KRS ONE 'Outta Here' unreleased original version (1993)

I tend to assume that once some rap rarity has been uploaded to the net, everyone has heard it and saved it to their harddrive, but when I mentioned this version of Outta Here during a recent twitter convo, it turned out at least a handful of people - and so probably more in the wider world - had missed out when the tape rip of Westwood playing it was posted online a few years back (by Unkut if I remember right). This is basically the same track, with one of Primo's best beats in my opinion, until we get to 1.53 when Kris speaks on that infamous visit he paid Mr Magic...



We cant be sure what the exact reasons were for the lyrics being changed before the song was officially released. Maybe Jive didn't fancy Magic getting litigious over the coke head allegations or perhaps KRS just got cold feet and switched it up himself.
It begs the question of how many other tracks of this nature there sitting in the vaults? I've already covered Lil Kim's withdrawn 2Pac dis, and I recently saw an interview with Clark Kent speaking about a savage dis track Jay Z made (also about 2Pac). There's also the Swizz Beatz produced version of 'Ether' that Large Professor mentioned, and the numerous rumoured shelved/deleted shots between Kane and Rakim. All we have now is Drake vs Meek Mill.

Biggie & Jay Z - Young Gs (OB4ZL edit)

Another one of those tracks that I've edited down to my own liking. I don't really have any problem with Puffy's rapping  as he usually has the sense and money to employ a decent ghost writer, but I always thought this track went on a bit too long. Here you have it with just Biggie and Jay's verses.



In hindsight it's kind of strange that these two on a track together was just a relatively low key album track at the time but that's resulted in it having a longer shelf life. You could say that the removal of Puff puts this on an equal footing with DITC's 'Day One' (I think that dropped first but couldn't be sure - it certainly wasn't the first time a DITC creation had been jacked for a Bad Boy release). Either way, Frank White and the dude from the My Kinda Girl remix both bring their A-game here. This also serves as a reminder that there's a lot to be said for subtle choruses and relentless, nagging hooks need not always be the order of the day. Rap Purists might not not have Twitter birthday parties for No Way Out's release date anniversary, but the 3 track sequence of Young Gs, I Love You Baby and Benjamins is up there with the best of them.

Just waiting on The Martorialist to request a Puffy solo version now.

Sad news about Phife Dawg. I re-upped this ATCQ Hot 97 freestyle from 1996  if you missed it first time out.

Cutmaster C - Cut vs The World (1998)

Mobb Deep, Noreaga, MOP, Money Boss Players, Sauce Money, Cormega, The LOX. Tape is mostly hella gully which makes the inclusion of that terrible '98 remix of 'I Want You Back' that sets off side A all the more puzzling. At least Das EFX's 'Rap Scholar' is discreetly tucked away at the end of the B-side. I thought about cutting them out but we can't pretend the 90s were flawless. C's DMX/Return Of The Mack blend is pretty nice though.

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Speaking of the 90s not being all amazing awesomeness, the recent hype around LL Cool J and Dre possibly working together  suggests that the Rap Internet has chosen to forget (or just cant remember) that they made 'Zoom' together, because that was terrible.

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.

its the uncensored version of the Firm Biz remix!

The Martorialist's recent playlist of AZ deep cuts inspired me to resurrect my search for the full, raw, uncut version of the excellent World Famous remix of The Firm's 'Firm Biz'. It's a track that I've seen mentioned in request threads and most wanted lists over the years but even in an era where pretty much every demo, alernate version and Austrian promo CD single has been uploaded, this has remained elusive. The clean version is a reasonably easy find - in the UK anyway -  as its included on the promo album sampler. In contrast, acquiring the dirty version was the result of finding a Japanese record store with some poor quality streaming audio samples of this bootleg 12", and then a seller in France who wasn't charging the earth for a copy (the extornionate shipping costs from the US to the UK are a whole 'nother topic though). This might only be a humble little Hip Hop blog based in the UK's stockbroker belt but not too many sites fucking with us when it comes to the hella rare unreleased 90s heat game...

If you're unfamiliar with the track, you need this in your life. It's one of those remixes that's essentially a completely different track rather than a remix. The chorus of the original remains intact (although it may have been resung) but the Teena Marie sample is dispensed with in favour of the awesome beats from the Malcolm McLaren classic. Half-A-Mil is drafted in to set things off with the opening verse and basically everything is lovely from there on in. The Firm album isn't actually that bad despite getting a bit of a bad press at the time, but this is better than anything on there, with the obvious exception of Phone Tap.

File this one alongside joints like '24 Hours To Live', 'Off The Books', OC's 'Dangerous' and such like, in terms of late 90s uptempo NYC rap bangers that straddled the thug/jiggy divide. Easier said than done in the era where it was hoodies and timbs vs shiny suits and god forbid anyone get in between the two. I still remember trying to find a copy of Clipse debut 12" 'The Funeral' and Uptown Records not knowing what it was ("bit underground for us mate") and Mr Bongo 2 minutes away not stocking it because "if you heard Funkmaster Flex play it we probably wont have it, mate". That's a whole 'nother topic though.

DJ Step One - Old Skool Jungle Roll-Out (2016)

The March edition of my First Of The Month mix series and I've gone to the bottom shelf, for that is where the old skool jungle lives. One hour of 1993-95 selection on this, and it's mostly on that rolling, more musical tip rather than the tear-out/ragga style . Bass heavy, amens chopped up, and just right....

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Tracklist

Cloud 9 - Mr Logic (Moving Shadow)

Origin Unknown - Valley Of The Shadows (Ram)

88.3 ft Lisa May - Wishing On A Star - VIP dub (Labello Blanco)

Wax Doctor - Kid Caprice (Metalheadz)

Danny Breaks - Droppin Science Vol 1 - side b (Droppin Science)

DJ Krust - Set Speed (V Recordings)

Tom & Jerry - Maxi(mun) Style - Nasty Jungle remix (Tom & Jerry)

Omni Trio - Together VIP (Moving Shadow)

Roni Size & DJ Die - Music Box (Full Cycle)

Rude Bwoy Monty - Summer Sumting (Frontline)

DJ Crystl - Perpetual Motion (Payday)

P Funk -  P Funk Era (Frontline)

Omni Trio - Thru The Vibe - 2 on 1 mix (Moving Shadow)

Apollo Two - Atlantis (I Need You) - LTJ Bukem remix (Good Looking)

Lennie De Ice - We R E  - Hyper Crew mix (Armshouse Crew)

Omni Trio - Renegade Snares - Foul Play remix (Moving Shadow)

Not my finest mix as far as technical skills go but in my defence I'm a bit ill (off work sick today)  and I haven't played some of these tunes in years (or ever in couple of cases as they're recent purchases). Some heavy tunes on here still. One of the reasons I thought I'd drop a mix every month this year is to try an put you on to some music you might not know about otherwise. Hopefully this does the trick. Enjoy.