The Video Crates

2006-05-08T20:15:00.000+02:00

Rap All-Stars on Arsenio Hall Show

2006-05-02T12:21:00.000+02:00

Last Arsenio Hall Show and a group of top rank rappers pay their tribute to the man. You don't see that many dope acts performing together like that. A Tribe Called Quest, Mad Lion, Fu Schnickens, Wu-Tang, Das FX, Krs, Guru, MC Lyte, Naughty by Nature, Yo Yo etc. Check it out.

ESPN It's The Shoes

2006-05-02T09:13:00.000+02:00

Click image for details.

episode 4
dwayne wade / russell simmons / flight club new york

episode 5
quentin richardson / sneaker pimps / brooklyn projects skateshop / mike epps

episode 6
terrell owens / dave white / trick daddy

episode 7
magic johnson / paul "p-rod" rodriguez / nelly

episode 8
alife rivington club / fabolous / michael vick / hoops for hope / season 1 favorite moments

Episode till 3 are missing. This is season 1. Season 2 coming.
Props 2 illbaniankid & Masta Lee

MTV "SNEAK ATTACK"

2006-04-25T09:02:00.000+02:00

Lootpack - Whenimondamic

2006-04-21T08:17:00.000+02:00

Though they were together since high school, the Lootpack - Madlib, Wildchild and DJ Romes - first made their presence known in 1994 when the group’s beat conductor, Madlib, produced "Mary Jane," a Tha Alkaholiks 12”. Later that year, Lootpack's lyrical skills were heard on the song "Turn The Party Out" on the Alkaholiks’ debut LP "21 And Over," and "WLIX" from the Liks’ second LP.

The positive feedback from these collaborations led to the Lootpack's own EP "Ill Psych Move" on Crate Digger’s Palace Records in 1996, a venture funded by Madlib’s father, soul-crooner Otis Jackson Sr.

It was through this poorly-distributed 12” that the group caught the attention of Stones Throw Records’ founder Peanut Butter Wolf, who heard the record on college radio and hunted the group down. The group eventually signed for Stones Throw, paving the way for the release of 1999’s "Soundpieces: Da Antidote" CD/LP.

Lootpack has not recorded a direct follow-up to "Soundpieces", but the three core members continue to work together as they spread their wings. Madlib has demonstrated his versatility as a producer and hip hop visionary, crafting concept-albums such as Quasimoto's "The Unseen", Yesterdays New Quintet's "Angles Without Edges", and Madvillain's "Madvillainy". DJ Romes released "Hamburger Hater Breaks" record with Stones Throw in 2001. Wildchild's own "Secondary Protocol" (2003) with all Lootpack members and extended family on board, is the closest thing to a second Lootpack album.

Lootpack - Whenimondamic

Yo MTV Raps first episode

2006-04-13T09:50:00.000+02:00

Yo MTV Raps first episode

The Grand Finale

2006-03-18T12:22:00.000+01:00

Well, I decided to stop with this blog. I tought there would be more reminiscing on these old video's, but a lot of people are more interested in just downloading the files. I want to thank all of those people who did show interest and helped me all this time. Thanks to all the bloggers representing that true hiphop!

Of course I'm not going to leave you empty handed, so I gatherd up a few of my favourite vids. So here goes:

Cormega feat. Large Professor - the come up
Jurassic 5 - Quality Control
Kazi - A.V.E.R.A.G.E.
king tee - bass
Kriss Kross ft Supercat - Alright
M.O.P. - Handle Ur Bizness
ludacris ft field mob - georgia
Muro Feat. O.C. - Lyrical Tyrants
Outkast - Benz Or Beamer
Poor Righteous Teachers - Nobody Move
rocksteady crew - hey you the rocksteady crew
Royal Flush ft Noreaga - Iced down medallions
Sadat X - Stages And Lights
Slick Rick - I Shouldn't Have Done It
Ugly Duckling - The Drive Thru
Ultramagnetic MC s - Two Brothers....
Rascalz - Top of the world
LBC Crew (Bad Azz/Tray-D/Tech-Niec - Beware Of My Crew

Take care!

Videospotting #5

2006-03-16T07:58:00.000+01:00

My man Region from Chile has been so kind to hook us up with a bunch of Pete Rock & CL Smooth video's:

Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth - The Creator
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth - Mecca And The Soul Brothers
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth - The Reminisce Over You
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth - Lots Of Loving
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth - Straighten It Out
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth - I Got A Love
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth - Take You There
Pete Rock & Loose Ends - Take Your Time
Pete Rock Feat. Inspectah Deck & Kurupt - Tru Master

You can download them from http://escuchebien.blogspot.com/

The Creators - The Music ft. El Da Sensei

2006-03-15T19:47:00.000+01:00

Smooth and classy hip-hop with a fat beat and a decent vocal, just the way I like it. Kicking in at about 95BPM, UK based The Creators mark a break from traditional big beat offerings. The nice fat beats are backed by quiet 20's style horns and humming. This, combined with bells and the occasional break give the track, and the instrumental in particular, an eerie almost haunting atmosphere.

El Da Sensei's excellent vocal skills and the occasional, but subtle and professional, scratching bring this tune back to the zeros (as in the decade after the 90's) and turn it into quite a laid back but nonetheless very enjoyable piece of hip hop.

The Creators - The Music ft. El Da Sensei

MC Lyte - Cha Cha Cha

2006-03-15T19:19:00.000+01:00

I've got the power to spread out and devour
At the same time I'll eat you up with a rhyme
But I'll let you slide cuz you accidently hopped on the wrong side
Now come on, that's suicide
Hypothetically speaking
Ok, let's say you didn't know what you were doing
You're new in town, and you're looking around
For another name to ruin, and it's me that you're pursuing?
Well well well, I'll be damned
I might as well tell you who I am
I am the capital l-y-t-e
And it's shocking I'm the one you're mocking
Oh yes, I've been watching you watching me
And like the fat on your back it's plain to see
That you're a wannabe, but you can't be what you're not
So you better start living with what you got

MC Lyte - Cha Cha Cha

BET Beyond The Beef: Jay-Z & Nas

2006-03-15T10:18:00.000+01:00

Rahzel Documentary

2006-03-11T15:02:00.000+01:00

Rahzel Short Documentary
Running time: 4.03

Mic Geronimo - Masta I.C.

2006-03-08T20:32:00.000+01:00

Now i'm not a big fan of Mic Geronimo. I do have the Vendetta album, but I bought it just for the Pete Rock joint "Unstoppable". Damn, that track sounds nice. But there's this other gem I treasure: Masta I.C.!!! It features Royal Flush on the backvocals and it's produced by Buckwild. Man, shit is buttersoft... Bump this one in your Landcruiser, 2 miles an hour, so everybody sees you!

Mic Geronimo - Masta I.C.

Videospotting #4

2006-03-06T00:22:00.000+01:00

My man THRM found some videostuff on the internet:

Fat Joe ft Big Pun, Jadakiss, Nas & Raekwon - John Blaze
Mobb Deep - Back At You
MED ft. J-Dilla - Push
Craig Mack - Flava In Ya Ear

Ghostface ft. Ne-Yo - Back Like That

2006-03-04T14:24:00.000+01:00

Toney Starks aka Iron Man aka Ghostface Killah aka one of the freshest cats in this hiphop game. Well, that's my opinion ofcourse.
Although his albums never sold millions, every album was up to date, diverse and full of energy. I don't understand why people are sleeping on his stuff.
His new album will be released on March 14th. With a list of dope producers that will raise eyebrows (MF Doom, J Dilla, Pete Rock and Madlib), Ghostface seems to have done his homework on which producers are hot right now so he nows what the streets want to hear.

"You know, niggas try to come on that other shit," he says of hip hop's growing ranks of imposters, "So I just had come back to raw drugs, sex, money, and murder shit real quick to show these young niggas how it's s'possed to be done."

"Fish Scale is just me showing that I can still ball with the best of them," he says. "With each album I learn so this album has the most knowledge of all of them. This album is gonna put me back on top of everyone's list," he says. "Ain't nobody approaching they music with the care that I do--down to the sequencing." (Def Jam)

I say, bring it on Ironman!!! The new single is out. A nice soul track featuring the r&b crooner Ne-Yo. I think it's a fresh cut in which Ghost makes clear that his pimpstatus has it's ups and downs, but that the pimp in him can resolve every hoodrat-problem. Check it out.

Ghostface ft. Ne-Yo - Back Like That

PS: If you like the sample, check out Tightman - They Wanna Know (produced by 9th Wonder)

Kool G Rap & DJ Polo - Road To The Riches

2006-03-04T13:10:00.000+01:00

For the ones who don't know or who have forgotten:
The "Kool Genius of Rap" began life as Nathaniel Wilson in a rough section of Queens, where he first met Eric Barrier and Polo, two friends with a mutual interest in hip-hop. While Barrier went onto a short-lived yet successful career as the less-acknowledged half of Eric B and Rakim, Polo and G Rap collaborated and released the It's a Demo/I'm Fly 12" on Cold Chillin' in 1986. This legendary single was the first of several; "Streets of New York," "Poison," and "Road to the Riches" also being noteworthy singles. G Rap also graced Marl's "The Symphony," a performance that promised him legendary status in itself. By 1989 he was making LPs rather than 12" singles, signaling G Rap's rise from the underground to mainstream recognition. Yet while Juice Crew peers such as Big Daddy Kane and Biz Markie scored crossover singles, had big-selling LPs, and soon found themselves on MTV, G Rap struggled with his sudden position on the uncomfortable brink of crossing over. Sure, his LPs had their share of highlights such as "Road to the Riches" and "Erase Racism," in addition to the aforementioned singles, but his albums with Polo never achieved what many had hoped for in terms of popularity.

