A couple folks asked me about this edit when I played it last night.
Generally, you can't go wrong with anything from DJ Day, so take a little time and check out his stuff on Soundcloud...his blog site is pretty great too.
Looks like the homie has a new album dropping in the new year too!
Strictly Wu Wear for the New Year. Nah, but really, just some new items I picked up to cover my physical for 2013.
The gear is dope...and the music is just about timeless. Consider supporting these folks if you're looking for a gift for that special someone/DJ/music head/fashion nut this holiday season.
And, for those of you saying to yourself:
"damn yo, Mike is so generous with these great ideas, I only wish I could pay him back with something awesome for his everyday life.."
I picked up this Elektra/East West "iLLSTYLE LIVE" showcase record from a friend recently (S/O to DJ Eurok at Upset the Setup.)
My initial reaction upon playing it was "who A&R’ed at Elektra back in the day?" Seriously, what an amazing roster they had. It's crazy to think how many of these artists' (most?) albums went unreleased.
My reason for writing today is to introduce you to one of the artists featured on this 1995 Live album: Omniscence is his name (I'll take his word on the spelling.) He's from North Carolina, has/d a ridiculous punch-line battle rap-type flow, and just has some serious ENERGY on the mic. It’s possible this got some burn back then on college radio or mixtapes and the like, but this is the first I’ve heard it.
In terms of the audio below, here's what we've got:
Omniscence on the mic
+ Big Kap on hypeman duties
+ a bangin’ beat provided by DJ Rheji Burrell+ a freestyle over a classic Biggie beat (to get you warmed up)
+ Pete Rock on the decks?= some barely released classic mid-90’s unforgettable hip-hop shit.
5 years ago, Alpha Pup Records released Glitch Mob member edIT's second album, "Certified Air Raid Material." Around that time, I had the opportunity to chat with both edIT and Ooah (also of the Glitch Mob) about their recent releases, inspirations, and the Live performances that they'd become known for.
Some things have changed in the past 5 years, but these guys are still doing their thing...and well, I might add.
Here is the full edIT + Ooah interview, as it aired back in 2007. Big shout to Alpha Pup Records, and of course edIT and Ooah for the time.
I have a small collection of cassette tapes that I've held onto over the years...mostly stuff that I've never come across on record, or mixtapes and the like which were never released in any other format. I appreciate tapes, not just because they are a cheap way to experience music I don't otherwise have, but because there's no easy way to skip over the music and move on to the next track. You actually had to listen to the music on a tape...the limitations of the medium acted as a sort of quality control measure, or at least that's my theory.
I remember getting my hands on a couple of these tapes, "The Staple Sessions," back around 2001 when I worked with the FADER magazine/Cornerstone Promotion. Jeff Staple and Staple Design did a bunch of work for the magazine then, and so I landed these tapes from hanging around the offices.
Anyway, I was recently listening back to DJ Chillout (aka Harry Chronic) "The Sessions: Volume One" and heard a number of songs that I want to track down. And in most cases, I've been able to figure out the Artist/Title of these songs, but there's one tune in particular that I can't pinpoint who it is...
If you have any thoughts on who the artist might be, please throw some ideas up in the Comments section. I can't seem to get this out of my head...
I bought a bunch of tunes from Beatport the other week. If you have not already experienced Beatport's online record store, I definitely recommend you check them out. Not only do they have ~2-minute audio samples of the songs for sale, but you can also store tracks in your "Hold Bin" for further review or to purchase at a later time. (hint: check out their 'DJ Charts' too.)
Anyways, I found some real dope records on this recent Beatport visit and wanted to share a few of them with you...
I'm sure many of you recall the over-abundance of Made Men advertisements in The Source back when, or are perhaps otherwise familiar with Ray Benzino through his involvement with 80s/90s Boston hip-hop group The Almighty RSO??….or maybe through that whole stabbing situation with Paul Pierce back in 2000???
