So just a few weeks after the release of the single “You Don’t Know About It” ft. Masta Ace, M-Dot & DJ Jean Maron bring you the Music Video off the “Run MPC” album dropping AUGUST 31ST!!! on Soul Spazm Records!! New Single Be Easy ft. Chino XL, Torae, B.A.M., & Lyric Jones Coming Soon!!!
I was always one of those dudes that came “fashionably” late to the party and usually I was already three sheets to the wind. Keeping up tradition, I’m arriving a little late to our backpack jams gathering this week. None the less I brought along some party favors in the form of some of the dopest jams from my personal favorites to bring some of that party mood for the weekend. I even got a couple drinking jams, because hell, backpackers need to twist the cap and toss a few back. Shall we get to it? Like Slick Rick said, “Heeeeeeeeeeeereeee we go!”
Download 26-50 of Trav’s “Backpack Bangers” HERE
Neek The Exotic – Muthaf*ckin Man
Found On: “Backs N Necks” EP (Large Entertainment, 1999)
With the backing both with the promotion and on the production tip, you figured Neek The Exotic would have made much more noise in the underground rap game than he did. In some ways, I always found his delivery and flow somewhat cumbersome, but it was something I grew to accept and almost like. He seems a lot more precise on the lead track for his Backs N Necks EP, “Muthaf*ckin Man”. His voice was unique enough to make up for any other annoyances. The Large Pro beat is a true banger with it’s laid back synths which is perfect for the New Jack City-ish hook.
Click HERE for link to Trav’s 25 Backpack Picks
From my standpoint, the term “backpacker” has changed greatly over it’s first derived roots. Even the time period we are discussing, 94-2000, the term went from being term coined (at least this is who I give credit to) by Black Moon as describing the underground hardrock timbos with a Jansport on their back to almost a geeky, over zealous, tru-ist that despised anything they deemed not “real” hip hop by the time 2000 rolled around. Despite the labels, which I do usually avoid using, some of the gritty boom-bap/backpacker inspired hip hop is among my favorite the culture has to offer. Following up Diggidy Dart and E left me scrambling for tracks when a good chunk of my list was already given it’s proper exposure, but in true Trav form, I dig around for my favorites that probably only myself would ever think of including on such a list as mighty as this.
Thirstin Howl III – Brooklyn Hard Rock
Found On: “Brooklyn Hard Rock”/”The Message”/”Spit Boxers” 12″ (Rawkus, 1999)
Pretty much anything found on Rawkus, Fondle ‘Em, and even Stones Throw in this time period will fit in the backpacker label. Myself, I first heard this disgustingly nasty track on the Soundbombing 2 compilation (the backpackers bible) and immediately was my favorite track from it. Thirstin has that ODB type of rawness to his voice and delivery, backed by his Lo-Life crew, it was just straight up rawness that hasn’t been duplicated too many times. The story of Thristin is one that is probably worthy of a post all on it’s own, but if dude never does nothing else, “Brooklyn Hard Rock” will always be a classic Jansport joint in my book.
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New audio from Maffew featuring B-House H.O.F. member Masta Ace, “Where I’m From”. Don’t sleep on the Nottz production which pays homage to Brooklyn. Thanks to Dot Got It for the put on! Audio after the skip…
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Click HERE for Link To Eric’s “25″ picks
Alright peoples, now that you’ve seen Dart’s take on the Complex list of 75 “Tunnel” bangers, here goes my 27. Yes, I said 27, being that Dart switched his list up on me late last nite to include “Karma” and “Negro League Baseball”. As you’ll notice, I also duplicated those two picks, hence the 27. However, I truly feel sorry for our “third of the trio”, Trav, who is shouldered with the task of picking the remaining 25, being that Dart and I have picked many of the more notable classics. Anyway, here goes, let us know what you think!
