Bloggerhouse Hip Hop

What’s good party people? It’s time for that daily feature that I do when I have the time…Some daily news. What do we have today? New Ice Cube album sampler, music from The Clipse, The KnuX, and Mekka Don. Free mixtape downloads from Spacebound from the Domination Recordings stable and Rebel Muzik Mixtape “Somethin’ To Snack On”……

Then of course me pimpin’ the new issue of Peak Street magazine…….

So, check out the freebies and the new joints…..

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Shameless Self Promotion: Peak Street Magazine

Yes, I like talking myself up, if you haven’t noticed by now. In any case, one of the slickest magazines to come out in awhile is now on issue #2. If you lived “down under”, then you can find Peak Street magazine for free in stores across the country. Those of us that live in the land where toilets flush the right way, well you can still get your copy. They are selling copies for international cats. Now I know the price tag is kinda spendy and you can buy a couple 12 packs of cheap beer, but for hip hop heads that dig print magazines, Peak Street is honestly one of a kind. It’s one of the more original rags I’ve come across, and I’ve read a lot of hip hop magazines in my lifetime. Well worth checking out, if you are a hardcore hip hop head.

In this issue, you will also be treated to my own debut of sorts. If you remember right, Polarity and I scored a regular column in the mag. This month, not only do I appear in the monthly column, but I also have my first full length interview to appear in any magazine. I won’t say who it’s with (and NO, it’s not Ace….unfortunately, but he is in those pictures), but it’s some underground legends from an legendary underground label. That’s all I’ll say for now…..

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Ice Cube Album Sampler……

We’ve been talking about it for months and it’s almost here for you to purchase. Ice Cube’s latest solo album, “Raw Footage” is dropping on August 19th and is set to be one of the standout releases of 2008.

So far we’ve had the singles Do Ya Thang [watch the video - see behind the scenes] as well as the street single Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It. We also brought you the streaming audio of Get Used To It featuring The Game and WC furthering the talk that The Game is set to join Westside Connection in place of Mack 10 for a new album.

Today we are happy to present a 19 minute “Raw Footage” album sampler that showcases the tracks that will feature on the album.

Ice Cube – Raw Footage Album Sampler

Enjoy the new music and ensure you support Ice Cube and Lench Mob Records by picking up a copy when it drops on August 19.

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New Mekka Don…..

(The New Artist Spotlight alum returns. Some of you may remember Mekka from his Mick Boogie assisted Mixtape, and your boy returns with a joint that is kind of growing on me. Check it out! Trav…)

“The Game Needs Me”, produced by 5000 Fingaz. !

• XXL Feature (July 2008)
• Nike Mixtape (Summer 2008)
• “You Know Mekka Don” reaches #2 on College Radio charts (Spring 2008)
• “Law and Order” mixtape with DJ Mick Boogie (Spring 2008)
• The “Legal” Hustler Reality show (Spring 2008 – www.youtube.com/mekkadonmusic)

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New Music From The Clipse & The Re-Up Gang

Clipse feat The Reup Gang – My Life’s The S***
http://www.zshare.net/audio/1627265031f2622c/

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New KnuX “Bang Bang”

Many, many months ago before I initially started working with The KnuX (before “Cappuccino” hit) Dart Parker sent me 5-6 tracks so I could get familiar with the group’s material—before we delved headfirst into the campaign.

Needless to say, “Cappuccino” was an easy, if not safe choice to introduce the group to the masses. Yet, as I listened to the tracks Dart sent me, one track immediat
ely and continually jumped out of the speakers and screamed SINGLE! Later that day, as I hopped into the ride and popped in “Bang! Bang!” on my way to pick up my 3-year old son from daycare, the only validation I needed was from said 3-year old as he and his old man trekked up the highway back home; both nodding our heads in simultaneous agreement (a true father and son bonding moment!!).

Before I was even back home, I was on the phone with Dart begging to be able to send out “Bang! Bang!” to a few trusted cohorts, as I knew folks would flip when they heard it. Dart quickly told me to pump my brakes as they had big things planned for “Bang! Bang!” and I’d just have to bide my time…

Fast forward, still riding the success of their debut single, Cappuccino,” (and its remix) The KnuX (Al and Krispy Millio) are back with the second single, “Bang! Bang!”, from their forthcoming debut LP, Remind Me In 3 Days, (recently awarded an XL by XXL Magazine), which will be released by Interscope Records on 10-14-08.

DL link to The KnuX’s “Bang! Bang!”:
http://www.zshare.net/audio/162793835437679d/

Still any non-believers?

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From the upcoming DJ Revolution LP

DJ Revolution f/KRS-One “The DJ”: http://www.zshare.net/audio/162741104689660b/

(Bonus—since someone threw it out there already) DL Link to DJ Revolution f/Bishop Lamont, Crooked I and Stylistic Jones “Funky Piano” http://www.zshare.net/audio/16274355f6ca7348/

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Bring Me The Head of Zilla Rocca!!!!

(One of my favorite “bloggers” out there, and CEO, Head Honcho, Supreme Cheese, El Numero Uno, and all that of Beat Garden comes with a track from his upcoming mixtape “Bring Me The Head of Zilla Rocca”…..should be good! Trav)

Just wanted to break you off with the freshest jamboree from my upcoming mixtape BRING ME THE HEAD OF ZILLA ROCCA.

I had this one up a while ago I guess, but dammit, this is the new, improved, chemically altered version with a better mixdown and a whole new Neptunes-type beat for Nico’s verse (he goes last–he was eating a chicken parm sandwich when we originally recorded this bad boy).

ENJOY!!!

-ZR

http://clapcowards.wordpress.com
www.beatgardenenteratinment.com
www.yadibox.com
www.myspace.com/cleanzilla
www.cdbaby.com/cd/nicobeast
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Opio Hosts Hierocast

Opio returns as host of latest Hieroglyphics video podcast

Del The Funky Homosapien, founding member of legendary collective The Hieroglyphics, introduces Souls of Mischief’s Opio with much praise as host of the latest episode of Hiero Imperium’s exclusive podcast, the Hierocast. Opio’s entrance is a fierce one: freestyling for almost a minute, Opio gives listeners an earful of the rhymes they thirst for. Joining him is Architect, producer of Opio’s second solo album, Vulture’s Wisdom, Volume One. Opio starts by giving us the meaning behind the title of the album, as well as his and Architect’s approach to recording it. They explain, “We sat back from afar and we just peeped the whole game. Everywhere we looked, everybody was just like. ‘Man it’s dead, there’s nothing here, it’s useless now.’ Where other people saw nothing, we swooped in with the vulture’s wisdom. We can eat right here.”

Throughout the 11th edition, the Hierocast gives fans a chance to see the motivation behind creating the new album. Opio and Architect comment on how they produced the album, “Whatever ideas we had, we had to put them down. Thoughts were coming out and they were getting recorded.” This is why Opio and Architect put down enough material to fill three whole albums. Look for the second and third volumes soon.

Opio will be touring this summer and fall in support of the album with Hieroglyphics. Dates available here.

iTunes Podcast subscription link:
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=82611816

Direct link to Video:
http://media.audibletreats.com/HIEROCAST_EPISODE_11.mov

XML/RSS link:
http://www.iconocastic.com/xml/hierocast.xml

Opio – “Original Lyricist”
	07.29.2008
Classically-styled track name-checks Bill Bellicheck, Johnny Cash, and The Big Lebowski
The Song & Video: In the latest single from Vulture’s Wisdom, Volume 1, Oakland-based emcee Opio sets the video for the song “Original Lyricist” at McAfee Coliseum, home of the Oakland Raiders. Shot entirely in grayscale (matching the team’s trademark black and silver colors), it gives a straightforward, no hype visual that gives Opio room to run with his lyrics. The classically-styled track name-checks Bill Bellicheck, Johnny Cash, and The Big Lebowski without a blink, stumble, or pause on Opio’s part. He rhymes, “It go me and my fellowship / represent intelligence in the championship / I’m sick like Bill Belichick.” Aggressive, assertive, and fast – his flow could teach the Raiders a few lessons for next season.

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Free Download: Spacebound (The Josh G Remixes)

Spacebound’s “The Adventures Of…” Remixed, Re-worked and Re-imagined. Also includes exclusive material not released on the album.

