DJ Step One - Bagleys Flex [96-99 drum n bass mix]

Some more non-rap stuff. About once or twice a year I pull out my drum & bass records and bounce around mixing them for an hour. This is the stuff I learned to mix with, and the soundtrack to my first years of clubs and raves so there's a lot of memories attached to some of these tracks. That jump-up style of the late 90s had a certain energy to it and although like any dance music it could be a bit formulaic at times, 18 year old me was perfectly happy with a half speed intro, hip hop samples, a big ol' snare roll and some hoover bass.

tracklist

Shy FX - The Message (Ebony)

Special K - Knowledge (Proper Talent)

DJ Die - Special Treat (V Recordings)

EPS & 2Vibe - Hype The Funk (Urban Takeover)

Omni Trio - Trippin On Broken Beats (Moving Shadow)

DJ Hype & MC Fats - Peace Love & Unity (True Playaz)

Peshay - Miles From Home (Mo Wax)

Firefox & Suvivor - Back Out Of Dis (Philly Blunt)

DJ Zinc - On Fire Tonight (Ganja)

DJ Rap - Hardstep (Proper Talent)

Evil II - Cops Ain't Shit (Evil)

Origin Unknown -Valley Of The Shadows (awake 96 mix) (Ram)

Roni Size - Brut Force (Full Cycle)

Love Nation - Positive (Cru L T remix) (JAL)

Shimon & Andy C - Nightflight (Ram)

Step One & Mystery - Verbal Assault (Direct Drive)

Ray Keith - Do It (V Recordings)

Mystical Influence - Dub Plate Pressure (Vinyl Syndicate)

Swoosh - Ya Rockin (Back2Basics)

Trend - Tune Your Bass (Live)

Jungle Brothers - Jungle Brothers (Urban Takeover remix) (Gee St)

Adam F - Circles (remix) (Section 5)

DJ Vadim on XFM (2004)

If you have family round over the next week, you might need some non-rap stuff to play in the background while they babble on about whatever it is they do. There's definitely some jazz in this mix, and some funky breakbeat type stuff, but I'm not sure about the rest. Psych-rock perhaps? I don't really know what that is. Sounds decent anyway.

Radio 1 Rap Exchange with Funkmaster Flex (21.01.95)

This was a tape I played to death but hadn't ripped until now. I've actually already posted a different recording of the show that Diablo gave me, which had the segments with Mobb Deep, Nas, Raekwon and Lil Dap in the studio. This new rip has the interviews cut out (I think I saved the freestyles on a separate tape) and is just Flex in the mix for 90 minutes. It's been pause buttoned here and there but this is how I remember it...

Here's the rip of Diablo's tape which picks up about 30 mins in


and here's the Mobb Deep and Nas freestyle

at some point I'll edit the 2 together and get that up on the Hip Hop Radio Archive

DJ Skully & Sasha D - Summer 2003 mix

This is a full on exclusive as it was never actually released at the time, so thanks to Skully for excavating this one from his hard drive and sharing it with us. It's a nice mix of mostly US indie joints with a couple of UK bits including a Klashnekoff & Skriblah freestyle that I don't think you'll find anywhere else.

Tracklist

Louis Logic - Idiot Gear

Dilated Peoples - Bullet Train

MF Doom - The Mic Sound Nice

Ugly Duckling - Rio De Janeiro

Madlib - unknown

Klashnekoff & Skriblah - Freestyle

Smiley The Ghetto Child - Wake Up Call

Mr Voodoo - Regulation Time

Roc Marciano - Game Of Death

Madvillain - Money Folder

Kyza - Harsh Reality

C Ray Walz - Camouflage

Jus Biz - Straight From '95

De La Soul - Much More

Louis Logic - Dos Factotum

Defari - For The Love

Quest - Freestyle

previously: DJ Skully - 1Xtra All- Star mix (2007)

DJ 279 on Choice FM 12.05.95

The Number Man doing it up with the new releases on Choice FM's Friday Night Flavas from May '95. Quality is a tad muddy but listenable. This one includes that unreleased Bomdigi remix I posted recently. Shout to Diablo for the tape.

Run DMC live in London (1986)

Taken from this 1995 Radio 1 Rap Show, here's 18 minutes of the mythical night at Peoples Club in Paddington, West London where Run DMC, Whodini, Hurricane and Cut Creator (and possibly even LL Cool J) performed and freestyled for 3 hours at an after party on the Raising Hell tour.

Other snippets of the night have been online before and Westwood even played some of it back in his LWR days, but I don't think we'll ever get to hear the full session. I messaged DMC on twitter hoping to get more info but all he could offer was "I remember that night! Fun as hell!!!"

There was a good interview with Tim a few years ago on the XXL site where he spoke about the club:

"People's Club, that was like one of the first black-owned clubs in this country. It was originally called the Q Club, but then it lost its license. In those days, clubs could operate without a license so it was like an illegal club and that used to go on until 6, 7, 8 o'clock on a Friday morning and it was just crazy. It was a real hood spot; you're talking about the '80s here so there was a lot of guys dressing like pimps and it would be a lot of their girls in there as well. There would be a lot of pimps, a lot of drug dealers. You couldn't use the toilet in there because it was like a drug-dealing [den]. By 6 in the morning, there'd be a smoke cloud in the basement and there'd be people smoking coke and crack and it was just one of those extreme street spots, but that's where I played every Thursday.