“I Declare War”-Pacewon
Found On: “I Declare War/”Step UP” 12″ (Ruffhouse, 1998)
Yet another Ski (Beatz) produced banger that came after the notoriety that can be associated with his contributions to Jay’s “Reasonable Doubt”, Camp Lo’s “Uptown Saturday Night”, yet before you youngsters discovered him via Curren$y’s “Pilot Talk”. The actual sample used for the Outsidaz’ card-carrying member can now be heard on Sean Price’s video leak, “Figure Four”. “I Declare War” also finds Ski showcasing his diggin’ skills as the track is just a basic looped sample. Still, undeniably fresh!
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“Shit, I sure the hell don’t have a clue who’s “sleepin’ on” this Classic sophomore album from the legendary Masta Ace. I’ve always loved this album ever since I purchased it on the strength of the single “Jeep Ass Nigguh” being featured in the Source’s “Sure Shot Singles”. “Slaughtahouse’s” elevation to classic status (I assume) is greatly due to it’s appearance on countless blogs and Hip Hop featured sites that more or less gained the album a cult following (I’ve even seen one very prevalent blogger (who shall remain nameless) give this album the #1 spot on his top albums of all time. Ace totally blindsided the listener (hell, he even flipped the script a bit with “Sittin’ On Chrome” as well) with this very original and brilliant follow up to “Take A Look Around” all the while making a mockery of all the “shoot em’ up” gangsta rappers that attempted to capitalize on the success of reigning “gangsta” heavyweights such as Ice Cube, Ice T, The Geto Boys and N.W.A., but failed miserably.
“Slaughtahouse” is a truly timeless album…..a gem, listening to this album today you can’t help but get the feeling that it was so0 far ahead of it’s time it’s ridiculous. The majority of the production on the album was so unlike anything else that hit the streets in 1993, I often hear the word “boom bap” thrown around loosely (shit, I do it my damn self!) but the production courtesy of a vast array of beatmakers such as Uneek, The Bluez Brothers & Masta Ace aka Ace One truly defined “BOOM BAP”. At times Ace’s debut “Take A Look Around” felt a bit light-hearted, not as intimidating, but on “Slaughtahouse” don’t you dare take Ace, Lord Digga or Paula Perry lightly for one minute or you’re bound to be slapped back to reality on tracks such as the incredible “Style Wars” (why didn’t that make my “Top 25 beats”?) and the unscripted rawness of “Boom Bashin”. My absolute crowning moment on “Slaughtahouse” comes courtesy of the track that shares the album’s title. At about the 2 minute mark, after Paula Perry’s warning to all wack emcees…the playfulness of the cut is quickly halted by the rolling drum track and Lord Digga’s repetition of the phrase “Death to the wack emcees, Death to the wack emcees”. “Slaughtahouse” is the perfect opener to the album as Ace makes his intentions to steamroll over all fraudulent emcees clear as day.
Okay, here’s were you, the reader comes in….I need a bit of clarification, when I bought “Slaughtahouse” on tape back in 1993 I could have sworn that the album’s finale (the certified classic “Saturday Night Live”) was NOT included on the cassette. Is this indeed true? Okay, here’s part two of my dilemma…..At about the 17 second mark of “Saturday Night Live” you can vaguely hear one of Ace’s homies utter “DJ Premier” just as the scratching commences, shortly thereafter I swear that you can also hear Lord Digga say “DJ Premier” again. Can someone please offer some clarity on this “argument”. In the meantime….”death to the wack emcees, death to the wack emcees, death to the”……
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Another good year, although not quite as good as ’03.
BC’s Top 10 LP’s of 2004
10) MF DOOM – MM.. FOOD – The main reason this is #10, is the break that DOOM takes in the middle of the LP from his mic duties.
9) Murs & 9th Wonder – Murs 3:16 The 9th Edition – A real nice collaboration and the only big flaw is the short length.
Ghostface Killah – The Pretty Toney Album - Here’s one it took a little while for me to get into, but I finally realized how good it was. This might be my favorite Ghostface LP.
7) The Roots – The Tipping Point – I think they keep getting better and better. This LP is another in a long line of great albums from the hip-hop band and Late Night with Jimmy fallon house band. Which, by the way, I’m cool with. You can’t sell out anymore (ask Snoop and his Orbitz gum commercial and, even worse, that one he did w/ Lee Iacocca), so get some exposure and some money y’all.