Free Download: Spacebound (The Josh G Remixes)

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Rebel Muzik Media Makes Industry Noise By Offering A Free Online Mixtape:
A Prequel, to the Highly Anticipated MIC Legacy Album

The Mix Tape Gives Hip Hop Fanatics “Sumthin To Snack On,” while waiting to “Feed Yo Kids!”

Sumthin To Snack On Mix Tape Link: http://www.zshare.net/download/1470109316b18579/

VA/DC- Rebel Muzik Media announced today a downloadable mixtape to Hip Hop fans anticipating the drop of the new Mic Legacy project, Feed Yo Kids, featuring the viral hit single, So Ghetto, featuring Rapper Pooh.

” We wanted to wet the appetites of all those true Hip Hop fans by offering a free downloadable mix tape,” says Grail “Ruc” Hodges, CEO of Rebel Muzik Media. “The mixtape is jam packed full of unforgettable lyrics and infectious beats laid by some of the greatest underground MC’s and producers of our time!”

Feed Yo Kids will drop in the near future and boasts a list of today’s hottest producers and underground messengers such as the already mentioned Nottz and Rapper Pooh. It also features ILLMIND, KELPH, JCLYDE, BRAINSTORM, DIGITAL DAMAGE, NY OIL, BIGSHOT& KHIZMAN(DMP), LATOYA WILLIAMS AND JON BIBBS. JUST ADDEDTO THE ROSTER: SKYZOO!

Members of the media and true hip-hop enthusiasts are also treated to a mix tape titled “Sumthin To Snack On,” by logging on to http://www.myspace.com/miclegacydafuture.

Watch Out for So Ghetto, the video, featuring Rapper Pooh, MIC Legacy and the VA Hoods.
Watch for it on http://www.myspace.com/miclegacydafuture, http://www.myspace.com/ubcunitedblackcolonies, youtube and international and national video shows in the near future.

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On July 31st, K-Salaam & Beatnick will be celebrating their long awaited album release “Whose World Is This?” w/special guest performances by: Pharoahe Monch, Dead Prez, HBO Def Poet Black Ice, Hot 97′s Massive B, Mick Boogie, and just added: Umi from RBG family.

All artists will be performing new music produced by Beatnick & K-Salaam. And the DJ’s will be spinning music off of K-Salaam & Beatnick’s new Album “Whose World Is This?” as well as new music produced by the duo.

“Whose World Is This?” The album and DVD is in stores now! Featuring new exclusive songs from: Young Buck, Kardinal Offishall, Buju Banton, Trey Songz, Sizzla, Talib Kweli, Dead Prez, and much more…

For more info on K-Salaam & Beatnick, go to:

Myspace.com/
ksalaammusic
Or
Youtube.com/ksalaamandbeatnick

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Life The Great Keeps Going……

This has been an impeccable month of juLife and at this point is where all the explanations stop. If you don’t know me by now….

title: Impeccable (recorded in 2001)
artist: Life The Great

link: http://www.zshare.net/audio/1625174803f1a0a9/

Download the UltraSound album NOW: http://sharebee.com/f0b5b6e1

In cased you missed the previous 29 days of juLife here they are:

juLife 1st – Ghetto blaster (produced by: Life The Great) - http://www.zshare.net/audio/1448935221797b58/
juLife 2nd – G.A Hustler - http://www.zshare.net/audio/14577950a9f47e47/
juLife 3rd – takin Out You Suckas - http://www.zshare.net/audio/146088081bed6b94/
juLife 4th – Somebody – http://www.zshare.net/audio/14612190894bc289/
juLife 5th – Me and my Dj - http://www.zshare.net/audio/14703707642295b7/
juLife 6th – Dopeman - http://www.zshare.net/audio/14703645d86b1a0d/
juLife 7th – Trapper Keeper (produced by: Life The Great) - http://www.zshare.net/audio/14836456a857069e/
juLife 8th – LifeDMC like Chuck D - http://www.zshare.net/audio/14898520baba2958/
juLife 9th – No Pen Behind 55 Bars - http://www.zshare.net/audio/149552027dc9c46b/
juLife 10th – Mic Addiction - http://www.zshare.net/audio/1502317225f49afb/
juLife 11th – Don’t Listen ft Phil Collins (produced by: Life The Great) - http://www.zshare.net/audio/15084435ae0e17aa/
juLife 12th – Passion Of Life - http://www.zshare.net/audio/1518242811105ff6/
juLife 13th – 777-9311 - http://www.zshare.net/audio/1521963672195018/
juLife 14th – Month 9 ft Curtis Mayfield - http://www.zshare.net/audio/152197667feb3b02/
juLife 15th – Paid In Full - http://www.zshare.net/audio/1533590254fa4f79/
juLife 16th – Vapors - http://www.zshare.net/audio/15398459f08de474/

juLife 17th - The Future ft Jerz of V.O.C - http://www.zshare.net/audio/1539856040560fb6/

juLife 18th – Love Come Down - http://www.zshare.net/audio/15511094b5643bd5/

juLife 19th – Bonita Applebaum ’08 - http://www.zshare.net/audio/15620514c63fe030/

juLife 20th – Ain’t No Half Steppin - http://www.zshare.net/audio/156412906f06def4/

juLife 21st – The Followers - http://www.zshare.net/audio/156926845089c1ef/

juLife 22nd – Whatyoutalkinbout (produced by Bangladesh) - http://www.zshare.net/audio/1574233547eba7d0/

juLife 23rd – Can You Feel It ’08 - http://www.zshare.net/audio/1579083906a92a8b/

juLife 24th – Colors – http://www.zshare.net/audio/15857625f77c2ec6/

juLife 25th – Keep Pushin - http://www.zshare.net/audio/1585778851a1bd8d/

juLife 26th – My Cassette - http://www.zshare.net/audio/16019395887e5cfc/

juLife 27th – B-Boy Stance Dance - http://www.zshare.net/audio/16077498736bb989/

juLife 28th – Hustle & Flow - http://www.zshare.net/audio/161283215067c99f/

juLife 29th - So Special – http://www.zshare.net/audio/16144647cbb42013/

Well since it is almost the end of July after all, I might as well post this month’s WYDU Classics. I was meaning to do a bunch of rare De La material, but I still have a bunch of my shit in boxes from moving last winter, so not everything is easily accessible. The originally started off with a theme of new oldies, since I’ve been listening to a lot of the “unearthed gems” popping up lately, such as the McGruff EP, the DITC Rare Productions album that popped up and a Cenobites project that came out of nowhere. But I soon realized while there was some great stuff, there wasn’t enough to fill a whole volume. So I did what I usually do and went and added some songs I’ve had stuck in my subconscious mind lately. The original version of “Jorge of the Projects” from last year’s Kurious demos that popped up around the time of his debut rerelease. I think I like it better than the album version. The original version of BDP’s “P Is Free” can also be found on this months collection. It’s not as good as the original, but still worth a listen. Also found toward the end of the tape are a couple personal favorites of mine. First is Rise of Demigodz fame and his joint “Do You Know Him?” I never thought I’d be longing for the quality underground indie music that was found toward the turn of the century, but damn, I am. This is a great joint with a nice smooth beat. I wish dude would return. Also, WYDU favorite J-Zone has his S.L.A.P., that without looking, I want to say was a b-side to…..well, my memory is shot, but it’s b-side that came out around the Pimps Don’t Pay Taxes. Little Bastards is some ignorant shit from the early 90′s. I must say though, I apperciate this more now than I did back then. It’s also a tribute to long time WYDU contributor Brian aka B aka MC Eiht aka a couple other names. He is moving on to greener pastures, so I’d like to say “thanks” and best of luck!

