Jeru The Damaja - Black Cowboys

MOP - Raise Hell

KRS One - Rappaz R N Dainja (instrumental)

Jungle Brothers - The Jungle, The Brother

Lord Finesse - Flip Da Style

Royal Flush - Rotten Apple

Raekwon - Knowledge God

Jamal - Fades Em All

Biz Markie - Studda Step (instrumental)

Ill Al Skratch ft MOP, Nice & Smooth & Nine - Dr Feelgood

You can find So 90s Volume 1 here

Funkmaster Flex - NY Rap Exchange (1995)

Funkmaster Flex - NY Rap Exchange (Sept '95) by Djstepone on Mixcloud

The September 1995 edition of Westwood & Flex's Rap Exchange. As was the norm for me back then, this was edited down with the pause button to fit onto a 90 minute tape. These days the selection on here could just as easily be the set list for a DJ Lay Z B'$t@rd warm-up set at your local 90s rap night - Danger, Drop, Ice Cream, Livin Proof etc but also includes a few (what are now) deeper cuts like Fat Joe's 'Respect Mine' & 'Bronx Tale' and the dope 'Black Reign' by Ten Thieves.

DJ Clue - Springtyme Stickup 1996

As promised, here's the full Clue tape featuring the Prodigy freestyle posted below...

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DJ Clue - Springtyme Stickup 1996 by Djstepone on Mixcloud

Still plenty of Clue & DJ Juice mixes to get through, plus a few Cutmaster C bits. I'll try and mix them up with a few other things in between though.

Prodigy & Ty Nitty - DJ Clue freestyle (1996)

Taken from DJ Clue's 'Springtyme Stickup 1996'. Prodigy and Mobb affiliate Ty Nitty over GFK's 'Motherless Child' instrumental. P was a beast back then. Full tape to follow soon...

Don't Sleep #10 Co-Defendants ft Rob Base 'Get Cha Weight Up' (1993)

The 10th installment of Don't Sleep is something that I first heard on a Red Alert tape in late 1993, and ended up being one of the first import 12"s to find its way into my collection. On a 90 minute TDK that was heavy on the Hoodie & Timbs, East Coast stomp style that was the flavour of the month (Das EFX, Onyx, LONS, Jeru, Wu Tang etc) this track really stood out as something different. A lazy blunted flow that wouldnt have sounded out of place on a West Coast/G Funk beat and a random cameo by none other than Rob Base have made this one a personal favourite over the years...