And what used to happen was Whodini used to record their albums over in London 'cause they were signed to Jive Records and their studios were only in London so they'd be over. And people like Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, but they didn't really come to the club like Whodini did. And then when that Raising Hell Tour with Run-D.M.C., Beastie Boys and Whodini came, they all used to just come down there and freestyle for hours and just hang out and get high. Larry Smith, rest in peace, he used to come there every Thursday. You couldn't buy anything by the glass, it was only bottles. You could only buy like a bottle of champagne, a bottle of brandy, a bottle of wine. As a young kid, like 18, 19, 20, just growing up in that environment, it was like the best experience"

State Property - Hot 97 Takeover (2001)

Chances are you've heard this before, or at least some of it, but as it appeared on the second half of a Westwood show I just ripped I thought I'd post it up. Jay Z takes his crew of Philly spitters and Memphis Bleek up to Funk Flex's Hot 97 show and plays hypeman (somewhat annoyingly in hindsight) while they rap their AF1s off for the best part of 90 minutes. This is some legendary early 00s rap radio and no mistake. It's things like this where Spotify and their ilk will always fall short. Jay would make a killing if he could get mixtape shit like this on Tidal.

I'm not sure when this actually went down. Westwood is playing it in September but the time stamp on the camcorder footage on Youtube says January 2001. Anyone confirm?

The Radio 1 Rap Show I linked to above was actually the last one of the huge collection of tapes of shows from '99-'03 that I was given nearly 3 years ago. Can't believe I actually got them all done. The Westwood Archives Mixcloud page is looking pretty good as a result of that and contributions from others and is currently at 360 shows (mostly from myself) from 1987 to 2004. Still on the look out for more tapes so get in touch if you can help.

Other stuff that I meant to mention on the last update and forgot:

Filthy Rich stays busy cranking out the mixes, with his latest drops marking the anniversary releases of Pharoahe Monch's Internal Affairs and Method Man's Tical LPs

DJ Diablo (who's responsible for a good chunk of the Westwood tapes I've posted amongst other things) kicks off his new podcast with an interview with DJ MK. Some more big guests are promised for future episodes.

Random Rap Radio stays doing the most - recent posts include DJ Premier on Hot 97 back in '95, an Evil Dee Tape Kingz breakbeat mixtape and the classic Hobo Junction vs Heiroglyphics battle on the Wake Up Show in '94.

That should keep you busy.

Hot 97 - July '94

Some Hot 97 action from the summer of '94, with host Paco Lopez and then Balthazar for the last 15 minutes. Being an early evening slot this is a slightly more mainstream playlist than you might get on a Flex or Evil Dee mixshow but it's a nice selection nonetheless. I won't spoil it with a tracklist but if you want to pretend it's not dark and freezing outside tomorrow stick this one on and remember a time when Wu Tang dropping that guest verse on SWV's Anything was a big deal.

I would definitely recommend Its Overture's '94 State Of Mind' to accompany this.

Thanks to Random Rap Radio for the (unlabelled) tape. He's been busy over there recently so go see him.

Chubb Rock - Capital Rap Show freestyle

Chubb Rock is very good at rapping but doesn't really get the props he deserves. He kills this appearance on Westwood while Clark Kent mans the tables cutting up Welcome To The Terrordome.

This turned up on a tape Craig gave me, which is labelled July '95 so maybe Westwood dug it out of the archives for a Radio 1 show off the back off Chubb's sterling performance on the Crooklyn Dodgers record.

Queen Latifah - Name Callin part II (1998)

I first heard this on a Westwood tape from '98 and recently picked it up on Discogs. A jackin-for-beats style white label dis track very much ticked all the boxes for me in terms of the kind of thing I liked discovering when out digging. Like LL, Latifah went on to enjoy success outside of rap but could still get nasty on the mic when necessary. I don't know what sparked this off and she doesn't name any names here but given the year you can probably guess who she's talking about.

Guru freestyle (2005)

DOWNLOAD

I saw Guru performing with Solar and Doo Wop back in 2005 and copped this mix CD after the show. It's basically a best of mix, hosted by Guru but it seems like he's also playing the tracks. Off one deck. Low budget merch issues aside  - maybe it was done at short notice, when I bought my ticket it was billed as a Gang Starr show - what did make it worth getting was the freestyles over some non-Gang Starr Premier beats, such as The 6th Sense, So Ghetto, Nas Is Like, Unbelievable and also Quiet Storm.  I posted them up in zipfile about 8 years ago but they're all pretty short so I figured it would be easier to paste them all together into one continuous track.

Stretch & Bobbito on WKCR (02.09.95)

The 'Wild Pitch extravaganza' show, with MC Serch & DJ Eclipse in the studio showcasing Wild Pitch's new roster. Foul Play, Total Pack and Jesse West are all in the building to play their forthcoming releases and kick a freestyle. OC also puts in an appearance and as you would expect he stands out from his label mates by some distance. Unfortunately 3 months later - the 8th May to be precise - Serch would be on Wildman Steve's WBAU show announcing that Wild Pitch was no more and that the label closed that day. Foul Play and Total Pack would be shelved, their material confined to Eclipse's Wild Pitch Blends mixtape (although the Foul Play demos eventually got the ltd edition vinyl treatment). Jesse West released Put Your Boots On 2 years later but never really made the most of his early association with Puff & Biggie.Obviously OC went on to do well for himself and make his mark.