Kool G Rap & DJ Polo - Road To The Riches

Onyx - Throw Ya Gunz

2006-03-02T11:43:00.000+01:00

Do I need to say more?
Onyx - Throw Ya Gunz

L.O.N.S. - Case Of The P.T.A

2006-02-28T11:16:00.000+01:00

Even in the vibrant early-'90s hip-hop scene, A Future Without a Past... emerged as a breath of fresh air, simultaneously presenting a throwback to the old-school rhyme tradeoffs and call-and-response rapping styles of crews like the Furious Five and the Funky Four + One, and vaulting rap headlong into its future. Brash and full of youthful energy and exuberance, Leaders of the New School was the perfect meshing of three distinctly different but entirely complementary personalities whose flows flew in the face of conventional MC etiquette, from Dinco D.'s straightforward, intellectual tongue-twisting to Charlie Brown's zany shrieks to Busta Rhymes' viscous, reggae-inspired toasting -- skirting the line between seriousness and humor -- which, only a few years later, would help him to hit commercial pay dirt as a solo artist. That's not even to mention the DJ and sometime reggae-tinged emcee, DJ Cut Monitor Milo. The result is one of the most infectious rap albums ever created. The songs are, first and foremost, meant to be fun and humorous, and they are certainly that, particularly on Charlie Brown's nonsensical "What's the Pinocchio's Theory," the insistent "Trains, Planes and Automobiles" and "My Ding-A-Ling," and Busta Rhymes' jovial ode to full-figured women, "Feminine Fatt." The cut-and-paste production is expert throughout, packed with fresh samples, thanks to Bomb Squad member Eric "Vietnam" Sadler, the Stimulated Dummies crew, and the Vibe Chemist Backspin, and the group also show themselves to be quite capable with a sampler, particularly Milo's incredible work on "Case of the P.T.A." and "My Ding-A-Ling." But it would be wrong to simply peg this album as a foray into kinder, gentler, more lighthearted and innocent hip-hop. Firstly, the album has the feel and scope of a loose concept album and is separated into three sections, the first two set in school, the final one following the members after school lets out, and that alone points to a group of young men -- mostly still teenagers -- trying to move rap into new dimensions. Secondly, the ambience of New York permeates A Future Without a Past, but it is simply presented from a younger and far less jaded perspective. Songs such as "Just When You Thought It Was Safe" and "Sound of the Zeekers @#^**?!," if not exactly hard-edged and political, offer far more than throwaway sentiment, and lyrically L.O.N.S. never descend into naiveté. The album portrays a group of young men who are fully emerged in the sometimes less-than-innocent urban life that characterizes hip-hop culture, but are also able to transcend the inherent limits and pitfalls to which that life can lead. In that sense, it is a celebration of all the best aspects of hip-hop culture and youth. (allmusic)

L.O.N.S. - Case Of The P.T.A

Pitch Black - It's All Real

2006-02-27T09:07:00.000+01:00

Pitch Black's members (D.G., Devious, Fast, G.O.D., and Zakee) have each been involved with hip-hop since day one. Zakee says "Everybody was doing their thing, talent shows, school performances, beat boxing, djaying, we all wrote graffiti. So we're 360 degrees of hip-hop, we cover every aspect of the culture, the way of life." After forming Pitch Black in 1994, the five went straight to the lab and honed their skills, writing rhymes, and recording tracks.

Pitch Black paid serious dues, starting from the bottom with independent releases: "Hold Me Down" b/w "Ashes to Ashes" and shortly after a 5 track EP. The budget was bare bones but the music blazed trails up and down the East Coast. D.G. says "People felt our music and we realized our potential. We saw that it could be, so we pushed it to the next level."

Pitch Black maneuvered into the big leagues by opening for Jay-Z, DMX, Cash Money Tour, Lil Kim, Big Pun, MJG & 8 Ball, Trick Daddy, Luke, Redman and Method Man, Mobb Deep, on and on. "We were rubbing elbows with the right people, but even better, finally getting respected for what we were trying to do." Pitch Black recorded 2 songs with Lord Finesse: "Show and Prove" and "Don't Deal With It," G.O.D. was featured on Wylcef's "The Mixshow" from the Masquerade album with D.G., as well as Kool G. Rap & Nas' "Fast Life."

2004 saw the release of their first album 'Pitch Black Law'. This album is brimming with bangers and ready to go. The first single "It's All Real" is produced by none other than DJ Premier who also appears in the video. Other producers such as Swizz Beats, Teddy Riley, and Tone from The Trackmasters have laced this album with tracks, and guest appearances from Wyclef, Busta Rhymes, and Foxy Brown ensure broad appeal. The sounds on the album are varied, some stuff for the ladies, for the fellas, and of course hard, true hip-hop.

Pitch Black - It's All Real

A Question

2006-02-25T22:38:00.000+01:00

Why make a million, when you can make this: Spacek - Dollar 12" single 2005 (Sound in Color)

I love you, Jay Dee

Videospotting #3

2006-02-24T10:45:00.000+01:00

I had to delete videospotting #2 cause the site that was hosting the video's probably noticed a lot of downloads in a short amount of time :P

Once again my man THRM hooked me up with some vids he found here and there. Here goes:

Big L - MVP (Summer Smooth Remix)
A Tribe Called Quest - Find A Way
NWA - Straight Outta Compton
Dr. Dre ft Snoop Dogg - Nuthin' But A G Thang
Mos Def - Oh No ft. Pharaohe Monch & Nate Dogg
Jeru The Damaja - Ya Playin' Yaself
Xzibit - Paparazzi
Biggie Freestyle in Brooklyn 1989
Mad Lib - Slims Return

More coming soon!

Little Brother ft Joe Scudda - Lovin' It

2006-02-22T10:42:00.000+01:00

Little Brother is one the freshest things out there right now. The basic boombap beat with a simple soulsample, tight flows and ill rhymes. The basic ingredients for good hiphop. 9th wonder, the producer of the group had been killing the boards..uhm I mean Fruityloops providing banging productions for the likes of Jay-Z, Smiff-n-Wessun, Murs, Sean Price and many others. Check out Boot Camp Clik "Night Riders" 9th Wonder remix!
I consider Phonte to be one of the dopest cats in the rapworld today. Articulate, funny, straight to the point, up to date and a flow thats so smooth. Don't forget the fact that he can diss you with a smile on his face. He has an album out with producer Nicolay (yeeeeeah a producer from Holland WHUT!!!) under the name Foreign Exchange. The album is calles Connected and is a music experience you won't soon forget.

The first single of the new album Ministrel Show is a fresh cut soulpacked boombap track in which the rappers break down wack mc's and claim their glory. Joe Scudda kills it:

I wake up every morning, holding my dick
Going through life like I know I'm the shit, ya ain't fucking with me
So why try? Why go that route?
Why take that street? You can't take that heat?
Man your whole flow weak, we will take that beat
Put our own words on it, we will make that street
To the crowds and the masses, and all I ask is
Don't settle for the average, rap cabbage-
Heads; yeah you heard what I said, we the best here
Cuz our worst days be better than your best years
We your worst fears,
So get up, get out, and get somethin'
Man, its only getting worse here
Joe Scudda, little brother, man we family
And we here forever so understand me

Little Brother ft Joe Scudda - Lovin' It

Jay & Nas Interview

2006-02-20T19:52:00.000+01:00

The first interview with Jay-Z and Nas since they ended their beef and joined forces at Def Jam. On "All Eyes on Jay-Z and Nas," the duo explains to Sway Calloway why they decided to come together after a bitter battle that lasted several years. "It's bigger than both of us," Jay says in the interview. "It's more about the culture, about showing people another way, because [the battle] was something that stopped the world. Now everyone emulates the battle. So now we have to show them another way." Besides reflecting on the past, Jay-Z and Nas will talk about the future, including a possible collaboration on Nas' Def Jam debut. Check out the interview.

Beat This: A Hip Hop Documentary

2006-02-17T07:10:00.000+01:00

This documentary produced by the BBC in 1984 contains interviews with DJ Kool Herc, Africa Bambaattaa, Malcolm McClaren, a Soul Sonic Force recording sessions as well as a Cold Crush Brothers performance and a Graffiti and B-Boy introduction.
Hiphop has come a long way, and obviously the fashion too. Alien and indian outfits, tight clothes, jerry curls, the white handgloves and a whole lot of leather. Everytime I see this documentary with my friends, we keep amazing ourselves how Hip Hop used to look back in the early beginnings.

The part I liked most was the scene where Kool Herc shows some old footage of parties he used to throw down together with his master of ceremony Coke La Rock. And although the footage isn't realy good quality, you are seeing the beginning of hiphop.

The running time for this documentary is 54 minutes, and it will leave a good impression and will lead to discussion if you are watching it together with others. Feel free to download and leave a comment of what you think of it.

IF YOU HAVE IT ALREADY, PLEASE DO NOT CLICK!!!

Beat This: A Hip Hop Documentary link option 1
Beat This: A Hip Hop Documentary link option 2

You can also download it in splitfiles from the Hiphopnetwork site.

Requests

2006-02-16T15:01:00.000+01:00

First of all I want to thank all the people mailing me and expressing their appreciation for my site. It's what motivates me to keep doing this!!!!

I also got some requests from some visitors and finaly I had the time to upload them. Here goes.

EPMD - The Headbanger. Much respect to EPMD and K-Solo, but whut kind of weed was Reggie on? I want some of that shit too. Cutdamn, he killed that track. One of the dopest possecuts ever.

Ras Kass - Soul On Ice. You’ve heard of this guy. He’s critically acclaimed, highly respected, and touted as one of the rawest lyricists ever.

3rd Bass - Gas Face. Man, Serch is such a nerd. And check out Zef Love X. That's MF Doom without a mask!

And last but not least Chino XL - No Complex. A genius misunderstood by the masses.

I want to re-up The BBC Hip Hop Documentary I posted before, but I can't seem to find a free uploadsite which stores 300mb file that lasts. Yousendit.com is a good one, but has a limit of 25 downloads. If anybody has a tip, please let me know.

Peace!