WYDU Classics July 08

01 Kurious Jorge – Jorge Of The Projects (Original)
02 Big L – Unexpected Flava
03 The Cenobites – Don Don Don
04 Herb Mcgruff – 8 Iz Enuff (demo version)
05 Boogie Down Productions – P Is Free (original)
06 Bumpy Knuckles – Crazy Like A Foxxx (ultra magnetic dis)
07 Rakim – How Im Livin
08 Big Daddy Kane – Its A Shame (Remix)
09 Def Squad – Pay Per View
10 Bushwackas – Rough Ruggd and Raw
11 Little Bastards – Bitch Get A Job
12 Puppets of Chaos – Tru Dat (street mix)
13 Page – Mass Hysteria
14 Rise – Do You Know Him
15 Hip Hop Fanatics – Da 3 Man Threat
16 2for5 – Playin the Strip
17 J-Zone – S.L.A.P.
18 Mr. Mixxx & The Roughneck Posse – Oh My Gosh

My man Has-Lo has a new project coming out soon. I’m not sure how much I’m able to say about it, so I’ll just save the details for the man himself. None the less he has put out his first video, which is a track from the upcoming project. The track is called “The Quiet Things”. One of my main beefs with hip hop in my older age is that it doesn’t spark a whole lot of emotion. This track is not guilty of that, as it will come in handy the next time I get dumped, which with my track record could be any down now.

Has-Lo - The Quiet Things

There are certain producers in the game that I’ve felt never got their just due. I’d consider them right up there with the the popular choices for legends. Producers such as DJ Pooh, Battlecat, and E-Swift out on the west coast. On the east side, Tony Dofat, Ski, and Frankenstein stick out as slept on producers and this man, K-Def, who is quite possibly the best producer out there that isn’t mentioned in the same breath as the Pete Rocks, DJ Premiers and Dr. Dres. You look at the man’s discography and it becomes evident that he has produced some of your favorite jams, and you probably didn’t even realize it. K-Def has produced for everybody from Lords of the Underground, to P Diddy, to Devante, to El Da Sensei, to Ghostface, to Ol’ Dirty Bastard. He really has produced for the who’s who list on the east coast. He’s beats are melodic in nature, but still possess that ol’ boom bap sound that I’ve love in my hip hop.

When the opportunity arose to interview one of my personal favorite producers, of course I couldn’t pass it up. No knocks against some of the newer cats that I interview for this site, but talking to the artists that I grew up listening to is always a true treat for me. K-Def was one of the more interesting interviews I’ve conducted as well as one of the lengthiest. We spoke for well over an hour about everything from his views on music now, his new EP with Dacapo as part of The Program as well as his new albumSSSSSS, as in multiple new albums. We also discussed the debate of computer production and hardware production and much, much more.

K-Def Website: http://www.kdef.biz/
K-Def Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/kdefinite
Ghetto Man Beats: http://www.myspace.com/ghettomanbeats

And in case you slept…….

1. Intro
2. Pray
3. American Dreamin’
4. Hello Brooklyn 2.0
5. No Hook
6. ROC Boys (And The Winner Is)…
7. Sweet
8. I Know
9. Party Life
10. Ignorant Sh*t
11. Say Hello
12. Success
13. Fallin’
14. Blue Magic (bonus track)
15. American Gangster (bonus track)

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=PSJK68OG/

This is part one of a two parter…….

WYDU: Hey man, what up? Thanks for your time and doing this with us, been a big fan for a long time…..

K-Def: No problem whatsoever……

W: I’m a big fan of Willie Bobo The Fool, I could play “Galt Is Loose” for hours straight. How do you look back upon Willie Bobo now? There were some problems with samples and clearing them on that correct? Is it still available for purchase?

K-Def: Nah, it’s not out there any more like that. We are about to reissue it though, maybe make it a limited edition type of thing. We removed some songs off of it. Nothin’ happened, but I was hearing things, and I thought it’d be better to take care of it, before it become an issue. Add some more songs and that can thing. Put some new things in there that people haven’t heard. It’ll all fit in there the same way.

W: That’s getting pretty hard to find. I was lucky enough to snatch one up a couple months ago when I was looking around. So, you got the new EP out, The Article, as the group, “The Program.” How did you hook up with the MC, Dacapo?

K-Def: Basically, I was working on another album, that I’m still kind of working on. He came through and did a song. When I heard him I was like “Wow, he different than a lot of the cats I’ve been dealing with.” He’s not trying to glorify what “real” MC’s all glorify. At the end of the day, from day one, everyone wanted to glorify the jewels, the cars, the women, the money. But there is also a certain level you have to get. You have to tell about real things that happen in the everyday world, not just about made up stories. I heard something different in him. I felt the way hip hop was going right now, I thought maybe it was time for a little change. I’m not going to say he’s a super positive rapper, but he’s not on the same ole crap that we are hearing everyday from every Tom, Dick, and Harry neither. He kinda understands the kind of music I’m making. He understands the soul, the jazz, the funk behind the beats I make. It was part of his upbringing. He actually RHYMES to my beats instead of just taking the beat and doing whatever to it. We just clicked. The first songs were, ya know, alright, but as we started making more and more songs, he got a whole lot better. My style of music, the underground hip hop, it’s a whole lot better for him. He’s not going to do the cursing, he’s not going to be saying disrespectful things to women and have the women’s lib movement on him. All way around the board, it’s something I feel comfortable with and we both have the same vision, so I think it’s going to be a good thing, it’s all gravy man.

There is more ways to be heard on the mainstream and not just be the fuckin’ underground, backpack rapper or whatever you want to call that bullshit. I’m not saying he’s the best rapper, because he’s probably not, but as far he is that sound, that sound that could be up there with the CL Smooth, or the Extra P’s. He also has an understanding in the history of the music. He is a bit younger than me, but the stuff he grew up on, the J Dilla’s and the underground stuff is the same stuff I was listening to at the time. He has that knowledge and shares that tastes, so when I make music, he kinda picks the right ones. The Article is not the newest project we’ve done, but it’s grabbed some interest. The stuff we got now….we actually got two other albums, one is on the myspace page under the snocap store…

W: Oh do you? I missed that…

K-Def: Yeah, that album is called The Program actually, I think there are 12 songs on there. We are doing so many records at a pretty good pace, he’s such a hard worker that when one dude is still working on the same album, he’s done with three. He’s on some real hip hop shit and not the water down shit we are hearing now.

W:As you mentioned, he’s kind of a young guy. How is it working with someone that came up in that different age than say, you and I did?

K-Def: What’s ironic in working with this particular dude, is while he is younger, but he KNOWS hip hop culture. That’s problem with the kids now. The teenagers now came into hip hop when 50 Cent was popular. They know nuthin’ before 50 Cent. When I run across those kind of rappers, they’ve been brain washed into thinking that they need to make 10 mixtapes, press them up and go hustle them on the streets and they’ll pop, just like 50 did. These cats think they nice, but they don’t know how to make a record. You try to be professional with them, but you find yourself having to baby-sit and direct them and I’m not really with that. I cut that shit at the door anymore. As soon as you open your mouth and you are following the current trends, then there is no point in working with me. I’m not saying you can’t blow up, but I’m not really with that. It’s not my style of music. When I was growing up, that was a sellout and a fast way to make a buck. Yeah if you do pop, you might have a good single, but you won’t have no longevity. I’ve been around since the early 90′s and I didn’t get here or having a three million seller when I first came out. These young kids, they want it all right now, they just impatient. Some of them, you can see some good in there, and you want to try to help out, but I ain’t got the patience for that. Others, you just know they a bunch of bull crap, ain’t nuthin’ to do with them. They think rhyming on a mixtape over someone else’s instrumentals will blow them up. They don’t understand that you gotta make a song, with three verses and a great hook to be anything. They have no direction, the drugs, the money, the fast life, they don’t have the patience.

I don’t know man, it’s just rough out here. It’s hard for me to find the right artist. I’m not saying I failed, they failed themselves. If the right person comes along, then I’m all for it. Right now, my man Dacapo is that kind of artist. He can take the criticism, he goes backs and listens to his songs. He does listen to other people, but in the end, it’s all about what he thinks and what I think. We both kind of judge each other judgments, and I can work with that kind of rapper. I don’t need the, “my boys tell me I’m nice, so I’m nice”, and they don’t listen to you. I mean, that’s retarded..(laughs)

W: (laughing)…yeah, I see that a lot, all you have to do is go out on myspace and see that kind of thing. How important would you say having a “connection” with an artist you are working with is?