The full tracklist for this show is online so it must've been uploaded before but I just found a tape of it in a stack of unmarked cassettes that Random Rap Radio donated to me so big up Craig for this one.

download at the hip hop radio archive

It's Overture - 94 State Of Mind

It's Overture only drop a mix about once a year so it's always a bit of a treat so get something new from them. This time around they multi track the shit out of 1994 and the results are excellent. It's only 26 minutes long but there's never a dull moment.

SOUNDCLOUD

Make sure you check out their other mixes if you haven't already, in particular the Hot 97 Summer '96 one.

Erick Sermon - Bomdigi (unreleased version)

Tobes put me up on this some time ago when it was still on Youtube. He has since hooked up a tape rip from an old 279 show which is what I've put on Soundcloud for your listening pleasure. Having asked around the 90s rap knowledge gods on the internet, no one seems to know about this. It could well be the original version of Bomdigi that was shelved due to sample clearance but it doesn't even seem to have made it on to a bootleg 12" which is unusual. It does feature the late Tommy Gunn so essentially it's a different version of the remix rather than the original E Dub solo version. Guessing it's tucked away on some Def Jam promo tape somewhere. The beat is lovely though - that soul sample wouldn't have sounded out of place 10 years later.

London Posse live in London (1991)

UK dons Rodney P and Bionic performing Gangster Chronicle, Live Like The Other Half Do and Jump Around at Westwood's Live To London jam at The Arches in Vauxhall, which was broadcast on Capital FM, hence the "censored version, seen?!".

Not much UK rap from the 80s and 90s has aged particularly well imo but all the London Posse stuff still holds it's own. Shame we never got that 2nd album around the time How's Life In London came out.



Thanks to Diablo for the tape of this one.

download at the hip hop radio archive

DJ Scian Smooth - Trunk Of Treats 2 (1996)

I'm a bit short on tapes to rip right now so I've been perusing the blogs and forums of years gone by to see what download links are still live, and I found a few treats. Firstly shout out to Mediafire; we may have had our differences in the past but if you can host a link for 10 years then respect is due. Unfortunately about 90% of uploads I found were using other hosting sites and as a result are now lost in the ether.
While I sort through my various finds here's something mixtape blogspot don (and Mediafire user) Grime & Lime posted over 5 year ago. Tapes from '96 are my fall back option when I'm not sure what to listen to so this one did the job nicely.

DOWNLOAD

[if you've been thinking that you should get in touch ahout sending me some tapes to rip but never get around to it now would be a good time]

DJ Triple C mixtape (1992)

First thing to say about this is the quality isn't the best, although once again it's been improved by the Random Rap Radio Remastering Service. It's got that slightly muddy and distorted feel in places that definitely gives off that whole 'rumbling out of a boom box in Camden Market on a Saturday afternoon' feeling from way back in the day.
If it was your standard tape from say, '95 (you know the ones with Wu, Biggie, Nas, Mobb etc) I probably wouldn't have posted it but it's from '92, when the scene wasn't as saturated, and it's also by Triple C who isn't a DJ you come across too often. More importantly it contains some Unreleased Heat ™. At the start of side 2 Triple C announces he's just been in the studio with Lord Tariq, Minnesota and DJ Scratch and then drops the exclusive. There's also someone rhyming on the track by the name of Pete Lova which we can safely assume is Peter Gunz. Now Deja Vu is still 5 years off at this point but Tariq and Gunz would end up releasing a couple of singles as part of Gunrunners (**obscure + expensive indie vinyl claxon**) before Minnesota and Tariq found some success with Money Boss Players, so this demo track is very much the foundation of that whole crew. If you don't have time to check the whole tape I posted the song on Soundcloud.

The rest of the tape is solid. Of course it is, it's 1992...

tracklist

Pete Rock & CL Smooth - Straighten It Out

Kenny Dope - Axxis

Fu-Schnickens - True Fu-Schnick

Wreckx N Effect - Rump Shaker

Mary J Blige - Real Love (remix)

Grand Puba - 360 (What Goes Around) (remix)

A TEEM - Yeah

House Of Pain - Jump Around (Pete Rock remix)

Redman - Blow Your Mind

EPMD - Cummin Atcha

LOTUG - Psycho (instrumental)

Diamond D - Freestyle (Yo Thats That Shit)

MC Serch - Back To The Grill Again

Triple C, Lord Tariq, Pete Lova & Minnesota - unreleased track

Take 6 - Spread Love (45 King remix)

Yo Yo - Black Pearl

Mary J Blige - Reminisce

Gang Starr - BYS

EPMD - Nobodys Safe Chump

Diamond D - Best Kept Secret

A Tribe Called Quest - Hot Sex

Zhigge - Born Black

LOTUG - Check It

Das EFX - Straight Out The Sewer

EPMD - Can't Hear Nothin But The Music

Eric B & Rakim - What's Going On

Prince Ikey C - Smoked We Out

The discovery of this was made all the more satisfying by it turning up unannounced on a cassette that was labelled as a Radio 1 Rap Show from '99 (cheers G&L!)

Large Professor on Kiss FM (2002)

Big Ted and Shortee Blitz interviewing The Live Guy With Glasses on their Kiss show back in 2002, when his First Class album was about to drop.

Shout out to Ted for posting this on his blog back in 2011. I thought I'd get it up on Mixcloud for those that missed it first time around.