Holland's Dedication

2006-02-14T08:24:00.000+01:00

Now Holland is a small ass country, but we do big ass things. The number one exportcountry of XTC, we got a large amount of weed consumption everyday, we got The Vinyl Addicts and The Video Crates, and now we have a big ass Jay Dee dedication mixtape that should be heard by the world. Dj Turne mixes up the finest Jay Dee tracks accompanied by the original tracks. Amazing blend. It gives you an impression of what Dilla is diggin' in the crates. The bizar thing is that the mixtape was finalized last week thursday, the day before Dilla was called out to heaven.

So people out there in Poland, The US, Belgium, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Spain, Japan, Canada, The UK, Autralia, France, Zwitserland and other visitors; download the mixtape and spread the word on every board you visit. We want to take this shit worldwiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide!

DJ Turne - Turne It Up: The Dillalicious Mix

Contact DJ Turne

Jay Dee: Rest In Peace

2006-02-11T10:57:00.001+01:00

Hip-hop producer Jay Dee dead at 32
BY KELLEY L. CARTER
FREEPRESS MUSIC WRITER
February 10, 2006

Hip-hop MC and producer Jay Dee (also known as J Dilla), a founding member of the Detroit rap outfit Slum Village, died Friday morning of kidney failure at his home in Los Angeles, officials at his record label said Friday evening.

Born James Yancey, he was a nationally influential producer and a champion of Detroit’s urban music scene. When hip-hop was largely being dominated by the East and West coasts, he put a distinct Detroit sound on many national acts.
He celebrated his 32nd birthday Tuesday with a new album release, “Donuts.”

“Jay Dee was the man with the beats,” said Mark Hicks, who has been on the Detroit hip-hop scene since the early 1990s and is a former manager of the group D12. Hicks got the word that Jay Dee died from Detroit rapper Proof, who sent him a message via his Blackberry.
“I remember when he was selling beats back in ’95, ’96 for like 100 or 200 bucks,” Hicks said. Beats are the instrumental tracks that form the backbone of hip-hop music.“Everybody went to him. He was selective. Even back then, you could see him being a producer in the long run just on how he made the music He took the artists and said, ‘This is how you should lyrically say this.’ He was a prodigy.” If you saw him in the studio, it was like he was the man.”

Guided by an encyclopedic ear and a jazz musician’s touch, he molded a signature style that blended hip-hop street bounce with a progressive flair. Live instruments were digitally processed into strange new tones, and vintage soul samples mixed with obscure rock records, with his own warm synthesizer lines layered on top.“He invented the sound of Detroit hip-hop,” said Waverly Alford, the Detroit rapper known as King Gordy. “He was Detroit hip-hop.”
Jay Dee worked with artists like A Tribe Called Quest, Common, Erykah Badu, D’Angelo and Janet Jackson. Even so, he retained a distinct underground attitude. He recorded in Detroit, Los Angeles and New York.

In a statement, Peter Adarkwah, founder of BBE Records, said he was deeply saddened to learn of his death. “Jay was one of my favorite hip-hop producers of all time. His passion for music was a rare thing amongst people in the music industry. His music and presence will be sorely missed for many years to come.”BBE was to release Jay Dee’s “The Shining” a follow-up to 2001’s “Welcome To Detroit” in June of this year.

Jay Dee rarely gave interviews, preferring to stay out of the spotlight. The music community knew, however, that he had health problems. Last year in an interview with the hip-hop magazine XXL, he denied reports that he had been in a coma, but said he spent two months in a hospital’s ICU “with all types of tubes.”He told the magazine, “I went overseas for two weeks and was eating all this crazy ... food. As soon as I got back, I had the flu or something, and I had to check myself into the hospital.” He said the doctors discovered that, “I had a ruptured kidney and was malnourished from not eating the right kind of food. It was real simple, but it ended with me being in the hospital.”Always the producer, he had a friend bring him a sound system and some vinyl so he could make beats in the hospital.

Denaun Porter, a sought-after producer in his own right, has said that Jay Dee influenced him to pursue his career. Like others who would go on to become members of Detroit’s hip-hop elite, Porter was hanging out in the mid-1990s at the Hip Hop Shop. The clothing store on Detroit’s west side hosted open mic shows and became an epicenter of the city’s emerging hip-hop scene. Porter said it wasn’t until 1996 that he got serious about making music for a living. That’s when he saw Jay Dee come to the shop in a money green Jaguar. “I never knew anybody that wasn’t a drug dealer drive a car like that,” Porter said. “I liked that life a little more.”

Jay Dee Dee’s musical production came from humble beginnings. He started humbly, making beats on a tape deck. In 1992, Amp Fiddler taught him how to work an MPC-60, an electronic drum machine commonly used in R&B and hip-hop music.Around 1988, Jay Dee formed Slum Village with Baatin and T3, friends from Pershing High School. Even though he left the group after their first national album, (“Fantastic Vol. 2,” released in 2000), they remained friends and he even produced later tracks for Slum Village.The group now consists of rappers Elzhi and T3. Both are out of the country, and couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

"Slum Village, man, they were doing their thing,’’ said Terry Scott of Tonya’s Music, a mom-and-pop shop on Detroit’s east side. “He was a pretty hot producer here in Detroit, the first big thing to come out of Detroit as far as producers.“He was very young. I met him a couple of times. He came in the shop. For a brother like that to die at a young age, that’s sad. This is a loss to Detroit.”

Brian (B.Kyle) Atkins, a longtime documentarian of the hip-hop group the Roots, reported on the Stones Throw Records Web site that a memorial service will be Tuesday in Los Angeles. A Detroit service may be scheduled later.

I'm just out of words. Feels just like losing a friend. I just purchased Donuts and was enjoying that shit like hell. And a few hours later the man gets called out to heaven.
Some stuff to remember him by.

Slum Village - Climax
Slum Village - Raise It Up
Jaylib ft FranknDank - McNasty Filth
Jay Dee Remixes (Promo 2001)

In stead of being sad, just reminisce on the good memories you had with Jay Dee. Let me start of with the first time I heard the Look Of Love Remix. I banged it on repeat, and in 2006 it's still in my playlist. Timeless! Drop your highlights.

Street Smartz - Don't Trust Anyone

2006-02-09T11:41:00.000+01:00

Taken from the 'Tru Criminal Records' EP 1997 which has productions by the likes of Buckwild and Lord Finesse and featurings by Ak Skills, Pharoahe Monch, God Gunz and OC.
F.T. aka Fvck That is one of those MCs who seems to have all the tools for sucess, but for some reason or another just never broke through. With a very distinctive voice and a flow that is undeniable, he has remained on the "nicest MC's to never make it" list. On this track FT displays his dexterity at multi-syllabic rhyming that many MCs are just getting to master 7 years later. Buckwild provides the peacefull though raw track and uses the 'Evil Streets' sample form Onyx.

If there is somebody that can help me with an mp3 file of the remix by Domingo, please hook me up!

Street Smartz - Don't Trust Anyone

Frankie Cutlass - The Cypher 3

2006-02-08T08:48:00.000+01:00

Much like his idol Marley Marl, Frankie Cutlass gathered MCs and vocalists under the umbrella of projects -- which he spearheaded as producer and mixer -- while still maintaining an edge as a DJ by playing consistently in clubs, both dance- and hip-hop-oriented. Originally from Puerto Rico, he moved to Spanish Harlem in New York with his family while still a child, and began to grasp America's culture firsthand through the influence of hip-hop. His brother, a member of the Zulu Nation, taught him to DJ, and Cutlass first hit the decks in the '80s at the age of 12. He joined his own crew later on, working with DJ Funkmaster Flex's Flip Squad. By the early '90s he had moved into production as well, working with TKA, K7, and the Cover Girls. The recording sphere beckoned, and by 1994 he had produced his first record, "Puerto Rico Ho." It and the later single, "Boriquas on the Set," became underground hits, spurring Frankie Cutlass to sign with Relativity Records. His first album with the label, 1997's Politics & Bullshit, showed his enthusiasm for the old-school rap he had grown up with. Also lending their talents were Mobb Deep, Redman, Method Man, and Smif-n-Wessun.
The album's single, "The Cypher, Pt. 3," reunited several veterans of Marley Marl productions, including Biz Markie, Roxanne Shanté, Big Daddy Kane, and Craig G.

Frankie Cutlass - The Cypher 3

PS: I have some requests lined up. Hold tight!

Gangstarr - The Militia

2006-02-05T07:56:00.000+01:00

You niggaz owe me for my rhymes, I come to collect
For you dope fiend niggaz in rap, I here to inject, check
My style is water baby, spread it around
But when you niggaz don't flow it right and fuck up my sound
I get down; in '89 I spit the buck in the face
of every MC that came in the place, a scar you'll never erase
MC's are only recognized for their flows
I'm worldwide for the bitches, that I turned into hoes
You heard me spit it on Jew-elz, that's how it goes
For all them faking ass niggaz and how I bust up they nose
And while your, nose is drippin, and drainin blood
I be standing over you screamin, "Nigga, WHAT, WHAT?! Nigga WHAT?!"
Niggas feel my presence, like I'm right in they palm
Cause a stormy day is coming, when you see me so calm, it's on
No more twin glocks, they jam up my plays
Now its twin .40 calibre Walther PPK's
I'm in the control of my game, you must respect me like The Ref
Uh-huh, you disrespect *gun clicks* you get the tech
I turn you fake niggaz on and off, like I'm the clapper
I rob so many niggaz, they should call me Jack the Rapper
I'll the illest nigga doing this, dead or alive
Gloria Gaynor on you motherfuckers, I Will Survive
You can try to come at me, but do you want the kick back?
You snap inside the cage of a pit, and you get bit back, huh
My war is so tight, my drama so ill
Beef with me hangs around like a unpaid bill
I push these lyrics through any MC, and make it burn
So the niggaz who be rhyming next, will miss a turn
When you speak of who's the dopest MC, I don't come up
But when you speak of who's the livest MC, I stay what up, what's up?
I got stripes while you got strikes and bogus mikes
Do what bitch niggaz do best *UTFO sample* bite
You niggaz can't make up a law that I don't overrule, overthrow
Prim' brought Bumpy these tracks so I can let you know
Before I slide I'ma leave you this jewel
Even mechanics walk around with they tools
It's the Militia

Just a musthave.
Without a doubt one of the most memorable lines in hiphop.
Who wants to argue with me?

