October 16, 2018

DJ Semtex "Hip-Hop Raised Me" (Book + The Cream Tape, 1994)


I was a bit torn while reading DJ Semtex's Hip-Hop Raised Me ... there are many exceptional parts to this book and certainly they come from a man with a ton of experience in the culture and a pioneering DJ in UK hip-hop. However, it does fall off a bit near the final chapters, and there are some facts that seem inconsistent on certain pieces of history, or were just overlooked in the book. It's still a solid read and visually it looks amazing, so I do recommend checking it out now that the price has dropped a bit on Amazon. In addition, pointing to Semtex's history in the culture, I also recommend listening to a great cassette mixtape he released back in 1994 called "The Cream Tape." I was fortunate to find an existing link to it, which saved me the time of uploading it. Props to DJ E-Freezy. It features tracks like Crooklyn, Take It Easy, Warrior's Drum, Bucktown, Kaught In Da Ak Remix, Da Bitchez, Stress, Represent, Constant Elevation, Life's A Bitch, and lots more. Listen to it...