6) De La Soul – The Grind Date – The great songs on this LP are really great, but there are a few mediocre tracks, which dropped it a little lower on my list.
5) R.A. the Rugged Man – Die, Rugged Man, Die – I didn’t really follow the man’s career at all, but heard good things about this LP and checked it out. I was pleasantly surprised, as this album is great all the way through. I looked up self-deprecating in the dictionary, and while I didn’t find R.A.’s picture, I did learn that, I do indeed know what the term means.
4) Beastie Boys – To the 5 Boroughs – This might be the Beasties’ must hip-hop album ever. I think it’s damn good and I can’t wait for the new one, whenever that will be, since it was delayed due to MCA’s cancer diagnosis this summer.
3) Jean Grae – This Week – Man, I dig this LP. I think there’s one song that I don’t like and Jean Grae is a phenomenally clever MC.
2) Masta Ace – A Long Hot Summer – Not quite as good as Disposable Arts, but another great one from the Masta.
1) Madvillain – Madvillainy – Another DOOM and Madlib collaboration album, but this time with DOOM and Madlib. It’s a great album from beginning to end and the best of 2004.
BC’s Top 20 Songs of 2004
20) The Dum Dum – Tajai – The beat is Asian influenced and Tajai drops some sold rhymes. A nice song from a decent LP.
19) Bad Man! – Murs and 9th Wonder – This is great beat and a great MC working together.
18) Through the Wire – Kanye West – I love this beat and you have to dig that West drops his verses through a wired jaw from his car crash.
17) The Worst – Jedi Mind Tricks – This wasn’t my favorite JMT LP, but this is the best song from the album in my opinion.
16) The Grind Date – De La Soul – One of 5-6 classic songs from The Grind Date.
15) Good Ol’ Love – Masta Ace – A real nice mellow track from A Long Hot Summer.
14) 3 the Hard Way – Beastie Boys – The hook is ill and the Beasties wreck the beat. Thanks to a stint in toy merchandising, I know that Gnip Gnop is a board game and not just some jibberish from Ad-Rock. I don’t know how many times I have gotten Ad-Rock lyrics years after the song is released (another example, when The taking of the Pelham 123 remake came out, I finally knew what the reference was from Sure Shot, as I was unfamiliar with the original movie).
13) Lessons – R.A. the Rugged Man – This dope song starts off an underrated album from R.A.
12) Potholderz – MF DOOM w/ Count Bass D – Just a nice pairing of two unique MC’s.
11) 3:16 – Murs and 9th Wonder – A short, but great song that kicks off the collabo.
10) I Try – Talib Kweli w/ Mary J. Blige – I haven’t found a Kweli LP that I would consider a classic, but this song is real nice.
9) Ch-Check It Out – Beastie Boys – Some old school Beastie Boys type stuff. Just the Beasties being their goofy selves and having fun. Real cool appearance on Letterman:
Don’t Say Nuthin’ – The Roots – The best song you’ll hear with a jibberish chorus. Nice, I used jibberish again… and again.
7) All Good Things – Haiku d’Etat – A dope mellow song with a real nice chorus.
6) Holla – Ghostface Killah – Ghostface rapping over an old R&B song w/o removing the original vocals. Pretty cool song. I was in Cub Foods today and heard the actual song (I don’t know the original artist) and was trying to figure out why I knew the lyrics. Thank you Ghostface Killah! Oh, and 2 songs later was the song sampled and interpolated in Masta Ace’s Let’s Take a Walk. Thought that was a cool coincidence.
5) All Caps – Madvillain – My second favorite beat from the DOOM/Madlib LP.
4) Supa Luv – Jean Grae – Your typical dope 9th Wonder produced beat. I love this song.
3) H.O.O.D. – Masta Ace – MA kicking some knowledge about the ‘hood. These are the kinds of songs that
Ace specializes in and the beat is nice as well.
2) Strange Ways – Madvillain – Like all the songs on Madvillainy, this song is too short, but it’s great. The beat is just amazing.
1) Rock Co. Kane Flow – De La Soul w/ MF DOOM – I think this is a Jake One beat and it’s crazy. Mix Pos and dave with DOOM, and you have a winner.