Chubby Chub mixtape (1994)

Chubby Chub doesn't tend to get mentioned in the same breath as the likes of Doo Wop or Ron G, and his tapes aren't exactly all over the net, but they have become quite sought after in recent years. This is mainly because a few of them contain some early Jay Z material which still remains unreleased. Chub was rolling with Original Flavour back in the day so he was around Jay and was probably the first mixtape DJ supporting him. This tape has the first version of a demo cut called In The Park, which is pretty short but still of interest given that it seems everything he's had a hand in has been online by now.
On a less multi-billionaire rapper tip, there's also a Buckwild remix of Don't Stress Me by Grand Daddy IU and as far as I can tell that never came out either. Being that it's from (mid?) 1994 the rest of the tape is just splendid...

Chubby Chub - Intro

Big Daddy Kane - In The PJs

MC Eiht - All For The Money

Jay Z - In The Park (first version)

Nice & Smooth ft Slick Rick - Lets All Get Down

A Tribe Called Quest ft Busta Rhymes - One, Two, Shit

Nas - Represent

Grand Daddy IU - Don't Stress Me (Buckwild remix)

Kurious ft Sadat X & Mike G - A Mansion And A Yacht

Jeru The Damaja - My Mind Spray

Artifacts - C'mon Wit Da Get Down

Shyheim  - Pass It Off

Notorious BIG & Sadat X - Come On

OC - Times Up

Mic Geronimo - Shits Real

Jay Z - I Cant Get Wit That

A Tribe Called Quest ft Know Naim - Oh My God (remix)

Nas - The World Is Yours (Q Tip remix)

DaBrat - Funkdafied

Big Daddy Kane - Daddys Home

unknown - party break

Nice & Smooth - Return Of The Hip Hop Freaks

Beastie Boys ft Q Tip - Get It Together

Rayvon - No Guns No Murder

Mad Lion - Take It Easy

Terminator X ft Joe Sinistr - Under The Sun

Wu Tang Clan - Ain't Nuthin Ta Fuck Wit

Champ MC - Keep It Real (Pete Rock remix)

unknown - unknown

Lady of Rage - Afro Puffs

Public Enemy - Give It Up

Thanks to DJ Yoda for the cassette, and shout out to Random Rap Radio for remastering my rip and improving the quality. Not entirely sure on the title for this one. The tape itself just had 7-1 written on it.

Cuttin off wack kids...

You know how we do. I'll do the whole album if I have to. I don't need to hear Royce 5'9, Conway & Rapsody or whoever else shoehorned into this.

DOWNLOAD

(temporary alternate link if mediafire isn't liking it)

Biggie & Craig Mack on Hot 97 (1994)

Not a tape I've ripped myself, but something I recently came across when I was browsing Soundcloud for the first time in ages. Brandan (shout out to Brandan) posted this up 3 years ago so you may have heard it already. To begin with I assumed it would be the show that spawned the infamous Live at The Palladium freestyle that appeared on the Nuttin But Flava 12", particularly as the freestyle on this uses the same Mad Lion instrumental. This is before that though, and is probably the Bad Boy duo's first appearance on Flex's influential Street Jam show. He's asking Biggie where he's from, what name he's officially going under and what label he's on, and he later has the exclusive play of Juicy although as you'll hear from his conversation with Puffy, Unbelievable hadn't made it's way onto his promo CD at this point. Hearing Big drop (at that time unheard) lyrics from Juicy and Everyday Struggle over Impeach The President and Craig Mack following him with Flava In Ya Ear about to hit the streets is a pretty iconic moment so although I don't usually jack content from other people I had to have this one and give it some additional shine. I've edited it down so you'll have to check Soundcloud if you want to hear Flex in the mix for the 50 minutes that preceded this. It was ripped at a really low bit rate unfortunately but it's listenable.

If you don't have time for the whole thing, here's the freestyle...



If you need more Fat Chris in your life Filthy Rich just dropped a Ready To Die 25th Anniversary Tribute mix. Check his Gravediggaz/Organized Konfusion blend project too while you're there.

Also, I'm running low on tapes to rip at the moment so if you've got any an want to share get in touch. I can return them when I'm done.

McGruff Rugged & Raw aka If It Ain't McGruff It Ain't Me [a Herb McGruff compilation]

Over the last few years my waning (now pretty much non-existent) interest in new Hip Hop has meant I've gone back and discovered a new found appreciation for artists who I'd previously enjoyed, but perhaps never delved to deep into their catalogues. I've already hit you off with a Sauce Money compilation, and on a similar tip is this Herb McGruff collection. 

Signed by Heavy D to Uptown after the rest of his Children Of The Corn crew had found deals elsewhere, McGruff's debut album Destined To Be suffered from his label's attempts to jump on the Bad Boy bandwagon of the moment and have him dropping jiggy club efforts rather than the more thugged out Harlem-centric content that was his strong suit. Kind of understandable given that Uptown properly dropped the ball with Biggie (worst label decision ever in rap?) but history has shown us that the industry has a track record of signing acts with a big street buzz and then getting them to move away from the style that made them popular to chase radio play. In McGruff's case he got off to a good start with the Harlem Kids Get Biz promo 12", but the album had far too many lukewarm, middle of the road joints like Gruff Express and didn't really make much of an impression. What was interesting was the amount of collabs, features, and mixtape only/bootleg tracks that were circulating around the same time, and that's what makes up the bulk of this compilation.

I'm not sure if it was just bad timing, people stealing his ideas or vice versa but Herbert seems to have a issue in the jackin for beats department which probably hindered his progress somewhat. Creep is dope, but it's based around the same break Biggie used on Warning. Nasty with Foxy Brown uses the World Famous Supreme Team beat that's far too similar to the Firm Biz remix which dropped around the same time. Make It Hot has the same Eugene Wild sample recognisable from Foxy and Blackstreet's monster Get Me Home. I've included them all because 20+ years on it's not much of an issue but you can see how it may have been a problem at the time. 