Gangstarr - The Militia

D'Angelo - Lady

2006-02-05T07:52:00.000+01:00

While a lot of people where still in swingbeat mode or were enjoying the rise of new R&B artists by the likes of Mary J. Blige, Jodeci, R. Kelly, Blackstreet and others, D'Angelo took it upon himself to bring back heavy soul with a touch of hiphop. I remember seeing a listening session of the Brown Sugar album on Black Entertainment Television and D'Angelo performed Lady live with a band. That performance was so incredible and had such an impact on me, I was hooked from then on. A true musicion who's sole goal is to make soul music from the heart.
I know your used to getting hiphop video's, but this one I realy want to share with you. If you like this and want more, I also got a Premier remix of Lady featuring AZ. Just let me know. Right now, I just want you to sit back, relax and let the vibe hit you.

D'Angelo - Lady

Company Flow - End To End Burners

2006-01-30T17:17:00.000+01:00

Damn yo. These exams, internship and work are killing me. I haven't had that much time to hit you up with some new stuff. My man Arwen from Belgium hooked me up with this video. Thanks so much!!! End To End Burners was one of my favorite vids of the '98 period. While everyone was wearing shiny suits and aviator glasses, these cats took shit underground and made a dark, creative video. I realy love the graff effects. I'm going to keep it short. Here's some info I found on Wikipedia:

Company Flow is an alternative hip hop crew associated with the independent record label Rawkus Records. El-Producto, DJ Mr. Len and Bigg Jus founded the group in 1992 (see 1992 in music) in Queens, New York.
El-P had had a disastrous experience with a record label in an attempt at a solo deal, and founded the group after serving as an intern for an entertainment lawyer. With DJ Mr. Len, Company Flow released "Juvenile Techniques" in 1993 (see 1993 in music). The follow-up, "8 Steps to Perfection", and the debut EP, Funcrusher (1995), were underground hits. Subject to a major label bidding war on Libra records, Company Flow waited until they could get a contract on their own terms. They eventually signed to Rawkus, and helping to revitalize alternative hip hop with labelmates like Mos Def. Some mainstream success followed, and the group amicably dissolved after 2 years of pushing the album and touring, group member Bigg Jus decided to strike out on his own. El-P and Mr. Len followed up their debut with the brilliant, though poorly promoted, instrumental album Little Johnny From the Hospital (Rawkus). Flexing the production skills that had set so many ears on fire, El-P (and Mr. Len) continued the trend-setting, cutting-edge work that further bolstered their rep as innovators.

Fast forward to 2000. The relationship with Rawkus had run it's course. The label striving hard to enter the mainstream while the group was striving hard to remain true to themselves. The time off and frustration of battling the label over music and the approach to music led to the group announcing their departure from Rawkus. El-P and Mr. Len left Rawkus shortly thereafter, deciding that it was also time to go their separate ways. El-Producto has started his own record label (Definitive Jux) and a solo career, as has Mr. Len (Smacks Records) and Bigg Jus (Big Dada).

Reports say that El-P is working on production on the solo debut of former Rage Against the Machine frontman Zack de la Rocha.

Company Flow - End To End Burners

Mad Skillz - The Nod Factor

2006-01-25T08:06:00.000+01:00

From all the stress lately caused by schoolexams, I decided to kick back yesterday, make me some Kool-Aid (a friend of mine brought some with him from his trip to NY), rolled up a blunt and put on Lord Finesse's The Awakening. After hearing that piece of art, I wanted to put on an album that would bang from beginning to the end without me having to raise my arm to press on the ffwd button. Weed makes you that lazy. So I stumbled upon the Mad Skillz album From Where??? and put it on. Hadn't listened to it in a while and it surprised me again. Productions by Large Pro, Buckwild, The Beatnuts and Shawn J Period, that forces you to listen to the album from beginning to end.Why put on another cd? This is quality shit right here!

And then there's The Nod Factor. Now Mad Skillz is battlecat with lots of energy and on this track his energy just bursts out, even making my stoned ass nod my head and raising up my arms. Right there on the couch, as if I was in a concert or something. Was it the weed? Naaah. It was hiphop making me high...

So here you go. A present from me. Go nod your fucking heads!!!

Mad Skillz - The Nod Factor (76mb)

Rappin' 4-Tay - I'll Be Around

2006-01-21T20:59:00.000+01:00

Life ain't based on peaches and cream
This new generation lost a whole lot of dreams
Future doctors, producers and mothers
The list goes on but now we killin our brothers
And if we killin our brothers that means we're killin our own kind
These kids is watchin now it goes to their mind
Rat tat a tat cause you got a gat
Then they want a gat you livin like that?
Moms ain't cookin she worked the week straight
If anything she's the one that deserves a hot plate
The ghetto the ghetto ain't nothin to dream about
Tryin to get out now that's somethin to think about
Fools might disagree but I'm a stay sucka free
Now I'm so black so strong they can't fade me
Blacks are blacks worst enemy there's still no remedy
You got me for a grip do you call yourself kin of me?
Jealousy envy I see it in your eyes
Tell me what's wrong with seeing a black man rise
I keep it funky it's pretty hard to miss it now is it explicit
A message for the mind and the moral of statistics
So I'm doin what we call a roll call
Talkin about the ones who won't rap then take a downfall
I spit the street life and then I go underground
You silly it's called versatility and I'll be around

Rappin' 4-Tay - I'll Be Around

Fat Joe - Flow Joe

2006-01-19T18:27:00.000+01:00

It just doesn't add up. Fat Joe, influenced by the Zulu Nation, doing the grafitti and breakdancing thing, joined DITC, smacked you in the face with Represent back in '93. It had this track on it called Flow Joe. It hit the number 1 Billboard spot. If you see the video it has appearences by Lord Finesse, Nice & Smooth, Diamond D, Beatnuts and others. Shit iz real...

Ten years later the situation is kinda different. Now we see Ashanti, Ja Rule, R. Kelly appearing in his video's and he's even singing hooks with J-Lo on the rooftop. Who would ever think the man who gave you Represent and Jealous One's Envy would ever put out a single with Nelly. I thought I was good at math, but this one I just can't figure out.

Untill the day I figure this one out, I'm sticking to the past.

Fat Joe - Flow Joe

Jaylib ft FranknDank - McNasty Filth

2006-01-18T11:14:00.000+01:00

J Dilla (aka Jay Dee) and Madlib are Jaylib. The steps toward a collaboration began in 2000 when LA based DJ J Rocc gave Madlib a CD of Dilla beats to listen to. Madlib was so inspired that he recorded a whole album in his Bomb Shelter Studio, rapping over them for his own ears only and for lack of a title, scawled "Jaylib" across the CDR in a black Sharpie.

Madlib and Dilla briefly worked together in 2001 for Dilla's MCA album which was never to be released. But the real course towards the "Jaylib" collaboration began when a bit of extra space popped up on white label wax that Stones Throw Records' honcho Peanut Butter Wolf was preparing for a mix tape. For this, he was quick to grab a track from the Jaylib CDR that was never to see commercial pressing, "The Message" - Madlib's flip of the hip hop classic over J Dilla's beat. Only 300 records were pressed, but the track credited to Jaylib was clearly a hit.

Wolf soon recieved a suprise phone call from J Dilla himself, who heard the track and declared, “Hey, I want to do some s**t like that!" Wolf proposed doing a single or EP and Dilla replied, “Why not record an entire album?” Wolf and Dilla casually brainstormed and decided that half of the album could feature Madlib rhyming over Dilla’s production & the other half could be vice versa. Beat tapes were floated between Detroit and Los Angeles and months later, the album was born. (from the Stonesthrow site)

Jaylib ft FranknDank - McNasty Filth

Videospotting #1

2006-01-16T09:59:00.000+01:00

I hope this is going to be part 1 of many. There's a lot of dope video's circulating the web and I'm going yo try to bring them together for easier acces. Heeeeeeeeere we go:

First on is the Illmatic promoclip with footage of the making of the album. You see Large Pro & Premier kicking it in the studio with Nas and also some footage in Queensbridge. Nice one to watch.

I guess we all know who Intelligent Hoodlum aka Tragedy is.... right? My man Kore321 aka Mike has been so kind to upload the Arrest The President video. I've been looking for this one for a while now and finally I have it. This track will definitly break your neck!

Well its Grand Puba honey *TADADAAA*. Cutdamn. One of my all time favorites. I spin this one everytime I'm on the decks (right before or after Kurious' I'm Kurious). Claw's HipHop Vault now provides the video for viewing pleasure. Check out Grand Puba's I Like It. And ya say New York City!!!

Last one I found on a blog from UnleadedWorld Clothing Company based in New York. It has footage of a guy that is obsessed with Nike sneakers. So bad that he even calls himself a Sub Culture Messiah. After seeing the video I thought this guy was way out there in space, but at the same time I was jealous as a motherfucker seeing all those sneakers.

That's all for now. Word is Bon Jovi!

Slum Village Special

2006-01-14T21:40:00.000+01:00

When Slum Village emerged in the late 1990s, the highly regarded Detroit trio of T3, Baatin and Jay Dee made a startling admission: their group was a liquid association with members coming and going during the group's evolution. True to their word, Slum Village has already gone through a number of line-up changes.

After releasing Fantastic Volume One independently, Slum Village became one of hip-hop's hottest groups. While working on Fantastic, vol. 2, they were joined in the studio by such luminaries as D'Angelo, Busta Rhymes, Kurupt, Pete Rock and A Tribe Called Quest's Q-Tip, among others. The resulting album became an underground classic with singles like Climax and Raise It Up and Slum Village was seen as the second coming of the Native Tongues (A Tribe Called Quest, Jungle Brothers, De La Soul) by member Q-Tip, as well as fans and journalists alike.