Honorable Mentions:
He Comes – De La Soul w/ Ghostface Killah
The Writz – Gift of Gab – A crazy piano based track with Gab matching his flow with the beat.
It’s Nothing – The Beatnuts - I was listening to Milk Me again recently and I liked it better than I remembered. This song features one of those crazy Beatnut beats and some “I’ll kick your ass” lyrics.
Spoiled Rotten – J-Zone w/ Celph Titled - J-Zone comes with another great beat. I always liked these 2 paired up together, although I didn’t really get into Bo$$ Hog Barbarian$.
A-Alikes – Jean Grae - Jean Grae comes hard on the first track off of This Week.
Ain’t Changed – Truth Enola - There were a few good tracks from this LP and this was one of the best.
Crazy – Truth Enola - This song survives a lame reggae dude kicking a bar or 2 in the middle of the song.
Oh My God – Masta Ace w/ The Beatnuts and Rahzel
Biscuits – Ghostface Killah w/ Trife
Brawl – R.A. the Rugged Man – The Rugged Man spittin’ over some crazy xelophone loop.
One Beer – MF DOOM
On December 22nd, Ace & Edo will release a special Edition of their album Arts & Entertainemtn called “Extra Entertainment”. There will be a release party in NY with other MC’S like Jean Grae or Torae, it will also be broadcasted live on the internet.
This is the leak single of the special edition called “Authentic” and it’s produced by me.
Link provided by 2dopeboyz
Peace,
Clap
So on Monday Masta Ace and Edo.G came to the town where I study, Kiel. I’ve seen Ace for the seventh time, each time it’s different, but this time it was really special!
I arrived in Kiel on Sunday,I drove 2 1/2 hours with my brother, since I don’t really live in Kiel anymore, I just go there to write my exams (but pssssst). So that night there was supposed to be a Ustream of Ace and Edo from Birmingham, England. Right on time at 9pm my time they were sitting in front of the laptop ready to stream. During the chat i mentioned that I’m watching football, and they asked how I can do that in Germany. I got Digital TV with ESPN America, so I can watch all the NFL games. Ace and Ed got all excited, since they are huge football fans and they knew they would come to Kiel the next day. They said they might wanna watch Monday Night Football over at my crib. The stream continued for over an hour, whoever wants to watch it, you can check it here (It was really cool):
The same night I emailed Ace if they really wanted to come to the crib to watch the game, and he was like: DEFINITELY. So the next day I went grocery shopping and got some beer and coke (cola, lol). I was preparing a lasagna and some chicken curry for the night. I also got the word 2 days ago, that Strick would come too, he will be the Merch Guy this tour. Akrobatik and Paten Locke were also announced for the show.
My boys Esperado and Matt Sense also had their first big performance with 12 Finger Dan as the local act, they had a couple beats from me too, and they ripped it, they did a great job. Matt picked me up around 4 and we went over to Epserado to do a last little rehearsal (I had to kick a verse too). We went to the Luna Club around 6 to do the sound check. Ace, Edo, Ak, P, Strick and DJ Moe-D arrived around 7. It was a very warm welcome and Ace told me that they would premiere the joint I did for their album. I didn’t even get to hear it before that day, so I was really excited about it. I heard it during the sound check and it sounded crazy.
Anyway, my boys got on stage around 9.30 and did a great show, Ak and Paten went on afterwards and ripped it too. Ace and Edo got on stage around 11. They did ALL the classic joint like – I got to have it, The Symphony, Love comes and goes, Born 2 roll (with the 3rd verse over the Ante Up beat) Good ol love, Beautiful, Rock the beat and a lot more, they also played a lot of the songs off the new album. The people went totally crazy and since it was a prettysmall club and it was packed, it had a really great feel to it.
So they left the stage for a short moment to come back for an Encore, it started with Take a walk, by Ace and then there was my moment, I don’t wanna tell y’all too much, besides that it was a world premiere, just check the video right here: (The Sound quality is really good)
So after the show I jumped in the tour van and we went to the hotel for a quick second, before we got over to my brothers (my former) crib. My brother and a couple friends were already there, and since the living room is pretty small, it was PACKED!