I haven't really ventured into his re-emergence with Dipset in the 2000s so its mostly mid-late 90s material, and although it's pretty heavy on collaborations and guest appearances it's a decent representation of the man's work. Pick of the bunch for me is Harlem World with Mase on the hook, which samples Strawberry Letter 23. There's also East And Police produced by Godfather Don off 2008's The Demo EP,  a couple of the better tracks off the album in Reppin Uptown with The Lox and the aforementioned Harlem Kids Get Biz and some looseys like Bow Down with Mob Style and the mixtape only Hell Up In Harlem with Black Rob, Cardan & Cam'ron.

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East And Police 

Creep

Villain Guys 

Harlem World ft Mase

Freestyle

Reppin Uptown ft The LOX

Harlem NYC - Beats 2 Blow remix with Bootsie & Big L

Uptown Connection ft Mase & Big L

Harlem Kids Get Biz

Hell Up In Harlem with Black Rob, Cam'ron & Cardan

Pure Uncut Raw with Eightball, Canibus & DMX

Bow Down ft Mob Style & Meeno

Nasty ft Foxy Brown

Kay Slay freestyle

Obviously these were taken from a variety of sources - CD, vinyl, digital, some official, some less so. If you've got anything else that should've been included let me know.

DJ Skully - 1Xtra All Star Mix (2007)

Excellent mix by DJ Skully recorded for DJ Semtex's 1Xtra show, with a load of dubplate specials by some big UK artists alongside some US classics.

tracklist

DJ Semtex - Intro

Big Pun & Fat Joe - Twinz

J Dilla ft Frank & Dank - Pause

Keith Murray - The Most Beautifullest Thing In This World

A Tribe Called Quest - 1nce Again

Little Brother - Light It Up

Nas - Halftime

Tragedy Khadafi ft Imam Thug - True Confessions

Method Man ft Mary J Blige - All I Need (Puff Daddy remix)

Fab 5 - Leflah

Nas -  Nas Is Like

Lowkey - Freestyle

Roots Manuva - Witness (1 Hope)

Task Force - Graf Da Bus Up

Klashnekoff - Murda (DJ Skully special)

Verb T & The Last Skeptik - Heaven (Among The Stars)

Kyza - Lights Out

Jehst - Alcoholic Author

Jehst - Made You Look freestyle

DJ Mentat ft Skinnyman - When I Give My Heart To You

Skriblah & Kyza - Angels Beside Me

M9 - Freestyle

Beat Butcha - instrumental

Fallacy - Scream Back (DJ Skully special)

DJ Clue - You Can't Impeach The President '99

This has been online before but I just ripped my own copy and thought I'd post it as a) it's the first Clue tape I bought and b) it's full of bangers. Of particular note is Hate Me Now as an exclusive, an early airing of Full Clip, Eminem's Role Model (not 97 Bonnie & Clyde as the cover states) and some treats off Ruff Ryders Vol 1. You also get a young Fabolous opening up proceedings and an up and coming Ludacris closing the tape with a brief freestyle over the Ha instrumental. This is also the tape that put me up on Cali Chronic and the Deja Vu remix. All in all it was £10 well spent.

Filthy Rich - Creep Wit Me: 25th Anniversary mix

GO HERE

Mista Sinista & Roc Raida - Lesson #1 (1996)

I've had this tape for ages (think it's another one Tobes gave me) but for one reason or another never got around to ripping it. Possibly because I thought it was going to be an hour of **fresh! aaahh!** being scratched to death with a 9 minute Peter Piper routine at the end. I'm pleased to say that it's not, and it's actually a nice selection from the summer of '96...

DOWNLOAD

tracklist

Jungle Brothers - How You Want It We Got It

Shadez of Brooklyn - Change

Sadat X- The Hashout

A Tribe Called Quest - The Pressure

De La Soul - Dog Eat Dog

The Roots - Clones

Wu Tang Clan - America Is Dying Slowly

Natural Elements - NYC

Nas - Street Dreams

MOP - Brownsville

The Arsonists - The Sessions

Large Professor - Ijustwannachill

Jay Z - Can't Knock The Hustle

Sadat X - The Lump Lump

Kukoo Da Bagabonez - Real Kukoo

A Tribe Called Quest - 1nce Again

Inspectah Deck & U God - Semi Automatic

Camouflage Large - Cocbacda 9

Blahzay Blahzay - Blah Blah Blah

A Tribe Called Quest - Baby Phife's Return

Capone N Noreaga - Illegal Life

Ill Advised - Against The Grain

Jay Z - D'evils

Big Shug - Crush

Sadat X ft Grand Puba - Open Bar

Clark Kent - In Control on WBLS (1989)

I've been going back through some tapes and re-ripping things at 320 kbps whilst trying to date them (for HHRA purposes, but also just because having several shows labelled with just a year gets confusing) and have come across a few bits that I've never posted before. This recording of In Control was one such thing. I think it was part of the first bundle Tobes gave me. Anyway, Clark Kent is on mixing duties on Marley's show filling in for Pete Rock who's off on tour with Heavy D & The Boyz. I've dated it based on the ticket giveaway for the Livin Large Rap Contest at The Apollo on September 16th. Clark gets busy.

download at the hip hop radio archive

Charlie Chase - Live in Camden (2000)

Copped this one off Yoda. It says "live" but its actually a studio mix. I've not heard the whole tape yet and the tracklist is a bit all over the place. To be fully honest reading it is causing me minor anxiety but that probably says more about me than anything else. Either way, how often do you see a Charlie Chase mixtape? .