Jay Dee left the group after Fantastic, vol. 2 in order to work on his solo career, but Slum Village pressed on, releasing in 2002 the Dirty District mix tape and later that year its third album and first with new member Elzhi, Trinity (Past, Present & Future). Many fans looked at rapper-producer Jay Dee as the group's backbone, but Trinity proved that Slum Village could provide without its sonic architect, as that album's single Tainted became the group's biggest hit. Throughout the changes, Slum Village's musical mission has remained constant: to deliver soul-stirring sonics that represent Detroit to the fullest.

With Detroit Deli, Slum Village took their subject to a deeper level. Songs such as Keep Holding On, Old Girl/Shining Star and The Reunion featuring Jay Dee, signal Slum Village's evolution; they mark the first time the group has let listeners in on their personal feelings. "I don't think people really know us and we never really touched on our emotions like that," T3 says. "We wanted to bring some realness, besides just the soul music. Elzhi, as a guy that saw Slum Village on the outside, he brought it to my attention that we never touched on serious topics and that we should try to touch on them more. I was with that and I have a lot to say, so why not?"
But don't get it confused. Their known for combination of sex, women and soul continues when they team up with Chicago's Kanye West on the lead single Selfish, a sly, piano-driven song where T3, Elzhi and West rap about their desire to have a monopoly with women.

Their latest album, selftitled Slum Village, takes us on journey on a higher level then their last 2 releases. The album features production by B.R. Gunna, Young RJ and Black Milk whose album Dirty District Vol. 2 (2004) reached #55 on the Billboard Charts. It's like they talked to their producers asking them to step their game up, and the producers answered "As long as you step your game up too!". Nice beats and sharp lyrics; what more can you ask for? Slum Villa definitely proved to the doubters that they can do it without Jay Dee and can do it well. Track like Can I Be Me, Call Me and 05 and the first single EZ Up, will definitly make the critics love them again. With the addition of new producers the future is looking bright for the Detroit legends that have been underground so long. Hopefully, but very doubtful, the artists will receive the recognition and sales they deserve.

But... I wouldn't mind seeing Dilla produce an entire Slum album. Will it ever happen?

Fab 5: OGC & Heltah Skeltah

2006-01-12T16:15:00.000+01:00

October 1995: "Blah" and "Leflaur Leflah Eshkoshka" a double sided single from "The Fab 5" drops introducing Duck Down Records Artists: Heltah Skeltah and Originoo Gunn Clappaz. And what an introduction it was: 5 dreadlocked nappyheads from Bucktown on a mission to bring the hiphopcommunity hardhitting boombap productions with heavy basslines and dope flow and rhymes. This was some intense shit. Everyone was still hyped about Black Moon's Enta Da Stage, Smiff & Wessun's Da Shinin and was wondering what the newly signed artists would do. I think the rest is history. Although OGC dropped a marvelous first album Da Storm, Heltah Skeltah got more attention because of the unique combination of Ruck & Rock. But I'm way ahead now. Let's go back to the introduction... PLOOOOOOOOOOOOW

FAB 5

Leflaur Leflah Eshkoshka
Blah

Ed OG & Da Bulldogs - Be a Father to Your Child

2006-01-11T21:25:00.000+01:00

You see, I hate when a brother makes a child and then denies it
Thinking that money is the answer so he buys it
A whole bunch of gifts and a lot of presents
It's not the presents, it;s your presence and essence
Of being there and showing the baby that you care
Stop sittin' like a chair and having your baby wonder where you are
Or who you are----fool, you are his daddy
Don't act like you ain't cause that really makes me mad, G.
To see a mother and a baby suffer
I've had enough of brothers who don't love the
Fact that a baby brings joy into your life
You could still be called daddy if the mother's not your wife
Don't be scared, be prepared 'cause love is gonna getcha
It will always be your child even if she ain't witcha
So don't front on your child when it's your own
'Cause if you front now, then you'll regret it when it's grown
Be a father to your child

Ed OG & Da Bulldogs - Be a Father to Your Child (71mb)

Also check out the Love Comes and Go es video!

J Rawls - Great Live Caper ft J-Live

2006-01-10T22:21:00.000+01:00

If there was a way to educate people through instrumental hip-hop beats, J. Rawls could do it. Actually, he is doing it now! One-half of the Ohio’s underground hip-hop group Lone Catalysts, J. Rawls is not just a hip-hop producer. He is a 5th Grade teacher, a father, a historian, and a free thinker. In the past, he has produced for Black Star (Mos Def & Talib Kweli), El Da Sensai, Mr. Complex, Capital D, J-Live, Wordworth and many others. With his partner J. Sands, The Lone Catalysts released a beautiful debut opus “Hip-Hop” and a compilation album “The Catalyst Files”. Currently, J. Sands teamed up with Female Fun Music to make an instrumental album filled with diverse hip-hop beats as well as interesting and unique themes and topics that deal with historical issues. “Histories Greatest Battles, Campaigns, & Topics” was an instrumental album that urges the listener to research the historical significance behind the song titles.

The Great Live Caper is a story told by J-Live slowly revealing and adding cuts. This one is so nice. Just the creativity of the video, in combination with a dope beat, and the nice flow by J-Live, makes me wanna see the video over and over again. This is just a must have.

J. Rawls - Great Live Caper ft J-Live

While your at it, I would like you to check his follow up album: J. Rawls - The Essence Of Soul.
On Essence of Soul , all production is handled by J Rawls, he partners up with many of R & B’s on-the-fringe & underground performers . Features vocals by Aloe Blacc (of Emanon / Stones Throw / Shaman Work) , Eric Roberson (aka Erro / Yoruba / Touch Of Jazz), Jonell (Hi-Tek “Round & Round”) , Middle Child, Sol Uprising (aka Lil Sci of Scienz of Life & Stacy Epps / Shaman Work) , Tavaris, Venus Malone (Groove Attack) & Wordsworth (Halftooth / Lyricist Lounge).
Highlights include Soul Again & Again( feat. Middle Child & Aloe Blacc) , Pleasure Before Pain ( feat. Eric Roberson ) , Inhale / Exhale ( ft Venus Malone/ Worsworth) , Miss You ( ft Jonell), Bailer (ft Aloe Blacc).

A diverse musical journey into lazy soul-influenced urban sounds & beats & should appeal to fans of soul, funk R&B, and hiphop. Recommended for fans of The Roots , Guru, Jill Scott, Mark Rae, Amp Fiddler.

To give you a teaser, check out Pleasure Before Pain ft Eric Roberson

Da Bush Babees - Remember We

2006-01-07T20:55:00.000+01:00

MCs Babe-Face Kaos, Y-Tee, and Mister Man grew up in the West Indies (Y-Tee in Jamaica, Mister Man and Kaos in Trinidad), so reggae was a strong inspiration to their early years; hip-hop also figures in, however. All transplanted New Yorkers, they formed in 1992 when Mister Man saw Kaos perform. The two began collaborating, and after Mister Man suggested adding a reggae toaster, Y-Tee joined da Bush Babees. When their concert dates sparked major-label interest, the trio performed a few live office auditions and signed with Reprise, within three months of launching the band. Their debut, Ambushed (1994), featured production from Jermaine Dupri, Nikke Nikole, J. Prins Matteus, Mark Batson, Salaam Gibbs, and the group itself. Other releases included 1995's Remember We and 1996's Gravity.

Although their Gravity album is a favorite, the Remember We track sticks in my mind like non other track made by Da Bush Babees. I remember seeing the video the first time on Rap City. I was forced to nod my head and I was thinking: Oooow, this is too smooth. I need this one to listen to on my way to school!!! I lived on an island named Bonaire (Dutch Antilles next to Aruba) with no music stores and no hiphopradio. So the next day I taped it right from the TV on a cassette and I listened to it daily for months, bad quality and all. Don't get me wrong; The Love Song with Mos Def was unforgettable, but I prefer to take you back to the beginning.

Da Bush Babees - Remember We

InI - Fakin' Jax

2006-01-07T19:41:00.000+01:00

Hip-hop aficionados worldwide should tip their collective throwback jerseys to the British beat-centric label BBE for rescuing some of Pete Rock's finest mid-90s production moments from a death in obscurity. Collected here, in their entirety are two forgotten Pete Rock-produced gems: InI's Center of Attention and Deda's The Original Baby Pa. The infamously bootlegged Center of Attention, with its relentless, jaw-dropping sequence of solid instrumentals, is the real showstopper. "Think Twice" bounces by on a choppy bed of sublimely looped piano chords, guitar stabs, and a hazy, meditative Black Moon-influenced drum break. Tracks like "Step Up" and "Fakin' Jax" fare even better, all piano melodies submerged in a thick fog of sub-aquatic vapor, while armies of shimmering horns slice through the substantial haze in intoxicating loops. Additionally, a track like "To Each His Own" (which features guest spots from Q-Tip and Large Professor), with its drizzling vibe notes and flurrying horns seems to sonically billow open from out of the speaker fabric, like a dense trail of weed smoke swelling from out of the tip of a blunt only to be diffused in the surrounding air.

But while the instrumentals on Deda's The Original Baby Pa are similarly inspired to the ones found on Center of Attention, both albums showcase a problem that's plagued Pete Rock's career from day one: the quality of his beats consistently overshadows the quality of his emcees' rhymes. It's no coincidence that 2001's instrumental affair, Petestrumentals, was one of Rock's greatest moments. On the Deda track "Blah Uno", Pete cooks up a dizzying brew of swirling horns, radiating, woofer-friendly bass notes, and the irresistible boom-bap of snare cracks and galloping ride cymbals only for Deda to inanely spit, "Blah Uno here to put suckers in the mix/ The music was fixed for me to bust wild dicks." While on "No More Words", InI's three members (Rob-O, Grap Luva, and Pete Rock himself) kick undeniably smooth verses with easygoing group chemistry bereft of any lasting inspired insight. Furthermore, a track like "Markd4Death" may showcase a debonair instrumental of pensively unraveling Rhodes notes, but Deda's predictable gangsterisms and humdrum threats sound about as moving as the drone of a computer fan.