K-Def: I’ll be honest with you, things are different than the way they were down in the 80′s in the 90′s. You know, we used to actually sit down and work together, come up together, spend time together. Now, it’s you submit a track or two to the manager, then it goes to the A&R, then the A&R takes it to the label, then they got to have a fuckin’ meeting on it four or five times, then it goes to the artist. By then, the track is two years old and it’s just a bunch of bull crap. To me, I’m beyond that. It’s frustrating. I think there are a lot of artists I should have worked with already, but it hasn’t happened because of the bullshit. It’s not because they haven’t gotten in touch with me, it’s just that it’s become so difficult to jump through the hoops. I would like to sit down with the artist, sit down in the studio with some of the cats. I ain’t gettin’ that. I get, “Yo, send me an email. Yo, send a track to my manager.” C’mon with this bullshit. There is no respect with it happening the way it should be happening, everything is dumbed down. No one wants to even come down from New York to New Jersey, you know what I’m saying? I need someone who will sit with me, collab with me and for us to both be on the same page, we need to come up with ideas together. I believe I can make a hit all day long for any rapper in the game, but like I said, things need to change, but I can’t change it by myself. The major labels aren’t doing anything about it, so I gotta do what I gotta do. I got joints lined up. It doesn’t matter if I find the right artist or not. I got albums lined up. I’m tired of waiting. I got albums to put out every other month, every other month, every other month. You track can be the hottest track, but it doesn’t get to the artist a lot of the time. If producers could get with the artists, instead of kissing label’s ass, the music could be a lot better.

And a lot of these young cats need to know that a lot of us older cats know more about the game than you can possibly imagine. They look at us now and think, “Oh, they OLD SCHOOL”, just the same way we looked at Kurtis Blow and Run DMC as old school, but they didn’t have the technology we had. But the technology used in the 90′s is STILL being used today. There are a whole lot of extra new things, but we still on top of that. It’s frustrating as hell, cause there are A LOT of artists I want to work with out there. I did the Jay-Z joint just to show that, hey, Jay sounds good over some of my joints. I mean, I wasn’t really feeling the whole album like that, but I felt dude really sounded good on a couple of those tracks. I hope it was a wake up call for him, if he heard it. I’m a 90′s ni**a, I still got heat man. I got a lot of tracks that I couldn’t give to anyone unless they were for someone of a certain level of quality. I got tracks that are 5-10 years old and I’m just saving them for certain rappers to mess with them. My man Decapo is doing what he can do to make things better, and I’m doing my part, so we hope to bring it.

W: Yeah, that’s pretty deep….The sound on the E.P. was pretty cohesive, were you looking for a particular sound on that? Were you looking for the sound of the 90′s?

K-Def: I wasn’t really looking for the sound of the 90′s, but there are some tracks that kind of fall into what I did back then. The bad thing about it though, is I can’t really do it like I did in the 90′s. I’m going to give thanks to a couple of ummm…I’m not going to say their producer names, but they helped get it this way, but you can’t be doing samples like you used to do. Chopping up the samples is good, but they still got to clear it. You can flip that sample 50 different ways, but you still going to have to clear it. I’m not in the position where I can clear samples like that. If I did a track from the 90′s back then, I mean, “Funky Child” had SIX samples, not to mention I gave publishing three times over to James Brown. People are like, “Yo! I love that record!!!”, but I didn’t EAT off none of them records. I was supposing to EAT off those, but I wasn’t. Everyone loved them, and I got all the props in the world, but no one knows how much money came out of my pocket on that. It took a pounding on me. The High School High joint, Barry White wanted a lot for that joint.

As I got older, I looked for different ways to do shit. I sold my MP, then I bought it back, but I just don’t use it much. I did WHOLE albums using my sampler. I wear glasses because of it now, but yo, once you get used to digital sound, it’s hard to go back to a 16 bit sampler. I gave up. In ’97 I got me a computer and I started rocking on that. I can still sample if I need to, but there is more open ways on the computer. If I want to make it funky, I can do the drum sample, the 808 sample behind it, the funk loops. I can still do that, but to be honest with you, there are a looooot of people that do that style. I think DJ Premier was the master of that style. Anyone trying to do anything similar to him should pay the man his royalties. I’m not hating, because everyone does their own thing and their inspiration. I was inspired by him as well, but I didn’t straight jack his style. You know? I tell everyone, I’m inspired by Extra P, Pete Rock, RZA, Primo, Dre, all of them, I use the main essence of the aura, but then I make my own thing.

W: What do you say to cats that say “You are using a computer, that ain’t real hip hop.” There are a bunch of hard headed cats out there that still think that way. What do you say to them?

K-Def: I say it like this: There are two different kinds of computer cats out there. There are computer cats who learn from the ground up, they start with turntables, the drum machine, the sampler, right? Once you understand that, then you can go onto something deeper. You are pretty much set to go on to the computer. Then you got those who, once they buy a computer, the first thing they go buy is Fruity Loops, they all dreamin’. Bottom line, if you have a computer in your house and Pro Tools and think you producing, those are the suckas, the amateurs, the hobbyists, the wannabes, whatever you want to call them. Then you got those who learn from the ground up, who learn all the tools, and keep growing and growing and use all the technologies, those are the real cats. There is a lot of them that I know that may not be known names, or be at the forefront, but they are out there. They actually learn.

As far as those that say a computer isn’t a real tool, I can shut a lot of those cats down using a computer. My programming is what set it apart. Learning how to mix, learning how to program. I did a lot of programming with Marley Marl, that’s kinda how I got my start. A lot of the sounds that I made in the 90′s, I made with my SP 3000. I’d use a modulater to make a sound from a sound. It was crazy. As far as the computer goes, yeah, it’s not for everybody, but for me I will blast cats using any of the major programs, Fruity Loops, Cubase, Logic, Reason, any of that, I can do some damage with those. No MP 1000,2000, 3000, or 4000 or any other sampler can do what those do, it’s just impossible.

I’ll tell you the real reason why I left the MP3000 alone. I found out after extensive programming and sequencing that the MP2000 & 3000 couldn’t take up twelve notes on one tick (?) without it taking up the whole sequence. That was back in ’95, ’96, so I kind of left that alone. I was like “Oh, I can’t have that!” To me, the computer is the future. Yeah, the other stuff are tools to make it sound right. But you have to be more hands on and more experimenting.

To Be Continued…..Part Two Coming

Last Week

Actually, it’s been two weeks since we examined the first two albums from The Pharcyde, Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde and Labcabincalifornia. The results of that “This or That” were somewhat to be expected, although I was happy to see Labcabin get as much support as it did. I’ll admit that Bizarre Ride is probably the better album over and had the most impact, but for personal reasons, I went with Labcabin, it had much more of an impact on me. All good though, now if Fatlip, Tre, Imani and Bootie Brown can just recapture some of that magic and make another album, I’ll be happy.

Final Verdict – Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde 65 Labcabincalifornia 41

This Week

If you were to ask me who is the greatest MC hip hop has ever seen as far as technical skill, rhymes, delivery and voice, I’d have to say Rakim. Sure, there are other MC’s who I enjoy more, but as far as a straight up lyrical MC, there isn’t much better out there than Rakim Allah. That being said, as far as the Eric B & Rakim catalog goes, there are probably other albums I’ve listened to a lot more in my life. I’m not saying I don’t like them, nor do I dispute their importance in the hip hop culture, I just liked other things more. You can’t argue about the greatness of their first two albums. The duo’s debut album, Paid In Full, is a certified hip hop classic, something you can not argue with. In many ways, Rakim changed the game with that album. Instead of the simplistic back and forth rhymes of Run DMC, the MCs started to become more complex. The complexity of the rhyme style and just what was being said was ushered in. The start of the “Next School” was established and could be directly correlated with the release of Paid In Full, a true landmark album indeed.

How do you follow up a classic hip hop album? Well, as history shows us, it’s very difficult to do. “It Was Written”, “The Doggfather”, and others that I’m obviously not pulling out of my memory bank at this time. That being said, Eric B & Rakim dropped a worthy sophomore effort to be considered worthy enough to challenge it’s predecessor on “This Or That” this week. It’s what every artist that makes a second album should strive for….yeah right. Follow The Leader is responsible for two of my all-time favorite tracks, in the title track and “Microphone Fiend”. The album is strong enough, that if it had dropped as their debut, I honestly think it would be getting all the praise. But it didn’t, but I still think it’s worthy enough to debate: Which album is the better one? We shall find out.