Boot Camp Clik Favourites (mixed by Bad Cop)

Big up Bad Cop for this one...

tracklist

Black Moon – Reality (Killing Every…)

Black Moon - One-Two

Black Moon – Murder MC’s

Smif-N-Wessun Feat. Top Dog & Starang Wondah - Sound Bwoy Bureill

Heltah Skeltah – Place To Be

Smif-N-Wessun Feat. Rock – Wontime

Black Moon - Buckshots Freestyle Joint

Black Moon Feat. Dru Ha, Havoc & Smif-N-Wessun – U Da Man (DJ Evil Dee Remix)

O.G.C. – X-Unknown

Davey Dex – Throw Ya Handz Up (No Fear Beat)

The Fab 5 - Leflaur Leflah Eshkoshka Pt.2

Cocoa Brovaz - Drama

Heltah Skeltah - Boom Bap Bip

Heltah Skeltah – Operation Lockdown

Black Moon – The Streets

Black Moon - Niguz Talk Shit

Black Moon - Powaful Impak!

Boot Camp Clik – Stretch & Bobbito Freestyle 1994

Boot Camp Clik – Wake Up Show Anthem #2

Richie Rich - Rap Academy on Kiss FM (1991)

Another out of Yoda's collection. Richie Rich's show on Kiss, with guests Force N K.Zee in the house for an interview and freestyle session.

download at the hip hop radio archive

Lord Finesse - Hardpack freestyle (1992)

This is raw. The Funky Man drops a lengthy freestyle filled with his trademark slick talk and punchlines while Buckwild holds down the 1200s. No idea if this has been online before but I heard it today, realised I hadn't ripped it and as I haven't dropped many freestyles recently, here it is.

DOWNLOAD

Mister Cee - Hittin Ya In Da Head (1995)

"I heard it on Kiss with Red Alert..."

Another one from the Yoda collection. Uncle Red on Kiss FM, this time from 1990 and the selection is ridiculously classic. If you don't enjoy hearing Spread Love with a "45 King exclusive" drop on it then you might be dead inside.

download at the hip hop radio archive

Total Control promo

Kool G Rap & DJ Polo - Streets Of New York

Take 6 - Spread Love (45 King remix)

A Tribe Called Quest - Bonita Applebum

A Tribe Called Quest - Bonita Applebum (remix)

X Clan - Verbal Milk

DJ Premier - Red Alert Chant

Eazy E - Eazy Street (dub)

Just Ice - Goin Way Back (dub)

Nice & Smooth - No Bones In Ice Cream

Eric B & Rakim - In The Ghetto (extended mix)

Jungle Brothers ft Caron Wheeler - Black Woman

BDP - Loves Gonna Getcha

T Wiz - Good Thing Goin

The Funke Natives - Urban Contemporary Jeep Music

JVC Force  - Intro 2 Dance

Poor Righteous Teachers - Rock Dis Funky Joint

En Vogue - Hold On

LL Cool J - The Boomin System

BDP - House Niggas

Nice & Smooth - Funky For You

K Solo - Ya Moms In My Business

YZ - Thinking Of A Masterplan

Thanks to Random Rap Radio for helping with the tracklist.

Doo Wop on the Radio 1 Rap Show (1996)

An hour long Doo Wop mix recorded especially for the Radio 1 Rap Show. Things start off with a Keith Murray and Redman freestyle (over Teddy Pendergrass' Believe In Love, no less) and its all good from then on in.

download at the hip hop radio archive

tracklist

Keith Murray & Redman - Freestyle

Busta Rhymes & Rampage - Abandon Ship

OGC & Heltah Skeltah - LeFlah part 2

Smooth Da Hustler - Hustlers Theme

Tragedy ft Prodigy & CNN - LA LA

Doo Wop - Freestyle

Fugees - Killing Me Softly

Uneek - Diamonds

Bahamadia - Wordplay

Paula Perry - Paula's Jam

Brandy - Best Friend (blend w/ Real Live Shit)

Yvette Michelle ft Doo Wop - Everynight And Everyday (remix)

Busta Rhymes ft Zhane - Its A Party

Lost Boyz - Renee (remix)

Lost Boyz - Freestyle

Mad Lion & KRS One - Double Trouble

Large Professor - Mad Scientist

Jay Z - 22 Two's

Rakim - New York To Cali

Shout to the legendary DJ Yoda for providing the tape of this one. He was good enough to hook me up with this and a few others out of his collection recently so there's more treats on the way over the next few weeks. Coincidentally, I recently posted the first part of this show a few weeks ago and was a bit disappointed to find the recording cut off before the mix started, so this was a nice surprise.

Biz Markie - Theory Of Old School

More classic funk and soul from The Diabolical one. Perfect Sunday cool out music.

Filthy Rich - 90s Canadian Hip Hop Vol 3

Another dope mix from the prolific Filthy Rich....




I'm getting a bit envious of his ability to keep putting out quality mixes on such a regular basis tbh.