The glory of the early 90s will always hold a special place in the hearts of hip-hop listeners far and wide; they were the adolescent years before bling killed the urban anti-star. Of course, even while hip-hop fans are proverbially salivating like Pavlov's dogs for a planned Rock reunion with original partner-in-crime C.L. Smooth, Lost & Found's unearthed treasures provide an ideal soundtrack for nostalgia while successfully building anticipation for future material.

Hartley Goldstein (Pitchfork)

InI - Fakin' Jax

Rakim - When I Be On The Mic

2006-01-03T19:47:00.000+01:00

Rakim's rhymes are legendary - we all know that. But had he fallen off over the years? On this album, it is apparent that he is still as sharp as ever and that his style even continues to develop. Aside from DJ Premier, who produced the 2 best cuts on the album, in my opinion, and DJ Clark Kent, there really isn't much going on in the way of production. "When I Be On the Mic" stands out from all other tracks, for sure. Perfect flow and wordplay to the tempo on that joint made it the obvious choice for the single.

Rakim - When I Be On The Mic

Pete Rock-U-Mentary

2006-01-03T17:00:00.000+01:00

This is a 45 minute long documentaire depicting the making of the 1998 Pete Rock Classic LP Soul Survivor
It shows all the behind scene studio footage of the making of the album and songs. It includes appearances and actualrecording performances of: KOOL G RAP, PRODIGY OF MOBB DEEP, METHOD MAN, BIG PUN, C.L. SMOOTH, MC EIHT, LARGE PROFESSOR, LOOSE ENDS, MISS JONES, INSPECTAH DECK, GHOSTFACE, RAEKWON, NOREAGA, COMMON, STICKY FINGAZ, HEAVY D, BEENIE MAN, O.C., LORD TARIQ, PETER GUNZ, CAPPADONNA, BLACK THOUGHT.
Cameo appearances by: DJ PREMIER, MARLEY MARL, PAM GRIER, FUNKMASTER FLEX.

Pete Rock-U-Mentary (realplayer file)

Going out with a BANG!!!

2005-12-31T11:56:00.000+01:00

Has it been a year already? Cutdamn, how time flies. But it has been a wonderful year. A lot of good things has happend. Common came back strong after a dissapointing Electric Circus. Not Snoop but The Game put the westcoast on the map again like it was nothing. The Dirty South claimed their spot with acts like Ying Yang Twins, David Banner, Slim Thug and Mike Jones. Damian Marley ruled the dancehall scene with Welcome To Jamrock. AZ and DJ Premier brought you The Come Up which gave me the feeling I was back in '95. Who would ever think Jay & Nas would perform together. When I saw the footage, it was the best feeling hiphop gave me in years. Legendary comedian Richard Prior died at the age of 67. The Lox got their publishing rights back from Diddy after a dramatic radiowar on Hot97. Cam'Ron got shot after not wanting to hand over the carkeys. Fugees are getting ready for a comeback (I think it will never happen). Foxy Brown went deaf. Rumors were Eric B. was killed in New Jersey. Eric B. contacted Allhiphop.com saying:
"The only way I am going to go is by having a heart attack while I am out with my grand kids. I want to thank everyone for their concern. You never really know how you have impacted people until some sort of crisis. My daughter and I are making a list of people to call back, there's been that many people that have called. I am alive and well. The only person I am dead to is Jay-Z, he never returns my phone calls."
And last but not least, Kenny started The Video Crates!

It's been a fun year in musicland. For the last few years Mad Skillz has recorded a so called 'Rap Up'. Check out the one for 2005 here.

As for The Video Crates 2006, it will continue as usual. I've had my share of startproblems with free uploadsites, but you never know with free services. I hope to get two more contributors so we can offer you even more. The only thing I wish for in 2006 is that more people are going to comment :P

So people. I want to wish you a happy new year. I wish you all the best for 2006. It's going to be a good year. Mark my words. Before I go, I'm going to leave you with a few personal favorites. I don't have that much time to write now(and for the first couple of days), so the information is all copy/paste work.

Lord Finesse - Hip 2 Da Game

With his third album, Lord Finesse representing D.I.T.C. (Diggin' in the Crates crew) brought together some of the finest rappers of the moment for an album almost entirely produced by Finesse himself. Known as a producer first and rapper a close second, Finesse is gifted in metaphorical rhyming like other well-known MCs such as Big L or Chino XL, and again produces a great record deserving of any rap fan's archive. Guests like Akinyele, KRS-One, MC Lyte, O.C., AG, Diamond D., and Kid Capri make up the all-star cast. Topping it all off are verses by Large Professor, Grand Puba, and Sadat X on arguably one of hip-hop's finest tracks ever, entitled "Actual Facts." With so much going for it, if you like you rap music there's really no reason you shouldn't own this album. As a side note for DJs out there, there is apparently a limited-edition instrumental version of this released on vinyl, so look for that floating around somewhere.

Da King & I - Krak Da Weasel

This jazz and dancehall-influenced Brooklyn duo consisting of Izzy, the MC, and Majesty, the DJ made some rumblings in 1993 with their one and only LP, Contemporary Jeep Music, primarily on the strength of two singles, "Flip Da Script" and "Tears." Conceived and produced by Atlanta hip-hop mogul, Dallas Austin, the duo's sound is jazzy East Coast hip-hop with a slight southern twang. Although slightly reminiscent of Pete Rock & CL Smooth, their sound is relatively distinct. Izzy's voice and lyrical ability are quite superb and the album still sounds smooth and fairly fresh today. Unfortunately, the duo was unable to carve out their own niche in the early '90s between the hardcore pillars of Onyx and Naughty By Nature, and nary a peep has been heard from them since.

The Roots - Proceed 2 ft Roy Ayers

I don't know what it is with this track, but I had 11 requests for this vid. I never heard or saw the track before. After endless searching, I found it and to be honost: Tracks like these make me wanna go back and enjoy the movement even more. So Lovely.

See you in 2006!

Peace

Kenny

Nine - Ova Confident

2005-12-29T05:08:00.000+01:00

The portrait of a starving MC, Bronx-native Nine got his big break in late 1993 as a featured guest on Funkmaster Flex and the Ghetto Celebs' "Six Million Ways to Die." The verse showcased Nine's harsh, gravelly flow and the artist was signed a deal with the now-defunct Priority Records. Nine's debut album, Nine Livez, appeared in early 1995 on the strength of the up-tempo single "Whatchu Want." While the album did not make a big splash, it spawned a slew of underground hits including "Redrum," "Everybody Won Heaven," and "Any Emcee," which tastefully borrowed from the Spinners' "I'll Be Around." Nine's signature black lung vocal tone drew some comparisons to the over-the-top antics of Busta Rhymes. Nine followed up with Cloud Nine in 1996, then mostly fell off hip-hop radar screens when Priority closed up shop. During his hiatus, Nine popped up on the TV series NY Undercover landing a bit part as a thug. In late 2000, the Bronx MC hinted at a comeback, releasing the single "It's Ugly.."

Dear readers. Can I ask you for a favor? If you have the "Nine Livez" album, please get it out of your collection, blow the dust of it, and let Nine take you on a ride through the year 1996.
Do I have to confince you? N O P R O B L E M ! ! !

Nine - Ova Confident

Large Professor - The Mad Scientist

2005-12-28T21:17:00.000+01:00

Let me remind you on the facts:

A protege of producer marvel Pete Rock, Large Professor is known for teaching Gang Starr's DJ Premier how to utilize the vastly used SP1200 sampling drum machine. He is also known for making beats for numerous classics such as Eric B. & Rakim's Let the Rhythm Hit 'Em and Kool G Rap & DJ Polo's Wanted: Dead or Alive while still attending high school. Although his rhymes have been absent as of late, LP can always look back to the time when he gained lyrical fame with the release of Breaking Atoms with his former group Main Source and with tracks like "The Mad Scientist" and "Ijuswannachill" from his solo project The LP.

Credits include production for/with: Main Source, Nas, Eric B. & Rakim, Kool G Rap & DJ Polo, Big Daddy Kane, Roxanne Shante, Biz Markie, A Tribe Called Quest, Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth, Beastie Boys, (Mad) Skillz, Busta Rhymes, Non Phixion, Diamond D & the Psychotic Neurotics, Akinyele, Mobb Deep, Cormega, Royal Flush, and Apache.

That's a hell of a resume. Check out The Mad Scientist video. It has a few fuckups, but you'll survive that.

Large Professor - The Mad Scientist (78mb)

Show & AG - Soul Clap

2005-12-28T13:19:00.000+01:00

When Diamond D and Lord Finesse already broke through the scene in the mid and late eighties, Showbiz & A.G. were still trying to blow up the spot by battling everybody who was willing to. After A.G. got in touch with Finesse, due to a highschool battle, Nesse introduced them to Diamond D which immediately led to the Diggin’ In The Crates crew. As a result Show & A. released their first official jam “Soul Clap” on Shows own label Showbiz Records. The first pressing was sold out the trunk by Show on a limited basis. The record immediately caught local attention, which ended in a deal with Payday Records. After that escapade, two other hit singles appeared and the debut album “Runawayslave” was a fact. Since then these cats are all about Hip Hop culture by any means necessary.

Ol' EightyFive (Vinyl Addicts)

Show & AG - Soul Clap

Gravediggaz - Diary Of A Madman

2005-12-22T11:37:00.000+01:00

The Gravediggaz are known as the originators of horrorcore, a genre more or less inspired in part by Detroit artist Esham. Their debut, Six Feet Deep, broke the Top 40 of the pop album charts and contained the single "Diary of a Madman." (The late) Poetic da Grym Reaper, Frukwan da Gatekeeper, RZA the Rzarector and Prince Paul aka Dr. Strange mixed brutal lyrics and weird-ass videos with socially relevant messages. With heavy metal and dope beats thrown in, even the tamest stuff from this crew put most so-called shock rappers to shame. Unfortunately, the group's longevity was cut short when Poetic da Grym Reaper succumbed to colon cancer in 2001, just one month before the release of their last album. R.I.P Poetic.