Paid In Full Vs. Follow The Leader

Paid In Full

My first introduction to Eric B & Rakim was actually not through Yo! MTV Raps, which makes it one of the rare instances during that time. I actually first heard Eric B & Rakim on the Colors soundtrack, their track “Paid In Full” was featured on the Dennis Hopper directed movie about the gangs in South Central L.A. A good portion of the soundtrack was populated with Cold Chillin’/Warner Brothers artists such as Kool G Rap & DJ Polo, Big Daddy Kane, Roxanne Shante and of course MC Shan. Ra & Eric B were tied in with Marley and his Juice Crew in the early days, with Marley being credited as the producer for the remixes of “Eric B Is President” and “My Melody”. The Colors soundtrack was an early fixture in my young hip hop listening years. Obviously it introduced me to several important hip hop acts, but after “Raw”, “Paid In Full” was my second favorite song found on that soundtrack. I still wouldn’t know what album it came from until later on, but it put the duo on my hip hop radar.

The production found on the album shouldn’t be written off as sounds for Rakim elaborate rhyme style, the beats were strong and provided an excellent soundscape for Ra to do his thing. It’s widely rumored that someone (or someones) other than Eric B & Rakim had more to do with the albums production than the credits give to him, but it’s one of the “hush, hush” rumors of the industry. Names such as Marley Marl, Ced Gee, Paul C and just Rakim himself (and Large Professor later on) have circulated around for many years, buts Eric B has also been known to beat down or chase out of town any artist that might jeopardize the album credits.

Let’s not kid ourselves though, the beauty of this album, is Rakim’s poetic and highly advanced (for the time, and even now) lyrics. As previously mentioned, Rakim was unlike any MC seen at the time. His cadences, his style, the complexity found in his rhymes, it was all different from the “hip hop y’all” found on the majority of pre-86 hip hop albums. The group’s first single, “Eric B is President”, is a prime example of what Rakim was brining to the tab
le at this time:

I came in the door, I said it before
I never let the mic magnatize me no more
But it’s biting me, fighting me, inviting me to rhyme
I can’t hold it back, I’m looking for the line,
Taking off my coat, clearing my throat
My rhyme will be kicking it until I hit my last note
My mind’ll range to find all kinds of ideas
Self-esteem makes it seem like a thought took years to build
But still say a rhyme after the next one
Prepared, never scared, I’ll just bless one
And you know that I’m the soloist
So Eric B, make ‘em clap to this

The sheer amount of classic lines found on Paid In Full is just amazing. You can’t talk about hip hop and be a fan of hip hop without quoting a Rakim line from this album, most of that thanks to the amount of times Rakim’s voice has been sampled. He has to be the most sampled artist in the music’s history.

Another personal favorite from Paid In Full, is “I Know You Got Soul”, in which Rakim does his thing over a surprisingly complex (sample wise) beat and just drops line after line. Anyone that doubts that Rakim ISN’T the greatest MC to ever walk the earth only needs to listen to the track to be set straight. “My Melody”, is another track that I go “ooooh” and “ahhhhh” over when I hear it. Rakim kickin’ the shit on this only further cement his greatness, as I realize that sometimes Rakim is so great you take him for granted.

The album does have some pitfalls. It’s obvious that it was rushed out to capitalize the string of 12 inch single hits the duo had. It’s already short and the fact that two of the tracks are basically “DJ” cuts only endorses the thought of filler. None the less, the album contains possibly one of the greatest lyrical performances found on any album EVER.

Follow The Leader

I can still remember the first time I saw the video for the Follow the Leader title track, which showed up on the first “Yo! MTV Raps”. The old style gangland adaptation for the video only made this song even more dope, if that’s even possible. I would play the video over and over again, while getting ready for school. Ra looked so damn dope in the video, it would be the reason I paid one of my hoodlum friends that just moved to my to my home town from Vegas twenty bucks to rip off a Mercedes emblem from a car for me. I would hang it on my fake cold chain a la Mike D from the Beastie Boys, just because Ra had one like it in the video. That is until my school resource officer caught me wearing it at a football game. It seems there had been a rash of thefts involving the high priced car. Without actually catching me doing it and me not talking, there wasn’t much they could do, but he would watch me closely for the next month or so. But the video was an excellent addition to an already dope track. This would be back when videos still meant something, and “Follow The Leader” is probably one of my favorite videos of all-time.

The track is an excellent lead-off to one of the best three song leadoff found on any album. Again, Rakim is at the top of his game on the song, as he drops ill line after ill line. I still know the track word for word and get amped when I have my headphones on going line for line with Ra. We could do a “This Or That” just one which of the three verses of “Follow The Leader” is the best, but we’ll save it and I’ll pick verse two….I think:

This is a lifetime mission, vision of prison
Aight listen
In this journey you’re the journal
I’m the journalist
Am I Eternal?
Or an eternalist?
I’m about to flow long as I can possibly go
Keep ya movin cause the crowd said so
Dance – cuts rip ya pants
Eric B on the blades, bleedin to death – call the ambulance
Pull out my weapon and start to squeeze
A magnum as a microphone murderin’ MC’s
Let’s quote a rhyme from a record I wrote (follow the leader) Yeah – dope
Cause everytime I stop it seems ya stuck
Soon as ya try to step off ya self-destruct
I came to overcome before I’m gone
By showin and provin and lettin knowledge be born
Then after that I’ll live forever – you disagree?
You say never? Then follow me!
From century to century you’ll remember me
In history – not a mystery or a memory
God by nature, mind raised in Asia
Since you was tricked, I have to raise ya
From the cradle to the grave, but remember
You’re not a slave
Cause we was put here to be much more than that
But we couldn’t see it because our mind was trapped
But I’m here to break away the chains, take away the pains
Remake the brains, reveal my name
I guess nobody told you a little knowledge is dangerous
It can’t be mixed, diluted; it can’t be changed or switched
Here’s a lesson if ya guessing and borrowing
Hurry hurry, step right up and keep following
The leader

The best lyrical performance caught on wax? Quite possibly. But the madness doesn’t end there. Another top 20 song of all-time (according to the last time I posted my favorite 100 hip hop songs of all-time, “Follow the Leader”: came in at #13 and “Microphone Fiend” was right behind at #16), “Microphone Fiend” doesn’t let the wicked rest. The little guitar jingle comes on and the listener is once again treated to Rakim riding the beat, then simply taking it over. Yes, I know this is turning into one huge Rakim jocking session, but the man is truly gifted on these two tracks.

Just the link for “Microphone Fiend”……thanks Universal.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Irsh2mXJ-E

Ra turns it down a notch, energy wise on “Microphone Fiend”, but it’s kicked through the roof once again on the albums third track, “Lyrics Of Fury.” Funky Drummer never sounded so good as if this shit doesn’t put you into a b-boy pose, then nothing will. The next two tracks on Side A happen to be more instrumentals. You’d think they wouldn’t have to rush this album out, but apparently they did.

This was in the days of wax and tapes, so things were split up into sides as I just mentioned. It makes albums look/sound weird in CD form, where everything is one long playlist more or less. I’m sure the track order for Follow The Leader would look different if this was released during the reign of the CD, but it wasn’t. The lead off track for Side B was “Put Your Hands Together”, and this, for me, is where Follow The Leader will start to lag against it’s predecessor. Side B just doesn’t match the greatness of the first three songs found on Side A. Don’t get me wrong, “The R”, “Musical Massacre”, and “No Competition” were great tracks in their own right, but they don’t stand up against Ra’s better songs in his catalog. The only track on Side B that in fact holds up against the other greats is “To The Listeners”, which is unfortunate, because a strong side B could have possibly made Follow The Leader mentioned in the same breath as Paid In Full.

The Final Verdict

This is kind of a weird match up. Two weeks ago, when I was discussing the upcoming lineup of this series with Jaz from Cold Rock The Spot (who actually picked Follow The Leader, so maybe this will be more interesting than I think it might be) I told him I was probably going to go with Follow The Leader, simply on the strength of the first three songs. Once I sat down this afternoon though, and started listening to the albums, I knew it was clear that the better album is Paid In Full. Then once I started writing about the two albums, it was a KO. I have a strong suspicion that this could end up in a major land slide, which would be unfortunate. This match up sounded better on paper than it did in real time, but oh well. I’m sure, as we usually do, we’ll have a few die hards for the underdog, which they have my respect, as I was about to go that way. Also this week, we have an “option C”, a sort of “none of the above”, where if you dig one of the other two albums, either Let The Rhythm Hit Em or Don’t Sweat The Technique, more, you can make that be known. I won’t even get into my analysis of those two albums, but I’ll just say there was a reason I didn’t choose to include them in the discussion, although I’m a bigger fan than the average person of Don’t Sweat The Technique.