Don't Sleep #17 Alley High - Voo Doo / World Wide (1996)

Voo Doo is something that I've heard on a couple of different tapes over the years and it caught my attention both times, only for me to find what it was and then promptly forget about it. Thanks to Tobes for IDing it again this time around when it turned up on this Friday Nite Flavas show, after which I swiftly made a purchase before I forgot it again (it's hella rare that any records I want are not only reasonably priced but also available from a UK seller). Both sides of the 12" are nice, with a kind of Camp Lo vibe to them. It's a bit of an obscure one but well worth your attention.

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All Discogs tells us about Alley High is that this was their only release, which is a shame as it sounds like they had some potential. What is surprising is that Voo Doo is produced by DJ Milo, who was a founder member of Bristol's legendary Wild Bunch crew. While some of the other members went off and became stoner/broadsheet favourites Massive Attack (and - if you believe the rumours - Banksy), Milo bounced to NYC, hooked up with Salaam Remi and had a hand in a track on Zhigge's album. Zhigge featured on a track on Harlem High Records's only release which is also a Milo production, and is likely the same imprint as Alley High's Harlem High Entertainment so they could well have been rolling with that whole crew.

DJ E-Man on Power 106 (30.12.96)

Another E-Man mix on LA's Power 106, this time with Big Boy hosting the 'Micky Ficky Mix' of some new joints and classics. I need more tapes of LA radio.

download at the hip hop radio archive

Q Unique - Beats For The Breakers

Q Unique from The Arsonists in DJ mode with a mix of Ultimate Breaks & Beats type staples

Kid Capri - 4 / 2 / 91

Kid Capri killing it back in '91. The title on the cover is a bit misleading as at the time the tracks were all new, but judging by the artwork (similar to tapes from 95-98) this is a re-issue from a a years later.

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I don't think this one has been online before so thanks to Diablo for hooking this up.

Radio 1 Rap Show 27.01.95 w/ Coolio & Tom Silverman

Lots going on in this show, with Coolio, his DJ Wino and the 40 Thevz in the house, alongside Tommy Boy boss Tom Silverman, doing some promo for the New Jersey Drive soundtrack.
This tape is one of Diablo's but I definitely had the big ass 20 minute freestyle back in the day, where Coolio and the Thevz go off for bloody ages over Craig Mack's Get Down and the Fuschnickens Breakdown instrumentals (side note: long freestyle sessions benefit hugely from multiple beat changes. Tell Black Thought next time he's up at Flex). Anyway, I stuck this freestyle on the end of my dub of Coolio's It Takes A Thief to fill up the space on the TDK, which was the style at the time.
I've not heard that album in forever but suspect it might still be quite good, if you can get past the whole Gangstas Paradise/Celebrity Big Brother nonsense. Seems strange to think that Coolio was not only once one of the biggest rap artists on the planet, but that he also appears on Death Certificate.
If you like freestyles you also get the Wu live in concert when they were still young, fresh and BFFs and a Masta Ace Inc freestyle. In amongst all that was 2 tracks I didn't recognise. One was Yes N Deed by Society which I was surprised to discover is on Luke Records (thanks to Stilts at DWG for the ID), and the other one in between Wu and Double XX Posse which remains a mystery. Anyone know it? 

tracklist

Kenny Dope - Joints Vol 1 (1999)

Excellent mix of golden era classics by Kenny Dope...

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People throw around the word legend loosely these days but the depth and diversity of KD's production catalogue speaks for itself. Don't sleep on his DJ skills though - I once saw him do an impromptu back to back (literally) on 4 decks with DJ Spinna at a BBE night at The End and they killed it.

Big up Diablo for this one - I think it might be the same mix Westwood played on his show back in '99 but here it is in it's full glory.

Clark Kent, Biz Markie & Funkmaster Flex live at Mecca (1994)

Recorded live on a Sunday night in NYC back in early '94 (I'm guessing), with Clark Kent, Biz and Flex on the tables at Mecca. If you've checked a few tapes of club nights from this period you'll know that the selection tends to be largely the same but it's a good listen regardless - classic hip hop, funk & soul and breaks.

Evil Dee - Monday Night Flava Mix on Hot 97 (1996)

Another Evil Dee show on Hot 97, this time with Mic Geronimo in the studio. There's also an ad for the The Wiz promoting Eazy E's new album which apparently is/was "the most anticipated hip hop album of all time". Who knew?

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tracklist

Group Home - The Realness

AZ - Your World Don't Stop

Mad Lion & KRS One - Double Trouble

Heltah Skeltah - Let The Brainz Blo

unknown - unknown

Group Home - Suspended In Time (remix)

Large Professor - Mad Scientist

Paula Perry - Paula's Jam

Camp Lo - Killin Em Softly

Pharcyde - Drop (remix)

INI - Props

Mic Geronimo - interview

Mic Geronimo - Wherever You Are

Mic Geronimo ft OC & Royal Flush - Men vs Many

Mic Geronimo - Life Check

Mic Geronimo - Freestyle

INI - Props

Bahamadia - Rugged Ruff

Yvette Michelle - Everynight Everyday (blend w/ Doin It)

Capital Rap Show 14.01.94 with Afrika Islam

Afrika Islam gets in the mix Zulu Beats style on the Capital Rap Show back in '94

Mr Choc & DJ E-Man - Friday Nite Flavas on Power 106 (1996)

Nice to get my hands on some 90s West Coast radio for a change. It definitely wasn't easy to come by in the UK and isn't widely shared online as far as I can tell. This was one of a couple of tapes of Power 106 in LA that Diablo hooked me up with. Mr Choc of the Beat Junkies hosts with DJ E-Man on the tables (who seems to be in the stations in-house mix DJ) and Jeru The Damaja is their guest. Akinyele is announced as being on the show as well but unfortunately doesn't appear on this recording. E-Man is nice in the mix and I'll be posting more from him soon.