Ace was really classic, while watching football he was drinking tea and Henny, lol. We talked about a lot of things, but I can’t tell y’all everything, I just say it reached from music to plastic surgery… Ak and Edo were a little pissed that the Pats were getting their ass beat tho. Akrobatik was ustreaming live from the appartment, making bets when Ace would fall asleep, but Ace stayed awake doing some, what Ak called “Pre-Game-Routines”. I also finished the lasagna and cooked the rice to go with the chicken curry, and everybody was really happy about getting something to eat late at night, don’t need to tell y’all that I’m a hobby chef, just ask these dudes, lol. I brought em back to the hotel around 6 am, they had to leave for Oslo, Norway around 7, so you can be pretty sure they didn’t catch any sleep… But that’s how it is if you do what you love.
All of these MC’s are great people and I felt really fotunate to spend a whole night with em. See y’all next year!
Clap
Edit: Ace gave me an A&E shirt plus… one of the CD’S that were already pressed up, with the A&E logo on it and in a digi pack, which is way cooler than the jewel case. I will leave that motherfucker sealed! This version can never be sold and I’m really fortunate to have one, HA!
Back in 2000, I had just graduated from college and I was in this weird transitional phase with the music I was listening to. At this time hip-hop was all over the place, but I wasn’t really digging a lot of it (really starting around 1997 or so). Then I discovered independent hip-hop and I was reminded of why I liked hip-hop music to begin with.
At this time, I was snatching up anything I could find online from Masta Ace, who was, and had been, putting out a bunch of 12 inches. For the first time in my life, I had regular access to the internet, which I used to find out about a lot of releases that I had no idea about, since I was relegated to what I saw at Media Play or Best Buy.
I don’t remember how I found out about this LP, but basically, I saw that Ace was on this and I bought it. The concept is pretty cool. The search for the Yosumi game system (named after the label) and many of the beats use old video game samples. The best examples of this are in Super Brooklyn and Punch Out, which use Super Mario Bros. and Punch Out samples in the songs featuring the Cocoa Brovas (aka Smif N’ Wessun). There’s a mix of artists that you’ve heard of and a few that you’ve never heard of, or at least I haven’t heard of since. This LP also features the song Hellbound with Eminem and Ace, which was apparently a song that took a few verses that were lying around and put them together. Either way, it’s a nice song. Also, on here is Spread It Out, featuring Masta Ace over a sample of The Simpsons theme song.
For a while, Yosumi had a web site and listed Ace and Deacon the Villain from CunninLynguists as artists. They released a second Game Over compilation, and I believe they at least handled something to do with Ace’s Disposable Arts. Other than that, I’m not too familiar with what happened. I found a MySpace page and it looks like they release break beats.
1) Intro
2) Super Brokklyn (BQ Mix) – Cocoa Brovas & Mr. Cheeks
3) Que, Que – Tomorrow’s Weapons
4) Roll Wit Me – GHG
5) U R Who?
6) Who R U? – Illa Noize (J-Getm)
7) Splain to Him
Creep – Royal Flush, J-Mel, 151-Ron Bacardi, Rah Bump
9) Chica Bonita – JNJ Project
10) Jugga In Sink
11) Hellbound (H&H remix) – Eminem, J-Black and Masta Ace
12) Mamita – S.U.
13) Puff Harder – JNJ Project and Mista Cheeks
14) Newscast
15) Spread It Out – Masta Ace
16) 4-Tivity
17) Petrified – Dhark Citi
18) Smokin Trees – Groovy
19) Think Like Street – Godfather, Royal Flush and Rah Fese
20) You Can’t Take Me Out – Cocoa Brovas
21) Rumble
22) Punch Out – Cocoa Brovas, Xun Tsu and The Most Talented
23) Yun Yin
24) Game Over – J-Black, Jugga, Steele, Godfather and P Dap
25) Wrap It Up
26) Super Brooklyn – Cocoa Brovas
http://www.zshare.net/download/6884896573405845/