Peace out party people, until next time…..

The Winner: Paid In Full

Sha Stimuli “Hotter Than July” – A Tribute To Stevie Wonder:
DJ Victorious & Sha Stimuli are back with their next mixtape instalment for July “Hotter Than July” – A Tribute To Stevie Wonder. The project features 17 tracks including So Many (Tight Ones Part 2), Coldness and I Get Up. It also features classic tracks from the legend that is Stevie Wonder and exclusive medley by DJ Victorious. Download the entire mixtape right here for free:

01. Win The Fight
02. So Many (Tight Ones Pt. 2)
03. Coldness
04. Redemption
05. Stevie Wonder – Lately (Live 1985)
06. Lately (feat. Tyler Durden)
07. The Flows (Freestyle)
08. Overjoyed
09. I’m A Star
10. These 3 Words
11. You Will Know
12. Knocks Me Off My Feet
13. Heaven
14. Stevie Wonder – Dreamed You Leave in Summer
15. I Get Up
16. Stevie Wonder – Medley (By DJ Victorious)
17. Free! (feat. Tyler Durden) (Bonus Track)

Download Mixtape(sendspace)
Myspace Site

Every now and then, we get an MC that could be labeled as a “thinking man’s” MC. An MC that sparks thinking, that sparks emotion, and ignites people to actually listen to what’s being said. While they are not as prevalent as they once were during the late 80′s and early 90′s, a few still exist, such as NYC’s Quad Almighty. Quad is bent on lifting African-Americans to a better existence as well as the hip hop culture itself. His music is full of “lessons”, some might be wrapped up in easy to swallow songs, while others come out and whack you upside the head. He is also rolling with a band. His sound is advanced and makes use of what he has to work with. Aiming to be the leading force behind change, we sat down to kick it with Quad as we talk about his hometown of Milwaukee, hooking up with Finsta of NYC legend Finsta Bundy, and where hip hop is heading…..

www.quadalmighty.com
http://www.myspace.com/quadalmighty

Quad Almighty – Revelations
http://www.zshare.net/audio/1597915628072ca9/

Quad Almighty - The Dateline
http://www.zshare.net/audio/15979260b9115841/

WYDU: What’s good man? Can you do a proper introduction of who you are and what you are repersentin’?

Quad Almighty: I’m Quad Almighty. I came here to make people think. I resurrect the mentally dead using, revolutionary lyrics, drum machine sounds and live instrumentation. I’m all about, what I call the big 3; The Most High, the Black Man and The Truth. It doen’t matter if I a do track about smoking weed or one about fucking fat ho’s! At the end of it all, my objective is to get the listener look at the issues in the context of the big 3. At this very moment, everything is changing. But many so called “MC’s” aren’t hitting the issues that need to be hit. The result is the over-load of bulshit we see in rotation today, and a lack of originality and a lack of relevance in relationship to real peoples lives. Hip Hop is a form of self expression that WE originated. We have to say what we feel is real and not cater to the desires of corporate interest.

W: Deep man, deep. You’ve been around for awhile now, so I guess you wouldn’t qualify as a “new” artist per say, but you originally started off as part of a group. Can you outline your career and how you are where you are in the present day?

QA: I’m from Milwaukee. Music was always on my plate, cause my Pops is a drummer. Naturally, I was preparing to follow in his footsteps as a youngster. But by the time I had hit my teens, I had fallen in love with Hip Hop and lyricism. That, plus all the regular hellish experiences of a kid from the ghetto, pushed drumming to the way-side. So I was just rhyming for fun. When I was 17. My friends asked me to rock with them at a Black History Program they were having at their school. It was story book perfect! Back then I was heavy into the supreme mathematics, so I was just dropping jewels for the mind in every line. The performance came off dope. Right after that we formed a crew called the Hungry And Zooted (H.A.Z). It meant “Hungry for change and Zooted with contentment”. That’s the mental condition we find ourselves in. We are hungry as hell for shit to change, but we are so intoxicated with contentment that we don’t do what it takes to make the changes. From then on, I was in it to win it. We dropped a couple of E.Ps and a full length LP entitled Hazardous. All of them were underground classics! They are still in circulation today and now they are available for down load (to all of those who are interested). But through my experiences with H.A.Z , I got a feel for the music business and ended up working with a lot of people. Plus I got some good Midwest exposure. It only created within me a desire for more, so In 2005 I moved to Brooklyn. As a crew we put in a lot of work and had a descent amount of success, but at the same time it wasn’t enough to call it a lucrative career.

W: Since your start, how has the music and the industry changed? How is it better and how is it worse than what it was in the late 90′s?

QA: Music today is much more tailored for specific demographics. It’s to the point where people don’t even check for new shit anymore. I’m not mad about it, it just makes it a lot more difficult to break into the market. With the introduction of this whole digital market it’s easier for artist to make their music available, which is good. The adverse effect is that there much more music available and it creates fiercer competition in the market. The key is to be original and have
creative control over your projects. These record labels are losing money and don’t have a clue about what to do about it. To get a recording deal today is almost a losing battle, because big labels only know how to sell CD’s and nobody is buying them anymore. Less then 10% percent of these major recording artist are doing descent numbers so what record execs do is tailor new artist in the fashion of those couple of established, successful acts. It doesn’t work though.
So all of you dumb-ass, role troll rappers need to quit. Sounding like Little Wayne won’t get you anywhere. you have to come out your own and seriously get your hustle on or your not going to make it. My individuality lies in my use of real instruments and the perspective I come from lyrically. It’s not many emcees that address topics the way that I do. I hope to come off as an”outside of the box” thinker if nothing else

W: As you have mentioned, you got your start in Milwaukee, which some might or might now is where Speech of Arrested Development got his start as well Stricklyn from eMC. How is the scene in Milwaukee? What caused you to relocate to Brooklyn?

QA: Milwaukee is small and the mid-west isn’t as much of a plateau for music as is the east coast. So it was only logical for me to make a move. Some of the cats I got down with in Milwaukee had their shit together pretty tight. But in the mid-west the biggest hurdle is to be taken seriously as an art
ist. The locals usually look to the shit thats coming in rather then supporting the home grown shit. In NY the Homegrown shit is Biggie and Jay-Z. In Milwaukee we had the group Arrested Development, who made some noise back in the day. However, they didn’t really make a big impression on our city until they got national distribution and had videos and all of that. Local radio din’t play it until clear channel put it in the national rotation.

NY has treated me good!. I worked with a whole gang of talented Emcees. I put in a little under 3 years of work and “The Royal Parchment” is just now about to drop, but i’m already working on the next shit. I’m taking it back to grass roots, independent side and im very much into the live instruments. I’m starting to dabble in composing music. I want to make some timeless revolutionary shit.

W: You mentioned on your myspace page that you are working with Finsta of Finsta Bundy of Black Moon fame/rugged brooklyn boom bap music. How did you hook up with him?

QA: Me and my old crew are still cool. It’s just that, as we got older they started to get married and have kids so music became less of a priority them. That wasn’t the case for me. I came to BK, linked up with Finsta (half of the grimy 90′s Hip Hop duo Finsta Bundy) and DJ Evil Dee (Black Moon/ Beat Minerz). I don’t remember where I met Finsta. I just remember that we were chopping it up about music, he told me he made beats and we exchanged info. I hit him like week later, kicked some verse and he liked it. We started working on some tracks almost immediately. I didn’t even know who he really was then. We would go out on the scene and he knew so many people. When cats like Evill Dee and Rock Wilder would pop up and show him love I started asking questions. Little did I know the dude was a fucking NYC legend.

W: How would you describe your music to someone who has never heard of you?

QA: When I describe my music to people I give a different response every time. This is the July ’08 version. Imagine if Duke Ellington and Marcus Garvey were combined to be one person who just happened to be born in the ’80′s and kicked rhymes. Now imagine this person backed by a live Jazz Ensemble with Dr. Dre on the drums. Thats what my music sounds like except it’s bit more niggerish.