Download at the Hip Hop Radio Archive

Tracklist

Spinbad & JS 1 - The Cold Cutz Remixes

Bit of a classic tape this one, as Spinbad and JS 1 rework a bunch of (what are now) golden era joints. This is where that Hip Hop vs Rap remix comes from. Full tracklist here.

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DJ 3rd Rail & AMC - Big L mix (RIP 2-15-99)

60 minutes of Lil Mont Mont solo tracks and collabs with his DITC crew, bought to you by Chicago's DJ 3rd Rail & AMC.

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Big up to Diablo for this one.

Stretch & Bobbito on WKCR 03.08.95

Nuff guests on this one: Smooth Da Hustler, Das EFX and Tragedy with Capone N Noreaga are all in the house and all kick a freestyle, plus there's the unreleased Half A Mil by CNN which is very dope indeed.The recording is a bit paused buttoned in places but that just means that more of the good stuff has been captured.

download at the hip hop radio archive

Melle Mell & Afrika Islam on the Capital Rap Show (1993)

Mell & Iz pass through the Capital Rap Show whilst in the UK for some shows and have a chat with Timothy before Melle drops a 10 minute freestyle. The OG version of It Aint Hard To Tell is on here at the top of the show too, alongside tracks from Doggystyle, which was about to drop the following week.

tracklist

Nas - It Ain't Hard To Tell (original version)

Wu Tang Clan - CREAM

Shyheim - On & On (DJ Premier remix)

Snoop Dogg - Murder Was The Case

Snoop Dogg - Serial Killa

Snoop Dogg - Pump Pump

KRS One - Hip Hop vs Rap

Leaders Of The New School - Classic Material

Melle Mell & Afrika Islam - interview

Cold Crush Brothers - Fresh Wild Fly & Bold

Melle Mell & Afrika Islam - interview & freestyle

Buju Banton - Deportees

Evil Dee - Monday Night Flava Mix on Hot 97 (1994)

Another Evil Dee tape, this time live on Hot 97 at the tail end of 94, mixing up old and new rap with some blends...

Download at the Hip Hop Radio Archive

Usher - Think Of You

Group Home - Supastar

Super Kids - The Tragedy (Don't Do It)

Jeru The Damaja - Can't Stop The Prophet (Pete Rock remix)

Stephanie Mills - (You're Puttin) A Rush On Me (blend)

Dr Dre & Ice Cube - Natural Born Killaz

unknown - Ghetto Love? (blend)

Nas - One Love

unknown - unknown

Crooklyn Dodgers - Crooklyn

Heather B - I Get Wreck

Ice Cube - What Can I Do (Eastside remix)

Gang Starr ft Nice & Smooth - DWYCK

Public Enemy - Don't Believe The Hype

Public Enemy - Rebel Without A Pause

Run DMC - Peter Piper

Mobb Deep - Hit It From The Back

King Sun - Humm Deez Nuts

Brand Nubian ft Busta Rhymes - Alladat

Capleton - Tour (remix)

Rude Rydims - Everybody Bounce

Scarface - I Never Seen A Man Cry

The Roots - Silent Treatment

DJ Pogo - Beat Mania Vol 2 (1999)

60 mins of breaks being cut up by one of the OGs of the UK scene, DJ Pogo.

Evil Dee - Old School R&B

On some sunday cool out steez. Evil Dee goes in some 80s vibes - Taana Gardner, Keni Burke, Tom Tom Club, Mary Jane Girls, Maze etc. All kind of obvious stuff now but I don't think there was too may tapes with this kind of thing back then (guessing this is from 95-97ish

I ripped the tape Diablo gave me but turns out Grime & Lime posted it up years back if you need the download.

Bobbito & E Kim on WKCR 28.07.94

No Stretch on this one so E Kim fills in on the decks. Apparently the numerous mentions of Stretch being in Brazil weren't actually true. Shorty Long and Cella Dwellas are in the studio and...

Nas - Ain't Hard To Tell (original & remix)

Craig Mack - Flava In Ya Ear

Shyheim - Lick A Shot

Jeru The Damaja - Da Bitchez

Kurious ft Mike G & Sadat X - Mansion And A Yacht

Mic Geronimo - Shit's Real

Notorious BIG - Unbelievable

Mobb Deep - Shook Ones pt 1

Organized Konfusion - Stress (Large Professor remix)

Crooklyn Dodgers - Crooklyn (blend)

Shorty Long - interview & freestyle

A Tribe Called Quest - Oh My God (remix)

Nas - The World Is Yours (Q Tip remix)

Red Hot Lover Tone ft Notorious BIG, MOP & Prince Po - 4 My Niggaz

Jeru The Damaja - My Mind Spray

House Of Pain ft Diamond D - Word Is Bond

OC - Times Up

Cella Dwellas - interview & freestyle

Jeru The Damaja - Speak Ya Clout (verse)

MOP - Rugged Neva Smoove

PMD - I Saw It Cummin

A Tribe Called Quest ft Extra P - Keep It Rollin

Download at the Hip Hop Radio Archive

Thanks to Diablo for this one (and pretty much everything else I'll be posting over the next few weeks)

DJ Spinbad - 1 900 Spinbad (1996)

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Tracklist here

(there's no cover on Diablo's copy unfortunately so I've had to make to do with badly scanned one I found online)