Halloween just got gangsta. Diary of a Madman is one of the more chilling songs on the Gravediggaz debut 6 Feet Deep. Conceptually, it's about a murderer who claims to have been possessed when he killed a woman's baby. The culprit is embodied by the RZArector, Killah Priest, and a couple of others I can't identify by voice, but Prince Paul's production is what truly gives the track it's distinctly Halloween feel. Bump this one on the block and you might scare a few kids (and piss off a lot of parents).

Gravediggaz - Diary Of A Madman

Doug E Fresh - Keep Risin' To The Top

2005-12-21T00:14:00.000+01:00

Tracks that use Keni Burke's "Risin' To The Top" sample:

Big Daddy Kane’s “Smooth Operator”
Black Moon’s “U Da Man”
Common ft Sean Lett’s “(Lately) I've Been Thinking”
DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince’s “I Wanna Rock”
Grand Puba’s “Fat Rat”
LL Cool J’s “Around the Way Girl”
Lost Boys’s “Straight from Da Ghetto”
Mary J. Blige’s “Love No Limit”
MC Shan’s “I Pioneered This”
Medina Green’s “Crosstown Beef”
Notorious BIG ft Method Man & Redman’s “Rap Phenomenon”
OC’s “Born 2 Live”
Pete Rock & CL Smooth’s “I'll Take You There”
Pete Rock & CL Smooth’s “The Basement”
Redman’s “How to Roll a Blunt”

and Doug E Fresh - Keep Risin' To The Top

Digable Planets - 9th Wonder (Blackitolism)

2005-12-19T16:31:00.000+01:00

I was raised in the ways of the Manchu Clan
and 5 elements posture take a B-boy stance
with the gold front shinin' the baggy pants saggin'
this Brooklyn stylin' got the fly girls smilin'
but I'm climbin' findin' new ways of rhymin'
not livin' like a star is strickly about survivin'
divin', deep into the groove of the ghetto
this downtown flavor shines from many angles
yes the notorious, with rhymes so glorious
the Manchu Monkey over flunkies is victorious
rappers be boring us with rhymes of conventional
dazed and amazed when they hear the three dimensional
lyrical skills of the insect emotion
coasting down fulton with a bag of magic potion
now I'm rolling with the seven and the crescent
puffin' some expression
manifestin' today's lesson
stressin the fact that I'm solar guarenteed to go far
cause the mind is intestellar
still pieced like that so have no fear
but I'm slicker this year
I'm slicker this year

Digable Planets - 9th Wonder (Blackitolism)

Ahmad - Back In The Day

2005-12-18T07:37:00.000+01:00

Ahmad captured everybody's imagination with his hit "Back in the Day," followed by a self-titled album that gets better with every so-so release that occasionally manages to escape LA these days. His debut single was 1993's "Who Can?" on Motown, but "Back in the Day," released by Warner affiliate Giant Records, was the head-turner. Likely inspired by KAM's "Still Got Love 4 Um," it fit perfectly into a period when rap music, outgrowing its childhood clothes, suddenly began to reminisce about seemingly happier days.

There are three versions of "Back in the Day" on the "Ahmad" CD. They're not radically different, but the one I remember being played on radio and television was the "Remix," its summery Teddy Pendergrass sample creating the perfect soundtrack to Ahmad's trip down memory lane. His songwriting is flawless, from the description of the different stages of childhood to how the song idea is explained in the chorus: "Back in the days when I was young... I'm not a kid anymore, but some days I sit and wish I was a kid again." He even thought of crowd participation, so that you too can join in saying: "I remember way back when." In reality, these days were not that far away for 18 year old Ahmad, but "Back in the Day" was rap's confirmation that kids do indeed grow up fast. "In 7th grade I hated school, wish it had blown up / No doubt, I couldn't wait to get out, and be a grown-up," Ahmad reminisces, but just a few years later he already wallows in nostalgia. Ultimately, "Back in the Days" works so well because Ahmad still is a teenager and remembers these times - as distant as they may seem to him - vividly, now that he faces the responsibilities of an adult. It's a song about growing up, maybe too fast.

Ahmad - Back In The Day

Looptroop - Fly Away

2005-12-15T16:44:00.000+01:00

Looptroop are a Swedish hip-hop crew who’ve swallowed US hip-hop culture whole, and regurgitate it on their second LP, with convincing American accents and much talk of playas and honeys. Their command of English would put plenty of English MCs to shame and their carefully-enunciated rhymes are technically superb, though the real star is their producer/DJ Embee and his funky loops. You get the odd non sequitur, which only adds to the fun. What does grate is their uncritical assimilation of meaningless gangsta posturing ‘along with all the politically conscious rhymes.
The video I'm putting up is the album's first single called "Fly Away" in which the rappers lay down the ups and downs with loved ones caused by their busy music career. They poor their emotions out on a beat with this soothing plucked orchestra vibe, accompanied by a video with lovely graphics which makes the experience so much better. The last rapper brings out his emotions the best:

You flew away like you were scared that I would clip your wings
after five years we haven't kicked it since
but straight up this ain't no pimpin' thing
You a true queen baby only fit for kings
Maybe I couldn't see in the midst of things,
now in my chain of life you're the missin' link
Just to hear your voice used to lift my chin
and I still feel the taste from when I kissed your skin
I'm looking at your picture wishing we'd click again
next time I make sure to get our shit in synch
next time I be your man through the thick and thin
I promise no more committing wicked sins
I buy you a house with a picket fence
get you everything you could give me twins
No bullshit on tour never hittin' skins
chasin' no groupies with chicken wings
Not the type to chain you between bed and kitchen sink
I merely praise the place where your lips begin
Your hips begin - I know you're quick to think
It's pathetic, but I'd be the richest prince
if you once more unzip and let me sip your drink
Addicted to your love worse than nicotine
But there's too much pain for me to dig within
so I'm a let the music massage my crippled limbs...

The last two lines perfectly describe what music can mean to you. Too nice. So without further adew, I present to you:

Looptroop - Fly Away

PS: Impressed? Check out there new video Looptroop - Fort Europe

Cella Dwellas - Perfect Match

2005-12-15T15:20:00.000+01:00

Before the 1996 release of the full-length album Realms and Reality, Flatbush, Brooklyn artists the Cella Dwellas toiled underground surfacing in early 1995 on a Masta Ace B-side titled "For the Mind." The Dwellas' underground respect created enough of a stir to get them signed to Loud Records; a sneak preview single, "Land of The Lost," showed up soon after on a Loud Records sampler.

Perfect Match, which uses the Kool and The Gang's "Winter Sadness" sample, from their debut album tells the story about two rappers being played by the same girl. The video takes place on a talk show hosted by a Ricky Lake lookalike. The duo is all macked out in colorful Ralph Lauren outfits and fucked up haircuts, sitting before an audience, breaking them down. To tell the truth, I think the video is pretty wack, cause I'm not to fond of make-up rap artist. They look to powdery to me. But the track itself is so nice; nice bass, soulful and, nice flow... the perfect match!

Cella Dwellas - Perfect Match

Intelligent Hoodlum - Grand Groove

2005-12-15T14:37:00.000+01:00

So I was looking around for some detail on this track, and suddenly I'm on this page on which a university gives an analysis after a study of hiphopvideo's. Peep this:

This is an exploration of the metamorphoses of urban African American male rappers from original gangstas (OG) to organic intellectuals (OI). Systems theory and is the tool used to understand this evolution. Perspectival rhetorical analysis is the methodology employed to interpret the verbal and nonverbal discourse (L. Shaver, 1993, Washington & Shaver, 1997) of 1993 rap music videos. The goals of this study are to compare the historical evolution of communities of residence that shaped the music created by both rappers and blues singers; to trace the metamorphoses of the rappers into "organic intellectuals" (OI) while identifying their roles in the creation of a national popular culture (i.e., a culture that reflects the perspectives of young urban Blacks); and (c) to analyze the discourse of rap lyrics. Intelligent Hoodlum in "Grand Groove" (1993) gives a narrative of the rapper's life. As in many of the videos analyzed for this study, the stories contain the same sites of conflict: poverty, dysfunctional family, socialization into gangs, anger against the unfair actions of the police, and death.

Man. I don't know about this one. Click here if you want to read more.
Anyway. This is probably the finest tracks I have discovered in a long time. Smoov at Vinyl Addicts has a special on Intelligent Hoodlum aka Tragedy. Go check that out.
While you are reading that, start the video download so when your finished reading and are all hyped up, you can kick back and enjoy this fine peace of music. Peace!

Intelligent Hoodlum - Grand Groove

KRS 1 - Rappaz R N Dainja

2005-12-12T20:50:00.000+01:00

What's amazing about Blastmaster KRS 1 is that he wrote lyrics back in 91 that are still applicable in 2005 and problably still apply long after he's dead and burried. I love this man. That's all I realy want to say.

KRS 1 - Rappaz R N Dainja (39mb)

VH1 Driven: Nas

2005-12-10T18:21:00.000+01:00

Street's disciple, my raps are trifle
I shoot slugs from my brain just like a rifle
Stampede the stage, I leave the microphone split
Play Mr. Tuffy while I'm on some Pretty Tone shit
Verbal assassin, my architect pleases
When I was twelve, I went to hell for snuffin Jesus...

Oow hell yeah. That's when it all started. I've seen a few doumentaries about Nas, but this VH1 Driven stands out. It has indept information about Nas' life told by his family and close friends. It perfectly potrais the feelings Nas goes through in different situations which are all supported by matching chunks of Nas songs. I always heard about Ill Will being killed (also check My Way on The Lost Tapes and then the first few lines), but never knew the full story, untill I saw this documentaire. The way the makers put this scene together was so deep and intense, it's like I could feel the pain Nas was going through at that time.
A favorite part is the scene where he meets Larg Pro and he puts Nas on Live At The Barbeque. They show a live scene of Nas performing his part of the lyrics on this track. Black leather jacket, black cap, red shirt, fist in the air, and dead serious! Nice piece of footage.