W: Obviously, your music contains social overtones in it, what is your view on music’s role in the community and how they play off of each other?

QA: Music is supposed to be a reflection of the attitude of the people. As musicians/emcees we have a responsibility to keep that pure because music is, and always has been a universal communication system. I make sure my songs have some kind of social overtone because we are living in turbulent times and the stakes are so high. I would love to just chase pussy all day and talk about whatever on a track, but because of the circumstances, we have to operate with a sense of importance and priority. Our main objective should be self awareness and self
expression, since the lack of them seems to be our greatest pit fall. People are ignorant as to how to solve the issues that plague the globe, so we have to stimulate the kind of thinking that will generate the solutions that raise the quality of life. I feel that if people just did more of what they feel and less of what they are told, our problems would have been solved.

W: What is your take on hip hop in general? What is your view on NY hip hop, both as an outsider and as being a resident?

QA: The NYC Hip Hop scene is the perfect metaphor for the entire Hip Hop Industry. A whole lot of cats that aren’t original, and a few dope ass emcees who have been completely slept on. I want to mention Fresh Daily, Homeboy Sandman, and Faro-Z just to name a couple to check for.
I feel like most artist don’t know what the fuck to do, so they just run the same tired ass formula and gripe about the mediocre results. I find myself saying this alot, but Im going to say again. “Everything is Changing,” There are no rules and weak are being cancelled out. If NY hip hop was a basketball franchise I would say that this is a rebuilding year. In general I think Hip Hop will introduce an entirely new genre of American/International music. The Hip Hop we have today is the continuation of a line that can be traced back through Jazz, Soul, Rock, R&B and Funk. Technological advances have made it so easy to produce the music, but it’s gotten kind of boring. We have to make it a skill again in order to get some stuff out here thats interesting. We’ll see how it goes, but expect to see Quad Almighty rocking with live instruments every time.

W: What projects do you have out and what can we expect from you in the future?

QA: We made The Quad Almighty EP and the album that I’m dropping in September entitled The Royal Parchment: The Indoktrination of Dynastik Rationalizm. I dropped the Quad Almighty E.P. in the summer of 2007, put together the band (The Powers That Be) and we started doing shows all around NYC. That basically brings us up to date. You can catch Quad Almighty & The Powers That Be rocking live at the underground hip hop venue near you!

W: Any last words you’d like to say before we be out?

QA: Lastly I just want to say, ” Open up your eye’s, and use your fucking mind. Don’t be a dumb ass robot all of your life and stand up for what you believe in. Besides that, Peace To The Gods and check out my website. www.quadalmighty.com to find out about upcoming shows or any
other info.

W: Thanks man, and best of luck to you in the future!

Can you believe it is almost August? Where the hell did the summer go to? Next thing you know, we’ll be scrambling with going back to school, watching football, or continue on working like myself but with less sunlight. Summer’s don’t mean as much when you are in your thirties as they once did. I can remember summers of past were all I did was work four hours a day at a local hospital, most of which was spent with my Walkman tape player and my headphones, blasting my home made tape of DJ Quik, AMG and 2nd II None. The rest would be spent water skiing, chasing chicks around, playing volleyball or drinking 40′s while shooting pool in my man Adam’s garage (get home soon). Still, every summer, I have nights, moments, weekends that stand out from the rest of the summer. It might be a mud volleyball tournament where I spent the whole day drunk. Or maybe a camping trip with my best friend where we proceeded to jet ski the entire weekend. Last year it was a weekend of playing poker, finishing second in a 140 person tournament, then doing a bar crawl in Evergreen, Colorado.

This year, so far two events stand out from the rest of the summer. Toward the end of June I had a small BBQ with some of my close friends that had us drinking and eating until the sun went down. We then went to a small local bar and proceeded to close it down. What happened at said bar can not be mentioned (it would undoubtedly get at least three of us in trouble), but we had a great time. We then came back home only to find my next neighbor still awake, so while two of my friends passed out and another left, another friend and I proceeded to invite ourselves to their shin dig. Needless to say, we saw the sun come up. The second event of course would be last weekend’s trip to Denver, which saw me take in two Pirates games, one BBQ, and many, many cold ones. I love summer.

What’s the point of all this rambling? Enjoy those summer moments while you can. Before you know it, you’ll be freezing your ass off and shoveling eight inches of snow off the sidewalk.

On to the news…..

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Reppin’ The Great Northwest!!!!

(Trav: Always gotta rep my home region!!!)

Animal Farm feat KRS-One – Peace
http://www.zshare.net/audio/159194995999e8c2/

“Portland shines yet again with GenErik on soulful, retro-sounding production and a crew of MCs, including a guest spot from KRS-One. Lovely!”
-XLR8R Magazine

Animal Farm Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/animalfarmrecords

Animal Farm is one of the hottest groups to burst upon the northwest hip-hop scene, creating a significant buzz in just three years after joining forces. The group has quickly developed a large regional following after performing live throughout the west coast with the likes of KRS-One, GZA and RZA from Wu-Tang Clan, Brand Nubian, Aceyalone, Mike Jones, 2 Live Crew, Tha Alkaholiks, and many others. Animal Farm’s new album, “The Unknown”, is currently receiving radio play throughout the country and recently debuted at #12 on the CMJ Hip-Hop Charts.

The group is a collaboration of MCs from Portland and Eugene, OR, and was voted the Eugene Weekly’s best hip-hop group in 2006 and 2007. Animal Farm was also recently praised in Urb Magazine’s Next 1000, which claimed “The animated Animal Farm achieves a classically feel-good tone.”

The much anticipated debut album will be available in stores on July 15th, 2008 and will feature some great surprises and collaborative efforts, including the legendary KRS-One, as well as Nightclubber Lang from Rhymesayers’ Boom Bap Project. The album has already been featured on numerous prominent websites, including hiphopdx.com, urb.com, hhnlive.com, and 2dopeboyz.com, among others.

Some notable songs on the album include “Ragtime Gal”, a great throwback to the 1920s, “Mean Streaks”, a humorous track about bad tempers, as well as the socially conscious “War”, “Crying”, and “Peace”. The album also features a wide array of soulful party tracks, often produced by group member Gen.Erik. Gen.Erik has also received high acclaim in XLR8R magazine and in features on hiphopdx.com and okayplayer.com for his work with Animal Farm and his other group, Cleveland Steamers.

Animal Farm is quickly gaining popularity due to a live stage show and group camaraderie. In promoting the new album worldwide through Focused Noise Productions and Burnside/ IODA Distribution, the whole world will soon find out about Animal Farm.

“With an effort like this out of the gate, it’s a fair bet that these four emcees won’t be unknown for long.” -Portland Mercury

“Animal Farm keep a true-school aesthetic with a feel-good tilt to their brim. Different flows; warm, bumping production; great hooks; and fresh trade-offs separate the Farm from the pack.” -The Stranger (Seattle)

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Butta Verses

(Trav: One of E’s favorite artists, comes correct with this….)

New freestyle from Butta Verses, now available for free download!!!

Link: http://www.zshare.net/audio/15888911d0286e9a/

For more info on Butta Verses, please visit:
http://www.myspace.com/buttaverses
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Coalmine Presents One Dae……

One Dae is an emcee whose been heavy on his grind lately and working closely with the Coalmine camp. The video is titled “BK All Dae”, and is produced by the well respected, underground beat smith, Marco Polo. The track is from his up coming album titled “Daes & Times” featuring guest appearances from Sean Price, Evidence, C-Rayz Walz with production supplied by Domingo, Ayatollah, M-Phazes & Marco Polo.

One Dae also has a mixtape that just dropped, titled “The ScrapBook”, hosted by the Brooklyn heavyweight, Sean Price. The mixtape is available for purchase through his myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/onedae.

One Dae has given all you true hip hop heads the opportunity to download 2 free tracks from the mixtape which features Coalmine’s own DJ Dutchmaster and Bekay.

Click link to download:
http://www.zshare.net/download/15719850e7d257a4/
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EThernal Plains – Excellent & Pathetic The EP

(Trav’s Note: From the lead MC of Massachusetts’s Nite People group, which I mentioned last year in a post and put out a very good album. Looking forward to hearing this.)