Ok, well, if you are familiar, you probably have some preconceived notion of his music… and if you're not already familiar…shoot, honestly, I don't know what to tell you if you are not at least somewhat aware of this dude…
In my experience, from the stuff I've listened to, Benzino never really made too m(any) records worth remembering…and so, in a possibly regrettable assertion, I'm crowning this song his GOAT (with much thanks to the canvas provided by Ray's production crew, Hangmen 3.)
Heavy D was a talented dude. Without necessarily knowing everything he had a hand in, I was/am fairly familiar with a bunch of his work, moreso through Uptown Records than anything else. Still, somehow it's this cameo in Nick Gomez/Spike Lee's "New Jersey Drive" that seems to come to mind more than anything when I think of him. Heavy was a gifted musician, but he also was a strong actor, as you can see here.
While we're talking about it, the soundtrack for "New Jersey Drive" is real nice too. Tommy Boy released it in 2 volumes, and there's some truly classic records on there, including BIG & Total's "Can't You See," Outkast's "Benz or Beamer," and a few others.
This one below from Latifah really speaks to me, though. As someone who has spent some time in Jersey over the years, albeit not in Newark, I love this record..and I love that Biz Markie sample too!!!
The other month I had the pleasure of DJing over at Little Miss Whiskey's with Blake9 of tenured DC hip-hop group Nine:Fifteen. I hadn't been in touch with Blake since like 2003 or so when I was doing college radio, so it was cool to re-connect with a familiar face, especially someone with similar taste in music. And while I remember some of Nine:Fifteen's earlier material, I wasn't prepared for what I heard when Blake put me up on some of their new stuff…honestly, this new isht here?!?!!! My goodness!!
These cats have come a long ways...and this song below is one of the sickest records I've heard in quite some time. Add to that a dooope video from director Hilton Carter, and you got something special (50 Cent voice.)
Sure, hip-hop has changed over the years, but that thing that ties it all together is alive and well in 2012 thanks to cats like Blake and emcee Bisquite PowerPoppin (or Comel, as he was previously known.)
As the youngsters might say, #swag.
To download "Bachelorette Party" and for more on Nine:Fifteen, visit CandleWaxRecords.com.
I'm sure there are other albums from new(er) hip-hoppers nowadays equally as deserving of praise and recommendation, but I've listened to a lot of music in my time, and I know when I hear something cohesive and promising enough to warrant telling my friends to go buy it (or at least give it a listen.) This is one of those occasions, and this is one of those artists.
So, if you consider your tastes aligned with mine in some way, take out your wallet (or type & click) and let Kendrick Lamar take you on a journey through Comptown California.
This is some classic west coast biz for 2011, or 2012 (yeah, grant me a late pass on this one please)…the type of record that will still sound good 10 years from now.
I had the pleasure of DJing a happy hour for Words Beats & Life recently, as the opening event for the organization's Wu Tang-themed "Philanthrobeat" fundraiser. It didn't pop off like crazy or anything, but there were some good people in the house. And I know they were treated to some good music on all accounts. Part of the theme of the happy hour was to showcase some local blogs, to support the independent voices in the greater DC community that are supporting dope music from our area and beyond. So, part of my set included music from some of my favorite DC hip-hop artists, and I figured I'd share some of them with you here. Check it out..
And last but not least, I want to shine a light on this song here curated specifically for Words Beats & Life's "Bumrush The Boards" annual Hip-Hop Chess tournament by my man DJ RBI...shout out to RBI, DJ 2-Tone Jones everyone at WBL and all the artists involved..
Not sure the back story on how Nu Shooz became a hit record, or even a big record amongst the hip-hop crowd...but considering how addictive this song is, I'm not really sweating it too much. When my friend DJ Shame first put me onto this single back in the mid-90's, I had no idea what it was, but just picked it up on the strength of his recommendation...and I'm glad I did, because to this day, it's still something I play from time to time. "I Can't Wait" was first released around 1984, so I don't know that too many younger folks are familiar with it...but it's something that I figure anyone can relate to, so I think it's worth showcasing here.