So check it out. 45 minutes on one of the best MC's to ever touch the mic.

VH1 Driven: Nas (part 1)
VH1 Driven: Nas (part 2)

Donwload both rar files and put them in the same folder. If you open one of the rar files you'll see one file of 109mb. Unrar/unzip them in winrar or winzip

B.U.M.S. - Elevation (Free My Mind)

2005-12-08T16:44:00.000+01:00

Brothas Unda Madness stirred things up on the stagnant West Coast platform in the mid-'90s. With some help from well-known California wake-up show hosts such as the Baka Boyz and King Tech, E-Vocalist and D-Wyze were able to gain a foothold in the West Coast underground scene. Their first single, "Elevation (Free My Mind)" borrowed freely from Teddy Pendergrass' bedroom anthem, "Close the Door," and paved the way for their critically acclaimed debut, Lyfe 'N' Tyme, released in May of 1995. On the album, the B.U.M.S exercised an intellectual hoodlum point of view combining street philosophy with B-boy posturing. The crew's straight-ahead delivery and multi-syllabic rhymes belied the relaxed flows of most West Coast artists of the era. Lyfe 'N' Tyme also featured the underground hits "Take a Look Around" and "6 Figures & Up." The duo also worked with Oakland'sSaafir on the slamming B-side cut "Rain."
The "Elevation (Free My Mind)" video is pretty basic. Old abandond warehouse filled up with guest stars like Ras Kass, Sway, Crazy Legs, Xzibit and Ahmad. There are a few other guests in the video I don't recognize and would like to know who they are. HELP ME OUT!!!

B.U.M.S. - Elevation (Free My Mind) (77mb) On the sendspace site, rightclick/save target as

KMD - Peachfuzz

2005-12-05T08:49:00.000+01:00

An early classic track from Elektra's golden period in 1989-90 when crews like Brand Nubian, Leaders Of The New School and KMD aka Zev Luv X, Subroc and Onyx The Birthstone Kid hit the scene under the guardianship of Dante Ross. KMD were all about original wordplay, genius funky beats with oddball lo-fi jazz signatures // utterly joyful music with a serious 'know yourself' Native Tongue twist.

Witness the birth of the MF Doom sound right here on this track, Doom is Zev you see. The 'Peachfuzz' 12" has been top of most homeboys wants list for ages so the bootleggers had to step in and do the job. Now the glory of KMD can be enjoyed by one and all. A positive Kause in a Much Damaged society and a mega-dope-classic. Bus' it.

KMD - Peachfuzz (66mb)

Masta Ace - Sittin' On Chrome

2005-12-04T10:49:00.000+01:00

Now this is not the best video out there, but the track itself makes everything good, plus the fact that it's packed with guest appearences by the likes of Big L, Funkdoobiest, Doug E. Fresh, Channel Live, DJ Red Alert, Phife Dawg and others.
Using Eazy E's classical intro "He was once a dog from around the way....", the song perfectly makes clear that Masta Ace is nonfuckable with by just looking at the reflection on his 'shine'.

Masta Ace - Sittin' On Chrome (75mb)

Beat This: A Hip Hop Documentary

2005-12-04T07:36:00.000+01:00

This documentary produced by the BBC in 1984 contains interviews with DJ Kool Herc, Africa Bambaattaa, Malcolm McClaren, a Soul Sonic Force recording sessions as well as a Cold Crush Brothers performance and a Graffiti and B-Boy introduction.
Hiphop has come a long way, and obviously the fashion too. Alien and indian outfits, tight clothes, jerry curls, the white handgloves and a whole lot of leather. Everytime I see this documentary with my friends, we keep amazing ourselves how Hip Hop used to look back in the early beginnings.

The part I liked most was the scene where Kool Herc shows some old footage of parties he used to throw down together with his master of ceremony Coke La Rock. And although the footage isn't realy good quality, you are seeing the beginning of hiphop.

The running time for this documentary is 54 minutes, and it will leave a good impression and will lead to discussion if you are watching it together with others. Feel free to download and leave a comment of what you think of it.

Beat This: A Hip Hop Documentary (282mb)
On the sendspace site, rightclick/save target as

You can also download it in splitfiles from the Hiphopnetwork site.

Blahzay Blahzay - Pain I Feel

2005-11-30T21:19:00.000+01:00

Well, I guess everybody who' s into hiphop has heard of Blahzay Blahzay and has heard 'Danger' a couple of times during their life, wether at home, or at a HipHop party. I know I have. I didn't even have the album or single of this New York based crew, and without practice or writing down the lyrics, I could rhyme along with the whole song.
1996 was the year Outloud and producer/dj PF Cutting broke through with 'Danger' and I really thought that they were gonna stay for the long run. Outloud had a heavy voice, breaking down every mic used to record the album, and PF Cutting was hitting us with rowdyrugged&raw beats, as if he was trying to be the next
DJ Premier. 'Blah Blah Blah' is just that album you want to put on after Gangstarr's 'Moment of Truth' to keep the vibe going. The second single 'Pain I Feel' using the hook from Channel Live's 'Mad Izm' brings out the message to other artists to back up and sit their ass down! Do you think Blahzay Blahzay's message is loud and clear? Decide for yourself.

Blahzay Blahzay - Pain I Feel (49mb)

Ed O.G. & Da Bulldogs - Love Comes And Goes

2005-11-29T07:26:00.000+01:00

I had heard of Ed O.G., saw a few videoclips on Yo MTV Raps, a few flashbacks at Rap City, but I never gave it that much attention. When about two years ago, my man Ol'EightyFive (check Vinyl Addicts) kept buggin' me about how Ed O.G. had some dope ass tracks and that his flow was hardhittin'. Okay..... so I head to Fat Beats in Amsterdam and bought the Wishful Thinking album. Went home, rolled up a blunt, looked at the tracklisting and I saw 'Be Thankful' and played that track first and heard these hardhittin' lines on a dope ass beat, just like my man said. Edo starts off: Edo's a one man team, I never huddle with coach/I'm on some raw shit, y'all take the subtle approach/ I break up the mic when I wake up at night/ If I'm beefin' in my sleep, I wake up and fight...

Man, I was sold. Saw the man perform in Amsterdam and Haarlem with Masta Ace which made the fever even worse. So now I'm checking his older albums and the videoclip I put up for download comes from Roxbury 02119. 'Love Comes And Goes' tells the story about friends that passed away, and the story about his father getting killed by his best friend over 5 dollars. With the perfect blend of emotion and nice samples (Arthur Conley - 'Love Comes And Goes' & George Benson 'Face It Boy, It's Over') it makes it a beautiful song.

So sit back and relax...

Ed O.G. & Da Bulldogs - Love Comes And Goes (66mb)

Playing M2V files

2005-11-28T18:14:00.000+01:00

The blog has been up for 2 days and I already got a bunch of emails asking how to play M2V files. It's not a common used file, but is the best filesort for videoclips.
So the answer: K-Lite Codec Pack 2.63

K-Lite Codec Pack is a collection of codecs and related tools. Codecs are required to encode and/or decode (play) audio and video. The K-Lite Codec Pack is designed as a user-friendly solution for playing all your movie files. With the K-Lite Codec Pack you should be able to play 99% of all the movies that you download from the internet.

Biz Markie - Turn Da Party Out

2005-11-27T21:21:00.000+01:00

This is probably the only chance you will get to see The Biz running trough most of a video. On a quest to find his lost Super Rare Break Record he finds himself being disturbed by numerous obsticals. The track comes off a 12" brought out on Superrappin'/ Groove Attack back in 2001, using samples from artists like Spoonie G. I love this track so much cause it's funkier than my socks that I've been wearing all week. The track came in a time where every clip was about the bling bling, how many liters of expensive liqour the artist could throw on the floor and Bentley's was the car to have in the video to make it succesfull.
When it comes to weird entertainment, nobody beats The Biz!

Biz Markie - Turn Da Party Out (29mb)

Buckshot LeFonque - Music Evolution

2005-11-27T11:09:00.000+01:00

Once upon a time not long ago. When all the cats went to hear Satchmo blow. Groovin' at a tempo fast or slow. Jazz was at a new plateau ready to grow. Also developing ways to make dough. Although we always heard no when at a show. The Klan couldn't keep the man from makin' mo'Better blues, kinda confused here's the news. These grooves is better than your blue seude shoes
Some G's are fake and some will make moves. I prove jazz gone up another level. Real without making a deal with the devil
And so, I'm about to let the world know. That bebop and skattin' was an old school flow. Callaway was a dope MC, you didn't know?
Now that the years gone by some will try. Try to make that hip hop and jazz thing die. When it was skat before it was rap,
Yo it was fly. Now it brings tears to the eye, oh my. I didn't hear that back in the days. I wonder why?

I think the lyrics of this song says enough.
So for you and yours...

Buckshot LeFonque - Music Evolution

Funkdoobiest - Dedicate

2005-11-27T10:32:00.000+01:00

After their 1993 gold debut album with classics like "Bow Wow Wow" and "The Funkiest" fully produced by DJ Muggs, the Soul Assassins affiliates returned in 1995 with their softmore album "Brothas Doobie". More laidback then their first album, it created an even better "let's get high" vibe. Allthough it never got the props the first album did, it left two singles that had a lot of buzz in the underground scene. "Rock On" being the first and "Dedicated" the second.
Now I'm a sucka for Roy Hargrove samples and especially for "Everybody Loves The Sunshine" brought out on Polydor in 1976. A sample that a producer can't fuck up, even if he's trying to.
Muggs flips this track so lovely, making it a chill and laidback track, while Son Doobie's flow spreads the butter over this beat, dedicating the song to people in hard times, loved ones and people that have past away.

Funkdoobiest - Dedicate