Available @ www.sociallightsounds.com

Artist: EThereal Plains
Producer: Forth Star
Album: Excellent & Pathetic The EP
Label: Social Light Sounds
Year: 2008
Contact: www.sociallightsounds.com
www.myspace.com/etherealplains

Social Light Sounds Presents: Ethereal Plains Excellent and Pathetic – The EP. A six song collaboration between Boston emcee E The Real and Brooklyn producer/emcee Forth Star. The songs were all recorded in one day on New Years Eve in Forth Star’s home studio in Brooklyn. These two long time friends haven’t recorded together since Ethereal’s 2003 solo debut The Overwhelm. E The Real is now the lead emcee for the Massachusetts based group Nite People who released their 2007 album Daily Livin, which received critical acclaim from many media outlets including Okayplayer.com ( See The Review here ).

Excellent and Pathetic – The EP is about contrasts and how they define us as individuals. Positives and negatives, good and evil, love and hate, ups and downs, peace and war, and any other contradiction you can think of.

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ApRock Presents THE HITFARMERS feat. WARPATH – The King Commands His Warlord (Free Online Track)

In cooperation with www.rappers-guide.com we present a free online track by the Munich, Germany based production team THE HITFARMERS featuring WARPATH on the mic!

The track entitled “The King Commands His Warlord” gives you a taste of what to expect of the HITFARMERS producer album which is in production right now!

Download the joint for free @
www.rappers-guide.com mp3

For further info visit:

www.myspace.com/ap_rock
www.myspace.
com/hitfarmers
www.myspace.com/warpathone
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Life The Great, July 24th

Do remember I will performing live tomorrow night @ the Drunken Unicorn 736 Ponce De Leon Pl NE Atlanta 30306 doors @ 9pm $5 from 9-10.

I played this instrumental last night while watching Black In America and I just thought about a lot of things……here they are over the Colors beat.

title: Colors
artist: Life The Great
original title: Colors
original artist: Ice T
link: http://www.zshare.net/audio/15857625f77c2ec6/

Download the UltraSound album NOW: http://sharebee.com/f0b5b6e1

Life The Great
AIM: lifethegreat

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Fat Beats to Unearth Freddie Foxxx’s Mysteriously Shelved ’94 Album
	07.24.2008
Crazy Like A Foxxx Double Disc Set Features 2Pac, Chuck D, and Kool G Rap Plus Bonus Tracks produced by D.I.T.C.

(July 24, 2008 – Brooklyn, NY) Fourteen years overdue, Freddie Foxxx, aka Bumpy

Knuckles, is finally ready to step back into the spotlight with the official release of his 1994 demo tape, Crazy Like A Foxxx, as a two CD set on July 29th via Brooklyn-based record label Fat Beats. The album is a veritable time capsule from the early 1990′s, with guest spots from legends such as 2Pac, Chuck D, and Kool G Rap.

The original Crazy Like A Foxxx album was recorded in New York and intended for an official release by MCA. However, for reasons unknown, the album was shelved after promotional cassettes were serviced to radio and press. This newly remastered release includes both the 1993 demo version on Disc 2 and the 1994 completed version of the album on Disc 1. Largely written for the emcee’s friends in prison, the album has ominous overtones and provides insight into Bumpy’s dark state of mind at that time period. The previously unheard demo album (Disc 2) features production exclusively from D.I.T.C.’s Showbiz, Lord Finesse, and Buckwild.

In the late ‘90’s, Bumpy resurfaced with critically acclaimed appearances on D.I.T.C. member O.C.’s classic album Jewelz and Gang Starr’s Moment of Truth. He went on to release one of the best selling independent albums of 2000 with Industry Shakedown, which moved over 200,000 units. In 2002 Bumpy followed up with the critically praised Konexion. After several more high-profile appearances and more than a little bit of commotion on the internet about a long-standing beef with Rakim (which was recently settled), Bumpy is ready to finally release these much talked-about tracks from his early days in the music business and remains a force to be reckoned with. The track listing of the double CD set Crazy Like A Foxxx is as follows:

DISC 1: JAILHOUSE VERSION

1. Can’t Break Away
2. Crazy Like a Foxxx (Ultramagnetic dis)
3. Interlude
4. So Tough (video mix)
5. Daddy Boot Knock
6. Project Mice
7. Jailhouse Rock
8. Killa (feat. 2Pac)
9. Meet Some Skins
10. Interlude
11. Shotty in the Back
12. Interlude
13. Funk in yo Brain
14. Step (feat. Chuck D of Public Enemy)
15. Do What You Gotta Do
16. Pressure on the Brain
17. Rev Glock (skit)
18. Rev Glock
19. Crazy Like a Foxxx (alternate mix)
20. Amen

DISC 2: DITC VERSION
1993 Demo Version Produced by Showbiz, Lord Finesse, & Buckwild

1. Intro
2. Call of the Wild
3. Can’t Break Away
4. Click Click
5. 8 Bars to Catch a Body
6. Project Mice
7. Rev. Glock
8. Crazy Like a Foxxx
9. Man Destroys Man
10. Pressure on the Brain
11. Who is the Middle Man
12. Cook a Niggaz Ass (feat. Kool G Rap)

Streams:

Crazy Like A Foxxx album preview
http://media.audibletreats.com/CrazyLikeAFoxxxPreview.mp3

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WU-Tang Type Stuff

Here is NEW music from Cappadonna’s latest album, The Cappatilize Project.
It is available in ALL RETAIL LOCATIONS NOW.

Cappadonna – Tug Dat Rope
http://www.zshare.net/audio/15682748c9ff0a80/ (New Album ‘The Cappatilize
Projecy’ In-Stores July 22!)

New and Exclusive GZA track off ‘Protools’

1. Intromental
Produced by: Dreddy Kruger

2. Pencil Feat. Masta Killa & RZA
Produced by: Mathematics

3. Alphabets
Produced by: True Master

4. Groundbreaking Feat. Justice Kareem
Produced by: Bronze Nazareth

5. 7 Pounds
Produced by: Black Milk
Intro Produced by: Preservation for Preserved Productions, LLC

6. 0% Finance
Produced by: Jose “Choco” Reynoso

7. Short Race Feat. Rock Marcy
Produced by: Arabian Knight

8. Interlude

9. Paper Plate
Produced by: RZA

10. Columbian Ties Feat. True Master
Produced by: Bronze Nazareth

11. Firehouse Feat. Ka
Produced by: Rock Marcy

12. Path of Destruction
Produced by: Jay Waxx Garfield

13. Cinema Feat. Justice Kareem
Produced by: Arabian Knight

14. Intermission (Drive In Movie)

15. Life Is A Movie Feat. RZA & Irfane Khan-Acito (of Outlines)
Produced by: RZA
(Bonus Live Performance)
16. Elastic Audio
Live Performance @ The Parish in Austin, TX
5/31/2007 Featuring FYRE Department & Dreddy Krug

GZA – Alphabets (Produced by True Master)
http://sharebee.com/cfbb4b81

BONUS: RZA – Afro Samurai Resurrection Audio Promo
http://sharebee.com/76fd3761

Afro Samurai Is Back http://afrosamurai.com/
Also you will see Bobby Digital v’s RZA in the promo!

Here is a NEW and EXCLUSIVE track by Raekwon.

Raekwon – Blood Missiles (OB4CLII Coming in January 2009!)
http://sharebee.com/e1fa3a30

Solomon Childs f/ RZA & Mark Ronson – You Do It To Yourself (New Album Available ‘You Don’t Want War’ @ www.chambermusik.com)
http://www.zshare.net/audio/156830349e366ac6/

NEW MUSIC from MF Doom & Ghostface. All produced by J Dilla

In late 2005 Ghostface Killa and MF DOOM were both recording over tracks from J Dilla’s instrumental opus, Donuts, which saw release the following February. Some of these were released on Ghostface’s Fishscale in 2006, while others, including a Dilla-Doom project, were postponed indefinitely after J Dilla’s passing. Two of these tracks, “Sniper Elite” and “Murder Goons,” are presented here for the first time.

MF Doom – Sniper Elite (Produced by J Dilla)
http://www.zshare.net/audio/156820694a84cddc/

Ghostface Killah – Murder Goons (Produced by J Dilla)
http://www.zshare.net/audio/156823808f8eb00

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