I'm not going to post the original or one of the remixes that most DJs play, but instead I wanted to share this unplugged/acoustic version below. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do..
This may have been the best $5 I ever spent in my life when I bought this record back in '01. Too bad Bathgate's album never came out though...
Just thinking about it for a second, I group this record in with Sporty Thievz "Cheapskate" and similar songs...not that that's a bad thing, but sort of a novelty I guess. Either way, check this joint out.
Shout out to Cornerstone mixtape for putting me on to this track in the first place too..
I remember we got this 12 inch in to XM a few years back. I had heard Cappadonna was living in Baltimore, supposedly driving a cab for a living, but I'm not sure about that and am too lazy at the moment to look into it. Dude definitely can rap..as for whether you can understand what the hell he's talking about, that may be up for individual interpretation. Apparently this is from his 2003 album "The Struggle," but I didn't check it..or at least I don't recall listening to it. If you listened to it & have an opinion, feel free to chime in with a comment. Or if you like/dislike this joint, let me know what you think. Regardless, this song stood out to me then, and I still keep it in my collection. Wu Tang Forever.
We're gettin festive tomorrow night at St EX!! I've got my main man Nacey coming thru to get in the mix too! Hope you can make it..
If you're not familiar with my dude Nacey, Nouveau Riche, KIDS or any of the other parties he and his crew put on, definitely check those out..AAAAAND, in the meantime, here's a couple joints he's done that stand out:
A few weeks back I had the pleasure of interviewing DJ Shadow with my buddy KB for Subsoniq Radio. Shadow's 5th studio album "The Less You Know, The Better" just dropped in early October.
In our conversation, Shadow spoke at length about a number of topics, including some of the folks who inspire him (Bambaattaa, Premier, Mannie Fresh etc,) what it was like working with Zack de la Rocha, & why he was surprised by the feedback he received from his 2006 album, "The Outsider."
You can listen/download the entire interview over at SubsoniqRadio.com. And definitely hit up DJshadow.com to cop the new album...digital download, CD, vinyl, pick your poison.
In the meantime, I've extracted a segment from our chat to share with you here. In this excerpt, the discussion focuses on some of the featured guest artists he's brought to light through his last 2 full-lengths, most notably Chris James of Stateless, and on the new record, vocalist Tom Vek:
Last but not least, for all you remixers & producers out there, Shadow is running a remix competition for the tune "Scale It Back," which features Little Dragon. The contest runs until November 25th and the winning entry will appear as part of an official remix package through Island Records.
So I was watching this sweet movie with Katherine Heigl and Fergie's husband aka Tad Mullinix the other day. Kind of a lame movie, actually, but whatever. I'm at the point in the movie where the dude figures out he done messed up...and miraculously, it coincides with the exact moment that the semi-fly female lead discovers that she can't-live-with-yet-can't-live-without the dude. (You know how it goes.) Anyway, I'm watching (drying tears, fingers crossed, anxiously praying to heaven) to see if things are gonna work out for this love-starved pair. And hark! What's that beautiful, soothing song I hear creeping into my consciousness?
Why, if I didn't know any better, I'd say that's the piano that Nashiem Myrick used to produce "Queen B" as recorded by the bitch with that platinum grammar!!?!!
(1:51 mark)
This story doesn't end there tho...so next, Katherine races to the airport, but she's too late, so she returns home in despair, only to find the dude there waiting to patch things up and reunite the family!!!! Sorry for no spoiler alert...but honestly, you should consider yourself lucky that you didn't get sucked into watching this sappy excuse for a love story.
(BTW, I also watched Denzel Washington's worst movie ever aka "Unstoppable" the other day. I recommend that over this one above, actually. Especially due to the way-out-of-place Tyler-Perry-influenced end credit theme music. Rosario Dawson was amazing in that one, too.)
Anyway, here's the music...shout to the Queen Bee, Big Beat Records and Undeas Recordings...
